Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 5.
It may be five years since Star Wars last decked the halls with a holiday blockbuster, but Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is kicking off the season with a pitch-perfect episode to ring in all that’s holly and jolly. Episode 5, directed by Jake Schreier (director of the upcoming Thunderbolts*), is the first installment of the season to be penned by Myung Joh Wesner, rather than Skeleton Crew co-creators Christopher Ford and Jon Watts, and she brings a delightful new tone to the series. The episode, aptly titled “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates,” is the perfect combination of The Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Pirates of the Caribbean, and the culmination of quite a few plots that have been winding their way through the previous episodes.
Last week, the core four — Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and KB (Kyriana Kratter) — along with Jod (Jude Law) and SM-33 (Nick Frost), discovered a planet that was quite similar to their homeworld, which only added to the mystery surrounding At Attin. It seems fitting that Episode 5 opens there, with Neel’s mother, Nooma, seeking out Wim’s father, Wendle (Tunde Adebimpe), at his workplace, desperately trying to get things moving in the case of their missing children. She informs Wendle that they need a Barrier access code to get a message off-world, and he is going to have to steal it. Despite his reservations about getting caught, Wendle tries to retrieve the information he needs from his terminal, but an energy surge draws suspicion from one of the droids, who reports him to Fara (Kerry Condon). Luckily, Fara is just as clever as her daughter, and she orders the droid to delete all records about Wendle tampering with his terminal. While Fara sympathizes with Nooma’s desperation, she insists that she is trying to handle things through the proper channels, but both she and Wendle seem skeptical that the Supervisor is going to do anything about their situation.
After discovering that SM-33 had been programmed by his former captain to destroy anyone who comes looking for the coordinates to At Attin, Jod opts to restrain him — not that ropes can really keep down a droid. In the intervening time since last week’s episode, KB has rerouted SM-33’s memory chip in an effort to bypass the protocols which could kill them. Jod instructs the children to turn SM-33 back on again if KB is so sure of her work, but Fern doesn’t seem so sure about this plan. The two exchange a few sharp words, with Fern accusing Jod of being scared (which he throws right back at her) before sniping about their true motivations.
Once SM-33 is powered back on, he tells the crew about his former captain: Captain Tak Rennod. The name means nothing to the children, but Jod is thrilled by this discovery. Captain Rennod was the most infamous pirate that the galaxy has ever known, before he — and his ship Onyx Cinder — went missing during his hunt for the treasure on At Attin. Jod is quite salty about the fact that the children don’t care about that history, but in the end, all that any of them really care about is the fact that SM-33’s revelation that the coordinates to At Attin are hidden in Rennod’s secret lair beneath Skull Ridge Mountain.
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As they make their way to the coordinates of Skull Ridge Mountain, SM-33 regales the crew with his recollections of the deadly mutiny that Rennod faced aboard the Onyx Cinder in pursuit of the treasure. The dialogue that ensues feels like a relic of old-school 1980s filmmaking, with Fern questioning Jod about what a concubine is, after SM-33 offhandedly remarks about a concubine selling Rennod out. And there’s a lot of that throughout the episode, particularly with the planet that Skull Ridge Mountain is located on. While SM-33 is telling his tale, Wim splits off from the rest of the crew, and Jod follows after him to see what’s up. Unsurprisingly, after Fern’s crash out last week, Wim is starting to feel the same way. All he has ever wanted was a real adventure, and now that he’s experiencing it, it’s not at all like he expected it to be. He’s scared and confused, and he misses his dad! Jod’s advice is about as comforting as you might expect from an unscrupulous pirate. He listens to Wim’s concerns, and essentially tells him to forget about all of his worries, fears, and even his father. Attachments, according to Jod, are the very last thing that Wim needs. He may not claim to be a Jedi, but Jod is certainly living by their teachings. Wim questions Jod about how he’s able to use the Force when he’s not actually a Jedi, and Jod just dodges that line of questioning once again.
