MovieChat Forums > The Dark Crystal (1982) Discussion > PLOT HOLE

PLOT HOLE

posted 16 years ago by hshlapak
21 replies | jump to latest

correct me if I'm wrong...but didn't they say at the beginning of the movie that the two species had only ten members???

they kept saying, but now, there was only ten

[–] TheVictoriousV 16 years ago

Ten of each, yes.

-"In 300 years, when Evil returns... so shall WE!"

[–] RSTowers 15 years ago

What I want to know is where the Chamberlain and Emperor sat at the dinner table. There were only 8 chairs, and they all barely fit. Must have been a tight squeeze. No wonder they banished him.

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[–] duckman1981 15 years ago

I think Chamberlain was still banished in the dinner scene.

[–] Koosh_King01 15 years ago

All I can think of is maybe one or more of the Skeksis didn't sit with the others, possibly the Gourmond since he's their cook and cooks don't generally eat with their clientele.

Or maybe seeing all of the living Skeksis at dinner at the same time was unusual. Certainly the Gourmond's awkward spot at the end suggests there wasn't normally a spot for him.

I think it was a sort of celebration thrown by the General to commemorate his rule as emperor, and that, normally, only the reigning emperor and his trusted confidants and aides ate there.

During the previous emperor's rule, he sat where the General now sits obviously. The High Priest has a sort of permanent position in the reigning emperor's inner circle, given his role in their rituals, so he probably always sat to the ruler's right. To the left would've been either the General or Chamberlain, depending on who the emperor favored more. Likely the General, given how conniving and untrustworthy the Chamberlain is. Or, heck, even the Chamberlain (the High Priest's reaction to the manner in which the General blows bubbles in his soup suggests the latter, as if the General normally ate with him, the Priest would be well aware of his odd table manners - well, odd as compared to the other Skeksis; they all eat like pigs, frankly).

In the new regime, the General takes the emperor's chair, and puts the Scientist in his/the Chamberlain's former spot, while the High Priest keeps the seat he always had.

But on that particular night they all sat down and so had to sort of squeeze in. Thus are my thoughts on Skeksis dining arrangements. XD

[–] luvdalz68 15 years ago

LOL...."You slime face!"

Moldy mildew, mother of mouthmuck, dangle and strangle and death!"

[–] glr-beltran 15 years ago

I think they have simply remove two chairs and rearrange their positions..By the way,the Ornamentalist had very fine manners,unlike the rest of them and I don´t think they´ll banish Skek-ayuk from the banquet,even if he´s so sloppy,ha,ha!
By the way,originally there were 18 of each group..

[–] robhax111 15 years ago

My question is... why were they trying to steal the essence from a Gelfling in the first place? With the conjunction on the verge of happening, weren't they going to live forever, anyway..?

[–] mtgreen 15 years ago

greed and power. essence made them young, but more pertinent to your question, it also made them stronger.

[–] zyggums 12 years ago

if Gelfling essence made them young why did the emperor die of old age before the others?

[–] Koosh_King01 12 years ago

The effect was temporary obviously.

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] zyggums 12 years ago

it was only temporary if they used other-than-gelfling essence. the scientist/alchamist says so. and they had drained many many many gelflings.

[–] Koosh_King01 12 years ago

The line is, "It always worked! Better when we used Gelflings."

He never says the effects of Gelfling essence lasted indefinitely. Just that it was "better" when they used them instead of Podlings. The only other dialog referencing Gelfling essence ("But sire, you could drink her essence!", "Ah, yes, essence of Gelfling!" etc.) imply obvious potency but nothing suggesting its effects are indefinite. If one drink make the emperor eternally young, they would only need to drain one Gelfling per emperor.

When the current Emperor at the beginning, dies, he is very old and withered and physically weak, to say nothing of barely even aware of his surroundings. This is the most obvious argument against the idea Gelfling essence lasts forever. It lasts much, much longer than Podling essence, but not indefinitely. A few years at most.

