Maxance Vincent
*Warning: The following article contains spoilers for episode six of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew*
After such an explosive cliffhanger ending, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew dials things down a bit with one of its shortest episodes and instead further develops one specific character who hadn’t had her time to shine until now. With Bryce Dallas Howard’s deft personal touch as a director, the episode is, in my opinion, the show’s best. Blending some of the kookier elements of Star Wars with character-driven storytelling, “Zero Friends Again” manages to do a lot in very little to set up the last arc of its narrative leading towards the finale.
Dallas Howard has been a true revelation in directing after she made her debut on the scene with an episode of The Mandalorian. Since then, she has consistently delivered some of the best work in live-action Star Wars, not only through her deep reverence for the source material but with her ease in giving the best performances out of its lead actors. Case in point: Jude Law’s screentime as Jod Na Nawood is sparse, but he more than makes the most out of his limited presence with an impassioned monologue that sets the last episodes in motion.
As he and SM-33 (Nick Frost) are captured by pirates and sentenced to “execution by airlock” (yikes), he gives them one last plea that treasure is right around the corner and will be found if they travel to At Attin. Brutus (Fred Tatasciore) reluctantly accepts but warns Jod (or “Captain Silvo”) that if he is lying, the airlock is waiting for him. This is the only scene we get with Jod, but it makes us understand his deceiving nature more. He’s never cared about the children or in the central mission of bringing them back home. They were only fodder to help him on his quest to find At Attin until they were no longer needed.
That much is clear, but it’s incredible how he can effectively swindle Brutus’ crew yet again after doing so (likely) many times. However, the prospect of At Attin’s treasure sounds too good to be true, which prompts Brutus to investigate to see if Jod’s story holds weight to how he attracted them to team up with him again! There’s likely to be a massive twist revealed in the finale pertaining to the treasure, but, as it stands, it’s fun to see Jod getting out of an impossible situation by promising them something that isn’t as fruitful as Tak Rennod said it was in last week’s episode.
“Zero Friends Again” spends more time with Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and KB (Kyriana Kratter). After arguing about the safest way to reach their ship, they are separated from Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) and Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). Dallas Howard and writer Myung Joh Wesner focus on KB, who is initially introduced as a technologically savvy girl with cool gadgets. However, we soon realize that those objects are a part of her that she cannot live without.
After an unspecified accident, KB now has cybernetic enhancements that make her function, leading Wim to create a new component in her core. In a moment of raw vulnerability, KB explains that her accident caused her to lose all her friends, except for Fern, who has always been on her side. But with diverging views on how they would return to the Onyx Cinder, their friendship with Fern has ground to a punishing halt.
However, after realizing what she has done to KB, Fern eventually apologizes, and the quartet of kids reconcile to return to their ship and leave Lanupa once and for all. This may seem rushed to some, but it perfectly represents the highs and lows kids (and best friends) experience daily. I appreciated how mature Wesner’s writing depicts relationships authentic to children’s experiences and doesn’t exaggerate dramatic situations when friendships come to a head.
But when they realize that this situation is less about themselves and more about the people of At Attin, they figure out a way to get out of what looks to be an impossible situation. In a bravura action sequence between the Onyx Cinder and a garbage machine, a brand-new spaceship is revealed, as their old design perishes, and the crew flies off to rejoin Jod in what could be an epic battle for a non-existent treasure. Time will tell who will be right!
The sixth episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is now available to stream on Disney+.
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