“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.” -Lloyd Alexander
There’s a prevailing notion that genre fiction has to be escapist in nature, that it’s primary goal is to distract from the real world and provide comfort from it in turbulent times. And that to not comply with this is to betray the function of the work. How often is it heard to “keep politics out of movies” for example. This of course, is bullshit. Genre fiction like all other fiction is meant to be a mirror designed to help us better understand ourselves and our world. Escapism has its place of course, but the best superhero films and space operas and fantasy epics are the ones that are unabashed in reflecting and commenting on the world and culture in which they were made. Yes, even the stories set in a different world with magic and elves.
Sometimes we don’t want to see that, don’t want to be confronted with the less tasteful realities of our world or human nature -but that’s why it’s all the more important for those things to be illustrated. Game of Thrones (at least in its early seasons) thrived on this kind of blunt honesty. But not all fantasy has to be quite that brutal to be resonant or relevant. The longevity of The Lord of the Rings owes a lot to how universal that story and its themes are, to the degree all fantasy fiction that has followed has been in its shadow. But nowadays, that genre’s audience largely skews young. Most new fantasy seems to be written for teens and younger, who seem to take to the genre, its imagination, possibilities, and archetypes more readily than older generations. As such, it’s often derided for that aforementioned escapism, for encouraging a kind of sheltering from reality in children; and this is about as correct and useful as that idea such stories have to be escapist in the first place. Fantasy for youth, especially in recent years, has become much more transparently relevant to current social and political issues, and less compelled to hide even the violence and horrors that go along with them. Although a new singular cultural phenomenon among them has yet to be identified.
And one is needed. In light of the whole J.K. Rowling controversy, there’s been an effort on the part of many fantasy fans to distance themselves from the Harry Potter franchise, and even find a replacement of a similar Y/A-oriented sensibility. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series seems to have become the de facto example, especially with the announcement of a new Disney+ series in development based on his books and the fact he’s about as trans-inclusive as Rowling is transphobic. I personally think Avatar: The Last Airbender is a perfect counterpart, with its own form of magic, rich mythology, and four groupings fans can categorize themselves into. But another great work of fantasy came onto the scene recently that could vie for that pop culture spot; one that though critically acclaimed, doesn’t seem to have had quite the popular impact it deserves.
Of course, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance isn’t exactly comparable to Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Avatar. It’s much more grim than any of those series, darker as per the title, than your average youth-aimed fantasy -all the more jarring given it’s essentially an expensive high-concept puppet show. It’s got three protagonists over a chosen One, and is clearly dotted with elements of science-fiction (the world being its own planet with no human-resembling characters and the villains alien overlords). And though its’ mythology is deep, it has yet to be excessively explored to the degree of those multi-media franchises. But the 2019 prequel to Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 cult classic really was one of the best new works of high fantasy media in a long time -certainly since the advent of Game of Thrones. It builds on the original movie, widens the scope yet keeps the focus concise, offers up characters who can be both archetypes and fleshed-out individuals, and allows the storytelling that universal simplicity while maintaining an unquestionably conscious contemporary lens. It’s also refreshingly bold in the way it pushes the envelope for a show aimed at a younger demographic, unafraid to scare kids even more than the original film was; and on top of everything the whole production is just a magnificent triumph of technical artistry and practical effects -the most ambitious and impressive puppet production ever put to film!
All of that should be enough reason to watch the ten episode season (and yeah, the original movie too, why not?), but it’s also a show that feels particularly important in this moment in time, more so even than other popular fantasy series about resistances taking on a big evil threat. But first, some context: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is set on the planet Thra, ruled by an evil coven of aristocratic aliens called the Skeksis in control of the all-powerful Crystal of Truth -which they have corrupted through various experiments to maintain their immortality. The dominant indigenous species, the Gelfling, spread across the world through seven distinct and prejudicial clans, have been manipulated by the Skeksis into believing them to be gods and protectors -and this dichotomy has gone on for about a thousand years (trine, as they call it). When in lieu of the Dark Crystal failing to replenish them directly, the Skeksis discover they can use it to drain the life-sustaining “essence” of Gelfling, they begin to prey on their subjects -only for the truth to get out as a resistance begins to take shape.
