The following contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” season 1, episode 4, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attlin.”
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” episode 4 brings Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), Neel (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith), and SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost) finally back to the kids’ native At Attlin … or so they think. In reality, they land on At Achrann — a planet that’s identical to At Attlin right down to the city layout, but has been ravaged by a long-lasting war. At Achrann is effectively a strange, perpetually misty landscape where the young protagonists encounter lonesome child survivor Hayna (Hala Finley), who indicates she’s trying to avoid the evil Hattans. Later, this prominent kid character introduces Strix (Mathieu Kassovitz), a warlord figure who trains child soldiers and whom Hayna calls “Papa.” Hey, doesn’t that remind you of something?
It appears that the situation pays homage to Netflix’s smash hit sci-fi horror mystery series “Stranger Things,” where people keep finding themselves in the Upside Down. This is a desolate, barren, and perpetually misty version of their own world where, in season 1, lonesome child survivor Will (Noah Schnapp) tries to avoid monsters. The show also features also a prominent kid character, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), whose scientist parent figure Brenner (Matthew Modine) trains superpowered children and whom Eleven calls “Papa.”
Apart from the “dangerous and wrecked version of a familiar world” concept, the visual design of At Achrann resembles the Upside Down in many parts of the episode. While the planet is still a very “Star Wars” location, there are moments where it’s easy to expect “Stranger Things” villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) to walk in the frame and slowly back away after realizing he’s in the wrong franchise.
Skeleton Crew continues its strong homage game in episode 4
Early episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” have been heavily Amblin-inspired, so it’s not terribly surprising that the show also pays tribute to other avenues of entertainment. While “Stranger Things” itself is an Amblin-inspired series and therefore a natural port of call for knowing nods, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schneidert — aka Daniels of “Swiss Army Man” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” fame — also infuse episode 4 with several even more surprising homages.
At some times, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attlin'” pays loving tribute to the “Fallout” franchise’s post-apocalyptic, faux-1950s atmosphere. At others, it borrows a trick from Disney’s “Treasure Planet” (2002) with SM-33’s memory loss storyline. It even continues the Daniels’ established penchant for casting familiar faces of yesteryear in major roles; this time, prominent 1990s and 2000s actor and filmmaker Mathieu Kassowitz appears as Hayna’s father, General Strix. Then again, the director duo is hardly the first to bless the show with obscure references. After all, the David Lowery-directed “Skeleton Crew” episode 3 reached deep into the homage bag by referencing Disney’s “Sword in the Stone,” of all things.
Fortunately, none of these homages take away from the episode itself, which is a reliably entertaining watch that reveals whole new sides of the kids’ home planet, as well as SM-33 and Neel. If this trend continues, spotting further loving homages in the series’ remaining episodes should make a fun side quest for viewers.
New episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” drop Tuesdays at 6 pm PST on Disney+. Solana Token Creator
