Normally I wouldn’t say that a classic can be improved upon, but in the case of The Dark Crystal it’s thankful that no one is improving on the original, they’re simply explaining it. You can easily expect that people may or may not have an issue with this since it seems like something that might be made for kids, but if that’s what you’re thinking then you need to remember that the original movie wasn’t even fashioned entirely for kids thanks to some of it’s nightmare-inducing visuals. As much as they seem capable of giving backhanded comments, Anthony Ha, Jordan Crook, and Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch seem to take more from the visuals than the actual story, which could be why their enjoyment of it was tinged with something other than sheer wonder. What a lot of people have to realize is that the creators were obviously going for something that felt more genuine to the original story as well as a feeling that it wouldn’t be the same if the actions and facial expressions were smoothed out and given a wider range than they’d had in the original movie.
It’s hard to blame them for noticing since it’s true, the movements of the characters and their facial expressions were a bit stiff, but for those that enjoyed the first movie it was kind of a return to the norm that made it so great in the first place. Thankfully though there was enough change within the movements of the characters that it made things a bit more exciting since the Hunter of the Skeksis and even Rian of the Gelflings were able to move about a great deal more than was seen in the movie, adding to the story in a big way. Plus, the Podlings were no longer just background characters this time around as they were given a bit more to do and had a much stronger presence in this first season than at any time in the movie. The personality of Hup alone was worth watching since it’s hard to not chuckle at a Podling wanting to become a Paladin, or a knight in service to the Gelflings and the All Maudra, the leader of the Gelfling clans.
The biggest draw of this show, or at least one of them, is the utter complacency that the Gelflings showed to the Skeksis from the start. In the world of Thra that is remembered from the movie the landscape is already dark, hopeless in some cases and simply surviving in others. As Aja Romano of Vox points out the complacency of the Gelflings in this series sparks a lot of it as not only do they exist under the rule of the Skeksis, but they tell themselves repeatedly that this is the way the world is, and it’s best to simply accept it. If you want to draw the parallels between Thra and our world go ahead, but I won’t be discussing them here since I don’t fancy launching into a wide discussion that shifts from fantasy to politics. What I will say about is that it won’t come as any surprise if such a thing does happen.
For those that have already binge-watched the first season, I admit that I have, Rosie Knight from IGN raises a good point that we likely have questions as to what happened between the ending of the season and the movie, since there are a lot of plot points to go over. For starters, the General is gone, killed by Chamberlain, so it leaves the Skeksis down a member. But if you’ll recall there was mention of bringing ‘the rest’ of the Skeksis back to the castle, meaning that there are still others out there such as the Hunter. Given that there were supposedly 18 original creatures that split into the Skeksis and Mystics, there are still more of them to be revealed. Then there’s the idea of where the crystal shard found would end up since eventually it was found to be in Aughra’s possession. Then there’s the issue of what happened to Deet, who was in fact one of the greatest heroes no matter the sacrifice she had to make. There’s a lot to think about at this point since despite the fact the season ended on a high note, common knowledge says that as dark as it got at times, it’s only bound to get darker considering that we all know just how dark the movie really was. Season 2, if it gets approved, will likely take the Gelflings down a very different and much darker path since unless the creators are willing to toss aside one of Jim Henson’s best ideas ever, which is unthinkable, there’s going to be a lot of explaining to do. The downside however is that we might not see a season 2 until late 2020 to early 2021, so there’ll be a lot of time to contemplate.
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