Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 8.
After seven weeks of unforgettable episodes, Skeleton Crew has finally reached the end of the line with its finale. Episode 8, aptly titled "The Real Good Guys," was penned by series co-creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, and directed by Watts. The episode picks up right where the penultimate episode left things last week, with Jod (Jude Law) posing as a visiting Emissary, much to the chagrin of the core four -- Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and KB (Kyriana Kratter) -- who are forced to stand idly by as two of their parents, Fara (Kerry Condon) and Wendle (Tunde Adebimpe), fall for Jod's lies.
After Fara and Wendle question him about their children's behavior while they were on their little joyride, Jod is quick to ensure that the four he's been traveling with are not given the opportunity to reveal his true identity. He orders that they be confined to their quarters and that the droids monitor them, just in case they cause more trouble. Wendle seems taken aback by these drastic measures, but makes no real attempt to thwart them. Noticing that Fern is the most likely to cause trouble for him, Jod suggests that she accompany him to meet the Supervisor, in an effort to teach her about how to behave, and Fara is quick to volunteer to go with them.
From there, the unlikely trio makes their way up the lift to the Supervisor's office, while Wendle takes Wim home to enjoy a nice homecooked meal (which looks surprisingly like a Stouffer's microwave meal). Wendle tries to talk to Wim about making up his assessment test, but Wim protests that "it doesn't matter" and then almost lets slip that Jod isn't even a real Jedi. He stops himself, but not before the outburst piques Wendle's interest -- and the ever-listening droids. Wim tries his best to talk around what he can't say, and settles on telling his father that there are certain people out there who want to ruin things. After dinner, Wim tries to talk with Neel over the radio about coming up with a plan to rescue Fern, but the droids are eavesdropping, and Neel isn't willing to get in trouble with them.
Was That a 'Wizard of Oz' Nod, 'Skeleton Crew'?
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When Jod, Fern, and Fara arrive on the upper floor where the Supervisor is supposed to be, everything feels off. There are rows of abandoned computers, dust covering every surface, and a very eerie, unsettling aura. Jod questions if the place is abandoned, but Fara assures him that everything is in order. As the trio approaches the center of the room, the Supervisor (Stephen Fry) is revealed to be a large droid who has been running things on At Attin! The reveal feels very much like The Wizard of Oz, when the great and powerful Oz is revealed to be nothing more than a man behind a curtain, though in Star Wars, the reveal happens in reverse. The Supervisor notes that he has been watching Fern with "great interest" before turning his attention to the unfamiliar presence in his office. Jod introduces himself as a Republic Emissary and Jedi, and the Supervisor makes a comment about how he believed that no Emissary would ever visit At Attin again. Jod completely overlooks the implication behind that comment, in favor of asking the Supervisor to help him get his other ship through the Barrier, and that spells trouble for him.
The Supervisor calls Jod on his bluff, revealing that the last word that he received from the Republic warned that all Jedi were traitors. So which lie is Jod telling about his true purpose for being on At Attin? The Supervisor orders the droids to apprehend Jod, but before they can complete that task, Jod ignites his lightsaber and drives it into the Supervisor's orbital socket, destroying the droid and causing the entire planet to lose power. As Jod's true intentions are revealed, he tells Fern to "bring your mummy up to speed." Fara insists that she can give his ship the access they need to get through the Barrier, and Jod takes her up on the offer. But not without turning his lightsaber on the mother-daughter duo, to ensure that she follows through with her promise. She is true to her word, and Jod gets word to Gunter (Jaleel White) to bring the frigate through the Barrier so they can launch their attack on At Attin.
Wim Finally Gets His Hero Moment in the 'Skeleton Crew' Finale
Wim and Wendle watch as the frigate descends onto At Attin and begins firing on the poor, unsuspecting citizens of the planet. Wim wants to help, but with the power completely shut off across the planet, very little is working. Luckily, Neel and KB show up on their hoverbikes with a plan to take Kh'ymm (Alia Shawkat) up on her offer from Episode 3 and call in the cavalry to handle their pirate issue. Wendle snags a bike from the bully, Bonjj Phalfa (Shane Almagor), from Episode 1, and joins the children on their harrowing rescue mission.
