Skeleton Crew Musings
So we’re over half way through Skeleton Crew, and what a ride so far. The one word I’ve heard over and over again to describe it is FUN, I agree. A story told from the perspective of kids, bringing a real sense of awe and wonder, but with a genuinely intriguing story that has real stakes for the characters.
Jude Law has brought serious big hitter energy to the table with his tremendous portayal of Jod Na Nawood, and the rest of the young cast have stepped up to the plate, bringing their characters uniquely to life. The story finds itself refreshingly free of any entanglements to the wider Star Wars galaxy, giving it the potential to appeal to a wider base of viewers, but has enough of the Star Wars fabric, motifs and aesthetics to feel rewarding to fans that are deep in the lore.
I’ve found it a breath of fresh air that Skeleton Crew doesn’t need me to deeply consider any off-screen lore or interactions. We’re so used to having to do lots of guessing and mental legwork between episodes and seasons, but it fronts up all of the questions we’re asking and things move fast. I’m super hopeful Skeleton Crew will be a hit and bring mainstream success that we haven’t really seen since the Mandalorian, but in the meantime I’ve been enjoying musing over the story so here’s some takes and questions…
Wendle’s parents on a collision course with Jod?
We’ve learned alot about Wim’s father Wendle, a hard worker who’s committed to finding his son even if it means breaking the rules of the system he’s been a devoted part of. With the kids lost in space Jod had been emerging as Wim’s space-father-figure, giving begrudging advice and guidance and tolerating the occasional juvenile antics despite his murky past, until his actions in episode five. The story now feels set up for Wendle to come head to head with Jod.
However I find Wim’s mother more intriguing. We know she’s no longer around, and I think we’re led to believe she has died before the events of the story, but my mind is whirring. What if she actually discovered something about the true nature of the administration on At Attin. Was she taken out by them?
Or perhaps she is alive and escaped beyond the barrier. Will she rescue the kids and face up to Jod to teach him a lesson? Maybe she was even one of Rennod’s crew that crashed on At Attin and will draw the story together. Whatever the case may be, I think Wim’s parents will play a really important part in the final three episodes, and in Jod’s revelation, redemption or comeuppance, and I think perhaps his mother more so.
At Attin and the supervisor
The unseen ‘supervisor’ runs the show on At Attin, but clearly mainly acts through an army of droids keeping tabs on everybody, with perhaps a small number of people like Fern’s mother in positions of power. We know that At Attin is probably a copy of the other nine ‘Jewel of the Old Republic’ planets like At Achrann, and that the supervisor knows this given the coordinates to the other planets were visible in the supervisors tower on At Acrhann.
A significant amount of time has passed since planets were founded, long enough for people beyond the planets to consider them destroyed or a myth, for At Achrann to fall into war, Captain Rennod to become legendary, and Lanupa to become a luxury spa world!
This begs the question of who is the supervisor and how are they still around. Could it be the case that the supervisor now only remains as computer program or hologram, much like the ones that enacted Palpatine’s operation Cinder. Or could it be that an interloper has assumed control of the planet for their benefit, taking control or the guise of the supervisor…did Captain Rennod survive the crash and find the treasure after all, or could it be Wim’s mother?
One thing’s for sure, I think it will be a surprise. I also wonder if Fern’s mother know more than she is letting on. When she encourages Fern to focus on school because there is ‘only so much room at the top’, is she speaking literally as well as metaphorically. Does she know who is in charge, and does ‘the top’ mean in the tower or beyond the barrier…
At Attin’s treasure
It seems quite clear from the story so far that At Attin’s ‘eternal treasure’ is indeed treasure of the traditional kind - money, being one of the last mints of the Old Republic. However, I think there is more to this, and that it may have wider implications for the Star Wars galaxy.
The Force and the Jedi are present in the story, with Wim’s fixation on old Jedi tales, and Jod’s use of the Force begging the question of his training and lineage to be answered. Surely this will come full circle. ‘Eternal’ treasure, to me, sounds much more like something spiritual or philosophical. I wonder whether we will discover that the Jewel’s of the Old Republic have a deeper treasure, such as a connection to the Force.
Could it be that At Attin houses a portal to the world between worlds, could there really be an old Jedi temple, or some connection to the galaxy of Peridea. I think we’ll find ourselves unearthing a potentially meaningful link into the wider story of the Mandoverse by the last episode of Skeleton Crew. Something that brings a piece of the puzzle to defeating Thrawn or bringing Ahsoka and Sabine back, but that does not take away from concluding the stand-along story.
Did somebody set up Jod?
Right from episode one we see that life as a pirate is truly brutal and cut-throat, and Jod has no problem living like that. He orders a poor freighter pilot to be thrown out the airlock, and is quite happy for his crew to take heavy losses boarding the ship…expendable for sure. The mean streak seems to have clearly reared its head again by episode five when he held a knife to Fern’s throat.
If it wasnt for these things I was starting to see some similarities between Han Solo and Jod, sure a bit of a scoundrel focused on rewards more than morals, but maybe a heart of gold underneath it all. However I couldn’t see Han quite so mercilessly murdering innocents or holding up a kid with a knife, maybe that’s the difference between a scoundrel and a pirate. Its hard to see much coming back from that.
Its obvious that Jod has crossed a lot of people, under a lot of different names, during his time in the galaxy. One thing I can’t quite shake is why in episode 1 there are no credits in the vault on the ship they board, apart from one. To me that sure felt like someone sending a message to Jod, “we got here first and I know this is going to get you into deep trouble, but here’s one credit to rub it in”.
Why else would the vault be empty apart from one credit. It doesn’t seem like a New Republic set-up as they weren’t captured. I wonder if somebody was setting Jod up, maybe somebody we’ve already met, somebody that has been mentioned in the story, or that will connect into the wider galaxy…
SM-33’s
I absolutely love SM-33, surely one of the most unique and entertaining droids we’ve had in a long while. His history, and the history of the Onyx Cinder crew has a lot more to give I feel. We will surely see how he lost his eye and why he has a peg leg?!
MTFBWY
