Farscape Rewatch: Promises (4.05.)n
Jun. 20th, 2021 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWiki summary: The crew on Lo'La finally reunite with Moya and Aeryn. The good feelings are short lived when Aeryn reveals that she's dying of heat delirium and that Scorpius is on board. Things get worse with the arrival of one of Aeryn's old enemies and a new Peacekeeper weapon.
aka Aeryn is back, and the gratitious angstorama phase of John/Aeryn relatianship really gets going. It's hard for me to judge this episode separately from what I know is coming, because by itself, it's not bad at all. It sets up a couple of interesting-sounding mysteries (what Aeryn did on her summer vacation, how exactly Scorpius came across her) and promises, no pun intended, new interesting character combinations. I remember how the first time I watched, I thought this would start an Aeryn and Scorpius relationship - not a friendly one by necessity, and good lord, not a romantic one, but we hadn't seen these two characters interact before, and after this set up, I was curious to see which kind of dynamic would develop between them. None, as it turned out. Still feels like a massive waste of a set up to me, but that's not the fault of this particular episode.
Then there's Aeryn insisting John must not ask her about anything and has to take anything she says on faith. The later part is earned by years of a relationship, granted, but the "don't ask me anything" isn't, as I recall, justified by any later reveals. There is absolutely no reason why Aeryn shouldn't simply tell John (or if not John, then D'Argo and/or Chiana and/or Pilot) about all that happened since last they saw each other, other than the writers wanting to drag out the angst between their leading couple instead of letting them reunite emotionally earlier than past mid season. Like I said, it's hard to judge the scenes in this episode for their own sake, knowing there's no pay off.
Aeryn in the coolant suit and the two times John sees her as an Aeryn/Scorpius hybrid - once in his own imagination, once when Harvey dresses up as her, basically - are really good emotional horror of his two obsessions about whom he feels so very differently becoming one. In the episode itself, this is highly effective. But again, long term wise, there's no pay off for this.
On to scenes which do get a pay off. The Chiana and Pilot scene is lovely. I also like that what triggers it, Sikozu trying to boss Pilot around, isn't meant maliciously on Sikozu's part, but it is tellng of who she is in her conviction of being the smartest and most competent person in the room wherever she goes. Her feeling drawn to Scorpius, which starts in this episode, feels like a natural follow up. At the same time, the writers are careful not to make Sikozu's arrogance be without foundation - she has great knowledge, and she's the one who realises that the ship they're facing is basically a gigantic bluff. But she has no wisdom, which is different from intelligence.
The entire Braca subplot is the first blatant hint that he's Scorpius' secret source on the Command Carrier and that therefore his hostility towards Scorpius and witching sides to Grayza was faked. It also shows Braca's own brand of personal courage and improvisational skills when he steps in to fly the prowler after Grayza has critiqued his command style and says something about what he does not, i.e. punch downwards when threatened with disgrace. (Meanwhile, Grayza for all her boasts that her interrogation methods are better than Scorpius' not knowing any way to emphasize her authority but threaten people as opposed to demonstrate personal bravery also says something about her.)
And lastly: Harvey's (temporary) demise, until The Peacekeeper Wars. To me, this still feels blatantly fueled by Doylist considerations, i.e. I can just see the writers' room argueing "with Scorpius now on board Moya, we don't want the audience to feel confused as to whom John is talking to in any given scene featuring Wayne Pygram, therefore, Harvey has to go". Because Watsonian wise, it makes no sense that John, understandably distrustful of Scorpius so close by, should voluntarily give up his own inner consultant for all things Scorpius who also has proven himself to be able to confuse Scorpius' lie detector by manipulating John's energy readings. (Meanwhile, it makes perfect sense Scorpius would want to deactivate Harvey for this reason.) The Quentin Tarantino scenario John imagines also will be, if I recall correctly, be the last of these fantastical pop culture scenarios for a while, because with Harvey goes John's inner playfulness , which, given the angstorama to come: not a good idea, writers, on a Doylist level, either.
The other days
aka Aeryn is back, and the gratitious angstorama phase of John/Aeryn relatianship really gets going. It's hard for me to judge this episode separately from what I know is coming, because by itself, it's not bad at all. It sets up a couple of interesting-sounding mysteries (what Aeryn did on her summer vacation, how exactly Scorpius came across her) and promises, no pun intended, new interesting character combinations. I remember how the first time I watched, I thought this would start an Aeryn and Scorpius relationship - not a friendly one by necessity, and good lord, not a romantic one, but we hadn't seen these two characters interact before, and after this set up, I was curious to see which kind of dynamic would develop between them. None, as it turned out. Still feels like a massive waste of a set up to me, but that's not the fault of this particular episode.
Then there's Aeryn insisting John must not ask her about anything and has to take anything she says on faith. The later part is earned by years of a relationship, granted, but the "don't ask me anything" isn't, as I recall, justified by any later reveals. There is absolutely no reason why Aeryn shouldn't simply tell John (or if not John, then D'Argo and/or Chiana and/or Pilot) about all that happened since last they saw each other, other than the writers wanting to drag out the angst between their leading couple instead of letting them reunite emotionally earlier than past mid season. Like I said, it's hard to judge the scenes in this episode for their own sake, knowing there's no pay off.
Aeryn in the coolant suit and the two times John sees her as an Aeryn/Scorpius hybrid - once in his own imagination, once when Harvey dresses up as her, basically - are really good emotional horror of his two obsessions about whom he feels so very differently becoming one. In the episode itself, this is highly effective. But again, long term wise, there's no pay off for this.
On to scenes which do get a pay off. The Chiana and Pilot scene is lovely. I also like that what triggers it, Sikozu trying to boss Pilot around, isn't meant maliciously on Sikozu's part, but it is tellng of who she is in her conviction of being the smartest and most competent person in the room wherever she goes. Her feeling drawn to Scorpius, which starts in this episode, feels like a natural follow up. At the same time, the writers are careful not to make Sikozu's arrogance be without foundation - she has great knowledge, and she's the one who realises that the ship they're facing is basically a gigantic bluff. But she has no wisdom, which is different from intelligence.
The entire Braca subplot is the first blatant hint that he's Scorpius' secret source on the Command Carrier and that therefore his hostility towards Scorpius and witching sides to Grayza was faked. It also shows Braca's own brand of personal courage and improvisational skills when he steps in to fly the prowler after Grayza has critiqued his command style and says something about what he does not, i.e. punch downwards when threatened with disgrace. (Meanwhile, Grayza for all her boasts that her interrogation methods are better than Scorpius' not knowing any way to emphasize her authority but threaten people as opposed to demonstrate personal bravery also says something about her.)
And lastly: Harvey's (temporary) demise, until The Peacekeeper Wars. To me, this still feels blatantly fueled by Doylist considerations, i.e. I can just see the writers' room argueing "with Scorpius now on board Moya, we don't want the audience to feel confused as to whom John is talking to in any given scene featuring Wayne Pygram, therefore, Harvey has to go". Because Watsonian wise, it makes no sense that John, understandably distrustful of Scorpius so close by, should voluntarily give up his own inner consultant for all things Scorpius who also has proven himself to be able to confuse Scorpius' lie detector by manipulating John's energy readings. (Meanwhile, it makes perfect sense Scorpius would want to deactivate Harvey for this reason.) The Quentin Tarantino scenario John imagines also will be, if I recall correctly, be the last of these fantastical pop culture scenarios for a while, because with Harvey goes John's inner playfulness , which, given the angstorama to come: not a good idea, writers, on a Doylist level, either.
The other days
