While Skeleton Crew's episode 6, "Zero Friends Again," was a calm before the storm, it gave us a very different look at the dynamics within the crew. Fern's leadership was challenged. Neel's patience ran out. Wim leaned into the wandering hero aspect of the "knight-errant." Most noticeably, we saw not only KB's urgent medical needs on display but the way in which they affect her daily life. This representation of disability is handled with age-appropriate nuance and is one of the best aspects of this episode.
What is disability like on At Attin in Skeleton Crew?
As with any major character aspect of a TV show, there is already commentary on KB's experience. One of note is ScreenRant, where Molly Brizzell compares KB's experience to that of other "augments" and hails the episode for doing "justice to one of The Empire Strikes Back's most intriguing characters." She points out that KB's "implant has long since reminded audiences of Lobot... who took up residence on Cloud City." Echo from The Bad Batch also has a similar implant "that helped him embrace what the Techno Union had made him into."
The technical specifications of KB's implant are mentioned and put on display, but that's not the whole of what the disability representation in "Zero Freidns Again." Representation done right makes people who can relate to it feel seen and understood, and this episode accomplished that.
I was diagnosed with acute dyspraxia so early that it affected my crawling. It is a developmental coordination disorder that affects motor skills and coordination. I had occupational therapy and vision therapy, but I also had to work with a teacher outside of physical education classes. Other kids made a big deal of it when I was young but didn't seem to mind in high school when I could work with teachers to address ordinary things that were difficult for me. On the other hand, I have a good friend who was born with severe medical conditions, and anyone who knows her well is familiar with how they affect her now. She told me years ago that she learned very early on to stand up for her own body. We both have life-long experiences, but hers requires a lot of maintenance.
KB's circumstances remind me of both my friend with severe conditions and my own experience with a life-long but somewhat invisible disability. Years ago, a character on Doctor Who was introduced as having dyspraxia. My mother commented that I must feel like a superhero because I share a condition with a TV character. I can understand that perspective, but KB said something that hit close to home in this episode:
"Ever since my accident, Fern always assumed I could do anything she could. Like I'm not different... But I AM different."KB
It's true that it hurts to be othered and treated as less capable, but it's also difficult to be unseen. Fern has been with KB since the accident and knows how to efficiently troubleshoot her flare-up. But while Fern is watching for signs of danger, she's not seeing KB clearly. In a moment of serious trouble, KB chastised Fern for not considering everyone's needs and what was good for KB. She knows she must rely on less drastic ways of standing up for herself.
It's good to see that on At Attin, her medical complications do not seem to be stigmatized. Her parents are able to afford the augmentations and the occipital links that allow her to live much like the other children. We know that "sometimes her augs go bad," but there's a solution to that. The care of family and friends is a positive thing to see in society. It strikes me that on a world like At Achrann, damage to a part of the brain could be irreparable or even fatal. The fabled treasure of At Attin might be its stable society and seeing justice done for the other planets should involve giving them equal access to the resources. In a good society, there would be the chance for any child like KB to receive life-saving treatment and the choice to have "augs" to address an injury should it be necessary.
Skeleton Crew can be seen on Disney+ with new episodes being released weekly.