Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 1.07 and 1.08
In which the delightful season ends with much suspense and heartfelt character scenes for everyone, including the droid 33.
I don't think I've mentioned yet that one of the many things this show does/did well (if this is the first and last season, I mean) was how to handle the eternal problem of the parents when you have child heroes. Otoh, if they're responsible, caring parents, they're going to do their best to keep their kids away from danger; not good for the plot. Otoh, you can't just make everyone an orphan or give them abusive parents unless you want your story to be more grimdark than most shows aimed at children want to be Skeleton Crew separated the kids from their parents by plot point early on and also established why the parents can't just hop on a spacecraft to search for them, but it did show us the parents were, in fact, trying their best to find and help their kids. There were just the right amount of scenes to flesh the parents out a little and make them sympathetic without taking too much time for the main narrative. And then, in the finale, this paid off in a variety of ways: Jod's threat to the parents to keep the kids silent felt personal; the parents had to trust their children on some key decisions while the children could act on what they had learned in their journey in a way they could not have before leaving; the parents themselves (at least Wim's father and Fern's mother, KB's mothers and Neel's parents weren't featured the same way) were changed by this, and among the emotional moments in the finale were two where parent and child worked together to save each other and the day.
It also was a great contrast to our main antagonist, and having now watched the entire season, I still maintain Jude Lawe's character is the best John Silver from Treasure Island (the original novel) avatar I've seen in a good while - definitely in a Disney movie. (Both the decades old adaptation with Robert Newton and Treasure Planet made their Silvers cuddlier than the character in the novel was - who could be charming, but was a ruthless killer both in the past and in the present, and while not gratiously cruel definitely definitely was after the treasure first and foremost. Jim himself isn't sure whether Silver wouldn't have killed him instead of protecting him in the final hours of the treasure hunt if he hadn't known that the wind had turned against the pirates for good.) After the last but one episode underlines his ruthlessness again (bye, Brutus; the threat to the parents; the invasion), the finale also finally presents us with his backstory (well, a key part of it), and it's almost, but not quite what people had guessed it might be - he was neither a youngling or padawan in the Temple, he definitely was never a Jedi, nor was he an Inquisitor; he didn't bluff or just rethorize when saying "we've always been hungry" in 1.07, he really was a desperately poor streetkid (that was guessable from the resentful way he said Our Heroes were "spoiled" ), which was when a post Order 66 on the run female Jedi came across him, and taught him a few basics until the Empire caught up with her and tortured her to death in front of child!Jod. Again, the balance was just right; Jod/Silvo/all the other names was no moustache-twirling villain (note that while his threats were convincing, he doesn't even attempt to kill either the kids or their parents once the tides have turned and the pirates are literally going down; like original Silver, he's not gratiously cruel or into revenge killing), he was three dimensional, but he did remain the primary antagonist. And like original Silver, he does get away (I mean, come on, who thinks he remained in that tower to let himself be arrested).
As for Our Heroes, there were so many lovely moments when each of their strengths or learned-through-the-journey abilities allowed them to shine - KB steering the ship to send the distress call to the New Republic, and having the bright idea of how to reactivate 33; Wim using his imagination for a distraction and bluff (not his fault that he included a claim he couldn't know would be immediately recognized as a lie - after all, Jod made the same mistake with the Supervisor); Neel and his shooting skills; Fern and her mother, with Fern's statement possibly being my most favourite thing in a huge assembly of good thing, because it truly resonated so much with me. In this day and age. In reply to Fara saying that the barrier was there to protect Fern from the dangerous and cruel place the galaxy is (something Jod will also bring up later), Fern says that yes, the galaxy is dangerous and cruel - but that in every single place they've been, they also found someone good, someone who cared and helped. And that, at a time where so many are trying their best to make our world a dog-eats-dog place, is such a great and important retort. Because it's true for our world as much as for the GFFA.
Another thing: in a refreshing change of pace for a series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, this one isn't about the flaws of the New Republic. I mean, it doesn't present them as having solved everyone's problems, obviously. There is still huge financial inequality, and pirates do menace the Outer Rim planets. But unlike the other shows, here there is no scene of Blind Bureaucrats not being helpful; instead, we see the New Republic guys trying to do their best and coming whenever they learn about someone's distress, and within the timeframe of this show, just focused on our ensemble of characters, succeeding.
