It seems Lucasfilm’s Christmas present for fans of Skeleton Crew this year was delivering the shows best episode to date in time for the big day. I’ve said this show works best when it fully commits to the pirate angle and the fifth episode dives into that angle in a big way.

The only thing that really felt off in this episode was how quickly they got over the whole SM-33 wanting to kill everyone thing. Once he was turned off, KB simply reconfigured him and he was good as new. While I was hoping for a bit more conflict here, this quick fix did allow for 33 to finally dish out the goods on the ship and its former owner. The ship they’re currently on is called the Onyx Cinder, which was the vessel for the fearsome and legendary pirate captain Tak Rennod. I love how Jod takes all this information in like a kid at story time, hanging on 33’s every word. Being a pirate himself, he knows the legends and is basically fanboying internally.

33 revealed that the crew mutinied against the captain, but he intentionally crashed the ship killing everyone on board. I have a feeling that Rennod is the mysterious supervisor we keep hearing about back on At Attin. Speaking of, the parents are committing their own acts of piracy to try and get a message out to their kids, only to be discovered by the supervisor’s CCTV droids. The plot is thankfully covered up by Fern’s mother, but there’s something weird going on with this planet and set-up.

So why would Rennod (which sounds a lot like the French word “Renard”, meaning Fox)want to stay on At Attin? We learn that today too, as 33 says that the captain’s log would be stashed in his vault on a pirate cove of a planet. Only said planet is now an adults-only spa, much to 33’s utter disgust. To sneak in, Jod bribes his way and puts the kids in disguise, telling the staff that they’re Elders who don’t speak Galactic Basic. Jod “speaks” to them in nonsensical jibberish, which continues the great streak of humour this show has. This, and Wim asking Jod what a concubine is during 33’s story earlier on in the episode, was quite funny.

After being tagged by a bounty hunter played by Kelly Macdonald (Brave), Jod and the kids (who have split up to find the trove under the mud baths), end up on the run from the staff, as well as some of the pirates who show up after being tipped off. But Jod and the kids eventually find the entrance and we get a very Raiders of the Lost Ark opening sequence as they descend into the depths. There’s a bunch of skeletons lying around who suffered from the various traps left behind by the pirates of old. One such trap involved sacrificing some gold in an acid vat, which Jod later tells 33 to reactivate once inside the vault to melt the pirates chasing them. Dark stuff.

But that’s to be expected as Jod straight-up betrays the kids once they uncover the coordinates to At Attin and learning that the planet is the final mint for the Old Republic credits, so unlimited money in the wrong hands. Time and time again, everyone told the kids (and by extension, us) to not trust Jod and turns out, this was accurate information. He challenges Fern to a duel to the death for claim to the captaincy but urges her to yield so he doesn’t have to hurt her. He even holds her at knifepoint to get his point across and 33 refuses to intervene, as the challenge is legal per pirate code. I like that the writers keep Jod just out of reach from being evil; if he was he would’ve just killed the kids on the spot, but he has that limit where he asks Fern to yield because he doesn’t want to have to kill her. I’m not even sure he would’ve if it came to it, but regardless, Fern did yield and Jod is now the captain of the Onyx Cinder, with coordinates to At Attin.

Last week, it was Neel who stood up to save his friends and this week, Wyn gave it a go. Earlier on in the episode, Jod and Wim had a heart-to-heart, chiefly over how the real-life adventures aren’t anything like the ones Wim read about in his stories. I really liked this scene, as life is rarely how we imagine it and when we’re a kid, we never realize just how good we have it. All Wim wants now is to go home. But when faced with betrayal, Wim picks up the lightsaber inside the vault to face Jod…and actives it upside down. It’s a one-two great comedic bit, but also devastating as Wim loses his chance to save his friends, resulting in a last-ditch effort by triggering a trap door to escape. Jod then takes hold of the lightsaber and the episode ends on that note.

This episode struck a perfect balance between fun and adventure, along with characterization and pushing the mysteries of At Attin and Jod along. Jod’s little chat with Wim further suggested he was a Padawan who likely survived Order 66, as he talks about letting go of attachments. I love the pirates and the lore around them in the show and I especially like how there’s just so much weird stuff in the show, like a giant alien in a mud bath who just wants to hear great stories. It all works. The VFX are also very good, whether it be the practical or digital shots of the ship landing at the spa. I’m very curious to see where we go from here now that the kids are separated from Jod and 33. My hope/wish is that they get help from another pirate, perhaps a certain Hondo from The Clone Wars/Rebels? One can only hope. Stay tuned for the next episode’s review in the new year!