I don't care if Skeleton Crew is bad

Every time a new Star Wars series approaches its official release, the same discourse rises to the surface: But what if it's bad? And to that, I say: Who cares?

Even as someone who tends to love Star Wars, no matter the flavor, I have struggled with some of the Disney+ content the franchise has released over the past few years. As promotion for Skeleton Crew has ramped up as the show's release date approaches, I have found myself starting to wonder if this would be one of those projects set in a galaxy far, far away I didn't love.

The more I have sat with this worry, though, the more I have realized that it doesn't matter whether Skelton Crew is the best or the worst Star Wars series ever made, whether it's for me or not, whether I look forward to it every week or dread it. I want this experience to be different from all the rest. This time, I only have one goal: to have fun.

Of course, achieving this goal will require dismantling some of my bad Star Wars viewing habits. This will mean I won't check social media immediately after finishing an episode—if I check it at all. I'll probably avoid reading too many articles filled with others' opinions about the series. I will probably limit a lot of my conversations about the show to people I know in real life and trust to have thoughtful, productive conversations about what we've seen and how we feel.

So much of my Star Wars experience over the past few years has been negatively impacted by spending too much time in the online space. As a content creator, I'm expected to engage a certain amount, but I can afford to engage less. I'm excited about how that will affect my viewing of this new show.

At the end of the day, Star Wars should be one thing: fun. If you aren't having fun, you don't have to stay at the party. You can go find a party that's more fun for you (rewatch Star Wars you know you like). There's this weird pressure, as fans, to consume everything new that comes out. But you don't have to. No one is forcing you.

Let's all go into this new show to have fun -- also knowing that there's nothing wrong with you if you don't. Not all Star Wars has to be deep or philosophical or worthy of lengthy video essays. Sometimes, it's just for laughs. Maybe we all need that right now. Maybe that's what we've needed all along.