Characters / The Dark Crystal - Skeksis

Main Character Index Gelflings | Mystics | Skeksis | Other Characters | Thra's Wildlife

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The Skeksis

The Skeksis are reptilian humanoids with heads of birds of prey who took control of Thra and rule it as "lords of the Crystal". Both the Skeksis and the urRu/Mystics actually spawned from the urSkeks, when the Crystal was cracked during the last Great Conjunction.

For about a thousand years, the Skeksis ruled with the trust of the Gelflings and managed to hide their depravity and exploitation of the Crystal's powers from them... until they found out the corruption they inflicted on the Crystal made it extract the life essence of nearby creatures, and used that essence to prolong their life. They turned on the Gelflings to obtain the purest of said life essence, which caused the Gelflings to rebel.

When prophecies revealed that the tyranny of the Skeksis would end when the missing shard is found and the Crystal is restored by a Gelfling, the Skeksis went on a campaign of genocide. With the help of their new Garthim soldiers, they managed to wipe out the Gelflings, leaving only two known survivors, Jen and Kira.

After the Gelflings were wiped out, skekSo, the longtime Emperor of the Skeksis, finally perished into darkness, and skekUng, the Skeksis in charge of commanding the Garthim, became his successor via victory in Trial by Stone. However, his rule was not to last, as Jen and Kira found their way into the Castle of the Crystal, where Jen, the prophecized Chosen One, healed the Crystal, reuniting the urSkeks and ending the Skeksis' reign of terror.

Individual names of the Skeksis originally come from the film's novelization. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has since made a point of having the Skeksis occasionally address one another by name, and so did the comics The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths before it.

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In General

• Age Without Youth: A major plot point, as they capture Gelflings and Podlings to temporally reverse the aging process because they get uglier with age unlike the Mystics.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Their last moments before the Crystal is restored are spent begging and screaming at Jen not to do it. He doesn't listen.
• Alien Blood: They bleed purplish-red blood, as evident by skekTek's transparent tubes in place of veins which show his blood circulation, and when Jen cuts skekSil's hand with the Crystal shard.
• Always Chaotic Evil:
  • Being literally made from the darkness of the urSkeks never gave them much moral autonomy. Still, they manage to make their society work through sheer courtesy and pragmatism.
  • Age of Resistance shows that, while most Skeksis are evil, not all of them are purely evil, some being capable of love, remorse and their own moral standards. One of them, skekGra the Heretic, even gave up on his evil ways as the Conqueror and is trying to atone for them.
  • Technically, the Skeksis are the embodiment of the traits that have the most potential to lead to evil, rather than being Made of Evil per se. While the Mystics are wise and gentle, the Skeksis are driven and drawn to the trappings of power.
• Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: The Skeksis delight in the suffering and humiliation of their comrades, usually willing to turn on each other at a moment’s notice, but they always stop short of actually killing one another and are usually terrified when one of their own dies. This has less to do with morality and more to do with how their own fear of death and the implications of what the death of one supposedly immortal Skeksis means for the rest of them. The only known Skeksis who has killed another Skeksis is skekSil (skekVar REALLY shouldn't have taken his spot as the Emperor's right-hand man).
• Aristocrats Are Evil: Unlike their Mystic counterparts, they're cruel and live lavishly, dominating everyone through their self-imposed royalty.
• The Bad Guys Win: While they weren't considered to be evil at the beginning, they did succeed at getting the Crystal and at making themselves the rulers of Thra for a thousand years, and while the circumstances aren't known they did succeed at crushing the resistance against them with their Garthim soldiers, nearly exterminating the Gelflings in the process. Jen's mission in the movie is to undo their victory before it's too late.
• Believing Their Own Lies: The Skeksis are so terrified of death and the concept of what might happen after death that they try to convince themselves that they are immortal.
• Big Bad: A Big Bad Ensemble of sorts. In the original movie, the true one would be skekUng via Rank Scales with Asskicking and skekSil being The Heavy. In Age of Resistance, the true Big Bad is skekSo the Emperor.
• Bird People: Essentially rotting toothed humanoid vultures. Brian Froud describes them as being "part reptile, part predatory bird, part dragon".
• The Caligula: Initially much more affable in the past, they eventually descend into selfish and genocidal behavior as time passed.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Averted at first, for nearly a millennium, the Skeksis maintained an affable and benevolent facade to the Gelflings and the rest of Thra, posing as generous and just beings to justify their rule. However after the discovery of Essence draining and the killing of All-Maudra Mayrin by the General for rebelling against them, most of the Skeksis, with the exception of the Chamberlain, decided to drop the act altogether and don't even try to hide the fact they have done horrible and cruel deeds for selfish reasons anymore, even relishing in it. When Seladon tries to bargain with them to spare at least some of the Gelfings in Age of Resistance, skekZok calls her "coldblooded" for betraying her own kind, before mockingly adding on, "She could be a Skeksis!" Brea calls them monsters, to which skekOk retorts "Have you only just figured that out? Perhaps you are not so clever after all."
• Cannot Dream: Skeksis normally do not experience dreams when they sleep. The Emperor begins experiencing dreams as he began his research into the Darkening, but these were only nightmares of what untold horrors could await them after death, strengthening his determination to stave off death at all costs.
• Cast of Snowflakes: Unlike their counterparts the Mystics, the Skeksis each have a unique wardrobe and shaped skull to identify which individual is which.
• Circling Vultures: They're basically toothed vultures as it is, and when drinking Mira's essence they look like scavengers fighting for the best bits. Not to mention how they circle the Emperor on his deathbed, with skekSil eyeing his scepter throughout and only skekUng showing the Emperor any respect.
• Cool Sword: The dueling swords for the Trial by Stone ("Haakskeekah" in the original dialogue), are huge shiny and ornately decorated sabers. They were used by the Skeksis in battle at Stone-In-The-Wood prior to this.
• Creepy Long Fingers: All of them have near-skeletal long fingers that are as rotten as the rest of their body.
• Darkest Hour: While it's a moment of triumph for the good guys, the Season 1 finale of Resistance ends with the entire Gelfling population in open rebellion and allied with the Arathim, meaning that essentially all of Thra are now united against them, they no longer have any sort of army on their side, and three Skeksis were killed during the battle of Stone-In-The-Wood, including the Hunter who was their strongest. For the first time in their long lives, they were forced to retreat. Of course, by the time they get back to the castle, The Scientist has just finished the creation of the first Garthim...
• Dark Is Evil: In spite of being vulture-like creatures made from the darker halves of the urSkeks who like to dress in black, the Skeksis were intended to not be straight up evil as several side materials show, their contrast with the Mystics being more along the lines of hedonism vs spirituality. They were originally elegant and courteous and even were friends towards Aughra and the Heretic even managed to turn good again, but eventually they gave in to increasingly sicker desires and now are straight up malicious.
• Decadent Court: They're genocidal hedonists who only think about living an eternal life, maintaining their power over Thra, enslaving the Podlings, dressing in riches and feasting, not even bothering with physical exercise. Without an Emperor to keep everyone in check, they would certainly jump at each other's throat.
• Didn't Think This Through: Most of them have issues with self-control (with the Emperor and General being especially bad about it), this is well demonstrated when the General suggests draining every gelfling which most of the other skeksis agree with even when the Chamberlain points out that this will lead them directly back to square one. Even the Chamberlain and Scientist who are shown to have the most restraint, still have moments where they can't help themselves.
• Dirty Coward: By the time of the film, they've managed to exterminate almost every Gelfling, but they run and scream in fear when the Chamberlain presents them with a captured Kira.
• Divide and Conquer: They maintained their power-base so completely by keeping the Gelfling clans at odds with one another through subtle background manipulation. In addition to that they drove the Arathim out of their home, so that their resulting antagonism could be used to direct and distract the Gelfling as needed.
• Doomed by Canon: There's only ten skekSis alive by the time of the film, meaning that the ones introduced in Resistance, The Hunter, The Collector, The General and The Heretic, would have to die either in the series itself, or other supplementary materials. The first three are killed in the season 1 finale.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: Quite literally, as they all revel in the rush that drinking Gelfling essence gives them. And supplementary material says that constant imbibing in the Essence "made them mad", making it seem that the Essence combining with their naturally dark nature is what made them slowly more and more willing to commit heinous acts to get more and more of the Essence, until they finally leapt past the point of no return with the Garthim War.
• Dying Race: There's ten at the time of the film when there were originally eighteen ^note then sixteen, since two were killed indirectly when the Skeksis killed two Mystics due to the fact that they still have a Psychic Link. The rest either died of old age or during Age of Resistance.
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: Ultimately, all the Skeksis want is immortality and to be able to torture all living beings on Thra on a whim.
• Embodiment of Vice: Jim Henson said that in the development of the Skeksis, the creators drew inspiration from the Seven Deadly Sins.
• Even Evil Has Standards: They might be decadent, genocidal tyrants, but they abhor profanity.
  Aughra: Mouldy mildew, mother of mouthmuck, dangle and strangle and death!
  Ornamentalist: Oh! How crude!
  Ritual Master: Watch your tongue, harridan! We are lords of the Crystal!
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Skeksis more commonly use their titles when talking about each other than their actual names. Exclusively so in the movie, and even with the occasional name-drop in Age of Resistance they still seem to prefer being addressed by their titles, not their names.
• Evil Counterpart Race: To the Mystics.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Heavily downplayed. They often bicker, but whenever one is on the verge of death, they go out of their way to keep each other alive. They even have a strict rule against killing each other (not that it's stopped them before). They even hold funerary services for each other and seemingly grieve (ex. skekEkt was the most visibly distressed over skekLach's death). Though, this may be less due to them genuinely having compassion for one another and more to do with their irrational fear of death. On the other hand, they treat Aughra less harshly due to their friendship in the past. In Age of Resistance, skekTek even seems hesitant about taking Aughra's essence. skekTek also has a pet bird that he considers his one friend.
• Evil Is Hammy: They tend to express themselves loudly when in court, be it rejoicing, cheering or freaking out.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: Drawing life energy from the Crystal ironically served to cause their bodies to become more decrepit and withered, and only got worse when they started consuming essence.
  • Tellingly, skekMal and skekGra, the two Skeksis who didn't live in the Castle, were in the best shape.
• Evil Old Folks: They are over 1000 years old as well as genocidal hedonists.
• Exotic Equipment: Thanks to skekAyuk's pissing scene we know that Skeksis have three penises or urethral holes.
• Fair-Weather Friend: Most of the Skeksis are quick to turn on their previous allies and to support someone else according to the circumstances. When skekTek told them about skekSil being responsible for the loss of a vial of essence the other Skeksis want to have the Chamberlain punished but as soon as skekSil says that skekTek let Rian escape with him having attacked skekSil with a knife (which happened because skekSil had stolen the vial) they turn on him and he's the only one to face punishement. Most of also switch from encouraging skekSil to praising skekUng during the Trial by Stone and all easely turn on the Chamberlain after his defeat.
• Fallen Angel: They are the dark half of the angelic urSkeks, seperated in a failed ritual to get them home.
• Fantastic Racism: Even before they learnt about draining essence and showed their true nature to the rest of Thra the Skeksis have always looked down on Thra native species like the Gelflings or the Podlings, viewing them as uncultured and ugly beings at best and vermin or monsters at worst. Even skekOk the only Skeksis (with the exception of the Heretic) who treated Gelflings with some degree of appreciation and niceness couldn't help but talk in a condescending manner to Brea after learning that she was able of reading.
• Fatal Flaw: For most of them, a mix of Pride, Greed, arrogance, and lack of foresight. Many of the Skeksis only focus on what they want while ignoring the aftermath of their actions. This is proven many times in the series.
  • When skekSil suggests only taking a limited amount of Gelfling to ensure survival, the rest of the Skeksis rebuff him, claiming that moderation is for the meek and they deserve immortality. Unlike the rest of the Skeksis, skekSil knew that if they killed all the Gelfling in one go, they'd have no essence whatsoever.
  • As the series goes on, the Skeksis start disregarding their Villain with Good Publicity image, started when skekVar murdered the All-Maudra in anger. Instead of condemning this act, skekSo condones it so they no longer have to pretend to be benevolent rulers. Had they kept up their pretense of being kind, yet strict rulers, the Gelfling may never have risen against them.
  • skekSo best exemplifies these flaws in Age of Resistance. Despite claiming the Darkening does not exist, he's secretly learning to manifest its power for his own glory. However, the Darkening weakens his already frail body, thus making him desperate for more Gelfling essence.
• Feathered Fiend: Technically not so feathered (though some like the Chamberlain and the Garthim-Master do have fuzz akin to that of Old World vultures), but they look like humanoid birds of prey, and they're very wicked.
• Final Solution: They hunted down the Gelflings to extinction.
• Formerly Fit: Aughra notes in Age of Resistance that the castle's Skeksis have become "fat and shriveled all at once" when she was in her space-exploring slumber. Those living outside the castle, the athletic skekMal the Hunter especially, seem to live healthier.
  Scroll-Keeper: Perhaps your interminable age has finally caught up with you.
  Aughra: You're ones to talk! Look at you! These are not the Skeksis Aughra remembers! Fat, shriveled, all at once!
  • This can be seen when skekUng gets his first taste of essence after Skeksis revival in Power of the Dark Crystal. He quickly demolishes rock barricades that the Gelfling had set up beforehand, barricades that the entire host of the Skeksis had previously had trouble moving.
• Immortality Seekers: They seek eternal life via life extensions by extracting Podling and Gelfling essence. Apparently, the Dark Crystal's final Great Conjunction would've made them immortal had it not been restored.
• Interservice Rivalry: All of them. Especially with skekUng and skekSil.
• It's All About Me: They live to live beautifully, eternally, and satisfy their hedonism.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: In Age of Resistance, the Skeksis referred to Gelflings as "it".
• I Was Quite a Looker: In their youth, they were slender, vibrantly colored, and partial to wielding ornate fan-like devices, not too dissimilar to female Gelflings' fairy-like wings. As they became increasingly corrupt their bodie's changed to match what was in their hearts, so that they now look like hideous undead buzzard things.
• Jabba Table Manners: Except for the Ornamentalist and to some extent the Ritual-Master, their table manners (or lack thereof) are simply disgusting. Some of the things they eat aren't even dead yet.
• Jerkass: They're cruel, selfish, and lack compassion and morality.
  • Subverted with skekGra who made a Heel–Face Turn. Although he still not often nice.
• Lack of Empathy: All have comparatively little in the way of compassion, probably because they are Made of Evil. Even the benevolent Heretic has Innocently Insensitive tendencies.
• Laughably Evil: While there's plenty of moments not Played for Laughs, thanks to the Large Ham performances and their quirky personalities, it's seldom not amusing or just plain funny when the Skeksis are on screen.
• Lean and Mean: They are very scrawny.
• Light 'em Up: Weirdly enough they make use of magical light in a variety of ways. They regenerate themselves with sunlight and their essence extraction shines the crystal's light on the victims.
• Lizard Folk: Not very apparent at first glance, but their elaborate attires conceal reptilian bodies with long tails.
• Long-Lived: They managed to extend their lifespan over a thousand years thanks to a life extension Magitek they developed using the power of the Crystal. It also extended the life of the Mystics as a result, since their souls and lives are linked. However it's hinted that it's less that the power of the Crystal is extending their lives, than it is they attempt to use it to attain immortality. Ironically, both skekGra and skekMal are actually healthier than their decrepit counterparts at the Castle precisely because they do not make use of the Crystal, suggesting the Skeksis are naturally long-lived.
• Made of Evil: Upon dying, the Skeksis turn to ashes and crumble, by contrast with the Mystics who are Made of Good and disappear in sparkles. Emperor skekSo is a special case because his prolonged exposure to the Darkening made his body rot, making him crumble like dry rotten wood upon dying instead of ashes.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: They are explicitly described as "part reptile, part predatory bird, part dragon". While the dragon part is vague, they do have scales instead of feathers, and, despite having bird-like heads, some of them have more crocodile-like snouts with teeth.
• Mortality Phobia: The basest motivation of the Skeksis is a deep seated fear of dying; to that end, they were willing to do almost anything to extend their lives, regardless of the consequences. They are so terrified of death that the mere thought of one of them dying causes them to panic. In fact, they share more than a few traits with Batman villain Ra's al Ghul where a certain exchange could fit the Skeksis just as well, "Sure Ra's, why not? Anything to hold off the Grim Reaper another few seconds. I take it back. You don't cheat death; you whimper in fear of it!"
  • Breaking this down further, the Emperor and General discuss that what they remember of their time as urSkeks consists of what they consider negative emotions like suffering, guilt and sorrow, and describe the remembering of these memories as a nightmare. And, for the Emperor at least, the thought of something even worse waiting for them beyond death is enough motivation for them.
  The Emperor: We know the torments that lie behind us, but what torment awaits beyond this existence? All the more reason to hold onto life, with all claws! ...No matter the cost...!
  • Subverted with the Heretic who doesn't deny that he can die. It's more along the lines of "fear of dying while separated from his other half." This fear is shared with the Wanderer, his Mystic half.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: They share this trait with the Mystics, but thankfully theirs are atrophied. Only skekMal the Hunter made any use of them in combat, which made him particularly fearsome.
• My Instincts Are Showing: They usually act "civilised" (for lack of a better term) despite their animalistic appearances, however, when they fight or get angry they have a tendency to hiss and make other animal-like sounds with the Hunter in particular frequently producing monstrous growls, snarls and even roars. Their habit of digging into their meals and eating live animals can also be seen as this.
• Naked on Arrival: Both the Skeksis and urRu (Mystics) appeared naked when their urSkek selves split apart as shown in the comics The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths.
• Non Action Big Bads: Their first battle against the Gelflings didn't turn out well for them as seen in Age of Resistance, so they resorted to using the Garthim, who ended up doing all the dirty work for them.
  • The only one to avert the trope in a major way was skekMal the Hunter, who was the deadliest and most agile Skeksis in combat by far, so deadly and unstoppable that it took the suicide of his Mystic counterpart to get rid of him.
• Non-Mammalian Hair: Most of them seem to have wispy hair atop their heads along with eyebrows and eyelashes, despite being based on birds and reptiles.
• The Nose Knows: They appear to have an enhanced sense of smell, as evidenced when the Scientist and the Chamberlain are able to detect the hiding Rian and Gurjin with skekSil even being able to tell what clans they belong to by scent alone. The Hunter is later able to track Rian using the scent from a torn scrap of his clothes.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: In Age of Resistance, the Skeksis often come off as rather foppish and shallow, but the series makes it clear that they are cruel, vicious monsters at heart and are not to be underestimated, often giving individual Skeksis moments to show how dangerous they can be. The best example is probably when the castle guard revolts against them. Even though the Gelfling greatly outnumber them, the Skeksis have no problem in overwhelming them, with even the likes of the Gourmand being able to take them out with ease, and take great sadistic pleasure in doing so.
• Obviously Evil: Not in the beginning, surprisingly enough. They started being this with their actions in Age of Resistance, and by the time of the film, they all are.
• Our Demons Are Different: Technically speaking, being the darker product from the splitting of the heretic Urskeks that were banished for their perceived heresy on their world, the Skeksis are soul draining, manipulative and fiendish monsters that gradually fell into physical corruption the more they indulged into evil acts akin to fallen angels becoming demons, but thankfully don't have any avert supernatural powers aside from high inventive intelligence and super-strength- with the exception of SkekSo.
• Phlebotinum Dependence: They depend on Gelfling life essence to increase their lifespan. By the time of the film, they have long since run out of it.
• The Power of the Sun: Every day they perform a ritual to use the light of Thra's three suns to regenerate themselves. It only does so much, however, which is why they drain other beings for essence.
• Prefers Raw Meat: They frequently and casually eat live animals.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Concept artist Brian Froud claims the Skeksis are made to look "part reptile, part predatory bird, part dragon".
• Sadist: With the exception of the Heretic all the Skeksis have a degree of sadism and enjoy seeing others being hurt, humiliated or tormented, even if it's one of their own. The Emperor and the Ritual-Master in particular stand out with their love of seing others suffer.
• Sinister Schnoz: Technically beaks. Two exceptions are the Gourmand and the Collector, whose beaks are much less prominent.
• Slowly Slipping Into Evil: While they were never really benvolent to begin with, the Skeksis were initially far more affable toward the Gelflings and at least some of them such as skekOk did seem to sincerely want to civilize Thra and have some appreciation for its inhabitants, though age and power and their obsession for immortality caused them to progressively lose affability or benevolence and the discovery of essence draining cause them to lose all trace of benevolence and to become outright monstruous to the rest of Thra.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Easily the most memorable characters of the Dark Crystal universe and steal the spotlight from everyone.
• Succession Crisis: After the death of the Emperor, three candidates emerge to replace him, with supporters on each side — the Chamberlain, the Garthim-Master and the Ritual-Master. The Ritual-Master steps down and it's eventually settled with a Trial by Stone, with the Garthim-Master winning and becoming the new Emperor.
• Synchronization: Due to originally being part of the same species, the lives and souls of the Skeksis and Mystics are linked. If one gets injured or dies, so does his counterpart.
• Toothy Bird: All of them sport teeth in their mouths.
• Trade Your Passion for Glory: In ancient times they exterminated the Gruenaks, drove the Arathim from their homeland, and brought the Gelflings to heel in a series of wars. By the time of the series, centuries of decadence and indolence have taken their toll, to the point that all but one have had their secondary arms atrophy and they can barely match a Gelfling (who they outmass and overpower by a huge margin) in a straight fight. By the time of the movie they rely entirely on Garthim constructs to do their fighting for them.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Skeksis consider Roast Nebrie to be a great delicacy, often slaughtering the animal for their daily banquets.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: When the urSkeks split, their assertiveness and will to act went to the Skeksis; to that end, while the Mystics generally just sit in hiding waiting for something to happen, the Skeksis proactively seek out their own ends.
• Villain with Good Publicity: At the time of Age of Resistance they've convinced the rest of Thra they are benevolent and just rulers, whom the Gelflings serve happily.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Aughra, who voices this almost word-for-word. In Age of Resistance they are noticeably more tolerant of her than with anyone else, verbally dressing her down and banishing her from the castle rather than harming her. She even sounds fond of skekMal of all people when she returns to pay her respects. The Scientist in particular seems unsettled when Aughra reminds them of their past friendship before she is drained.
• Wicked Wastefulness: Apart from their Jabba Table Manners, the Skeksis are shown to be wasteful in their practices, including throwing away food that is only half-eaten.
• Yes-Man: In general no one among the Skeksis ever dare to contradict, talk back or disobey the Emperor. Only skekSil and skekTek are brave enough to say things to skekSo that he doesn't want to hear and to try to make him reconsider his decisions, though he rarely listen and they generally cower to his will in the end. They also laugh each time he makes a joke such as when he keeps saying no to Seladon when she came to plead for the lives of the Gelfling. The only known exceptions are skekGra who changed his ways and was bannished from the castle, skekMal who generally only obey to himself and skekNa who continously defied skekSo's orders of keeping a benevolent facade and commited atrocities against Gelflings and Podlings no matter the punishments he received for doing so.
• You Don't Look Like You: In the prequel comic where they first defused from the Mystics, for some reason they lack the unique faces of the ones we know from the film, likely because they were younger at that time.

