“Andor” may be the tonal opposite of “Skeleton Crew,” a show for all ages featuring kids on a wonder-eyed adventure that’s far removed from Tony Gilroy’s gritty political thriller, but both shows do have something in common: They both relish being standalone. Granted, both shows have big consequences for the universe at large — like the start of the rebellion and the discovery of an old Republic mint — but for the most part, the show is not interested in referencing other “Star Wars” projects or bringing in cameos.
Still, “Skeleton Crew” does have some deep connections to the lore. There is a reference to an old comic group of pirates, and also the fact that one of the many aliases Jude Law’s character uses has a long history in the “Star Wars” Legends canon. This is a show that loves “Star Wars” but doesn’t feel dragged down by it, which makes it a refreshing watch compared to other recent shows set in the galaxy far, far away.
In a way, “Skeleton Crew” is the purest “Star Wars” experience in years, one that hits at the very core of the franchise by being a true space adventure. By the end, there are many questions of how the story impacts the larger world, but what matters is that our characters made it home after their long and dangerous journey.
But in the case of “Skeleton Crew,” making it back home was just part of it, because, in the season 1 finale, the kids also had to defend their home from a pirate invasion. Thankfully, they had some help from the real good guys — the New Republic. Not only did we see a bunch of X-Wings come to save the day, but they even brought along a couple of powerful ships from “Star Wars: Rebels,” the B-wings.
The B-Wing packs a strong laser punch
Toward the end of the episode, the New Republic pirate-busters answer the call to help At Attin and easily overwhelm and destroy the pirates. Though we have seen X-wings be badasses before, this was different because of the B-wings. You see, the B-wing (also known as the A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter) has a special quad laser beam from each of the four wing points that combines in a focus beam to form an even bigger and more powerful laser beam that can even take down a Star Destroyer. It was extremely powerful, though every time one is used, it fries the avionics of the fighter.
The B-wings appear in “Star Wars Rebels,” where they become the primary starfighters of the Phoenix Squadron together with the A-wings. Sure, it’s a rather cartoonish ship, but it works perfectly in animation, and even looks cool in live-action as well. “Skeleton Crew” thankfully resists the urge to bring characters from animation to live-action (unlike the rest of the MandoVerse), but this is not the first time something from the cartoons has been referenced in “Skeleton Crew.” After all, the show continued the “Clone Wars” tradition of war-torn planets being French-coded. As for the B-wings, let’s just hope this is not the last time we see those cool laser beams on screen again.
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