This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 1 Episode 4 "Can't Say I Remember No Attin."

Skeleton Crew is the biggest Star Wars surprise since Andor took the world by storm with its poignant political drama. Originally marketed as a lighter type of Star Wars adventure inspired by The Goonies, the show has proven to be one of the most original and engaging Star Wars projects in years. Of course, it is aimed more at children and has a lighter tone, but Skeleton Crew also doesn't shy away from giving us some of the scariest images in the franchise (whether it's various creepy, bloodthirsty alien pirates or a killer robot hunting a group of children on a dark spaceship).

In episode 4, "Can't Say I Remember No At Attin," the show takes a detour from fun pirate shenanigans to deliver a dark and heartbreaking story about the effect of war on children and the cycle of violence, with everyone's favorites. the blue elephant alien, Neal (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith and, by all indications to the contrary, is no Relative of Max Rebo), arguing in favor of finding solutions other than sending children to the front lines. It's a fantastic episode that also has a surprising connection to a tradition that started back in the Clone Wars cartoon series: the planets involved in endless wars are very French-coded.

Can't Say I Remember No Attin follows the young heroes of the Skeleton Crew to what they believe to be their home planet of Attin (which is essentially the titular world in Treasure Planet), but is actually another of the nine gems of the Old Republic and a place known as Ahran. Far from the idyllic suburban home the children are familiar with, Ahran is a planet constantly at war. (It could even be called an upside-down version of Athens.) The conflict involves two tribes, Troik and Hattan, who have been fighting for generations. When we first meet the Three, they have a special feel to them. For one thing, they are at least a little inspired by The Lost Boys from Peter Pan in that there are a few kids fighting against the adults on the opposite side. However, once we start meeting some of the main players, including their general, it becomes clear that the Troika sounds specifically French - at least that's the case with their leader, General Strix (Mathieu Kasowitz) and his daughter Hayna (Hala Finley).

This is reminiscent of the Ryloth arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, in which a group of Jedi are deployed to the planet Ryloth to help the Twi'lek resistance fight their Separatist oppressors. Part of what makes the story memorable is that all the Twi'lek we meet speak with distinct French accents, which showrunner Dave Filoni has said in the past was a direct request from Star Wars creator George Lucas. It is not difficult to recognize this creative decision as a great tribute to La Resistance, the French resistance during the Nazi occupation in World War II. Given how much of a World War II nerd Lucas is, it only makes sense that he'd bring in some influences from that time period for The Clone Wars — and he brings in a lot more than that, starting with the wartime radio news announcements of the beginning. on every episode.

Shifting the focus a bit from pirates to a planet at war where children are sent to the front lines, Skeleton Crew Episode 4 does more than just make a great reference to the Clone Wars animated series. Where the episode really shines is the way it examines the very idea of ​​Star Wars as a franchise revolving around war. By the time the show's young heroes are drawn into the conflict, most of them seem to accept their situation without much protest. But Neil? He refuses to believe that war is the only way forward. Instead, he befriends Hayna and tells her that if he is the head of a tribe that has been at war for generations, he will simply apologize and move on. After all, war is no place for children.

This simple yet poignant conversation hits on the fact that the Star Wars franchise has always been defined by war, while also juxtaposing nicely with the fierce longing for adventure and action expressed by Neal's friend Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers). Moreover, it serves as a throwback to Rose Tico's (Kelly Marie Tran) speech at the end of Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi when she stops her fellow Rebel Finn (John Boyega) from committing a senseless suicide charge. That's how we're going to win,” she tells Finn. "Not to fight what we hate." Saving what we love.” Sure, Star Wars has the word “Wars” in the title, and the conflict has been at the forefront of every project on the property, but it's Skeleton Crew — the show with its most vulnerable protagonists (literally kids !)—that finally begs the question of whether the franchise can look beyond warfare.

Considering how well "Skeleton Crew" did with a simple story about kids wanting to get home, or how "The Acolyte" delivered an emotional and exciting story about the darkness behind the justice of the Jedi Order without setting it in a time of war. , the answer seems to be yes.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Skeleton Crew air Tuesdays at 6pm PST on Disney+.