Skeleton Crew Episode 4 continues the Star Wars television tradition that began with The Clone Wars

This article contains Spoilers For Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Season 1, Episode 4, “I Can’t Say I Don’t Remember Attin.”

“Skeleton Crew” was the biggest “Star Wars”-related surprise since “Andor” took the world by storm with its poignant political drama. Initially sold as a lighter kind of “Star Wars” adventure inspired by “The Goonies,” the show has proven to be one of the most innovative and engaging “Star Wars” projects in years. Sure, it’s more aimed at kids and has a lighter tone, But “Skeleton Crew” also isn’t shy about giving us some of the scariest images in the series (Whether that’s an assortment of creepy, bloodthirsty space pirates or a killer robot stalking a group of kids on a dark spaceship).

In Episode 4, “I Can’t Say I Don’t Remember in Atten,” the series takes a turn away from fun pirate shenanigans to instead present a dark and poignant story about the impact of war on children and the cycle of violence, with everyone’s favorite. The blue space elephant, Neal (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith, and all indications are to the contrary, He is no Close to Max Repo), calling for finding solutions other than sending children to the front lines. It’s a great episode that also has a surprising connection to the tradition started in the “Clone Wars” animated series: planets engaged in never-ending wars being coded in French.

“Can’t Say I Remember No Attin” follows the young heroes of the “Skeleton Crew” to what they believe is their home planet of Attin (He’s basically the titular scientist in “Treasure Planet.”), but it’s actually another one of the Nine Gems of the Old Republic and a place known as Ashran. Far from the ideal suburban home the children know, Atachrann is a planet in a constant state of war. (One could even call it the inverted version of Attin.) The conflict takes place between two tribes, the Troik and the Hattan, who have been fighting for generations. When we first meet the Troika, they have a distinct feeling. Firstly, they are at least a little inspired by the Lost Boys from “Peter Pan” as there are many children fighting against adults on the other side. However, once we start meeting some of the key players, including their general, it becomes clear that the Troiks specifically speak French – at least, that is the case with their leader, General Strix (Mathieu Kassovitz), and His daughter, Haina (Hala Finley).

This brings to mind the Ryloth arc from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” where a group of Jedi are deployed to the planet Ryloth to aid the Twi’lek resistance in the fight against their Separatist oppressors. Part of what makes the story so memorable is that all the Twi’leks we meet speak with distinct French accents, which showrunner Dave Filoni has said in the past was a direct request from Star Wars creator George Lucas. It is not difficult to recognize this creative decision as a great tribute to La Résistance, the French resistance during the Nazi occupation in World War II. Given how interested Lucas was in World War II, it makes sense that he would bring some influences from that time period to “Clone Wars” — and he brings much more than that, starting with the wartime radio news announcements at the beginning of each episode.

Changing the focus slightly from pirates to a planet at war where children are sent to the front lines, Episode 4 of “Skeleton Crew” offers more than just a cool nod to the “Clone Wars” animated series. Where the episode really shines is the way it interrogates the idea of ​​“Star Wars” as a franchise that revolves around war. The moment the series’ young protagonists are drafted into the conflict, most of them seem to accept their situation without much protest. But Neil? He refuses to believe that war is the only way forward. Instead, he befriends Hayna and tells her that if he were in charge of a tribe engaged in a generational war, he would simply apologize and move on. After all, war is no place for children.

This simple yet poignant conversation highlights the fact that the “Star Wars” film series has always been defined by war while also contrasting well with the reckless yearning for adventure and action expressed by Neil’s friend Wim (Rafi Cabot Conyers). What’s more, it’s a throwback to Rose Tico’s (Kelly Marie Tran) speech at the end of “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” when she stopped her fellow Rebel Finn (John Boyega) from carrying out a pointless operation. Suicide charge. “This is how we’re going to win,” Levine said. “Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.” Sure, “Star Wars” has the word “Wars” in the title and conflict has been at the forefront of every project on the property, but it’s “Skeleton Crew” — the show with the most vulnerable heroes (literal children!) — that finally raises the question of whether it’s possible That excellence looks beyond war.

Given how well “Skeleton Crew” was a simple tale about kids wanting to return home, or how “The Acolyte” delivered an emotional and exciting story about the darkness behind the goodness of the Jedi Order without setting it in a time of war, the answer seems to be yes.

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be released every Tuesday at 6pm PT on Disney+.