The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance season 1 premiere recap: End. Begin. All the Same.

Rian & the Castle Guard

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance follows the perspectives of three different Gelfings throughout the premiere. Rian (Taron Egerton) is the warrior of the group and a member of the Stonewood. From the get-go, it’s clear he’s a bit of trouble maker with a good heart. Along with his best friend/girlfriend Mira (Alicia Vikander), he steals a few pastries and sneaks up onto a balcony of the castle. The two “dreamweave” and share the memory of their first kiss together. It’s adorable, and we learn that Mira is essentially the fiercest warrior around.

However, their good time is cut short by a “spitter” or some kind of giant spider. They rush to tell Rian’s father, who is the Captain of the Guard, but are instead admonished for their childish actions. Frustrated that his father won’t give him a chance, Rian chooses to keep the spitter information to himself. Alongside Mira, they recruit Gurjin (Harris Dickinson), who is Rian’s best friend and a bit of a doofus.

Nevertheless, the three are in search of the spitter. Mira and Rian steal a few private kisses while Gurjin just wants to hang about and eat. They lose the spitter in the catacombs though, and since Mira has wings, she flies down. Unfortunately, the catacombs are off limits to the Gelfings for good reason: that’s where the Skeksis experiments happen. They use her as a new test subject to prove that they can steal the essence of creatures. Poor Rian has to watch his one true love get murdered before his eyes and then get chased away with the promise of becoming an outcast.

Rian is one of the main characters, and it makes sense that they need something to push him towards a rebellion. However, it does feel a bit like fridging to set Mira up as a fantastic character just to kill her off for his development. Nonetheless, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance certainly sets the stakes early. With so many Game of Thrones actors on the voice cast, one has to wonder if we should be prepared to say goodbye to many characters this season.