Wendle and the children are forced to take a shortcut through the forest to shake off the pirates, but Vane (Marti Matulis) and the other pirates tail them all the way back to the Onyx Cinder. Along the way, Neel gets shot off his bike, but thankfully he isn't harmed. In fact, getting separated from the rest of the group proves beneficial, because Neel is able to find a turboblaster like the one he admired with Hayna (Hala Finley) on At Achrann. However, Wim and KB run into a snag in their plans when they arrive at the Onyx Cinder. The ship has docking clamps on it, which is keeping it grounded, and without a power supply, they're stuck. As a Level 7 Systems Coordinator, however, Wendle knows exactly where they need to go to reroute power to the docking clamps.
Back in the Supervisor's office, Jod reminds his pirate crew to keep the citizens of At Attin alive, because he needs them to work for him in the mint. While he plots out his new enterprise on At Attin, Fern starts putting together a plan to take him down. Fara expresses her worries about their situation, noting that they were all supposed to be safe from this sort of danger on At Attin, but Fern assures her that if there's one thing she's learned from her adventure, it's that no matter how scary things got, they always managed to find good people. Fern suggests that their best course of action will be for Fara to distract Jod while she steals a blaster from one of the powered down droids so she can stun Jod. Naturally, Jod catches wind of their scheming and fires off a warning blast to keep them in line.
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'Skeleton Crew' Works for the Same Reason 'Andor' Does
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While Jod broadcasts a message to the whole of At Attin, promising mercy to anyone who follows his orders and agrees to work for him, Wim arrives to put a crimp in Jod's plan. At long last, Wim finally pulls off a convincing ruse! Wim tells Jod that he has sent a message to the B-Wings to come and handle their pirate problem, and gives him the option to surrender now. Jod initially sees through the bluff, seeing that it's impossible to get a message out to anyone with the Barrier still up, but Wim goes on about using some magical crystal they found in the mountains, and Fern feeds into the deception by revealing that Wim has been working with the Jedi all along. Jod is quick to shoot that idea down, since "the Jedi are all dead." But they didn't need Jod to believe them, they just needed to keep him distracted long enough for Wendle to sneak past and allocate power to the docking clamps.
Jod catches on too late to prevent Wendle from fulfilling his mission, and he's so utterly amused by the fact that Wim brought his father with him. It's clear that Jod has a real issue with how loved the children are by their parents. Jod is less amused, however, by Fern's attempt to steal a blaster to take him out, and things quickly start going downhill for the core four. Across town, KB -- with the help of SM-33's (Nick Frost) head -- is able to power up the Onyx Cinder and set off for the stars. Neel uses the turboblaster to distract the pirates long enough for her to get through the Barrier, though the pirates do ultimately destroy the weapon before he can deal too much damage. KB is able to send At Attin's coordinates to Kh'ymm and request assistance, and she promises to send the New Republic (who have become the pirate patrol) to their aid, but unfortunately, KB isn't able to warn her about the Barrier before disaster strikes.
Jod is surprisingly stressed about this turn of events, and tells the children to go watch out the window as KB and the Onyx re-enter At Attin's atmosphere at an alarming rate. He remarks about how "it didn't have to be like this" and seems genuinely remorseful at the prospect of one of the children dying. Fern is distraught, watching in abject horror as the ship crash lands, seemingly killing her best friend, and Wim is angry. While Jod's remorse seems genuine, it doesn't stop him from brandishing his lightsaber and threatening to kill Wim's father when he attempts to make a break for it to pull the lever to lower the Barrier. Wim unleashes a little more vitriol in Jod's direction, finally finding his voice after being relatively hesitant to speak up throughout the series, saying, "You're no Jedi. You lied, and now the real good guys are coming." This declaration from Wim finally unlocks Jod's traumatic backstory, which has been long overdue.
