Chris Connor reviews the fourth episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew…
Skeleton Crew has steadily built momentum across its opening three episodes with our crew of kids and Jude Law’s Jod evading pirates, x-wings and more. They now seemingly have the co-ordinates to At Attin, or do they? As it turns out the co-ordinates recovered at the end of the previous episode have taken them to At Achrann, a sister planet. Unlike the peaceful, prosperous world they kids call home, this world is a war zone and they find themselves in the midst of a conflict between the Troiks and Hattans.
It is a smart move to put our protagonists who seemed oblivious to previous conflicts in the franchise, into a scenario like this. The episode cleverly juxtaposes many of the locations with those on At Attin, with the group taking refuge in a bombed-out school. The aesthetic differences make At Achrann feel closer to George Lucas’s original films. Perhaps unintentionally the episode feels similar to some of the Classic era of Doctor Who from its visuals to warring tribes, even down to the names of the warring tribes.
One of the main draws here will be the involvement of Oscar-winning directors The Daniels’ behind Everything Everywhere All At Once and Swiss Army Man. This is certainly not as unorthodox as some of their other work but shows they have a natural understanding of the universe in an episode that romps along, at just over 30 minutes but cramming in plenty of detail and world-building. The show has taken care in assembling a team of creatives who suit the story and care about making something fans will enjoy.
As it reaches its midway point, Skeleton Crew continues to impress in many areas from its more standalone story to the performances and visuals. It’s thrilling to encounter so many new worlds within the space of such a short number of episodes and such tonally distinct ones at that, from the pirate port, moon world and war zone there is plenty for fans to revel in with each offering an element to the wider story.
We have begun to peel back some of the mystery surrounding what may be on At Attin and why it is so hard for the wider galaxy to find. Lets hope the show maintains its momentum in its second half, with the potential to deliver one of Disney’s best Star Wars live-action projects to date.
Chris Connor