The Castle of the Crystal

The Skeksis who rule Thra from their seat of power, the Castle of the Crystal. They use the powers of the cracked Crystal for their own benefits, no matter how destructive their actions are for Thra.

The Emperor

skekSo the Emperor

"I did not build an empire only to watch it turn to dust."

"MINE!"

"Who said anything about helping the gelflings? We're Skeksis, we help outselves."

Performed by: Jim Henson (1982), Dave Chapman (2019)

Voiced by: Jerry Nelson (1982), Jason Isaacs (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

"...never forget, there is absolutely nothing in this world that does not bend to my will."

The first Skeksis Emperor, who revelled in manipulating the destructive force known as the Darkening, which spawned out of the Crystal when it was cracked and corrupted. He is dying as of the beginning of the 1982 film.

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• Anxiety Dreams: He started getting them after prolonged exposure to the Darkening. They are implied to be about dying, and what might come after.
• Ascended Extra: He was in the 1982 film, but only in one scene at the beginning, at the very end of his life on his deathbed. He's the Big Bad in Age of Resistance.
• Ax-Crazy: He was presumably quite cunning at some point, but throughout Age of Resistance he acts unhinged and short-sighted, most likely due to his desperation to keep himself immortal.
• Bad Boss: He frequently belittles and batters those under his command, be they Gelfling, Pod Person or Skeksis. He subjects fellow Skeksis to horrific tortures for failure and only stops short of outright killing them due to his belief in Skeksis superiority, his own phobia of death and what the death of one Skeksis may mean for his own mortality.
• Berserk Button: The topic of death. Specifically, his death. He flies into a rage whenever someone warns or even hints that he is fated to die.
• Big Bad: In Age of Resistance.
• Big "NO!": He's fond of these when things go wrong, and especially if his mortality -- or the mortality of his fellow Skeksis -- is endangered.
• Body Horror: Moreso than the other Skeksis, since he's literally rotting alive. In a banquet scene early in Age of Resistance, he notices a finger oozing pus, and picking at it makes the claw fall off; he wears a prosthetic beak and fingertips throughout the series, to conceal his illness from others. By the time of the movie, his snout has rotted to the bone.
• Bad People Abuse Animals: He doesn't seem to have much love for Thra's wildlife, dismissing them as "meek and fuzzy," and grabs one of skekTek's animals and threatens to crush the thing unless skekTek tells him how many Gelfling they need to drain every trine to live forever. SkekTek manages to come up with a number ("Fifty! Fifty Gelfling! Every trine!"), and so skekSo releases the critter.
• Casting a Shadow: He can manipulate the Darkening via a small crystal on his scepter.
• Classic Villain: A psychotic despot who embodies Greed, Ambition and Pride.
• Determinator: He might be on his deathbed, but he surely won't let anyone touch his scepter till he is Deader than Dead.
• Divide and Conquer: One of his favorite tactics to maintain and secure his rule whenever it was against the Gelflings, by encouraging differences and the impression of a hierarchy between the clans through background manipulation, or his brethren by favoring and promoting potential rivals only to let them discredit themselves or to suddently withdraw his favor and then enjoy their fall.
• Due to the Dead:
  • His ashes are given a funeral in a invokedDeleted Scene.
  • After the supposed death of skekMal the Hunter, the Emperor decrees that his body won't be buried or burned, but clad in the finest armor and hung in the Throne Room so that the Hunter might rule at the side of his fellow Skeksis forever. But then the Hunter turns out to be Not Quite Dead.
• The Emperor: The first Skeksis emperor, who reigned over 1000 years till his death.
• Evil Counterpart: To urSu the Mystic Master.
• Eviler than Thou: As befitting the leader of the Skeksis, skekSo is perhaps the worst of all of them. When the Scientist and Chamberlain urge caution over the excessive use of Essence, the Emperor dismisses them and allows everyone to gorge themselves. When skekTek wants to slow the draining because of the Darkening and the damage it will do, skekSo screams at him that there is no such thing as the Darkening, only for it be revealed later that not only is skekSo fully aware of the Darkening's existence and its effects but he actively seeks to harness it for its power. In the end, skekSo will go the extra mile for cruelty and looks down on the pragmatism and standards of any of the other Skeksis.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Usually he has no sense of humor whatsoever, but he seems to think he's being hilarious when he responds to every one of Seladon's attempts to negotiate with a childish, "Uh, no". Of course, the rest of the ass-kissing Skeksis laugh themselves feral.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: His experiments and usage of the Darkening ends up corrupting him and makes his body decay even faster than the other Skeksis. By the time of the film, he's little more than a hollow shell.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: Counts for all Skeksis really, but particularly for him. It's his manipulation of the Darkening that makes him rot.
• Evil Overlord: For about 1000 years he ruled over Thra, with the Skeksis' tyranny becoming more overt by the time of Age of Resistance. The power and presence he wields is so potently intimidating, that even as a withering and decrepit vulture on his deathbed literally seconds away from death, he can still command fear among the other Skeksis with only his voice. And his actions in Age of Resistance show why this is so.
  The Emperor: General, you will take The Chamberlain's place at my side.
  The General: I am honored, sire-
  The Emperor: No! You are commanded.
• Evil Sorcerer: That scepter of his isn't just a symbol of power, it's a conduit through which he can manipulate the Darkening.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Very much not the case with Jerry Nelson's reedy performance in the original film, but Jason Isaacs in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance gives his typical deep voice, which was presumably worn away by his rotting after so much exposure to the Darkening. This is proven when he removes his prosthetic beak when he speaks to the General to display the toll the Darkening has taken on his body. When removed, his voice sounds distinctly closer to the withered and reedy voice he has in the Movie.
• Evil Wears Black: In Age of Resistance.
• Fatal Flaw: His extreme fear of dying and hunger for power. Like most Skeksis, skekSo has an extreme fear of dying and will do whatever it takes to preserve his life while also securing his power on Thra. This leads him to make rash and extremely dangerous decisions.
  • He exposes himself to the Darkening in the hopes of learning to control it. Unfortunately, this corrupts his already frail body, making him weaker than ever and makes him more desperate for Gelfling essence.
  • At the start of the series, skekSo initially agreed with skekSil's methods to ensure order and keep the Gelfling clans loyal to them. Unfortunately, as the series progresses, skekSo stops listening to skekSil and ultimately tosses aside the Villain with Good Publicity, which leads to the Gelflings rising against them.
  • His obsession with preserving his life and securing power makes him shortsighted. skekSo is very ambitious and power hungry, but as the series progresses, he stops considering the consequences of his actions and making extremely rash decisions. If he had developed a better sense of foresight, then it's possible he could've kept the Gelfling Clans loyal to him.
• Faux Affably Evil: While he doesn't even bother for the most part, he's unusually chipper when he pays The Scientist a surprise visit. Of course, it isn't real in the slightest and he's only interested in knowing how many gelflings they need to drain, despite The Scientist not knowing the amount. He quickly loses his patience and starts strangling a nearby pet to force out an answer.
• Greater-Scope Villain: For the original film and the sequel comic, The Power of the Dark Crystal. While he dies in the former, his initial reign of terror still lies on the minds of Thra's inhabitants, being the authority that ordered the Gelfling genocide in the first place and the creation of the Garthim.
• Hidden Depths: The Emperor is driven by far more than simply his fear of death. The nightmares he's been experiencing about his existence before he was sundered from his counterpart has him living in existential fear about what may happen if the Crystal is ever healed, and the Skeksis and urRu are ever recombined. As skekSo he carries no guilt for all his cruelty and avarice, and he's terrified what it will mean if he were to ever be rejoined with urSu, and regain the capacity for it.
• Hypocrite: When Aughra resists giving up her essence, skekSo furiously accuses her of reneging on their bargain. Never mind the fact that he went back on his own word when he ordered the General to kill the Gelflings that were freed in exchange for Aughra's essence.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Icy grey-blue to be exact, but they certainly reflects the cold, soulless malice underneath.
• I Lied:
  • Said word-for-word to skekVar, in regards to his public denials about the existence of the Darkening.
  • After Aughra voluntarily offers to be drained of her essence to save skekMal's life on the condition the Emperor releases all the Gelfling prisoners he plans on draining, the Emperor agrees. And then covertly tells skekVar to murder them all once they're out of their cages and out of Aughra's sight.
• Irony: In the prequel The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, he claims that "[He] did not build an empire just to turn to dust." His fate in the movie is exactly that.
  • He also furiously rebukes Aughra's statement as she's being drained that he will never turn to dust. As above, that's his fate in the film.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Threatens one of skekTek the Scientist's lab animals unless he can come up with the number of Gelflings it'll take for them to drain in order to live forever. skekTek manages to blurt out "Fifty! Fifty Gelfling! Every trine!", so skekSo releases the animal.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When skekMal arrives at the Citadel, mortally wounded, the Emperor spares no expense in doing everything possible to keep him alive. Not because he cares about one of his own, but because he's horrified about the ramifications of a Skeksis dying when he believes they're immortal and what it means for his own mortality. Even his elaborate Due to the Dead is more about reinforcing the idea of Skeksis being eternal beings. It's also why he doesn't execute fellow Skeksis for failure, "merely" torturing them instead.
• Jerkass: While most of the Skeksis are capable of feigning affability to maintain the ruse, it seems beyond the Emperor. He's a resolute asshole to absolutely everyone, including his fellow Skeksis. He's short-tempered, impatient and perpetually angry. That being said, he does put on a pretty convincing act when promising Rian's father that the Skeksis will "cure" his son of his supposed madness.
• Kick the Dog: skekSo tends to not so much kick dogs as he's willing to punt them. Mainly when his own race is concerned.
  • How does skekSo get skekTek to tell him how many Gelfling they to drain to live forever? By nearly crushing skekTek's pet.
  • His treatment of Seladon in the eighth epsoide is quite cruel as he pretty much mocks all of her pleas to spare her people. And that's before he has the others attack her.
• King on His Deathbed: The film opens with the Emperor on the verge of death before crumbling away, thus setting the Chamberlain and the Garthim-Master against each other for the right to succeed him.
• Lack of Empathy: All Skeksis lack empathy to one degree or another but it's especially noticeable with the Emperor. Near the end of the first season part of his motivation is revealed to be that he's afraid of the capacity for empathy and guilt; merging with his Mystic half would restore those feelings and he will do what he can to prevent that from ever happening.
• Large and in Charge: He stands the tallest of all of the Skeksis, even if he isn't the brawniest.
• Made of Evil: Upon dying, he undignifyingly crumbles like a dry and rotten piece of wood, which mirrors the decadent and brutal way he reigned (and revealed in Age of Resistance to be because of his insistence on working with the Darkening, which slowly rotted him from the inside out). His Mystic counterpart, by contrast, is Made of Good, and disappears as gracefully as his life was simple and pacifistic.
• Mortality Phobia: All the Skeksis are terrified beyond reason of death, but the Emperor is by far the most vocal about it, and virtually every bad thing that happens in the series is due to his desperation to avoid it at any cost.
• Nasal Trauma: Under his silver beak-covering, the Emperor's snout and nostrils are decomposing hideously.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Seladon could have been his greatest asset; she's blindly loyal even above her own family and as the new All-Maudra, she could have been instrumental in silencing dissent. All the Emperor had to do was throw on his Faux Affably Evil face and give the slightest, most meaningless of concessions. Instead, he had her humiliated and imprisoned. By and large, his decision to stop being a Villain with Good Publicity in favor of becoming an outright tyrant helps fuel the rebellion against him.
• Nightmare Face: Without his metal prosthetic beak, it's revealed that his snout has rotted to the bone. Also displayed in the film when he rises one last time to prevent the Chamberlain from grabbing his scepter.
• Not Quite Dead: When the Chamberlain thinks the Emperor is in a coma or far enough into death and grabs his scepter, the Emperor uses his last bit of strength to rise one last time and ferociously hold onto it, then passes away.
• Pragmatic Villainy: For the most part this is Averted. The Emperor is shown to be a being of excess and quick gratification and reacts violently to the Scientist and Chamberlain's cautions about consuming Essence too quickly or rule through slow subterfuge. That said there are a few moments where the Emperor is shown to rein himself in; he declines to have Gurjin drained when the Scientist rebuilds his machine because Gurjin still has information. This also seems to be why he doesn't kill any of the other Skeksis as doing so would shatter the illusion of their immortality, an illusion he fights to maintain.
• Predecessor Villain: Was this to skekUng the Garthim-Master for about a thousand trine (years), as the Emperor.
• Red Right Hand: He's rotting away from his exposure to the Darkening, with his beak-nose having been rotted to the bone.
• Sadist: He's seemingly more sadistic than some of the other Skeksis, taking great pleasure in leading the charge against Seladon after spending time cruelly taunting her. Also, previously, when the Scientist is draining Mira, while all the other Skeksis initially react with shock, confusion, and even horror (they don't know about the essence at this point), the Emperor's first reaction is to laugh, as if entertained by the sight of another creature in pain. Only having a problem and demanding skekTek explain himself when she perishes as a result, likely only because killing Gelflings is problematic to their "Benevolent rulers" image unless they have good reason...like their essence stopping their aging.
  • And during the Peeper Beetle Ceremony, he spends the majority of it laughing his head off as The Scientist screams for mercy and cries in utter terror as the Peeper Beetle scuttles across their head, and he's seen in the background getting in nice and close with what could only be described as an excited smile of anticipation right as the Peeper Beetle forces The Scientist's eyelid open to get at it's meal.
• Satanic Archetype: skekSo like all the other Skeksis was initially one half of the angelic Urskeks who were split in half during the Great Conjunction. skekSo is a tyrannical ruler who's only concerned with his own personal power, both in his authority as Thra's ruler and using the Darkening for himself, with no regard for the consequences of his actions. Though he can easily appear benevolent, it's only a facade to hide his sociopathic, sadistic and power hungry personality. He shows all Seven Deadly Sins throughout the series, is associated with darkness and the place where he experiments with the Darkening resembles a hellish cavern.
• The Sociopath: A sadistic liar devoid of empathy, the Emperor also goes a further step by being barely functioning, having a poor impulse control.
• Sorcerous Overlord: He rules with an iron fist and as the Darkening grows he seeks to wield its power. His control is limited but the volatile energy makes him an even more powerful monster.
• Stupid Evil: Actively cultivated the Darkening for the sake of power, in spite of being aware of its effects on his already frail body and even comparing it to Thra's decay. He also seems very short-sighted, not caring for the Chamberlain's idea of moderating their feeding habits, or the Scientist's concern about the spread of the Darkening.
• Synchronization: When he dies, urSu dies with him.
• The Unfettered: Much like the chamberlain, the emperor has no limits on what he's willing to do to stay alive. Commit genocide, ruin his own body....nothing checks his ambition.
• Vader Breath: At some points during Age of Resistance the Emperor can be heard having a particulary loud and heavy breath as if he has troubles breathing, especially when he's distressed. This is another indication of the toll that the Darkening has on his body.
• Villain Has a Point: In Age of Resistance Episode 3, when Aughra confronts him about the Crystal, the Emperor accurately points out that she willingly gave up ownership of the Crystal in exchange for the Skeksis (actually the urSkeks) building her an orrery, and that for the last thousand trine, she's taken absolutely no interest in the affairs of Thra.
• Villainous Breakdown: He throws a huge tantrum when skekMal the Hunter seemingly dies.
  "Dead... No, no, no... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WE! CAN! NOT! DIE! [Smashes equipment; starts gasping painfully] ...I cannot die."
  • Throws another major one when Aughra, while being drained yet not providing essence, says that he and his kind are doomed, and are nothing but dust. It causes him to have a tantrum so powerful that he pulls the lever that supercharges the draining process, something The Scientist told him not to do, out of fear of what it might do to the crystal.
  (Shaking with rage) "I...will NEVER...be...DUST!! NOOOO!!! "
• We Have Reserves: He thinks nothing of slaughtering Gelflings by the dozens, seemingly never halting to think that the Gelflings are a finite resource.

The Garthim-Master

skekUng the Garthim-Master / the (Second) General / the New Emperor

"NOW, BOW DOWN TO ME! I AM EMPEROOOOOOOORRRRRR!!!!!"

Performed by: Dave Goelz (1982)

Voiced by: Michael Kilgarriff (1982)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal

"Will of the Crystal that the next Age of Thra is Age of Skeksis!"

The strongest of the Skeksis by the time of the film, and the one in command of the Garthim (as states his title). He challenges the Chamberlain for the throne after the death of Emperor skekSo, and wins the Trial by Stone, thus becoming the new Emperor.

