Summary
The sun has set on another corner of the ever-expandingStar Warsuniverse. With the wide-eyed wonder ofSkeleton Crewrounding off in bombastic style, the rag-tag rabble of kids looks set to return to their mundane lives on At Attin. While fans knowSkeleton Crewwas inspired by the likes ofThe GooniesandE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it feels like the season finale was also paying homage toStar Wars’ not-so-distant cousin of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With the titular Skeleton Crew facing untold dangers heading intoJanuary 14’s “The Real Good Guys,”there were genuine fears Wim, Fern, KB, or Neel would be getting one of those typically tragicStar Warsfarewells at the hands of the villainous Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law). Instead, there were twists aplenty, daring rescue missions, and some major ties to the wider ‘Mandoverse’ of this lucrative era set after the events of 1983’sReturn of the Jedi. More than that,Skeleton Crewtipped its hat toStar Wars’ neighbors in the MCU.
Who Was Skeleton Crew’s Supervisor?
As soon asSkeleton Crewintroduced the dystopian planet of At Attin, it was clear something was amiss. In a power vacuum left behind by the fall of the Empire, it seemed odd that there was no realpresence of the New Republic. Instead, At Attin was overseen by a generic workforce of caretaker droids, while its residents carried out mysterious work under the guise of the even more mysterious “Supervisor.” Eagle-eared fans clocked the familiar voice of Stephen Fry when the Supervisor was heard earlier in the season, and hoped to see theBlack Adderstar in the flesh. Although viewers finally got to meet the man behind the curtain in episode 8, there was much more to the Supervisor.
Giving some seriousThe Wizard of Oz(andWicked) vibes, the Supervisor wasn’t some human overlord. Rather, it was an AI program tasked with keeping At Attin’s population in check while making sure the outside world wasn’t aware of the planet’s existence. There were theories that the Supervisor might be Tak Rennod, but instead, the famed pirate met his fate while searching for the At Attin mint. There was plenty ofGoonies-esque mythology inSkeleton Crew, and like the treasure in Richard Donner’s 1985 movie was real, At Attin was in fact the treasure planet that Jod and his motley crew were searching for.
The Supervisor reiterated that it had been a long time since an emissary had visited the planet, suggesting At Attin’s existence had been kept at the highest level of Galactic Republic intelligence. Jod tried to trick the Supervisor into granting him access to the mint by claiming he was a Jedi emissary. But as the Supervisor noted, the last message he’d received from the Galactic Republic stated that all Jedi were traitors. Even ifSkeleton Crew’s chances of renewallooked slim, don’t expect to see the Supervisor again. Jod quickly dispatched him with a lightsaber.
Skeleton Crew’s Finale Mirrors She-Hulk
Fans have been comparingSkeleton Crew’s AI master toShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s meta finale. The controverisal ending ofShe-Hulkblew minds with a fourth-wall-breaking episode that homaged Kevin Feige’s real-life status as the MCU’s overlord. Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) broke through the Disney+ app and confronted the Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus (K.E.V.I.N.) to complain about the finale being crammed with too many Hulks.Skeleton Crewdoesn’t involve Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) breaking the fourth wall and complaining about a lack of Luke Skywalker cameos, but in this technological era of AI, the Supervisor twist works.
There are also similarities to the reveal thatLoki’s Time Variance Authority wasn’t run by the all-powerful Time-Keepers like the TVA’s workers were always told. Unlike the TVA being run by aKang the Conqueror variantas a villainous puppet master, it seemsSkeleton Crew’s Supervisor was simply an AI program that was sticking to protocol.
In general,Skeleton Crewseemed to be borrowing bits from various MCU shows for better or worse. The younger cast of characters follows in the footsteps ofMs. MarvelandAgatha All Along,which feature Iman Vellani and Joe Locke as younger leads. This makes sense in future-proofing the franchise and suggesting these characters could potentially be around for years to come.
Skeleton Crew’s Supervisor twist can be traced to a number of other projects, like the reveal at theend of Amazon’sFalloutthat Michael Esper’s Bud Askins was a dismembered brain in a jar. The Supervisor being exposed as an AI program was just as shocking. It would also be remiss not to mention the clear connection to2001: A Space Odyssey. Even though the Supervisor isn’t as villainous as the sentient supercomputer HAL 9000, the design of the Supervisor being a glowing red eye is a clear nod.Skeleton Crewdoesn’t lean into the horror of2001with the Supervisor going on a murderous rampage, but aside fromThe Acolytefeaturing zombie stormtroopers, the franchise has never been into horror.
Star Warsis known for borrowing from other mediaand even itself, with clear parallels between George Lucas’ original trilogy and the Disney era that started withThe Force Awakens. Unfortunately forStar Wars, its current slate is struggling to replicate the success of the MCU. Even though Marvel Studios' Phase 5 had a mixed bag with the likes ofSecret InvasionandThe Marvels, other projects likeAgatha All AlongandDeadpool & Wolverinehave restored hope. Now,Star Warsis hoping to recapture its own magic by putting a lot of effort into the Mandoverse era thatSkeleton Crewsits in. There’s no official word on whether Wim, Jod, and the others will be back forSkeleton Crewseason 2, but as the show’s early ratings suggest, it could be another so-so outing likeThe Book of Boba Fett.
