Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Ep 6 Review
There comes a time in most heroes journeys where they hit rock bottom. For the Skeleton Crew (that’s what Wookiepedia calls the At Attin kids), they’ve hit it. Jod’s turned on them, SM-33 has abandoned them, and now the coordinates to their home are in the hands of a pirate. A pirate that will sell out the location of At Attin the first chance he gets to save his skin. They managed to get away, but what can they hope to do to save their home when they can’t even agree on a plan?
If you’ve seen The Goonies and E.T.: The Extraterrestial, you know there’s plenty they can still do.
Jod the Silvertongue Weasels His Way Out of Trouble Again
Thanks to some quick thinking on Wim’s part, the Skeleton Crew escapes capture by the now hostile SM-33 and Jod. However, they find themselves at literal and metaphorical rock bottom when their escape route leaves them stranded at the bottom of Skull Ridge Mountain. The only silver lining is that KB saved the coordinates to At Attin in her augments, meaning they have the means to get home. However, that’s little comfort, considering Jod also has the coordinates, which could lead pirates to take the planet.
Which is exactly what Jod plans to do once his former crew captures him (and puts SMEE offline by blaster bolt.) As his former first mate sentences him to death, Jod uses his silver tongue to craft a rather convincing speech. Citing the fact that few, if any, of the pirates choose to be pirates but do so out of necessity, he offers them the score of a lifetime. If they make it to At Attin, they could become the richest people in the galaxy. And if there’s one thing consistently value, it’s the allure of money. That’s something that’s true about almost every pirate since time immemorial. And it works, winning Jod a stay of execution if he can actually get them to At Attin.
It’s still unclear whether or not Jod was ever a Jedi, but even if he used to be one, it doesn’t matter. All that changes is that he’s another survivor of Order 66 who turned his back on what it means to be a Jedi. Given how his survival stems on making it to At Attin, though, there’s a 50/50 chance he might not live past the end of the story.
Fern, a Good Leader Can Admit When they’re Wrong
Meanwhile, the Skeleton Crew is facing their own problems. Fern’s continued insistence on doing things her way, even when she doesn’t know what she’s doing, has alienated her from her best friend, KB. As this episode reveals, the cybernetics that she wears have kept her alive after some sort of terrible accident. And, after days of running around dangerous places, they’re on the verge of breaking down. So when Fern suggests they climb up the mountain instead of looking for help, KB tears into her for being inconsiderate and selfish. And, she’s not wrong.
Fern might have the take-charge attitude a leader might need, but as the show’s made clear, she’s as in over her head as the other kids. In a way, she’s a foil to Jod. Both are leaders that act like they know what they’re doing, but that only makes their mistakes all the more blatant. So to keep her from ending up like Jod, Fern has to learn the hard way that she’s not always right and that a good leader listens to other ideas. Case in point, when she and Neel climb the mountain alone, she listens to his problems with climbing and finds a solution by tying him to her via rope.
KB, Don’t Be Afraid to Admit You Can’t Do Something
Meanwhile, KB opens up to Wim as they try (unsuccessfully) to find help. She puts up with Fern’s selfishness because she is KB’s only friend and the only one to treat her normally after the accident that left her disabled. While that can be a good thing, in this instance, it isn’t. To be fair, KB admits to Wim that she didn’t say anything earlier because she didn’t want to admit her disability was a problem. That, and she didn’t want to lose her only friend. But she does gain one in Wim after he saves her life.
Too bad Wim’s streak of trusting the wrong people continues.
Now the Cinder is a Real Starship!
In any event, the Skeleton Crew doesn’t need to reach the Cinder. The snooty spa staff throw it down there to be scrapped! Thankfully, they make it to the ship in time and, in a demonstration of their growing competence, manage to get it flying all by themselves. However, that’s not enough to get them to safety, forcing them to take drastic measures. The end result is that the Cinder reveals its true form.
It turns out, when Rennod armored the Cinder for the journey to At Attin, he had added an entire exoskeleton to the ship. Once they jettison it to escape a smelter, we get our first look at the true Onyx Cinder. If the Cinder up until now is an ugly pickup truck, the true Cinder is a hot rod. She’s fast, maneuverable, and fits the bill for cool starship. She’d fit right alongside the Falcon, Ghost, and other iconic ships.
The race is on to get to At Attin before the pirates, and this time, the Skeleton Crew might be a bit more competent than Jod would think. But with the new Cinder, they have a fighting chance. As for what happens after they get home, they better find a way to keep the Cinder. It’s way too cool to let the adults running the planet to have!
