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With the latest Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew, having come to an end, we’re talking about just why the show’s ensemble cast made it special.

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The ensemble of 'Skeleton Crew' is what made it special

by Rachel Leishman

Skeleton Crew has unfortunately come to an end and with it comes the realization that the show worked because of its core ensemble. Wim, Fern, Neel, and KB made it worthwhile.

Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) were friends prior to the show starting and through the season, we saw as their duo became a team with Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and KB (Kyriana Kratter). The show itself could have easily just been about Wim or Fern and had everyone else coming in to support their journey. But what made Skeleton Crew work was that it allowed these kids to all be leads together.

Often, the comparisons to The Goonies were thrown around with the show but it is the reality of why it worked. I loved seeing the difference between Wim’s friendship with Fern at the start of the series to where the two were by the end. It was beautiful seeing how Neel changed from a scared young boy to someone willing to do anything for his friends. Watching as KB used her strength and differences to save At Attin was beyond brilliant.

The show allowed these kids to really be kids but do so by letting them fight, grow, and change in their friendships. It wasn’t a group of people who already knew each other and they didn’t have a built in comradery. Instead, we watched them bloom and how they all shifted into a team who could do what it took to save their home planet.

Without that core ensemble, I don’t think the show would have worked as it did.

A sweet story of friendship

We haven’t often gotten a story within the Star Wars universe that is one we can break down into simple terms. There are overarching themes of fighting against oppressors, rebellion, and beliefs. But with Skeleton Crew, we didn’t really have that looming over these kids. Instead, it was just a journey home. Yes, there were pirates and treasures and mysteries to solve but at the end of the day, the show was really about these kids and getting back home to At Attin.

I think that the show itself does a really great job of allowing each of these characters have their own personality and show how that works to their collective benefit. It isn’t a surprise that these kids all ended up being the kind of team that can take on pirates and save their parents. But it was really beautiful to see how each of them grew and changed to be better friends to each other.

Without Wim learning how to be a leader along side Fern or without Neel and KB coming into their own, I don’t think the finale would have been as special as it was. So while the show was nostalgia for our love of a good friendship story, it worked because of that friendship. We would have fallen in love with these kids as we did if we didn’t get to see them grow and come into their own and that, to me, is why Skeleton Crew works.

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