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selenakThrough jesuswasbatman, I've learned that Hugh Keays-Byrne has died, who plays Grunchlk in this and future episodes. He was most famous for two appearances in the Mad Max franchise, both times as villains - as Toecutter in the original Mad Max and as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road. This was Charlize Theron's tribute to him on Twitter:
Now, on to the episode.
Wiki summary: With Jothee in Scorpius' hands, the crew of Moya recruit several former enemies to raid the Shadow Depository.
Middle episodes in a (planned) trilogy have the inherent problem of not being able to offer definite resolutions to the story they're telling, and so can tread on water. This one doesn't feel like a filler, not just because of the entertaining rogue gallery recruitment our hero have to engage in, but because things actually do happen so at the end, we're not just back to where the first episode has left us. D'Argo does get his son back (while the unseen thousands of Banik slaves are dead), which ends one of his driving motivations/quests since the pilot. Rygel settles his score with Durka once and for all (and in a way that's also a useful recruitment method). BTW, when I first saw this episode, I remember going from "Durka - again? But Rygel has already overcome his fear, so is this just a greatest hits reprise thing?" to "oh. That... was unexpected." In conclusion, Rygel can be one dangerous Dominar in a way that has nothing to do with selling someone out. (Extra bonus for Durka's reappearance having come as a surprise, so Rygel had to improvise.)
Speaking of repetitions (or not), Natira's metal eating critters began by feeling like the nth time someone brought something on the ship that's endangering Moya so that our heroes have to overcome it, but damn me if they didn't make me feel it this time, courtesy of all the empathy going round. It's also a pay off to the "Zhaan, Moya and Pilot meet the Builders" subplot from the Princess trilogy, which has heightened Pilot's belief in Zhaan's judgment, and Zhaan's Priestess powers combining with Stark's powers to take as much pain from Moya and Pilot as they can is an excellent use of their respective gifts which demonstrates in a show, not tell manner their character(s) a well. (Also, Chiana touching Pilot's claw after the burning is such a tender little gesture that it drives home the pain all over again.)
While everyone is coming through for everyone else, the episode is probably D'Argo at his worst, still blaming John in a way that feels just a tad constructed so he can be extra guilty in the next episode. Otoh, the Jothee and Scorpius encounter is interesting in a way I don't recall many Jothee scenes being again (and I like long lost teenage sons with massive issues, see also Connor). It's a world building reminder that the Peacekeepers are still by and large incredibly racist and Scorpius' status among them is the exception, not the rule, which he's aware of; it demonstrates that Jothee is aware of who killed his mother and also that Scorpius is baiting him, and refuses to be drawn in (which is a more mature Jothee than the subsequent version); and it shows that Scorpius himself isn't all that settled about being a Hybrid. Natira says in the same episode "you wouldn't waste your hate on someone who's not a Scarran", and the scene with Jothee for the first time makes it clear that rape was involved in Scorpius' conception (though we won't learn the whole miserable story until s3), but the scene does make me wonder, not for the first time, why Scorpius ended up with the Peacekeepers to begin with instead of staying freelance. I.e. how much is it the wish to damage the Scarrans via the other superpower in the quadrant, and how much identifying with his Sebacean heritage? His "which one do you hate more?" question to Jothee sounds as if he's speaking from personal experience.
John having to talk someone back into using the gauntlet of insane aggression boosting doom again is treated more like comic relief here than as a cause for angst, but then again: this is the episode where John says twice he knows how Scorpius is thinking now. He also shows (again) he's willing to walk the walk himself when trading himself for Jothee at the end. To quote Scorpius, "Was there ever any doubt?" John is getting darker through all that's happening, but he's still at his core someone who just wouldn't stand by and allow someone like Jothee to be killed if he can prevent it. (Scorpius keeping his word, otoh: not as certain. On the one hand, he's got no further interest in the Moyans at this point, and he's not the type of sadist who'd keep Jothee (or kill Jothee) for added kicks. On the other, he could have anticipated a rescue mission and could have kept Jothee as further ensurance. But he's probably a) underestimating Team Moya's ability to pull of such a mission, and b) too much in thrall of the anticipated wormhole data not to focus on it entirely.
Natira/Scorpius: continues being the show's most overt BDSM relationship and they're both enjoying it a lot. They also seem to subscribe to Missy's definition of trying to kill each other being like texting (if you're the Doctor and the Master) for them. I mean, Natira's excuse for the metal eating critters (which after all had been destined for Scorpius originally) was pretty lame otherwise. Of course, given that John has tried to kill Scorpius by trickery just an episode ago, Natira is no longer alone in getting his attention this way...
