‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Recap: ‘Nothing Is Simple Anymore’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​It’s rare in this current era of peak television, to find a new series that is in essence, flawless from the get-go. For so many shows are working to find their voice and their style in their first year, and that means that growing pains are part of the game early on as those particular shows stumble on their way to glory. Which means that you outright cherish the ones that have everything figured out from the beginning and that’s precisely why we need to celebrate The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Because this particular series came out of the gate firing on all eight cylinders by providing us with a perfect series premiere, one that elicited a genuine sense of wonder thanks to its polished script and powerful performances and majestic worldbuilding, and it just so happens the next episode in this enriching tale, did a fine job of enhancing everything the opening chapter of this saga had to offer.
 
For ‘Nothing Is Simple Anymore’ found a way to immerse us further into the beautiful world that is Thra, by outright allowing us to explore it further by way of Deet’s journey in this tale. Since her push to reach Ha’rar took us through the rich forests of this world and it was just incredible to see the beautiful and rich wildlife that populate this place and run into a familiar face as well since Fizzgig’s species popped up here too. Plus, it was lovely to learn that there are more noble creatures out there like Deet, since we got to meet an incredibly brave Podling known as Hup, a man who has zero sense of fear and is willing take on any threat that comes his way with his trusty spoon and honestly, it should be awesome to see what kind of adventures he and Deet find themselves immersed within in episodes to come since everything they experienced here was just a true delight.
 
But, while it was incredible to see Thra in all its glory, and watch our curious princess continue to work toward the truth and see Aughra awaken and return from her journey through the stars, what truly allowed for this episode to stand out in my mind, was everything that happened with the Skeksis. For spending time with them allowed for a little social commentary to come into play since the Chamberlain’s misinformation campaign had echoes of the world we live in now since there are voices in our modern society that wish for all of us to believe the lies, they tell us. And it was quite chilling to see the lies work so well in this fictional land because it served as a fine reminder that people eat them up with similar ease in the real world and I have to admit, I’m quite impressed with the subtle commentary present here and I’m also quite curious to see what else this show has to say about our world.
 
All of that aside however, the exploration of the world of the Skeksis didn’t end with an examination of modern society. For we spent a lot of time in this tale, learning about how little they trust one another, and how willing they are to stab each other in the back in order to get ahead and get what they want and truly, I hadn’t a clue why the Chamberlain was so hated by his peers in the movie, until now. Because this massive jerk will do whatever it takes to get ahead, including inflicting serious harm on others since his machinations and manipulations harmed the Scientist’s standing with the Emperor to the point where we finally learned how he lost his eye, and if anything this segment of the story served to remind us that evil is loyal to no one, and is happy to cause internal strife with its own kind and I get the feeling that we will likely see the Chamberlain’s ‘friends’ begin to turn their backs on him in the days to come since I’m sure he’s just getting started, when it comes to making trouble for others.
 
But all of that aside, I also thoroughly enjoyed the grandiose setup that this episode is putting together when it comes to Rian’s journey. For making him the ‘bad guy’ and putting him on the run is outright brilliant since he will have to earn his heroic status down the line, and it should be interesting to see how he convinces others of the Skeksis’ lies since the word is now out that his mind may be ‘infected’ and really, when all is said and done, this second episode was nothing short of brilliant. Because once again it featured a beautifully woven story, one that is taking just enough time to set up an epic conflict between Gelfing and Skeksis and we’re slowly watching new heroes come into their own and I am definitely ready for more. For it is clear now that everything we see in the film finale of this tale will be set up here somehow and watching that story come together before my eyes is simply magical and well, if you’ll excuse me, it’s clear that I need to return to Thra as quickly as possible to see enjoy more of this powerful and enriching story. Until next time. 

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