Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 1×03 Review: ‘Very Interesting, As An Astrogration Problem’

In the base DNA of Star Wars is Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and ‘coming of age’ stories for 12-year-olds. Skeleton Crew is giving us both story types in one show with Jod Na Nawood and the kid’s stories running next to each other.

In episode three of the series, we spend much of it talking about trust. Can the kids trust Jod? Should Jod even be trusted? Can the five of them trust Kh’ymm to give them the correct coordinates back to At-Attin?

Fern asked Jod early in their escape from Port Borgo why he hadn’t used The Force to get the key earlier. He quickly replied there was no reason to escape if he didn’t have a ship to get out of port. Although this statement is true, it leaves us the viewers with many questions about his motives.

Even KB pressed Jod telling him that she had calculated the odds of him betraying them, to which he replies that not everything in the galaxy can be calculated, which is hard for the kids to understand when they are from a planet of analysts.

Fern and KB don’t feel like Jod is trustworthy, constantly asking him who he is. Even to the point while they’re fleeing from Kim’s moon, KB is told by Kh’ymm not to trust Crimson Jack, as she called Jod. KB stopped him from getting on the cargo ramp until he told them who he was. Fern stepped up to her to form a larger wall, stopping Jod from getting on. Then the girls pulled Wim and Neel, with back-up from SM-33, to press Jod. It’s the first growth moment for the kids to trust each other.

Once forced to say who he is, Jod finally conceded that he never called himself a Jedi, that was Wim. I’m glad they address this fairly quickly in the show. Up until modern storytelling in Star Wars, it was believed that only Jedi could use The Force. However, through publishing, video games, and other storytelling like the Ahsoka series, everyone can use The Force. It flows through all of us. But like other skills, you have to work to use it.

I’ll get back to this in Speculation Corner, but this helped the kids begin to accept him and let him on the ship. He in turn trusts KB to enter the coordinates into the hyperspace drive and trusts Neel to pilot the ship while he gets Wim and Fern into the gunnery bubbles to fire on the bandits attacking them.

It is a small step, but having Jod admit that he was just like them, lost in the galaxy, is the first block to building that trust.

By the way, it felt weird to have the kids firing at X-Wing ships of The New Republic. Jod did tell them they were the bad guys but we the audience know they are actually the good guys.

The episode began with a meeting of the parents as they waited for the security droid to return to give them an update about the kids. Each parent was a different version of concern. Wendle, Wim’s father, was the most distraught.

Wendle has been doing his best to be a good dad but he is so worried about work, he’s forgotten he needs to be there for his son. Tunde Abebimpe conveys so much with just his face. He gives us sadness, hope, and then despair all within the scene. He might be my favorite performance of the episode with his less than 2 minutes on screen.

The two big things to come out of this opening were when the security droid reported that “the supervisor” was not going to contact The Republic and that KB has a medical issue.

The idea that there is some “supervisor” over-watching At-Attin adds to the feel that perhaps not everything is as good as it seems on the surface. Also, “the supervisor” gives me “Mr. Wizard” feels from Wizard of Oz, or Wicked if you wish. The security droid says that going out past the barrier is against the law. I wonder if the parents are going to steal a ship to go find their kids on their own.

It was only said in passing in the background while all the parents were arguing with the droid but KB having a medical issue is interesting. We haven’t spent much time with KB so far, and we want more. It feels as if we are going to get an episode in one of the next two where they are going to have to stop at a planet to get her help. I wonder where that will put Jod’s mindset when it happens.

I can’t stop talking about how good this show looks. With the practical puppets and makeup, the actual sets and the use of The Volume to add depth is amazing. With each new show, Disney+ and Lucasfilm understand more and more how to use The Volume. Specifically, Kh’ymm looks amazing. 

Now Specultaion Corner…

First: Jod’s multiple names Crimson Jack, Jod Na Nawood, and Captain Silvo make me think we don’t know his true name. Also, if it comes out that he was a Padawan at one point I think I will be OK with it. I still want him to be a Force user who was not trained by the Jedi, but we will see where that goes.

Second: We’re going to get a moment when the kids have to decide to save Jod. They are going to come to trust him enough that they are going to do something stupid that could get them caught while saving him.

Third: We got some confirmation that At-Attin was part of The Old Republic. However, it is still possible that the current New Republic considers anything before the Battle of Yavin to be The Old Republic. I’m holding out hope that At-Attin was part of The Great Works from The High Republic Era.

Fourth: Even though we have been told by Jon Watts that there will be no surprise cameos in this series, I want Carson Teva to show up at some point. I thought maybe one of the X-Wing pilots who showed up on Kh’ymm’s moon would be one, but no. Adding Carson gives the series a firm place in the timeline AND could be a nice setup for the Mando and Grogu movie. Fingers crossed for Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to show up sometime soon.

So far, I have loved Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Watching these sheltered kids learn about the galaxy has been a lot of fun. Especially when they are like us and love the stories of the Jedi and the galaxy far, far away. They will come to trust Jod enough to get them home, but I wonder what that means for the people of At-Attin and the galaxy as a whole.

The next episode is on Disney+, on Tuesday, Dec 17th at 6 pm PT.

Author: Sean Miley

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