TV Review — ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ Goes Full ‘Goonies’ In Episode 5
by Austin Gorton
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has always worn its influences on its sleeve, perhaps none more so than Richard Donner‘s 1985 pirate-and-booby-trap adventure movie The Goonies. But the influence of that film is more on display than ever before in “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates”, in which specific plot points and set pieces from the film are directly referenced and/or homaged. But rather than just existing as a series of Leo-pointing-meme references to an old movie, the series’ fifth episode also features key developments for the characters and their relationships. It results in an episode that serves as a great example of how to use nostalgic references as engines of storytelling and character development.
With the memory of SM-33 (Nick Frost) fully unlocked, the crew of the Onyx Cinder — the name of the central ship in the series, which finally gets referenced onscreen in this episode — heads to the pirate fortress of SM-33’s old captain, hoping to find the coordinates to At Attin and/or the pirate’s treasure. But when they arrive, they discover the old pirate hangout has been built over by a luxury spa. Just like in The Goonies, the key to pirate treasure lies beneath an otherwise innocuous facade (here, the spa; there, the Fratellis’ restaurant).
Upon arrival, Jod (Jude Law) is spotted by a past acquaintance and bounty hunter, Pokkit (Kelly MacDonald), who calls in the bounty on Jod placed by his old crew. Before long, Jod and the kids are being chased through a subterranean complex by Gunther (Jaleel White), aka Space Urkel, and his goons, just like the Goonies are pursued on their quest for pirate treasure by the Fratellis. There’s booby traps, shenanigans involving pipes, and a secret treasure room watched over by a lingering vestige of the pirate who oversaw the hoarding — just one Goonies signpost after another.
What makes all the signposts in “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates” more than just nostalgia pulls is the way they also work to push forward the plot and characterization. Because the key piece throughout all the Goonies-esque shenanigans is the subtle way they show how it is the kids — not Jod — who are driving the action. Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) suggests following the pipes deeper into the resort, eventually leading them to their destination. When KB (Kyriana Kratter), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), and Jod are accosted by guards, KB is the one who helps them escape. In regaling the massive alien Cthallops (voice of Patrick Seitz) with the story of their last adventure, Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) effectively opens the door to the treasure room. Once inside, Neel figures out where the captain’s log (and the coordinates to At Attin) are hidden. To be fair, Jod does figures out the booby trap involving the acid, but the episode seems to be making a point to show how the kids, largely without realizing it, have grown to the point that they don’t really need Jod to get stuff done.
Which is a key bit of groundwork to lay, because, by the end of the episode, everyone’s repeated warnings not to trust Jod pay off as he usurps Fern’s captaincy and orders SM-33 to throw the kids into the brig. They manage to escape, but Jod’s betrayal clearly marks a turning point for the series. If Jod is, in Campbellian terms, the kids’ mentor figure who offered them aid after their Call to Adventure, they have now reached the point where they must continue their adventure without the mentor’s aid (and with the added twist that their mentor has now become their antagonist — a beat which is also consistent with Jod’s Long John Silver inspirations). With three episodes to go, “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates” shifts the dynamic amongst the characters considerably — all while affirming the series’ inspirations in the process.
New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew air Tuesdays on Disney+.
