The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”.
“Skeleton Crew” is a delight. While it’s as far from “Andor” as the “Star Wars” showsit still manages to deliver fun, whimsical, and often frightening adventures in the galaxy far, far away, week after week. “Skeleton Crew” also combines the world-building and iconography of “Star Wars” with the fun and dangers of titles like “Treasure Island,” “Indiana Jones,” “Peter Pan” and “The Goonies.”
Even though it is an all-ages show featuring children, there are many terrifying moments are found in “Skeleton Crew.” After all, the kids in the series face off against bloodthirsty pirates more than willing to skin their enemies alive and boil their guts for fun.
“Skeleton Crew” also doesn’t need lightsabers or Jedi, even though one of the main characters can use the Force. Still, Jude Law’s sketchy pirate with a dozen fake names is one of the best new “Star Wars” characters in years — a scoundrel who acts like he has a heart of gold, but is more touchy to leave you in the ditch than to shoot you. in the face. He is also charismatic, funny and has excellent chemistry with the young heroes of the series. Jod (Law) has particularly good chemistry with Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), the wide-eyed kid who dreamed of being a Jedi and going on adventures but now regrets leaving his home planet.
Their stories culminate in the final episode, “You Have Much to Learn About Pirates”, in which Jod finally shows his true colors and betrays the children in an attempt to reclaim At Attin’s treasure for himself. Seeing Jod threaten to kill one of his friends, Wim decides to stand up to the criminal and help him by grabbing an old lightsaber from the pirate’s treasure room where they are, finally becoming the warrior Jedi he always dreamed of being. Except things don’t go exactly as planned and instead we get a delicious homage to a popular “Star Wars” meme.
Be careful where you point your lightsaber
The latest episode of “Skeleton Crew” is a big homage to “Indiana Jones.” complete with a series of traps and puzzles inspired by “The Last Crusade” leading to the pirates’ great treasure. At the very end of the episode, Jod puts a knife to Fern’s throat in order to make her give up her position as captain of the Onyx Cinder. In an attempt to save her, Wim grabs a nearby lightsaber and lights it. However, not realizing that the real thing is not like in the pictures or holograms, he sets it on fire in reverse. Facing the wrong direction, the lightsaber nearly stabs Wim in the foot.
It’s a hilarious moment of misdirection and an honest mistake on the part of a child, showing that the reality of being a Jedi or going on a space adventure is not at all what he expected . But what makes it so good is that the scene is very reminiscent of the popular meme of Mark Hamill on the set of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”, pointing his lightsaber directly at his face like a clown.
“It makes me cringe every time I see it,” Hamill once said of the meme while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t remember doing that in the movie. I think it’s just an on-set production, otherwise Obi-Wan wouldn’t look so uninterested.” Indeed, the popular image comes from a photo taken on set rather than the film itself, but that didn’t stop it from becoming a meme mocking Luke’s naivety and incompetence as he wielded such an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
Yet as funny as this moment is, it reveals an undeniable truth: as cool as we all think we would be if we were to embark on a grand “Star Wars” adventure, chances are that most of we end up killing ourselves accidentally. ourselves with a lightsaber.
New episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” premiere Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PST on Disney+.