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• Adaptational Villainy: While he is no saint in the movie, the novelization makes skekUng even more ruthless and sadistic than he is in the movie and remove his few positive traits such as his sense of honor and sportsmanship. After having Kira drained of her essence, skekUng begins to descend into paranoia, to the point that he projects to kill the Scientist for his perceived betrayal (ignoring that he is already dead) and wipe out all life on Thra to protect his power.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He becomes the new Emperor by beating the Chamberlain at the Trial by Stone with his superior strength. The other Skeksis don't even bother to challenge him.
  • That he's both strong and an imposing presence is also very likely the reason he was put in command of the Garthim.
• Badass Long Robe: His robes are decked in armor pieces that rattle as he moves, unlike the other Skeksis who wear mere cloth robes. He even wears a pair of spurs which spark every time he walks.
• Big Bad: He is the main antagonist for Jen and Kira, by way of being leader of the Skeksis for most of the film.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: By order of being the leader of the Skeksis during The Power of the Dark Crystal, he naturally reprises the role as biggest threat around. However, this time he shares the spotlight with the Chamberlain, who acts as a hinderance on Kensho and Thurma's quest to deliver a crystal shard to her people.
• Blood Knight: He has shades of this.
• The Brute: He's undoubtedly the strongest of the remaining Skeksis and easily one of the most brutish and violent, at one point being described as "finding pleasure in tearing apart the gentle Gelfling". His physical strength is demonstrated by his second blow during the Trial of Stone; he was able to break the Haakskeekah Stone into several glowing pieces, shocking his fellow Skeksis and making him the uncontestable winner of the trial and new emperor.
  • The sequel comic, Power of the Dark Crystal, gives a rather terrifying look at what his strength was like in his prime. After draining and imbibing the essence of the Crystalline Eminence, he begins to single-handedly break down a barricade of rubble in order to get to a previously-wounded Jen. How? By punching through it with his bare hands.
• The Caligula: In the novelization, he ends up losing his mind and plans on executing the Scientist after the Convergence (he doesn't know the Scientist is already dead) and going even farther than skekSo ever did.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: In regards to the Skeksis who held his positions in the first season of Age of Resistance.
  • As the new General, he considers skekSil the Chamberlain as a serious threat within the court unlike skekVar, not leaving him much room to scheme. He also has an army to command, the Garthim, while skekVar had none. Also where skekVar is a Dumb Muscle who's impulsive, skekUng is Genius Bruiser who has restraint.
  • As the new Emperor, he is not a Sorcerous Overlord like skekSo, who wielded the Darkening. He is content with ruling by Asskicking Leads to Leadership and sending his Garthim to do the work.
  • To both skekVar and skekSo in the treatment of skekTek. skekVar and skekSo mocked skekTek for being physically weak with skekVar calling him "weakling". Also, skekSo rarely listened to skekTek's advice and when skekTek believed Gelfing essense wouldn't be enough to revive a dying skekMal, skekSo struck him. skekUng on the other hand looked past skekTek's physical limitations and valued him for his skills and loyalty, listened to his advice, and when skekUng got mad at him for failing to give him youth with Podling essence, he didn't physically abuse him.
• The Dragon: He is the most dangerous (and seemingly loyal) servant to the Emperor at the time of the film, with his brute strength and command over the Garthim showing his duty as an enforcer for the Skeksis. He eventually becomes a Dragon Ascendant after winning the Trial by Stone.
• Dragon Ascendant: SkekUng seems to be actually loyal to the Emperor, demanding his fellow Skeksis show him respect even on his deathbed. Unlike skekSil, skekUng is not openly vying for the crown until the death of the Emperor. Then he openly opposes the Chamberlain, whom he has despised for a while, and they settle the dispute with a Trial by Stone. SkekUng wins the following trial, earning the position of Emperor.
• The Emperor: The second Emperor of the Skeksis.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • While the other Skeksis are hovering around the Emperor on his deathbed like vultures waiting for him to die, skekUng demands that they all kneel and bow to show respect to their dying leader. He's also disgusted by skekSil's lack of respect for skekSo.
  • As with skekZok the Ritual Master, he respects the rules and gets pissed when skekSil the Chamberlain tries to grab the Scepter of Office before a new Emperor has been formally chosen.
  • He doesn't personally partake in stripping down skekSil and orders the others to stop before they can do anything worse to him and has him banished. When skekSil shows up with a captured Kira, an impressed skekUng gives him his title and clothes back on the spot.
• Evil Counterpart: To urIm the Mystic Healer.
• Evil Is Hammy: Courtesy of Michael Kilgarriff's booming voice and guttural shoutings, he is by far the loudest of the Skeksis, bordering on No Indoor Voice. Highlights include:
  "KNEEEEEEEEL! BOWWWWWWWW!"
  "CHAMBERLAAAAIN!! LAY DOWN THAT SCEPTER!"
  "Trial by STOOONE!"
  "Garthim! ATTAAACK!"
  "DEATH TO GELFLING!"
  "THIS IS NO GELFLING!"
  "Find that Gelfling - NOWWWW!"
  "You FRAUD!! ARGGH! LIAR!!! Slave squeezer!"
• Evil Overlord: He becomes Emperor after winning the Trial by Stone, and terrorizes Thra with the Garthim, who wreak havoc in many places in search of the last of the Gelflings.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Has a deep growling voice courtesy of Michael Kilgarriff.
• The Eeyore: He always looks grumpy. The closest he has to a "happy" expression on his face comes after drinking Podling essence, and it doesn't last very long.
• Four-Star Badass: As the Garthim Master, skekUng is the leader of the Garthim, as his title shows. With the extinction of the Gelfling as evidence, he was a very effective leader.
• Genius Bruiser: Despite his brutish demeanor, short temper, and grouchy behavior, skekUng is far more intelligent that he looks like, and is a very dangerous adversary. Unlike his predecessor, skekVar, and most of the Skeksis, he knows the benefits of working with individuals such as skekTek and skekNa, who were either looked down upon or feared. He instead values them for their potential usefulness. Also unlike skekVar, he doesn't underestimate skekSil as a rival and doesn't give him room to scheme, preferring to be very direct when challenging him rather than dismissing him. Also, given that his Garthim were able to nearly eradicate the entire Gelfling race, this is proof enough to believe his role as a really effective commander during the Garthim War. This makes him a perfect match for the scheming Chamberlain.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's quite quick to anger, to say the least. His volatile fury is what sets him apart from the other Skeksis. Even simple things will irritate him... like the mere presence and signature "whimper" of his rival, skekSil.
  skekUng: I hate your whimper!
• Hidden Depths: Despite his brutish appearance, temper and behavior, skekUng is surprisingly intelligent and reasonable compared to Emperor skekSo and skekVar the General, both of whom he succeeds as both Emperor and General. Unlike skekVar, he didn't trust or underestimate skekSil, giving the Chamberlain no chance to plot out anything against the Garthim Master in full. He also shows a surprising degree of restraint and ability of compromising. This is shown when, despite being angered at the Scientist and calling him a fraud for failing to give him back his youth, he restrains himself from abusing him physically. This shows his ability to actually listen to his advice, unlike skekSo, who was quick to punish skekTek for the smallest disagreement. He also made a compromise of his and the other Skeksis' desire of draining Kira of her essence, denying skekZok's wish of killing her immediately by promising to kill her after the draining. He was even willing to reinstate the Chamberlain after he brought Kira to the castle, despite their past rivalry. This shows skekUng as a pragmatist, true, but it also shows that he is more forgiving and more willing to think about the use of others rather than uselessly discarding or abusing them.
• I Want Them Alive!: Contrary to the Ritual Master, he wants Jen and Kira alive, to drain their life essence and regain his youth (or at least some of it).
• Large and in Charge: He is a bit taller than the other Skeksis, has the most imposing stature of them all, and becomes the new Emperor.
• Legacy Character: Technically this after The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He is the second Skeksis to hold the rank of General (following the death of skekVar), and later the second Skeksis to hold the position of Emperor (following the death of skekSo).
• Manipulative Bastard: Tempts the Crystalline Emminence in Power to gaze upon the Dark Crystal from his prison cell, knowing that he will become overwhelmed by its power and be compelled to let him and his minions free so they may reclaim the Castle.
• Mook Commander: Commands over the Garthim, who fill the mooks role for the Skeksis.
• Omnicidal Maniac: In the novelization, he goes completely insane and decides to wipe out all life on Thra besides his brethren. In Power, he actively calls for the extermination of all Gelfling when he is revived and looks forward to draining the entire race of their essence once more.
• Phlegmings: He visibly drools at times.
• Power Of Hate: During the Trial by Stone, he gets pissed when the other Skeksis start to cheer on skekSil and musters enough force to break the stone into several glowing pieces with his second swing.
• Put on a Bus: He is absent from the castle during the events of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He is, however, mentioned in Episode 9, where it is suggested to summon him. The unveiling of the Garthim prototype at the end of Episode 10 following the Skeksis' first defeat also hints at his return to command legions of them during the incoming Garthim War.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: While being reasonable is hardly one of the Skeksis' strong suits and that he's rather quick to anger, skekUng is actually surprisingly level-headed and lenient compared to his predecessors skekVar and skekSo who were very stubborn in their opinions, dismissive of others' advices and views and prone to physical abuse on them for the slightest disagreement or slight. Unlike them skekUng is willing to listen to the other Skeksis' opinions and advices, to make compromises such as having Kira killed but after she was drained, restrain himself from abusing others, and he reinstated skekSil after the latter brought Kira to the castle despite his past rivalry and contempt for him.
• The Rival: He openly rivals and challenges skekSil the Chamberlain for the throne after the Emperor's death.
• Sadist: He enjoys tearing apart Gelfings.
• Short-Lived Leadership: He was emperor for mere days, weeks at best, before the remaining Skeksis (himself included) and Mystics were reunited into the urSkeks. His predecessor, skekSo, remained on the throne for over a thousand years, for comparison. The sequel comics make this little better, adding only a scant few days to his reign as Emperor before the Skeksis are foiled once again.
• Superior Successor: To skekVar, the original General. While both are martial-minded and short-tempered individuals who are rivals to the Chamberlain, skekUng is smarter and more reasonable than the rash and uncompromising skekVar, and proved to be more than a match for the Chamberlain. Where skekVar underestimated skekSil's cunning and was treacherously murdered by him, skekUng knew better than to trust the slimy Chamberlain and proceeded to publicly challenge his bid for the throne. He therefore succeeded in defeating skekSil in a Trial by Stone, and had him ousted from the castle.
• Villainous Breakdown: He is prone to losing his temper whenever his plans don't go the way he expected. Weirdly enough, he is one of the only Skeksis who doesn't go insane with horror when Jen prepares to heal the Crystal.
  • This changes by the time of Power of the Dark Crystal, where he completely loses his cool when seeing Jen and Kira before him again. He also attempts to charge Thurma when seeing her trying to restore the Crystal. It doesn't end very well for him.
• Villainous Friendship: With skekNa the Slave-Master, who is his closest political ally and the only Skeksis he fully trusts. Supplementary materials state that he was planning to promote skekNa to the rank of Patriarch, a position higher than skekSil and skekZok in the Skeksis hierarchy.
• Villainous Valor: Fitting of his role of general, he is braver and more level-headed than most of his brethren. While surprised upon discovering Jen's existence he did not panic unlike the rest of the Skeksis, immediatly sending the Garthim to deal with this sole surviving Gelfling. He was also one of the only Skeksis who did not beg Jen to not heal the Crystal after Kira's death.

The Chamberlain

skekSil the Chamberlain

"This is what I do. I plant stories in ground, watch grow into truth."

"Stay! Am friend! Prophecy! Prophecy caused all this trouble!"

Performed by: Frank Oz (1982), Warrick Brownlow-Pike (2019)

Voiced by: Barry Dennen (English, 1982), Simon Pegg (English, 2019), Maïk Darah (European French, 1982), Guillaume Lebon (European French, 2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

"Hhhhmmm!"

The very slimy, constantly scheming and whimpering chief secretary of the Skeksis court and second in line to the throne. With mere suggestions to his brethren, he managed to break the hundreds of trines old status quo between the Skeksis and Gelfling races, which ended in a war that caused the Gelflings' near-extinction.

After the death of skekSo the first Emperor, the Chamberlain's endless greed for power led to a challenge for supremacy by skekUng the Garthim Master, when he decided to crown himself emperor. The Chamberlain responded by declaring the challenge be a Trial by Stone. After losing the Trial by Stone, the Chamberlain was banished from the castle as punishment, though he still sought to find a way to get reinstated, and the two known remaining Gelflings, Jen and Kira, were just what he needed.

Has a Self Demonstrating page.

