I love redemption stories. I’m a sucker for the struggle to be good, for the horror of knowing you can’t make up for all the evil you’ve done, and the grit to steel yourself and try. Redemption arcs send a hopeful message. They say good and evil are choices, not innate, and they also say you’ve got no excuse for your bad behavior. Darth Vader’s iconic redemption at the end of the original trilogy set the tone for Star Wars and, among a sea of cliche, always-evil villains, stands out as one of the enduring reasons I love Star Wars.
But if even the scourge of the Galaxy can be redeemed, why should Skeleton Crew's Jod Na Nawood remain scum? Creator Christopher Ford weighed in with Entertainment Weekly
"We knew that that character archetype was part of Star Wars, so we wanted to play with it, and especially the whole 'Is he a Jedi or not?' thing. Is he good or bad? And so our twist was this anti-twist, that he was exactly as he presented to be. Seemingly. "ew.com, Christopher Ford
Playing against expectations doesn’t always work, but Skeleton Crew's twist wasn’t a last-minute decision to avoid fan expectations. This anti-twist played well with the depth of Jod’s personality and history as an orphaned Force sensitive during the height of the Galactic Empire. Being ‘revealed’ as exactly what he was all along played well into Jod’s character, which remains unchanging despite what he's gone through with the kids.
A flat redemption without considering why Jod chose evil or what might turn his personality back to good would feel hollow. Redemption shouldn’t come just because it's on a checklist. Without a reason, a redemption arc has no narrative weight, and Jod? How has he changed or grown during Skeleton Crew? This might be the kids' first adventure, but it's clearly nothing he hasn't done a dozen times before. Jod is also an accomplished manipulator, which requires things like being able to sit down with someone like Wim and have a talk. Yet while we delve deeper into his character throughout the show, he never chooses to grow out of the selfishness that leads him to At Attin nor treat any of the children as anything other than marks for his latest con.
Another good reason for going against the ‘lovable rogue with a hidden heart of gold’ trope is to go against a cliché. Multiple cliches in this case. While they can be well done, we've already had an entire show about a heroic ex-Jedi with Ahsoka Tano. Han is Star Wars' original rogue with a change of heart. Even Tales of the Empire focused on a former Jedi redemption. Often, it’s better to subvert a cliche than play it straight, especially in a fandom where the cliches have been played straight. By not redeeming Jod or making him a murder-happy Sith, Skeleton Crew has walked a razor's edge between two cliches and made something new and fresh out of multiple old ingredients.
Also, realistically, much as I’m glad we teach kids not to judge books by their covers, I’m glad Skeleton Crew decided to make the sketchy rogue everyone warned the kids about a realistic villain. That’s a good lesson for kids to learn. Much as I love my redemption arcs, I don’t need one in every story and Skeleton Crew is far more satisfying with Jod as he is.