‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ Episode Eight Recap: “The Real Good Guys”

*Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the eighth episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew*

After seven good-to-great episodes, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew unfortunately ends with a fairly unceremonious finale. Perhaps it’s saving things for a (potential) second season, but even then, writer/director Jon Watts and co-writer Christopher Ford don’t stick the landing and try to cram in far too many plotlines in such a short amount of time. It makes the stakes feel less palpable and the show’s final scene more perplexing than rewarding.

Credit where credit is due, however: the finale goes all-in on some nifty action, well-captured by cinematographer Sean Porter and maintains a thrilling sense of pace as Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), KB (Kyriana Kratter) and Wendle (Tunde Adebimpe) attempt to save Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and Fara (Kerry Condon) from Jod Na Nawood’s (Jude Law) clutches. Jod lets all the children and their family members go, except for Fern and her mother. They are going to see the supervisor (Stephen Fry), who turns out to be…a droid. Hmmm…where have I seen this plot twist in a Disney+ show before? If I had a nickel when this happened, I’d have two nickels…

Could it have been a better, more fulfilling twist if it was Tak Rennod controlling the mint of At Attin? Definitely. Could this twist we’re unfortunately stuck with work if it wasn’t treated like an afterthought? Of course – and that’s the most disappointing aspect of the whole thing. Any sense of danger – or urgency – is immediately removed when Jod destroys the supervisor with his lightsaber and shuts off all power. We also discover that the parents all knew the supervisor was a droid. Still, it wasn’t built up the way it should’ve been, rendering it fairly innocuous in the overarching story, even though it constantly pointed out that its identity would be revealed in the finale and be an important part of the series. After having seen it, I can confirm it was not. 

While the pirates invade At Attin, Wim tells his father that they must help the planet and free Fern from Jod. Wendle, the overprotective dad he is, doesn’t want him to get in any harm’s way. It’s understandable, but he doesn’t grasp that, through his adventure, the child has learned to become far more self-confident in accomplishing tasks he never thought possible. When Neel and KB come to Wim’s garage and tell him of their plan, he immediately boards a hoverbike and heads towards the Onyx Cinder. Wendle, at first, is furious and follows the children. But when he – and the others – are chased by a group of pirates, he starts to loosen up and enjoy the adrenaline rush of being on an adventure where the impossible becomes possible. 

This entire arc was well-executed. The same can be said for Fara, becoming more rebellious, just like her daughter, to thwart Jod’s invasion plan. While Wendle restores power so KB can fly the Onyx Cinder out of the barrier to contact Kh’ymm (Alia Shawkat) for help, Jod tells the family he learned the ways of the Force through a Jedi, who was executed during Order 66. That’s a relatively dark backstory for such a complex character. However, Law still infuses much emotional depth in his portrayal that we ultimately feel for his plight, even if his façade may be the greatest deception. 

Kh’ymm calls the New Republic to destroy the Frigate over At Attin, but the barrier remains. Luckily, Wendle and Fara help each other to shut off the barrier (while Jod attempts to restrain the two with a rather powerful use of the Force). Once it’s destroyed, the X-wings arrive and save the day. Jod’s pirate crew gets obliterated while the captain looks at the planet with a twinkle in his eye. What is he thinking? Who knows, because this is the (potentially, from the looks of its ratings) last image of Jod Na Nawood we’ll see. 

After the battle ends rather conveniently, the children and parents reunite with KB, the story’s true hero. They are happy for a bit, and Fern tells Wim, “At least you don’t have to do Assessment anymore.” Wim, with a smile on his face, looks up at the sky. Then, the scene cuts to black. The end. That’s it??? After all of that? One throwaway sentence, and it’s over? Not even a fleeting moment with Wendle, who finally understands what his son has desperately craved after living it, or Fara apologizing to her daughter for not realizing her potential all along? Jeez, so much for investing ourselves in these characters, and we can’t even get a proper send-off or at least one additional scene to wrap everything up nicely (since the future of this show remains uncertain). Guess I’ll just end this recap here, then, for the fun of it. 

All episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are now available to stream on Disney+.