Who is Jod Na Narwood? What is the true significance of At Attin? These questions that we, the constant viewers, and Wim and his group have as we venture into the third episode of “Skeleton Crew.: ”Very Interesting, As An Astrogration Problem.”
I will continue to say that one of the things that “Skeleton Crew” does so well is channeling the vicariousness of the viewer from the eyes of the characters of Wim, Fern, Neel, and KB. Like the kids, we have so many questions about Jod Na Narwood and At Attin that we want the answers to.
We are introduced to Jod (portrayed by Jude Law) who helps the kids escape from the brig. He goes along with Wim’s assumption that he is a Jedi but the Fern and KB do not believe him. Fern in particular believes that Jod might be using magnets or string to make the illusion that he has Force powers.
I have my theory as to who Ja Na Narwood might be, or was. But, from what we have observed, he is not just a pirate or a former captain that was mutinied by his old crew. He is a loner and he is out for something. He is a man of many identities: Jod, Captain Silvo, and Crimson Jack.
I think it was cool that the writers Christopher Lord and Jon Watts added “Crimson Jack” as one of Jod’s aliases as an homage to the comics. Many fans of Star Wars Legends would know that there was a character of the same name in the 1977 Marvel Star Wars Comics. The Crimson Jack from Legends, like Jod, was a pirate and he had an encounter with Han Solo and Chewbacca. Jack stole Solo’s money that he was awarded for saving Princess Leia; the money was going to be used to pay off the bounty Jabba the Hutt placed on Solo. Han would eventually kill Crimson Jack during a final showdown.
Going back to my theory, I think it is possible that Jod could be a former Jedi Initiate who survived the Great Jedi Purge set out during Order 66. In “Star Wars” lore, a Jedi Initiate was a step before a Jedi Padawan. In the Jedi Order, an initiate could either become a Padawan, if he or she passes the trials, become a member of the Jedi Service Corps, or leave the Jedi Order all together. If Jod was indeed a Jedi Initiate or a member of the Jedi Order, like all Jedi survivors, he had to find a way to blend in and keep a low profile from the Empire. And what better way to do that than become a pirate and live a life of not trusting anyone but yourself?
But what about At Attin? In this episode, we learn through the kids that their parents’ occupations and the Great Work deals with money. And since the datatries that Wim has have the Galactic Republic symbol, the kids start to get more suspicious and realize that maybe there might be treasure on their planet. And why is there a protective barrier of nebular gas around the planet?
The Owl-like creature, and an old associate of Jod’s, named Kh’ymm mentioned that At Attin was one of many “Jewels of the Republic” that were hidden from the galaxy for their protection. All the planets were destroyed except for At Attin which is believed to be a myth in “children stories” and “pirate shanties.” The kids learn that there is no map to At Attin.
I feel that At Attin’s mysteriousness is a callback to how Kamino was erased from the maps of the Jedi Archives by Count Dooku in “Tales of the Jedi.” Dooku erased Kamino to keep the Jedi and the Republic in the dark about the Clone Army. I can only surmise that someone, like Dooku, had to erase the way to At Attin in order to protect whatever it is that the planet is hiding.And there is also a good chance that that someone once owned the Onyx Cinder and hid the ship on the planet.
So, potentially, Jod and the kids are being chased by not only the pirates they escaped from Port Borgo but also, potentially the New Republic. And this chase would eventually lead back to At Attin.
Aside from the many questions that I have, there were so many things I enjoyed about this episode. When Jod is trying to retrieve SM-33, he sees many droids including an old Separatist Battle Droid that wonders if the Separatist won the Clone Wars. Another Easter egg, in that same scene, that was cool was the cameo of Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man: Now Way Home” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”) as Benjar Pranic. What really got me blown away, and convinced that there was more to At Attin, was that the kids had no knowledge of the events of the Galactic Civil War that changed the galaxy. KB mentions that at school, they learned about Coruscant and Alderaan which Kh’ymm questions if the kids missed the war. I also feel that Wim and Fern taking control of the Onyx Cinder’s guns and firing at the New Republic X-Wings was an homage to Luke Skywalker getting cocky when he shoots down a Tie Fighter while on board the Millennium Falcon during the escape from the Death Star.
I also feel that At Attin is going to attract the attention of the New Republic in some fashion. At the end of the episode, Kh’ymm lets the New Republic X-Wing pilots she sent to chase “Crimson Jack” that the pirate and the kids were headed to At Attin. There is a good chance that she might give the pilots the coordinates to the planet, despite her machine being destroyed by Jod.
“Skeleton Crew” is now streaming on Disney +.