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• Ambition Is Evil: As he tells skekMal the Hunter, the Chamberlain's own quarry is power, and there's nothing he won't do to obtain it. And taking or even trying to take the power he has already gained from him may as well be a death sentence for you. As skekVar learned the hard way.
  Hunter: Pathetic!! You hunt a chair?!
  Chamberlain: No! I...hunt...power. You have your trophy, I have mine.
  Hunter: I will honor your hunt. Take your trophy and I will take mine. But if you deny me...
  Chamberlain: Yes! Yes! Hunter will never stop until hunt is finished.
• The Artifact: Why does the Chamberlain speak in broken sentences while every other Skeksis speaks perfectly? Because originally, the Skeksis had their own untranslated language similar to the Podlings, and he was the only one able to speak Gelfing language (or at least shown to be able to) to some degree, which would have come as a surprising reveal. The Skeksis language was scrapped in development since it made it too difficult to tell what the hell was going on, but skekSil continued to speak only simple "English". However, as a side-effect, it made him appear to have Obfuscating Stupidity, hiding a cunning mind behind a mask of dimwitted friendliness.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: After he was killed in the graphic novel The Power of the Dark Crystal, he and his Mystic counterpart lived on in the Prism, a dream-space like plane of existence that binds worlds, in Beneath the Dark Crystal
• Berserk Button: There is little that can make the Chamberlain outwardly enraged, compared to the rest of his fellows. But it's shown very quickly in Age of Resistance that he does NOT tolerate someone making moves on his position as the Emperor's advisor in any fashion. He outright confronts the physically stronger skekVar for standing in "his spot" by the Emperor's side. And the Emperor replacing skekSil with skekVar as his advisor causes skekSil to pursue a long con that results in him murdering skekVar, breaking the Skeksis' Ape Shall Not Kill Ape law.
  Chamberlain: OUT of my SPOT! (hisses loudly)
• Beware the Silly Ones: In the original film he's almost a comical figure, with his odd speech patterns and whimpering. However, as the series unfolds, it reveals just how dangerous he actually is (or at least used to be). He very nearly breaks Rian with words alone, and he masterfully orchestrates the downfall of the General. He's the only Skeksis in the entire series who kills one of his fellows, and his murder of skekVar may be one of the cruelest acts carried out by any Skeksis in the series outside of draining the essence of Gelflings.^note It's also worth noting that while all the Skeksis are cruel — particularly the Emperor — the Large Ham performances and quirkiness of the individual Skeksis never keeps it from being Laughably Evil. Case in point, the Emperor tormenting Seladon is certainly cruel, but it's also funny. But with the Chamberlain, his acts of cruelty are never Played for Laughs. Behind that whimper and toadying speech patterns is a ruthless and merciless schemer who will achieve his goals at any cost.
• Big Bad Ensemble: In Power of the Dark Crystal, after once more being exiled from the Skeksis like in the first movie, he takes a much more active role as he pursues Thurma and Kensho to get the Crystal Shard, sharing the role of main villain with skekUng who leads the other Skeksis in attempting to reclaim the Castle and kill the Gelfling.
• Blatant Lies: He claims this is his specialty. He convinced the Gelflings that Rian is a murderer and has a madness that is contagious. At least until they learned the truth.
  • He plans to use Jen and Kira to regain his status, and tells some twisted truths to them in order to lure them to the castle. It mostly doesn't work since, well, he's a Skeksis, the very race that had most of the Gelflings slaughtered, and he isn't very convincing either, making him Obviously Evil from the get-go.
  • Telling Jen and Kira that the Skeksis want "peace" with them and won't harm them is a bit too obvious of a lie to swallow.
• Breaking Speech: He gives one to Rian about how he’s done nothing but run away since learning the truth about the Skeksis, and continuing to rebel will only lead to the Gelflings’ extinction. It actually seems like it would have worked if Rian wasn’t rescued.
• Break Them by Talking: skekSil proves to be a master of this in the series. He almost manages to end the Gelfling Rebellion — or at least Rian's involvement — simply by talking to him, and is even able to make the genocide of the entire Gelfling race seem reasonable!
• Breakout Villain: The Chamberlain, while well beloved by fans and acts as the face of the Skeksis, was not the main villain in the original film, and acted mostly as a supporting character. In Age of Resistance, the Chamberlain is unambiguously a main character, he is the focus character among the Skeksis as a whole, and much of the plot is moved by his hand.
• Butt-Monkey: Downplayed as he's usually a serious threat, but the Chamberlain does get a lot of physical pain and humiliation during both "Age of Resistance" and the movie, having lost his position twice, been injured by Gelflings several times, having his hand crushed by skekVar, failing to bring Rian to the castle, gotten smelly rotten bays thrown at him and being mocked by the other Skeksis for it, losing the Trial by Stone and his dream to become emperor to skekUng, and as a result being attacked and stripped of his clothes by his brethren and being exiled from the castle until finally finding a way back to get the emperor's favor and being reinstated.
• Catchphrase Insult: "Spithead".
• The Chessmaster: The Chamberlain is a master at manipulating events to benefit himself and advance his goal of obtaining the throne for himself.
• Create Your Own Villain: His murder of skekVar leaves the room open for the return of skekUng who turns out to be a much more dangerous rival that the original General ever was.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Chamberlain betrays pretty much everyone he allies himself with in order to strengthen his own position. This backfires however on him several times as his backstabbing and manipulative attitude makes him disliked by the other Skeksis who then have no problems turning on him when they get the chance.
• Didn't Think This Through: Probably wasn't his finest moment to challenge skekUng to Trial by Stone, given the Garthim-Master is bigger and stronger than him... to make it worse, skekUng got the first hit! Though to be fair, it's the Garthim-Master who actually issues the challenge. The novelization of the movie further explains that the Chamberlain really had no choice but to go through with the Trial by Stone, as declining to do so would forfeit his claim to the throne. The novelization also implies that Trial by Stone is the only type of challenge available. That all being said, it still wasn't a great idea for him to grab the scepter before making sure the majority of the other Skeksis were either on his side or out of his way.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He is disgusted by the other Skeksis descending into further depravity when he returns. Furthermore, he's genuinely disturbed when the Emperor begins ranting about how great it is that the Skeksis no longer have to pretend to be benevolent rulers. See Only Sane Man below.
  • He also doesn't believe in Skeksis killing each other. Later revealed to be a lie when he murders skekVar.
  Chamberlain: Skeksis squabble, yes. But are not enemy.
• Evil Chancellor: Technically, the Chamberlain, but has the same attitude. In Age of Resistance we see him in his prime, whispering evil ideas into the ear of the already evil Emperor whom he wishes to supplant.
• Evil Counterpart: To urSol the Mystic Chanter.
• Evil Genius: He's the one who comes up with the plan of extracting life essence from the Gelflings.
• Evil Is Petty: Orchestrates the downfall of the General, which involves letting him get harmed after swapping his essence with a placebo, "saving" him and giving him real essence at the last second and earning his trust, making him believe that they were friends, then suggesting he duel Rian, and after he loses that duel, while he's alone, disgraced, and tending to his mortal wound, the Chamberlain ruthlessly stabs and kills him. This long con took the entire season to come to conclusion. Why go through all this effort to utterly ruin the General? Because he was the one the Emperor replaced him with as his chief advisor all the way back in the fourth episode. Never take the Chamberlain's seat.
• Eviler than Thou: He proves to skekVar just which one of them is worse when he murders him while the latter is alone and wounded. While the other Skeksis delight in seeing their comrades humiliated or abused, they draw the line at actually killing each other. The Chamberlain has no such reservations.
• The Exile: For a majority of the film, he is exiled by the Skeksis after being defeated by skekUng during the Trial by Stone. At least until he regains his position by bringing Kira to the castle.
• Fatal Flaw: Lack of foresight. skekSil is a master manipulator and a highly skilled politician who has been able to navigate the Skeksis's political battlefield and power struggles for years. However, for all his political shrewdness, there were instances when he didn't think something through and ended up making a poor mistake. After saving skekVar from being killed, skekSil could've kept him as an ally since skekVar foolishly considered him a friend. However, out of pettiness and revenge against the General, skekSil murdered him, allowing skekUng to take his place as the new Skeksis General. During the movie, despite the Emperor's successor not being named, skekSil tried to take the scepter for himself, prompting skekUng to challenge him to a Trial by Stone. This forced skekSil into a lose-lose situation: he clearly had no chance of surpassing skekUng in a battle of brawn, but if he backed down, he'd have to forfeit his claim to the throne.
• Faux Affably Evil:
  • Tries to act as a peacemaker with Jen and Kira, but once Jen stabs him, his affable attitude dissolves in a fit of rage as he proceeds to bury him with a cave-in.
  • In Age of Resistance the Chamberlain is a flatterer who calls many people friend. However, in large part due to his simpering tone and the fact that he uses politeness while dealing with people he wishes ill on, it’s clearly a transparent effect he uses to manipulate people. That’s not to say he can’t be successful, he almost manages to sway Rian with a Breaking Speech and, more impressively, wins the friendship of skekVar after saving his life from Princess Tavra, and healing him with Gelfling essence. However, it's all a deliberate ploy to regain his influence and get the General to lower his guard. The moment he's achieved his goal and skekVar is vulnerable, skekSil turns on him again.
  General: I misjudged you, Chamberlain.
  Chamberlain: Am used to it.
• The Heavy:
  • In the 1982 film. While skekUng leads the Skeksis as the new Emperor, skekSil's actions towards Jen and Kira make him more of a personal and proactive antagonist since he's not confined in the castle.
  • He also serves this role in Age of Resistance where his scheming drives a lot of the plot. He's also revealed to be the one who first gave the Scientist the idea to use the Crystal of Truth to drain Gelflings of their essence and use it to give the Skeksis immortality, and is shown to be the one who came up with the idea for the creation of the Garthim, making him retroactively responsible for the Gelflings' near extinction.
• Hero Killer: He stabs Tavra with his sword to save skekVar's, only so he can kill him later. Tavra later dies from her wounds.
  • He is almost this to Jen in the film. After the Chamberlain is stabbed in the hand by Jen, he tries to kill the Gelfling by burying him under rubble while he kidnaps Kira. Turns out, though, Jen is still very much alive.
• I Want Them Alive!:
  • In the series, he practically begs the Hunter to leave Rian alive so the Chamberlain can deliver him back to the Emperor in the hopes of using Rian's execution to quell the Gelfling rebellion before it can even start.
  • In the movie, he prevents Garthim soldiers from capturing Jen and Kira, because he wants to deliver the last two living Gelfling to his fellows in court so he might be reinstated into his old position and his exile ended. When Jen wounds him with the Shard of the Crystal, the Chamberlain tries to murder him and settles on just delivering Kira instead.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: In the movie, for a given value of sympathetic, before he manages to capture Kira. The series has him much less sympathetic and much more effective.
• Karmic Death: In the graphic novel The Power the Dark Crystal, he's killed by flying shards of the very Crystal he was pursuing.
• Karma Houdini: In Age of Resistance, he's able to slip out of his failures by putting the blame on someone else. He does this to the Scientist after Rian escapes and skekTek gets punished instead.
  • Likewise, in the film, despite being the individual most directly responsible for the desolate state of Thra and its inhabitants, he ultimately faces no real comeuppance, and rejoins with his Mystic half and returns to being an immortal urSkek; whilst he may not be himself anymore, his Laughing Mad moment as the reunion begins suggests he views it as a victory.
• Kick the Dog: Drinks the last drops of Mira's essence in front of the captive Rian.
• Killed Off for Real: Not in the movie, but in the graphic novel The Power of the Dark Crystal.
• Laughing Mad: He does this when Jen heals the Dark Crystal. It's hard to tell whether he wanted the Crystal healed, or if he's gone completely insane from the terror of the moment.
• The Man in Front of the Man: To the Emperor in Age of Resistance. Little happens in the Skeksis court without his direction, subtly or unsubtly.
• Manipulative Bastard:
  • Not really a successful manipulator in the movie since he can't convince Jen and Kira to his side, but his actions arguably get him what he wants. Still, he seemingly couldn't play skekUng the Garthim-Master like a fiddle unlike what happened with skekVar the General.
  • Played straight in Age of Resistance. He plays the other Skeksis for fools, initially turns all the other Gelflings against Rian, and even manages to run a gambit where he purposefully weakens skekVar by replacing his essence with a placebo, feigns friendship by saving his life and giving him real essence, uses him to get back in the Emperor's good graces, then personally murders him mid-battle when the time is right. But his greatest example is his one on one with Rian, where, using a mixture of truth, lies, half-truths, and ruthless exploitation of Rian's Survivor Guilt, he weaves a manipulation so powerful he actually completely shuts down the normally hopeful and determined Rian's Shut Up, Hannibal! Moment, and convinces him that surrendering to the Skeksis and publicly confessing he made up seeing them drain Mira is the best possible option, and just to drive it on home, gives Rian the opportunity to escape. But he's so broken by the speech he doesn't take it and resigns to his fate. It's heavily implied this would've stuck had Rian not been saved and had his hope revitalized.
• No Body Left Behind: He gets torn to pieces by the flying Crystal shards at the end of The Power of the Dark Crystal, being so thoroughly eviscerated that there's nothing left of him.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Actually manages to pull this with the Hunter to form an alliance. After the Hunter successfully captures Rian, whom the Chamberlain hired him to find, he manages to gain custody with nothing more than a promise that he will return the Gelfling so the Hunter can have his trophy. His argument? That he and the Hunter are both hunters, with power as his prey. And the Hunter completely buys it. Granted, the movie shows this not to be complete bunk as he spends the entirety of it personally hunting the last two Gelflings to restore his position at court following his banishment.
  • He accuses Rian of being this during the ride taking Rian back to the castle, after Rian declares the Skeksis are evil for their actions to save themselves. To compound with and make his manipulation of Rian stronger.
  Chamberlain: Skeksis conquer death! And you, Gelfling, would do same in Skeksis' place!
  Rian: We are nothing alike!
  Chamberlain: When friend being drained, what did Gelfling do? Stop us? Fight Skeksis?
  Rian: There was nothing I could do!
  Chamberlain: You run. Yes, and when Drenchen friend is caught, what did Gelfling do?
  Rian: But Gurjin told me to—
  Chamberlain: Run, yes? Save self. And father, too! Gobbled up by gobbles so son could run. Save. Self.
  Rian: I tried! I just couldn't save them...
  Chamberlain: Mmmm. Now Gelfling tells truth. You couldn't save any of them. But what if Rian could save all the rest...? Mmmmhhhmmmmm.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain:
  • He starts out as an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain in the movie but does eventually capture Kira and brings her to the castle.
  • In Age of Resistance he turns out to be responsible for harvesting the Gelflings to begin with, making him the architect of their near extinction. He also personally kills Tavra and later the General.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: He pretends to be a lot dumber than he is, at one point telling skekTek "Small words. Please. Chamberlain is not smart like Scientist." In reality, he is very intelligent, and allows others to think he's stupid so he can take advantage of them; in the YA novels, even his simpering, whining way of speaking is revealed to be an affectation to make him seem harmless with his real voice being much deeper, though this has yet to carry over to the main canon.
• Only Sane by Comparison: As treacherous and greedy as he is, he's the only one who doesn't become completely drunk on Gelfling essence, and the only one who thinks a war is a stupid idea that will deplete the Gelfling stock and cause unnecessary chaos.
  Chamberlain: Is difficult being voice of reason in such crazed world.
  • When he finally does start advocating for the genocide of the Gelflings, it's not for essence, but because he believes (and rightfully so) that the Gelflings have become an existential threat that needs to be eliminated if the Skeksis are to survive.
  • Note that, however much he abuses the Scientist, he carefully stops short of killing or crippling this most useful of tools beyond recovery. Occasionally even acting to distract, say, the Emperor, from going too far. This is quite definitely not friendship and not out of any respect, but at least one Skeksis is aware how much they all need the guy alive and functional enough to do his job. All while making very sure none of the rest will respect his intelligence enough for the Scientist to become a threat to himself, of course.
• Pragmatic Villainy: In Age of Resistance, when the other Skeksis suggest harvesting the entire Gelfling race for their essence, the Chamberlain counters that they should just take the minimal number of Gelflings needed to survive. He makes this point not out of any sympathy for the Gelflings, but rather because he realizes that culling every Gelfling on Thra at once would mean no more essence.
  • His pragmatic approach to problems is also evident in how he handles Gurjin's interrogation. Unlike General skekVar, skekSil knows that Torture Is Ineffective. Instead, he banks on the idea that the threat of it will work, using a peeper beetle as an example and making sure to leave the jar containing the creature beside Gurjin when he leaves as an unspoken threat. However, Defiant Captive Gurjin still refuses to spill the beans.
  • He abstains from drinking essence after seeing what it does to the other skeksis.
• Premortem One Liner: To skekVar the General, seconds after stabbing him, right into his ear.
  Chamberlain: You. Took. My. Seat.
• Refuge in Audacity: The Hunter balks at the Chamberlain's "Not So Different" Remark until skekSil likens his pursuit of power to a hunter tracking their prey. skekMal completely buys it.
• Riches to Rags: Gets stripped to rags after losing the Trial by Stone. And back to riches once he brings Kira to the castle.
• The Right of a Superior Species: When Rian calls the Skeksis "evil" for draining and consuming the essence of Gelflings to prolong their own lives, the Chamberlain shoots back that all animals survive by killing weaker animals, and that the Skeksis are to Gelflings what Gelflings are to crawlies. And skekSil almost manages to convince him.
• The Rival:
  • He is skekUng's rival for the throne after the death of the Emperor.
  • It turns out he used to be this to skekVar at the time of Age of Resistance, with the two vying for the Emperor's favor and facing each other aggressively.
• Sadist: Like other skeksis, skekSil takes great pleasure in the suffering of others. Though unlike most of his brethren he seems to prefer psychological torment over physical harm. As seen with how gleefully he drank Mira's essence in front of a screaming Rian, all the while yelling how tasty it is before smashing the empty vial as a mocking way to "return her to Thra", or when he mocked skekTek with eye-related puns right after the Scientist lost his eye due to him.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: He tends to let out quite the feminine sounding shriek when scared, like when skekTek pulls a knife on him.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: He delivers a brutally effective one to Rian to break his Shut Up, Hannibal! speech, while never raising his voice above a pleasant and conversational tone. He very nearly ended the Gelfling resistance before it started with nothing more than words, and may have succeeded had Gurjin and the others not rescued Rian.
• Sissy Villain: Not as effeminate as skekEkt, but his constant whimpers and smarmy voice surely don't help.
• Smug Snake:
  • He used to be smarter and more cunning, but by the time of the film, as he's the closest he ever got to becoming Emperor, he overestimates himself and gives in to precipitation by rushing to grab the scepter any chance he gets after skekSo's death, and underestimates skekUng badly. It bites him in the ass and gets him banished from the castle.
  • Averted in the series, however, where his cunning is on full display and goes virtually unopposed in Season 1.
• The Social Darwinist: Tells Rian in Age Of Resistance that their essence draining is natural, as all living things consume others to survive. Though it fits with his sociopathic disregard for other lives, but, as with all things the Chamberlain "believes" in, whether he truly believes this, or it's just another piece of his current scheme of manipulation is debatable. Rian certainly doesn't buy it.
  Chamberlain: And what are Skeksis? Hmmmmm?
  Rian: Evil.
  Chamberlain: (Laughs) Delightful! And how are Skeksis evil? Please! You tell.
  Rian: You killed Mira!
  Chamberlain: Hmmmmm...all things kill! Is Z'nid Bird evil because it eats crawling Nurloc?
  Rian: Birds eat to live!
  Chamberlain: So do Skeksis! All living things consume other things to survive! Not evil! Natural!
  Rian: There was nothing natural about what you did to Mira!!
  Chamberlain: Death is unnatural! Death is cruel joke! Death mocks life! Mocks Skeksis! But no more! Skeksis conquer death! And you, Gelfling, would do same in Skeksis' place!
• Slimeball: He's extremely slippery and only seeks to improve his position whatever the cost.
• The Sociopath: Is a manipulator who craves power, and does not care what he has to do to obtain it. This is most apparent when he kills skekVar after feigning being his friend, and telling the other Skeksis that his death was "so sad".
• The Starscream: Best shown when he tries to get his hands on the scepter while the Emperor is not even dead yet. Needless to say, the Emperor didn't like that. After the death of the Emperor, his open greed for power leads to a challenge by the Garthim Master.
• Surrounded by Idiots: His opinion of the other Skeksis is low, especially when he's trying to explain to them the value of moderation and how dumb a war would be, only to be repeatedly ignored and belittled.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: While friends is a very loose term how the Skeksis view each other, mostly every Skeksis we see do not have a high opinion of Chamberlain due to his underhanded and scheming nature and to his Verbal Tic. Even those who voted and rooted for him to be Emperor turned against him pretty quickly in the movie.
• Took a Level in Badass: He’s far more physically active in The Power of The Dark Crystal than he was in the movie. He physically attacks the main characters several times and it’s clear that he’s their physical superior with each encounter. At one point he even rides a Garthim to chase them!
• Took a Level in Dumbass: He used to be very cunning and smart when the Skeksis started turning against the Gelflings, and he masterfully played many of his fellow Skeksis like fiddles. By the time of the film, he's so eager to become emperor that he tries to grab the Scepter of Office any chance he gets, not even trying to figure out ways to get rid of the two major hindrances left on his way to the throne, the Ritual-Master and especially the Garthim-Master. Then (probably out of having no other option, but still) he chooses a Trial by Stone to decide who will be the next Emperor and loses it due to the Garthim-Master's formidable strength. Finally, his Blatant Lies don't convince Jen and Kira to follow him one bit and they run away.
  • Justified since he's been out of practice ever since the Skeksis went from being Villains With Good Publicity to being Obviously Evil, and by the time of the film the Gelflings were all wiped out save for Jen and Kira, and since this effectively means they had ended the last sentient society on Thra, eliminating the need to practice his true cunning potential; also, Jen and Kira aren't going to trust a member of the group that genocided their entire race. His folly in grabbing the Scepter is also justified in that his ravenous ambition for more and more power was always around, and now that ultimate power was finally within his metaphorical and literal reach after thousands of trine, his insatiable hunger for power caused him to become impatient and attempt to just take the Scepter without ceremony, leading to his downfall.
  • That being said, when he's presenting Kira to skekUng, he does a pretty good job of making it sound like he selflessly risked his own life to capture the Gelfling and that he suffered a grievous injury in the process (in reality, he just got a cut to his hand).
• Troll: In The Age of Resistance, he makes a lot of eye related puns to skekTek after the Scientist had his eye eaten out by a peeper beetle thanks to him. Also in the original movie after skekUng expresses his dislike for his whimper he does a sucession of particulary loud noises just to annoy the Garthim-Master.
• Underestimating Badassery: He must have thought skekUng the Garthim-Master was made of the same wood as skekVar the first General, if not weaker, and that he would be no hindrance on his way to the throne. Turns out skekUng never trusts him, gets annoyed at him for constantly trying to grab the Emperor's scepter and ends up beating him at the Trial by Stone.
• The Unfettered: The Skeksis generally maintain a few standards that hold them back. For all their abuse and backstabbing, actually killing one another is largely taboo. SkekSil has nothing holding him back and adheres to no code. He will happily kill his own if it brings him one step closer to the power he craves.
• Verbal Tic: He's known for his trademark noise, which the Garthim-Master refers to as a whimper. But it's really more of an intrigued hum, or what a smirk would be if a smirk was a sound.
  • He tends to talk this way, yes?
• Villains Never Lie: In his attempts to lure Jen and Kira to the castle, he explains that the Skeksis fear Gelflings as creatures who will harm them. Though this is actually very true, he says it in the least trustworthy manner possible and the Gelflings wind up bolting.
• Villainous Rescue: He stops the Garthim from capturing Jen and Kira during the attack on the Podling village, allowing the two Gelflings to escape. However, he does so purely because he wants to gain their trust so he can personally bring them to the castle and be reinstated. Likewise, in Age of Resistance, he shows up just in time to talk the Hunter down from killing Rian, since he needs to bring Rian back to the castle alive in order to regain the Emperor's favor.
• The Watson: He asks the Scientist to explain the Crystal's properties to him in layman terms. In-universe it's just skekSil playing dumb, but it's a great excuse to explain to the audience what it does without sounding forced.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Not at first, as he thrives when the Skeksis are posing as Thra’s benevolent protectors, but he’s caught quite off-guard when they decide to drop all pretense and openly conquer the Gelflings, making his primary skill set of subtle behind the scenes manipulations suddenly useless.
• You Leave Him Alone!: Surprisingly, when appearing in the nick of time to save skekVar from Tavra... but only so he can kill him later on.
  Chamberlain: Leave... friend... alone!
• You Have Failed Me: Averted. Although it's his fault that Rian got away, he manages to successfully shift the blame onto skekTek instead.
• You No Take Candle: He slips into this when talking to the Gelflings. This is apparently due to Translation Convention; according to the novelization he only barely speaks the Gelfling language. In Age of Resistance he talks like this at all times, even among his fellow Skeksis.

The Ritual-Master

skekZok the Ritual-Master / the High Priest

"Rapturous! I will create a new ritual for the consuming of essence. One with many ablutions."

"Watch your tongue, harridan! We are lords of the Crystal!"

Performed by: Jim Henson (1982), Victor Yerrid (2019)

Voiced by: Jerry Nelson (1982), Keegan-Michael Key (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

The court high priest of the Skeksis. He leads the Skeksis in their various rituals and practice such as the Ceremony of the Sun, and he sees their laws as absolute and inflexible. He also tries to control the other Skeksis with false prophecies and divinations, but they soon learn better.

