The Seladon Issue

Redeemable or Pure Evil?

This is gonna be a long one. Well, let's get into it.

When it comes to the character of Seladon in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, people usually have one of two opinions: the first being that Seladon was well written, had a believable turn from brat to evil and then to good, and is not beyond redemption. The second is much more common, being that Seladon is a bitch who should have been drained of her essence. She is irredeemable, forgiven way too easily, and has no place in the Gelfling rebellion.

Where I stand is with the first opinion. I understand why people hate her- she is an extremely frustrating character to watch, because she watches the General murder her own mother, and she still sides with the Skeksis. However, Seladon is a victim of indoctrination, neglection, and her own character traits.

Let's look at the traits that Seladon has throughout the series: she is stubborn, loyal, arrogant, impulsive, and short-tempered. Tavra points out that both of her sisters are extremely stubborn, Seladon is branded "Loyal Seladon" by Mother Aughra, she is definitely arrogant (she believes it is "for Thra" that Mayrin be burnt), almost every decision she makes is impulsive, and she is constantly annoyed with Brea. So, her downfall is partially due to her own character traits and biases, though still heavily influenced by the doctrine she was raised with.
Seladon did mourn the death of her mother, however, it is worth noting that All-Maudra Mayrin was tough on Seladon, even once saying in front of her that, because Tavra and Brea were gone, all of her daughters were gone. So, at the time of her death, Mayrin's relationship with her daughter was very rough. It doesn't surprise me that Seladon held her loyalty because of her roughened relationship (and the fact that she would feel more guilty tattling and being wrong than being prideful and telling herself she did the right thing.)
The final point is something we barely see, yet have heavily implied- Seladon is highly indoctrinated to be loyal, faithful, and fearful of the Lords of the Crystal, the Skeksis. The lack of seeing this indoctrination is one of the things that makes us not understand Seladon, but we do have to hold some empathy: she values tradition, because she has been taught that way. She has been taught that this is a system that works, and that it is her responsibility to carry on such a tradition. And she has been told her whole life "The Skeksis are our Lords. We do not defy our Lords." When Seladon spoke this line to Maudra Fara, she seemed scared. Scared of what war would bring. Scared of the end of all Gelfling. And, you know what? She was right. Only two Gelfling remain by the start of the movie, because of the Gelfling Rebellion. Other lines throughout her Princess days back this thinking, as she asks "what are we without the Skeksis?" "Think of your responsibilities!" and even one from All-Maudra Mayrin, "(A bunch of things the Princesses have). All because of the Skeksis generosity. Would you give them back as well?" Mayrin likely taught Seladon that everything they own is because of the Skeksis being generous, caring Lords. These teachings, plus the duties she performed carrying them, drilled into Seladon's head that the Skeksis are benevolent, all-powerful, and not a force to be reckoned with. They can be kind, but they can also be cruel, and going against them will lead to the extinction of Gelfling. It's why Seladon said she'd honor the request given to her mother- seven Gelfling from each clan, every trine. It was few Gelfling die or all Gelfling die. She thought it was best for all Gelfling not to go to war when the Skeksis are so powerful. And she was right. Aughra warns Fara not to go to war, because she wants the Stonewood to live, not die out. Storming the Skeksis castle is a bad idea, and dangerous. The Gelfling needed Arathim and all the clans to show up, plus Deet's Sanctuary Tree, Darkening-Controlling magic to win their first battle that the Skeksis were confident they would win, and so were not prepared to put up too much of a fight. And we see in the movie that the Gelfling lose the war. The reason Seladon changes sides is because she accepts. She accepts that she was taught wrong. She accepts that it was her fault Mayrin died. And she accepts that the Skeksis were only going to continue mass genocide on every Gelfling because they wanted essence, so fighting was the only option. She was able to accept that she was wrong to do many things, and she should have sided with Brea when she had the chance at the Citadel. She even went as far as to say it should have been her to die, because it was her making mistakes, and it was her price to pay, not Tavra's. Seladon was never truly evil. She was misguided, rash, and in the words of Mother Aughra, Seladon was "brave, but lost."