This article contains spoilers for episode 7 of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”, “We’re going to be in so much trouble”.
All “Star Wars” projects exist on a spectrum of intensity from the Saturday morning adventures of animated series like “Rebels” to the hyper-mechanical, anti-imperial politics of “Andor.” But within each project, there is also a range. “Rebels,” for example, has plenty of cartoonish episodes full of hijinks and dad jokes, but it also pulls out all the stops from time to time for much heavier moments.
For the most part, “Skeleton Crew” stays on the younger side, as should be obvious from its four pre-pubescent protagonists. There are of course references to more adult-oriented ideas, but the series has generally stayed in the Amblin Entertainment sector of dangerous but not dark childhood adventure stories. That said, “Skeleton Crew” episode 7, “We’re Going to Be in So Much Trouble,” contains a brief moment that recalls one of the darkest moments in the entire “Star Wars” franchise.
After a whole season of characters telling kids they can’t trust Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), he proves all his enemies right by returning to his pirate ways. Sneaking onto the Onyx Cinder while escaping from her former pirate crew, Jod disguises himself completely, yelling at the children that they are weak, boring, and generally useless. He does all this while wielding a looted lightsaber, which he found earlier in legendary pirate captain Tak Rennod’s hidden treasure. Even though it’s pretty clear that Jod has a soft spot for children and mostly does posturing, it’s still difficult to see him threaten children with a blue lightsaber and not think about the massacre of young Jedi by Anakin Skywalker during Order 66.
Jod may be a survivor of Anakin’s Jedi Temple massacre
Lightsabers are always cool, but they’re not always scary. When they are, it’s usually a red that does the damage. When Jod launches into Onyx Cinder’s cockpit and ignites her stolen blade, the kids all cower in fear, and rightfully so. While it’s not exactly a shot-by-shot, the scene will naturally conjure up images of the youngsters hiding in the Jedi Council room in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of this scene is that it’s entirely possible that Jod himself survived this attack. He appears to be in his forties in “Skeleton Crew”, which would certainly have made him old enough to have been chosen by the Jedi and taken to the Coruscant Temple before or during the Clone Wars. We also know that he has received at least some proper Jedi training since, in an earlier episode, he tells Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), “Your focus determines your reality,” the same line Qui-Gon Jinn delivers to a young Anakin in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.”
If Jod had not been at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during Order 66, he would have been on a mission with his master and fought in the war. Given his age, the first option seems more likely, which would mean he knows all too well the damage a blue lightsaber can cause in the wrong hands.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Jod Na Nawood
So far, it’s hard to tell how well-trained Jod Na Nawood is with the lightsaber, as he hasn’t done much with the one he stole other than brandishing it in a menacing manner. Likewise, his arc has been mostly a copy-paste of Long John Silver from “Treasure Island” (or “Treasure Planet”, depending on your preference). After a period of bad luck, he meets children who have a real chance of earning him a big salary. He comes to take care of it, but when the treasure comes into view, he turns his back on his apparent character development to flee with the loot. Even his pirate name, Captain Silvo, is a reference to the character.
It seems obvious that, in episode 8, Jod will change his mind and regret the way he treated the children. But with only one episode remaining, we could still end “Skeleton Crew” Season 1 with big questions looming about Jod’s past. His Force powers don’t seem as strong as some other characters in the “Star Wars” universe, but he could still prove useful if rumors are true that some “Skeleton Crew” characters will appear in the Dave Filoni’s next film. “Star Wars” movie. This movie is meant to be a sort of culmination for the “Mandalorian” era, and it would be interesting to see Jod interact with other Jedi and Jedi-adjacent characters like Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, and even Grogu, who was himself- even a survivor of Anakin’s Jedi Temple attack.
The season 1 finale of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” will be released on January 14, 2025 at 6 p.m. PST on Disney+.
