Farscape Episode 1.07: “PK Tech Girl”
Nov. 2nd, 2011 04:27 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
chavalah.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scifi_rewatchThis eppy is undoubtedly my favorite pre-Chiana episode. I looove Gilina. I love Gilina and John. What is it about Peacekeepers contaminating themselves with this human? :P It’s obvious by this point in the story that John and Aeryn are dealing with an attraction. Gilina entering the picture actually gives Aeryn’s story some depth—first the “feelings about Crichton” story, but more importantly what she’s dealing with concerning her thoughts about home. But it makes sense to me for John to fall for someone new. Maybe it’s because I value the underdog, and both John and Gilina are undervalued science nerds of the Uncharted Territories. Maybe it’s because John’s a flyboy and Gilina is the first alien woman who acts like a human—falling right into his desire to protect her (but not enough to actually abandon him during his time of need!) All of this, plus Rygel’s harrowing B-line story make this entire episode really riveting; no wonder they chose to air it as a preview on the USA Network, even before the series went live! This is the episode when “Farscape” starts to come alive as a cohesive show. I hope you enjoy my review.
We open on a spooky eyeball…backing up we see that it’s Rygel’s! Wow, and it looked so real. Rygel is terror-struck as he and the crew observe a dead ship hanging out in a planet’s rings. The locals agree that it’s definitely a Peacekeeper vessel, despite what they’ve heard about PKs not entering the Uncharted Territories. Um, guys, remember who was running the show on the planet last week? :P John, now back to his white shirt and IASA vest and Zhaan want to leave, but D’argo and Aeryn want to see if they can salvage weapons or travel intel. Rygel breaks the news that the ship before them is the Zelbinion, the most feared ship in the PK armada, which went off the map 100 cycles ago. Even D’argo is impressed. He, John and Aeryn set forth to investigate.
They climb into dark and gloomy halls where water is eating through rust everywhere. John clanks over to Aeryn and tells her he can’t believe she grew up on a ship like this. Aeryn replies, “When you told endless tales of your homeland, mentioning forests, rivers and valleys, I was thinking of walls not unlike these.” Perspective. “I’m sure it looks better with carpeting,” John offers. :P D’argo is still stunned that the ship went down and John runs into a skeleton. Not feeling the homey memories!
Back on Moya, Zhaan is curious about why Rygel isn’t looting the ship as usual. Rygel divulges that the Zelbinion was the first ship he was tortured on after being deposed 130 cycles ago. So Aeryn’s not the only one with feelings here.
The others have reached what appears to be the Zelbinion’s command room, which is an utter trash heap. D’argo says it’s time to call off the mission; nothing worth salvaging, but John notices that some lights on one of the consoles are blinking. Someone has regenerated communications, Aeryn realizes. John approaches a skeleton that starts to move…and then a girl in a green jumpsuit pops up from behind it! D’argo and Aeryn start shooting, but John darts in between them. The girl recognizes Aeryn…and then by default John and D’argo as “the escaped prisoners.” Uh oh. She’s from Crais’s ship!
Aeryn goes into soldier mode as she questions the girl, who introduces herself as Gilina, a technician (or tech), while Aeryn barks “chin up, eyes locked!” John plays the part of Amnesty Intergalactical, saying his shipmate should lay off the exhausted girl, and Aeryn turns on him furiously. She may just be a tech (hello PK class system) but her presence means Crais must be near. Also she would consider it her duty to lie to them. “This is my world, John. Don’t interfere.” Crichton gets the picture, but the interrogation still makes him uncomfortable.
Rygel is utterly horrified that his shipmates have uncovered a living Peacekeeper. Pilot says he doesn’t know much, and suggests that the dominar head over to the Zelbinion himself. “To that ship? Never. Never again!” Rygel declares. But Zhaan comes through with some advice—“Confront your demons or they will chase you from the shadows to the pyre.” Wow. Zhaan certainly knows what she’s talking about.
John gives Gilina food and Aeryn circles her while the tech explains that Crais sent her unit here to see if the Zelbinion could be made operational again. But two solar days after arriving, their transport was obliterated in a surprise attack. She barely escaped, and she doesn’t know if anyone else is alive. D’argo does intel of the damage and identifies the attackers as Sheyangs, “opportunistic foragers.” Gilina maintains that she doesn’t know what happened to the Zelbinion. She straightens her soldiers and tells Aeryn stiffly that as a Peacekeeper she considers the other woman a traitor, worthy of her punishment. But as a Sebeacean, “you are as worthy as I to know what happened to this cultural treasure.” Wow. I have to give it to Gilina that she stood up to Aeryn. Before this she did a lot of curtailing to this officer who used to outrank her by spades.
Rygel enters the Zelbinion on his thronesled, looking spooked. D’argo is off to make another cursory set of rounds around the ship to see if there’s anything useful. Gilina and John walk together, and the tech awkwardly thanks him for saving her life. John replies that he tries to save a life a day, though it’s usually his own. Gilina looks at him funny, saying she can’t believe he’s not Sebacean. John explains the difference between the two humanoid cultures—“We haven’t conquered other worlds yet, so we just kick the crap out of each other.” Depressingly astute, Crichton. The two of them join Aeryn where John marvels over the technology and laments… “What? To fulfill your vision of who we should be?” Aeryn challenges. “To do good,” John ties in awkwardly. Aeryn toes the party line; we are peace keepers. Other species hire them out to keep order and restore harmony. “As well as assassinations. Kidnappings. Torture.” Rygel rides up, hissing, and he spits a glob of gunk in Gilina’s face! John is on him in a second, picking him up by the thronesled and snapping, “Knock it off, Weasel.” Rygel says he’s barely gotten used to having to deal with one of these “abominations,” and he stalks off. It’s hard not to have sympathy with where he’s coming from in this case. Such a great scene, as it explores all of these differing opinions about Peacekeepers.
