In episode 4 of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the kids continue on their adventure as they keep searching for a way back to At Attin.

The 38-minute episode (with credits and a recap) takes us to the halfway point in the season. There’s some character development but at the end of the day, we’re no less closer to getting back to At Attin. It’s hard to say if Jon Watts and Christopher Ford are waiting for the season finale. Obviously, we know something is going to happen sooner than later. It’s really just a question of how things end up playing out.

Behind the camera, Oscar-winning filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert–The Daniels–do a solid job upon joining the Star Wars universe. I like their approach to the episode, which is really light on action. This is not to say that there aren’t some tense moments. Through their directing, the Daniels have a way of showing us that the kids are vulnerable and they handle it very well.

Spoilers follow for the newest episode.

Landing on a planet that feels so familiar, the kids are in for a surprise. It might look like home but it is not home. Instead, they’re on At Achrann, a planet where children like Hayna (Hala Finley) are warriors. The Troiks are at war with the Hattans for who knows how long over Eopies. Hayna takes them to her father, General Strix (Mathieu Kassovitz) and he promises that if they help get the Eopies back, he’ll direct them to the Fallen Sanctum for the coordinates. Fate has something else in store because Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) shows up after using Wim’s Republic credits to buy the heard. Hayna hopes to live more like Neel in the future, with kindness rather than war.

They make their way up the “Fallen Sanctum” in hopes of finding their directions home. What they find in this ruin of a tower are coordinates to At Aytuu, At Achrann, At Arissia, At Aravin, and At Acoda. As for At Attin, it turns out the coordinates have been ripped out altogether, as if nobody wants other people to know about At Attin. When you think it’s another case of a missing planet, like in Attack of the Clones, the show inches towards the truth. We know how SM-33 always says, “Can’t say I remember no At Attin.” It turns out there is a reason for this–SM-33 was on this planet once before with his old captain. Fern orders an override of SM-33’s programming in hopes of getting the coordinates. What we learn is that the previous captain killed any crew members if they saw the coordinates.

Fern and Wim’s conversation late in the episode is a reminder that there are real stakes in this show. They just want to go home and because of mystery surrounding At Attin and a treasure, nobody seems to know the way, not even SM-33. There’s a real vulnerability on display here and you cannot help but feel for them. They certainly have no hope of leaning on SM-33, especially with previous orders to pull apart anybody poking around for At Attin. What part of these are just kids does the droid not understand?!? Does this droid not fully comprehend that they just want to go home and they’re not searching for a treasure?!?

Four episodes remain in the season.

CREATORS/HEAD WRITERS: Jon Watts and Christopher Ford
DIRECTORS: The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Christopher Ford, Jon Watts, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Chris Buongiorno, Karen Gilchrist, Carrie Beck
PRODUCERS: Susan McNamara, John Bartnicki
CAST: Jude Law, Robert Timothy Smith, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Nick Frost, Hala Finley, Mathieu Kassovitz

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will premiere weekly on Disney+ through January 14, 2025. Grade: 4/5

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