Every episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew peels back another layer of the mysteries that surround At Attin. The kids have no other frame of reference in the galaxy, but off-worlders think they're lying through their teeth about where they came from. In Episode 4, "Can't Say I Remember No At Attin," we see the planet of At Achrann didn't fare as well as the idyllic and regimented At Attin. Based on SM-33's shocking revelations at the end of the episode, my hopes for the series' end have taken a turn.
What is At Achrann's problem?
The second of the Jewels of the Old Republic that we see could not be more different than At Attin. We started this series on a planet where people led boring but reliable lives. The kids were fed, educated, and housed, while the adults had their purpose in life determined far in advance of their need to contribute to society. It's a hard place to think outside the box, but it seems to have stability and equity.
On the other hand, we are introduced to At Achrann in episode 4, where nothing is safe or stable. They have the same basic framework as At Attin, even including their own version of a mural in Fern's home and the Supervisor's Tower, but everything else has gone horribly wrong. At Achrann's homes are crumbling, beasts of burden replace the trams of At Attin, and the symbol of planetary authority is now referred to as the Fallen Sanctum.
The New Rockstars YouTube Channel video on "STAR WARS SKELETON CREW EPISODE 4 BREAKDOWN!" mentioned that At Achrann might derive its name from Greek mythology. Acheron is one of the rivers of the underworld, and its name literally translates to "river of woe." This is a place of pain ("achos") and is a wakeup call for Wim, Fern, KB, and Neel. It's a highly interesting place for those of us trying to predict how this whole adventure will play out.
We don't know much about how this all happened, but we know that SM-33's Captain was here once and the episode's big twist is that At Attin is lost to the rest of the galaxy for a good reason:
"I do remember At Attin. It was in this very room. The captain killed any of his crew that saw the coordinates to At Attin. Slaughtered them he did. Then he ordered me to destroy them and forget everything I knew about At Attin."SM-33
At Attin has hoarded its wealth and kept its stability because of one captain's murderous greed. We haven't seen places like At Arissia or At Aravin, but it's possible that they are in a similar state to At Achrann.
Where does Skeleton Crew need to go from here?
The most basic need of the characters is for the kids to return safely home, but episode 4 has set up a wrong that needs to be righted. At Attin is a planet rumored to have untold riches and the Republic dataries are what points to this. But what they consistently have isn't fabulous wealth. It's equity and stability.
We have been following Wim's dreams of defending justice since his introduction, and this could play a significant role in the ending. Call me idealistic, but I want to see the "treasure" recovered and used to restore the resources that planets like At Achrann have lacked because of the Captain's grand scheme. It's the right thing to do and it's definitely true to the Jedi purpose of guarding peace and justice in the Republic.
Skeleton Crew can be watched on Disney+, with new episodes releasing on Tuesdays.