- Created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford
- December 2, 2024 to Present
- Based on Star Wars created by George Lucas
- Disney+
Main Cast
- Jod Na Nawood-Jude Law
- Wim-Ravi Cabot-Conyers
- Fern-Ryan Kiera Armstrong
- KB-Kyriana Kratter
- Voice of Neel-Robert Timothy Smith
- Voice of SM-33-Nick Frost
Recurring/Guest Cast
- Wendle (Wim’s dad)-Tunde Adebimpe
- Fara (Fern’s mom)-Kerry Condon
- Tuut Orial-Alan Resnick
- Kh’ymm-Alia Shawkat
- Hayna-Hala Finley
- General Strix-Mathieu Kassovitz
- Brutus-Fred Tatasciore
- Gunter-Jaleel White
- Chaelt-Dale Soules
- Vane-Marti Matulis
- Koma-Sisa Grey
- Beef-Dominic Burgess
- Melna-Paloma Garcia-Lee
- Benjar Pranic-Alfred Molina
- Pokkit-Kelly Macdonald
- Nooma-Geneva Carr
- Hotelier-Julie Ann Emery
- Cthallops-voice of Patrick Seitz
- Glerb-Jacob Roanhaus
- Snobbius Snee-voice of John Hodgman
The crew on the Onyx Cinder begin the search for At Attin and encounter a deepening mystery.
The first four episodes have given me hope. Not perfect but better than The Acolyte. Then again so is explosive diarrhea. So here we are at the next two episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
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You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates
- Directed by Jake Schreier
- Written by Myung Joh Wesner
- December 24, 2024
The crew of the Onyx Cinder locates the hideout of legendary pirate Tak Rennod and finds the way back to At Attin.
In no big surprise the Onyx Cinder is the ship of by legendary pirate Tak Rennod. I would think that SM-33 (voice of Nick Frost) might tickle the memory of Jod (Jude Law) on some level since EVERY PIRATE is aware of the legend because there is so much around the man. Nobody in the port earlier gave it a second look though which strikes me as weird and a bit of a plot convenience.
I greeted the pirate hideout of Lapuna now being a pleasure planet now with a heavy groan. I know it was meant to be humorous but felt so, well, forced and stupid. “Look at how funny this is!” This does give us a bit more on Jod by showing us he has gone by yet another name beyond those we are already aware of and takes on new ones with ease.
Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is once again excessively difficult, but this time it is finally justified. How? Jod uses pirate rules to take control of the ship from her. Why didn’t he do it sooner? Why did Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) not see this as a possibility since he ate this kind of stories up?
They do keep with the young adventure vibe appropriately in here with Wim getting some fatherly guidance from Jod before Jod turns. And I did feel with the pirate hideout once they got there was a nice nod to things like National Treasure as well as the bounty laden pirate ship from Goonies.
The episode advances the mystery of At Attin a little bit. It is clear that while the kids are kept in the dark, the adults appear well aware of whatever is going on. We get no hints of their duties which is bothersome. We have three episodes remaining so give us something.
You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates left me a little concerned. With the limited run it feels like we might get a bit of a dump of developments at the end. Jod becomes perhaps more villainous. Fern is still a little too front and center. I enjoyed myself.
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Zero Friends Again
- Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard
- Written by Myung Joh Wesner
- December 31, 2024
Jod is captured and KB reveals she memorized the coordinates.
It took six episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew but Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is finally being called out for being bossy! It’s a little out of the blue but KB (Kyriana Kratter) actually addresses her ‘friend’ being pushy and not listening to anyone with it even playing into interactions with Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers). I really wish it had been hinted at during the previous five episodes but it’s nice this aspect is finally getting addressed though KB’s reaction is reframed as her chafing under Fern’s protective nature towards her.
The schism it causes doesn’t make too much sense. KB goes with Wim and Neel (voice of Robert Timothy Smith) goes with Fern because they are all still relative strangers to each other. Then again they have been forcing Neel and Fern into an alliance or pairing or whatever you wanna call it. KB hasn’t had much of anything going on for five episodes and finally gets something to do. It was an awkward way by the writers to change things up.
After all is said Fern and her issues get a rehab similar to events in You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates with her portrayed as kinda right for her general pushy attitude. At least that’s what it felt like to me. Not much of a lesson learned. Star Wars does not need to be the most substantive of universes but with the lesson being “it’s not her but all of them” seems ill-conceived.
Jod (Jude Law) or Silvo or whatever name he actually has gets captured easily by his pirates and put on trial but is able to con his way to at least to a stay of execution by promising them the treasure of At Attin. Despite his previous betrayal Law makes the character charming. He is no tough guy but relies consistently his wits and verbal skill.
I like how Zero Friends Again introduces some new Star Wars creatures called trash crabs. When you think about them they make no sense but in the world of Star Wars they make perfect sense. In that respect this show has recaptured the Star Wars vibe. Fun space opera. That does not help always. No offense to Jaleel White but when he tries to play a threatening cyborg pirate it’s just kind of funny. The voice he uses makes it unintentionally silly.
There’s been a little bit of inconsistency in the portrayal of SM-33 (voice of Nick Frost) which pops up once again here. I get why he started out as a friendly robot but when his memories were reactivated he clearly became a threatening enforcer and here he is dispatched with one blast as he was before. My point being: what is he? Can he be a threat or is he just comic relief? I’m fine with either, but stick with one.
Zero Friends Again is fun and entertaining. It moves the story long though in inches and not by miles. With two episodes left this does feel like we are building to some type of finale but with so much dangling we could end up with one or two overstuffed episodes.
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Despite my issues, I am enjoying Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The episodes are short enough that they don’t overstay their welcome and they manage to pack in a good amount of fun or story or development or all three. If I had any complaints it would be my usual that Lucasfilm or Disney or whoever makes the decisions on runtime needs to be less concerned with arbitrary lengths of seasons and more concerned with quality of what actually is released.
Jude Law and everyone in the cast are doing an excellent job of creating interesting characters. It was nice to see KB finally get a moment to shine. I would like to see more of her relationship with Fern since in the most recent episode she carries some resentment towards her friend. I am bothered that Wim is too much in the background given the aesthetic they are going for.
Something occurred to me during the recap sequence before Zero Friends Again. It was during the brief moment when they showed Tak Rennod’s hologram. You can’t see anything of the pirate but the voice sounds a whole lot like SM-33’s voice. Now I know they mentioned Rennod having a concubine but if you remember there is the implication that in Solo: A Star Wars story that Lando was having sex with his copilot robot L3-37.
My point being I am declaring here and now officially that SM-33 is the legendary captain. Either somehow a portion of his memory got removed or he’s playing coy until he can get to At Attin. Something more is going on with him but he is definitely the legendary captain. It would make sense given some clues but confusing since he took the kids away from the planet.
Given the general status of droids in Star Wars it wouldn’t be improbable for people to be unaware that Tak Rennod is actually a droid. They are generally treated as second class citizens or even no better than you would treat a Roomba yet display a level of complexity and emotions that make them human. It would be refreshing for it used as a twist.
Even with some issues Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is still very enjoyable. It’s fun and exciting and feels like more of a throwback to Star Wars of old than anything that Disney has recently tried. I am excited for the final episodes and hope they maintain if not improve upon the quality of what they have given us.
Warren Watched A Movie 