*** Full spoiler discussion of episode 4 of Skeleton Crew is ahead, so proceed with caution. ***
The latest episode of Skeleton Crew is out, meaning we’re now halfway through the season and the mystery surrounding At Attin just keeps picking up.
Episode four, fittingly titled “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin” (directed by the Daniels), focuses on the kids as they have to learn and adapt in the galaxy, and especially great for those of us who love Neel (actually, let’s be honest: everyone loves Neel). But along the way, we get far more questions about At Attin, without many answers.
The episode begins with the Onyx Cinder arriving at what looks to be At Attin, and I was shocked at the thought the series might take us back there already. Sure enough, as soon as they land, they realize something is wrong. The planet looks just like At Attin, but it’s completely abandoned. It’s run-down, hazy, deserted. This planet, we learn, is actually At Achrann (more on that in a moment). On this world, the residents are in a constant state of war between rival tribes, and the four kids are befriended by Hayna, a young girl allied with the Troik. She takes the heroes to her father, the leader of the tribe, who orders the kids be trained for combat. Wim is quite enthusiastic about it but fledgling, while KB picks it up real naturally.
Neel, though, doesn’t want to fight. Instead, he talks with Hayna and develops a relationship with her. He’s as adorable as ever, and he’s not at all confident in his own abilities or wisdom – but he does raise a good point. He talks about his world and how there is no fighting or conflict (except for that one time with his sibling), and how he can’t imagine always being at war. Why not, he asks, just say sorry? Neel is an absolute gem, and I love him so much. This episode really gives him a chance to shine all the more, as the focal point, and it’s great. Neel is loyal, caring, and genuine, but he’s also not confident in himself and doesn’t want any part of this adventure. Yet if there’s anything intrinsic to Star Wars, it’s that true heroes aren’t those itching for a fight but rather those who, when faced with danger, rise to meet it for the good of others. That’s Neel here: he doesn’t want to fight, but at the end of the episode he heroically stands against an imminent danger, drawing the attention away from his friends. The little guy is a lot braver than he gives himself credit for, but this episode also helps him grow into it.
It’s also really interesting to think about the contrast between Neel and Wim, best friends who couldn’t be any more different. While Neel just can’t wait to get home, Wim is actually disappointed when he thinks they’re already home. Wim finds the adventure and fighting exciting, while Neel doesn’t want any part of it. And Wim jumps right into combat training really exciting and embraces it eagerly, while Neel avoids it. I’m really liking the dynamic between these kids. The chemistry between them, and their performances, are all tremendous. It’s not just Neel who sees some growth in this episode. Wim has a really wonderful quiet moment with Fern where he compliments her skills as the captain, while she’s in tears not knowing what to do. Fern has a lapse in her usually over-confident self, but she answers by finding an answer – just like Wim said she would. KB continues to receive the least amount of focus, but seeing her pick up the target practice so easily was nice, especially considering her cybernetic enhancements. This was an important episode to show us these kids growing, both relationally and skillfully (in combat), but it was also surprisingly emotional. It was a beautiful episode, especially everything with Neel.
Jod also gets his moments. He’s left behind by the kids on the ship while SM-33 babysits him, which leads to the droid humorously calling Jod “baby” repeatedly. Speaking of humor, Jod’s resigned “you know what, just shoot me” when the enemy soldiers approach was hilarious. The timing and delivery by Jude Law was simply perfect. This show manages to capture a good balance between emotion, humor, and adventure, and I love it. In the end, Jod comes through and rescues the kids. He says he used Wim’s credits to pay off the enemy, but I wonder if there’s more to it. Wim knows it’s stealing, but Jod also says it saved them. They’re both right. But since it all happened off-screen, is there more to it? And what are Jod’s true intentions? This all remains to be seen, but I liked how the kids weren’t immediately just trusting of him after last week. Fern ordered him out of the cockpit, and ordered him to stay on the ship. I’m glad that the kids didn’t just naively trust him after he admitted he wasn’t entirely honest, but I also like how his actions to rescue the kids in this week’s episodes earn him favor. They’re coming to trust him again, and it’s earned. Whether it’s warranted remains to be seen, yet I think we’re already seeing Jod a bit conflicted: he wants the treasure (that’s why he took on this mission in the first place), but he’s not a cruel-hearted pirate with no concern for what happens for these kids.
But the development that will have people talking is, once again, all about At Attin. What exactly is going on there? This episode increases the intrigue without giving answers. We, like the kids, discover that there’s another planet in the galaxy that looks just like their home, but it’s At Achrann instead. In the end, they visit the tower looking for coordinates, and they stumble upon plenty of them. There’s a room with a number of pillars, all listing a planet name and coordinates to them. There’s At Aytuu, At Achrann, At Arissa, At Aravin, At Acoda, and At Attin – except for the coordinates to At Attin were stolen. And, it turns out, they were stolen and destroyed by SM-33. Thanks to Fern’s quick thinking she gets him to admit he actually does remember the planet – overriding his programming as he kept saying “can’t say I remember no At Attin any time the planet was mentioned. He reveals that when he was in the same room previously with his old captain, the captain murdered everyone else with them and ordered SM-33 to destroy the coordinates, making sure that At Attin remained a secret. And then the captain ordered SM-33 to tear apart anyone who tried to recover the coordinates from him, even these kids.
This lends further credence to the idea that there’s treasure hidden on At Attin, if the old pirate captain wanted to keep it hidden so long. I’ve said it before but this series really reminds me of Treasure Planet, and SM-33 here reminds me of Ben – the droid who was the former first-mate to the old captain and who won’t tell anything about the mysterious treasure planet to the new crew. It seems that there is a lead to home for these kids, but the droid who has it has now turned on them before he was turned off. And the droid is part of a plan to hide whatever treasure is actually on At Attin.
So what is going on with At Attin? It’s really curious that there’s basically a replica planet in the galaxy out there, but that has devolved into a Fallout-like apocalyptic wasteland. The fact that there are six planets all mentioned in the great tower, all with coordinates, suggests to me that these planets were the nine crown jewels mentioned by Kh’ymm last week – they all, apparently, started with “At”. But if that’s true, consider the implications: were all of these planets the exact same? Was this some kind of experiment where the people were on their own without contact with the outside galaxy, and they were monitored to see how it went? The fact that this great tower with all of these coordinates is the same as the Supervisor’s tower on At Attin – where no one is allowed to go – is very curious. It’s likely this Supervisor knows the truth about all of this, but has kept it hidden. And it seems the other eight planets were not destroyed (not all of them, at least) but devolved into wastelands and were given up on. So what made At Attin succeed? Was it the great work we keep hearing about? And what treasure is there on the planet?
All of that will need to wait, which makes sense, given the fact that we’re only halfway through the season. I have no idea where the show is going from here, but it seems the next step is to figure out just what all SM-33 knows and is willing to share. In all, I really enjoyed this episode. I loved the creepy and sketchy inversion of the happy and peaceful At Attin, and the apocalyptic vibes on this new world. The focus on character growth was great, but it was really Neel who got the chance to shine. And any time Neel is the focus, it’s an absolute treat. This series is an exciting adventure, filled with emotion and humor. I’m really digging it.
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