Welcome back to the blog readers. If you know anything about me, you should know that I am a massive Star Wars fan, and have been for a long time. If you also have been sticking with the blog over the last year, you would know that Star Wars is kind of in a lull right now. Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) was a letdown, as was The Mandalorian's (2019-) third season and Ahsoka (both 2023). And don't even get me started on how bad The Acolyte (2024) was (and it was not because it was "woke" you fucking snowflakes). But I had held out hope for this series. Would its first episode, titled "This Could Be A Real Adventure," written by Christopher Ford and Jon Watts, and directed by Watts, be a step in a more positive direction? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
You may have been seeing the little hints I have been dropping about my support towards John Campea but he basically described this series better than I could: The Goonies (1985) meets Star Wars. I have never seen The Goonies but I know of its charm and how many people revere the film. And never seeing that film, I do have to say this first episode does a very good job of giving us that Amblin Entertainment charm I was secretly hoping for. I enjoyed the performances of the kids (which I will not talk about for obvious reasons) and the mystery that we seem to be getting with this series.
Now I know I said I will not be talking about the performances of the child actors for obvious reasons, I do want to touch briefly on the weight of what these kids are coming into. This set of kids is coming into an extremely toxic Star Wars fanbase that has not been kind to child actors (or actors they do not like). Look at how Jake Lloyd was treated upon release of The Phantom Menace (1999). The poor guy was bullied out of acting and he has never been the same. Or look at Ahmed Best for the entire Prequel Trilogy or Kelly Marie Tran in The Last Jedi (2017). The Star Wars community bullies people they do not like, so I am nervous for these kids, but I happened to think they were extremely charming from this first episode. They feel like real kids that you would see online or out in public and I love that we were able to tap into that level of authenticity.
Now I want to talk about the story of this episode because I am starting to see the Goonies connections in this episode. We start on a ship that is being raided by pirates, led by a mysterious masked figure named Captain Silvo. When he promises them a boatload of credits, they blow open the vault to find only one credit. The crew turn against this masked man, led by a wolf-looking creature named Brutus. We then cut to the planet At Attin, where we follow human child Wim and his elephant species best friend Neel preparing to take a career aptitude exam the following day. Wim has aspirations of being a Jedi, although Neel tells him that idea is impossible. Wim is also feeling pressure from his workaholic father Wendle. As this is happening, two other children named Fern and KB are skipping school and riding their bikes around town.
On the day of the exam, Wim misses his bus and takes his own bike to try to make it to school by using a shortcut. When he crashes, he discovers what appears to be a Jedi Temple as he is caught by a patrol droid and brought to school. Wendle chastises his son for missing the test and tells him he was able to get him to make it up on a 50 point curve, meaning he must get every question right to pass. He commits to studying but cannot get what he discovered out of his head. He convinces Neel to join him in digging up the "Temple," but Fern (who overheard Wim tell his father about the "Temple") and KB beat the two there. They bicker over who claims the find and they commit to digging it up, but KB is able to make their way in. While inside, they learn too late (as Wim touches a button Fern told him not to touch) that the "Temple" is actually a long-lost ship that blasts them into space, much to Wendle's (who went out looking for him) horror. I definitely think that over the next few weeks, we will learn more about this planet and these kids, and I am hopeful Jude Law appears soon because this show was marketed around him.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew kicks off with a rousing good time as we get a great introduction to our young protagonists and the journey they are now on. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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