The Other Days
jesuswasbatman, I've learned that Hugh Keays-Byrne has died, who plays Grunchlk in this and future episodes. He was most famous for two appearances in the Mad Max franchise, both times as villains - as Toecutter in the original Mad Max and as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road. This was Charlize Theron's tribute to him on Twitter: RIP Hugh Keays-Byrne 😔 It’s amazing you were able to play an evil warlord so well cause you were such a kind, beautiful soul. You will be deeply missed my friend. pic.twitter.com/kXDhNs5jEU
— Charlize Theron (@CharlizeAfrica) December 2, 2020
Now, on to the episode.
Wiki summary: With Jothee in Scorpius' hands, the crew of Moya recruit several former enemies to raid the Shadow Depository.
Middle episodes in a (planned) trilogy have the inherent problem of not being able to offer definite resolutions to the story they're telling, and so can tread on water. This one doesn't feel like a filler, not just because of the entertaining rogue gallery recruitment our hero have to engage in, but because things actually do happen so at the end, we're not just back to where the first episode has left us. D'Argo does get his son back (while the unseen thousands of Banik slaves are dead), which ends one of his driving motivations/quests since the pilot. Rygel settles his score with Durka once and for all (and in a way that's also a useful recruitment method). BTW, when I first saw this episode, I remember going from "Durka - again? But Rygel has already overcome his fear, so is this just a greatest hits reprise thing?" to "oh. That... was unexpected." In conclusion, Rygel can be one dangerous Dominar in a way that has nothing to do with selling someone out. (Extra bonus for Durka's reappearance having come as a surprise, so Rygel had to improvise.)
Speaking of repetitions (or not), Natira's metal eating critters began by feeling like the nth time someone brought something on the ship that's endangering Moya so that our heroes have to overcome it, but damn me if they didn't make me feel it this time, courtesy of all the empathy going round. It's also a pay off to the "Zhaan, Moya and Pilot meet the Builders" subplot from the Princess trilogy, which has heightened Pilot's belief in Zhaan's judgment, and Zhaan's Priestess powers combining with Stark's powers to take as much pain from Moya and Pilot as they can is an excellent use of their respective gifts which demonstrates in a show, not tell manner their character(s) a well. (Also, Chiana touching Pilot's claw after the burning is such a tender little gesture that it drives home the pain all over again.)
While everyone is coming through for everyone else, the episode is probably D'Argo at his worst, still blaming John in a way that feels just a tad constructed so he can be extra guilty in the next episode. Otoh, the Jothee and Scorpius encounter is interesting in a way I don't recall many Jothee scenes being again (and I like long lost teenage sons with massive issues, see also Connor). It's a world building reminder that the Peacekeepers are still by and large incredibly racist and Scorpius' status among them is the exception, not the rule, which he's aware of; it demonstrates that Jothee is aware of who killed his mother and also that Scorpius is baiting him, and refuses to be drawn in (which is a more mature Jothee than the subsequent version); and it shows that Scorpius himself isn't all that settled about being a Hybrid. Natira says in the same episode "you wouldn't waste your hate on someone who's not a Scarran", and the scene with Jothee for the first time makes it clear that rape was involved in Scorpius' conception (though we won't learn the whole miserable story until s3), but the scene does make me wonder, not for the first time, why Scorpius ended up with the Peacekeepers to begin with instead of staying freelance. I.e. how much is it the wish to damage the Scarrans via the other superpower in the quadrant, and how much identifying with his Sebacean heritage? His "which one do you hate more?" question to Jothee sounds as if he's speaking from personal experience.
John having to talk someone back into using the gauntlet of insane aggression boosting doom again is treated more like comic relief here than as a cause for angst, but then again: this is the episode where John says twice he knows how Scorpius is thinking now. He also shows (again) he's willing to walk the walk himself when trading himself for Jothee at the end. To quote Scorpius, "Was there ever any doubt?" John is getting darker through all that's happening, but he's still at his core someone who just wouldn't stand by and allow someone like Jothee to be killed if he can prevent it. (Scorpius keeping his word, otoh: not as certain. On the one hand, he's got no further interest in the Moyans at this point, and he's not the type of sadist who'd keep Jothee (or kill Jothee) for added kicks. On the other, he could have anticipated a rescue mission and could have kept Jothee as further ensurance. But he's probably a) underestimating Team Moya's ability to pull of such a mission, and b) too much in thrall of the anticipated wormhole data not to focus on it entirely.
Natira/Scorpius: continues being the show's most overt BDSM relationship and they're both enjoying it a lot. They also seem to subscribe to Missy's definition of trying to kill each other being like texting (if you're the Doctor and the Master) for them. I mean, Natira's excuse for the metal eating critters (which after all had been destined for Scorpius originally) was pretty lame otherwise. Of course, given that John has tried to kill Scorpius by trickery just an episode ago, Natira is no longer alone in getting his attention this way...
The Other Days
