Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew episode 6Skeleton Crew episode 6 is full of exciting Easter eggs and Star Wars references. There are also some really great nods to classic pirate lore and pop culture. This is especially true with Jude Law's Jod Na Nawood reuniting with his old crew with intentions to plunder the secret missing treasure planet known as At Attin.
As seen in Skeleton Crew episode 5, Jod betrayed Wim, Fern, KB, and Neel the moment he discovered the location of At Attin and the legendary Captain Tak Rennod's message that the planet held one of the last Old Republic mints, capable of creating an "eternal treasure". Now the kids are shown in this new episode trying to get back to their ship while Jod attempts to convince his old crew to trust him once more. To that end, here are all the biggest and best Star Wars Easter eggs, references, and pirate nods we found in Skeleton Crew episode 6.
22 A Nod To The Grinch?
Perhaps Not Just A Luke Skywalker Homage
The kids going down the trap door chute feels a lot like Luke Skywalker going down the trash chute in The Empire Strikes Back after dueling Darth Vader. However, it may also be an homage to Ron Howard's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and the trash chute to Mt. Crumpit. After all, Bryce Dallas Howard directed this particular episode (Ron Howard's daughter), and the chute does see the kids landing in the snow, having just been inside the depths of Skull Ridge Mountain.
21 Also A Nod To The Goonies?
The Water Slide To One Eyed Willie's Ship
It's also fun to see the parallels between Skeleton Crew's slide from Rennod's lair and the water slide at the end of The Goonies that led to One Eyed Willie's ship. This is especially true when you look at the end of both with their multiple exit holes for each of the slides.
20 KB's Failing Augments
A Nod To A Classic OT Character
A significant portion of this episode focuses on KB (Kyriana Kratter) and her cybernetic augments that help keep her alive. Alongside the confirmation that she needs her "augs" after suffering an accident that made them necessary, KB admits to Wim and later Fern that there are some things that she just can't do. As such, this level of context and exploration into the uses of augments is fascinating, especially when thinking about Empire Strikes Back's Lobot, Lando Calrissian's right-hand man and the first Star Wars character to be shown with augments from the original trilogy (whose origins and backstory were quite mysterious for quite some time).
19 Jod Getting Caught Parallels Smee
Covered In Stolen Treasure
Jod gets caught by security and his former pirate crew while being covered in treasure stolen from Rennod's lair. As such, this feels like a strong parallel to Mister Smee fleeing Captain Hook in Hook before being caught by The Lost Boys. Likewise, the parallel gets even better when SM-33 follows Jod out of the sewers covered in treasure as well.
18 Skull Ridge Mountain Has A Xi'Dec Guest
First Seen in The Last Jedi
When the pirates confront Jod, an alien Xi'Dec can be seen as one of the Skull Ridge Mountain Spa's various guests. First seen in The Last Jedi, a Xi'Dec opera singer was briefly featured on Canto Bight during the fathier chase. Again, special thanks to ScreenCrush for catching this one!
17 “You Bilge Rats!”
A Classic Pirate Insult
While the pirates take Jod aka Silvo into custody, one of the pirates can be heard calling his fellow crew members "bilge rats". This is a classic pirate insult, one that can be heard across all sorts of media featuring sea-faring pirates, and now in Skeleton Crew as well.
16 Trash Crabs
Not Unlike A New Hope's Dianoga
There's always something lurking in the trash in Star Wars. Luke, Leia, and Han discovered this first-hand with the dianoga in A New Hope's trash compactor scene. Likewise, Darth Maul survived for years hidden on a garbage world following his Phantom Menace defeat. Now, Wim discovers a colony of trash crabs in Skeleton Crew episode 6, who eventually reveal themselves to be far more sinister than they initially appear.
15 The Crabs Have Been Seen Before
A Star Wars Choose Your Adventure Book
Also pointed out in ScreenCrush's breakdown video, the crabs have been seen before in the established Star Wars canon in 2018's Choose Your Destiny: A Luke & Leia Adventure by Cavan Scott and Elsa Charretier.
