‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Recap – ‘The First Thing I Remember Is Fire’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​I think it is safe to assume that rebellion is a notion that fascinates a great deal of us, and there’s good reason for that. Because our only understanding of a fight for freedom from an oppressive government comes from history books and fictional stories, and when we see the real deal happening live on the news we are captivated by what we see and we find ourselves curious as to what would motivate people to risk everything to rise up against those who would ‘protect’ them. But as time goes on, and our freedoms in America are seemingly threatened at every single turn, this curiosity appears to moving to an all-time high, to the point where fiction is beginning to explore the genesis and reasoning behind rebellion in the most unique ways imaginable and for proof, look no further than the next episode of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
 
For ‘The First Thing I Remember Is Fire’, spends a lot of time looking at the origins of rebellion and it would seem that one important element that goes into motivating a society to fight back against their institutions, involves understanding the truth. Because no one likes to be lied to, and when one’s entire existence or state of being is predicated on lies and deception, a pair of key things can happen. First and foremost, we will dive deeper into what we’ve discovered and try to uncover all of the facts, which is what Brea did in this tale. For she spent a great amount of time searching for the truth, especially after becoming aware that her mother was keeping great secrets from her and the people of Ha’rar, and while this segment of the story didn’t quite give us every answer we wanted to know about the mysterious hidden chamber, Brea’s search for knowledge matters more and I’m sure the series will answer all of our questions regarding this sequence of events down the line.
 
However, I made mention of people taking part in two key acts when they discover they’re being lied to, and the other one is to rally people to their cause and spread the unsettling truth that they’ve uncovered and that was handled in harrowing fashion in this tale, by way of Rian’s journey. For he found himself under fire from other Gelflings as they all wanted to turn him into the Skeksis for varying reasons. But rather than let infighting and prejudices come into play, Rian stood fast to the truth and was able to finally convince others to dreamfast with him, so that they could see exactly what evil their lords are capable of, and wouldn’t you know it? His gambit and bravery paid off since his father learned the truth as well and now there are others ready to share the truth and spread it far and wide. But as it turns out, this was a dangerous act, one that would prove to be quite costly.
 
Because the Skeksis showed off more of their ruthlessness in this tale, and much of that was generated by ego. For the General made a power play in this story, one that made the Chamberlain look weak, and for his troubles he was granted a spot at the Emperor’s side, something he quickly abused since he disobeyed orders and made use of the Essence Machine to aid in interrogations. But the real problem that came about from this power struggle is that he deeply offended and angered the Chamberlain, and that little snake was more than happy to pull out all the stops in order to prove to the Emperor he made a mistake in stepping him down and he summoned a terrifying being known as The Hunter and that monster chased Rian and his father down. Which led to quite the ugly fight in the forest, one that ended with Rian’s father sacrificing himself in order to save his son and even then, the hits kept coming since the Hunter escaped his fate and took Rian with him.
 
If anything, I have to admit that this ended up being quite the dark episode when all is said and done. For so many characters were struggling in this one, and I honestly didn’t think we’d see a death that brutal this early on in the season. But here we are, and all ugly aside, I really did love this episode. After all, it really did do a fine job of exploring what ignites a rebellion, and it also showed us just how difficult the fight for freedom is going to be for the Gelflings. Plus, this is another episode that allowed for us to geek out and have a good time as well. Because seeing the Mystics once again was a true treat and let’s be honest, Hup is the man, and seeing him not take anybody’s crap was just a joy to watch and well, I honestly need to know what happens to Rian right away. So, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to hop off of here, and make a quick trip back to Thra. Until next time.  

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