History Characters / TheDarkCrystalSkeksis

* ClassicVillain: A psychotic despot who embodies greed, ambition and pride.

The Skeksis court's food specialist. He specializes in sweet liquors, hot spices and sauces rich with cream, and he boasts to have a different menu for every feast. He's in charge of the castle's kitchens and feasts.

* WickedCultured: At the very least he has good/polite table manners when feasting, unlike the other Skeksis who pretty much all display JabbaTableManners.

* GutturalGrowler: He speaks with a very raspy voice, again courtesy of Michael Kilgarriff at his hammiest.

* GutturalGrowler: He has a rather guttural, throaty tone.

* GutturalGrowler: Awkwafina makes her distinctive raspy voice a bit deeper than usual, to quite unnerving effect.

* GutturalGrowler: Not a single line he says goes without a bass snarl to it.

* {{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.

* TheBadGuysWin: 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.

* CardCarryingVillain: Averted at first, for nearly a millenia 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."

* EvilSorcerer: That scepter of his isn't just a symbol of power, it's a conduit through which he can manipulate the Darkening.

[[caption-width-right:397:''"Who said anythingabout helping the gelflings? We're Skeksis, we help outselves."'']]

* TheAtoner: As the Conqueror he was famed for "vile and cruel deeds", but is now trying to make amends.

* InnocentlyInsensitive: Utterly clueless as to how [[spoiler: Lore's deactivation]] might be upsetting for the Gelflings, Brea in particular.

* TragicVillain: 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 ridecule by other Skeksis, taking a severe toll on her mental state.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: 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.

** [[spoiler:Ordon throws himself and skekMal into a patch of ManEatingPlants in an effort to stop him and save Rian. The Hunter ''leaps out'' none the worse for wear.]]

* ApeShallNeverKillApe: 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 ([[DisproportionateRetribution skekVar REALLY shouldn't have taken his spot as the Emperors right-hand man]]).

* MixAndMatchCritters: They are explicitly descibed 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.

* EvilLaugh: SkeYi does this after throwing his counterpart down the crystal shaft in palace, killing himself as well due to their {{Synchronization}}

[[caption-width-right:397:some caption text]]

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[[caption-width-right:426:some caption text]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Yes, [[spoiler: killing skekVar]] was cruel and petty, and it was done for cruel and petty reasons, but since [[spoiler:skekVar]] was himself a brutish Jerkass who had previously [[spoiler:killed the All-Maudra]], it’s not entirely unsatisfying.

* AmbiguousGender: Voiced by a man in the 1982 film and a woman in ''Age of Resistance''. He appears to be an uncomfortable combination of both genders.

* OmnicidalManiac: In the novelization, he goes completely insane and decides to wipe out all life on Thra besides his brethren.

* ShortLivedLeadership: 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.

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: The Scientist is undoubtedly a GadgeteerGenius, but certain scenes may indicate that his skills in [[NotThatKindOfDoctor medicine]] are more lacking than he'd like to admit. When assessing the Hunter's injuries, [=skekTek=] diagnoses him with things like "severe distress to the humus" (which is a type of ''soil'') and "manifold ruptures in corporeal morphology" (which, when translated from TechnoBabble, means nothing but [[CaptainObvious "his body is full of holes."]]). This could just be a case of the Skeksis's BizarreAlienBiology, however.

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: The Scientist is undoubtedly a GadgeteerGenius, but certain scenes may indicate that his skills in [[NotThatKindOfDoctor medicine]] are more lacking than he'd like to admit. When assessing the Hunter's injuries, [=skekTek=] diagnoses him with things like "severe distress to the humus" (which is a type of ''soil'') and "manifold ruptures in corporeal morphology" (which, when translated from Technobabble, means nothing but [[CaptainObvious "his body is full of holes.]]"). This could just be a case of the Skeksis's BizarreAlienBiology, however.