---

• Ax-Crazy: Not so much in Age of Resistance, but after many trine of consuming Gelfling essence, he becomes much more inclined toward violence. He kills Kira in a fit of anger due to his overzealous obsession to kill the Gelflings... only to realize all too late that he ignored Jen, who has the Crystal Shard and is preparing to heal the Dark Crystal itself.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Like the Chamberlain and the Garthim-Master he dreams of becoming the new Emperor of the Skeksis, but while he is more intelligent and competent than most Skeksis and a cunning individual in his own right, his overestimation of his intelligence and influence over the other Skeksis, underestimation of skekSil and skekUng and his own cowardice prevent him from becoming a true rival and threat to them.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has a fairly sharp wit, particularly when dealing with the General.
  General: The Emperor is forgiving.
  Ritual Master: Of course. If there's one quality our Emperor is known for, it's mercy.
  [moments later]
  General: We must escape without delay!
  Ritual Master: At long last, you've had a good idea.
• Devious Daggers: He is sometimes seen with his unsheathed dagger, and seemingly has a collection of knives for various purposes. He stabs Kira In the Back with one during the climax, killing her, but this leads to his — and all the other Skeksis' — downfall.
  skekZok: I have just the knife for such an occasion.
• Dirty Coward: When Lore approaches the carriage, he starts freaking out, his voice becoming high-pitched with absolute fear. He is also the first to suggest retreat, and the first to start fleeing after skekLach's messy death.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: He gets uncomfortably intense when looking over a group of Gelfling volunteers with General skekVar, and discussing their suitability for draining. He tells a doubtful skekVar that "It's not about size, it's about vigor," all while eying up the Gelfling and licking his beak lasciviously.
• The Dragon: He is skekUng's second-in-command, although it's not by choice.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As someone who's obsessed with law, etiquette, protocol and structure, he sometimes disagrees with his more hedonistic cohorts.
  • He isn't as sadistic as skekSo and gasps in horror while skekSo laughs when skekTek stabs Mira with the drainers.
  • He seems to find the General's eating of the unamoth chrysalis to be distasteful.
  • He's initially furious with the General for murdering the All-Maudra in cold blood (though this has less to do with the murder itself, and more with the fact that skekVar acted without the Emperor's permission).
  • When the Emperor demands that all the available essence be given to the Hunter to revive him, the Gourmand weakly suggests that maybe they don't give all of it...and the Ritual Master gives him a Death Glare that makes his disgust clear.
  • He tries to stop skekSil the Chamberlain from grabbing the Emperor's Scepter of Office right after the latter's death before any successor is officially designated.
  • Played for Laughs, but like skekEkt the Ornamentalist, he finds profanity to be bad taste.
• Evil Counterpart: To urZah the Mystic Ritual-Guardian. Where urZah makes the truth of his rituals apparent and uses nonviolent methods in his rituals like sand painting and chanting, skekZok uses falsehoods to maintain a higher position and his rituals involve blood and pain.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Both Jerry Nelson and Keegan-Michael Key give the Ritual Master a commanding baritone that fits his role as an authoritative Sinister Minister.
• Faux Affably Evil: He isn't as inclined toward petty squabbling as much as his fellow Skeksis, but sadist that he is, none of his genial mannerisms are really genuine. He reassures skekTek that his torture will be over soon, but is very clearly enjoying the situation. When it comes to dealing with the Gelflings, skekZok might be the most skilled at feigning politesse. This can perhaps be best seen in the visit to Ha'rar, alongside the General. While skekVar is demanding, disrespectful and flies off the handle at the slightest hint that someone might be talking back to him, skekZok is polite and accomodating. He also gently comforts Seladon after her mother's death, but later turns on her along with the rest of the Skeksis after they drop all pretense of caring. Of course, by the time of the film, he's lost all traits of this and has become utterly brutal.
• High Priest: He is responsible for leading the Skeksis in rituals and practices.
• Icy Blue Eyes: He has very pale blue eyes. While he carries himself with a formal and polite air, underneath that there's a malice behind his cold stares.
• Knight Templar: skekZok views that the Gelflings should die. When he finally does kill one, it ends up being the thing to undo their entire existence.
• Lawful Stupid: He's obsessed in following the Skeksis' rules (many of which he invents himself) to the letter. For example, he is disappointed when skekUng decides to drain Kira of her essence before executing her, instead of killing her there and then.
  • Somewhat Subverted in the novelization, which describes his insistence on killing Kira immediately as a purely political move meant to increase his standing among the other Skeksis while simultaneously undermining skekUng.
• Light Is Not Good: Is a lawful priest who wears golden clothes and leads his brethren in sun-based rituals, but is plenty evil.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Takes the Skeksis' Toothy Bird tendencies even further, with his lower jaw containing several rows of overlapping teeth.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Sure, skekZok, go ahead and fatally stab Kira after she has thrown the Crystal shard to Jen. It's not like you'll give him any further motivation to heal the Crystal or anything.
• Phony Psychic: In an attempt to control the other Skeksis, he often practiced false prophecies and apparitions, though he eventually found out that the other Skeksis, rightfully, distrusted his divinations and practiced their own.
• Pragmatic Evil: Of all the Skeksis he was the one who acted the most polite, accommodating and benevolent to preserve the facade of the Skeksis being benevolent rulers and to better use the Gelfling before the Emperor decided to drop this facade altogether. He also berated skekVar for his aggressiveness and lack of control.
  • Despite wanting to become the new emperor he chooses to not defy skekSil or skekUng as he knew that his constitutional claim was weaker than the former, and that he was no match for the latter's strength.
• The Resenter: He deeply resents skekUng once the latter becomes The Emperor. Though, as he implies in Age of Resistance episode 9, he does respect skekUng's tenacity in combat.
• Rules Lawyer: He keeps invoking the rules and laws of the Skeksis, and often twist said rules and laws for his own gain in order to maintain or further his position within the castle.
• Sadist: Possibly moreso than any other Skeksis - with the exception of the Emperor, the Ritual Master takes pleasure in the suffering of others. In Lisa Henson's words, his character was conceived as a "stately sadomasochist" and therefore many of his 'rituals' seem to be purely torture. In Age of Resistence, when skekVar the General talks about how the Emperor will "skin the Scientist alive" if his current experiment fails, skekZok is quick to cheerily proclaim how he has "just the knife for such an occassion", and he is utterly gleeful at The Scientist being sentenced to the Peeper Beetle.
  Chamberlain: Perhaps Scientist would most benefit seeing...peeper beetle.
  Emperor: What an excellent suggestion.
  Ritual Master: [breathily] My most adored of the Five Ocular Castigations.
• Sinister Minister: He may be a priest but he's not holy at all.
• Smug Snake: While he's smarter and more dangerous than most other Skeksis, he overestimates his power and influence over his brethren as he fancies himself as the Emperor's closest advisor, despite the Chamberlain and the General being clearly more influential and trusted by skekSo than him. He tries to control the other Skeksis through false prophecies and apparitions, unaware that they distrust his divinations and practice their own.
• Sissy Villain: Not as much as skekEkt and skekOk, but beneath his claims to be above secular petiness, he's quite a lavish and vain individual who put rejuvenating creams on his face, and calls himself beautiful after looking into a mirror.
• The Spymaster: As the master of the Crystal Bats, which serve as the Skeksis and Garthim's eyes all over Thra, he qualifies as this.
• The Starscream: SkekZok conspires with skekShod to overthrow skekUng, but it doesn't work out. May have to do with the fact that he ended up unintentionally screwing the Skeksis over by killing Kira.
• Unknown Rival: While he desires to become the emperor too after skekSo's death neither skekSil or skekUng really acknowledge him as a rival, either due to them thinking that he hasn't the ambition to be emperor or that he isn't a threat, and he avoid to challenge either of them for the throne. Downplayed in the novelization where he conspires with skekShod to overthrow skekUng and where skekUng actually suspects his true ambitions.
• Villainous Friendship: Despite skekShod's associal and greedy attitude, the Ritual-Master seems to really get along with him, and the Treasurer is his most loyal and vocal ally even telling him that he should be the emperor and plotting with him in the novelization.
• Yes-Man: One of if not the most sycophantic of the Skeksis when it comes to serve or praise emperor skekSo. During the early days of skekSo's reign he would often warn him about potential rivals, and after skekTek discovered how to collect Essence he declares that he was right to trust the emperor to find a solution to keep the Skeksis alive instead of acknowledging skekTek's work.

The Scientist

skekTek the Scientist

"The only mercy I have to offer is death!"

"It always worked better when we used Gelflings..."

Performed by: Steve Whitmire (1982), Olly Taylor (2019)

Voiced by: Steve Whitmire (1982), Mark Hamill (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

"I am skekTek, the Scientist! I am a master of life and death. I am a genius! I am a Lord of the Crystal! I AM SKEKSIS!"

The Skeksis whose task is to find solutions to extend the lifespan of his species. One day, he discovered that the Crystal can drain the life essence of Thra's creatures.

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He begs endlessly for mercy when the Emperor and Chamberlain choose to have him punished via peeper beetle.
• An Arm and a Leg: It is mentioned in tie-in material for the 1982 film that he amputated his own arm and leg in order to replace them with mechanical constructs. Not just that, but he also performed all kinds of experiments on himself, like replacing one of his jugular veins with a transparent tube in order to study his own blood circulation (which somewhat makes sense since the Skeksis are immortality seekers).
• Ax-Crazy: Zig-zagged with Mad Scientist trope. A self-mutilating freak who relishes in experimenting on and torturing other lifeforms and brutally snaps when his Gruenak slaves rebel.
• Bad People Abuse Animals: A depraved scientist who tortures animals during the course of his experiments. That said, he does (or did) have one bird-like animal he seems to genuinely care about.
  Scientist: Lackadaisical Skeksis! They feast while we toil. But do not worry! SkekTek never forgets a true friend!
• Because You Were Nice to Me: While nice is a relative word when it comes to the Skeksis, skekTek seems to have some genuine loyalty to skekUng in the movie, as he keeps praising and encouraging him during the trial by stone and laments his failure to give him back his youth with Podling essence. This may be because the Garthim-Master treats him far better than skekSo and skekVar ever did as he genuinely values his services and advice and never physically abuses him.
• Berserk Button: Being called weak or a coward, and not being respected in general.
  The Hunter: Useless coward!
  The Scientist: The Emperor commanded me to stay behind. I wanted to fight! I am not a coward!
• Big Bad Wannabe: In the Season 1 finale, skekTek takes advantage of his companions going to war with the Gelfling to get himself essentially drunk on essence while pretending he's the Emperor, something he would really like to be, but which he cannot pull successfully due to his lack of self-confidence to do such an endeavour.
• Classy Cane: Though not often seen, the Scientist leans on a cane in some scenes of the movie.
• Creative Sterility: In Brian Froud's "The World of the Dark Crystal", Aughra mentions that skekTek is only a shadow of his urSkek incarnation, with skekTek only digging up what he knew from his TekTih days instead of advancing new discoveries like he used to. This shows up in the Age of Resistance, as he lacked any "Ah ha" moments - needing the Chamberlain to offer idea suggestions before skekTek can use his technical skills.
• Disney Villain Death: Pushed down into the fiery shaft chamber of the Crystal, leading to his urRu counterpart's death.
• The Dog Bites Back:
  • The Gruenak slaves he abused briefly rebel in his lab and use one of his electrodes on him. It only manages to infuriate him even more and he ends up killing them both.
  • When skekVar who has constantly bullied and mocked him as a "weakling" confronts him over his essence not working and accuses him of swindling him, unaware that the Chamberlain had the Gruenak slaves replace his vial of essence with one filled with fake essence, skekTek defend himself this time and uses his essence-induced strength to break skekVar's wrist.
  • After the Chamberlain's defeat at the Trial by stone skekTek is one of the Skeksis who lead the charge in ripping skekSil's clothes as payback for costing him his eye.
  • His downfall comes at the paws, claws, and teeth of his much abused lab animals, which Kira turns against him. Their Zerg Rush causes him to fall down into the fiery bowels of the Crystal's shaft.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: He has a reason to be annoyed with how the other Skeksis treat him so bad, given he's literally the only one with the knowledge and expertise to keep their race alive. Played for Drama, his constant abuse and disrespect at the hands of his fellow Skeksis, and his steadily increasing pain and anger at his mistreatment boils over at the end of Season 1 of Age of Resistance, and ultimately drives him to violently lash out and murder his Gruenak slaves, indirectly leading to the creation of the Garthim Prototype by recycling one of their corpses.
• Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Tries to do this during the film's feast scene, in which he attempts to steal some food from skekShod's plate while the latter is distracted. The Treasurer quickly notices this and snaps angrily at the Scientist, who relents.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a pet in a cage he keeps near by and considers it his one friend. When the Emperor comes in demanding to know how many Gelflings were needed for the essence and starts strangling the creature, the Scientist hurriedly throws out a number.
  Emperor: [squeezing the bird] Give me a number.
  Scientist: A great many.
  Emperor: A number. [squeezes harder]
  Scientist: [whimpering] Fifty! Fifty Gelfling! Every trine!
  Emperor: Fifty then? [continues squeezing bird] So be it. [finally lets go]
  Scientist: [after skekSo departs, he gently closes the cage door] Hush, now, Hush, now. All is well.
  • He is also shamed when Aughra reminds him of their past friendship.
  Aughra: It did not have to end this way between us. We were friends once.
  Scientist: [grumbles and looks briefly to the Emperor]
  Scientist: [subdued] Another world. Another time.
• Evil Counterpart: To urTih the Mystic Alchemist.
• Evil Genius: The brain of the Skeksis.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: In Age of Resistance he has a hoarse, raspy voice and has a tendency to snarl and snort a lot. In the film, his voice is more warped.
• Evil Virtues: Diligence. As evil and selfish as any of the other Skeksis, but he's much more hard working.
• Eye Scream: Age of Resistance reveals losing his eye wasn't part of his own experiments, but punishment for letting Rian escape with the vial of Mira's essence. It was eaten by a peeper beetle kept specifically for this purpose as the greatest shame a Skeksis can face.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He's build a machine that taps into the crystal, a mechanical eye in place of his eye that was eaten by a peeper beetle, and is the creator of many of the Skeksis' devices.
• Glass Eye: He has a mechanical (and part-glass) eye to replace the one he lost.
• Ignored Expert: He expresses concerns when telling the Emperor that exploiting the Crystal to get essence weakens it and spreads the Darkening. The Emperor doesn't care.
• The Igor: Despite being the Mad Scientist and having Igors of his own, his stooped over stature and slightly hobbling gait make him resemble a stereotypical hunchbacked Igor-like character at times.
• It's All About Me: Considers himself to be "incontrovertibly the most abused creature in all of Thra". Stated without a shred of irony in front of his own assistants who have their mouths stitched shut by the Chamberlain.
• Karmic Death: Considering he murdered one of his Gruenak slaves by throwing it into the fiery chamber of the Crystal's shaft, his later demise at the hands of his own released animals which ultimately results in him meeting the same fate seems like a fitting punishment.
• Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: His near-constant complaint. And, it's justified: the rest of the Skeksis basically treat him as being only one step removed from an exiled outcast. Yet, without him and his gadgets and theories, their collective capacity for active evil would be greatly diminished. Not to mention the tiny fact that both Mystics and Skeksis alike would have been dead long before the Great Conjunction without his very questionable methods of life extraction-extension.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: The Scientist is undoubtedly a Gadgeteer Genius, but certain scenes may indicate that his skills in medicine are more lacking than he'd like to admit. When assessing the Hunter's injuries, skekTek diagnoses him with things like "extreme distress to the humus" (which is a type of soil) and "manifold ruptures in corporeal morphology" (which, when translated from Techno Babble, means nothing but "his body is full of holes."). This could just be a case of the Skeksis's Bizarre Alien Biology, however.
• Mad Scientist: Performs experiments on himself and tortured/took the life essence of numerous creatures and Gelflings. It mostly paid off, but only for the Skeksis' benefits.
• Meaningful Name: It is probably not a coincidence that the Gadgeteer Genius of the Skeksis is called Skektek ("tech").
• The Medic: Due to his scientific background, skekTek is often the one called in for medical work. Even the essence he harvests is used to heal the Skeksis wounds and grant them vitality. When the Hunter returns gravely injured, the Skeksis freak out while skekTek checks for vital signs and later removes the arrows from him. skekTek is, of course, the one tasked with bringing him back from the brink.
• No-Respect Guy: skekUng's Villainous Breakdown and insults against him when it appears that the effects of Podling essence vanish almost immediately is actually the least of all the abuse he got. After all, skekUng didn't even touch him. In Age of Resistance, despite his work being vital to the Skeksis obtaining immortality, every one of them takes the time to insult, humiliate and abuse him in some fashion. He got some respect and a seat at the table once his machine was finished, but only for a short while.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Age of Resistance has him be abused and maimed by the other Skeksis, and when he's alone in the castle he rather comically pretends to be the Emperor. Then when his Gruenak slaves attempt to revolt, he throws one down the Crystal's shaft and savagely beats the other to death before using his organs in the creation of the first Garthim.
  • A smaller moment occurs when he catches the Chamberlain in the act of stealing the last of Mira's essence from his lab. The previously put-upon, self-pitying Scientist furiously pulls out a knife and slashes the Chamberlain's hand to make him drop the essence.
  Scientist: What if I slice off that forked tongue?!
  • When skekVar confronts him and accuses him of swindling him with his essence being ineffective, unaware that skekSil had his essence replaced with fake, the normally submissive skekTek uses his essence-induced strength to turn the tables on his tormentor and break his wrist.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Throughout Age of Resistance the Scientist's many talents are shown. He studies the crystal and by extension how the life essence works. He's a mechanical engineer who's built many of the machines to tap into the crystal. He knows metalwork and forges the Skeksis armor and he knows enough biology to cobble together the Garthim. He also has a lot of medical knowledge as he's seen treating the Hunter and he's performed a number of self-surgeries.
• Only Sane Man: Much like the Chamberlain, he tries to take a more logical and pragmatic approach to handling their situation compared to the others. When skekSo wants him to start mass producing essence, he warns that moderation would be key due to the corruption of the Darkening on the Crystal. The Emperor proceeds to scream at him that there is no Darkening and strangle his pet bird to make him do it.
• Professor Guinea Pig: As mentioned above, he becomes this after the loss of his eye, first fashioning a replacement before moving on to removing body parts of his own accord.
• Red Right Hand: Has a mechanical eye, and replaced an arm and leg with prosthetics. And he removed a part of his jugular vein and replaced it with a transparent tube.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Definitely enjoys his long words.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Wears some animal's rib cage as a carapace.
• The So-Called Coward: He's frequently mocked and treated as if he was weakling and a coward by the other Skeksis much to his frustration and ressentment. Right before the battle at Stone-In-The-Wood, skekTek prepares himself to battle, being eager to take part in the battle, only to be mocked by the Emperor and the General and forced to stay at the castle despite him wanting to go. When skekMal awakens and accuses him of being a coward for staying in the castle instead of being with the other skekTek screams in frustration that he's not a coward as he wanted to go.
• Techno Babble: Lapses into this when talking about his work.
  Scientist: It's too much to bear. My every experiment ends in disaster. And now, I've accidentally reversed the Crystal's magnetostatic field!
  Chamberlain: Please, small words. Chamberlain is not smart like Scientist.
• Trauma Button: Implied. When his Gruenak slaves revolt, they're able to overpower him at first. But when one of them shoves a cage over his head (much like the bone cage put on him when his eye was eaten out), he immediately starts to panic and once he gets it off, he flies into a rage and mercilessly kills them.
• Troubled Abuser: The worse he's treated by the other Skeksis, the worse he treats his underlings. This is seen when he parrots the same words directed at him before his eye was taken, "When we fail our Emperor, we must be punished!", while stepping on a Podling's hand. Later, he finally snaps after the perceived injustices against him become too much to bear, and violently murders his poor Gruenak slaves when they try to escape.
• Undying Loyalty: By the time of the movie he seems to have become truly loyal to skekUng that he supports in his bid to become the new emperor, and continues to cheer for him during the Trial by Stone unlike most other Skeksis who switch between encouraging the General and the Chamberlain. After he fails to give skekUng his youth back with Podling essence he laments that Podling essence is far less effective than Gelfling's. Could a case of Because You Were Nice to Me since skekUng treats him far better than skekSo, skekSil and skekZok and actually listen to his advices.
• Villainous Breakdown: Has an epic one near the end of Age of Resistance, Episode 10: "A Single Piece Was Lost" when the two Gruenak slaves rebel. After an entire season's worth of a Trauma Conga Line of disrespect and abuse from his fellows despite discovering the means of extending their life, the problem the rest had no answer to, the Gruenaks' rebellion causes him to just utterly snap, his bottled up anger and pain boiling over as he practically screams his accomplishments, his emotions overwhelming him to the point where he sounds like he's close to tears right before he pounces on them.
  Scientist: What is this?! Mutiny!
  Gruenak Slave 1: No... No slave!
  Scientist: How DARE YOU threaten me?! I am skekTek, The Scientist! I am a master of life and death! I am a GENIUS!!! I am a LORD OF THE CRYSTAL!! I!! AM!! SKEKSIIIIS!!! AHHHHHHH!!!
• With Friends Like These...: With Chamberlain.
• You Have Failed Me: He's on the receiving end of this after the Chamberlain frames him for letting Rian get away with the vial of Mira's essence. As punishment, skekSo has his eye eaten out by a "peeper beetle" and bans him from partaking in feasts until he gives them more essence.

The Gourmand

skekAyuk the Gourmand

"It's gluttony! Pure gluttony!"

"Food! More food! More food!"

Performed by: Louise Gold (1982 and 2019)

Voiced by: Thick Wilson (1982), Harvey Fierstein (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

The Skeksis court's food specialist. He boasts to have a different menu for every feast, and he is in charge of the castle's kitchens and feasts.

