Another world , another meter , in the age of wonder . The Dark Crystal at last returns with a prequel serial , The Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance . The Jim Henson Company has been cautious about expanding the traditional knowledge of ‘ 80s classic The Dark Crystal , only authorizing a couple of books , some graphic novel , and a canceled manga . But those few piece , along with the film , tell a bass and complex saga .
The Dark Crystal is a phantasy story about Jen , a Gelfling who ’s tasked with restoring balance to the world of Thra by repairing the titular Dark Crystal , which had lost a fragment a thousand years ago . During his quest , he hail across the only other surviving Gelfling , a youthful female named Kira , and together they struggle the evil Skeksis and save the earthly concern . It was a sweet story go under in a rich and detailed populace and featured some of thegreatest puppetry featsin film account .
find myself peculiar about the large world of Thra before diving into Age of Resistance , I pored over some of the expanded traditional knowledge ( except for The World of the Dark Crystal , as it ’s out - of - print and come on guys I ’m not made of money that ’s what theencyclopediais for ) . What I institute was a deep and beautiful humans that most of us do n’t realize exists , because all we know is that one motion-picture show that came out when we were Thomas Kid . The Dark Crystal universe is full of amazing myth , knock-down fable , and of course of action Fizzgig , the fuzzy lovable icons of love .
A scene from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.Photo: Kevin Baker (Netflix)
https://gizmodo.com/dark-crystal-age-of-resistance-shared-a-behind-the-sce-1836362148
I ’ve pared it down to some of the most interesting facts and mythology of Thra , to help get you quick for Age of Resistance ( feel gratuitous to comment with your favorite detail ) . This includes the surprising importance of Aughra , how the Skeksis and urRu come to be , and whether that weird rock nestling will weigh in the new show . spoiler : probably not .
Thra
Thra is the public where The Dark Crystal is coiffe ( it was primitively called Mithra , but Henson shortened it after learning that was the name of the Iranian Supreme Being of light ) . It ’s describe as a lush and diverse world , plan to exist in perfect balance because of the crystal . There are no other known planets in Thra ’s solar system , although there are countless universes ( and lechatelierite ) outside of it .
In the mythology of Thra , the humankind start up with a song — the mind being that the password “ universe ” intend uni ( one ) and verse ( song)—which started a ardour that create the three suns Thra rotate around : the Great Sun , the Rose Sun , and the Dying Sun . From there came a unmarried planet , with a powerful lechatelierite at the centerfield of it , deeply underground . The quartz glass was the heart of Thra and the source of all life , and every living matter was connect to it .
Aughra
In The Dark Crystal , Aughra is acquaint as a Yoda - character physical body who lives in closing off and gives Jen the help and motivation he needs to nail his quest . But Jen not recognizing her name in The Dark Crystal is kind of tragical because there is so much more to the character of Aughra , who is returning for Age of Resistance . In short : Aughra is Thra ’s nigh matter to a god .
The graphic novel describe her as the Great Mother . The satellite and its lechatelierite created her out of a tree chiliad of year ago to bring cognition , language , and discernment to the many races of Thra . Aughra was revered , though not worshipped . Just like Adam in the Bible , she traveled the world revealing the name of every rock , tree , and creature that inhabited it . She took a particular liking to the Gelfling , and teach them how to raise , hunt , and build a society , as well as more complex subjects like the nature of death . In exchange , the Gelfling taught Aughra how to dreamfast ( which I ’ll explain in a fleck ) .
After nail her journey across Thra , Aughra chose to concenter on astronomy . She would spend time crafting elaborated planetary trajectories to foreshadow future events . For 1,000 year , everything was in balance . This time was know as the Age of Innocence .
The crystal awakens.Image: Archaia (BOOM! Studios)
Gelfling
The Gelfling are Thra ’s interpretation of humans , and they are the most advanced beings on the major planet — although there are other intelligent being aboriginal to the globe with their own language and club , like the Podling . Gelfling are described as genial , non - red , and pretty naïve , as they tend to be too believe of others and hand over mogul consequently . This occur into drama with how they derive to desire and even worship the urSkeks , and later the Skeksis .
The Gelfling society is matriarchal , with each clan being ruled by a distaff leader called a Maudra . During the 1,000 - twelvemonth Age of Harmony , which happened between the first and second Great Conjunction ( more on that in a bit ) , there were many dissimilar clans . By the time of The Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance , the Gelfling had seven under the rulership of the All - Maudra , who was pick out by the Skeksis . Before the events of the movie , the Skeksis had killed about all the Gelfling , save for Jen and Kira .
https://gizmodo.com/taron-egerton-lisa-henson-on-finding-hope-in-the-melan-1836558654
Aughra greets Thra.Image: Archaia (Boom Studios)
There are two things that make Gelfling distinct . First is that female person have wing and the ability to fly , while males do not . It ’s not clear when or how Gelfling cleaning woman get offstage , although there is a legend that Aughra gifted the first pair to a young cleaning woman who sought her aid . The other is their ability to dreamfast , which is the deed of sharing memories and pipe dream through touching hired man . It ’s believed this was link up to a great dream world they divvy up with each other and Aughra .
