When does the finale of Skeleton Crew drop?

This is it — we’re down to the final episode of Skeleton Crew!

After dropping the first two episodes of Skeleton Crew at once on December 2, Disney+ has been dropping one episode per week at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays. The eighth and final episode (for now) will be directed once again by series co-creator Jon Watts, who also directed the series premiere.

But before we look ahead, let’s take a look back at the seventh episode of this series, We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble, which saw the kids return home, but also brought pirates to their doorstep.

Timing notes

We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble was among the shorter episodes of the series, clocking in at just 36 minutes with credits. Once again, the episode was tightly paced and didn’t leave me wanting. It ratcheted up the tension, leaving us standing on the edge of a blade of a lightsaber with its cliffhanger ending.

Notes

(Warning: Spoilers for episode seven of Skeleton Crew ahead.)

• So we’ve finally made it back to At Attin. For what it’s worth Wim seems less than enthused by the prospect, worrying that once they get home everything goes back to the way it was. He wishes he hadn’t even put the kids on their path in the first place. But for their parts, Neel and Fern are glad he did and we see that at the end of the day this adventure brought them all together and built bonds that will stand the test of time.
• The pirates get to At Attin first, and Brutus and Jod have a back-and-forth which once again reveals Brutus’ lack of vision (“If it isn’t in front of your face it doesn’t exist.”) Jod asserts the planet is hidden inside “the endless storm” and is willing to bet his life on it, but rather than let Jod go out himself Brutus sends a volunteer and the pirates promptly lose a comrade and ship to the barrier’s defensive measures. That nearly gets Jod airlocked, as Brutus had threatened in the prior episode, but the kids arrive just in the nick of time and Jod puts two and two together and figures out the ship is the key. He’s right, even if he doesn’t see the whole picture, as we’ll learn a little later on.
• It wouldn’t be Star Wars without our heroes getting caught in a tractor beam (which is it always the baddies who utilize this technology?) and the pirate frigate soon has the kids and the Onyx Cinder in its grasps. The kids do their best to defend their position, capturing Brutus with the ship’s claw, but Jod takes advantage of the situation, killing Brutus and claiming the ship.
• With the kids captured, we see a message sent from their parents thanks to the communication device the parents were able to successfully release at the beginning of the episode, which inspires Wim to attempt to take back the ship. Of course, it’s futile but we do learn that the problem with Jod claiming the ship is that he’s already assumed the helm of the pirate frigate, and per the pirate’s code can’t control two ships at once. He clamps his hand over Wim’s mouth and claims the Onyx Cinder, but Fern steps up and calls unclaimsies, which is good enough for SM-33 who saves the day and the kids, ejecting the pirates and allowing the kids to escape.
• It turns out Jod was right – the ship is the key, because as Wim realizes the ship is able to make it through the barrier defenses, which we see up close and personal, because it is an At Attin ship. So the kids breeze through, while the pirate forces are blown to smithereens.
• Unfortunately for the kids and SM-33, Jod was able to stow away and make his (and his stolen lightsaber’s) presence known as the ship is locked into an autolanding sequence en route to At Attin. Jod decapitates SM-33 and takes control, brutally tearing down the children and making me regret thinking he ever cared about any of them in the least. He clearly is concerned with only one thing – himself. And maybe treasure. He lambastes the kids as weak, spoiled, sheltered brats and says he’s tired of their incessant jibber jabber, with Wim being the worst of all in his mind. He’s got a terrible headache and zero patience left.
• He can’t reach his pirate crew because of the barrier and warns the kids that they’re going to have to play along when they land so he can reach out to the pirates on the other side of the barrier. Otherwise, he’ll turn his lightsaber on their parents, who he saw make desperate pleas for the kids to come home. He threatens to carve them all up slowly, piece by piece using the lightsaber (although, to be honest, he didn’t look that strong with the blade. An Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker he is not.)
• While I wouldn’t be shocked if that communication device brings a squadron of X-Wings to save At Attin from pirates in the finale, it also gives Jod his cover story as a Republic emissary when then Onyx Cinder lands on At Attin. Jod is all too happy to play along and be taken directly to the mint, despite being forced to wait to his comrades.
• Jod is overwhelmed when he enters but one of the 1,139 vaults in the mint, literally showering himself in credits while laughing maniacally. At the same time, the parents arrive on the scene and have a tearful reunion with their lost children. The moment is cut short, however, when Jod menacingly comes upon the joyful reunion and ignites the lightsaber. Will he turn on the charm and try to fool the parents at the start of the next episode? Or will he cut to the quick and move to dispose of anyone who could stand in his way? I’m still not convinced that Wim doesn’t get his moment of redemption with that blade and proves to be the hero of the day, one who will stand up to the tales of the Jedi that have so enthralled him. We’ll have to wait to see.
• No matter how it all ends, I agree with Fern — these kids are going to be in so much trouble.

So we’ve reached the end. The eighth and final episode of Skeleton Crew drops on Tuesday. The kids are home, but they’re not out of danger yet. Who will come to their rescue in the finale? Did the New Republic receive the signal the parents sent out? Will a squadron of X-Wings arrive to take out the pirate frigate? Will a real Jedi show up to square off with Jod? Will Wim be like the heroes he’s always lionized?

No matter what, it’s safe to say that Skeleton Crew has been a delight and among the best pieces of Star Wars released in the Disney era. May the Force be with you!