The episode titled “You Have A Lot to Learn About Pirates” has us constantly asking the question of who Jad Na Nawood is. This is the same question I asked in my second review of “Skeleton Crew:”
Is he Captain Silvo? Is he Dash Zentin? Is he Jodwick Zank? Is he good? Or is he bad? Can he be trusted? Was he really a Jedi or just some random Force user? Who was he before becoming a pirate? The character portrayed by Jude Law is a man of many identities and sides. He’s an enigma with a lot of scrutiny. And that is the catalyst of this episode.
Just like we have a lot to learn about pirates, we sure have a lot to learn about Jod Na Nawood, if that is even his name. But we do learn about the ship and its previous Captain from the aforementioned pirate.
At the beginning of the episode, Jod and the kids reactivate SM-33 and ask if he knows where to find At Attin. The droid tells the group that his old Captain Tak Rennod had the coordinates hidden in Skull Ridge Mountain. Jod tells the group that Tak Rennod was a legendary pirate in the galaxy who was in search of the treasure of At Attin and that the ship they were on was the Onyx Cinder.
While SM-33 is telling the story of Tak Rennod and his adventures, Jod consoles a saddened and downcast Wim, who misses his father. The pirate tells Wim to forget his attachments. In addition, he also utters an interesting line to Wim that was uttered by one Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace:” “Your focus determines your reality” due to the boy having a strong imagination. When I saw this scene, I wondered if Jod was imparting some Jedi wisdom to the youngling. When Jod uses the Force to pick up Wim’s book, the boy asks if he isn’t a Jedi and how he could learn how to use the Force, which the pirate only smirks.
As I mentioned in my second review, Jod could be a Jedi survivor since he seemingly has knowledge of Jedi philosophy and is able to use the Force. Could Jod also sense the Force or at least see some potential in Wim?
As the group heads to Skull Ridge Mountain on the planet Lanupa, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Lando Calrissian’s Cloud City on the planet Bespin. Both planets are beautiful resort planets and utopias away from the rough and tumble galaxy. But as with all utopias, there is trouble in paradise for Jod and the kids in the form of bounty hunters and pirates. One bounty hunter in particular is Pokkit (portrayed by Kelly MacDonald, who voiced Merida from Disney’s “Brave”), who identifies Jod as “Dash Rentin.”
When I heard the name Dash Rentin, I thought of another “Star Wars Legends” (The non-canon “Star Wars”) character, Dash Rendar, who was the protagonist of “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.” Dash was a Corellian human smuggler and friend to Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Between the events of “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” and “Return of the Jedi,” Rendar helps Luke and Leia uncover the mysterious criminal organization Black Sun, led by the Falleen Prince Xizor. The Black Sun leader would try to kill Luke so that he would replace Darth Vader as Emperor Palpatine’s right-hand man. Dash would seemingly die after destroying Xizor’s Skyhook above Coruscant but would be revealed to be alive and in hiding.
Knowing that trouble was following him and the kids, Jod almost used all the Old Republic dataries to find a room at the resort and hide himself, SM-33, and the kids so that they could plan on finding the coordinates to At Attin. SM-33 showed the group Captain Rennod’s symbol, which would lead them to his hideout.
After having several run-ins with the resort security, booby traps, and with the Pokkit and the pirates on their tail, the group manages to find Rennod’s lair, thanks in part to the help of an alien name Cthallops. What I enjoyed about this scene was the comedic and adventurous vibe akin to the “Indiana Jones” films. The comedic vibe reminded me of a scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where Indiana Jones and his love interest, Marion Ravenwood, are being chased through Cairo. In addition, the part where Jod drops the remaining Republic credit into the acid to reveal a secret passage reminds me of the scene of the secret passage reveal of the temple in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Rennod’s lair is full of treasure, and to Wim’s amazement, a lightsaber hilt is found. Jod and the group find the data port and discover, from a hologram from Captain Rennod, the coordinates to At Attin and that the treasure on the planet is the last Old Republic mint. This makes the kids realize that At Attin is indeed the planet of eternal treasure.
As a result of this revelation, Jod’s greed is revealed as he challenges Fern for the title of Captain under the pirate’s code. SM-33 laid down the rules. Jod offers Fern to surrender, but she tries to fight the pirate but to no avail as he uses his Force abilities and has his knife to her throat. Wim, the aspiring Jedi, ignited a lightsaber that he found in the treasure room, but it was activated the wrong way.
At the end of the episode, while Wim, Fern, KB, and Neel escape from Jod and SM-33 with one of the booby traps, Jod uses the Force to pick up the lightsaber hilt Wilm found and ignites it.
In addition to Jod’s identity, this episode also had me wondering who the Supervisor of At Attin really is and why he or she is not willing to help the kid’s parents. In the beginning of the episode, Neel’s mother Nooma gives Wim’s father Wendle a device to get past the barrier to call for help but one of the At Attin security droids catches him and he is sent to Undersecretary Fara’s office. The parents of Wim and Fern argue about what to do to get their children back since Wendle reveals that the Supervisor would not help them. Does the Supervisor know about the Onyx Cinder, or is he or she somehow connected to Captain Rennod?
Skeleton Crew is now streaming on Disney +.
