The 'Skeleton Crew' Finale Stuck the Landing and Kinda Stole My Heart?

I was tempted to be a snarky a-hole and say that Skeleton Crew mercifully came in for a landing, but damn, if I didn’t find myself rooting for these kids. As much as I hated this show at the beginning, which only got worse after the parkour episode, it surprisingly clicked into gear in the back half. I came to adore the little tykes.

What also helped is everyone who wrote in over the past few weeks about how Skeleton Crew is hitting with younger kids. They absolutely love it, and they are especially into it because they can feel that it’s a Star Wars made just for them. Neel is also the MVP with the younger crowd, and knowing that helped me lock into this episode and think about how its events were hitting with its target audience. It elevated the whole experience for me, and that’s the beauty of all-ages entertainment.

Let me share an anecdote that might sound stupid, but it’s the best way I can convey the above sentiment. I distinctly remember watching Home Alone with my son for the first time when he was maybe six or seven. I’m already getting teary-eyed thinking about it. Just as Harry and Marv pull up to the McAllister house for what we know is world of pain, my son earnestly turned to me and asked, “Is Kevin going to be OK, daddy?” It’s ten years later, and it still kills me when I think about it. It was such a sweet, sincere moment that made a movie I’d watched a hundred times hit like a sledgehammer.

Bringing it back to the Skeleton Crew finale, this was HERO TIME for the kids. The sh*t is on, and the little buggers are about to bring it. Despite the menacing end to last week’s episode, which saw Jod ignite his lightsaber in front of the reunited families, this move ends up being mostly theatrical as Jod slaps some mustard on his emissary cover by also selling himself as a Jedi. He has the kids escorted back to their homes under the watchful eye of the At Attin security droids with the exception of Fern and her mom Fara, who still thinks everything is fine. They’re about to get front row seats for Jod’s meeting with The Supervisor.

If you were among the many guessing that The Supervisor is a droid, please bathe in one of life’s sweetest riches: Being right on the internet. I love it. It’s genuinely my favorite. While Jod is initially bemused that the whole planet has been doing the bidding of a droid, that feeling doesn’t last long as he learns The Supervisor is a cagey bastard. Turns out, selling himself as a Jedi is a fatal flaw in Jod’s plan as At Attin has not been entirely cut off from the galaxy as advertised. The last message from the Republic warned The Supervisor that the Jedi are traitors, so Jod’s either lying about being a Jedi or lying about being a traitor. Seeing an opening, Fern quickly blurts out that Jod is a pirate, which The Supervisor already clocked as noted by a self-satisfied, “I thought so.” Droids, they’re just like us.

Unfortunately, The Supervisor’s brilliant deduction will be short-lived. We soon learn that Jod clearly had some Jedi training as he deflects blaster bolts from the security droids before unleashing a move that harkens back to The Clone Wars: Stabbing a giant robot in its huge mechanical face. RIP The Supervisor. With Jod’s cover blown, Jude Law snaps into full mustache-twirling mode, and we are richer for it. Law has been this show’s ace in the hole, and he’s played to full effect in the finale.

As for the other kids, they mount a daring speeder bike mission to get back to the Onxy Cinder and send a message to Kh’ymm, the owl lady from Episode 3. While I absolutely hated the speeder bike as BMX bike motif in the premiere, I’ll be damned if I didn’t hit this time around. Why? Because I imagined all the kids who’ve been watching this show on the edge of their seats being absolutely thrilled by our little heroes flying into action. It f*cking rocked. And because I’m rapidly becoming the softest man alive in my old age, Wim’s dad came along, and oh God, that’s too many feels. Sonofabitch.

Anyway, by the time the speeder bike run is over, Neel will be separated from the group (Don’t worry, our blue boy is OK!), KB will board the ship, and Wim and his dad will make a run at Jod to restore the planet’s power that went out when he killed The Supervisor. Without that power, KB can’t take off. All of this leads to the big confrontation with Jod where Jude Law continues to crush it. He switches back and forth from complex villain to scoundrel with beautiful ease.

While Wim and his dad get KB into orbit, she’s quickly shot down in the middle of her message to Kh’ymm. To our heroes, she appears to be toast, and Jod is genuinely pained by this development. We start to learn that he’s been hungry his whole life, and every time there’s a glimmer of hope, the galaxy takes it away. For example, the Jedi who found him on the street and started to train him, only to be murdered in cold blood in front of him. He’s still a scared child who doesn’t want to hurt anybody, but will to survive. And with that comes threats at the end of a lightsaber.

If KB managed to send a message, it won’t do any good if the planet’s barrier is still up. Jod’s not going to let that happen though, and he makes that quite clear by threatening Wim’s dad as the boy makes a play for the shut-off lever. Wim backs down, and Jod turns off his saber. He really doesn’t like doing any of this, but he just awoke a sleeping giant as Wim’s nerdy dad surprisingly cold cocks an unsuspected Jod and lowers the barrier.

Here’s where I give Skeleton Crew all kinds of credit: Once again, Wim gets his hands on the lightsaber, and everything about the moment is earned. He learned from his last mistake and makes sure to check that he’s not holding it upside down. Little bro ain’t losing a foot. More importantly, Wim does nothing more than fire up the saber. That’s it. He doesn’t predictably use the Force and he doesn’t win a wildly unbelievable duel. He just stands there ready to go down swinging with Fern by his side. Realizing he’s cooked by the approaching X-Wings, and an unspoken reluctance to shoot Wim, Jod throws down his blaster. However, he refuses to leave The Supervisor tower with the others, even after Wym surprisingly calls to him.

And, now, here’s my least favorite part of the finale: As everyone converges on the crashed Onyx Cinder, KB is banged up, but alive. Everyone is relieved, and surely, we’ll see the aftermath of the New Republic beating back the pirates, but nope, the episode literally ends. It is that abrupt. I’m talking: “Oh, good, KB’s fine,” and fade to black before anyone can even hug. Did they run out of money? What the hell happened?

Speaking of money, the finale left the door wide open for a Season 2, but I’m gonna be real. Despite the uptick in interest as families discovered Skeleton Crew over the holidays, I have not seen any headlines touting any sort of numbers. As much as this show won me over by the end, I still think there was a missed opportunity to turn it into a movie. That front half was brutal, but there was all kinds of magic once the show stopped treading water and got down to it. But we’ll save that dorky discussion for another day.

Thanks again to everyone who shared their family anecdotes. It clearly meant a lot. See you for Andor Season 2.