Skeleton Crew episode 5 reviewed
You have a lot to learn about pirates
Skeleton Crew is a new series streaming on Disney+. It is set in the Star Wars universe and occurs at some vaguely-defined period between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
What happened: On At Attin, the distressed parents attempts to access restricted Barrier access codes to get a message out to the Republic asking for help. A security droid catches Wim’s father red-handed, literally, but Fern’s mother, Undersecretary Fara, intervenes and covers the incident up. After admitting the Supervisor will not help, Fara agrees to aid the conspiracy.
Back on the pirate ship, the kids and Jod tie down the deactivated SM-33 so he can’t hurt them. After reactivating the homicidal droid, SM-33 insists he won’t hurt them because the murder orders came from the old captain, and Fern is the new captain. Turns out, the old captain was a legendary pirate named Tak Rennod who terrorized the galaxy in a ship called Onyx Cinder. Jod is seriously impressed. SM-33 explains the remaining crew mutinited on the final trip to At Attin, but Captain Rennod locked out the controls before he died, dooming them to crash on arrival (which is where the ship lay buried until the kids found it). SM-33 doesn’t have the coordinates anymore, but tells the kids Rennod had the coordinates locked away in his hideout beneath Skull Ridge Mountain. Fern tells him to take them there, and SM-33 effortlessly rips through his bonds to pilot the ship (a pretty good gag).
Wim, despondent that the great adventure is more confusing and scary than he expected, slips off to read adventure stories on his iPad and feel sorry for himself. Jod follows and in a clumsy effort to boost Wim’s spirits, tells him not to worry because he’ll see his mom and dad again soon enough. That’s when Wim tells him his mom is dead. Jod, in a moment of honesty, tells Wim he’s better off forgetting his parents and everything else that is an “attachment” hindering him. He then uses the Force to put the iPad into Wim’s hands, telling Wim to live the life he wants to live.
They arrive at Captain Rennod’s pirate base only to discover a sudden onset of plot complications. In the decades since Rennod disappeared, the world had been rebranded as Lanupa, an adults-only spa world for the rich and famous. The sprawling luxury resort—taking advantage of the hot mud pits Rennod once disposed of his victims in—is built directly over the pirate lair. Jod bluffs and bribes his way in, passing the kids off as Wise Elders from the Bratric System. The gambit gets them into the spa but falls apart quickly when a bounty hunter Jod double-crossed years before recognizes him and contacts Port Borgo and the angry pirates who’d put a price on Jod’s head. After several chase sequences, they find the entrance to Rennod’s secret lair with the aid of a Cthulhu-esque alimen suspiciouly named Cthallops. The pirate lair is booby-trapped like the ancient temple at the beginning of Raider of the Lost Ark. Jod and the kids navigate the perils with the pirates in hot pursuit, finding the entrance to Rennod’s final chamber lies beneath a pool of acid. They figure out the puzzle, drain the acid and get in right as the pirates arrive. The treasure chamber is impressive, but dangerously booby-trapped. Neel discovers the disguised dataport, but almost fals down a trap door in the process. As the pirates try to break through the door, Jod has SM-33 interface with Rennod’s datalog and refill the acid pool. SM-33 retrieves the coordinates to At Attin and a recording of Rennod that reveals At Attin is the last remaining Old Republic Mint. Jod, his pirate greed coming through, challenges Fern for the captaincy. He holds a knife to her throat demanding she yield. Wim finds a lightsaber in the treasure horde, but when he tries to fight Jod with it it ignites upside down, gouging into the floor and caroming out of Wim’s grip. Fern yields. Jod orders SM-33 to take the kids prisoner for mutiny, but Wim triggers the trap door and the kids all fall down the shaft. Jod then retrieves Wim’s wayward lightsaber with the Force, and cut to black.