In conclusion: this series was charming and just incredibly well done from the start to the end, and I loved it.
I don't think I've mentioned yet that one of the many things this show does/did well (if this is the first and last season, I mean) was how to handle the eternal problem of the parents when you have child heroes. Otoh, if they're responsible, caring parents, they're going to do their best to keep their kids away from danger; not good for the plot. Otoh, you can't just make everyone an orphan or give them abusive parents unless you want your story to be more grimdark than most shows aimed at children want to be Skeleton Crew separated the kids from their parents by plot point early on and also established why the parents can't just hop on a spacecraft to search for them, but it did show us the parents were, in fact, trying their best to find and help their kids. There were just the right amount of scenes to flesh the parents out a little and make them sympathetic without taking too much time for the main narrative. And then, in the finale, this paid off in a variety of ways: Jod's threat to the parents to keep the kids silent felt personal; the parents had to trust their children on some key decisions while the children could act on what they had learned in their journey in a way they could not have before leaving; the parents themselves (at least Wim's father and Fern's mother, KB's mothers and Neel's parents weren't featured the same way) were changed by this, and among the emotional moments in the finale were two where parent and child worked together to save each other and the day.
It also was a great contrast to our main antagonist, and having now watched the entire season, I still maintain Jude Lawe's character is the best John Silver from Treasure Island (the original novel) avatar I've seen in a good while - definitely in a Disney movie. (Both the decades old adaptation with Robert Newton and Treasure Planet made their Silvers cuddlier than the character in the novel was - who could be charming, but was a ruthless killer both in the past and in the present, and while not gratiously cruel definitely definitely was after the treasure first and foremost. Jim himself isn't sure whether Silver wouldn't have killed him instead of protecting him in the final hours of the treasure hunt if he hadn't known that the wind had turned against the pirates for good.) After the last but one episode underlines his ruthlessness again (bye, Brutus; the threat to the parents; the invasion), the finale also finally presents us with his backstory (well, a key part of it), and it's almost, but not quite what people had guessed it might be - he was neither a youngling or padawan in the Temple, he definitely was never a Jedi, nor was he an Inquisitor; he didn't bluff or just rethorize when saying "we've always been hungry" in 1.07, he really was a desperately poor streetkid (that was guessable from the resentful way he said Our Heroes were "spoiled" ), which was when a post Order 66 on the run female Jedi came across him, and taught him a few basics until the Empire caught up with her and tortured her to death in front of child!Jod. Again, the balance was just right; Jod/Silvo/all the other names was no moustache-twirling villain (note that while his threats were convincing, he doesn't even attempt to kill either the kids or their parents once the tides have turned and the pirates are literally going down; like original Silver, he's not gratiously cruel or into revenge killing), he was three dimensional, but he did remain the primary antagonist. And like original Silver, he does get away (I mean, come on, who thinks he remained in that tower to let himself be arrested).
As for Our Heroes, there were so many lovely moments when each of their strengths or learned-through-the-journey abilities allowed them to shine - KB steering the ship to send the distress call to the New Republic, and having the bright idea of how to reactivate 33; Wim using his imagination for a distraction and bluff (not his fault that he included a claim he couldn't know would be immediately recognized as a lie - after all, Jod made the same mistake with the Supervisor); Neel and his shooting skills; Fern and her mother, with Fern's statement possibly being my most favourite thing in a huge assembly of good thing, because it truly resonated so much with me. In this day and age. In reply to Fara saying that the barrier was there to protect Fern from the dangerous and cruel place the galaxy is (something Jod will also bring up later), Fern says that yes, the galaxy is dangerous and cruel - but that in every single place they've been, they also found someone good, someone who cared and helped. And that, at a time where so many are trying their best to make our world a dog-eats-dog place, is such a great and important retort. Because it's true for our world as much as for the GFFA.
Another thing: in a refreshing change of pace for a series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, this one isn't about the flaws of the New Republic. I mean, it doesn't present them as having solved everyone's problems, obviously. There is still huge financial inequality, and pirates do menace the Outer Rim planets. But unlike the other shows, here there is no scene of Blind Bureaucrats not being helpful; instead, we see the New Republic guys trying to do their best and coming whenever they learn about someone's distress, and within the timeframe of this show, just focused on our ensemble of characters, succeeding.
In conclusion: this series was charming and just incredibly well done from the start to the end, and I loved it.