As a whole, this series has been rather remarkable, but some of the episodes stand out like a classic movie truly does on its own terms. The Dark Crystal is a beloved cult-classic 80s property that's been sprung back into the modern limelight thanks to Age of Resistance taking Jim Henson's, and the film's, legacy very seriously. This show rolls with the high-concept wonder of high-fantasy in a way that's comparable to the seamless wonder of the original Star Wars Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings movies; the big difference from those stories is that this one is full of three-dimensional Muppets that have just as deep personalities as regular humans.
This episode is a naturally sound middle-chapter in a non-forced prequel story that gives us unspoken yet crucial territory to the world of The Dark Crystal movie, and its exploration of life, wisdom and deceit is unusually compelling given the fact we're in the wholly made-up world of Thra. This show has the pacing other prequels have struggled to master in the past: The Star Wars Prequels, The Hobbit Films and the Fantastic Beasts films are just a few prequel misfires that come to mind, and I'm relieved that The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance shows that prequel storytelling doesn't have to be by-the-numbers padding at all. It's diegetic (natural) storytelling that plays out in a timely and non-superficial manner.
This is some truly good television right here.
This episode is a naturally sound middle-chapter in a non-forced prequel story that gives us unspoken yet crucial territory to the world of The Dark Crystal movie, and its exploration of life, wisdom and deceit is unusually compelling given the fact we're in the wholly made-up world of Thra. This show has the pacing other prequels have struggled to master in the past: The Star Wars Prequels, The Hobbit Films and the Fantastic Beasts films are just a few prequel misfires that come to mind, and I'm relieved that The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance shows that prequel storytelling doesn't have to be by-the-numbers padding at all. It's diegetic (natural) storytelling that plays out in a timely and non-superficial manner.
This is some truly good television right here.