– Spoiler Review –
With a mysterious stranger guiding their escape, will the kids from At Attin find their way home or more trouble? In Skeleton Crew’s third episode, “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem,” keeps up the fun pace, answers some and provides more questions for its mysteries, and really lets the main cast thrive.
Skeleton Crew’s “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem” starts off on At Attin, with the parents of Neel, Fern, Wim, and KB gathered in Fara’s home, awaiting word from the ‘safety’ droids on the whereabouts on the kids. My initial belief Fara knew more about the planet than she was letting on in the opening episode seems a bit dashed here, as she’s as in belief of the system they are under as anyone else, expecting the droids to deliver everything back to normal and just as eager to meet with the Supervisor when it’s determined the kids won’t be chased after due to ‘illegally’ leaving the planet. KB’s moms, Garree (M.J. Kang) and Maree (Cass Buggé), and Neel’s mom Nooma (Geneve Carr voices, Dawn Diniger performs), all seem to be in a similar boat, believing in the system of At Attin, but the episode focuses this scene in on Wendle, Wim’s dad. I found the focus to be purposeful, as he doesn’t say as much as the others, Nooma even offering him a comforting drink and he doesn’t speak to her, and he seems a little less surprised than anyone else about the droids’ news. Does he know more about At Attin than the others? Were Wendle and Wim’s mother not originally from At Attin? Or am I reading too much into things? Will he help push them to do something, anything to locate the kids, even if it goes against the system/Supervisor? I look forward to the parent’s parts going forward, as I’m sure they’ll start to push at the cracks of their perfect world to find their children.
As for the kids themselves, I really appreciated their approach to dealing with Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), as while Wim might instantly trust him because he projected Jedi on the Force-sensitive pirate, and Neel sort of goes along because he’s just a good friend, Fern and KB don’t give Jod as much leeway. Whether it’s during the middle of their escape, while he’s setting up the ship before they demand him to go get SM-33, or even when they need to flee from ‘the goons’ aka New Republic X-wings, neither Fern nor KB give him much quarter. Whereas I felt like KB had the shorter end of the stick across the opening two episodes, she gets more of her moment here, just as unafraid to reveal she doesn’t trust Jod to his face as she is to tell Fern when she’s being rude. She understands Jod is both a problem and yet their best way home, retaining a connection to the cute, little, and intriguing astronomer Kh’ymm they meet later in the episode, while forcing Jod to agree to a deal where they retain control of the ship and he’s to work for them. Before said deal, as much as Wim believes Jod’s a Jedi, as the four kids discuss the, at least to them, absurd news At Attin could be home to treasure, with Neel suggesting it could have something to do with the Great Work and Wim wondering if it does have to do with Old Republic money they have, Wim quickly hides their credits when he walks into the room so it’s clear they all don’t fully trust Jod. When Fern and KB force him to make the deal at the end, he even reveals he played along with Wim’s suggestion he was a Jedi, admitting he never said it, so at least the truth is mostly out there and everyone’s on the same page about their would-be savior, so I’ll be interested to see how that effects their dynamic with Jod, and how he responds, going forward. Overall with the kids, I’m glad KB finally took more of a center stage this episode and I hope the show continues to balance all four, plus Law’s character, just as well going forward.
Speaking of Jod, “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem” doesn’t wait long to confirm the theory most of us had about him being the helmeted Captain Silvo in the opening episode, as it’s first spoken over a loudspeaker once they all escape and later when a ‘friend’ to Silvo finds him trying to spirit away SM-33. Benjar Pranic (voiced by Alfred Molina, of all people!), an Ishi Tib, seems friendly enough when he catches Jod wheeling away SM-33, offering a drink of tea and a person to bare his woes to, but trust and pirates don’t go very far, as he makes the insinuation he’ll have to tell new Captain Brutus about running into Jod/Silvo, with the episode cutting away when a decision on how to respond settles on Jod’s face. Jod’s potential for violence remains at the forefront despite his smile, as he later takes the knife from one of the ship’s skeletons moments before a fun scene between him and the reactivated SM-33, who clearly doesn’t trust Jod at all, and I look forward to the tension between these two, especially given how he’s now working for the kids, making SM-33 basically another one of his bosses. It’s at Kh’ymm’s moon observatory we find out Jod has a third name, Crimson Jack, and it’s this name which prompts the New Republic to come and attempt to arrest him. Crimson Jack is the name of a pirate first introduced in the comics from Marvel back in 1970’s, and who made his first canon appearance in 2022’s Halcyon Legacy miniseries from Marvel, so is the name more like ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ shtick from The Princess Bride (don’t tell anyone I only saw this for the first time two years ago) and people take up the mantle from time to time? I mean, the Crimson Jack from Legends/canon looks a lot like he’d be comfortable in the Scottish Highlands and the other like…Jude Law, so it would make the most sense and is a fun development about the world of pirates overall, unless that’s just him riding other’s coattails in his quest for treasure. What other hats has Jod worn? What pirating has he been responsible for over the years? As for him not being a Jedi, while no one watching likely assumed he would be, it seems very clear he is truly Force-sensitive now, leaving open even more questions, like how much training did he receive, if any? And if he did, by whom was he trained? He seems like he could’ve been old enough to be around for Order 66, so the gamut is wide open. And what will he say or do if he learns about the Jedi are back? Some layers of Jod’s mystery were peeled back, but more have opened and Skeleton Crew seems to be pacing these moments well enough I don’t have any worry we’ll learn more soon.