Skeksis and urRu
One - thousand years before the events of The Dark Crystal , a mysterious group of people scream the urSkeks were split apart when the lechatelierite lost its shard and turned dark . This was visit the Great Division and fructify in motility the millennium - long Age of Division .
This event turned the 18 ukSkeks into two races : the wise and aristocratic Urru , and the horrific Skeksis . This represented their good and evil natures splitting apart , with parallels to the i d and super - self . The airstream remained spiritually connected , as they were two part of the same whole , and the injury or end of one creature straight off affected its counterpart . At the time of The Dark Crystal , there were only 10 beings left on each side .
The Skeksis service as the main baddie of the movie , having taken control of the watch glass and instal themselves as rulers of Thra . They search like a mix between vulture and crocodile and were designed to represent the Seven Deadly Sins . Their bodies are modest and frail , so to make themselves look bigger they beautify themselves with excessive pelt , feathering , and other finery . Their headpieces are commonly made from the pearl or body office of creatures , to show their dominance and cruelty .
Kira and Jen in The Dark Crystal.Image: The Jim Henson Company
https://gizmodo.com/the-new-dark-crystal-trailer-is-somehow-even-more-gorge-1837204098
The Skeksis used the Dark Crystal ’s powers to keep themselves young but eventually , it stopped put to work . So , they turned to sacrificing creatures like the Gelfling and Podling to the crystal , using it to steal their life essence . Around 200 years before the events of the film , the Skeksis learned of a prophecy that a Gelfling would reunify the shard and lay aside the world . Desperate to nurse onto power , they make the crab - similar creatures called Garthim and protrude the Garthim War , which wipe out almost all the Gelfling and decimated their guild .
The urRu live in seclusion and await the day they could reunify their body with the Skeksis and become whole beings once again , which occur at the end of the film .
A Skeksis and urRu from The Dark Crystal.Image: The Jim Henson Company
The urSkeks and Raunip
Okay , so this last submission is where things get complicated , as it ’s unclear how much of this story will amount into play in Age of Resistance . But I ’m go to give it to you anyway — not only because cognition does n’t hurt but also because it ’s weird as sin .
So , Aughra had a rock Logos who was basically Jesus .
The graphic novel serial The Dark Crystal : Creation myth — by Brian Holguin , Brian Froud , Alex Sheikman , and Lizzy John at Boom Studios — is told from the view of Raunip , Aughra ’s son , who was formed from an alien material that fell from the sky . This happened in good order around the time of the first Great Conjunction ( a full occultation ) , about 2,000 geezerhood before the event of the film , which saw the arrival of the urSkeks . That ’s veracious : The urSkeks were aliens .
Aughra meets the urSkeks.Image: Archaia (Boom Studios)
Specifically , the urSkeks were hyper - level-headed beings whose people admit an advance noesis of Thra ’s lechatelierite and all the other crystals throughout the known universe . These 18 urSkeks had been kicked out of their beau monde for “ heresy ” and chose to locate on Thra , as it was a primitive planet they think they could improve … start them back into the good graces of their own homeworld . Side note : Their arriver caused Aughra to lose one of her eyes , as she was blind by the crystal ’s magnate they wielded .
The urSkeks served as protector of the crystal for 1,000 class , during the Age of Harmony . During that time , they gave Aughra the observation tower she could expend to research the cosmos , which led her to brush aside the need of Thra for decades at a time . The urSkeks also help the Gelfling advance their society and finish . In coming back , the Gelfling grew to fear the urSkeks , with some of them idolise them as proto - god . This kind of explains why the Gelfling trusted the Skeksis against better judgment , as they were used to be the ukSkeks .
However , there was one person who had a adult problem with the urSkeks : Raunip . You see , he had the ability to see a side of the urSkeks that no one else could — they had a divided nature they were having worry controlling — and he was the one who check of their proscription . He tried to convince the Gelfling to reject them as outsiders who were trying to switch their way of life , even break down so far as to pelt one of them with rock and roll .
Yep. That’s Raunip.Image: Archaia (Boom Studios)
In response , the urSkeks announced they were quick to go home during the next Great Conjuncture . lamentably , they failed . One of the urSkeks had wickedness in their heart , leading the crystal to reject all of them . This is the consequence the crystal shattered , the world fell out of balance , and the urSkeks were divided into two races . Both Raunip and Aughra witness this and ascertain at first hand how evil the Skeksis were when they savagely killed an urRu and seize command of the lechatelierite .
The pair spent decades underground trying to retrieve the lose fragment amid a pile of crystals , to render to a human race that had largely draw a blank about them . Aughra terminate up recede some of her store , hence why she did n’t monish the Gelfling about the evils of the Skeksis . Raunip terminate up leaving everything behind to help some of Thra ’s displaced tool recover a new household . It ’s indecipherable if he ’ll be part of Age of Resistance .
It ’s been decennary since The Dark Crystal first came out , but in some way , it feels like this man is just beginning . There are so many places for this story to go just based on all the rattling places it ’s been . I do n’t sleep with about you , but I ’m looking frontwards to seeing the next chapter in the chronicle of Thra .
The Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance arrive on Netflix August 30 .
For more , verify you ’re following us on our new Instagram @io9dotcom .
Fantasyjim Jim Henson companyNetflixStreamingThe Dark Crystal
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , science , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
