Categories: TV

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episodes 1-2 Review

The following article is a non-spoiler review of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Prior to beginning Skeleton Crew, I was somewhat skeptical of whether the series would be a quality piece of television, as I was mixed on some of the latest outings such as the recent season of The Mandalorian, as well as Tales of the Empire. This cynicism was not exclusive to me, as others shared the same opinions and were worried concerned following the debut of the Earth-like planet At Attin in the series’ first trailer.

The first two episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are made with the same sense of adventure and wonder as 1980s classics like The Goonies and E.T., while still feeling at place within the Star Wars franchise. Created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, the show correctly captures the sensation of nostalgia that nearly every Star Wars project since the 2012 Lucasfilm acquisition has attempted, but instead, this nostalgia actually reverberates the childhoods of the viewers, not for Star Wars projects that released during said childhoods.

The character of Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) is very much a stand-in for every Star Wars fan who once dreamed of being a Jedi as a child, with the character reading picture-books about the legendary warriors, unaware of the entire galaxy that surrounds his home planet. Wim encapsulates the message of the series, which is one of friendships, found families, and aspirations for something beyond the mundane, making the show very much at home being released in the Christmas season.

Wim is not the only real-life proxy, as the core cast of Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), and KB (Kyriana Kratter) all fulfil their own roles within the group as well as the story, who collectively seize a dynamic which not only serves the narrative, but is very accurate to that of a real group of children. Each character has a very different disposition, whether it be Wim’s compulsion to explore the unknown, Fern’s selfish but mature nature, Neel’s constant trepidation, or KB’s robot-like persona; each performer, despite their young ages, so perfectly encapsulate these attributes. Yet again, casting director Sarah Finn, a frequent choice for Star Wars and Marvel, struck gold with talent who will grow to become superstars.

Skeleton Crew is not a Star Wars project, or at least, not one of today – that is because today, most Star Wars projects are concerned with explaining how Palpatine returned for the 15th time, lazily writing a new retcon for the Sith/the Empire to rise again, or creating an even crazier lightsaber, this time with four blades! Instead, writers Jon Watts and Christopher Ford decided to toss out all studio mandates, and opted to tell a story they would have loved to have seen when they were kids, which just so happens to be set in the Star Wars galaxy.

Skeleton Crew is the perfect 1980s Star Wars classic adventure

What Jon Watts and Christopher Ford forged is an expertly-paced, well-cast, beautifully-scored and fantastically-written feat of television that George Lucas would be proud to claim as part of his world. Skeleton Crew is full of such promise that has converted most fans, including myself, to be incredibly eager for the remaining episodes and continue the show. I just hope that Watts and Ford maintain the great momentum they started with these first two episodes, and stick the landing by the series’ end.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has now released its first two episodes, with following episodes to be released weekly every Wednesday in the UK, exclusively on Disney+.