The Dominar wanders the ship alone—until a sharp, angled man with scars and a glass eye whispers his name. Rygel turns in fear. “Welcome home,” his former tormentor says. D’argo, walking below the humanoids on a metal ramp, says what he’s found confirms Gilina’s story; “this vessel has been gutted to worthlessness.” The crew walks into another charred corpse and Gilina cries out, recognizing him as part of her unit. Aeryn stoops in low…and recognizes him, too. “What was he doing guarding the likes of you?” she demands of the tech. “This is grot’s work!” “Your entire unit was demoted upon your defection,” Gilina responds. “They can only be reinstated upon your death.” John prods Gilina forward as Aeryn sits there, utter shock written over her face. Can’t say I find this punishment surprising. Peacekeepers value community over individualism, after all.
Zhaan and Pilot pick up a Sheyang ship returning on Moya’s sensors! Aeryn slams into Gilina, demanding to know what she didn’t tell them. “If this one doesn’t cooperate, kill her!” warrior D’argo urges. Aeryn accuses her of cooperating with the enemy. “I’m not the traitor—you are!” Gilina chokes out. John breaks them up and tells Gilina that Aeryn is no traitor. “Crais never gave her a chance. Not like the chance we’re giving you.” Gilina admits that while she was hiding she did overhear the Sheyangs saying they’d return to collect a defense shield. It’s nonoperational, but it’s the least damaged thing they could find. Aeryn pushes Gilina forward to locate it.
D’argo returns to Moya and Zhaan tells him that the Sheyangs have targeted them. She suggests that they signal their retreat, gather the others and leave. D’argo says no—Sheyangs flee at strength but attack at weakness. But we have no capabilities to signal strength, Zhaan points out. Moya’s a weaponless ship. Exactly, D’argo says grimly. :-/
Gilina explains haltingly what she’d have to do to make the shield operational, but it would take 8 arns. Aeryn doesn’t get the nerd talk, but John does. He theorizes about why this is so, and Gillian is quietly impressed with his know-how. On Moya, D’argo points out that the Sheyangs won’t wait 8 arns before attacking. Then we finally get a look at our reptilian Sheyangs aboard their ship. They’re crowing over the sight of a Leviathan in the Uncharted Territories. “Even you at your age haven’t claimed such a prize!” says the young one. Uh oh. Trouble! Zhaan notes the weapons priming. John scrambles onboard the Zelbinian as orange fire trails the Sheyang guns. Pilot appears on the clamshell to tell D’argo and Zhaan that he and Moya are very afraid of fire. Sheesh, the problems keep multiplying! D’argo quietly confers with Zhaan that they may have to escape to the Zelbinion for added security. As the seconds slip by, D’argo goes into a hyperrage. He starts screaming at the ship until his words can’t be translated by the microbes. Zhaan sneaks over to the clamshell and tells Pilot to transmit the image to the Sheyang ship. The Sheyangs are terrified to see an enraged Luxan and they power down! :-O “Congratulations, D’argo. You just bought us some time,” Zhaan tells her confused shipmate. :P
With their additional time, John suggests they turn back to the defense shield. He can take the prep time down to four arns if he helps with half of the work. The ladies look skeptical and he shoots back, “What? Is there some sort of union thing I don’t’ know about?” He’s not scared of their sophisticated wires. He slowly takes down a panel.
Zhaan tells D’argo to continue the ruse but the Luxan refuses; “I cannot lie to an opponent in battle.” Interesting belief. “It’s not lying—simply mislead them,” Zhaan urges. “For a priest, you certainly have a flexible sense of morality!” D’argo shoves back. Flexible maybe…perhaps crucial to survival. Interesting to see how the two of them stick to their complicated guns here.
Gilina admits to John privately that the main executor is charged and it will never work. But she didn’t want to be executed for failing to try. John tells her that they’re not killers, but Gilina throws Tauvo, Crais’s brother, in his face. Damn, girl. She’s got some mivonks! ;) That was an accident! John protests. Could have easily gone the other way, but we wouldn’t have a show, then. :P Aeryn lugs some equipment in, snarking at the two of them about offering rations since they’re taking a break. Gilina points out that “Officer Sun” got the wrong sort of conduits, then directs her to the right place while Aeryn stalks off. :P Must be nice for a lowly tech to be able to talk back to a superior officer.
D’argo talks to the Sheyangs via video comms, saying that once “his soldiers” are back aboard Moya, they can plunder as much as they want from the Zelbinion. Looks like he’s misleading! The camera shifts until we can see Zhaan on the side, whispering his lines. :P When the transmission cuts D’argo is still pissed off—he wants to back his threats with reality. Pilot says, if Gilina is to be believed, the installation should take two more arns. D’argo believes that after three bluff-worthy talks, the Sheyang won’t last long before attacking.
