Be More Neel

Skeleton Crew Season 1 Episode 4 "Can't Say I Remember No At Attin"

CAN’T SAY I REMEMBER NO SPOILERS

In the fourth episode of Skeleton Crew, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin,” directed by Academy Award winning The Daniels, we’re treated to a stopover on a strange planet that feels like a haunted version of At Attin itself. This planet, At Achrann, is a wasteland, populated by warring tribes, who greet any stranger with “What flag do you fly?” It’s as if the Hatfields and the McCoys populated a planet with French revolutionaries and their child soldiers.

That At Achrann’s architecture is more than reminiscent of At Attin’s is one of the many clues to the mystery of Skeleton Crew that this episode offers up. Throughout this episode, we feel the lens widen on the mystery at the core of the show, from the Old Republic’s influence (the ashes of the Great Work) and how At Attin became so impossible to find to begin with.

I’m personally really enjoying the way this show plays with what we don’t know. Most Star Wars shows and movies give us a God’s eye view of the timeline. We know more than the characters. We’re watching pieces fall into place. We know that the Rebels will obtain the Death Star plans. We know that the Jedi will fall. We know Anakin will turn to the Dark Side.

In Skeleton Crew, we do not know that much. The planet is new to us, the kids are new to us, their parents are original, Jod is unconnected to other stories, and these hidden planets are an entirely new canvas on which to tell a story. I don’t think the mystery is, in and of itself, some impossible-to-figure out puzzle box. But it’s a pleasure to discover things as the characters do, and not be so far ahead of them.

More than anything, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin” reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who. The Doctor is stuck on the Tardis arguing with a robot and the companions are wandering an alien world with pure hearts, innocence, and bravery. Yes, in the end, they’re saved by the clever but unsteady Doctor (in this case Jod); but the action of the episode is about how they respond to an allegorical science-fiction premise.

In this case, that premise is a planet in perpetual war for reasons that seem, at best, ill-defined. It’s clear that fighting is now a habit for the people of At Achrann, so much so that when they meet lost children, their first idea is to see how useful they’ll be in a fight.

Each of the kids is really well-distinguished here. When Wim thinks they are about to return home, he sighs with disappointment. This is just getting good, and now we’re going home? He is every little boy who longs for adventure. KB is observant and hyper competent. Fern is a leader with the very human self-doubts. Her moment with Wim when she bristles at being called ‘amazing’ will be relatable, I imagine, to many young women in positions of leadership. If I’m so amazing, she says, why don’t I know what to do. (Of course, she does figure out what to do, she’s amazing.)

And then, we get the Neel. Precious, perfect Neel. Neel has stolen my heart, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. He’s the Samwise Gamgee of this band of kiddos, pure of heart, not very worldly, but able to speak what everyone around him needs to hear.

One line that really stood out for me came from French Child Solider #1 and designated NeelFriend, Hayna of the Troik tribe. (Star Wars names are fun.) She puts a lot of stock in strength, but after talking to Neel, she compliments him with, “Your weakness makes you kind.”

Star Wars being a story largely for children doesn’t make it juvenile. It’s always argued against the idea of power as a good unto itself. When we ask ourselves, “Who was more powerful, Rey or Luke?” or we ask ourselves “Who was more powerful, Obi-Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader” we’re asking ourselves the wrong question, and it’s a juvenile question. We should be asking ourselves “Who sacrificed too much for power?” or “What sort of good did this characters do?” Star Wars is interested in the health of our hearts, not our power.

Neel is not a powerful character. He’s a kid in a world of adults, outmatched by everyone. There’s no one on screen Neel can fight and win; there’s no one he can outwit. But he sees the world around him clearly. He says, maybe if you just apologize, you wouldn’t have to fight all the time. He admits when he’s afraid or confused. He asks why things are the way they are, and if they couldn’t be a little better another way.

And, in this episode, he’s brave. He saves his friends from a malfunctioning SM-33. He walks with his friends towards what could be an oncoming dangerous tribe, trembling but trudging along. When Hayna asks if he’s afraid, he has no bravado. Terrified, he says. She joins him, as a friend, because he’s honest. She even gives him a little kiss on the cheek, and we, dear viewer, are gifted a shot of Neel’s blue hair fluttering in the breeze. Oh Neel. Right on. You deserve it, buddy.

He also saves his friends from SM-33, drawing the dangerously broken robot to him by hitting him with a rock. I mean, if this isn’t best friend material, I don’t know what is.

Neel isn’t a hero because he could win a war, he’s a hero because he really doesn’t want to fight one. He remains true to himself in the face of a chaotic galaxy, and makes other characters a little bit more hopeful because of it. We all could stand to Be More Neel.

We are halfway through Skeleton Crew Season 1! So far, this show has more than exceeded my expectations. It’s using a heartfelt mix of influences and creative freedom to give me the Star Wars story I didn’t know I needed. I hope you’re having as much fun with it as I am.

Can’t wait for next week! Skeleton Crew for Christmas!