Kh’ymm’s eccentric nature and hoarding sensibilities lead us to some more answers about the mysteries of At Attin, another thing Skeleton Crew feels like it’s revealing at an enjoyable pace. According to Kh’ymm, At Attin is one of the Jewels of the Old Republic, a collection of planets known for and hid from the galaxy due to their treasures, but somehow all of them were destroyed, besides one: At Attin. If it’s been hidden since the Old Republic, it makes sense why they have Old Republic credits and maybe even helps explains how they’d know about Alderaan but not its destruction (or the war), yet it leaves one to wonder how often they receive news/updates about the rest of the galaxy, as the Great Works was during the High Republic era, so the potential last check-in was at least more recent than the Old Republic. Have they been cut off since then? If so…why? On purpose, to hide them from the Nihil at that time? Or by a fluke of bureaucracy? Or is it the mysterious Supervisor’s fault? I’m already intrigued enough but I won’t be mad if we can keep getting little morsels like this as the show goes on.
As for Kh’ymm, voiced wonderfully by Alia Shawkat (who recently captivated as Levi in Scavengers Reign), she can have my sword, my bow, AND my axe as I would totally die for her. I’m curious about the level of mixture between practical and special effects, though I’m guessing somewhat similar to how Neel’s been brought to life*, but it’s clear she’s a puppet mostly and she looks exceptional regardless when it’s CGI or the puppet, while I loved the idea of an astronomer in the galaxy far, far away, gazing at the various planets, and lastly the fact she’s basically an owl is just adorable. It was interesting to see her get all caught up in the mystery of their planet, so much so she forgets she was trying to stall them to get the kids out of Jod’s hands and into New Republic prison, which feels very relatable and fitting for a seeming recluse. I also quite enjoyed her kicking Jod onto his ass once he starts shooting at her, after he understands she’s stalling, as it was funny and a very surprising display of strength. I’m curious about her past now as well, how did she come to know Jod as Crimson Jack? What checkered past does she have? And why does she now work with the New Republic? Having the X-wings that arrive shoot ion blasts because of the kids was a little, but important thing to distinguish, while having the children shoot at them with real blasters felt a little wonky given the potential to kill someone, but it was still fun to see Wim getting caught up in the action, much like I’d likely do had I been in his spot. Kh’ymm seems to have maybe found At Attin given the information they gave her, though this remains to be seen, as the episode ends with them jumping to hyperspace to the coordinates…part of me believes either the ship will revert out to real space before they arrive due to the damage it’s sustained or it’s not quite the right planet, but we’ll find out next week!
Here are a few other things:
- I really enjoyed the whole sequence on Port Borgo, with them tethered to the fuel line and Jod’s attempts to free them from its connection, while the resulting whiplash of the cord once they jump to hyperspace was such a cool, dangerous moment, adding even more fire under Brutus’ fur to bring down his old captain for good.
- *Clayton Sandell shared insight from Lucasfilm themselves about how the character of Neel was brought to life, which turns out to be a complicated mixture of practical and special effects that, so far throughout the show, it all looks real to me. Lucasfilm also showed some of this in a recent featurette which focuses on the creatures and droids of the series and how they were brought to life, which is where we get to see Kh’ymm as a puppet (so cool), the performer behind SM-33, the mixture for Neel, and more!
- Sandell also pointed out the appearance of what looks to be a ship that’s the same make/model of the Star Tours one in the background of two scenes, potentially setting up an expansion to the ride to include scenes from the show!
- The cast behind the main kids have a short interview with the official site!
- Jon Watts and Christopher Ford break down the Holiday Special reference in the first episode and the lengths they had to go to recreate it, while in an interview with Collider, they revealed they have plans for a second season and will be factoring in the kids’ ages when doing so, hoping to avoid the Stranger Things/Euphoria problem.
- That poor B-1 battle droid, still left wondering if they won or not!
Skeleton Crew’s third episode, “Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem,” does a very good job of pushing the story forward, furthering its mysteries in engaging ways, and still having fun along the way.
+ Revealing some answers and adding more to the various mysteries
+ KB gets more focus but the whole cast has their due
+ Kh’ymm…literally everything about her
– Kids shooting at the good guys played for fun just seemed off
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
SKELETON CREW REVIEWS:
Season One: 1.1/1.2 “This Could Be a Real Adventure” & “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier”