Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 1 Episode 8 Review: The Real Good Guys

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 1 Episode 8, The Real Good Guys,” is a thrilling end to Season 1. It’s an episode full of high-octane action sequences and heartwarming reunions that make for a fantastic conclusion.

As much as the kids have worried about their fate as they galavant across the galaxy, Ravi Cabot-Conyers and Ryan Kiera Armstrong sell the emotional stakes of the story as the children face the potential loss of their parents.

We also get to see them use the skills they have acquired to save their planet, creating a heartwarming set of scenes as the parents see how much their kids have grown. They inspire the adults to be better and braver.

We finally see the venerated Supervisor (voiced by Stephen Fry), and it is revealed that he is a droid who is controlling the power supply to the entire planet.

Jude Law continues to play the scheming pirate Jod/Silvo very well, truly transforming himself into a greed-driven villain who makes a great opponent to the naive kids.

This episode, being the finale, pulls out all the stops.

The pace is relentless as we go from the tension-filled calm before the storm while Silvo meets the Supervisor to a high-speed hoverbike chase, a planetary invasion, and the final showdown between the kids and Silvo’s pirate crew.

Director Jon Watts pays tribute to Wizard of Oz, ET, and other hallmark adventure movies by taking the viewer through these high-octane action sequences with gusto.

My personal favorite sequence was seeing all of the kids and Wendle, Wim’s father, race to the Supervisor’s tower in their hoverbikes. The camera follows the hoverbikes over hills and cliffs in a very entertaining chase.

All of this action threatens to stifle the heart and charm that Skeleton Crew has done so well with so far, but the cast continues to communicate the emotional stakes extremely well.

This is especially true for Fara (Kerry Condon). Fara is someone who is deeply loyal to the Supervisor and the so-called “Great Work,” but her loyalty is challenged several times over.

This conflict is openly displayed through Condon’s expressions, and we see her resolve in real-time to protect her daughter no matter what once Fern convinces her to help them stop Silvo.

This finale also sees the brief return of Khy’mm, who the kids ran into in Episode 3, as KB cashes in on her offer to help if the kids need it. She felt like an under-utilized character to only appear two times in the whole season, and primarily to give us another connection to the overall universe. 

With Jod scrambling to keep control over the eternal treasure he just found, we get some more insight into his backstory.

It turns out he was trained by a Jedi, who was brutally killed, presumably by the infamous Order 66 that declared all Jedi traitors, and he became completely disillusioned with the Jedi and working for the greater good.

It gives another layer of complexity to the character and also gives a subtle yet interesting hint towards a connection to other Star Wars stories.

We also see some excellent acting from all four kids, especially Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Ravi Cabot-Conyers, demonstrated in the nerve-wracking moment where KB goes down with the Onyx Cinder.

The episode ends with a heartwarming reunion of the four kids as they are herded by their parents to return home.

It would have been nice to see another couple of scenes post-pirate invasion to see how At Attin was going to rebuild, but overall, Skeleton Crew‘s season finale delivers a riveting end to one of Star Wars‘ best live-action shows yet.

Stray Observations:

• SM-33 returns! I cheered when I heard his voice, and it was a particularly funny touch to have him holding his own head.
• KB is the true MVP throughout this series, and I am glad she got her time to shine.
• Wendle’s cheering and whooping after the high-speed hoverbike chase was exactly how I felt, and it was nice to see him and Wim bonding so much.
• Wim got his lightsaber moment! And this time, he remembered to check which way he was pointing it.

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All episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are streaming now on Disney+.

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