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The Unexpectedly Disturbing Origin Story of the Garthim in “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”
This article contains spoilers.
Yesterday we took a look at the five scariest moments in Netflix’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” a prequel series that certainly doesn’t shy away from the darkest and scariest aspects of Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 film. In fact, “Age of Resistance” is significantly darker than the film, sure to give a whole new generation of kids terrifying nightmares.
It’s not until the final episode of the first season that the series introduces the Garthim, the most terrifying monster from The Dark Crystal. In the film, the crab-like creatures help turn the tides in the Skeksis’ war with the Gelflings, ultimately being used to wipe out nearly the entire species. But some time before that, “Age of Resistance” gives us their origin story.
And it’s far more horrifying and disturbing than we ever could’ve expected.
You probably always assumed that the Garthim was an existing creature on Thra that the Skeksis put under their control, but “Age of Resistance” reveals that to be quite untrue. In the final moments of the final episode of season one, it’s revealed that the Skeksis actually created the Garthim from scratch, an existentially terrifying hybrid of two different species.
“Age of Resistance,” which opens up the world of Thra in many magical and darkly sinister ways, introduces the spider creatures known as the Arathim and also another new species called the Gruenak. We meet two Gruenak in the prequel series, diminutive little creatures who are held captive by the Skeksis. The Skeksis literally sew their mouths shut and turn them into slaves, and watching them bumble around and attempt to speak is one of the most genuinely upsetting aspects of the show. But it’s what they’re ultimately used for that’s most disturbing.
When they attempt to revolt, the Skeksis Scientist throws one down into the fiery pit beneath the Dark Crystal and beats the other to death with a hunk of metal. Blood sprays all over the face of a nearby creature, looking on in horror. At this point in time, the Scientist has a dead Arathim lying on a table, determined to bring it back to life as a slave soldier. And it’s after he kills the Gruenak that he comes up with the twisted idea of fusing the two carcasses together – Arathim and Gruenak – to form his true masterpiece: a brand new creature he calls Garthim.
Yes, the Garthim is a monster made up of the combined corpses of the Arathim and Gruenak. “Age of Resistance” conjures up a body-horror nightmare with the origin story of the movie’s most destructive monsters, which we’ll certainly never be able to look at the same way again. It’s easily the most disturbing new wrinkle that the Netflix prequel adds to the mythology of The Dark Crystal, retroactively working to make the 1982 film more terrifying than we ever realized. Those aren’t crab monsters. They’re dead slaves grafted onto spider bodies.
There was always great darkness in the world of Thra. But “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” brings it to the forefront and pulls no punches staying true to Jim Henson’s vision.
Henson always felt, we must remind, that fear was a healthy thing for children to experience.
Not even death can slow Chucky in “There Will Be Blood,” the penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3. With the killer receiving a mortal blow in the last episode, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) can now take full advantage of the White House’s bizarre supernatural purgatory, leaving him free to continue his current reign of terror as a ghost. While that spells trouble for Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), it makes for an outrageously satisfying bloodbath heading into next week’s finale.
“There Will Be Blood” covers a lot of ground in short order, with Charles Lee Ray confronting his maker over his failures before he can continue his current path of destruction. Lexy, Jake, and Devon continue their desperate bid to find Lexy’s sister, which means seeking answers from the afterlife. They’re in luck, considering Warren Pryce (Gil Bellows) enlists the help of parapsychologists to solve the White House’s pesky paranormal problem. Of course, Warren also has unfinished business with the surviving First Family members, including the President’s assigned body double, Randall Jenkins (Devon Sawa). Then there’s Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), who’s feeling the immense weight of her looming execution.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray, Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)
Arguably, the most impressive aspect of “Chucky” is how series creator Don Mancini and his fantastic team of writers consistently swing for the fences. That constant “anything goes” spirit pervades the entire season, but especially this episode. Lexy’s new beau, Grant (Jackson Kelly), exemplifies this; he’s refreshingly quick to accept even the most outlandish concepts – namely, the White House as a paranormal hub and that his little brother’s doll happens to be inhabited by a serial killer.
But it’s also in the way that “There Will Be Blood” goes for broke in ensuring it’s the bloodiest episode of the series to date. Considering how over-the-top and grisly Chucky’s kills can be, that’s saying a lot. Mancini and crew pay tribute to The Shining in inspired ways, and that only hints at a fraction of the bloodletting in this week’s new episode.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Chucky” can get away with splattering an insane amount of blood on the small screen because it’s counterbalanced with a wry sense of humor and campy narrative turns that are just as endearing and fun as the SFX. Moreover, it’s the fantastic cast that sells it all. In an episode where Brad Dourif makes a rare appearance on screen, cutting loose and having a blast in Chucky’s incorporeal form, his mischievous turn is matched by Tiffany facing her own mortality and Nica Pierce’s (Fiona Dourif) emotionally charged confrontation with her former captor.
There’s also Devon Sawa, who amusingly continues to land in Chucky’s crosshairs no matter the character. Season 3 began with Sawa as the deeply haunted but kind President Collins, and Sawa upstages himself as the unflappably upbeat and eager-to-please doppelganger Randall Jenkins. That this episode gives Sawa plenty to do on the horror front while playing his most likable character yet on the series makes for one of the episode’s bigger surprises.
The penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3 unleashes an epic bloodbath. It delivers scares, gore, and franchise fan service in spades, anchored by an appropriate scene-chewing turn by Dourif. That alone makes this episode a series highlight. But the episode also neatly ties together its characters and plot threads to pave the way for the finale. No matter how this season wraps up, it’s been an absolute pleasure watching Chucky destroy the White House from the inside.
“Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA & SYFY.
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