'Skeleton Crew' Breakdown: The Truth About Jod Na Nawood

Star Wars

Jan 29

The finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has finally brought us clarity on Jod Na Nawood’s origins and character (though Jude Law was also correct when he mentioned that Episode 7 would tell us a lot about Jod).

We can now finally say, with certainty, who Jod Na Nawood is: an intensely complex individual with more story left to be told.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Skeleton Crew.

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Origins

Clues from earlier in the series already hinted to us that Jod grew up in a bad space, which he confirmed in Episode 8. He lived on the streets, in terrible conditions, on a planet or in a location with bad air quality according to him when he compared the poor air quality of At Achrann to that of his homeworld. It is also possible that if he had any parents, they left him behind, or he ended up leaving them behind due to his conversation with Wim about letting go of attachments. But Episode 8 delivered a major bombshell: he was found by a Jedi survivor of Order 66.

We do not know exactly when. But according to Jod, this Jedi taught him a little, but was soon captured and killed, the people who did it forcing him to watch as her life ended. Perhaps this was the point that he gave up attachments to avoid feeling such pain ever again.

Crime and Pirating

We don’t know much about the gap between this point early in his history, and when we encounter him in the show. But, it seems clear he quickly took to the art of faking his identity (we still don’t even know if Jod is his real name).

We know he played the role of a bounty hunter at some point and stole a bounty from Pokkit under the alias of Dash Zentin, we know he encountered Kh’ymm at some point while using the name Crimson Jack and similarly betrayed her, and we know that he used the alias of Jodwick Zank in the past. His life was messy, without a clear direction except survival, and throughout it all, he likely kept his powers hidden. No characters, not his fellow pirates, nor Pokkit or Kh’ymm mention his abilities, suggesting he was surprisingly effective at this aspect of his life.

His final alias came about before Skeleton Crew, though again we don’t know how long. Captain Silvo likely got his start on some lower rung of piracy before he ascended, growing his crew, and becoming known among the pirates of Port Borgo.

In the early era of the New Republic, pickings were slim, but Jod thought he had a good target in the form of a bulk freighter he thought was carrying a secret shipment of credits in its vault. Instead, just one measly credit, left over from some past shipment or activity was all there was, and Jod lost control over his crew to his first mate, Brutus. The rest, as we know, are the events of Skeleton Crew itself.

The Truth

So, given all of this, what can we say about Jod? We can say he’s a complicated figure, but it is clear that what Jude Law spoke about in previous interviews was the truth. From the beginning, Jod had mixed feelings about the children from At Attin. He came from nothing, a miserable life, and had scrapped and scrounged all his life to get by. His speech at his pirate trial was authentic, he is a hungry man. These kids, by contrast, had everything given to them. Shiny new credits as lunch money, families waiting for them, and a world where they did not have to face the galaxy whatsoever. His burst of anger at them in Episode 7 amply shows this, but despite these feelings, he also forged a connection with the kids.

Jon Watts and Christopher Ford describe Jod as someone who, in Episode 8, was genuinely struggling with what he felt he had to do when the kids got involved in trying to stop him. Jude Law, meanwhile, described Jod as a dreamer, someone who had big aspirations in life, and who was a mess of contradictions. He could be gentle, and try to connect with Wim one moment (even if the advice he gave was terrible), and the next holding Fern at bladepoint demanding she forfeits from his challenge for the captaincy of the Onyx Cinder. Despite everything that ultimately happened, Wim even still felt close to Jod, calling out to him in the elevator before he left the Supervisor’s Tower, as the man simply gave a small smile, and slowly went to watch his dreams go up in flames as the pirate frigate crashed into the nearby lake.

Conclusion

So, who is Jod? A Force user, a survivor, and a complicated man. But he also isn’t seen to have been arrested at the end of the show. While he might have a difficult time escaping from At Attin, he is a survivor, resourceful, and much more aware of the wider galaxy and its technology than the citizens of the last Jewel of the Old Republic.

He very well might slip through the New Republic’s fingers, but only time, likely a lot of time, will tell us his face and hopefully give us more information about his criminal background.

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