The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Season 1 Review

August 27, 2019 at 3:17am
By Jason Stettner

This is a prequel series to a film from the early 80’s that was titled “The Dark Crystal”. The franchise features puppets as all of the characters, and presents a stunning fantasy epic with this season. I was blown away by the level of quality presented here, the stellar cast and the fantastic sense of scale. They nail the fantasy elements here, with a lively world that has a wealth of unique areas to explore.

You get to see many of these sections over the course of the season, as there are multiple tribes with many characters that interact with one another. It really does have a Game of Thrones level of quality to it, with puppets which is rather insane. They deliver here, and it was awesome to take in. Things start slow as you’re introduced to the world of Thra. This place is becoming corrupt, and in turn dying.

You largely follow the perspectives of the Geflings, the local populace of the planet. They’re controlled by god-like creatures that are essentially immortal in their attitude, called the Skeksis. Those creatures are basically grotesque looking bird monsters, and they rule with an iron fist. The Geflings believe these gods help run their society, but there’s a darkness behind this. Certain events begin to happen, and this causes a spark of resistance among the society of the Geflings.

I’m dancing around certain elements of this narrative as well, I want it to be a fresh surprise when you go to view it. With this being a fantasy epic, there are multiple groups of characters you follow. They cross paths at times, and they all have an important separate story.

It’s nice that all of the characters had a purpose, and that their stories had some sense of a completed arc by the end of this. This does definitely act as an initial season, and I’m really hoping that more is on the horizon. It was surprising that the side stories mattered so much, and that enough time was spent to develop almost everyone involved.

There’s a real sense of quality within this world, it’s simply stunning to take in. It’s intimate in its setting, and the use of characters. Yet, at the same time it truly does feel epic and grand in scale. The environments are stunning, and the puppets look very real. They move naturally, and the work there is fantastic.

Pair that with one hell of a cast, and this is certainly set to be a classic show to watch. You get names such as Taron Egerton as Rian, Helena Bonham Carter as All-Maudra, Natalie Dormer as Onica and Alicia Vikander as Mira. Other notable names include Mark Hamill; Lena Headey, Keegan-Michael Key, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg, Mark Strong, Sigourney Weaver and the list just goes on. There’s too much talent included in this series. With that, the performances are incredible.

The combination of excellent voice work and puppets that match these emotions perfectly. You get a sense of sorrow when it gets dark, and feel bad for these characters. It’s dark in nature, and there are some rather violent scenes within this. I’d say it’s still something that’s accessible for all audiences, but it can get rather grotesque at times.

You’ll definitely see that from the Skeksis as they are wild, and so creepy which is great. Each area is well detailed, and this is perfectly shot. Everything comes across as realistic, and it makes the fantasy come alive. There’s a good balance of magic, and practical battles as these factions clash over the growth of the resistance. While these are long episodes, the pacing is great and time speeds by. It takes a just a little to get rolling, and then you’re thrown right into a large scale epic that keeps you entertained the whole way through.

The Conclusion

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Season 1 is an incredible achievement in fantasy. I’ve really never seen anything like this, and the use of puppets is just magical. These characters are well developed, the story is exciting and I really want to see more. There was a sense of a large scale world out there, with many potential stories to tell and places to visit. I hope we get to see more of that in the future.

For now, we got one dark and twisted show of heroism as one splintered society sets the sparks of their resistance. There’s a stellar cast here, their performances shine through to the characters. This helps you get completely lost within a memorable narrative that has deep emotion to it. All of the characters matter in their own way, and it’s truly exciting to watch. Despite having longer episodes the time just flew by as I was completely into this tale.

It felt conclusive as one part of this tale, and now I’m very interested in watching the movie. I feel there’s more for them to tell with these characters and it would be great to see that in the future. There’s a lot of care that went into the crafting of this world and it shows. From the incredibly details puppets, the lively world they inhabit. It all feels like a real place, with some actual heart.

It has a Game of Thrones level quality to it, but with puppets. It’s a fresh world with some deeper lore that I’m eager to see more of. It can be epic, while still having an intimate quality to it that makes each of the stories matter. Everyone has a journey here, and each chunk of the puzzle matters as they cross-over during the season.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Season 1 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 9.5