Skeleton Crew Explained | Episodes 1 “This Could Be a Real Adventure” and 2 “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier”

Episode 1: “This Could Be a Real Adventure”

The life of a pirate couldn’t be any further life on At Attin, and that’s made crystal clear when a cold open full of explosives and blaster fire shifts from the start of a mutiny to…a tranquil world where children and their parents are just waking up to start their completely average, normal days.

Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) are two best friends with very healthy imaginations, whether they’re playing with action figures or pretending to duel with lightsabers. (Who among us has not ignited a pretend saber and provided the sound effects at one time or another? Relatable.) 

On the flip side, we have Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and KB (Kyriana Kratter), two best friends who race hoverbikes. And after calling “claimsies” on Wim’s discovery of a mysterious buried treasure — a ship known as the Onyx Cinder — the foursome is in for a surprise.

At first mistaking the circular door for a buried Jedi temple, it’s Wim who hits the button that sends them hurtling toward the sky in the starship despite Fern’s orders not to touch anything. For seemingly the first time in their lives they begin to understand how vast the galaxy truly is.

But the adventure is just beginning…

Episode 2: “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier”

Fern’s penchant for storytelling isn’t just for scaring boys anymore. After terrifying Wim and Neel with her tall tales, Fern’s storytelling prowess saves their skins when SM-33 (Nick Frost) lumbers into view. The ship’s droid is loyal to the last, still serving a long-gone captain. But Fern doesn’t even flinch. Who’s the captain now? She is. And, honestly, we’d follow her on any adventure, too.

While Wim’s dad, Wendle (Tunde Adebimpe), is lost in the forest trying desperately to find help after watching his son carried away on a starship, the kids speed to Starport Borgo where it becomes painfully clear that they are in waaaaay over their heads. 

They soon learn something surprising: no one, not even a well-meaning Theelin, believes that they’re from At Attin, “the lost planet of eternal treasure” as she perplexingly calls it. And Wim’s shiny lunch money makes him and his friend Neel an easy target for treasure-hungry rogues.

Unfortunately, soon all four kids are tossed into the brig along with Snowball, the tiny creature that makes its home inside SM-33’s circuits. For a moment, it seems all hope is lost. They’re out of options and out of luck.

But then… the mysterious Jod (Jude Law) steps out of the shadows. He’s dressed as a pauper, feet wrapped in rags, but manages to levitate the key that will unlock their cell doors and allow them to make their escape. 

“Can you keep a secret?” Jod asks.