Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Ep 5 Review
Pirates. They seem cool, and they can be cool, until you remember the majority of them are criminals. Criminals who want to take your valuables, hold you for ransom, and maybe even sell you into slavery if you’re really unlucky. Few, if any, pirates are going to be like Monkey D. Luffy, something the kids of At Attin are starting to learn. Just when they finally have At Attin in reach, Jod, their ostensible ally, has to go pirate on them!
The Parents are Starting to Lose Patience With Everything
Back on At Attin, the parents are growing more and more frustrated with their government’s inaction over finding their kids. Wim’s dad and Neel’s mom openly attempt to steal an access code that could let them send a beacon past the Barrier, only to get caught by a droid. Fern’s mom has to wipe the droid’s memory to cover for them, but this is only a temporary solution. The longer they wait, the more frustrated the parents will become, until they finally lose patience.
This…is a good thing. At Attin has been cut off from the galaxy for so long, it’s inhabitants don’t even realize that the Republic they serve no longer exists. They’ve sacrificed progress in favor of security, which has led to the current situation. Maybe the outcome of this show will be what encourages the people of At Attin to begin exploring the galaxy. They don’t know it, but this episode reveals that they’re more important than the kids realize.
A Former Pirates Base is Now…a Spa?
Back with the kids, a subdued SMEE reveals he only followed his old captain’s orders on reflex, but won’t anymore. More importantly, he namedrops his previous captain’s identity: Tak Rennod. According to Jod, Rennod was a legendary pirate who plundered his way across the galaxy before he disappeared. Turns out, his crew mutinied and killed him en route to At Attin, but he got the last laugh by locking them out of the Cinder’s controls. The ship crashed, killed everyone aboard, and was left to rot until the kids found it. More importantly, Rennod hid the coordinates to their home in his old lair in a place called Demon’s Rest. A fitting name for a stereotypical pirate.
When they get there, though, they find something worse than an old lair of pirates. Some elite-types turned the place into a luxury spa, much to SMEE’s horror and the others amusement.
It was very amusing to see the staunch pirate droid SMEE look at the beautiful resort like its the pits of Hell. Considering how the place was once home to a group of famous pirates, though, his frustration is understandable. A group of strangers ignorantly set up a luxury resort without realizing the true value of the place. It’s pretty frustrating, though SMEE isn’t the only one who’s feeling frustrated.
Jod is at His Limit
It becomes clear in this episode that Jod is reaching the limits of his patience with the kids. He knows that his old crew is closing in on him, and he wants to find what they need and get out of dodge. But the kids continue to be kids, making him more irritable as they continue to get them in trouble. While he does sort of care about them (at least Wim), he’s ready to end this partnership once they find At Attin.
As for Rennod’s lair and the entrance to it, it is very much like the stereotypical potrayal of pirates. In other words, booby traps, pitfalls, and pools of acid they have to get past. By the time they get to the lair and find Rennod’s log, it’s obvious Disney was taking pages from their many other portrayals of pirates. A holo-recording of Tak Rennod even has a hat that looks like one Davy Jones wears in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!
At Attin Really is Home to an Eternal Treasure
This episode also reveals why At Attin is considered legendary. Many fans guessed that it was some sort of redoubt that the Old Republic built for an important purpose. They were right: At Attin is home to the last intact Old Republic mint. It’s been churning out Old Republic credits for likely centuries on end, ignorant to the fact they’re worth a fortune to the rest of the galaxy. He who controls At Attin could become the richest person in the galaxy!
Which then leads Jod to turn on the kids. After challenging Fern to one-on-one combat, Jod forces her to yield, making him the new Captain and the kids his prisoners. Now that he knows where At Attin is, he could use that to regain the loyalty of his crew. With an army of pirates at his disposal, At Attin would be overrun, putting everyone present in danger. In other words, the kids might have doomed their home.
How Will the Kids Outwit a Bunch of Pirates
Since this is a Star Wars show made by Disney, there’s no doubt that the kids will find a way out of this mess. However, given the harsh reality check this entire trip has been, will they even have the will to keep going? They’re going to need to if they want to save their home from an army of pirates! But if fiction has taught me anything, it’s that you shouldn’t underestimate someone just because they’re kids.
