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Farscape: Into the Lion's Den, Part 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

And now, on Farscape...

We start off with John Crichton in the same place we left him; his face smushed into a Peacekeeper table by Scorpius. Each character wants to determine their own fate and we will see how far they are willing to go to prevail.

Even though Scorpy is a little peeved at John and does threaten Earth with annihilation, he does still want to work with John to develop that tricky wormhole weapon and travel plan. Scorpius does not let anything stop him, and he is confident that he will get his way in the end. John has a mind visit with Harvey as they play “Go Fish” during another black and white war sequence. That was a fun scene and I am struck by appreciation for Harvey. He allows John to talk and think through his problems with himself, basically, but with the added perspective of what Scorpius might also be thinking. I talk to myself all the time when I am thinking something through, so maybe a Mind Harvey is not a bad thing.

John has decided that there is only one option left before Grayza descends upon them: he must destroy the command carrier and all of Scorpy’s work along with it. The Moya crew each have a different reaction to that idea. Chiana is giddy and giggling, D’Argo is stoic, Jool is scared, and even Rygel is willing to concede that it is probably the best thing to do, even with the personal risk. Aeryn is worried about the 50,000 men, women, and children aboard the carrier, but John says they will come up with a plan to save them first. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really have a cohesive plan, yet.

Now it is time to compose my Ode to Crais… sorry, I don’t really know what an ode is, without looking it up, so I’ll just write about Crais’s redemption. Is he totally selfless, or does he just have nothing left to lose? He was yanked off his home world by the Peacekeepers; he lost his parents, his brother, and his career in the PK world. He doesn’t even have Talyn anymore, because Talyn is mostly lobotomized and useless. Ode to Talyn… sorry again, but Talyn does deserve a hero’s mention. I love Crais in this episode; he says that only he can stop the horror that would wash over the galaxy if the wormhole tech becomes a weapon. He and Talyn are going to be the ones to save their home. It doesn’t matter to me if Crais’s motives are completely heroic or not; he was a hero in the end.

The determination of the whole crew to stop Scorpius, even with their lives in jeopardy, is inspiring. The scene with John and Pilot is really sweet. Moya is okay with Talyn’s sacrifice, since he was always destined for a violent end, anyway, she thought. Let him die a noble death, that's what Pilot says. Man, I love Moya and Pilot. I wasn’t a fan of the puppets on this show in the very beginning, but now they seem like real people to me. A few blinks of Pilot’s big brown eyes, and I’m a goner.

There is a really great sequence with John and Scorpius flying in the module through a wormhole. Wee… they are diving, tossing, and spinning their way through it. Scorpius was dared to give it a try by John, and he did love it, and I was amused by Scorpy’s stagger at the end. Don’t throw up on your shoes, Scorp.

Before the amazing destruction of the command carrier commences, Aeryn says goodbye to Crais and gives him a semi-soft pat/smack on his face and Crais looks happy. Aww. Talyn doesn’t need too much convincing to starburst his way to a heroic death; Crais tells him that the crew is endangered and Moya will be enslaved unless they do something about it, together. Talyn agrees with what needs to be done. Goodbye and fare thee well, you sweet, petulant, slightly crazy little Levitation, you will be missed.

Now I’m getting major Titanic vibes; John just sits calmly as Crais’ voice comes over the intercom, announcing his triumph to Scorpius and to the whole ship. Talyn will starburst his way to glory and John tells Scorp to hang on to something, while the Titanic… I mean the command carrier is going down. Pilot is looking out at the destruction just like the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Scorpius is on the deck of his shattering ship as it falls apart. Water cascades down a set of steps as Scorp stands steadfastly. People are running and slipping as ominous choral music plays. Darn, now I have the urge to watch Titanic again for the umpteenth time.

What a beautiful and dramatic episode: Farscape really brings everything available to the party here. It is an emotional and exciting story, with great special and practical effects. Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) is wishing that he had worn boots with more grip, though. According to lore, he could barely keep his balance for that amazing shot, which had to be done in one take.

Our little alliance is over, so Scorpius grabs Braca and probably makes his escape. They might be dead, but really? They are both such great characters and the writers of Farscape surely know that very well. Mean un-friend Hanta becomes all toasty as she tries to block Aeryn’s escape, (Remember that phrase? You're toast! I still say that) and sweet little white potato alien scientist guy has John put him in the iconic Aurora Chair so that his wormhole knowledge can be erased. I hope Strappa made it off the ship, but I doubt it.

The show ends with the carrier destroyed, its cute little Peacekeeper children shuttled to safety, and with the crew talking about splitting up and going their separate ways. John is writing calculations on his hand, again. He found out that he can pull the wormhole knowledge from his subconscious when needed. Aeryn is sitting next to John, saying nothing, looking bereft, and thinking… we know not what.

Space Oddities:

I really like how Scorpius is portrayed here. He kind of reminds me of Crowley on Supernatural. Both characters can be considered evil, but they are also true to their word and when thwarted, don’t take that as a reason to give up. They just brush themselves off and form a new master plan. Crowley keeps trying to run Hell like a businessman, and Scorpius does what he has to do without going all crazy and self-destructive, like so many other villains seem wont to do.

I liked when Crais told Larell to tell Scorp to send someone he cares about to spy on him. Good for you, Crais.

Ben Browder has said on his commentaries that he likes it whenever he gets to touch the puppets in a scene. Whether he is comforting Pilot, or throwing Rygel under his arm, it helps him connect to the characters.

That was one cool speech that Crais gave to Scorpius over the ship’s intercom. I’ll quote part of it below.

Cosmic Quotes:

John: “You give Moya my love.”
Pilot: “And her love to you, as well as mine.”

Scorpius: (while flying in module) “I’ve never felt this connected, John.”
John: “You’re not going all mushy on me back there, are you?”

Crais: “You stole my life from me. I am not leaving quietly.”

John: “One evil at a time, that’s the best I can do.”

John: “Aeryn?"
Aeryn: “What?”
John: “Fly safe.”
Aeryn: (silence)

This is a classic episode and so indicative of this show’s strengths. This is Space Opera in all its glory, and I love it. Season three is an interesting season and it’s about to end in typical “I’m not crying, you’re crying” style.

Four and a half lakes on a spaceship out of five.

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

2 comments:

  1. An epic episode, one of the best. It is beautifully shot, has fabulous acting and satisfying character development.

    Crais and Talyn make the ultimate sacrifice redeeming themselves, Aeryn ensures most of the kids and crew escape avoiding a horrific death count, Crichton is unlocking the knowledge he needs to get home and the rest of the crew make it safely back to Moya. And y oiu just know that somehow Scorpius and Bracca will also have made it to safety.

    Aeryn and John end this one side by side in silence, each deep down probably wanting to reach out to the other, but contemplating what is next instead.

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  2. That final confrontation betwixt Scorpy and John... wow. Does not get enough credit, that felt like endgame stuff... that music. Can't believe it happened this early. I love that pained grimace John does with his teeth bared when he raises the pain-binding bangle and lets it drop. "We were close." It was all so very cool, I could not stop myself from rewatching it like 20 times that first time, and rewinded it several this time again lol.
    There is no better villain in existence than Scorpius!

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