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• Big Eater: He is a voracious glutton who loves to eat, including small creatures that aren't dead yet. He even contemplates eating lab animals the Scientist experiments on in Age of Resistance. And he loves stuffing his mouth with food so much to the point of almost choking.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He has genuinely impressive cooking skills and was once a very creative chef, but over time he became too lazy to do the cooking and creation of dishes himself and let the Podlings do it in his stead. Him being the one to realize that the Skeksis took too much energy from the Crystal also implies that he's more intelligent and perceptive that he lets in but he never use them while in court.
• Dirty Coward: The sight of the Chamberlain coming with Kira is enough to make him and skekEkt run in panic and terror, despite Kira being restrained by the Chamberlain and thus unable of harming them.
• Even Evil Has Standards
  • He averts his eyes in horror when the Scientist drains Mira's essence, and is seen covering his mouth, and heard crying out "No, no! What have you-...?!".
  • He finds the Hunter's trophies to be repulsive.
• Evil Counterpart: To urAmaj the Mystic Cook. Where the Cook finds pleasure in laboriously preparing meals himself, the Gourmand has lost interest in preparing meals, finding pleasure in just consuming them and has Podlings prepare meals instead. Also where urAmaj prepares simple meals that are nevertheless delicious and nourishing, skekAyuk has Podlings prepare lavish feasts that nevertheless do nothing to fill the recipient.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: Particularly noticeable in the series, where he is voiced by Harvey Fierstein.
• Fat and Skinny: Frequently seen with the skinny Ornamentalist.
• Fat Bastard: The fattest of the Big Bad Ensemble.
• Hidden Depths: Despite his somewhat simple personality, he's able to tell that they've taken too much from the Crystal and that's why they can't get anymore energy from it.
  • Apparently, in his prime he was surprisingly talented as a chef, specializing in sweet liquors, hot spices, and sauces rich with cream. Over time, however, he lost interest in being a cook, choosing instead simply to consume meals.
• Irony: As noted in Hidden Depths, he can tell that they've taken too much from the Crystal and that's why they can't get anymore energy from it, and as he can be associated with gluttony, and that can come off as rather ironic.
• Jabba Table Manners: The Skeksis (minus the Ornamentalist and possibly the Ritual Master) are pretty disgusting when feasting, and the Gourmand clearly has the worst table manners of the lot in the film, with audible belches to boot, and he almost chokes because of his horrible manners. The only reason he doesn't win the prize for most repellent in Age of Resistance is skekLach's habit of eating food his pustules have leaked into.
• Nature Tinkling: After quashing the Castle Guard's rebellion, the Gourmand relieves himself on a wall. At one point three separate streams can be seen at once. He's not even embarrassed when the Chamberlain finds him and chastises him for "public micturition". The Chamberlain even averts his eyes and covers his face when the Gourmand forgets to adjust his robes after he's finished.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: He might seem the least sinister of all the Skeksis due to the gross-out jokes associated with him and amusingly grotesque design, but he finds it as easy as the rest of the Skeksis to perform a Curb-Stomp Battle on the castle guard, and indeed tells the Chamberlain he found the experience of combat to be a real rush. In fact the writers stated that when his fear turned to rage he's one of the most dangerous Skeksis to face in battle.
• Obsessed with Food: It seems like he lives just to eat, to the point of almost choking on his food.
• Post-Stress Overeating: Claims this as an excuse for why he eats so much, Subverted in that he immediately uses that statement as a punchline, and it's likely that he's just a glutton in general.
  Gourmand: Will snacks be served?
  General: Don't you ever think of anything but your next meal?!
  Gourmand: I eat when I'm stressed!
  Chamberlain: Hhhmmm! Must be stressed often, yes?!
  Gourmand: All the time! (Laughs)
• Supreme Chef: He has a genuine gift as a chef, creating and making very delicious and varied dishes and menus, but over time he lost his interest in creating new dishes over simply consuming them.
• Ungrateful Bastard: A Podling servant saves the Gourmand's life when his Jabba Table Manners cause him to choke on his food. The Gourmand repays him by calling him an idiot and smacking him.
• Vocal Evolution: In the movie, his voice is fairly normal-sounding, but in the series, he gains a noticeably raspier tone.
• Villainous Friendship: He gets along well with skekEkt and the two are often seen together and like to gossip about trivial things such as food recipes.
• Villainous Glutton: He can't stop thinking about food and eats the most out of the Skeksis cast. It's so bad that he almost chokes on his own food.
  • This also extends to Essence as he fully supported skekVar's plan of draining every Gefling across Thra and replied that "moderation is for the meek" when skekSil pointed out how this plan would deprive them of Essence on the long run. Also when skekSo ordered skekTek to use all the Essence available to save skekMal the Gourmand weakly suggested to not use all of it before skekZok glared at him.

The Ornamentalist

skekEkt the Ornamentalist

"Life is my paint, death is my canvas!"

"There's going to be a fight!"

Performed by: Brian Muehl (1982), Alice Dinnean (2019)

Voiced by: Brian Muehl (1982), Alice Dinnean (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

The most effeminate of the Skeksis by far, he is frequently seen to be screaming dramatically and being very flamboyant. He is in charge of the castle's decorations.

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• Ambiguous Gender: Voiced by a man in the 1982 film and a woman in Age of Resistance.
• Cruella to Animals: As described in Dark Crystal Supplementary Materials, he seems to take near sadistic delight in fashioning clothes and materials from animals. In one particular case, having killed almost 100 birds at once to fashion a single cloak, and used their clotted blood to make a "youth-restoring powder".
• Dirty Coward: Just seeing Kira despite her being restrained by the Chamberlain was enough to make him and skekAyuk run in terror and screaming, with him continuing to scream about the gelfling for a time which only confused the other Skeksis.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: When a crawlie escapes at dinner, all of the other Skeksis try to catch it or squash it while skekEkt jumps onto his chair and screams.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He takes skekLach's death the hardest, sobbing into skekOk's arms. Though considering he's by far the most dramatic Skeksis, it's ambiguous how genuine this is.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Played for Laughs, but he's appalled when Aughra yells profanity at them.
• Evil Counterpart: To urUtt the Mystic Weaver.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: During the Skeksis' humiliation of Seladon, skekEkt snatches up the Gelfling's crown and preens around with it while mockingly imitating Seladon, much to the other Skeksis' amusement.
  skekEkt: Ohhhhh, look at me! I'm the All-Maudra! I'm the leader of the Gelfling! The ruler of the DEAD!!
• Evil Is Hammy: It's easier to count the scenes in the film where he isn't screaming dramatically or reacting near-exaggeratingly. But is particularly hammy in Age of Resistance, where he chows down on the scenery for all it's worth and his favorite method of communication seems to be yelling. That's to say nothing of his hand gestures.
• Fair-Weather Friend: After skekSo's death he supports his ally skekSil in his attempt to become the new emperor, even telling him that he and the others are all with him only to turn on the Chamberlain after his loss to skekUng in the Trial by Stone, even taking part in stripping him of his clothes.
• Fat and Skinny: Frequently seen with the fat Gourmand, with whom he seems to share a love of food.
  Ornamentalist: I like those grey ones that go mushy when you put them on your fork.
• It's All About Me: Is described as being "starved for attention" when not focusing on his looks. In Age of Resistance, during his welcome back party he gets huffy when the others start talking about how much better essence would taste than the welcoming feast he was having.
  Ornamentalist: Essence, essence, essence! That's all any of you talk about since I've returned! It's my party, talk about me!
• Monster Clown: With his makeup, red-painted beak and flamboyant clothes, the Ornamentalist heavily resembles an evil, effeminate clown.
• No Indoor Voice: His main form of communication is always screeching loudly.
• Pass the Popcorn: All the Skeksis seem to take great pleasure in seeing feuds among the other Skeksis degenerate into fights, but he's particularly giddy and unabashed about it.
  Ornamentalist: There's going to be a FIGHT!
• Sissy Villain: He is the most effeminate and flamboyant in the Big Bad Ensemble.
• Villainous Friendship: He seems to be genuine friend with skekOk, who's his closest political ally and that he comforted after skekLach's death, and skekAyuk with who he is often seen gossiping on things such as recipes.
• Wicked Cultured: At the very least he has good/polite table manners when feasting, unlike the other Skeksis who pretty much all display Jabba Table Manners. That is, if you overlook his habit of toying with still-living prey with his utensils before stabbing it to death.

The Slave-Master

skekNa the Slave-Master

"Trial by stone! Slaves, raise the stone!"

In Creation Myths

Performed by: Mike Quinn (1982)

Voiced by: David Buck (1982)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal

The Skeksis who's in charge of the Castle's Podling slaves. He is most recognizable by his eyepatch that covers a mucid eye socket and a hook for one hand.

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• Ax-Crazy: SkekNa is one of the most violent, cruel and insane of the Skeksis; unlike the rest of his brethren, he never tried to hide his true nature, committed many atrocities against Thra species out of his love for carnage, and wasn't even bothered when the Emperor had him mutilated for his actions which threatened to reveal the Skeksis' true nature.
• Boring, but Practical: While he doesn't have much power in the Skeksis' hiearchy and was often looked down by other Skeksis such as the Chamberlain, skekNa's control of the slaves made him indispensable to the running of the castle once the Skeksis did not have any servant willing to serve them anymore after revealing their true nature to Thra. He was also the one who constantly supplied his comrades with scraps of food between meals to appease their raving hunger.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Unlike the other Skeksis he never tried to hide his dark nature and disdain for Gelflings that he considered to be worse than vermin. This made him a liability to skekSo who tried to rein his behavior and even had him mutilated as punishement for endangering the alliance of the Crystal but skekNa would never change and try to restrain himself.
• Determinator: No matter how many times skekSo told him to restrain himself and had him punished for his actions, skekNa absolutely refused to hide his dark nature and hatred for Thra natives and continued his atrocities against them.
• Evil Counterpart: To urNol the Mystic Herbalist.
• Eyepatch of Power: He has an eyepatch on his right eye, as a result of his eye having been mutilated as a punishement.
• Eye Scream: Sometime before the film began, he lost vision in his right eye and put an eyepatch on. According to the Dark Crystal bestiary, this was a punishement for his continuous cruelty toward the races of Thra and disobedience to emperor skekSo's orders of restraining himself.
• For the Evulz: His love of carnage and pleasure at abusing others are the reasons for his cruel actions towards Gelflings and Podlings even long before the formation of the resistance against the Skeksis.
• Hook Hand: His left hand has been replaced with a hook after it was cut as punishement for his cruel actions towards Gelflings and Podlings endangering the alliance of the Crystal. skekTek proposed to give him an articulate artificial hand but he refused.
• Put on a Bus: He is absent from the castle during the first season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He gets mentioned in Episode 9, however. Given his actions against Thra natives skekSo may have sent him to a location where he couldn't attack Gelfings and Podlings and thus wouldn't risk destroying the Skeksis' facade.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: The Skeksis are a Bigbad Ensemble and the Embodiment of Vice, and enslaving the poor drained Podlings surely fits in.
• Undying Loyalty: Similar to skekTek he seems to be sincerely loyal to and friends with skekUng the Garthim-Master, that he flawlessly supported during his bid to become Emperor and the Trial by Stone. It was his loyalty that caused skekUng to plan promoting him to the position of Patriarch which would have put him above the Chamberlain and the Ritual-Master.
• Villainous Friendship: With skekUng The Garthim-Master. Both skekNa and skekTek the Scientist supported skekUng in his vying for the Emperor, having a common distain for skekSil The Chamberlain and skekZok The Ritual-Master who were also in the race for the throne. Supplementary material also states that had their rule lasted longer, skekUng would have awarded skekNa's loyalty by giving him the position of Patriarch, a position that is higher than skekSil's and skekZok's in the Skeksis Hierarchy.
• Wicked Cultured: He chooses promising specimens for the slave choir, claiming to have an ear for music. Whether or said music really sounds like music or perpetuates the kind of cacophony skekSo loved at the time of Age of Resistance is not specified.

The Scroll-Keeper

skekOk the Scroll-Keeper

"Watch yourself, Gelfling. Little things have a habit of being stepped on by big things."

"Essence! Drain her essence!"

Performed by: Bob Payne (1982), Neil Sterenberg (2019)

Voiced by: John Baddeley (1982), Neil Sterenberg (2019)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

The shortest of all the Skeksis and their historian. He keeps rewriting his accounts in order to please his shifting allies, which often causes the truth to be lost. He always arrives late to the meetings and usually falls asleep during them and he could often at times be found mumbling to himself.

---

• Ascended Extra: He didn't have much to do in The Dark Crystal bar cheering with the others, freaking out with the others and feasting with the others, and barely said anything. In The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, he goes to Ha'rar with skekLach to collect the Gelflings' tithe along with skekLach, has a more defined personality (as the most affable towards the Gelflings initially), "befriends" Brea and is part of the infamous bath scene where Aughra returns to the castle only to see the Skeksis' decadence.
• Bait the Dog: During his initial interactions with Brea it seems like he might be an actually decent Skeksis since he treats the "clever princess" with surprising courtesy, even promising to talk to her mother to get her out of trouble. However, skekOk quickly proves to be just as petty, selfish and sadistic as the rest of the Skeksis, even taking the time to mock Brea after she's imprisoned by the Skeksis who intend to drain her of her essence.
  Scroll-Keeper: Perhaps you are not so clever after all.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Averted at first, as he was one of the most affable and diplomatic of the Skeksis when interacting with Gelflings, being curteous and nice if a bit condescending to Brea and politely interacting with Gelflings at the Tithing Ceremony unlike skekLach. Played straight however after the Emperor decides to drop the facade of the Skeksis being benevolent rulers altogether, with him being just fine with he and his race being called "monsters" by Brea.
• Evil Counterpart: To urAc the Mystic Scribe. Where urAc writes down the truth, skekOk writes down lies and fabrications.
• Evil Is Petty: When two farmers can't pay a satisfying enough tithe due to the blight affecting their crops, the Scroll-Keeper guilt trips one of them into giving up the necklace her deceased mother left her. Then he simply gives it away to the All-Maudra later, showing he never really cared.
• Fair-Weather Friend: He constantly changes his political alliegances with time and rewrite historical accounts to gratify his shifting allies to the point that the truth of the events was lost. This is also seen after skekSo's death where he initially support the Chamberlain's claim to the throne only to switch between encouraging him and praising skekUng several times during the Trial by Stone and to be the first to acclaim skekUng as the new emperor after his victory.
• Fan Disservice: The audience is given the horrifying sight of his old, shriveled, flabby half-naked body while he's taking a bath.
• Faux Affably Evil: Initially seems the nicest of the Skeksis through his first interactions with Brea, which occur even before he realizes she's someone of status. He later reveals himself to be just as bad as the rest.
  Brea: No! You can't do this!
  Scroll-Keeper: And yet it is already done.
  Brea: You're all monsters!
  Scroll-Keeper: Have you only just figured that out? Perhaps you are not so clever after all.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Technically "seven eyes" since he's a self-professed monster who wears two pairs of reading glasses and a monocle.
• Hero Killer: During the battle at Stone-In-The-Wood the Scroll-Keeper manages to mortally wound Maudra Fara by slicing off part of her wings with his razor-blades, causing the first non-Skeksis causality. Though skekOk isn't able to capitalize on it and finish her off himself since Fara's pet Fizzgig attacks him and distracts him long enough for Seladon to carry her to safety, Fara still passes away from the injuries he inflicted shortly after.
• High-Class Glass: He's part of a Decadent Court, and wears reading glasses at all times.
• Innocently Insensitive: Comes across this way after he finds out about Brea's hobbies. While he manages to phrase it in the most condescending way possible, he does seem genuinely thrilled.
  Scroll-Keeper: [gasping] So you can read! Oh, how wonderful! Did you hear that, skekLach? She can read! And write!
• A Lighter Shade of Black: The only Skeksis to ever to show a moment's kindness to the Gelflings. He's also the only one who initially agrees with the Chamberlain's suggestion that they drain only the minimum number of Gelfling needed to survive (he's seen nodding in the background, seemingly in response to the Chamberlain's proposal).
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When a poor farming couple can't pay their full tithe, he insists they instead give the wife's precious heirloom necklace. This is what starts Brea's disillusionment with the Skeksis.
• Nice to the Waiter: As part of his Bait the Dog introduction, he treats Brea with politeness even before he finds out she's the daughter of the All-Maudra, and only acts nicer when he learns the truth. Whether it was all an act or a sincere kindness that his later essence consumption corrodes is never really made clear.
• Pragmatic Villainy: While he doesn't speak his opinion at the occasion he's seen nodding with his head when skekSil suggests that they should only drain as many Gelflings as necessary to survive instead of draining all of them like the other Skeksis suggested, indicating that he too knew that draining all the Gelflings would deprive the Skeksis of essence in the long run.
• Sissy Villain: Not as much as skekEkt, but he enjoys his perfumed bath water and doesn't do much besides flail in outrage and embarrassment when Aughra dunks her eye in it. Furthermore, when Aughra starts poking him with her staff to indicate his deteriorating physical state, he tries to fend her off by splashing water at her.
• Villainous Friendship: In the first season finale, he seems genuinely upset at the death of skekLach the Collector.
  • He is also pretty close to skekEkt with who he is often seen and who's his closest political ally, the Ornamentalist even comforted him after skekLach's death.
• Written by the Winners: Lives by this trope as the historian of the Skeksis as he constantly changes the accounts of events in order to gratify his shifting allies, causing the truth of events to be lost.

The Treasurer

skekShod the Treasurer

"You... you should be the Emperor."

In Creation Myths

Performed by: Tim Rose (1982)

Voiced by: Charles Collingwood (1982)

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths | The Dark Crystal

The Skeksis Treasurer. He counts gifts, and because his greed is so great and his speech so limited, the only way he got his ways was extravagant bribery.

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• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He is the only absent Skeksis who originated in the 1982 film to not get mentioned whatsoever in the first season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. skekUng the Garthim-Master and skekNa the Slave-Master don't appear in the first season, but they do get mentioned, hinting at their arrival in the future. Due to Foregone Conclusion, skekShod will be introduced later just like them. That being said, he does show up in the comic prequel to the series.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: It turns out he replaced the deceased skekLach the Collector as the Skeksis' financial manager. Unlike the latter, he isn't disease-ridden and clearly has a male voice. While skekLach is constantly whining about everything she comes across, skekShod is more quiet and to himself.
• Evil Counterpart: To urYod the Mystic Numerologist.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He has quite a low-pitched, sinister voice.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: In addition, his voice is so raspy and croaky that it's barely audible.
• Greed: Nobody dares to approach him without some offering.
• Never Be Hurt Again: His quiet and associal behavior seems to be partially motivated by the goal of never getting the beating skekSo inflicted on him again.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: In The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, before there was an emperor, he questions the need for a ruler and openly mocks skekSo as the potential candidate. This enrages skekSo, who beats him to a pulp with the scepter then asks if anyone else wants to question his rule. Nobody does, unsurprisingly.
• Not Worth Killing: Tried twice to dethrone skekSo after his beating but failed each time, and skekSo held him in such contempt that he didn't even bother to have him tortured for his attempts to dethrone him.
• Put on a Bus: He is absent from the castle during the first season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. And he doesn't even get a mention, unlike skekUng the Garthim-Master and skekNa the Slave-Master. He does appear in the comic prequel to the series, which hints at his eventual return.
• The Quiet One: He speaks only once in the film, and it's barely audible. According to supplementary material, skekShod had a noticeable lisp which became a major speech impediment for him and as such he didn't really like having to talk to others.
  • Creation Myths also revealed that when he questioned skekSo being Emperor, he got beaten to a pulp. Perhaps not wanting to speak out of line and getting hurt is another reason.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: While he found skekShod too pathetic to be tortured or beaten for his attempts to dethrone him skekSo still punished skekShod by having him collect tithes from the rural area of Sami Thicket that skekShod hated for its rurality, unsophisticated cuisine and Podling community for who he had a special disdain.
• The Starscream: Having obviously never forgiven skekSo for beating him to a pulp skekShod tried twice to dethrone him but each time failed miserably, to the point that the emperor didn't even see him as worth punishing. In the novelization he also plots with skekZok to overthrow skekUng but once again it doesn't work out.
• Unknown Rival: He's the only Skeksis to have actually tried to dethrone skekSo as revenge for his savage beating of him, but his attempts were so pitiful and skekSo's contempt of him was such that the emperor didn't even bother to have him tortured for that.
• Villainous Friendship: Despite being one of the least social of the Skeksis he seems to truly get along and to be sincerely loyal to skekZok that he supported in his bid to become emperor, even telling him that he's the one who should be the new emperor. In the novelization he also plots with skekZok to overthrow skekUng.

