Maxance Vincent
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the seventh episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
The opening scene of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s seventh episode shows promise. Director Lee Isaac Chung harkens back to the opening scene of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extraterrestrial as the parents of the children are being chased by unseen security droids who attempt to stun them from sending a transmitter into outer space. Each of the parents gets stunned, but not before Fara (Kerry Condon) successfully sends the transmitter beyond At Attin’s barrier.
This will prove helpful later down the line, but for now, the kids are finding their way back home via the newly refurbished Onyx Cinder. As they arrive to At Attin, however, Brutus (Fred Tatasciore) captures the ship under Jod Na Nawood’s (Jude Law) advice, stating the vessel may be the key to crossing the barrier. Brutus has not believed Jod’s stories since the beginning and believes the planet they are in front of is inhabitable. But when one of their X-wings is set to investigate, they realize that the barrier is penetrable, with the planet on the other side.
Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) are now prisoners of Brutus’ ship until Jod betrays the pirate and kills him. It’s rather shocking but not unexpected since we all knew that the man was not to be trusted from the beginning. He now takes control of the Onyx Cinder and is on his way down to At Attin to find out if the treasure indeed exists. Before he does, Fern uses the pirate code to get SM-33 (Nick Frost) to take the kids’ side, which leads to the robot knocking out Jod and flying straight to At Attin.
The action scene that follows is quite effective, as the kids realize the ship doesn’t get electrified because it’s from At Attin itself. Tak Rennod managed to find the treasure by using one of their ships! Chung’s experience in blockbuster filmmaking has significantly improved since he directed the best episode of The Mandalorian – Season 3 because he now has the experience of crafting large-scale action with tangible stakes through Twisters under his belt. One can tell he enjoys moving the camera in fun places to create a sense of tension, but once the kids figure out they are fine, the stakes of the action scene are ultimately removed.
That respite is short-lived because Jod wakes up and targets SM-33, who thinks he can knock him down again until Jod’s lightsaber decapitates his head. To be honest, this is probably the best way to use such an iconic object to remind audiences that he obtained a lightsaber at the end of the fifth episode. This immediately raises the stakes, as Jod now takes the children hostage to the At Attin vault. Arriving on the planet, Jod poses himself as a Republic Emissary to access the mint and confirm if the treasure is real.
Meanwhile, Jod’s crew (which he took from Brutus) are waiting for his signal, but communications are jammed outside the barrier. No matter. For now, it’s all about the treasure. When he – and the children – eventually realize that, yes, the underground of At Attin is filled with endless imperial credits, it’s hard not to get infatuated. Jod is completely beside himself. At the same time, the kids’ parents are called upon by the planet’s security droids, and they reunite with their respective children.
That emotional reunion is short-lived since Jod approaches them with his lightsaber. The episode ends next, which honestly felt a bit haphazard. There’s lots of emotional tension throughout and plenty of moving parts. Yet, such a cliffhanger felt underwhelming, particularly when we will likely see who the planet’s “supervisor” really is. Maybe it needed another scene to wrap things up before leaving us hanging for the finale. It felt like a relatively minor complaint since most of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been the breath of fresh air this franchise desperately needed, and there’s only one episode left to go and all is set to be revealed!
The seventh episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is now available to stream on Disney+.
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