Star Wars’ Newest Darth Vader Replacement Shows Just How Evil The Sith Lord Really Was (Because He’s Nowhere Near That Bad)

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has introduced Star Wars' newest Darth Vader replacement, proving how truly evil Darth Vader was by comparison. Skeleton Crew has already been a very interesting addition to Star Wars movies and TV shows in its first 5 episodes. Although there has been plenty of conversation regarding Jude Law's character, Jod Na Nawood, potentially being a Jedi, this show isn't really about the Jedi or the Sith in the same way countless other Star Wars shows and movies are.

Instead, Skeleton Crew is primarily about pirates, drawing upon plenty of tropes and stereotypes of pirate stories, from buried treasure to mutinies. This pirate arc unfortunately came to a head in Skeleton Crew episode 5 in a devastating way, leading to a critical and terrifying moment. Even in this situation, though, Jod Na Nawood may be a Darth Vader stand-in, but he still doesn't come anywhere close to the actual evil of the Sith Lord.

Star Wars Set Up Jude Law's Character As A Failed Darth Vader Replacement

Skeleton Crew Already Established That Jod Na Nawood Is A Vader Stand-In

Even before Skeleton Crew episode 5, the show set Jod Na Nawood up as a Darth Vader replacement. In the very first episode, in the opening scene, Jod Na Nawood (as Captain Silvo—one of his many aliases) attacks a New Republic freighter along with a gang of other pirates. This would already have a link to A New Hope with the Imperial attack on Leia's ship, but the dialogue in this scene solidifies this direct connection to Darth Vader's first scene in Star Wars.

Related Star Wars Turns Its New Darth Vader Replacement Into A Failure... In His First Scene Star Wars introduces its new Darth Vader replacement, but - as clear as the comparisons may be - this new villain is a failure from the start.

In this scene, Silvo asks, "If this is a bulk freighter, why is your vault magnetically sealed?" It's no coincidence that this sentence construction exactly mirrors Darth Vader's own in A New Hope when he says, "If this is a consular ship, where is the ambassador?" Skeleton Crew episode 5 took this Jod Na Nawood and Darth Vader connection one step further, though, and it was a much darker throughline.

Skeleton Crew episode 5 took this Jod Na Nawood and Darth Vader connection one step further.

Skeleton Crew Episode 5 Shows Jude Law's Character Is Still A Villain...

Episode 5 Took A Shocking And Devastating Turn

Close

In Skeleton Crew episode 5, Jod Na Nawood turns on the kids, going so far as to grab Fern and hold a knife to her throat in an effort to get her to yield the title of captain to him. Although Nawood had already revealed just how violent he really was, given he had burned his adversaries in acid in the scene just before this, his violence towards the kids felt quite different. Fern even voiced this herself, saying "You're a grown-up. You can't fight us; we're just kids."

This showed a much darker side to Jod Na Nawood. Yes, it was clear from the beginning that he was a true pirate and had selfish intentions for 'helping' the kids. While they very well may have gotten home safely with Nawood, that would have been incidental. He was really after the treasure, and that was never in question.

Even in light of this reality, Nawood threatening the kids came as a major shock.

Even in light of this reality, Nawood threatening the kids came as a major shock. He had seemed to develop a genuine affection for them, even having a heart-to-heart conversation with Wim earlier in episode 5. His true priorities were nevertheless confirmed in this terrifying scene, proving that, in the end, he is still a villain after all. However, he is still quite distinct from Darth Vader for one key reason.

But He's Still No Anakin Skywalker

Vader's Brutality Is Unmatched, Especially Compared To This

While Jod Na Nawood's willingness to hurt Fern, and presumably the other kids, was horrifying, it still doesn't come close to Darth Vader. There have been a number of cruel Darth Vader moments in Star Wars, but none was so bad as the moment in Order 66 when he slaughtered the younglings. Although the moment the little boy asks Anakin what they're going to do has been memed to high heaven, it is actually one of the single most disturbing moments in the entire Star Wars timeline.

Nawood's violent behavior was reminiscent of this Order 66 moment, but the obvious and major difference is, Nawood didn't hurt the kids in the end, whereas Anakin had very little hesitation in wiping out a room of innocent and defenseless children. There's also the question of whether Nawood really would have harmed Fern. It's terrible that he was threatening her and scaring the kids like this either way, but he may have trusted that, as a kid, she wouldn't really refuse to yield when threatened. Were that the case, there would be an even wider gap between Nawood and Vader.

It's clear that Skeleton Crew is drawing a connection between Nawood and Vader, particularly in light of episode 5. However, as with many Darth Vader replacements, Jod Na Nawood doesn't really come close to the brutality and evil of Lord Vader. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's most heartbreaking moment yet proves that Darth Vader's evil is still unmatched in Star Wars.

The first five episodes of Skeleton Crew are now streaming on Disney+.

Skeleton Crew Release Date Schedule Episode Director Release Date Episode 1 Jon Watts December 2 Episode 2 David Lowery December 2 Episode 3 David Lowery December 10 Episode 4 The Daniels December 17 Episode 5 Jake Schreier December 24 Episode 6 Bryce Dallas Howard December 31 Episode 7 Lee Isaac Chung January 7 Episode 8 Jon Watts January 14