Farscape Rewatch: Losing Time (3.09)
Feb. 21st, 2021 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWiki summary: Energy riders with hidden agendas occupy the bodies of Moya's crew.
You know, I had all but forgotten this one, perhaps because we did the "whose body is occupied by an alien entity?" before, more than once. But this one has several aspects to go for it, not least the Scorpius subplot, which offers several reveals - the reason (or at least a main reason) why Scorpius is after the wormhole tech and why he's on a schedule here (as this is a non-selfish motive - i.e. the threat of Scarrans wiping out Peacekeepers - it immediately differentiates Scorpius from "I want to rule the world/galaxy" type of villains, though of course at this point the audience could still believe he's lying to Bracca); the fact that the wormhole data he got from John's mind isn't enough to allow anyone else to navigate the wormhole without becoming soup; and the fact a John Crichton clone exists now in Scorpius' mind whenever he connects himself to the chip, which is a great idea on the part of the scriptwriters, and I was always a bit frustrated they only use it in one more episode.
Mind you, the existence of a Scorpius subplot might explain the lack of Harvey on a Doylist level, - i.e. the producers didn't want the audience to get confused as to what takes place where - , because on a Watsonian level, it strikes me as a bit of a plot hole. At least initially, when John wants to know what the hell is going on and whether he's possessed by an alien, wouldn't it make sense to ask the entity already residing in his mind?
It's also good to say that Jool is now definitely written like a character, not a one note collection of ticks. Her reaction to the "tasting" is visceral without being over the top, and her comforting Chiana after Chiana got de-possessed is lovely. Speaking of Chiana, I wish she wasn't possessed, because her reaction when John starts speculating that maybe he's the clone after all and his body is breaking down would otherwise have been good emotional continuity to the fact Chiana still has no idea which self she is, and which died on the cannibalized Leviathan. (Neither has the audience. Reminder: it's entirely possible that the D'Argo and the Chiana whom we've gottten to know and love for two seasons died a vicious death there.)
Apropos character continuity: it makes so much sense that MoyaJohn, without Aeryn as his "polar star", falls back on his other obsession, wormholes. That this is the episode in which Scorpius returns (to the overall narration) also fits; not for the first time, I have to salute the neat coincidence of John and Scorpius being both blue-eyed, and that the blue of the wormhole fits in colouring, which this episode makes the most of in its opening and closing sequences. "How far will you go for an obsession?" is one of the seasonal questions, and the parallels drawn between John and Scorpius here are strong. The differences, too, of course. John can cajole, plead with and annoy his shipmates in order to get them to help him with his wormhole quest, but ultimately he has no power over them and has to live with that. Also, he's not ready to accept someone turning into soup as a byproduct of wormhole tech experiments.
(On the other hand, the episode takes care to mainly blame the arrogant Sebacean for the first experiment casuality, and to highlight again Scorpius sees and encourages non-Sebacean talent.)
Trivia: John losing his virginity to "Karen Shaw" comes up again, and I do hope Luxan years are not human years, otherwise D'Argo saying he lost his at age nine qualifies as narrating child abuse.
The Other Episodes
You know, I had all but forgotten this one, perhaps because we did the "whose body is occupied by an alien entity?" before, more than once. But this one has several aspects to go for it, not least the Scorpius subplot, which offers several reveals - the reason (or at least a main reason) why Scorpius is after the wormhole tech and why he's on a schedule here (as this is a non-selfish motive - i.e. the threat of Scarrans wiping out Peacekeepers - it immediately differentiates Scorpius from "I want to rule the world/galaxy" type of villains, though of course at this point the audience could still believe he's lying to Bracca); the fact that the wormhole data he got from John's mind isn't enough to allow anyone else to navigate the wormhole without becoming soup; and the fact a John Crichton clone exists now in Scorpius' mind whenever he connects himself to the chip, which is a great idea on the part of the scriptwriters, and I was always a bit frustrated they only use it in one more episode.
Mind you, the existence of a Scorpius subplot might explain the lack of Harvey on a Doylist level, - i.e. the producers didn't want the audience to get confused as to what takes place where - , because on a Watsonian level, it strikes me as a bit of a plot hole. At least initially, when John wants to know what the hell is going on and whether he's possessed by an alien, wouldn't it make sense to ask the entity already residing in his mind?
It's also good to say that Jool is now definitely written like a character, not a one note collection of ticks. Her reaction to the "tasting" is visceral without being over the top, and her comforting Chiana after Chiana got de-possessed is lovely. Speaking of Chiana, I wish she wasn't possessed, because her reaction when John starts speculating that maybe he's the clone after all and his body is breaking down would otherwise have been good emotional continuity to the fact Chiana still has no idea which self she is, and which died on the cannibalized Leviathan. (Neither has the audience. Reminder: it's entirely possible that the D'Argo and the Chiana whom we've gottten to know and love for two seasons died a vicious death there.)
Apropos character continuity: it makes so much sense that MoyaJohn, without Aeryn as his "polar star", falls back on his other obsession, wormholes. That this is the episode in which Scorpius returns (to the overall narration) also fits; not for the first time, I have to salute the neat coincidence of John and Scorpius being both blue-eyed, and that the blue of the wormhole fits in colouring, which this episode makes the most of in its opening and closing sequences. "How far will you go for an obsession?" is one of the seasonal questions, and the parallels drawn between John and Scorpius here are strong. The differences, too, of course. John can cajole, plead with and annoy his shipmates in order to get them to help him with his wormhole quest, but ultimately he has no power over them and has to live with that. Also, he's not ready to accept someone turning into soup as a byproduct of wormhole tech experiments.
(On the other hand, the episode takes care to mainly blame the arrogant Sebacean for the first experiment casuality, and to highlight again Scorpius sees and encourages non-Sebacean talent.)
Trivia: John losing his virginity to "Karen Shaw" comes up again, and I do hope Luxan years are not human years, otherwise D'Argo saying he lost his at age nine qualifies as narrating child abuse.
The Other Episodes
no subject
Date: 2021-02-21 01:37 pm (UTC)Oh, definitely Moya.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-22 04:48 pm (UTC)