They Gentrified Skull Ridge Mountain in ‘Skeleton Crew’ Episode 5
Skull Ridge Mountain is located on the planet of Lanupa, which has changed quite a bit since the last time SM-33 was there with Captain Rennod. Jod is delighted to discover that they are making a pit stop on a planet known for its pleasure yachts and grandiose spas, and SM-33 is horrified that there are Hutts taking mud baths in the pits they once used to burn the flesh off prisoners. The Spas at Skull Ridge Mountain do not permit children, which leads to a delightful ruse wherein the children disguise themselves as the Elders of the Bratric System, who rely upon Jod to translate for them, as they don’t speak Basic. Because the planet is dedicated to spas and wellness, they are focused solely on peaceful interactions, and thus do not permit weapons. Jod’s cutlass is confiscated from him, but he is able to use the Force to reclaim it. The Spas are currently hosting the Banking Clan for an economic summit, so they are on high alert for spies and impostors, which causes a bit of trouble for the crew.
Skeleton Crew is not a particularly deep series, and it doesn’t fashion itself as that type of story, but everything about Lanupa demands an Andor-level interrogation into what is going on there. Has Skull Ridge Mountain been gentrified or are the Spas hiding something deeper, which is tied to the mountain’s true purpose? As the old adage goes: follow the money. If the Banking Clan is conducting business on the same planet where Hutts go to laze about, perhaps there is more than meets the eye. And you know who else is more than meets the eye? Jod. In order to get to Rennod’s hidden lair, Jod and the children have to act like guests of the Spa, but there’s one problem with this plan. They don’t actually have a reservation. Luckily, Jod has the Republic credits that the children brought from home, and he uses it to bribe the receptionist into letting him check into a suite that is under the name Professor Gorelox. While he is checking in, his past catches up with him once again.
Pokkit (Kelly Macdonald) recognizes Jod as “Dash Zentin,” who left her for dead some time ago, though she swears there’s no bad blood between them. Fern overhears their tense conversation, and it’s clear that she’s starting to catch onto Jod and his numerous aliases: Captain Silvo, Crimson Jack, Jod Na Nawood, and now Dash Zentin. Pokkit hints at the fact that there’s likely a bounty on his head, but assures him that she’s only interested in unwinding on Lanupa, and Jod isn’t buying it. As she departs, she warns the children not to “trust this sleemo” and it’s pretty solid advice.
‘Skeleton Crew’ Episode 5 Reveals the Greatest Sacrifice a Pirate Can Make
Once they check into their suite, all the children want to do is act like children. They gawk out the window and start a pillow fight on the bed. Jod, on the other hand, is stressed to the max because he just knows Pokkit has taken up his bounty and his former crew is headed for Lanupa. Fern questions Jod about what happened between him and Pokkit, and — as he did with Kh’ymm (Alia Shawkat) two episodes ago — he brushes it aside. They have bigger things to worry about, namely finding the coordinates to At Attin before they get killed by pirates.
After a bit of a disagreement about how the crew will split up to search the spa, they settle on Jod, Neel, and KB investigating the upper levels, while Fern, SM-33, and Wim investigate the lower levels. Jod and his team inadvertently draw the attention of the guards, which causes them to go on the run. Meanwhile, Fern befriends a guest by the name of Cthallops (Patrick Seitz), who proves to be an unexpected ally in return for entertainment. The entertainment, of course, is Fern and Wim telling Cthallops all about their wild adventures since leaving home, and when Jod turns up with KB and Neel in tow, even Cthallops warns them not to trust him. As the crew descends into Rennod’s secret lair, Jod’s former crew arrives on Lanupa, and they are in no mood to heed the planet’s rules about peaceful behavior.