On the Zelbinian, John is explaining the concept of action/suspense movies where the bombs contain red and blue wires, and the lead always cuts the wrong one before having to speed out the door. “And you call this entertainment?” Gilina asks. :P Worthy question. She gets something in her eye and John darts forward to take a look, prompting her to hit him in his. :P They laugh and look at each other meaningfully. John mentions that another aspect of these movies are that the main guy and girl end up surviving and falling for each other. Gilina says that her people share such a vision…the Peacekeers?? Am thinking it’s more Sebaceans civilians in general, really. They’re holding hands and John calls it “a small universe.”
The DRDs scuttle nervously around the maintenance bay. Rygel, in hiding, remembers the man from before torturing him on a rack. I remember how discomforting this was to watch in 1999—and still is! Zhaan comes to tell him they need him to negotiate, but Ryg is obviously not in the right mindset. “I should have died here the first time,” he mumbles. Momma Zhaan comes forward with more advice, concerning his torturer: “Find his corpse. It will set you free.” Brutal world out there.
On the Sheyang ship the young warrior attacks his mentor for not wanting to continue the assault on Moya. He prepares to fire and doesn’t hail D’argo’s comms. John and Aeryn hurry to finish their work while Aeryn looks on in frustration (though finally Gilina gives her something to do. :P) Another nice moment of continuity—Aeryn stooping to perform science (what little she understands) when she has to. Pilot counts down the seconds as we shift between the ships. Tension mounting! As John and Gilina shout “done!” an orange shield surrounds the Zelbinian and Moya…just in time! The bolt from the Sheyang ship hits it harmlessly, but the weak shield breaks up into pieces after that. I love how it’s not really so easy! Pilot confirms that Moya is ok while John and Gilina look at each other amidst the Zelbinain’s warning bells. As the Sheyangs hurry to recharge the mentor wakes up. Ooo. An act of mercy for our crew? ;)
Apparently unconcerned with the mortal danger of the moment, Rygel makes his way back to the Zelbinain. He comes across some cages and remembers being kept in one where his tormentor ripped off some regalia and punched him brutally between the bars. I also noticed for the first time that you could hear the screams of other prisoners. Pilot has found out about the gaps in the defense shield and Gilina admits that they only had time to hook up one of two systems. When John suggests that they hook up the second one on Moya, Gilina gets nervous. “I have been sworn to never compromise Peacekeeper technology with the enemy.” John and Aeryn just look at her this time, no threats. Then Gilina relents: “But I will do it for you. For all of you.” :-O Damn. What type of pheromones does John send out to make PK ladies abandon their orders? :P
Back on the Sheyang vessel the mentor tells his protégé that he can restore his honor by leading an attack against the enemy—no survivors. Although the protégé feels confident it kind of sounds like a suicide mission: “Perhaps one day they will sing songs about your early death,” the mentor sneers. Am liking how much we’re learning about Sheyang culture through this tiny exchange.
John and Gilina discuss cosmic theory since they both have an interest—Crichton even got his doctorate in it. At the tech’s confused look he explains, “It’s a couple of letters they add to the end of your name.” :P In all honesty, I think my mother feels the same about her doctorate degree, hee. The two of them join forces to yank at a component on the shield, which sends Gilina crashing backwards into John’s arms. :-O This is bulkhead cheating, Crichton! Aeryn’s usually the only girl who gets such a blatant metaphorical display. :P “It seems that human and sebacean men are much the same,” Gilina says breathily, obviously getting comfortable in John’s arms. “I don’t notice a difference between the women either.” John nuzzles her hair. She turns and kisses his forehead, which slowly morphs into a full-fledged lip lock. Yowza. Of course this is the moment where Aeryn steps in. :P Perhaps in the best jealous-girl move ever, she lifts a huge crate over her head and grunts “sorry for interrupting!” while stalking off. Damn. John, for his part, runs after her. Aeryn evades the issue and points out the number of crates that need to be moved; “do not come down this corridor without one.” As John wheedles, she snaps that the kiss is none of her business, but John disagrees. Is it because they’re shipmates, as he says? Or is it something else? :P “Haven’t you just clicked with a guy?” he presses. Aeryn stutters that “in the beginning, I found you—interesting. Only for a moment.” John and I go :-O Then again, it should take a lot for her to stand with him and abandon her entire way of life. They awkwardly attempt to clear the air and go their separate ways. “Very clear air!” Aeryn grunts down the hall. :P
Rygel sees the silhouette of a man in the Zelbinion’s captain char. He calls him “Durka.” He shines his flashlight around and sees that this man killed himself. He calls him a coward, and we span back to the corpse’s spooky, Halloween look. And what do you know, Ryg’s regalia is there! He picks it up while admitting that he once thought he’d never get out of here alive. “No matter what you did to me, I’ll always remember one thing. You lose!” He spits more gunk on a Peacekeer’s face. Much more deserving, this one.
The protégé leads a dozen or so small ships to attack our crew, hurling towards the shaky defenses. Gilina gives John two panels to hold that he must keep apart while she works, or else they will all be vaporized. :-O Yikes. Is this a metaphor for Crichton’s love life? ;) The protégé gets in through one of the gaps in the screen. D’argo comms Aeryn to tell her he thinks he’s aboard the Zelbinian and Aeryn runs! Great timing, really. John, helpless with his two panels, tells her “he’s got his hands full” and she’s got to get there asap. He turns to Gilina, struggling to finish alone, and tells her to get out. She refuses. Nice character strength…perhaps engrained by the PKs? They don’t leave each other in battle.
Aeryn runs into the protégé in a hallway and says one of her more memorable slow lines: “On the ground now!” Doesn’t hurt that she has a big-ass gun pointed at his face. PK Poster Girl is awesome today. :P Unfortunately the protégé is not phased—he spits fire at her! Aeryn is forced to roll out of the way. At the defense shield John intensifies his plea to Gilina—he doesn’t want her there. “You die here, John, I die, too.” Am noting how little time it took for her to call him by his first name. Not to mention the sacrifice she’s willing to make. This may come back in the future. :-“ Aeryn is trying to get to them, but the Sheyang keeps blocking her route, forcing her to take the long way around. He ends up reaching the door first, and spits his fire to melt it open. John is irritated—how come no one told him these guys spit fire? :P The things you take for granted on your home field, man. Gilian and John are both helpless at their science tasks. John tries to talk to “the big guy” but gets a ball of fire instead! Gilina hides nervously behind him while he yells, “Listen gashole, you kill us, you kill yourself!” The protégé doesn’t seem to get that point.
Once again, Aeryn steals the timing on this show—she swings down from a metal chain and blasts the guy! He falls over in a poof of fire. “Sorry about the mess,” Aeryn coolly tells the stunned scientists as she walks off. Guess that’s one more point for the warriors then. :P
Gilina, John and Aeryn are on Moya now, and John’s trying to make a case to Zhaan and D’argo. Let Gilina call Crais so that the Sheyang will flee, and we can all go our respective ways. Even Zhaan seems hesitant to trust Gilina not to give them up, but the two PK ladies are sharing meaningful glances. Aeryn speaks to her directly amongst the others. Irreversible contamination—what happened to one could happen to the other. “The punishment is death, or worse, banishment. I hope you will only ever imagine how horrible it is to never return to the life that you love…You are smarter than that…Gilina.” Powerful speech, and Gilina looks freaked—hey, I’d be too, even if one of the major themes of the show is how we can’t go home again. Gilina decides that she wants to go back to the only life she knows.
The Sheyangs aboard their vessel note that Crais is returning and that the protégé’s life signal has gone out. The main officer admires D’argo’s bluff from earlier, but tells him “I make it a point to kill all of my clever opponents.” Ouch. The transmission cuts and Zhaan congratulates him—D’argo responds by smugly gloating that he didn’t need her help this time. :P They share a small smile.
Aeryn awkwardly preps Gilina: “Crais will ask you many questions.” “I will lie,” Gilina promises. “I wish I had been that smart,” Aeryn replies. Gilina reaches out to her as she leaves and the two former colleagues shake hands with more small smiles. John, leaning against a wall, gives her a longing look. “You free this weekend?” They discuss the obvious—Gilina can’t stay with them, because John wouldn’t want her to live a life in exile. And John can’t come back with her because…well, Crais wants to kill him. :P Seems like these people need Skype. “I’m never going to see you again, am I?” Gilina asks with a tear coming down her cheek. John protests, making up silly excuses, such a sweetie. D’argo comms to tell Crichton to wrap things up; they gotta go! John takes Gilina’s hand and sighs that life sucks. “It brought us together,” Gilina points out. John pushes back her hair and kisses her forehead. Their final lip-lock, amidst D’argo’s comms, is the most passionate yet. The music is grand and disappointing for the loss of John’s first alien love affair. Gilina cries more openly now as she steps into the cargo bay to leave. John stares at the closed doors with the faded PK symbols.
Later, he joins Aeryn on command where they have their most poignant conversation yet. Aeryn says she hates being “ambushed,” which John mistakenly takes as the Sheyang attack. Reminds me of a few episodes back when the PK admitted that she could learn something from “lesser species.” “In my world, they say that loss is the hardest emotion to deal with,” John offers. “In my world, showing pain is a sign of weakness,” Aeryn replies. “How can you not feel pain after what you’ve been through?” John presses. “Don’t presume to understand me, John,” Aeryn says coldly, and perhaps a little too soon. Does she think John can’t understand the loss of a home? He spins his own tale—wondering what it would be like to go home, to see everything from his father’s truck in the drive to his Clint Eastwood movie poster on his bedroom door. But what if his whole family is dead before he gets there? What would it be like to go home if only devastation awaits. “I stand corrected,” Aeryn admits after a pause, and she leaves him there.
Wow, what an episode! I think it’s a fan favorite. I love the way that it advances general and personal plot. We now know that Crais is in the Uncharted Territories—gulp! We also learn more about the Peacekeepers—their “A New World”-ish internal class system, and how they see themselves and their actions vs how others do. We have another PK woman falling for John. :P In her defense…well, she’s been alone for awhile. Also, what must it be like to be taken, briefly, out of the life where you’re just a “grot” and given to someone who sees you as a complete person? Not to mention that John’s a flyboy with southern charm. :P Gilina’s more feminine wiles and nerdy interests are more accessible to him now than Aeryn’s cold, awkward warrior ways. But on the John/Aeryn front, this is one of the first times that I could truly believe in their impending relationship. I think she’s growing to respect her new crew a lot—even John—but she’s still hurting from what she’s lost. The two humanoids will continue to grow more similar—and sometimes more trusting—as the story progresses.
Rygel’s faced some of his own demons and we’ve met yet another new species…some of these components will be making a repeat appearance later in the series! I love how this episode lays out the groundwork of what’s to come. It really makes the rest of the series far more emotionally tangible. So goodbye, Gilina…for now! :-“
___
We open on a spooky eyeball…backing up we see that it’s Rygel’s! Wow, and it looked so real. Rygel is terror-struck as he and the crew observe a dead ship hanging out in a planet’s rings. The locals agree that it’s definitely a Peacekeeper vessel, despite what they’ve heard about PKs not entering the Uncharted Territories. Um, guys, remember who was running the show on the planet last week? :P John, now back to his white shirt and IASA vest and Zhaan want to leave, but D’argo and Aeryn want to see if they can salvage weapons or travel intel. Rygel breaks the news that the ship before them is the Zelbinion, the most feared ship in the PK armada, which went off the map 100 cycles ago. Even D’argo is impressed. He, John and Aeryn set forth to investigate.
They climb into dark and gloomy halls where water is eating through rust everywhere. John clanks over to Aeryn and tells her he can’t believe she grew up on a ship like this. Aeryn replies, “When you told endless tales of your homeland, mentioning forests, rivers and valleys, I was thinking of walls not unlike these.” Perspective. “I’m sure it looks better with carpeting,” John offers. :P D’argo is still stunned that the ship went down and John runs into a skeleton. Not feeling the homey memories!
Back on Moya, Zhaan is curious about why Rygel isn’t looting the ship as usual. Rygel divulges that the Zelbinion was the first ship he was tortured on after being deposed 130 cycles ago. So Aeryn’s not the only one with feelings here.
The others have reached what appears to be the Zelbinion’s command room, which is an utter trash heap. D’argo says it’s time to call off the mission; nothing worth salvaging, but John notices that some lights on one of the consoles are blinking. Someone has regenerated communications, Aeryn realizes. John approaches a skeleton that starts to move…and then a girl in a green jumpsuit pops up from behind it! D’argo and Aeryn start shooting, but John darts in between them. The girl recognizes Aeryn…and then by default John and D’argo as “the escaped prisoners.” Uh oh. She’s from Crais’s ship!
Aeryn goes into soldier mode as she questions the girl, who introduces herself as Gilina, a technician (or tech), while Aeryn barks “chin up, eyes locked!” John plays the part of Amnesty Intergalactical, saying his shipmate should lay off the exhausted girl, and Aeryn turns on him furiously. She may just be a tech (hello PK class system) but her presence means Crais must be near. Also she would consider it her duty to lie to them. “This is my world, John. Don’t interfere.” Crichton gets the picture, but the interrogation still makes him uncomfortable.
Rygel is utterly horrified that his shipmates have uncovered a living Peacekeeper. Pilot says he doesn’t know much, and suggests that the dominar head over to the Zelbinion himself. “To that ship? Never. Never again!” Rygel declares. But Zhaan comes through with some advice—“Confront your demons or they will chase you from the shadows to the pyre.” Wow. Zhaan certainly knows what she’s talking about.
John gives Gilina food and Aeryn circles her while the tech explains that Crais sent her unit here to see if the Zelbinion could be made operational again. But two solar days after arriving, their transport was obliterated in a surprise attack. She barely escaped, and she doesn’t know if anyone else is alive. D’argo does intel of the damage and identifies the attackers as Sheyangs, “opportunistic foragers.” Gilina maintains that she doesn’t know what happened to the Zelbinion. She straightens her soldiers and tells Aeryn stiffly that as a Peacekeeper she considers the other woman a traitor, worthy of her punishment. But as a Sebeacean, “you are as worthy as I to know what happened to this cultural treasure.” Wow. I have to give it to Gilina that she stood up to Aeryn. Before this she did a lot of curtailing to this officer who used to outrank her by spades.
Rygel enters the Zelbinion on his thronesled, looking spooked. D’argo is off to make another cursory set of rounds around the ship to see if there’s anything useful. Gilina and John walk together, and the tech awkwardly thanks him for saving her life. John replies that he tries to save a life a day, though it’s usually his own. Gilina looks at him funny, saying she can’t believe he’s not Sebacean. John explains the difference between the two humanoid cultures—“We haven’t conquered other worlds yet, so we just kick the crap out of each other.” Depressingly astute, Crichton. The two of them join Aeryn where John marvels over the technology and laments… “What? To fulfill your vision of who we should be?” Aeryn challenges. “To do good,” John ties in awkwardly. Aeryn toes the party line; we are peace keepers. Other species hire them out to keep order and restore harmony. “As well as assassinations. Kidnappings. Torture.” Rygel rides up, hissing, and he spits a glob of gunk in Gilina’s face! John is on him in a second, picking him up by the thronesled and snapping, “Knock it off, Weasel.” Rygel says he’s barely gotten used to having to deal with one of these “abominations,” and he stalks off. It’s hard not to have sympathy with where he’s coming from in this case. Such a great scene, as it explores all of these differing opinions about Peacekeepers.
The Dominar wanders the ship alone—until a sharp, angled man with scars and a glass eye whispers his name. Rygel turns in fear. “Welcome home,” his former tormentor says. D’argo, walking below the humanoids on a metal ramp, says what he’s found confirms Gilina’s story; “this vessel has been gutted to worthlessness.” The crew walks into another charred corpse and Gilina cries out, recognizing him as part of her unit. Aeryn stoops in low…and recognizes him, too. “What was he doing guarding the likes of you?” she demands of the tech. “This is grot’s work!” “Your entire unit was demoted upon your defection,” Gilina responds. “They can only be reinstated upon your death.” John prods Gilina forward as Aeryn sits there, utter shock written over her face. Can’t say I find this punishment surprising. Peacekeepers value community over individualism, after all.
Zhaan and Pilot pick up a Sheyang ship returning on Moya’s sensors! Aeryn slams into Gilina, demanding to know what she didn’t tell them. “If this one doesn’t cooperate, kill her!” warrior D’argo urges. Aeryn accuses her of cooperating with the enemy. “I’m not the traitor—you are!” Gilina chokes out. John breaks them up and tells Gilina that Aeryn is no traitor. “Crais never gave her a chance. Not like the chance we’re giving you.” Gilina admits that while she was hiding she did overhear the Sheyangs saying they’d return to collect a defense shield. It’s nonoperational, but it’s the least damaged thing they could find. Aeryn pushes Gilina forward to locate it.
D’argo returns to Moya and Zhaan tells him that the Sheyangs have targeted them. She suggests that they signal their retreat, gather the others and leave. D’argo says no—Sheyangs flee at strength but attack at weakness. But we have no capabilities to signal strength, Zhaan points out. Moya’s a weaponless ship. Exactly, D’argo says grimly. :-/
Gilina explains haltingly what she’d have to do to make the shield operational, but it would take 8 arns. Aeryn doesn’t get the nerd talk, but John does. He theorizes about why this is so, and Gillian is quietly impressed with his know-how. On Moya, D’argo points out that the Sheyangs won’t wait 8 arns before attacking. Then we finally get a look at our reptilian Sheyangs aboard their ship. They’re crowing over the sight of a Leviathan in the Uncharted Territories. “Even you at your age haven’t claimed such a prize!” says the young one. Uh oh. Trouble! Zhaan notes the weapons priming. John scrambles onboard the Zelbinian as orange fire trails the Sheyang guns. Pilot appears on the clamshell to tell D’argo and Zhaan that he and Moya are very afraid of fire. Sheesh, the problems keep multiplying! D’argo quietly confers with Zhaan that they may have to escape to the Zelbinion for added security. As the seconds slip by, D’argo goes into a hyperrage. He starts screaming at the ship until his words can’t be translated by the microbes. Zhaan sneaks over to the clamshell and tells Pilot to transmit the image to the Sheyang ship. The Sheyangs are terrified to see an enraged Luxan and they power down! :-O “Congratulations, D’argo. You just bought us some time,” Zhaan tells her confused shipmate. :P
With their additional time, John suggests they turn back to the defense shield. He can take the prep time down to four arns if he helps with half of the work. The ladies look skeptical and he shoots back, “What? Is there some sort of union thing I don’t’ know about?” He’s not scared of their sophisticated wires. He slowly takes down a panel.
Zhaan tells D’argo to continue the ruse but the Luxan refuses; “I cannot lie to an opponent in battle.” Interesting belief. “It’s not lying—simply mislead them,” Zhaan urges. “For a priest, you certainly have a flexible sense of morality!” D’argo shoves back. Flexible maybe…perhaps crucial to survival. Interesting to see how the two of them stick to their complicated guns here.
Gilina admits to John privately that the main executor is charged and it will never work. But she didn’t want to be executed for failing to try. John tells her that they’re not killers, but Gilina throws Tauvo, Crais’s brother, in his face. Damn, girl. She’s got some mivonks! ;) That was an accident! John protests. Could have easily gone the other way, but we wouldn’t have a show, then. :P Aeryn lugs some equipment in, snarking at the two of them about offering rations since they’re taking a break. Gilina points out that “Officer Sun” got the wrong sort of conduits, then directs her to the right place while Aeryn stalks off. :P Must be nice for a lowly tech to be able to talk back to a superior officer.
D’argo talks to the Sheyangs via video comms, saying that once “his soldiers” are back aboard Moya, they can plunder as much as they want from the Zelbinion. Looks like he’s misleading! The camera shifts until we can see Zhaan on the side, whispering his lines. :P When the transmission cuts D’argo is still pissed off—he wants to back his threats with reality. Pilot says, if Gilina is to be believed, the installation should take two more arns. D’argo believes that after three bluff-worthy talks, the Sheyang won’t last long before attacking.
On the Zelbinian, John is explaining the concept of action/suspense movies where the bombs contain red and blue wires, and the lead always cuts the wrong one before having to speed out the door. “And you call this entertainment?” Gilina asks. :P Worthy question. She gets something in her eye and John darts forward to take a look, prompting her to hit him in his. :P They laugh and look at each other meaningfully. John mentions that another aspect of these movies are that the main guy and girl end up surviving and falling for each other. Gilina says that her people share such a vision…the Peacekeers?? Am thinking it’s more Sebaceans civilians in general, really. They’re holding hands and John calls it “a small universe.”
The DRDs scuttle nervously around the maintenance bay. Rygel, in hiding, remembers the man from before torturing him on a rack. I remember how discomforting this was to watch in 1999—and still is! Zhaan comes to tell him they need him to negotiate, but Ryg is obviously not in the right mindset. “I should have died here the first time,” he mumbles. Momma Zhaan comes forward with more advice, concerning his torturer: “Find his corpse. It will set you free.” Brutal world out there.
On the Sheyang ship the young warrior attacks his mentor for not wanting to continue the assault on Moya. He prepares to fire and doesn’t hail D’argo’s comms. John and Aeryn hurry to finish their work while Aeryn looks on in frustration (though finally Gilina gives her something to do. :P) Another nice moment of continuity—Aeryn stooping to perform science (what little she understands) when she has to. Pilot counts down the seconds as we shift between the ships. Tension mounting! As John and Gilina shout “done!” an orange shield surrounds the Zelbinian and Moya…just in time! The bolt from the Sheyang ship hits it harmlessly, but the weak shield breaks up into pieces after that. I love how it’s not really so easy! Pilot confirms that Moya is ok while John and Gilina look at each other amidst the Zelbinain’s warning bells. As the Sheyangs hurry to recharge the mentor wakes up. Ooo. An act of mercy for our crew? ;)
Apparently unconcerned with the mortal danger of the moment, Rygel makes his way back to the Zelbinain. He comes across some cages and remembers being kept in one where his tormentor ripped off some regalia and punched him brutally between the bars. I also noticed for the first time that you could hear the screams of other prisoners. Pilot has found out about the gaps in the defense shield and Gilina admits that they only had time to hook up one of two systems. When John suggests that they hook up the second one on Moya, Gilina gets nervous. “I have been sworn to never compromise Peacekeeper technology with the enemy.” John and Aeryn just look at her this time, no threats. Then Gilina relents: “But I will do it for you. For all of you.” :-O Damn. What type of pheromones does John send out to make PK ladies abandon their orders? :P
Back on the Sheyang vessel the mentor tells his protégé that he can restore his honor by leading an attack against the enemy—no survivors. Although the protégé feels confident it kind of sounds like a suicide mission: “Perhaps one day they will sing songs about your early death,” the mentor sneers. Am liking how much we’re learning about Sheyang culture through this tiny exchange.
John and Gilina discuss cosmic theory since they both have an interest—Crichton even got his doctorate in it. At the tech’s confused look he explains, “It’s a couple of letters they add to the end of your name.” :P In all honesty, I think my mother feels the same about her doctorate degree, hee. The two of them join forces to yank at a component on the shield, which sends Gilina crashing backwards into John’s arms. :-O This is bulkhead cheating, Crichton! Aeryn’s usually the only girl who gets such a blatant metaphorical display. :P “It seems that human and sebacean men are much the same,” Gilina says breathily, obviously getting comfortable in John’s arms. “I don’t notice a difference between the women either.” John nuzzles her hair. She turns and kisses his forehead, which slowly morphs into a full-fledged lip lock. Yowza. Of course this is the moment where Aeryn steps in. :P Perhaps in the best jealous-girl move ever, she lifts a huge crate over her head and grunts “sorry for interrupting!” while stalking off. Damn. John, for his part, runs after her. Aeryn evades the issue and points out the number of crates that need to be moved; “do not come down this corridor without one.” As John wheedles, she snaps that the kiss is none of her business, but John disagrees. Is it because they’re shipmates, as he says? Or is it something else? :P “Haven’t you just clicked with a guy?” he presses. Aeryn stutters that “in the beginning, I found you—interesting. Only for a moment.” John and I go :-O Then again, it should take a lot for her to stand with him and abandon her entire way of life. They awkwardly attempt to clear the air and go their separate ways. “Very clear air!” Aeryn grunts down the hall. :P
Rygel sees the silhouette of a man in the Zelbinion’s captain char. He calls him “Durka.” He shines his flashlight around and sees that this man killed himself. He calls him a coward, and we span back to the corpse’s spooky, Halloween look. And what do you know, Ryg’s regalia is there! He picks it up while admitting that he once thought he’d never get out of here alive. “No matter what you did to me, I’ll always remember one thing. You lose!” He spits more gunk on a Peacekeer’s face. Much more deserving, this one.
The protégé leads a dozen or so small ships to attack our crew, hurling towards the shaky defenses. Gilina gives John two panels to hold that he must keep apart while she works, or else they will all be vaporized. :-O Yikes. Is this a metaphor for Crichton’s love life? ;) The protégé gets in through one of the gaps in the screen. D’argo comms Aeryn to tell her he thinks he’s aboard the Zelbinian and Aeryn runs! Great timing, really. John, helpless with his two panels, tells her “he’s got his hands full” and she’s got to get there asap. He turns to Gilina, struggling to finish alone, and tells her to get out. She refuses. Nice character strength…perhaps engrained by the PKs? They don’t leave each other in battle.
Aeryn runs into the protégé in a hallway and says one of her more memorable slow lines: “On the ground now!” Doesn’t hurt that she has a big-ass gun pointed at his face. PK Poster Girl is awesome today. :P Unfortunately the protégé is not phased—he spits fire at her! Aeryn is forced to roll out of the way. At the defense shield John intensifies his plea to Gilina—he doesn’t want her there. “You die here, John, I die, too.” Am noting how little time it took for her to call him by his first name. Not to mention the sacrifice she’s willing to make. This may come back in the future. :-“ Aeryn is trying to get to them, but the Sheyang keeps blocking her route, forcing her to take the long way around. He ends up reaching the door first, and spits his fire to melt it open. John is irritated—how come no one told him these guys spit fire? :P The things you take for granted on your home field, man. Gilian and John are both helpless at their science tasks. John tries to talk to “the big guy” but gets a ball of fire instead! Gilina hides nervously behind him while he yells, “Listen gashole, you kill us, you kill yourself!” The protégé doesn’t seem to get that point.
Once again, Aeryn steals the timing on this show—she swings down from a metal chain and blasts the guy! He falls over in a poof of fire. “Sorry about the mess,” Aeryn coolly tells the stunned scientists as she walks off. Guess that’s one more point for the warriors then. :P
Gilina, John and Aeryn are on Moya now, and John’s trying to make a case to Zhaan and D’argo. Let Gilina call Crais so that the Sheyang will flee, and we can all go our respective ways. Even Zhaan seems hesitant to trust Gilina not to give them up, but the two PK ladies are sharing meaningful glances. Aeryn speaks to her directly amongst the others. Irreversible contamination—what happened to one could happen to the other. “The punishment is death, or worse, banishment. I hope you will only ever imagine how horrible it is to never return to the life that you love…You are smarter than that…Gilina.” Powerful speech, and Gilina looks freaked—hey, I’d be too, even if one of the major themes of the show is how we can’t go home again. Gilina decides that she wants to go back to the only life she knows.
The Sheyangs aboard their vessel note that Crais is returning and that the protégé’s life signal has gone out. The main officer admires D’argo’s bluff from earlier, but tells him “I make it a point to kill all of my clever opponents.” Ouch. The transmission cuts and Zhaan congratulates him—D’argo responds by smugly gloating that he didn’t need her help this time. :P They share a small smile.
Aeryn awkwardly preps Gilina: “Crais will ask you many questions.” “I will lie,” Gilina promises. “I wish I had been that smart,” Aeryn replies. Gilina reaches out to her as she leaves and the two former colleagues shake hands with more small smiles. John, leaning against a wall, gives her a longing look. “You free this weekend?” They discuss the obvious—Gilina can’t stay with them, because John wouldn’t want her to live a life in exile. And John can’t come back with her because…well, Crais wants to kill him. :P Seems like these people need Skype. “I’m never going to see you again, am I?” Gilina asks with a tear coming down her cheek. John protests, making up silly excuses, such a sweetie. D’argo comms to tell Crichton to wrap things up; they gotta go! John takes Gilina’s hand and sighs that life sucks. “It brought us together,” Gilina points out. John pushes back her hair and kisses her forehead. Their final lip-lock, amidst D’argo’s comms, is the most passionate yet. The music is grand and disappointing for the loss of John’s first alien love affair. Gilina cries more openly now as she steps into the cargo bay to leave. John stares at the closed doors with the faded PK symbols.
Later, he joins Aeryn on command where they have their most poignant conversation yet. Aeryn says she hates being “ambushed,” which John mistakenly takes as the Sheyang attack. Reminds me of a few episodes back when the PK admitted that she could learn something from “lesser species.” “In my world, they say that loss is the hardest emotion to deal with,” John offers. “In my world, showing pain is a sign of weakness,” Aeryn replies. “How can you not feel pain after what you’ve been through?” John presses. “Don’t presume to understand me, John,” Aeryn says coldly, and perhaps a little too soon. Does she think John can’t understand the loss of a home? He spins his own tale—wondering what it would be like to go home, to see everything from his father’s truck in the drive to his Clint Eastwood movie poster on his bedroom door. But what if his whole family is dead before he gets there? What would it be like to go home if only devastation awaits. “I stand corrected,” Aeryn admits after a pause, and she leaves him there.
Wow, what an episode! I think it’s a fan favorite. I love the way that it advances general and personal plot. We now know that Crais is in the Uncharted Territories—gulp! We also learn more about the Peacekeepers—their “A New World”-ish internal class system, and how they see themselves and their actions vs how others do. We have another PK woman falling for John. :P In her defense…well, she’s been alone for awhile. Also, what must it be like to be taken, briefly, out of the life where you’re just a “grot” and given to someone who sees you as a complete person? Not to mention that John’s a flyboy with southern charm. :P Gilina’s more feminine wiles and nerdy interests are more accessible to him now than Aeryn’s cold, awkward warrior ways. But on the John/Aeryn front, this is one of the first times that I could truly believe in their impending relationship. I think she’s growing to respect her new crew a lot—even John—but she’s still hurting from what she’s lost. The two humanoids will continue to grow more similar—and sometimes more trusting—as the story progresses.
Rygel’s faced some of his own demons and we’ve met yet another new species…some of these components will be making a repeat appearance later in the series! I love how this episode lays out the groundwork of what’s to come. It really makes the rest of the series far more emotionally tangible. So goodbye, Gilina…for now! :-“
___
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}