The General

skekVar The General (formally the Ambassador)

"Why waste our time with talk when we have talons?"

Performed by: Kevin Clash

Voiced by: Benedict Wong

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths | Legends of The Dark Crystal | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

"And when skekSil's lies do not work, the Emperor turns to his General for a more forceful solution. A master of martial skill and strategy, skekVar is perhaps the most honest of his dishonest brethren, but not above using dirty tricks."

— The Evil Skeksis, Excerpted from a Gelfling journal, Entry Date: Rosunday, 14th Moon, 96 Years A.G.C

The quick tempered military commander of the Skeksis at the time of Age of Resistance.

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• 0% Approval Rating: He's pretty much despised by the other Skeksis, who view him as a useful tool but personally difficult to get along with due to his joyless, hot-blooded demeanor. Only the Emperor seems to like him, since they're birds of a psychotic feather. Ultimately even the Emperor views him as an embarrassment.
• Ambadassador: He was once called the Ambassador and had an essential role in the formation of the alliance of the Crystal by serving as an intermediate between the Emperor and the Gelflings. However he eventually became the General of the Skeksis and grew far more aggressive and less diplomatic with age.
• Animal Motif: Pigs. He has a heavyset build, the end of his beak resembles a pig's snout, the large teeth on his lower jaw look like tusks and he has a tendency to snort when he talks. His brutish personality can also be associated with stereotypical portrayals of wild boars.
• "Ass" in Ambassador: He was once much more diplomatic and able of working with Gelflings, having had the position of "Ambassador" during the formation of the alliance of the Crystal and later leading them in the war against the Arathim during which he noticed Ordon's bravery and skills and personally named him as the Captain of the Guard. However his aggressivity and disdain for Gelfling grew with age and by the time of Age of Resistance he acts openly disdainful and demanding even towards the All-Maudra while in Ha'rar. Once Mayrin starts to rebel against the Skeksis he kills her without a second-thought.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Scheming is not his strong suit, so he relies on brute strength to get things done. He dismisses less physically imposing Skeksis like the Chamberlain and the Scientist as "weaklings" and flaunts his strength at every opportunity.
• Ax-Crazy: He's bloodthirsty and violent.
• Bald of Evil: When his helmet falls off in the final episode, it's revealed he has male-pattern baldness. The Chamberlain even comments on it ("Bald!") as though he's never even seen skekVar without his helmet before.
• Berserk Button: Don't ever imply he's weak or a coward. For an already quick tempered being who has plenty of buttons that send him flying into violent anger frequently, this is easily his biggest one.
  Chamberlain: Is good thing we are not all so weak, as to be scared of single Gelfling, yes?
  General: (Slams fist on table) YOU QUESTION MY BRAVERY!?!
  Chamberlain: KEEP YOUR ROBES ON, SPITHEAD!
• Blood Knight: Fitting of his title of General, he is easily the most eager out of all the Castle Skeksis to engage in combat, and almost always the first to suggest a violent solution to their problems. He immediately suggests a vicious hunt when Rian escapes the castle, he's one of the first to suggest war with the Gelflings when Rian's words begin to spread, and when The Chamberlain suggests he duel Rian at The Battle of Stone-In-The-Wood in the Emperor's place, he accepts it with glee. He's not even above challenging his fellow Skeksis to a fight when he believes his honor is offended. He also believes cloak-and-dagger trickery and diplomacy are pointless when they're strong enough to take and do whatever they want, which is the source of his rivalry with the Chamberlain.
  Chamberlain: YOU! YOU ARE RECKLESS! LEAD US INTO WAR!
  General: I WELCOME WAR!!
  Chamberlain: BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO THICK-HEADED TO USE BRAIN!
• The Brute: He was this prior to becoming The Dragon to the Emperor, but even after his ascension he seems to prefer being the Brute. He doesn't care about the internal politics and rivalries of the Skeksis, and favors the most immediate, violent solution that springs to mind.
• The Bully: He'll abuse and belittle anybody he views as weaker than him, be it Gelfling or noncombative Skeksis. "Weakling!" is practically his Catchphrase Insult when dealing with most other Skeksis and like many bullies, he becomes a coward when on the receiving end.
• Cannot Dream: Though this might be a trait of all Skeksis, as the Emperor could not until the Darkening gave him nightmares.
• The Confidant: To the Emperor. Notably, he's the only person the Emperor is shown confiding in about his existential fears regarding their mortality and their existence prior to splitting from the Mystics. It's perhaps because they're both prideful, impulsive individuals who value brute force.
• Cool Helmet: He's constantly wearing one, which becomes less cool when it's revealed it was hiding his baldness.
• Didn't Think This Through: Much like the Emperor, he takes great risks without any thought as to the consequences of failure. He tries to drain a prisoner as a form of torture, and in doing so risks a valuable source of information.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Despite his thick-headedness and lack of patience skekVar is far from wrong when he said that it was the Chamberlain's fault for Rian being alive and on the run with knowledge of the Skeksis' secrets, as it was skekSil's idea to spread lies about him rather than kill him to prevent him from telling other Gelfings the Skeksis drained a Gelfing, nor to distrust the Chamberlain's plan of having Rian hunted down by his own father and other Gelflings, expressing doubts about the Gelflings truly believing one of them to have murdered another. The moment Rian is able of convincing others to dreamfast with him skekSil's plan truly falls apart, proving skekVar's doubts to be correct. He's also not wrong to point out that the All-Maudra owes her power to the Skeksis and thus only rules over the clans because the Skeksis allow her to.
• Dumb Muscle: The General's sword is sharper than he is. The Chamberlain lampshades this, calling him thick-headed. However, he's not too dumb. See Hidden Depths below.
• The Dragon: He manages to supplant the Chamberlain as the Emperor's right-hand man partway through the first season of Age of Resistance and acts as his main enforcer. This comes to an end with his death.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He cries out "What have you done?!" when skekTek drains Mira. Although he quickly tosses aside any notions of decency after this as he joins the others in slopping up Mira's essence.
• Evil Counterpart: To urMa the Mystic Peacemaker.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He has Benedict Wong's deep, threatening baritone to add weight to his constant threats.
• Fatal Flaw: His temper. skekVar has a very short temper and is easily ticked off at anything that angers him. It also leads him to make rash decisions without considering the consequences or even thinking he did anything wrong, such as when he killed All-Maudra Mayrin, one of the biggest factors that led to the Gelfling Rebellion.
• Flawed Prototype: Serves this to skekUng who succeeds him as the General and the Chamberlain's rival. skekVar and skekUng share many traits such as being grumpy, martial-minded, and having a bad temper. However, skekVar lacked the characteristics that would make skekUng succeed against the Chamberlain and the Gelflings such as cleverness, leniency, restraint, and being reasonable towards crippled and/or physically weaker but still very useful Skeksis such as skekTek and skekNa.
• Foil: To skekSil in Age of Resistance. Both are high-ranking Skeksis who vied for the skekSo's favor. However, while skekSil is a physically weaker but intelligent individual who uses lies and long and careful planning to solve problems, skekVar is a Dumb Muscle who uses force and swift and violent action to solve problems. Furthermore, skekVar "welcomes war" and suggests they should drain all the Gelfling they want whereas skekSil knows that will destroy their supply of essence and suggests they only drain a minimal amount of Gelfling to sustain themselves as he maintains order and peace, eventually agreeing that the Skeksis should go to war with the Gelfing but only because they have to. Finally, while skekSil claims to serve skekSo but in truth, he serves himself to maintain his position, skekVar is honest and loyal to skekSo.
• Four-Star Badass: As expected of someone of his title, he's no slouch in combat.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's in a perpetual bad mood and very quick to anger, perhaps just as much as skekUng the Garthim Master.
• Hidden Depths: When not controlled by his temper and impulsivity skekVar is surprisingly intelligent as upon hearing the hunter horn he correctly deduced that it was the Chamberlain who called skekMal to the castle and his motives for doing so. When younger and less impulsive he proved himself to be good at dealing with Gelflings once serving skekSo's ambassador to them and later personally remarked Ordon for his bravery and fighting prowess and named him as the Captain of the Guard. He was also one of the few Skeksis to show real gratitude and loyalty toward others as he was most loyal to the Emperor and really viewed and treated the Chamberlain as a friend after he seemingly saved his life, helping him regain the Emperor's favor and graciously accepting to take back his seat despite having been the Emperor's right hand. His final discussion with skekSo about their past as Urskeks and death also implies that there is a more thoughtful and deeper side to him.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He believed that the Chamberlain's saving of his life was actually sincere, to the point of calling him 'friend'. One would think that after living with the Chamberlain for nearly a thousand trine, the General would have at least suspected the Chamberlain of having an ulterior motive.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Almost a theme for him. On three different occasions, he gets a sword in the belly all the way to the hilt. The first time a possessed Tavra guts him, the second time Rian wins the duel with him and rams his sword in, the third and final time the Chamberlain shanks him and twists the blade too.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: It is hinted that behind his aggressive and ruthless attitude skekVar is a deeply insecure individual who puts an authoritarian and brutal facade to cover his insecurities and gets the reapproval of skekSo and respect and submission of other Skeksis.
• I Owe You My Life: After the Chamberlain saves his life from Tavra then gives him real essence to heal his wounds, the General is sincerely grateful, regards him as a friend, and helps the Chamberlain get back in the Emperor's good graces. Unfortunately for him, the Chamberlain was just using him and put him in mortal danger in the first place. Once he got what he wanted from him and the General is alone and weakened, the Chamberlain seizes the opportunity to murder him.
• Kick the Dog: He callously eats some of the Vapra Gelfling clan's unimoth chrysali.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: While just as cruel, cowardly and contemptful of Thra races than the other skeksis, skekVar is one of the only skeksis to show genuine gratitude and loyalty toward others as shown with his devotion to the Emperor and him coming to treat skekSil as a friend and helped him regain skekSo's favor after the latter seemingly saved his life.
• Mighty Glacier: While a strong and powerful fighter skekVar's slowness and lack of agility combined with his size constantly handicaps him against more agile fighters. This is what allows Tavra and Rian to get the upper hand on him and impale him.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When he's confronted by the All-Maudra Maylin, he loses it right away and murders her. The Emperor praises him for supposedly freeing the Skeksis from having to keep up appearances, but this impulsive action results in the Stonewood and Drenchen Maudras refusing to acknowledge Seladon and eventually uniting the other clans against the Skeksis. While nobodies like Rian and Deet could have been taken care of with the right lies, the murder of a beloved leader makes it impossible for common Gelflings to ignore the Skeksis' brutality.
• Predecessor Villain: As the military leader of the Skeksis, he was this to skekUng the Garthim-Master. He fits a similar role as The Rival to skekSil.
• The Rival: To the Chamberlain. They both try to outdo one another to become the Emperor's right-hand but their methods vary, with the General preferring brute force and the Chamberlain preferring subtle scheming. SkekVar manages to supplant the Chamberlain as the Emperor's second until the Season 1 finale when the Chamberlain murders him.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To skekUng the Garthim-Master. Like skekUng, skekVar is a martial minded brute with a rivalry against the more cunning Chamberlain. He is so similar in general appearance that he was assumed to actually be skekUng by the fandom until his name was revealed as skekVar, and skekUng was later revealed to be absent but likely to return along with skekNa the Slave Master and skekShod the treasurer.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: He once was one of the most diplomatic and skilled Skeksis at dealing and negociating with the Geflings and the other races of Thra and a fairly intelligent and reasonnable individual, serving as the Ambassador and having had a crucial role in the formation of the alliance of the Crystal. However over age he became more and more impulsive and quick to anger, causing him to lose his diplomatic skills and level-headedness.
• Undying Loyalty: To the Emperor.
• Villains Want Mercy: He begs for his life when wounded and cornered by Tavra.
• You Have Failed Me: Said verbatim by the Emperor after he is mortally wounded by Rian. He sends skekVar away in disgrace, which is what gives the Chamberlain the opportunity to kill him.

The Collector

skekLach the Collector (formally the Census-Taker)

"Do you see this face? Once this was a beautiful face, but then came knowledge."

Performed by: Helena Smee

Voiced by: Awkwafina

Appears in: Legends of the Dark Crystal | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

A disease-ridden Skeksis who collects tributes from the Gelflings. Loosely adapted from the villain of the Legends of the Dark Crystal manga, where he oversaw the collection of Gelfling prisoners for essence draining.

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• Adaptational Personality Change: The Collector in the manga is highly ambitious and quite cunning and manipulative, with designs to overthrow the Emperor himself. No sign of this is present within the skekLach we see in ''Age of Resistance'’, who lacks any ambition or desire for leadership and spends most of her time whining about one thing or another.
• Adaptational Ugliness: The Legends of the Dark Crystal manga depicted the Collector as looking not that different from the other Skeksis. The Netflix prequel gave her some nasty looking, seeping boils on her face as well as a stouter head, similar to the Gourmand.
• Ambiguous Gender: The Collector in the manga was explicitly male. The Netflix version's gender is never directly addressed, but is voiced by a woman. This fits the film's novelization by A.C.H. Smith, which describes how the Skeksis lack sexes, but have a form of gender identity. Heroes of Resistance by J.M. Lee reveals that, yes, skekLach is a female.
• "Ass" in Ambassador: Unlike skekOk, the Collector doesn't bother saluting the Vapra Gelflings or even being polite to them when visiting them to collect the tithe in Ha'rar.
• Blatant Lies: She warns Brea that knowledge is the reason she's ugly and disease-ridden now. The Scroll-Keeper calls her a liar, saying that she's always been ugly. (Although considering the Scroll-Keeper starts cackling immediately afterwards, this may have simply been a snarky joke.)
• Blood Knight : Other than drinking essence, killing others is the only thing that skekLach truly seems to enjoy. When instructed to kill Brea, Seladon and the other Gelflings leaving the castle along with skekVar, skekLach is clearly delighted at the prospect of slaughtering the Gelflings even agreeing with the General that it will be fun.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Death by zit popping has got to be an unpleasant way to go.
• Deadpan Snarker: Constantly makes sarcastic comments about the current situation and the other Skeksis.
• The Eeyore: A cynical pessimist that complains whenever the other Skeksis get her involved with anything. Also unlike the others she was not surprised that the Crystal failed to regenerate them. The only things that she enjoys are drinking essence since it's the only thing that cures partially the boils on her head, and slaughtering Gelflings.
• Evil Counterpart: To urSen, the Monk.
• Facial Horror: Her face is covered with oozing pustules that even the Crystal's energy barely keeps under control. She says no matter what he does, they always come back. One of the reasons why she loves Essence is because it's the only thing that calm her pustules a bit down.
• Greed: The one aspect she has kept even after losing her passion for her job and that she has in common with skekShod. She constantly stole precious objects and riches not included in tithing ceremonies to keep in her chamber.
• Irony: The one time she doesn't complain is shortly before her death.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Claimed to be beautiful once, but the Scroll-Keeper says she's always been ugly.
• Jabba Table Manners: While all the Skeksis (except for the Ornamentalist) have disgusting table manners, she takes the cake as the most disgusting eater as she's willing to eat food on which her pustules have leaked.
• Jaded Washout: While she used to enjoy her occupation as a collector, to collect many items and was once a very curious individual skekLach has become a bored, cynical, melancholic and pessimistic person who has grown to hate her job as collector and the tithing ceremony, finds little pleasure in life anymore and longs for the days when she was in her eyes "a beautiful individual".
• The Paranoiac: Downplayed but she generally expect the worst from the other Skeksis, and upon seeing the Hunter injured and pierced with arrows she immediatly assumes that it's the Gelflings who are responsible.
• Sadist: Killing and seeing other suffer is one of the few things that skekLach truly enjoys. While she's grumpy most of the time she is clearly delighted when skekSil proposes to punish skekTek with the Peeper beetle, to see Seladon humiliated and mocked, mocking her for being about to cry, and when she's tasked to slaughter the Gelflings leaving the castle.
• Tempting Fate: After getting hit by the Darkening, what does she say before her head explodes? "That wasn't so bad."
• Too Many Belts: The character's original manga costume was loaded with belts and masks in an almost Final Fantasy boss fashion.
• Verbal Tic: She tends to punctuate his sentences with a harsh "Ahh!" Although, it might be due to nasal problems thanks to the boils on her nose.
• Your Head Asplode: The Emperor attempts to weaponize the Darkening to kill the Gelfling resistance, only for Deet to redirect it back at the Skeksis. SkekLach is the only one hit, and after a brief Hope Spot, her head explodes.
• Villainous Friendship: With the Scroll-Keeper. They may bicker, but the Scroll-Keeper seems genuinely upset at her death.

Constructs of the Skeksis

Artificial creatures who serve the Skeksis residing in the castle of the Crystal.

Garthim

The Garthim

Performed by: Daniel Dewhirst (2019)

Appear in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Dark Crystal

When it appeared that the Skeksis were doomed due to not having an army of their own when facing both the Gelfling rebellion and their Arathim allies, they turned to skekTek the Scientist to create fearsome, soulless and loyal soldiers who would blindly serve them and fight for them. The Garthim were born, and the Garthim War began. They were used to exterminate the Gelflings, and replaced them as guards of the Crystal's castle.

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• Animated Armor: At the end of the film, they stop being animated and fall apart into hollow shells when the Crystal is restored.
• Attack Drone: Essentially Magitek versions of this, having no mind of their own and obeying every order the Garthim-Master gives them.
• The Brute: They act as the brute force of the Skeksis.
• Dark Is Evil: They serve the evil Skeksis and are dark-colored.
• Dem Bones: Can be seen as an exoskeletal take on this trope.
• The Dreaded: At the time of the film, Podlings live in constant fear of their raids.
• Flesh Golem: The prototype seen in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is partly made of Arathim and Gruenak remains skekTek animates using the power of the Dark Crystal, with the addition of the pincers and armor.
• Giant Enemy Crab: They look mostly like giant crabs, combined with beetle shells and spider legs (fitting for the latter, given that they were made using Arathim remains).
• Hell Is That Noise: The characteristic rattle-like sound their torso emit when moving, which undeniably contributes to make them scarier.
• Leitmotif: Whenever they crash into a scene in the film, a "Psycho" Strings theme plays.
• Mechanical Monster: From the Gelflings and Podlings' perspective.
• Mecha-Mooks: They're soulless Magitek servants to the Skeksis, doing the dirty work/brute force work for them.
• Origins Episode: The 9th and 10th/final episodes of the first season of Age of Resistance show the origins of the Garthim.
• Power Pincers: Their right hands are crab-like bladed pincers.
• Purple Is Powerful: Their eyes are purple due to the Crystal's power and particularly glow when they spot their targets, such as with Jen and Kira. The first one created however has blue eyes, interestingly.
• Spider Limbs: Their "legs". Those were made to hide the puppeteers' legs, but it invokeddidn't always work. Age of Resistance reveals that the Garthim were made using Arathim remains, hence the spider parts.

Crystal Bats

The Crystal Bats

Appear in: The Dark Crystal

Bat-like flying creatures that, like the Garthim, are animated by the power of the Dark Crystal and serve the Skeksis. They carry a purple crystal that shares what they see with the Crystal at the castle, allowing the Skeksis to spy on and find their preys pretty much anywhere on Thra.

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• Animal Eye Spy: Technically, they're Magitek animals and are the Skeksis' and Garthim's "eyes" everywhere on Thra.
• Bat Out of Hell: They don't attack, but spotting one is Oh, Crap! worthy, meaning the Garthim won't be long to come.
• Magical Eye: Their "eye" (most of their body actually) is a purple crystal.
• One-Eyed Bats: Exaggerated — they're batlike creatures whose singular crystalline "eyes" make up the entirety of their bodies aside from their wings.
• Surveillance Drone: Their role in a nutshell.

