'Skeleton Crew' Episodes 1 & 2 Spoiler-Free Review
Image Source: StarWars.com
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premiered the evening of Monday, December 2nd, a day earlier than initially advertised. Consisting of two episodes, “This Could Be A Real Adventure” directed by Jon Watts, and “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier,” directed by David Lowery, the show is off to a fantastic start! We here at CultureSlate have our review.
Our story quickly situates us with Wim, played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers, and we get a very good idea of life on their homeworld of At Attin. The worldbuilding of At Attin is impressive, with a detail-rich environment in Wim’s home and around town as he travels to school. The school itself is also well realized, with each student in a school uniform and other small touches to the environment to make it a fun sci-fi space to explore with the eyes, but also come across as familiar to many viewers based on their own experiences.
There are also plenty of aliens, some familiar and some seemingly new and created for this show, as well as fun alien creatures all over the place. Without it being a spoiler, we can safely say that this idyllic life full of yearning for more on Wim’s part is ultimately changed before the end of Episode 1. Episode 2 sees the action increase considerably as the pirate element takes center stage and ends on a cliffhanger that will certainly get Episode 3 off to a running start.
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Image Source: X.com
We should now focus on some of the other elements that really make the show special, and the score is a highlight. There are whimsical and adventurous tunes to match the situations the characters find themselves in, with particular note to the piece played over the end credits, interestingly enough. The acting is also a strong point for all of the characters. Wim, KB, and Fern are all realized very well with clear character traits that blend well together and also clash, while Neel is performed and voice-acted well by the puppeteers and those in the suit to the same effect by the human co-stars. The adult characters who appear are also realized very well, to the point that you dislike them as flawed authority figures in these kids' lives.
However, one of the downsides about this premiere is that it again displays a consistent problem this reviewer and other fans have had with streaming shows, specifically live-action Star Wars streaming shows, on Disney+: the inconsistent episode runtimes. Episode 1 is almost 20 minutes longer than Episode 2, a significant difference, especially when streaming seasons for Star Wars are consistently eight episodes long.
We do not want fluff crammed into episodes that are a bit shorter when script writing or editing is done, but more should be done to create a level viewing experience. Even with Episode 2 being fun and full of enjoyable elements in its current state, some more time exploring the main travel destination before the group’s separation would have been a benefit to the show, to at least help that second episode clear the half-hour mark in terms of proper. It isn’t enough to detract from the quality of these first two episodes, but it bears noting as a specific issue.
In summary, Skeleton Crew looks like it will be great fun, thanks to an excellent premiere! With a fine cliffhanger ending, we look forward to seeing what will come next!
Review: 9/10
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