14 The Pirates' Space Station
It Looks Pretty Familiar
The space station serving as Brutus' pirate lair is reminiscent of the design for Ranzar Malk's Roost space station seen in The Mandalorian season 1, episode 6. Likewise, it also looks like it could be one of the Republic's orbital medical stations used during The Clone Wars.
13 The “Mad” Captain Silvo
The Name Now Feels Even More Notorious
Jod's former crew members add to the name they all know their former captain by, calling him The "Mad" Captain Silvo. This serves to make his name even more pirate-y, and he likely earned the "Mad" name after one too many "big scores" never panned out (as was shown in Skeleton Crew's first episode).
12 Death By Airlock
The Star Wars Version of "Walk The Plank"
Agreeing to investigate his promises about At Attin, Brutus threatens Silvo with "Death by Airlock" should his story prove false. This appears to be the Star Wars space pirate version of walking the plank (which is actually a far more fictionalized punishment when compared to real pirate history).
11 Right of Last Appeal
Continuing To Establish The Pirate's Code
Brutus agrees to give Silvo the Right of Last Appeal with equal time to plead his case against the accusations made against him. This is not unlike what's shown in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the real-life "Golden Age of Piracy" in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Pirate's Code. After all, Jod's appeal certainly feels a lot like Jack Sparrow's parley via the Pirate Code when he convinces Barbossa and his former crew to work with him once more in the first movie.
10 "The Words of a Dead Man Are Worthless"
A Potential Pirates of the Caribbean Nod
Brutus' words in Skeleton Crew episode 6 feel like another way to say "Dead Men Tell No Tales". Connecting to Disneyland once more, it's a classic pirate phrase most famously used in the original Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride near the beginning, just before one of the first drops.
9 A Shanty For Captain Rennod & The Onyx Cinder
Continuing The Pirate Aesthetic
Captain Tak Rennod's legend continues to be fleshed out with the reveal that he and his ship have their own shanty that pirates would often sing in the Star Wars galaxy. As such, Jod clinches the deal and convinces his old crew to work with him after singing the song about At Attin that all the pirates seem to know.
8 Following The Trash Crabs
Just Like Jack Sparrow
Wim and KB following the crabs humorously brings to mind Jack Sparrow once more. In 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Jack chases after an army of dessert crabs who take The Black Pearl from him while he's trapped in Davy Jones' Locker after being killed by The Kraken.
7 Skeleton's Crew's Giant Mama Crab
Mirrors Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The small crabs leading to a much bigger one with the intention to eat the kids feel a lot like the spiders in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After all, the spiders in that movie led Harry and Ron to Hagrid's large Acromantula named Aragog, not unlike Wim and KB who are saved by Fern and Neel just in the nick of time.
6 Lucasfilm Used Stop Motion For The Mama Crab
Just Like In The Original Trilogy
Lucasfilm released a behind-the-scenes video for Skeleton Crew episode 6, confirming that the Mama Crab was an actual model that was animated using classic stop-motion techniques, just like many of the monsters and aliens seen in the original trilogy of Star Wars films.
Not Unlike Moana's Tama-Toa
Lucasfilm has also confirmed all the rusted "treasures" to be found on the Mama Crab's back. This includes droid models of R2-D2, C-3PO, and K2-SO, as well as various ship and vehicle parts from X-wings and walkers. As such, the Mama Crab certainly carries a more intimidating resemblance to Tamatoa from Disney's Moana franchise, the giant crab who also keeps treasure on his back.
4 "I Can Give You One Last Surge!"
A Nod To Star Trek?
KB doing all she can to give Fern more power for The Onyx Cinder feels like a nod to Star Trek's Scotty. After all, the head of engineering would often give Captain Kirk "everything she's got" while working aboard the starship Enterprise and coaxing the ship to provide beyond its expected capabilities.
3 Major Toy Story 3 Vibes
Facing Imminent Death Via Incinerator
Skeleton Crew episode 6 shares a mirrored ending with Pixar's Toy Story 3, which also sees its lead characters facing imminent destruction by a large trash incinerator. To that end, the way the kids look at each other before breaking free feels so much like the ending of Toy Story 3 when Andy's toys were in a similar predicament before they were rescued, so much so that it really does feel like it might be an intentional parallel/homage.
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