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This article contains spoilers through episode 5 of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has had two major mysteries at the center of the story from the beginning. The first being – what the hell is At Attin’s deal? And the second – whose ship did the children find and what happened to its captain and crew? Episode 5 “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates” gives us important clues not only as to how these two mysteries are woven together, but also where this story fits in the greater Star Wars timeline.
We already know that this adventure takes place during the New Republic era, 9 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin) to be precise. From the arrival of Republic officers at Kh’ymm’s outpost and mentions of the Galactic Civil War to the appearance of pirates previously seen in The Mandalorian, there’s enough to connect this show with all of the others happening during this time period. However, the nature of At Attin and the mysteries surrounding it keep asking us to look to the past. In some cases, very, very far back into the galaxy’s history.
In this episode, we learn the name of the pirate who crash-landed on At Attin some time ago. Tak Rennod is the most infamous pirate the galaxy’s ever known, according to both Jod (Jude Law) and SM-33 (Nick Frost), who was ruthless in his pursuit of treasure. We also learn from Rennod’s logs that At Attin is the last Old Republic mint, which for a pirate is essentially an infinite treasure glitch, and would set him up for life. This made Rennod increasingly paranoid, according to SM-33, and led to a mutiny among his crew as they approached At Attin. SM-33 says that the captain was killed by his crew, and in turn he made sure they died crashing into the planet. But it’s hard to know how much of this story to believe as we already know that the droid’s memories have been modified before.
Some fans (including myself) believe that captain Rennod, or potentially a member of his crew, actually survived the crash and somehow swindled themselves into becoming the mysterious Supervisor of At Attin. We conveniently still don’t know what Rennod actually looks like thanks to his purposely corrupted data log, nor have we seen the Supervisor of At Attin. It would be the ultimate way to gain wealth and power without anyone threatening to take it away. At Attin’s citizens are forbidden from communicating or venturing out into the greater galaxy all the while encouraged to contribute to The Great Work, which all signs now point to being gold production.
The main problem with this theory is – we still don’t know exactly when At Attin was founded nor when Rennod’s ship crash-landed on the planet. Given how deeply buried the ship is when the children find it, it seems like the ship has been stuck on At Attin for a while. But at the same time, none of the humans seem to know anything about it. Its discovery is a huge surprise to them, which means that either it landed before this society was created, or someone in charge has been burying its existence and making sure that no one finds it for generations. This would explain why the droids patrolling the area are so adamant about keeping people out of the woods.
There are a lot of signs that point to At Attin existing as far back as the High Republic. Wim’s stories of the Jedi and Sith, references to The Great Work, Kh’ymm calling it a “jewel of the Old Republic,” and now even the lightsaber found in Rennod’s lair point to a time way before the Republic we see in The Phantom Menace.
This means that if Rennod or any member of his crew really did become the Supervisor and are responsible for turning At Attin into the almost totalitarian world we see in Skeleton Crew, they would likely have to be a species that lives an incredibly long time, or else have chosen a successor to keep up the ruse in their death.
Skeleton Crew is doing a phenomenal job of weaving and crafting Star Wars history into the New Republic era. This story will not only likely have ramifications on the other shows happening during this time period, it could also impact how we see the galaxy’s past. Was At Attin intended to be a benevolent creation, or has greed and gold always been its purpose?
Regardless of whether or not this theory is revealed to be true as the series goes on, it’s clear that At Attin and Rennod both have an important part to play in the Star Wars timeline. We may not yet know exactly how far back in time this mystery goes, but in Skeleton Crew, the past is just as important as the present.
New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will premiere Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+, culminating with the finale on January 14.
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