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Farscape: ...Different Destinations

"I got shot at a peace memorial!"

This is a very good episode of Farscape. It's about a number of fairly heavy themes. One of those themes is history, how we perceive the past, how we tell stories about the past, and the sometimes gaping chasm between the stories we tell and what actually happened. Unsurprisingly, this is a theme I have a lot of appreciation for! (It's also the subject of one of my very favourite episodes of Star Trek: Voyager). Dacon is not quite the hero or the officer Aeryn thought he was - but on the other hand, he is genuinely brave and rather sweet, so her history books were not entirely wrong, which is nice.

It's also an episode about death and grief and how we deal with them. Aeryn and Dacon talk about thinking about death, facing death and fear of death. Cyntrina talks about the death of her father. Kelsa and Stark talk about death, and the afterlife, which according to Stark is of the "you end up where you think you will" variety and gives the episode its title - "different beliefs, different destinations." The episode begins and ends at a memorial, one which commemorates more death by the end than it does at the beginning. Most importantly, though, the characters are still grieving the death of Zhaan, and despite all the high emotion in the episode, the most touching moment is Chiana and Rygel in Zhaan's quarters, not wanting to loot them.

It's also a bitter twist on the ancient idea of fate and its unavoidability. There are many, many stories about how impossible it is to change the future, whether it's a future predicted and outlined by the gods, or you've travelled in time in a universe where everything you do simply makes the future happen and nothing can be changed. Equally, in science fiction, there are many stories of the opposite type, about the dangers of the butterfly effect; you step on one butterfly, you save one peace campaigner, you change the future, nearly always for the worse, and have to fix it. This story looks like it's going to be the second type, but our heroes find that their desperate attempts to restore the original timeline are doomed. Harvey tries to reassure John that with the same people involved, things should be able to restore themselves, and they almost manage it, but not quite - once they've started affecting things, they are unable to save their friends. It's a twist on the idea of a fate you can't avoid - in this case, it's a mistake, an accident, that is impossible to fix.

So, this is a very good episode. The only thing is... it's not really an enjoyable episode. Once you've watched it the first time and experienced the gut punch of the ending, there's very little reason to want to watch it again. The few scenes of some characters working through their grief for Zhaan are satisfying, as the viewer needs to grieve for the character as well, but these occupy a fairly small proportion of the running time. Most of it is given over to a story that, once you know the ending, is simply deeply depressing, and coming right on the heels of Zhaan's death, I have to confess - I usually skip this one. Sometimes, something that is undoubtedly high quality just isn't all that entertaining.

Bits and pieces

 - I love how quickly Aeryn invents a cover story for them. John's fondness for the Peacekeeper uniform comes in handy there, as well.

 - Jool keeps saying "bullfrell", but "frell" is a stand-in for the f word, so surely she should be saying "bulldren"?

 - The sound of a mouth organ playing 'Home on the Range' on the soundtrack followed by the reveal of Harvey playing it is brilliant.

 - Once again, Crichton and Aeryn end the episode in an embrace. Just get over yourselves and get a room, you two, seriously.

Quotes

Crichton: Sorry! Don't die! Don't die!

Aeryn: You know if we did change things, it is possible that we could improve the future?
Crichton: With our record, you think that's gonna happen?
Aeryn: I guess not.

Crichton: Yeah, bonnets are always a risk, but it's the little touches that put you over the wall.

Stark: It's not my fault!

Very good, but it's just too bl**dy miserable. Three out of four trampled butterflies.

Juliette Harrisson is a freelance writer, classicist and ancient historian who blogs about Greek and Roman Things in Stuff at Pop Classics.

4 comments:

  1. I totally agree that this is a good episode the first time through, but not something to rewatch very often. Since you mentioned Voyager, those might be good ones to finish after Farscape. Just thinking out loud, or online, I suppose. It's a treat to have so many older shows reviewed, since there is not that much out there anymore. It makes a rewatch of an older show, much more fun. I was lured to this site because I was searching for reviews of X-Files eps about a year ago. So you know reviews of older shows do draw readers here, at least one anyway. Thanks!

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  2. Mallena, our older shows mostly get more hits than the new ones. Which makes sense, when you consider that there's less competition. Supernatural gets the most hits, but Buffy comes in second. I'm so glad The X-Files brought you here. :)

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  3. That's good to hear that the love for older shows is still going strong. Also, yahoo for Supernatural. Can't wait for season 12.

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  4. This a powerful episode as whilst is mostly stand alone, thematically it lays the foundations for season four. Whilst not an episode id rush to rewatch repeatedly for "the feels" it is an important piece for understanding the people John and Aeryn are becoming and their future mental states.

    Ben Browder's performance in the end scenes is gut wrenching, his guilt and grief for the unintended consequences is palpable. Running the sand through his fingers at the end, he is largely hopeless and Aeryn having been through it with him knows only she will be able to get him to return to Moya.

    Not an easy watch, we only get one real punchline once they have travelled back in time when D'Argo says he wont kill anyone but then immediately says "well maybe this guy". I guess Jools' first offship adventure is meant to provide the comic relief, just really wish the hysterical screeching wasnt part of her character it grates.

    Hope Stark's rhyming Zhaan impersonations dont remain a feature.

    D"Argo's interaction with Cintrina give us some idea of the type of Dad he could have been to a younger Jothee, had he not been falsely arrested.

    Juliette while im very much on board with the "get a room you two" sentiment most of the time, in this case providing support by just being at his side in the end is apt. Aeryn really struggled with allowing Dacon to die, so is grieving him whilst all our crew are still grieving Zhaan.



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