The best thing about Skeleton Crew is that, in a time of uncertainty for the larger Star Wars franchise as it tries to return to cinemas, the show has aptly navigated the universe without linking itself to bigger storylines. This also means a second season never seemed like a necessity, and its season 1 finale doesn’t change that.
‘The Real Good Guys’ has series co-creator Jon Watts returning to the director’s chair after kicking things off with the rather familiar first episode. Much like the premiere, he doesn’t leave At Attin, but this second rodeo is a much more action-packed one. More importantly, he gets to have more fun with Jod Na Nawood’s meaner side, which was fully revealed in episode 7. Payoffs abound too, with every major character having a moment to shine. We’ve complained a lot about the overall structure and pacing, but Skeleton Crew has consistently nailed the character writing and the cast’s chemistry, and that’s greatly felt when everything comes to a head.
Overall, Skeleton Crew’s finale delivers everything that you’d expect from this specific story – with a handful of inspired action sequences and tense highlights – but, oddly enough, it also leaves viewers hanging on a few crucial matters. This doesn’t mean Jon Watts and Christopher Ford were hoping for a season 2 renewal (which might not be on the table as Disney and Lucasfilm reevaluate their streaming strategy), since the main story is perfectly wrapped up by the time the credits roll, but the conclusion does feel abrupt in some regards.
Looking to the future, there are plenty of upcoming Star Wars games to be excited about as well as the return of Andor in 2025 and The Mandalorian & Grogu hitting cinemas in 2026. The Force really will be with us always!
Spoilers ahead for Skeleton Crew episode 8: ‘The Real Good Guys’
Who is At Attin’s Supervisor?
As expected, Jod/Silvo doesn’t hurt anybody at the start of the episode, instead choosing to keep his charade going and visit the Supervisor before making a move on At Attin. It doesn’t happen right away though, as the kids and their parents (except for Fara and her daughter) are sent home under surveillance. The security droids continue to buy Jod’s lies about being a Jedi emissary, as lightsabers are a rare thing and, as far as everyone on the planet knows, the Order is still alive and well.
Fara and Fern accompany Jod to visit the enigmatic Supervisor, who’s revealed to be… just a big AI that’s bound to the city’s tower. Whether it’s got ties to Tak Rennod and the fact he reached the hidden planet a long time ago is never answered, but we know that Stephen Fry voiced it.
Sure, having At Attin’s population serve a droid for many generations and cut off from the rest of the galaxy without ever questioning the Great Plan is a nice kicker, especially when we consider the times we live in, but it’s also a strangely straightforward reveal after all the Rennod lore dumps.
It doesn’t escape us that SM-33 referenced the legendary pirate captain biting it after reaching the planet (the Onyx Cinder was full of skeletons after all), but this specific droid has been quite the liar (or at least half-truther) over the course of the season, so excuse us if we weren’t buying that. No weird, decrepit dude stuck inside the massive machine either.
Regardless, Jod quickly ‘takes care’ of the Supervisor, and by that we mean he sticks his lightsaber into its ‘eye’ and shuts down the command center and most of the city’s systems with it. It seems the Trade Federation inherited this fatal flaw from the techies that designed these cities for the Old Republic. This also means the Barrier is effectively shut down, so you know what comes next.
What is Jod Na Nawood’s origin story?
As Wim, his father (now reliving his childhood), Neel, and KB speeder-bike their way across a city under fire and about to be pillaged by Jod/Silvo’s crew, the villain finally reveals where his Force powers come from: He never became a Jedi, but he did briefly train under the guidance of a member of the Order who was on the run after Order 66. By the way, the Supervisor was aware of what had happened to the Republic and the Jedi over the years, which explains why it’d kept a lid on At Attin and its operations.
No flashback is needed, as he states the experience was short-lived; the Empire found his master before he could finish his training and escape a life of poverty, and soon he was alone again. There was no trickery at play here. He really can use the Force, but this is why he’d kept it a secret until it was useful to convince a bunch of children that he was a good guy. For an unscrupulous swindler that’s a nice set of skills to have, but with the Empire in control for over 20 years, a Force-sensitive pirate’s life wasn’t a smooth ride.
In the end, he’s defeated by a team effort – that almost costs the gang more than one life (Watts always does a good job of selling real danger) – that includes the fazed parents believing and supporting their children. Wim gets to briefly become a Jedi, and Jod knows when to surrender in order to live to fight another day, so he stands down and quietly witnesses the downfall of his promised kingdom when the cavalry comes knocking and guns blazing. That rumored Jod-centric spinoff now sounds like a real possibility.
What’s next for At Attin?
Disarming Jod was only half the problem, and the other half was solved by KB piloting the Onyx Cinder (with Neel’s fire support) above At Attin’s atmosphere and contacting Kh’ymm, who’d previously told them she could help. In fact, she already tried to back on her moon, and we know for a fact the New Republic forces have been hitting pirates hard in recent times. Also: We were delighted to learn that SM-33 was operational (sort of) after getting decapitated.
At Attin is (of course) not far away from a fast hyperspace lane, which allows a group of X-Wings, B-Wings (we’d missed them), and a CR90 corvette to rapidly arrive and take down the pirates. While the series’ focus was never on space/aerial battles, we’ve received a handful of good ones in this season. Will one of the kids be inspired by the ace pilots of the New Republic and take flight in the future? We’d love to see it happen.
So, this self-contained story ends with At Attin and its inhabitants ready to get their minds blown by everything that’s transpired beyond the Barrier and Jod either being captured by the New Republic or scurrying away somehow. The overall feeling is that we may see many of these characters again, but where or under which circumstances are the relevant questions to ask. Despite the positive reception, it seems that the viewership numbers haven’t been great, so we’re not expecting to see a second season (though we’d love to see it).
In any case, Skeleton Crew’s relatively simple mix of nostalgic adventures and pirate lore that work on their own and without ties to the main Star Wars mythos should be considered a win. After The Acolyte taking too long to entice enough viewers and the recent efforts by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni perhaps leaning too much on knowledge of animated shows, this is the first non-Andor live-action show that’s felt refreshing and unburdened in quite a while.
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