The route to Rennod’s secret lair is perilous. There are booby traps, magnetized spikes, and pools filled with deadly acid. The latter room is a puzzle, featuring an inscription that translates to “All who enter sacrifice must make the greatest sacrifice.” The children assume the greatest sacrifice that someone could make is their life, but Jod, quoting the episode’s title, informs them that they have a lot to learn about pirates. The greatest sacrifice a pirate can make, in fact, is sacrificing their treasure. The children worry that Jod has used up all of their credits by bribing the receptionist, but Jod reveals that he kept one stashed away in his pocket. He makes a show of using the Force to make the credit hover above his palm, before he chucks it into the acid. At first, nothing happens… and then the acid drains out of the pit, revealing a doorway that leads into a room filled with treasure. They rush inside and bar the doors, just as the pirates breach the room.
The crew scours the treasure room looking for Captain Rennod’s dataport. Wim spots a lightsaber on a pedestal, which we’ll come back to later, as Neel points out that everything on a nearby table is rotten, except for a decidedly fresh-looking roast. He takes a step forward to investigate, and nearly falls through the floor, with Jod saving him from an early demise. Jod decides to use his stature to lean across the trap door to lift up the roast, and it turns out to be exactly what they were looking for. The roast triggers the Captain’s Log, and SM-33 is able to access the dataport and locate the coordinates for At Attin. With SM-33 connected to the dataport, Jod orders him to refill the pool with acid in order to kill the pirates that are trying to get inside, and questions him about the treasure on At Attin. At long last, the mystery of At Attin is finally revealed. As the last remaining Old Republic Mint, it truly is the planet of eternal treasure. From the very first episode, when Jod made his eleventh-hour appearance, it was obvious that he was not to be trusted. Everyone has warned the children about him, and yet there have been moments where it seemed like he might genuinely care about them. Wim may not know what a mint is, but Fern does, and she knows exactly what that means for a pirate like Jod.
Fern tries to assert her dominance as the captain of the Onyx Cinder, reminding Jod about the deal they had, but he is quick to invoke his right to challenge the captain to death. He may be a treacherous fellow, but he isn’t looking to maim any children. He tells Fern that all she has to do is yield to him, and then he won’t have to hurt her. But Fern has proven herself as a stubborn girl. She resists his demands, looking for a weapon to swing at him, willing to rise to the challenge of a fight to the death, but she is no match for a grown man with the Force. In a very Hook-meets-Wendy moment, Jod seizes Fern and holds his cutlass to her throat. He clearly doesn’t want to hurt her, but he is bound by the challenge. Wim tries to play the hero once again. He grabs the lightsaber, ready to attack Jod like he’s seen in his stories, but he doesn’t know how to wield it! Jod warns him off of igniting it, but Wim doesn’t listen, and he ignites it upside down, causing it to jolt out of his grip and roll across the ground. Recognizing that there is no way out of the situation, Fern finally grits out a “yield,” relinquishing her title as captain of the Onyx Cinder.
Jod orders SM-33 to take the children as prisoners, charged with mutinous intent against the captain, but before the droid can catch them, they make use of the trapdoor and drop out of the room. As the episode draws to a close, Jod picks up the discarded lightsaber, igniting it just as the credits roll. Will he leave the children to escape from Lanupa on their own, or will whatever attachment he’s formed with them delay his treasure hunt on At Attin? There may be a lot of lingering questions after Episode 5, but one thing is for certain: it’s the best episode of the season so far, and that is largely thanks to Wesner’s brilliant writing.
The first five episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are streaming now on Disney+. New episodes drop at 9 PM ET every Tuesday.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 5 confirms that you should never trust a pirate.
- Myung Joh Wesner’s writing elevates the series to new heights, delivering one of the best episodes of the season.
- Skeleton Crew perfectly builds up Jod’s betrayal, and it’s clever to pit him against Fern, rather than Wim who started out idolizing him.
- Clocking in at 45 minutes, Episode 5 showcases how Star Wars should be delivering all of its episodic projects.
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