Other Skeksis

Skeksis who don't reside at the castle.

The Hunter

skekMal the Hunter

"When will you learn? Only the hunt matters!"

Performed by: Kevin Clash

Voiced by: Ralph Ineson

Appears in: Shadows of the Dark Crystal | Flame of the Dark Crystal | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

"Although he considers himself a "sportsman," skekMal is nothing more than a brutal hunter. The wildest of the Skeksis, he frightens even his own kind. He uses all manner of traps and bears a scar across his face. Lightning fast, he can actually dodge arrows and disappear into the trees in front of him. And whatever he catches…he generally eats. Although most Gelfling clans do not know skekMal, they know the legend of "the Hunter" and they know that no one has ever escaped alive. SkekMal uses a 'spirit-like' mask to conceal his true identity."

— The Evil Skeksis, Excerpted from a Gelfling journal, Entry Date: Rosunday, 14th Moon, 96 Years A.G.C

The wildest and most brutal of the Skeksis by the time of Age of Resistance. Essentially a solitary hunter who will go to great lengths to track and kill his preys if he deems the hunt worth it.

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• Arch-Enemy: He collects archenemies just as much as he collects trophies. He's a very particular enemy to:
  • Kylan, who was a child when the Hunter murdered his parents.
  • Rian, who he becomes obsessed with the moment he becomes the target of the hunt, pursuing him endlessly and killing Rian's father in the process.
  • UrVa the Archer, most naturally, due to them being two separate parts of a single being and as such have been enemies since the moment they split. The Archer even refers to skekMal as his "dark half" and considers it his duty to stop him.
• Badass Boast: He's prone to these, the most memorable of which being his bombastic declaration as he holds Rian hostage, in response to Brea's pleas to let him go.
  skekMal: QUIET, PUNY GELFLING!! I have conquered death! I return more powerful than ever! More powerful than Thra itself! NOTHING CAN STOP THE HUNT!!
• Badass Normal: All his great abilities that make him superior to the others, they're natural to him. He never even heard of Essence, so he didn't get the potion power-up the other Skeksis got from drinking Essence.
• Beauty Is Bad: While not handsome, per se, he's in much better physical shape than the other Skeksis. That doesn't mean he's less evil.
  • Aughra says that skekMal was always the most beautiful of the Skeksis. He still has a vitality the rest lack - he's kept full use of his secondary arms.
• Blood Knight: The Hunter, as you might guess from his title, lives for the hunt, pursuing his prey halfway across the world if he has to. The Chamberlain has to practically beg skekMal to bring Rian back alive and not take him as a trophy.
• Blow That Horn: skekSil summons skekMal at the Castle by blowing a huge horn on the Castle's heights. The other Skeksis instantly recognize that horn sound, as they dread him.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Bases his decisions entirely around 'The Hunt'. Initially he plans on cutting out Rian's tongue and taking it as a trophy when the Chamberlain interrupts him, since he needs Rian alive to restore his place at the Emperor's right-hand. The Hunter's initially contemptuous of the Chamberlain hunting "a chair," but relents when the Chamberlain counters that he's hunting power, actually managing to make a successful connection between them. He lets the Chamberlain have Rian so he can claim his trophy, just so long as the Hunter can have his own afterwards.
• Chest Burster: A magical example; when the Hunter dies, Aughra is resurrected right where he stands in an eruption of light. After all, it was her essence that revived skekMal in the first place.
• Combat Pragmatist: Each encounter skekMal engages begins with him ambushing his prey. You know, like a hunter.
• Creepy Souvenir: He collects and wears parts of his victims, some of which double as battle trophies.
• Dead Guy on Display: Believing him to be dead, the other Skeksis hung his body on a frame in the throne room so he will command with them all "forever". Turns out he's Not Quite Dead.
• Determinator: One of his defining traits is how utterly unstoppable he is. As he himself says: Nothing can stop the hunt!!
  • Ordon throws himself and skekMal into a patch of Man Eating Plants in an effort to stop him and save Rian. The Hunter leaps out none the worse for wear.
  • Despite being skewered by three arrows, he manages to drag Brea's cage all the way from the Crystal Desert to the throne room before he finally collapses, near death. In contrast, his Mystic counterpart faints after feeling the pain of the third arrow.
  • He immediately goes back on the hunt after reviving. His first words upon waking up? "Where is Rian?"
• Disc-One Final Boss: Of all the Skeksis, skekMal is the most persistent threat to Rian and the others in the first season, and victory in the Battle of Stone-In-The-Wood only becomes certain once he truly dies for good as it severely demoralizes the remaining Skeksis, as well as paves the way for Aughra's resurrection. However, his loss is rendered moot by the subsequent unveiling of the first Garthim by skekTek, who will become a much graver threat to the Gelfling than the Hunter ever was.
• Doomed Hurt Guy: A villainous example. Fatally wounded by the Archer, his Mystic counterpart, the other Skeksis go to great lengths to try and save him, but he perishes anyway. However, he suddenly revives a few episodes later thanks to an injection of Aughra's essence.
• The Dragon: To skekSil, the Chamberlain. By virtue of being summoned to hunt down Rian, skekMal becomes skekSil's primary hand in violence.
• The Dreaded: Everybody is terrified of this guy, and with good reason. He's feared in Gelfling legends as a boogeyman-like figure whom may or may not exist, and even the other Skeksis are afraid of him due to his violent, predatory nature, which not even they are safe from. When they hear skekSil call the horn to summon him to the castle, the other Skeksis are horrified and outraged that anyone would even think of summoning the Hunter with how dangerous he is.
  • When Rian and Ordon are near the carnivorous plants, they eagerly snap and growl at them. When skekMal makes his entrance, the plants shrink away and grow silent for a time. Even they realized they were in the presence of a superior predator.
• Dual Wielding: His preferred method of head-on combat is carrying two, or even four blades.
• Dynamic Entry: Almost every one of his appearances involves him rushing into frame and ruining someone's day.
• Eaten Alive: He's pushed into a patch of carnivorous plants by Ordon. Unfortunately for Ordon, the Hunter is able to claw his way out.
• Egomaniac Hunter: He is initially insulted when given a Gelfling target, but skekSil manages to convince him.
• Evil Counterpart: To urVa the Mystic Archer.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Ralph Ineson brings his famous growl in his performance.
• Evil Virtues: The Hunter might be a merciless, bloodthirsty killer but he has a strong sense of honor, and does not share the vices of the other, hedonistic Skeksis. He's brave, determined and holds himself to a higher ideal than pure self-interest. The bickering of the other Skeksis seems to disgust him.
  "Poor skekSil. Still consumed by petty squabbles! When will you learn? Only the hunt matters!"
• Godzilla Threshold: Seems to represent a living example. The Skeksis have a special horn just to summon the Hunter, but are afraid of and dislike being around him, since not even they are safe from his bloodlust. Only in their most desperate times do they consider calling him to the castle.
• Hero Killer: Skeksis are usually only a physical threat to Gelflings because of their superior size and strength. The Hunter, however, is fast and strong even for a Skeksis, having dedicated his life to the hunt. After capturing Rian and killing his father, he shows off the trophies he's claimed from past heroes and warriors he's slain. Whenever he shows up, it's clear the heroes are in genuine danger.
• I Was Quite a Looker: According to Aughra, skekMal was "always the most beautiful" of the Skeksis.
• Implacable Man: He means it when he says "Nothing can stop the Hunt!"
• Irony: What would have been his fate if Aughra's essence hadn't revived him. His corpse would have been decorated and hung up in the Skesis throne room as a gruesome tribute, just like a hunter's prized kill being hung as a mantle piece.
  • He doesn't live at the Castle, doesn't receive any energy from the Dark Crystal and doesn't consume any gelfling essence - and yet he's equally as long lived as the rest of the Skeksis and in much better shape than them because, well, he eats well and gets regular exercise.
• Killed Off for Real: He dies a second and final time after the Archer throws himself off a cliff.
• Knight of Cerebus: Not that The Dark Crystal is lighthearted by any means, but skekMal is notably more violent and agile than the other Skeksis, who are visibly perturbed by his presence. And whereas most of his compatriots prefer subterfuge, backstabbing and relying on Mooks to do their dirty work, the Hunter actively pursues his quarry, posing a much more immediate threat to the protagonists. Notably, he's the only Skeksis whose back limbs have not atrophied into uselessness.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's very strong but also able to leap and cling to branches with ease, unlike the other Skeksis who just shamble about, presumably due to his more active lifestyle.
• Made of Iron: This dude is tough! After getting 3 arrows in him, courtesy of the Archer, it was the Archer that passed out almost immediately from the third arrow. Meanwhile the Hunter kept going at full speed and grabbed Brea before she could activate Lore. He only succumbed to his injuries after making it all the way back to the palace, while dragging Brea along in a metal cage.
• Meaningful Name: "Mal" is the French word for "evil", and the Latin form malum means the same.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He's the only Skeksis whose secondary arms haven't atrophied, and uses them to wield another pair of daggers when outnumbered.
• Not So Above It All: As much as he holds his fellow Skeksis in contempt for their hedonism and cowardice, his final moments show that he's just as terrified of dying as they are.
• Oh, Crap!: The look in his eyes as he realizes what the Archer has done is one of sheer terror.
• Predator Pastiche: He wears a mask, is obssessed with the hunt, likes vaulting around on trees, and takes the skulls of his prey as trophies.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: He picks up the trail in no time at all, and later catches up with Rian again at the Crystal Desert.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Wears an animal skull on his head and what appears to be an armor made of bones. He has a couple of smaller skulls dangling from his raiment, which he describes as other hunters and warriors he's killed to take their power for himself.
• Synchronization: His life and soul are linked to those of urVa the Archer, which lets him see what urVa sees when falling to his death (i.e. the ground closing in).
• Taking You with Me: When Ordon pushes him into the patch of carnivorous plants, the Hunter grabs him so neither can escape death.
• Tempting Fate: His entire Badass Boast turns out to be this, as right after he says it, the Archer sacrifices himself, ending both of their lives.
• They Have the Scent!: Initially tracks Rian using the scent from a scrap of torn clothing.
• The Rival: To the Archer, as it is stated that skekMal himself is being hunted by his Mystic counterpart, the only being in all of Thra that he can't hunt.
• This Cannot Be!: Oh, he is not happy to see Archer's suicide is taking him out as well, in clear and terrified disbelief.
• Undignified Death: In direct contrast to the Archer, who peacefully closes his eyes in the face of his death, skekMal dies screaming, terrified, unable to believe what's happening to him. That said his reactions aren't as extreme as his fellow Skeksis
• Villainous Valor: You can't help but be impressed by his expending every last ounce of strength to complete his mission even after being badly wounded, dragging Brea into the Castle before collapsing nearly dead.
• We Used to Be Friends: "Friends" might be pushing it, but he was seemingly allies with Rek'yr at one point. Rek'yr would guide him on hunts into the Crystal Desert.
• Worthy Opponent: He comes to view Rian as this after a fashion. His first thought upon reviving with Aughra's essence? Demanding skekTek tell him where Rian is.
• World's Best Warrior: He's the mightiest of the Skeksis, the apex predators of the world, and that makes him the deadliest warrior in Thra.
• You Killed My Father:
  • Left Kylan an orphan at a young age.
  • Also, he's largely responsible for the death of Rian's father Ordon.

The Heretic

skekGra the Heretic (formerly the Conqueror)

"Once I was known as skekGra The Conqueror. The others cast me out and branded me Heretic."

Performed by: Damian Farrell

Voiced by: Andy Samberg

Appears in: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you! Do you see my wonder? Look upon my wonder!"

A Skeksis who was banished by his brethren and has lived with his Mystic counterpart, urGoh the Wanderer, on top of a desert rock called the Circle of the Suns. Unlike the others, he believes the Skeksis and Mystics should be reunited.

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• The Atoner: As the Conqueror, he was famed for "vile and cruel deeds", but is now trying to make amends.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Downplayed; he's not exactly handsome and still appears quite frightening, but he does seem to be in much better shape than his corrupt, decaying brethren.
• Cloudcuckoolander: He's incredibly eccentric and hyperactive, even by Skeksis standards.
• Dark Is Not Evil: While he is by far the nicest and only good Skeksis, he does still share many of their mannerisms. He is overly dramatic, prone to yelling, lacks patience and despite being a hermit does indulge himself as much as possible. Since Skeksis are the "darker" impulses of the urSkeks, most likely these quirks are simply ingrained in them.
• Defector from Decadence: He was originally a "vile and cruel" member of the Skeksis of the Castle of the Crystal, however, after receiving a vision from Thra, he no longer desired the decadent and hedonistic life the Skeksis vicariously lived through, and came to believe that they should unite with their Mystic counterparts, and return to their original selves, the urSkeks. For this belief he was branded a heretic, and exiled by his other brethern. This doesn't seem to bother him too much.
• Determinator: Has been this; and still is. Imagine how much willpower it takes a Skeksis not to be a total jerkass all the time...
• Early-Bird Cameo: His voice appears on Lore's record player arm, assuring whoever wakes Lore that Lore will protect them.
• Evil Counterpart: Technically, he's the "evil" half of the urSkek he once formed with urGoh the Wanderer, and was once known as the Conqueror for a reason (he mentions he "lied, cursed, killed, hurt and maimed" and committed other such "vile, cruel deeds"). But then he became benevolent (or, at the very least, found some ethical standards) at some point after getting a vision from Thra, and the only negative traits he has left in him might be his impatience at urGoh's slowness, some shades of Innocent Bigot and a temper (which he quickly uses up in fairly harmless ways).
• Facial Markings: He painted parts of his face, likely for ritual reasons.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: He's gone somewhat 'round the bend after centuries with just his slow-talking Mystic counterpart for company. That said, he seems to have a metal spike through his head (that he plays on like a chime), so that may also have something to do with it.
• Good Wears White: The Skeksis skekGra is a Defector from Decadence from the rest of the evil Skeksis, who wishes to be reunited with his Mystic counterpart. He wears a white robe to signify his status as the Token Good Teammate.
• The Heretic: Branded as such for wanting the Skeksis to reunite with their Mystic counterparts.
• Hot-Blooded: He's very loud, bombastic and passionate unlike his Mystic counterpart, and it's understandably confusing for the Gelflings the first time they meet him. He also loses his temper quickly when urGoh can't do something fast enough.
• Innocent Bigot: Mistakes the Podling Hup for a slave, though he cheerfully declares "Even better!" when Deet insist he's a friend. Not that it stops him from repeatedly referring to Hup as "Friend-Slave." While innocent is a stretch, given his attitude is likely a relic from his Conqueror days, he doesn't seem to be aware he's causing any offense.
• Innocently Insensitive: Utterly clueless as to how Lore's deactivation might be upsetting for the Gelflings, Brea in particular.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After his Heel–Face Turn. He's impulsive, impatient, bossy and rude, but has good intentions, cares for urGoh and supports the Gelflings on their quest.
• Junkie Prophet: He and urGoh consume hallucinogenic berries in order to have more prophetic visions after their initial vision, this is likely part of the reason for his...erratic personality more than Go Mad from the Isolation (invokedWord of God even states that the two of them were inspired by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).
• Lack of Empathy: He doesn't seem to have any sense of other people's emotions and defaults to ordering everyone around regardless of what they want and any protests they may make. By Skeksis standards he's clearly making a heroic effort to be nice, but he doesn't have any knack for it.
• Large Ham: He has a larger-than-life personality, to say the least.
  Heretic: Look upon my wonder!! (poses and eyes the Gelflings for compliments)
• Light Is Good: Unlike the other Skeksis, he wears white robes, and is on good terms with his Mystic counterpart.
• Like an Old Married Couple: A bit one-sided on the Heretic's part with urGoh. He's often impatient and annoyed with his counterpart's slowness, but he nonetheless cares about him as much as he can. They are both part of each other, after all.
• No Indoor Voice: While he does quiet down when he's serious, most of the time he has a Large Ham voice that cannot be contained.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to urGoh's blue.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Notably subverted, as he's possibly the most reptilian of the Skeksis, and yet is also the most moral.
• Retired Badass: His title used to be the Conqueror before he was branded the Heretic, and he admits it was well deserved.
• Those Two Guys: He's been living like a hermit with his Mystic counterpart for centuries. They oscillate between this and the Odd Couple.
• The Slacker: Compared to how active he used to be, certainly. But, compared to his better half, he still has more drive even while quite deliberately living in the slow lane most of the time. It's up in the air how much the spike helps him be this trope rather than the multi-tasking General Ripper he once was.
• Token Heroic Orc: He is the first and, so far, only Skeksis character in the Dark Crystal universe to be a good guy.
• Tsundere: Acts this way towards urGoh. He has very little patience for the Mystic and yet puts up with him for centuries and cares a lot about him.

The Mariner

skekSa the Mariner (also known as the Captain)

"While the Emperor lives, there is no power for anyone else. Except him."

Appears in: Tides of the Dark Crystal | Flame of the Dark Crystal

A sailor Skeksis who took to the seas after disagreeing with skekSo's rule that ends up getting pulled into their efforts to destroy the Gelfling resistance.

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• Affably Evil: In the novels she's described as being humble, courteous and even generous to those she considers friends as well as having a very charismatic voice but she's also a ruthless pirate and takes any perceived betrayals very personally.
• Evil Counterpart: To urSan the Swimmer.
• The Ghost: Doesn't appear in Age of Resistance, but the other Skeksis do mention her when they talk about summoning others to the castle, along with skekLi, skekNa and skekUng.
• Living Ship: Enslaved a giant sea turtle to use as a sailing craft and submarine.
• Pirate Girl: How she presents herself.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only Skeksis who officially identifies as female. As opposed to skekLach whose Netflix version is rather ambiguous gender-wise, but remains unconfirmed.
• Tragic Villain: Whilst still depicted as a somewhat unsavoury Skeksis, skekSa did have some genuine compassion and respect for the Sifa Clan. Unlike many other Skeksis who saw the Gelflings as their pawns, and the Gelfling who were hesitent and fearful of their Skeksis rulers, skekSa saw the Sifa as her companions. Giving gifts and befriending many Gelfling upon her many returns to shore. But when the Sifa, along with the rest of the Gelfling clans, decided to take up arms against the Skeksis, they also turned their blades against her too. She was devastated by this betrayal and this forced her to join the Emperor; this then lead to a series of events which put her on the opposing side of her many Gelfling friends as well as ridicule by other Skeksis, taking a severe toll on her mental state.

The Satirist

skekLi the Satirist

Appears in: Song of the Dark Crystal

The Skeksis who wrote satire stories for the enjoyment of the other Skeksis.

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• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In the novels, he's depicted as the mastermind behind the alliance between Skeksis and Arathim but the other Skeksis mock him and call him their jester, something he deeply resents.
• Evil Counterpart: To urLii, the Mystic Storyteller
• The Ghost: He isn't seen in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, but is mentioned by the other Skeksis.

The Machinist and The Deceased

skekHak the Machinist and skekYi the Deceased

GK!

AARGHH, AARGH!!, HAHAHAHA!

Appear in: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths

Two Skeksis seen at the end of Volume 2 of The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths. They were the ones who died immediately after the botched division of the urSkeks. When one of the Skeksis goes rogue in the Crystal Chamber, it proceeds to kill two urRu — one is choked to death, while the other is thrown into the fire Shaft under the Crystal, leading to the deaths of their Skeksis counterparts. skekHak came from the urSkek Architect hakHom, while skekYi came from the urSkek yiYa, whose position is unknown.

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• Alternate Continuity: In the novels only skekYi ("The Deceased") dies; skekHak lives and becomes "the Machinist" and redesigned the castle for the Skeksis. It's unclear which should be considered canon.
• Evil Counterpart: To urHom and urYa.
• Evil Laugh: skeYi does this after throwing his counterpart down the crystal shaft in palace, killing himself as well due to their Synchronization
• Taught by Experience: Their deaths as a result of the killing of both urHom and urYa showed the Skeksis that they had better let the Mystics live, lest they wanted to die as well due to synchronization.

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