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selenakWiki summary: The crew of Moya assault the Shadow Depository in hopes of rescuing Crichton, now in the hands of Scorpius.
You know, in general, I'm not that fond of action/battle centric episodes if they aren't as good as this. But what makes all the difference between something like this episode and an unwatchable on repeat action for action's sake bonanza is how superbly character driven each scene in this hour long storming-the-villain's-lair tale is, which is why it didn't matter a bit I know how it ends upon rewatch, I still was captured and breathless all over again. This is truly the show in top form, with all of the ensemble getting something to do, not a guest star wasted but to the point, and with a suckerpunch of a final scene.
Incidentally, one thing I hadn't recalled until this rewatch was that the episode leaves it upon whether or not Natira survives the episode. (After all, Scorpius does, and generally there's the "no on screen dead body, no confirmed death" tv rule.) Also, I'm reminded that while I got and get the majority of John's pop culture references, "Frau Blücher" was where I had to throw up my hands in defeat. (I mean, I get he's calling her a Nazi, obviously, but I still don't know whom he's referring to specifically.) In terms of story structure, John's the damsel of the episode, but despite his miserable state he actually makes true of last episode's claim that he knows how Scorpius is thinking by now in the way he correctly deduces the type of relationship Scorpius and Natira have and how he can make use of that to get Natira to free him. The sequences taking part inside his mind also bring home two things upon rewatch: a) the neural clone doesn't yet have the later season Harvey personality, which is far more of a mixture between Crichton and Scorpius, he's still a straightforward, well, clone of Scorpius at this point, and b) while I could be overinterpreting, given the setting is explicitly a memory, I think it's telling that John's mental image of himself at this point is still the astronaut from the pilot, despite all the changes we've seen happening on the show. In a situation where his mind is under relentless assault, he's clinging to that past self as a beacon of sanity, I think, but he won't be able to for much longer.
Speaking of people and their self images: "I don't torture people, John". Obviously he does (and not just when they're called John Crichton; ask Stark), but there's no sense that Scorpius is consciously lying here. This is probably how he sees himself, with the Aurora Chair and its likes as stern truth finding methods, which he wouldn't employ just for the hell of it. For a smart man, Scorpius is as capable of self delusion as the rest of us. The other thing he claims about himself - that he doesn't want the wormhole tech to conquer the galaxy - is somewhat more defensible, in that the remainder of the show really doesn't give the impression Scorpius is into universe domination.
If the last episode was D'Argo at his worst, this one is D'Argo at his best, not overreacting to Jothee's initial rebuff and reluctance to be part of the rescue mission; Worf would have so exploded if Alexander had done this in a comparable set up. (Here's a crossover idea we never did back whenandraste was running the Multiverse ficathon: Worf and D'Argo exchanging parenting tips, with how-to-be-a-boyfriend-to-your-opposite debates thrown in for good measure.) And in the final scene when D'Argo sees how terribly damaged John truly is by now, when he hears John's plea to kill him, he respond with such great tenderness. (Seriously, that face stroking is one of my favourite scenes in Farscape, painful as the occasion is. And best of all is that D'Argo's capacity for tenderness has been a showcased trait of his since s1.
Crais and Talyn to the rescue: among many other things, Talyn racing to help his mother is good to see because otherwise the Moya and Talyn relationship can come across as awfully one sided.The Crais and Aeryn scenes continue to be fabulous and in this rewatch remind me all over again why theirs is one of my favourite relationships on Farscape, full stop. They really both have a point in their argument about Talyn and violence. I remember upon first watching not being sure whether or not Crais had taken Aeryn up on her "you can have anything you want" offer. This isn't a question in a rewatch anymore, so this time around I'm curious about why/when Aeryn has deduced this might be an incentive for Crais. Yes, he's done his best to persuade her to join him and Talyn in the season opener, but that's not necessarily the same as sexual/romantic interest, and what we've seen about PK culture indicated they aren't coy about showing interest if/when they have it. As later events show, Crais is interested in Aeryn this way, but also unwilling to have sex she's not into as well, so my question is: is this where both of them realise this is something he feels, or have either or both them deduced this earlier already? (And as I said back in s1: that Crais has zero interest in Aeryn before she puts him in the Aurora chair but afterwards starts to see her as admirable and desirable is ever so screwed up.)
"Thank you for teaching me to kill again." Poor Zhaan. In addition to this, she also has to deal with having assisted another of their rogue's gallery into blowing himself up to serve their cause. Zhaan trying to avoid violence but being forced to use it really is the seasonal theme for her.
Rygel carrying Durka's head around evidently doesn't just impress the rogues, it does wonders for everyone's confidence in his piloting skills. Unless I'm misremembering something, this is the first time a part of the plan depends on entrusting Rygel of all the people with a piloting maneouvre. (Which he accomplishes without a hitch.)
Lastly: Aeryn saying that if Crichton is well and truly gone (mentally), she'll kill him - here knowing the rest of the show makes a difference. The first time I watched, I thought both that she meant it and that she would do it, if needs must. (Though I doubted she would, since Ben Browder's name comes first in the credits.) This time, not only do I think she couldn't do it but that she doesn't really believe she can when saying is, though she's trying to convince herself she can as much as anyone else.