The control of the Skeksis is quite obviously full of real world connotations. They’re literally designed to look like vultures guised in the regalia of old world aristocrats (particularly of the French variety, you might say). Also, they’re an extreme minority in possession of pretty much the source of all the worlds’ wealth and power, abusing it to their own ends while the poorer races suffer. The Skeksis are the one per-cent, that’s not a particularly enlightened observation. However the show goes further than the mere caricature that they were in the original movie. In the show, the Skeksis are thoroughly, darkly recognizable. 
For one thing, they’re not very good at hiding their dickishness, for as much as their truly reprehensible nature is kept secret. They openly look down on the Gelfling as they demand more and more in tithes and services. Because they’ve established a system whereby they can trust the Gelfling to obey them without reservation. They sow and cultivate division among the clans, they give themselves fancy titles to be known by, and project strength through propaganda. Yet in reality, they’re callous, greedy, slovenly, and cowardly. If not for the fact they routinely bicker amongst themselves, they’d be airtight metaphors for the current cabal of capitalist politicians running our society.
And the Gelfling just accept this, certain in the knowledge that the Skeksis exist to protect them. It’s a dynamic notably different from other fantasy stories -not only are the heroes essentially servants to the villains, but they’re largely contented to be, perhaps out of a deep-seated fear embedded within generations of subjugation. It’s different, but not foreign. One of the consequences of this is the Gelfling sometimes acting against their own self interests -a pattern we’ve seen again and again lately in the habits of certain voters in democracies supporting and electing figures who will never look out for them.
The most cogent example of this in the show is the Gelfling princess Seladon, who is blindly, fanatically devoted to the Skeksis, even as their gaslighting weakens and more evidence mounts of their treachery. She’s quick to turn on her mother, the All-Maudra queen of the Gelfling in lieu of her murder at their hands, denouncing her a traitor and turning in her own sister. And later before the representative Maudras of the other clans, presents herself in crude Skeksis attire to make clear where her loyalty lies. Seladon is one of the most compelling characters on the show because of this, her mixture of insecurity, damaged moral compass and position of high political power that puts the heroes in danger, effectively raising the stakes and illustrating the complexities of this world and of the Gelfling. But she also resonates through how her attitude and the tactics of her actions relate often to the worst kind of politics we see. There are plenty examples of acolytes who will go along with the status quo because to subvert it might cost them some of their power, but Seladons’ open embracing of the Skeksis’ regime while all around her are people denouncing them, seems a far too timely character trait. It’s insidious, one might even say troll-like. Her dressing herself like a Skeksis full in the knowledge that it would disturb the other Maudras, is not too unlike a writer or journalist or far-right commentator doubling down on controversial speech and opinions after receiving a backlash; or a comedian dropping any pretense of who they wish to mock the moment they suffer any minor consequences for their carelessness. And this is a puppet character in a series meant for kids!
It’s this kind of boldness more than the violence and intensity that really makes Age of Resistance special, allowing its world and characters and politics to be more nuanced than they necessarily need to be. The show deals with prejudice well and vividly too. Each of the clans has their own entrenched biases of the others. The Grottans, who live in caves underground bear the worst of this -which makes no sense because they are the best clan! If they’re not believed to be completely extinct based on how rarely they come to the surface, they’re regarded with scorn as the lowest of the Gelflings’ warped caste system. Their Maudra is never invited to council with her counterparts. Stonewoods hate Spritans, Vaprans are very distrustful of Sifans, even a relatively enlightened Gelfling like Rian expresses an immediate suspicion towards Dousans, based on their apparent “obsession” with death. This goes beyond a mere racism metaphor however (though the clans are subtly coded to certain real-world cultures) in the fact that the Gelfling can only defeat the Skeksis if they are unified. And yet unity is a hard thing to achieve among so many differing cultures and points of view. But it’s needed in order to overcome the corrupt. That too is a theme that is particularly striking now in a time of tenuous political in-fighting.