Jod's Backstory Explains A Lot in 'Skeleton Crew'
As pirates are wont to do, Jod launches into a monologue about his past. When he was a child, all he cared about was not starving. This is something that the children on At Attin have been relatively immune to, but Jod has hinted at -- since he scarfed down what little food he could find on the Onyx Cinder after his prison break. He reveals that when he was this hungry child, a Jedi found him, and she gave him hope. He was special, and she wanted to train him and give him a better life, but then she was hunted down, and he was made to watch as she was killed. The moment confirms that Jod is a true morally gray character, and not a villain; though he may do villainous things, he's just a man trying to scrape by and trying to seize an opportunity to steal credits, which is the only thing that matters in the galaxy. Skeleton Crew feels very much like a primer to Andor in moments like these, readying children to see what broken systems can do to a person.
Regardless of his motives, the children and their parents still have to stop him. Jod insists that he never wanted to hurt anyone, and he doesn't want to damage the planet, he just wants to take control of it, and this little rant leads to Wendle jumping to his feet and socking Jod in the face. Chaos ensues after that. Jod drops his lightsaber and Wim snatches it up; Jod shoves Fern around with the Force; and Wim and Fern try to resist Jod's attempts to snatch back the lightsaber; and Wendle and Fara go after the lever. In the end, Wendle and Fara overpower Jod, the Barrier is lowered, and the New Republic launches an impressive attack on the pirates.
Fara, Wendle, and the children make a break for the lift, but not before Wim calls back to Jod, who has resigned himself to his fate. Even after everything, there's still no true animosity between Jod and the children; if anything, there may finally be a little respect shared between them. Jod watches as his frigate takes on fire from the New Republic pilots and his dreams of unlimited credits go up in flames. (The way the scene is framed is quite reminiscent of the final shot of Fight Club, a surprising allusion, though Skeleton Crew has had no shortage of them.) The children and their parents make it to the crash site, where they discover that KB and SM-33 survived the landing, and Wim watches as the New Republic pilots zip around overhead, which feels like a callback to the closing scene of The Last Jedi with the broom boy.
With its finale, Skeleton Crew delivers one of the best final episodes since Andor while leaving the door wide open for this story to continue somewhere down the road. While Watts and Ford have plenty of ideas for a Season 2, there is no word yet on whether Disney intends to greenlight more of the series, which has been falling behind its peers in its Nielsen ratings. The odds have been stacked against Skeleton Crew, which had episodes landing on Disney+ on major holidays -- a move which is atypical, and unheard of with traditional network schedules. Regardless of facts and figures, Skeleton Crew has proven itself to be not only a more family-friendly companion to Andor but a series that perfectly captures the magic of George Lucas' storytelling throughout his trilogies.
All episodes of Skeleton Crew are streaming now on Disney+.
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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's finale comes to an explosive conclusion as Jod and his pirates descend on At Attin.
Pros The finale delivers one of the tightest final acts since Andor Season 1's finale, wrapping everything up in a neat bow. While Skeleton Crew leaves the door open for more, the finale works perfectly as the last chapter of a limited series. Jude Law, once again, gives an incredible performance as Jod, and Star Wars would be smart to keep him around for more adventures.
TV-PG
Action
Adventure
Science Fiction
Four kids make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.
Release Date December 2, 2024
Cast Jude Law , Ravi Cabot-Conyers , Ryan Kiera Armstrong , Kyriana Kratter , Robert Timothy Smith , Nick Frost , Fred Tatasciore , Jaleel White , Dale Soules , Geoffrey Lower , Marti Matulis , Sisa Grey , Dominic Burgess , Vivienne Sachs , Esai Daniel Cross , Shane Almagor , Paloma Garcia-Lee , Alan Resnick , Anthony Atamanuik , John Gemberling , Tunde Adebimpe , Kerry Condon , Alia Shawkat , Cass Buggé , Geneva Carr
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Seasons 1
Producers Colin Wilson , Jon Favreau , Kathleen Kennedy , Christopher Ford , Dave Filoni , Jon Watts , Karen Gilchrist , Chris Buongiorno , John Bartnicki
Writers Jon Watts , Christopher Ford
Network Disney+
Streaming Service(s) Dis
Directors David Lowery , Bryce Dallas Howard , Jake Schreier , Lee Isaac Chung , Daniel Scheinert
Showrunner Jon Watts , Christopher Ford
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Watch on Disney+