The Other Days
You know, in general, I'm not that fond of action/battle centric episodes if they aren't as good as this. But what makes all the difference between something like this episode and an unwatchable on repeat action for action's sake bonanza is how superbly character driven each scene in this hour long storming-the-villain's-lair tale is, which is why it didn't matter a bit I know how it ends upon rewatch, I still was captured and breathless all over again. This is truly the show in top form, with all of the ensemble getting something to do, not a guest star wasted but to the point, and with a suckerpunch of a final scene.
Incidentally, one thing I hadn't recalled until this rewatch was that the episode leaves it upon whether or not Natira survives the episode. (After all, Scorpius does, and generally there's the "no on screen dead body, no confirmed death" tv rule.) Also, I'm reminded that while I got and get the majority of John's pop culture references, "Frau Blücher" was where I had to throw up my hands in defeat. (I mean, I get he's calling her a Nazi, obviously, but I still don't know whom he's referring to specifically.) In terms of story structure, John's the damsel of the episode, but despite his miserable state he actually makes true of last episode's claim that he knows how Scorpius is thinking by now in the way he correctly deduces the type of relationship Scorpius and Natira have and how he can make use of that to get Natira to free him. The sequences taking part inside his mind also bring home two things upon rewatch: a) the neural clone doesn't yet have the later season Harvey personality, which is far more of a mixture between Crichton and Scorpius, he's still a straightforward, well, clone of Scorpius at this point, and b) while I could be overinterpreting, given the setting is explicitly a memory, I think it's telling that John's mental image of himself at this point is still the astronaut from the pilot, despite all the changes we've seen happening on the show. In a situation where his mind is under relentless assault, he's clinging to that past self as a beacon of sanity, I think, but he won't be able to for much longer.
Speaking of people and their self images: "I don't torture people, John". Obviously he does (and not just when they're called John Crichton; ask Stark), but there's no sense that Scorpius is consciously lying here. This is probably how he sees himself, with the Aurora Chair and its likes as stern truth finding methods, which he wouldn't employ just for the hell of it. For a smart man, Scorpius is as capable of self delusion as the rest of us. The other thing he claims about himself - that he doesn't want the wormhole tech to conquer the galaxy - is somewhat more defensible, in that the remainder of the show really doesn't give the impression Scorpius is into universe domination.
If the last episode was D'Argo at his worst, this one is D'Argo at his best, not overreacting to Jothee's initial rebuff and reluctance to be part of the rescue mission; Worf would have so exploded if Alexander had done this in a comparable set up. (Here's a crossover idea we never did back when
andraste was running the Multiverse ficathon: Worf and D'Argo exchanging parenting tips, with how-to-be-a-boyfriend-to-your-opposite debates thrown in for good measure.) And in the final scene when D'Argo sees how terribly damaged John truly is by now, when he hears John's plea to kill him, he respond with such great tenderness. (Seriously, that face stroking is one of my favourite scenes in Farscape, painful as the occasion is. And best of all is that D'Argo's capacity for tenderness has been a showcased trait of his since s1. Crais and Talyn to the rescue: among many other things, Talyn racing to help his mother is good to see because otherwise the Moya and Talyn relationship can come across as awfully one sided.The Crais and Aeryn scenes continue to be fabulous and in this rewatch remind me all over again why theirs is one of my favourite relationships on Farscape, full stop. They really both have a point in their argument about Talyn and violence. I remember upon first watching not being sure whether or not Crais had taken Aeryn up on her "you can have anything you want" offer. This isn't a question in a rewatch anymore, so this time around I'm curious about why/when Aeryn has deduced this might be an incentive for Crais. Yes, he's done his best to persuade her to join him and Talyn in the season opener, but that's not necessarily the same as sexual/romantic interest, and what we've seen about PK culture indicated they aren't coy about showing interest if/when they have it. As later events show, Crais is interested in Aeryn this way, but also unwilling to have sex she's not into as well, so my question is: is this where both of them realise this is something he feels, or have either or both them deduced this earlier already? (And as I said back in s1: that Crais has zero interest in Aeryn before she puts him in the Aurora chair but afterwards starts to see her as admirable and desirable is ever so screwed up.)
"Thank you for teaching me to kill again." Poor Zhaan. In addition to this, she also has to deal with having assisted another of their rogue's gallery into blowing himself up to serve their cause. Zhaan trying to avoid violence but being forced to use it really is the seasonal theme for her.
Rygel carrying Durka's head around evidently doesn't just impress the rogues, it does wonders for everyone's confidence in his piloting skills. Unless I'm misremembering something, this is the first time a part of the plan depends on entrusting Rygel of all the people with a piloting maneouvre. (Which he accomplishes without a hitch.)
Lastly: Aeryn saying that if Crichton is well and truly gone (mentally), she'll kill him - here knowing the rest of the show makes a difference. The first time I watched, I thought both that she meant it and that she would do it, if needs must. (Though I doubted she would, since Ben Browder's name comes first in the credits.) This time, not only do I think she couldn't do it but that she doesn't really believe she can when saying is, though she's trying to convince herself she can as much as anyone else.
The Other Days
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