Summary
Skeleton Crew does have some intriguing lore hints Episode 3, but it remains, fundamentally, a very fun and charming space adventure with any needless franchise baggage.
I have no idea where or how Skeleton Crew fits into the wider Star Wars mythos, and I think that’s probably a good thing. I don’t mean in the timeline, by the way, which is easy enough to work out. But as of Episode 3, an extremely enjoyable half-hour titled “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem”, I couldn’t tell you whether it rubs against the Skywalker saga, or Palpatine’s cloning experiments, or has anything to do with Din Djarin and Grogu or Ahsoka and Thrawn or any of the other characters and sub-stories that have been developed in various shows and other media over the last few years.
This is quite freeing. The two-part premiere was largely about establishing tone and introducing the core cast, only suggesting the shape of a mystery that may or may not have galactic significance. Episode 3 digs into the nature of At Attin a little bit more, and its potential implications for the lore, but it doesn’t overegg the pudding. I firmly believe that At Attin could turn out to be Palpatine’s holiday home or nothing at all and it wouldn’t ultimately affect the show one iota.
This is because it isn’t really the point. The point, as far as I can deduce, is that Jod Na Nawood – the name of Jude Law’s character; he introduces himself here – has a friend who’s half-cat-half-owl. The point is that the pirate droid SM-33 is an obvious nod to Smee from Peter Pan. The point is that it’s a fun knockabout action-adventure series for all the family of a type that doesn’t really get made anymore.
But on the other hand, the mystery of At Attin does matter – at least as long as it remains unsolved. If you were to take it away then “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem” would just be several consecutive chase scenes; Jod and the kids fleeing captivity, Jod heading back to rescue SM-33, Jod and the kids escaping Borgo, and then Jod and the kids running away after Kh’ymm (the owl-cat hybrid voiced, by the way, by Alia Shawkat from The Old Man) sells Jod out. At Attin isn’t the macro point, but it is the micro one.
So, what do we know? More than the kids, that’s for sure. They – particularly Wim – have a functional if idealized knowledge of the Jedi and the Sith, and the knowledge of the existence of certain planets, like Alderaan, but absolutely no knowledge of the war that has been fought between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Nobody mentions Alderaan having been blown to smithereens. It doesn’t feel like the right time.
Kh’ymm (Alia Shawkat) in Skeleton Crew | Image via Disney+
This is obviously tied to At Attin’s “Great Work”. It has been utterly isolated for years, presumably, with contact off-planet forbidden. Nobody there, including the parents, has any idea about the wider galaxy, no knowledge of the Empire or anything else. If you’re wondering how this could be, Skeleton Crew Episode 3 goes some way towards explaining it. At Attin was purposely hidden, the last remaining of a group of planets dubbed “The Jewels of the Old Republic”. It has fallen into the annals of myth and legend now, but we know it’s real since the kids come from there. But we don’t know what kind of fabled treasures it might hold, since all we’ve seen of it thus far is a sterile authoritarian community built to resemble 80s suburbia.
“Old Republic” used to refer to a specific era in Star Wars storytelling that has since been consigned to the non-canon Legends continuity ever since the Disney takeover, so it’s not immediately clear whether “Old” in this context is being used as a synonym for “High Republic”, the most recent wide-scale storytelling initiative that has dominated Star Wars books, comics, and TV recently (The Acolyte is set during this time, and while Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn’t, its plot connects to it very directly.)
The High Republic era also uses the term “Great Works” a lot, so it stands to reason, I think, that At Attin might be one of them, and has remained totally hidden from view and ignorant of galactic goings-on ever since, which would ironically give Skeleton Crew one of the most intriguing canonical positions in the entire franchise. Although, to be fair, this is all idle speculation and could be completely wrong.
But it doesn’t seem to matter, which is the point I was alluding to above. The action is exciting and enjoyable on its own terms, and the kids are all likable, and Jod – who is clearly not a Jedi, and instead seems like a scoundrel in the classic Han Solo mode – is a fun means by which to drag them through their respective coming-of-age stories. And that’s what Skeleton Crew is, fundamentally. It’s about kids learning what’s waiting for them in the big wide world, figuring out their own skills and values, and realizing, perhaps for the very first time, that their futures don’t have to be the mundane, nebulous administrative careers of their parents.
And we’re all along for the ride.
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