In Skeleton Crew, what’s a little near-death shock between friends?

Skeleton crewChildren tasted for the first time a star wars staple Last week When they discovered that not everyone around them was seeking their best interest. So naturally, this week is all about a few of them looking closer at the connections that bind them He does Their presence and putting them to the ultimate test. What happens to include a giant trash crab?

‘Zero Friends Again’ sees Fern, KB, Neel and Wim literally thrown into the scrap heap after narrowly escaping Jude having to add ‘doing Anakin Skywalker on some little kids’ to his list of pirate crimes – and of course, being kids, first thing All they have to do is argue about what to do next. But there’s something different here than the usual petty squabbles this foursome gets into all the time Skeleton crew So far: Jude’s betrayal of them, as well as the reality of… The situation they are in When they find themselves truly abandoned as Brutus and his crew drag Silvo out of the world to rule, the rifts between their relationship begin to show. This is especially true for Fern and KB, when the latter struggles to explain to the former why she shouldn’t agree to a risky plan to scale a giant cliff face to get back to their ship.

Why they can’t becomes clear when KB decides to follow Wim – who immediately decides that a nearby federation of trash crabs will do it. definitely Lead them to someone who can help – one way, while Vern and Neil head towards the slopes. KB’s enlargements had worn down due to time spent in such a humid environment, slowly shutting down her motor function. star wars He has had an interesting long-standing history with his depiction of cyborgs and parallel disabilities, and for the most part this history It was riskyfrom the moment Darth Vader is referred to as “more machine than human”, to how often it doesn’t matter how often Skywalker’s limbs are cut off. But in an incredibly tender scene — starring Kirianna Krater and Ravi Cabot Conyers — in which a depleted KB guides Wim through the process of replacing a worn-out valve, we’re likely to get what… star warsBest idea about disability and chronic disease.

Not only do we get to see the reality of KB’s lived experience with her augments — not just the immediate threat that the alternative without them is death — but her frustrations with the people in her life, especially Fern, who try to treat her like she’s capable of doing anything even when she clearly needs to adapt and understand her abilities. As a disabled person. It treads a fine line in all disability narratives, and avoids many of the pitfalls that such narratives are prone to. It’s not that KB is bitter about her fame, or that others are telling her what she should and shouldn’t be able to do: it’s that she’s able to communicate those terms herself, and get people to listen to her. Fern’s desire to accommodate her best friend by telling her she can do anything any other kid can do (including climbing a risky cliff face!) doesn’t match the reality that KB needs help and space to set her own boundaries and her own struggles. To communicate that is a perfect match for Wim’s empathetic nature, allowing her to come to this realization on her own while he repairs her growths.

Supposedly, it’s not a “very special episode” moment but a real piece of KB and Wim’s bonding, a moment that has an interesting parallel in other team-ups between the kids. We’re pretty clearly cut from this frank conversation about KB setting her own limits for Verne and Neil, with the former deciding that the only response to Neil’s complaints that he can’t climb as fast is to find a rope and tie them together so she can practically pull him up at her own pace. There’s a similarity to Judd’s plot in the episode as well – taken to face Brutus’ judgment and given time under the Pirate Code to appeal the stay of execution, what Judd offers instead is… Sales Presentation About Attininstead of any serious or meaningful contact with his former crew, giving them promises of the loot and dreams they always had. The “zero friends” in the title may be a line from KB, fearing that if she was honest with Fern she would lose her best friend, but in reality it’s Jude :A Lonely con artist He plays one final trick after another, while the children he left behind along the way find themselves more united than ever.

that it, after They were almost eaten by a giant crab and Giant slag robot. The transition from one hunk to the next at the end of the episode is a bit oddly paced, but it’s the crucible of fire that allows these kids to shine together as a unit (especially after a cute little encounter between KB and Fern). Together, understanding each other’s strengths, they can accomplish the impossible – and they do so not only when Vern and Neil save KB and Wim from the trash crabs, but when they all climb aboard Onyx Cinder and manage to free her from her clutches. From scrap robot. Maybe it won’t be star wars If their reward for stimulating these bonds is just a better understanding of each other, of course: to escape the robot, they all have to trust that Fern knows what she’s doing when she presses a button on Cinder’s controls, SM-33 tells them never to touch, blasting off the ship’s battered hull plating. Revealing a shiny, sleek version of the ship hiding beneath its dirty exterior.

They now have their chance to return home (thanks to coordinates stored in the KB Towers, of course), even with Judd and the pirates looming large. But they can cope with a better understanding of each other, which will encourage them to feel like they can control the entire galaxy… which they may have to do by the end of all this.

Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest marvel, star warsand Star Trek Releases, what’s next for DC Universe in film and televisionAnd everything you want to know about the future Doctor Who.