Like the show's message about the importance of treating our environment with respect, this message about power-and how it's divvied out and used to turn us against one another-is timely but also universal. They aren't many, but they have the power, and they horde that power and their own knowledge, while pitting the Gelfling against one another. The Skeksis, as the Chamberlain puts it, are big. While there are countless Gelfling, they are small. The Skeksis are repugnant, but they can be terrifying as well. It has plenty of humor, including a laugh-out-loud scene with Brea and some other unfortunate Gelfling trying to give some wild Podlings a bath, but it also has moments of extraordinary darkness and violence that I think younger viewers will find quite frightening. The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance is a show for all ages. The Dark Crystal's Rian Credit: Netflix / The Jim Henson Company

We learn more about them, and the Mystics, and so much more about the world of Thra and its history and tragedy, over the course of this season. Deet and Rian and Brea all set off on their own adventures in Thra, as the Skeksis brew their terrible schemes, seeking eternal life and endless power. Very early on, one thing leads to another and this terrible illusion is shattered. That's where I'll leave off with the story. There is CGI, of course, filling in the gaps, but overall this is live-action. We meet lots of other characters, too, in what can only be described as a sprawling cast, voiced by talented (and often quite famous) actors, and puppeteered by the best puppeteers in the business. We meet our heroes in the first episode: The young guard Rian of the Stonewood clan who discovers terrible secrets about the Skeksis' dark new plans Deet of the subterranean Grottan, who sees visions of the Darkening, a terrible black magic corrupting Thra and Brea, daughter of the matriarchal ruler the All-Maudra, who wants to know the truth at any cost. The Dark Crystal Skeksis Credit: Netflix / The Jim Henson Company The Podlings do the more menial labor, and so a sort of caste system exists, with the deplorable, hideous, disgusting Skeksis at the very top, led by their cruel Emperor. They serve as their guards and pay inordinate tithes. By the time the story picks up, pretty much all the Gelfling revere and worship the Skeksis as something akin to gods. They also subjugated the Gelfling and other species of Thra, bending them to their will and titling themselves the Lords of the Crystal. And while she slept, they began to draw upon the power of the Crystal of Truth, slowly corrupting it until it became. They gave her a device that allowed her to send her spirit out into the universe, to travel the stars while she slept. This bird-like alien species fled their own planet and came to Thra, where they tricked its guardian, Aughra (Donna Kimball) to leave the Crystal of Truth under their protection. Seven clans of Gelfling exist, scattered about the world-in its deserts and caves, its deep forests and shining cities, even out on its glimmering seas.īut then, two thousand trine ago, the Skeksis came to Thra. These vaguely humanoid creatures are the primary species of Thra. The native species of Thra include a multitude of critters and beasts, giant worms and flying stingrays, adorable Podlings and, most important of all, the Gelfling. Deet and Hup Credit: Netflix / The Jim Henson Company

The dark crystal age of resistance cast