'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' season 1 episode 1 preview: The magical saga in the land of Thra begins with sparks of rebellion all over
Spoilers ahead for the season 1 episode 1 of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' titled 'End. Begin. All the Same'.
First impressions of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' are mesmerizing. The beauty of the magical world of Thra is adapted beautifully for the series and leaves you spellbound.
'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance', coming from The Jim Henson Production Company and directed by Louis Leterrier, follows three Gelflings Rian (Taron Egerton), a Gelfling crystal castle guard of the Stonewood Clan, Brea (Anya Taylor-Joy), a Gelfling princess of the Vapra Clan, and Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel), a Gelfling animal carer of the Grottan Clan. On discovering the horrifying secret behind the power of the evil Skeksis, the Gelflings set on a journey to inspire rebellion in the land of Thra and to overthrow the Skeksis rule.
The 1982 Jim Henson movie 'The Dark Crystal' had the Gelfling Jen embark on a journey to repair the broken Dark Crystal so that the world of Thra is saved. The Netflix series 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' is a prequel of the 1982 movie and narrates the story of the events leading up to the movie.
The official synopsis of the first episode is: "In the land of Thra, a young guard discovers a terrible secret about the Skeksis overlords who control the planet -- and its powerful Crystal of Truth."
The magic starts from the get-go. When Egerton's Rian, a warrior from the warrior clan of Stonewood, discovers what exactly the Lords he protects (the Skeksis) does inside the castle, he must race against time to escape death and save Thra.
At the same time, in another part of Thra, Anya Taylor-Joy's Brea also discovers something off in the way the "Lords" rule over them — she notices greed, vanity, selfishness, and ego in their demeanor. Deet, who lives deep underground, is told by the Sanctuary Tree about the Skeksis rise to power — and how she must stop them.
Each of them set out to save their the marvellous, beautiful, picturesque world of Thra even as it is slowly deteriorating on the inside.
The series is absolutely fascinating, to say the least — very reminiscent of HBO's 'Game of Thrones' in its darkest moments. Netflix's bold experiment brings puppetry to the screen with 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' and is one that we are certainly thankful for.
Rian, Brea and Deet have only just begun their journey. What adventures lie ahead of them? We know that fighting the Skeksis is not going to be easy by any measure. If anything, we're terrified for the honest, innocent Gelflings as they have only just discovered their evil power. Will Aughra be able to figure out why Thra has woken her up from her journey across the universe for help?
Watch the trailer for the series here:
