Farscape Episode 3.22: “Dog With Two Bones”

[chavalah]

Oh man, this episode! The ending to Farscape season three. I mean, I remember loving it when I first watched it live on the SciFi channel. That being said, I think a lot of my emotional capital at the time had gone into the operatic piece that was the two previous episodes. This one, in fact, is much quieter and much more insular.

Perhaps even more insular than I even remember. Ben Browder and Claudia Black (John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, respectively,) talked in the DVD commentaries about how a season finale isn’t supposed to be so much in one person’s head. I was like—is this season finale really that much different from the others? And yeah, I mean I guess so. Comparing it to my other favorite Farscape finale, for the second season…well, that one had, uh, Harvey taking over John’s mind, the death of Aeryn, her funeral, visiting a whole new planet where John could get the chip out of his head, and Scorpius sabotaging the surgery.

Here, in season three, most of the physically dramatic stuff only played out in John’s head (including Scorpius sabotaging his wedding. :P) Yeah, we had the so called “A plot” involving a rogue Leviathan standing in the way of burying Talyn’s remains. But that was mostly in place to give something external for the Moya crew to react to. I realized, with this viewing, that there’s no nuance to that plotline, because really it had little to do with the actual meat of the episode.

Speaking of which, another “thing” (not the appropriate word, of course) that had little nuance was guest star Melissa Jaffer’s character! She didn’t even have a name (yet. Or that was referenced yet.) This is something I definitely did not notice as a teen. I was always thrilled when the show introduced new characters, and ergo made the Uncharted Territories feel like a bigger place than just our crew. But now I’m realizing that the only reason she was there was to provide back up for John’s story arc. And maybe a little bit of foreshadowing about a certain addiction he’ll develop in season four! :/

It’s a very dark episode—both lighting wise (except for the Earth fantasies) and tonally. Season four, I think, might get darker than this, or might be on par with this, for the most part. But what this episode really hammers home is that Farscape is a character driven show. The scientific theories and alien realities of the week are not what make this thing run. The show is about realizing that the Moya crew is a found family. And then grappling with elements (infamous coin tosses among them in this episode) that will drive them apart.

Episode summary is here, courtesy of Farscape World.

( Spoilery Thoughts )

Xena: Warrior Princess Episode 3.22: “Sacrifice, Part 2”

[chavalah]

I stand by what I talked about in the last episode; that it was mostly filler. Yes, we needed the set up, but this hour is most definitely the main attraction. Hope is back, in charge, and more evil than she ever has been this season! Callisto joins Ares in flip flopping allegiances in order to get what she wants. We have new guest stars (like one with a certain theme song) who join the roster! There are more callbacks to Hercules and the hinds blood dagger, plus “the rift” between Xena and Gabrielle that dominated all season. Our leading ladies are both tested with what they might do to save the world from Dahak, when the price for action is high.

And, of course, “sacrifice” takes on a new meaning, apart from the villagers who are unwillingly made part of it in order to usher Hope’s daddy into the world.

It’s a tricky episode of television, because it’s one that pits human characters against god characters, and of course the humans are expected to win. Spoilers spoilers. So yeah, there are some eyebrow archy plot moments, mainly having to do with the inaction of the gods. But Xena makes up for it with a strong focus on characters. Who is really keeping track of how many fireballs Callisto should be throwing, when emotionally things are coming to a head between her and Xena? I mention Xena specifically, because while the evil half-goddess Hope is Gabrielle’s child, Xena still bears significant responsibility for creating the villain Callisto became. One might argue—correctly—that she is a more compelling and dynamic character than Hope is, too. Though man, Renee O’Connor was having a blast playing Gab’s daughter. :P

There is some great stuff for Ares, too, just sayin! So much great stuff for all of the characters that they truncated or deleted a loooot of footage. The season three DVD set devotes one entire disc to just this episode and a bunch of special features—all of the unaltered scenes, interviews with several people involved in this particular duology and etc.

The ending packed a punch, and left fans on the edge of their seats that summer of 1998, wondering just what the hell would be coming next. Mission accomplished, season finale. :P

Summary is here, courtesy of whoosh.org.

( Spoilery thoughts )