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Farscape: Infinite Possibilities, Part 2: Icarus Abides

And now, on Farscape…

The fight continues on Dam-Ba-Da to keep wormhole data away from those scary Scarrans.

This episode starts exactly where the first part ended. John is again visually rendered as John/Scorpy and Aeryn is thinking of shooting him. I do wish that they had not gone to all the effort to make John look like Scorpius. Aeryn doesn’t see him that way, then why should we? I’m sure Ben Browder could have acted the part without all that additional make-up. I do like the part after Harvey goes away and we get a “Hey, baby” from John, plus some great relief from both Aeryn and John that everything is okay again. Well, for now, anyway.

I stated in my review of part one that I really enjoy Furlow, and I do, but I kind of forgot the part where she kills Jack. That was not nice, but I do give her brownie points for not pulling the classic villain trope of trying to kill our hero out of spite, just because she lost at the end. When it becomes apparent that she has nothing left to gain, she gives us a great line (which I’ll quote later), pats John on the backside and departs to destinations unknown.

Now things are going wrong for our crew, but they are putting in a good fight to save the day. Crais and Stark are dealing with a lone Scarran on Talyn, Rygel is still manning… or puppeting the cannon, I should say, and Aeryn is bringing Rygel some lunch. Meanwhile, John winds up chasing Furlow and the purloined Scarran dreadnought destroying wormhole weapon device, on a dune buggy type vehicle. That was a lively sequence; as Aeryn hops on the buggy to join in on the fun. Chase scenes on dune buggies are always good for some excitement.

Just when a viewer is feeling good about all the action and all the cuddles of our main duo, everything turns to dren. Now it’s time to break out the tissues. John doesn’t tell Aeryn that the casing opened on the device and that he had to close it, unfortunately getting a lethal radiation facial in the process. The first clue she has that something is wrong, is when John slides down the module in a heap. In a lovely scene that is reminiscent of a similar moment in the “Liars, Guns and Money” trilogy in season two, Aeryn asks what is the matter with him and instead of immediately answering her, he grabs her face and kisses her. I love it when he does that; there have been many times on this show when he has turned to Aeryn to compose himself. Occasionally, it’s with a kiss, but other times he will just lay his head on her shoulder. It’s so sweet.

The rest of this episode is just so powerful and emotional. Aeryn doesn’t want to let John go on the mission to destroy the Scarrans, she wants him to stay and get help for his radiation sickness. It’s just heartbreaking as she sits and waits for him to return. Her terror and longing are so plain on her face; it’s so sad. Her plaintive cry of “John... are you?” with tears in her voice; just gets me every time. He answers, “Baby, I’m still here” and I’m crying along with Aeryn.

In the final scene; John says his goodbyes and kisses Aeryn one last time. “Don’t worry about me” he says, “I’ve never felt better” and then he’s gone. Aeryn’s face as she realizes that he has died… it’s just so beautifully tragic.

Space Oddities:

The Scarran costume/puppet was very effective this time, unlike the one that they used in “Incubator.”

I was glad to see Rygel’s heroic side; he does enjoy a good battle with an enemy, sometimes.

The scene where the Scarran dreadnought disintegrated into nothingness was nicely done; this event will have repercussions in the future.

It was sweet when John told Crais to take care of everyone. It sounds like John has learned to trust him a little.

I liked the part where Stark eased John’s pain, it was lovely to see. Also, the exchange with Rygel was a nice callback to their sniping at each other about John’s belongings.

Cosmic Quotes:

Aeryn: “You’ll never guess.”
John: “It doesn’t work? How the hell can we have the only gun on the planet that doesn’t work?”
Aeryn: “It’s your fault.”
John: “My fault?”
Aeryn: “Well, you know if I was here on my own, it’d be working right now.”

Crais: “It is unanimous. We stay.”
John: “Dammit Crais, knock it off, you’re gonna start making me like you.”

Aeryn: “So, it’s your life for everyone else’s?”
John: “And you’re different how?”
Aeryn: “I’m different because I love you.”
John: “Then you know I have to do this. I’m coming back.”

Furlow: “Don’t be the hero, John. Always be the one to walk away while the hero dies, that’s my motto.”

Oh John, why didn’t you listen to her? I guess this show wouldn’t be so epic if John wasn’t such a hero, but what of Aeryn? She finally took down the walls guarding her heart and even drained the moat. She took a chance and let herself feel truly loved for the first time. She may not handle this very well.

This was a great conclusion to a gripping adventure, and this show’s dramatic storylines just keep getting more bittersweet and more engaging. Aeryn’s John is dead, but Green Shirt John is still on Moya, waiting for Aeryn’s return, and he is going to have to deal with the aftermath.

Five out of five mottos.

Mallena loves her DVR, her Pug, anything in the Sci-fi, fantasy, and supernatural genres, and her family.  Well, maybe not in that exact order.

4 comments:

  1. A great review. In fact I only found out about you via a friend who is a Farscape fan and has been reading a lot of your Farscape reviews and really appreciates them too!

    This episode is one of the saddest I have witnessed, and of course the ending had me in tears. Claudia Black played the grieving Aeryn so well for that scene that she looked genuinely upset such was her facial expression.

    Compare and contrast that to the early episodes of season 1 when she was a rough, tough and almost soulless Peacekeeper renegade who looked straight through John!

    I will look forward to reading more of your Farscape reviews from now on :)

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  2. An amazing epsiode with a devastating ending which sets up the story arc for the rest of the show and wont be fully resolved until the Peacekeeper Wars.

    Cladia Black's nuanced reactions are perfect in every scene from the relief and joy that Harvey is gone to pure heartbreak and grief when John tells her about the radiation exposure and when he dies in her arms.

    I did wonder if it was safe for her to be kissing him? Then again i dont know enough science to know if it was, and so touching anyway.

    Another technical question i have is why they think the data only made it to the dreadnought, surely that ship would have backed up to others. Then again cloud back-up wasnt such a big thing in 2002.

    Only on this second viewing did i notice John pull Stark's hand back onto his head and give a little nod, this must be when he sends the message for Green Shirt John, always and thinking of Aeryn even in his final moments.

    Aeryn had let down all her defences and fully opened her heart to a future with Black Shirt John and he had finally banished Harvey and could see a real way home then he is ripped away in the cruellest way.

    Even though Green Shirt John lives, and Aeryn may find a way to be with him, she has irrevocably been changed and we never get to see the pure joy without the tinge of pain again.

    This cemented Aeryn and John as one of my all time favourite tv couples.

    There has always been a concern that will they or wont they relationships once consumated kill a show, but Farscape, Castle and Bones all prove it can be done.



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  3. Just notice in flashback from The Choice that John dies in Crais' quarters. Interesting choice or could it have been the only set on Talyn with a bed in it that that was big enough to have all the crew in one room?

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