Skeleton Crew Episode 6 Review
‘Skeleton Crew’ episode six slows down to give some focus on KB, the only kid in the four that’s not had any real development and backstory until now. It’s a heartfelt exploration that helps to focus on invisible disabilities, giving a relatable voice to those kids who experience something similar to her. Meanwhile Jod is taken back to the pirates, who now have the coordinates of At Attin and are now going to plunder it in the final episodes. There’s some action put to the back of the episode, concluding as the kids get a new ship to fly home
Following the last episode with Jod’s betrayal, the kids now find themselves tumbling down gigantic pipes. There’s plenty of screaming, though at the bottom there isn’t a pit of spikes or anything else, just an easy exit that shoots the kids out safely to the bottom of the cliff. Except KB, who can seemingly no longer move, thanks to damage to her augmentations. It’s quickly patched, but it’s clear that KB is stressed that her augs will need proper fixing, as without them she’s disabled.
This sense of stress spreads to the rest of the team, especially after X-Wings ignore the children’s calls for help, instead flying after pirates. It’s a deflating moment, and Fern attempts to come up with a solution. She suggests climbing up to the top of the cliff, something that Wim disagrees with and distresses KB. They both want to follow some sci-fi hermit crabs for help. Neel and Fern split off to climb, while KB and Wim investigate the crabs. This is a fun alternative pair, as the two hotheads of the group split off with each other’s right hand man.
Sticking with Wim and KB, the two chat, until Wim realises that KB can’t move, and that her augs are once again failing. This leads into the best and most heartfelt scene in the episode, with KB guiding Wim on how to fix her augs, and explaining to him that they allow her act normal, leading to friends like Fern to thinking that there is nothing wrong with her at all, except there are still somethings that she can’t do and reminding Fern of that might cause her to have no friends.
Kyriana Kratter, the actress for KB, delivers this with a soft, quiet voice, and gives a character that many young people can see themselves in, inside this franchise behemoth. To cap this exchange off, Wim says that she can always be friends with her and Neel, and after fixing KB’s augs, she casually says she was very close to dying, thanking Wim by calling him a Jedi. Wim has always wanted to be a Jedi, so it’s a great character moment for him too.
The pair find out that the crabs aren’t leading them to something that can help. Instead a giant alien crab with tons of recognisable junk like an R2 model and more. Lucasfilm has since revealed this creature was made with stop-motion animation, allowing them to give detail to the crab, and handcrafted what would go on it with old models. It’s a classic bit of ‘Star Wars’ design.
Fern learns the lesson that not everyone is like her through Neel, who can’t climb like her. She does help him, a sweet moment, and hopefully this episode teaches Fern the importance of sticking together. The pair see the Onyx Cinder being hauled to a trash heap, and manage to hitch a ride on the haulage vehicles, saving KB and Wim. There’s a quick reunion, but the kids quickly realise their ship is about to be crushed, rapidly kicking off the next action set piece. A droid programmed to disassemble trash threatens the ship, but by working together the kids shed the shell of the Onyx Cinder, revealing a much more sleek and beautiful ship beneath. The metaphor here is that the kids have also shed their outer layers, and are now more cohesive as a team. Now, Attin coordinates in hand, they can finally fly home.
Jod has a smaller but no less important story. He’s recaptured by the pirates, treasure around his neck, and dragged to Captain Brutus, who wants to sentence him to walk the plank, er, get shot out of an airlock. Jod though reveals his powers of persuasion with a well-written speech, saying that he can lead them to At Attin, no doubt setting up a showdown between the citizens of At Attin and the pirates.
Overall, episode six saw brilliant development for KB. It was a shorter episode, with the action pushed to the last few minutes. Jude Law also keeps shining in his scene, performing a well-crafted speech before singing a space shanty. It’s generally enjoyable, with a pirate invasion looming for the finale.
