The crew escape the brig…

Skeleton Crew finally gets its Long John Silver this episode, Jude Law playing a very shady Force user, happy to let people make assumptions because the lies they’re telling themselves are ones they want to believe.

Strangely I kept having Tim Curry from Muppets Treasure Island in my mind. This isn’t mockery – Curry’s performance was note perfect and Law, in referencing that interpretation, gives a real sense of Silver’s focus on getting what’s his but also on his need and desperation.

Silvo is a man who will manipulate and use others to his own ends – not because he wishes them ill but because they’re little more than a route to an end. Law lets you know that Silvo knows what good looks like but also knows he’s chosen his own path. There’s just enough of a hit of regret coupled with the sense that regret is little more than a fleeting moment to Law’s performance to bring it to life.

He’s best in this when working with the young people. When faced both with their trust and distrust we have super interesting interactions. Same as when he is dealing with Nick Frost’s SM-33 (the ship’s boatswain borrowed, brilliantly, from an entirely different piratical story).

There’s a lot of joy here, not a little wonder and plenty of fun. It’s galloping along faster than I’d anticipated and it feels like we’re going to see more than anticipated. No big, arduous trek across the galaxy here – it feels like we’re about to get to treasure island and start the search for the treasure proper.

Verdict: The mixing of Peter Pan and Treasure Island here is a lot of fun – and if returning home is both returning to Silver’s treasure island and a visit to a Star Wars Neverland I am ready to believe it’s going to be brilliantly fun.

8/10 long john silvers

Stewart Hotston