Disturbances in the Force: I am deeply disappointed that Skeleton Crew seems to be going all-in as a retelling of Treasure Island, with Jod Silvo as close to John Silver as anyone not actually named John Silver. That said, they’re doing it very, very well. This episode was an absolutely blast, chok-full of humor, adventure, treasure, peril, reversals and emotional character moments galore. I mean, a giant alien Cthulhu makes a cameo. Sure, it’s not actually Cthulhu (even though Cthulhu is public domain and could be) but Cthallops is a lot friendlier and less likely to drive humans mad.
There are fantastic moments scattered throughout the episode. I like that the parents are being proactive in their desperation to get their children back, albeit ineptly. Existing in a society where conformity and following the rules is of paramount importance for generations, to see their tentative efforts to push the envelop is charming. I’m hoping their effort bear fruit before the end of the season. When SM-33 is relating the tale of the crew’s mutiny against Captain Rennod, he mentions that the captain’s concubine literally stabbed him in the back. It’s great when Neel asks Jod what a concubine is and Jod immediately changes the subject. On Lanupa, where weapons are prohibited, the restraining bolt preventing SM-33 from committing violence constantly going off is a running joke that never gets old. Jod absolutely losing patience with the kids (who have no concept of the danger they’re in with pirates rapidly closing in) having a pillow fight is glorious. Never laugh at KB. That girl is resourceful. I appreciate the fact the “treasure planet” is the only survivor of nine original Old Republic Mints. This is intelligent writing and uses the existing continuity and worldbuilding which has gone before to expand the galaxy and make it more complex and interesting. Too many of the post-George Lucas films have served to make the galaxy smaller and duller.
Even though all the main characters have standout moments, this episode quietly belongs to Jod. During the talk he has with Wim, his talk of letting go of attachments is straight out of the Jedi training manual. This, along with his casual use of Jedi phrases in previous episodes, pretty much convinces me that he’s a former padawan forced to go underground and fend for himself after Order 66. I still don’t think Jude Law’s age works for this within the established timeline. I would rather have seen an untrained Force user unconnected to Jedi or Sith religions, but it is what it is. I find myself increasingly curious about his backstory, especially with the way he coveted the lightsaber at the end. His challenging Fern for the captaincy was inevitable, but I was disappointed clever Fern didn’t remind SM-33 that Jod wasn’t actually part of the crew, and therefore not able to invoke the Pirate Code. And Jod, for all his greed and ruthlessness (see the brilliant acid bath above) clearly did not want to hurt Fern, breathing a huge sigh of relief when she finally gave in. I’m not sure if he would’ve actually hurt her or eventually given up, but I’m suspecting the latter. Jod seems to be ruthless as long as it doesn’t involve punching down, and he’s been quite clear from the moment he met them that the kids are in way over their head. And Fern, goodness, but she holds out to the last moment. It absolutely kills her (metaphorically speaking) to give in and as the fight started she absolutely intended to fight Jod to the death, even if she was a reluctant participant. Excellent acting here. Bravo! Jod taking on the captaincy at this point may be an error, however, as the recording of Rennod made it clear that a full crew was necessary to pull off his planned heist of At Attin. And Jod clearly isn’t operating with a full crew.
One last observation, in the “look before you leap” department: The kids have no idea where the trapdoor leads. Every previous trap in Rennod’s pirate lair had proven deadly. My initial expectation was that the bottom of the pit is lined with spikes. Since the series isn’t only five episodes long, however, I’m guessing that the kids don’t wind up impaled. Plot armor offers one heck of a saving throw, eh?
Skeleton Crew is a heck of a lot of fun, and each episode has been progressively better than that which has come before. I’ve heard rumors that the series has low viewerships, which if true is a real shame. I’ve made the point before that the original Star Wars films weren’t children’s fare but rather movies that appealed to all ages. That same applies to Skeleton Crew. Yes, it skews a little younger but I swear, had this come out as a miniseries on broadcast television back in 1988 it would’ve been absolutely huge.
Skeleton Crew episode 1 reviewed.
Skeleton Crew episode 2 reviewed.
Skeleton Crew episode 3 reviewed.
Skeleton Crew episode 4 reviewed.
Skeleton Crew episode 6 reviewed.