Skeleton Crew Episode 7 Review!

Skeleton Crew’s penultimate episode sets up the season one finale in brilliant fashion. With a healthy mixture of reunions, betrayals, and revelations, this episode all but guarantees an incredible conclusion to the show.

Spoilers Ahead for Episodes 1-7

What we saw:

• We begin back on At Attin with the gang’s parents desperately trying to send a communication buoy past the barrier. Despite the best efforts of the security droids, Fara is able to send it into the sky in hopes of reaching their children.

• Meanwhile, the kids exit hyperspace aboard the Onyx Cinder where they glimpse the barrier in action for the first time. Unfortunately, Jod and his band of pirates arrived first, and after an unsuccessful attempt at navigating through the tempest themselves, the pirates activate a tractor beam and bring the kids on board.

• Jod, however, has another plan up his sleeve, and murders his previous first mate Brutus in cold blood, assuming the role of Captain Silvo once more.

• As the pirates attempt to transfer the Onyx Cinder’s abilities to approach At Attin, the communication buoy pings, and the kids witness a hologram of their parents hoping to bring them back home.

• Inspired by the message, Wim attempts to stage a brief rebellion that Jod instantly snuffs out. Luckily, Fern uses some roundabout logic to subvert the Pirate’s Code, and SM-33 uses the excuse to take Jod down and rescue the children.

• Once more in control of their ship, the kids blast off through the barrier with the pirate ships being destroyed in their wake. As they fly, they realize that the Onyx Cinder isn’t a true pirate ship at all - it’s an At Attin ship with programs that allow it to take off and land safely.

• Once safely through the barrier, they glimpse their homeworld for the first time since their adventure began, but their victory is short lived as Jod appears again, threatening them with a lightsaber and saying he’ll carve up their parents if they don’t keep quiet.

• The crew lands on the planet where they are immediately welcomed as Republic Emissaries and taken down to the Old Republic mint.

• Jod mentions that he is unable to communicate with his outside ship, but he quickly abandons that worry when he feasts his eyes on the unbelievable amount of riches that appear in the vault. He begins to laugh maniacally as the credits fall into his lap.

• Outside, the kids’ parents arrive and experience a heartfelt reunion before Jod walks up to them with a lightsaber drawn…his threat still very much intact.

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What we loved:

• Since the beginning of the show, Jod’s story has been largely unknown, but there was always a hint that he may be the classic smuggler with a heart of gold. However, this episode flipped that notion on its head by revealing the true depths of his greed and brutality, and it was amazing to witness!

• The pacing of the episode was excellent as it careened the entire ensemble towards the inevitable finale. While it held a shocking number of revelations, none of the plot points felt rushed or cheapened as the final confrontation at At Attin drew nearer.

• Jude Law’s performance has been heralded throughout the season, but he continues to show just how much of a perfect fit he is for Star Wars. He steals every second of screen time he’s afforded, and once Jod’s true nature was revealed with the killing of Brutus and the threatening of the children, it was impossible to take your eyes off of him.

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What’s next:

• Next week is unfortunately the finale of Skeleton Crew, and while the show’s future is currently unknown, the season is undeniably a resounding success. Despite virtually no expectations for the quality of the story, it has proven to be a sensational Star Wars adventure.

• Now that the children are back home on At Attin and reunited with their parents, what is their new goal? Obviously, they need to escape from the fury of Jod’s lightsaber, but do they want to expose the planet to the galaxy? Do they simply want to go home? 

• What role do the parents have to play going forward? Wim’s father mentioned that there were secrets the kids shouldn’t have known until graduation, but how far does that knowledge truly go? Is it possible that even they don’t know how far the galaxy has progressed outside of At Attin?

• And finally…who is Jod Na Nawood? While his true brutal nature has been revealed, will we discover if he was ever trained as a Jedi? Was he simply a Force sensitive pirate all this time? We have one episode left to find out.

Skeleton Crew continues to be the most surprising Star Wars show in years. Somehow, the series is able to subvert every possible expectation while continuing to deliver quality writing, acting, and storytelling in a way that is satisfying beyond belief.

The season finale of Skeleton Crew airs next week on January 14th only on Disney+!

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