If I could have one wish in this new year, it would be that all television series start treating their episodes like actual episodes of a TV series and not just a single act break in a longer film. Because man was I annoyed at the close of this week’s episode – the penultimate episode of this season of Skeleton Crew. In a perfect world, the upcoming finale would be used to wrap up the loose ends of the story being told, perhaps setting up another installment down the line, and leaving us, the audience, satisfied with the story as a whole. Unfortunately, there are still so many loose ends to tie up, I genuinely can’t imagine how the writers hope to craft a fully satisfying conclusion to this story.
Sure, the kids (and Jod) have made it back to At Attin (and that was some lovely emoting from the young actors when confronted with Jod’s treachery and threats). And we know just how much of a treasure planet At Attin truly is (apparently the citizens learn the truth of the planet upon graduation, which is at least some comfort – that they aren’t just sitting on the planet, wholly unaware that there is a larger universe waiting outside, even if they never get to see it). But we still don’t quite know the situation with The Supervisor (although, with that announcement – and the shock on the parents’ faces – it’s pretty clear there’s no man behind the curtain there, perhaps just a droid protocol keeping The Supervisor in charge), and we don’t know just what is going to happen with Jod and his pirate crew. Oh, and I can’t imagine there’s going to be a clean way to give us the backstory on Jod’s Force powers (and ability to wield a lightsaber well) – getting an expository character development dump in the finale just seems totally wrong.
I’ve enjoyed elements of Skeleton Crew a great deal. From the excellent casting of the show’s young actors to the true to life lessons about friendship and struggling to find one’s place in the wider world, it’s been a lovely kid’s adventure series. But where the series has faltered is in filling in the story and making it a truly rich Star Wars story. We don’t need Jedi, lightsaber battles, or space fights. But we do need an antagonist with more development than Jod has had – lots of false starts and hints at a much more interesting story than the one we’ve been given thus far. And then there’s the pirates as a whole – they essentially were a misdirect all along (we know that they will likely get destroyed if they try to make it through the barrier and I can’t see the citizens of At Attin letting Jod escape with all their money (and we don’t really have the time for a prolonged battle with droids to stop the process). So, I’m ambivalent on the series as a whole. And a lot will depend on how the finale shakes out next week.
I’ve said before that I’m grading Skeleton Crew on a curve, seeing as it’s meant to be a children’s adventure series first and foremost. But I still expect a bit more from the series that the disjointed storytelling we’ve had in the recent episodes. The series has a stellar cast. It has some great visual effects (although the use of The Volume this week was very obvious and not great looking). The story could have been much more linear and tight than what we were ultimately given over the last couple of episodes. Even on a curve, this episode doesn’t quite make the grade.
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Writing
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Acting
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Direction
