SPOILERS ahead for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 6, "Zero Friends Again."
Episode six of Skeleton Crew sees the kids on their own after being betrayed by Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) at the end of the last episode. They manage to escape from him and find themselves stranded on the surface of the planet. They need to find a way back to their ship before Jod steals it, but they can't agree on what course of action to take, leading to the group splitting up.
It was a smart idea to have the kids go in seperate directions in "Zero Friends Again." So far, they've usually been in two groups, one with Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), the other with Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and KB (Kyriana Kratte). By splitting them up so Fern and Neel try to climb the cliff to their ship, while the other two go searching for help, we get a chance to see things from a different perspective and develop their friendships more.
It's the first big split in the group, and shows how important Jod was as a leader. We get some nice character development as Wim has to help KB repair her implants, saving her life, and having to learn some technical skills he's not familiar with.
At the same time, Fern has to help Neel climb to the top of the cliff, forcing her to realize not everyone can do everything the way she can, and she can't just expect them to follow her and keep up. I mean, it's not the greatest character development you'll ever see, but it's still nice to have it, and it shows how these kids are being affected by their adventures, as they have to learn to navigate things they never had to before in their comfortable lives on At Attin.
One person who isn't having a comfortable life is everyone's favorite pirate Jod (if that's his real name), who's captured by Brutus and his old crew. He's going to be executed, but has one last chance of appeal, and uses his smooth talking to win them over with the promise of At Attin and the legendary treasure waiting for them there.
It looks like he's turned the tables on the kids, and is going to sell out their planet, but I'm not so sure that's really the case. I've always thought Jod was a Jack Sparrow kind of pirate, willing to make a deal or say what he has to to get out of a tricky situation, but still forming a larger plan to twist thing to his advantage, and with an inclination to do what's right in the end. If he really was a Jedi, all the more reason why he should have a good idea of right and wrong, which will make him do the right thing eventually.
Whether he is a good guy or not, I don't know how he'll get out of this situation, and save At Attin from being pillaged. The kids know the way home too, so it could be a race to see who gets there first. Perhaps they'll ask the New Republic for help, or rally the defenses that the planet probably has hidden away somewhere, considering its importance.
This episode of Skeleton Crew was directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, who has a reputation for delivering good installments on other Star Wars shows, such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. This episode was certainly a lot of fun, with a focus on its characters. Maybe it was a bit on the short side at barely thirty minutes, but it's always better to leave viewers wanting more rather than constantly checking the progress bar to see how much more they have to endure. And fortunately this show does leave you wanting more and looking forward to next week's episode. The characters and story are pretty simple, and its constant references and '80s influences are visible from space, but it's still the most fun Star Wars show since Rebels, which ended back in 2018.
There are only two episodes of Skeleton Crew left now, so there probably won't be much more adventuring left. If the kids are going to make it back to At Attin, that will probably happen next week, meaning we won't have much time for character-building side quests. So it's good to get these moments now, while we can.
Episode Grade: B
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