It’s why of course the heroes each come from different clans and parts of their world, why they each bring their own vital value. It’s why the hints of love stories exist between the clans rather than within. And it’s why only when the Gelfling have all come together at the end, that the Skeksis are truly scared of them and the power they represent. The Battle at Stone-in-the-Wood is truly something wonderful to watch, and not just as a the seasons’ victorious culminating point. In re-watching it, I couldn’t help but see a resemblance to the protest movements happening around the world right now, and the Skeksis coming into their home to disrupt their rebellion has only grown more analogous to intervening government enforcement trying to quell dissent. There’s something imminently satisfying in seeing them driven away at the end. Resistance does work.
There are other parallels too of course, not directly tied to theme, such as the Darkening as metaphor for climate change, the colonialism allusions in the histories of both the Arathim and the Gruenaks, or the queer-coded aspects of UrGoh and SkekGra. Of course Age of Resistance doesn’t feel the need to completely hide queer representation in coding, Deet has two fathers after all and Aughra, essentially the architect of Thra, though she uses she/her pronouns, is intersex -small but still crucial gestures that the fantasy genre in the mainstream routinely struggles with.
More substantial though and more interesting is how much female representation the show has. Two of the three protagonists are women, most of the important secondary characters are women, and the society of the Gelfling is strictly matriarchal. And this at the very least is refreshing, especially given so many other fantasy series, even with a bounty of great or powerful female characters, tend to adapt real-world sexism and a patriarchal sensibility to their worlds. There is nothing of the sort in Age of Resistance.
And in every way that counts, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is just a fantastically made fantasy series for any time. The scope and craftsmanship alone is stupendous, but the plot and characters remarkably draw you in. Director Louis Leterrier approaches his flow and compositions with the same weight as any live-action production, the writers and production designers lend so much creativity to any given scene and sow enough rich detail into the world of Thra that it’s bound to set imaginations ablaze and compel fans to explore its’ mythology. The puppeteers and voice actors together succeed at creating such figures of life -lovable, nuanced, and expressive in a way that no other movie or TV puppet has been. Deet in particular is just absolutely perfect -we should all aspire to be more like Deet! And while yes, the puppeteers like on all such projects, don’t get the credit they deserve, it can’t be understated the voice cast of this series is absolutely phenomenal: from Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nathalie Emmanuel as the leads, to Simon Pegg, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Headey, Benedict Wong, Alicia Vikander, Awkwafina, Harvey Fierstein, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Caitriona Balfe, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Keegan-Michael Key, Mark Strong, Ralph Ineson, Toby Jones, and even Andy Samberg and Bill Hader. It’s neat that Jason Isaacs and Mark Hamill are once again voicing villains for a fantasy series, in reverse order of importance to their roles on Avatar. And it’s nice to see how proud they are of this series, Egerton in particular, who was apparently a big fan of the original in his childhood.
The original movie does put a damper on the catharsis one might get from Age of Resistance. Much like the Star Wars prequels, the narrative, whether or not it gets more seasons, is doomed to end in our heroes’ defeat. Yet in illustrating so well what was lost, it has every chance of enhancing the original movie retroactively -which good prequels should do. And it’s a necessary function of this particular series, which is already better than the original film by a lot.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a triumph of fantasy storytelling and technical innovation, one of the most ambitious and rewarding things that Netflix has put out into the world. And it is a show that speaks to us, children and adults, at this critical juncture in our own history. We are living through an age of resistance ourselves. And as we fight to create a better world by rising up against the systems that suppress us, demanding our voices be heard and our lives considered, this fantasy puppet show based on the passion project of one of the twentieth centuries’ most endearing entertainers, is weirdly a perfect piece of media to encompass this moment in time. Give it a watch if you haven’t already. It deserves more seasons. It deserves to be the fantasy story of the new generation, who will see in its reflection of our fractured society the hope so desperately needed to move forward.
The Crystal Calls!
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