I know in another thread I said that the General would want to drink Kira's essence to have eternal youth as well as eternal life following the Great Conjunction, but what I meant was I think the youth brought on by drinking a Gelfling's essence doesn't last forever... but it would if the Skeksis who drank it underwent the Great Conjunction. Admittedly, I'm just pulling this out of my butt to explain why he'd bother having Kira drained when he did.

Here's another interesting story conundrum related to the "draining Kira" subplot. Okay, so the General has Kira taken away to be drained because he wants to look young, and threw a fit when the Podling essence wore off earlier. ... But the whole thing apparently slips his mind entirely, because he never goes down to check on the Scientist's progress that we see, and nobody at the Great Conjunction notices his absence. Did they just forget about him and the Gelfling they all had such a fit over draining?

The novelization's explanation aside, all I can come up with is that the General intended to drink Kira's essence AFTER the Conjunction, and neither he nor any of the other Skeksis gave much of a hoot about the Scientist, and if he missed the ceremony because he took too long with that Gelfling, then it sucks to be him. It makes sense to me considering how little the Skeksis seem to care about one another, but again it's only my theory, and the movie having the Skeksis seeming to just forget about Kira, the Scientist and the essence-draining procedure with nary a comment on the fact they're one guy short for the Conjunction, seems odd.

...boy, I sure typed the word "essence" a lot in this! XD

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] zyggums 12 years ago

um ok but why was the emperor old and decrepit when the others wernt? wiki says gelfling essence lasts "a few years". If it had been 1 or 2 thousand years since the last conjunction then there should have been enough gelflings to keep the emperor young until the point where the film starts.

[–] Koosh_King01 12 years ago

They aren't old an decrepit? They're the textbook definition of it. He was just more old and decrepit, ha. Anyway, the answer is I guess he was just sick and they'd run out of Gelflings, having killed them all at least a decade or more prior, and the Podling juice wasn't working for him anymore. We're never told he was dying from old age. Just dying. The only references to what if anything is wrong with him are: "Today an emperor lies dying, etc." and "He's not ready yet, my lord Chamberlain."

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] zyggums 12 years ago

wow. non-answer of the century!

[–] Koosh_King01 12 years ago

Because there isn't an answer provided by the film. Just vague allusions to him being ill and dying. You're asking a question which doesn't have an answer, unless it's in the novelization.

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] Koosh_King01 15 years ago

And not only do they absolutely throw a huge fit over it, they then proceed to forget it entirely. The Scientist's absence is never noted. No one goes to check on his progress with Kira, otherwise they would've discovered her escape and beefed up security in the Crystal Chamber.

I guess they figured that if the Scientist was late for the Conjunction, then too bad for him, and that the General would drink Kira's essence afterward. After all, it is only said that the Conjunction will make them live forever, not restore their youth. The General, therefore, would want to be young as well as immortal.

[–] luvdalz68 15 years ago

Just greedy, I guess! We know that Gelflings have very long lifespans, according to the upcoming sequel, which occurs several hundred years later, and Jen and Kira are still alive. Podlings probably don't live as long, which is why the Pod juice doesn't work as well.
I guess they figured if she was the "last Gelfling", they were gonna squeeze this tomato for all they could get before they killed her.

Moldy mildew, mother of mouthmuck, dangle and strangle and death!"

[–] Koosh_King01 12 years ago

I think you're confusing eternal life with eternal youth. The Skeksis are vain with their elaborate robes and such, so it's obvious that the General wanted both live forever AND be young.

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] luvdalz68 15 years ago

It said there was 10 NOW. There used to be more, but they all died. There is some back story of this in the book.

Moldy mildew, mother of mouthmuck, dangle and strangle and death!"

[–] glr-beltran 15 years ago

In the book,Skek-ung went to the Laboratory to collect her essence,but he didn´t find Kyra nor Skek-tek,so he thought the Scientist had run away with the essence and drink it,in order to defy him for the throne.