Image courtesy: GameReactor

Why ‘Skeleton Crew’ Was A Hug For My Inner Child

The first episode of the new Star Wars’ show Skeleton Crew was definitely the refreshing, cozy Sci-Fi spin-off that my inner child needed more than I realized — heck, I’m even writing about it months after its release. The episode starts off with a pirate crew attacking a ship of The New Republic for credits — none to be found. The crew then decides to attack their captain for his irresponsible decision to waste crew members’ lives for nothing besides a literal single penny. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, this did feel familiar, reminding me of the many pirate episodes in the animated series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now, the real cozy fun begins after the title screen as we are introduced to a bunch of kids, who will start their journey in the vast universe of Star Wars.

We follow a kid called Wim and his Myykian friend Neel’s journey to school. While waiting for the school bus to pick them up, the little nerds — oh, where is the time I used to play like this at the playground — pretend to be Jedi in a fierce battle against each other. The playful innocence of this scene makes one feel very nostalgic to the simple times where one’s fantasy and careless childhood made everything, every life, seem possible. Right before the bus arrives, the kids are judged by the other kids in school, also triggering childhood memories for many, however, in a less lovely way perhaps. (This is the part in my article where I solemnly raise my middle finger to every bully out there). The scene ensures the viewers bond with the characters quickly, — the two nerdy kids were set up to be my favorites and remained so the entire episode — but it also shows the viewer a lot about the kids’ position in ‘society’ aka their school: their friendship is worth everything to each other and the other kids just suck!

Even though both kids geek out about their Jedi fantasies, it’s mainly Wim who lets his daydreaming go a bit too far. In school, when the undersecretary Fara asks what the kids want to be when they grow up, Wim — without mentioning the word Jedi — basically describes that he wants to be a Jedi which causes the other kids laugh at him again. This even leads to Neel criticizing Wim’s inability to sever his real future from his invented future. Wim is that kind of character that used to make me think writers could look inside my head and write about me — gosh, how I wanted to be just as impossibly magical as he wants to.

We also are introduced to a tough girl Fern, the Undersecretary’s daughter who loves being a rascal and likes taking risks, and KB, a ‘just cool enough sidekick’ for Fern with a technological edge, sporting the coolest sci-fi glasses and very knowledgeable about engines, motorcycles etc. The intention here, from my perspective, is that Fern looks for excitement in dangerous ways — as kids would — and KB follows. This is in stark contrast to Wim and Neel friendship that is purely rooted in mutual respect.

One day, when Wim overslept for his exams, he tries to make it in time by taking a shortcut through the woods — falling from his motorcycle and stumbling upon what would later be a spaceship, but to him seems like a lost Jedi temple — wishful thinking I’d have done, too, I guess. Now here’s my take on why he is so fixated on the whole Jedi fantasy. You see, as much as Wim appreciates Neel as a friend, Neel has a ‘complete’ family and Wim doesn’t, something he clearly, or is it clear to every viewer? wants, too. His mum passed away (for reasons unknown right now) and his dad is never there, only working. The Jedi temple he found is, at least through my eyes, a way to fantasize about a different life where he doesn’t have to deal with loss but can be a super cool, super strong, superhero, fuck yeah! Anyway, he fell, missed his exam and is waiting at school while his dad talks to the principal. While waiting, he meets Fern the wannabe racer — not his best friend (no worries, Wim, she wouldn’t have been mine either at that point in my character arc).

Dad, obviously mad about what happened, gives Wim a strict deadline to redo the exam the day after so the little curly-haired kid has to study ‘till he drops. Of course, he visits Neel that same evening, — who is, by the way, taking a foam bath which is just adorable — and they both go towards the ‘jedi temple’ defying the father’s wishes. But hey, what would a good Star Wars story be if the kid actually went studying and just passed the tests?

Not much later the tough girls claim the wreckage and the kids find a way to enter the ship. The ship automatically shuts its doors, and the kids try to escape. When Wim was ‘not allowed to press any buttons by a rightfully scared Fern, he does so anyway and the ship takes off. IRRESPONSIBLE! Wim’s father sees the ship leave while looking for his runaway son and he sees the kids trying to get off the ship. However, the ship’s already so high up in the air that there’s no safe way to get off it (in one specific shot, one of the engines should’ve burnt Wim to a crisp, but hey, physics aren’t Lucasfilm’s strong suit, right?). We see — one formerly dead — droid wake up and the ship leaves outside the planetary barrier, granting the kids to see the vast galaxy with its many stars for the first time before taking off into hyperspace. This is where the adventure (and the credits) starts.

The whole premise of this first episode, being a group of innocent, naïve kids that stumble upon a shipwreck, is just the cozy adventures that I think we currently need. With all the geopolitical issues going on right now, it’s refreshing to see a ‘simple’ story where the stakes aren’t the end of a republic or the obliteration of a planet. Just some kids being kids and accidentally getting into trouble. Isn’t that the very thing we long for at times? To go back and appreciate the careless world we used to live in. Wim, Neel, Fern and KB — in no particular order — good luck out there!

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