Farscape Episode 1.12: “Rhapsody in Blue”
Mar. 28th, 2012 10:03 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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scifi_rewatchI feel like I may be in the minority among fans, but I reeeeally like this episode. :P Probably because I’m a big fan of the John/Zhaan relationship, particularly in the early eps before he becomes all battle-hardened (though he was wearing his black tee in this one.) Also, I’m of a subversive nature, so I always appreciate whenever anything sexual (or “Farscape”-sexual) occurs between John and one of the females not of his main ship. *cackles* As fans can probably tell from my icon, hee.
Speaking of strange women with whom John has had sexual relations, we’re introduced to Alex! A past human girlfriend we’ve never heard of before, but apparently she was veery special to John. Huh. Always nice to get the background character details! :P In this episode that statement rings more true for Zhaan than John, really, as we finally find out the gristly details of what she’s been imprisoned for.
John sweet-talks a scantily clad blonde whom he lays atop in bed! Wowza. He calls her Alex and she says she’s taking “the Stanford job.” John, disappointed, stops making out and rolls off her. She’s going for a full grant, but he’s staying local for a space program. “We talked about this, John, about taking a break,” Alex says. “It isn’t a break if you’re all the way across the continent,” John replies, turning away. Alex promises she’ll always be there for him. John reaches down to the floor and closes a box with an engagement ring inside, pushing it under the bed. “If we were meant to be together, we’ll be together,” Alex concludes. Pretty heavy stuff, but they go back to making out.
A jolt has John tumbling from his bed on Moya in the present. He’s thrown around his quarters for a bit before he’s able to make it to command, where D’argo and Rygel have made it before him. Apparently Moya is in the middle of a rather long starburst. Aeryn and Zhaan file in shortly thereafter. When it’s over Pilot explains that Moya, not he, initiated everything. Apparently she thought she heard the distress call of another pregnant Leviathan, leading to the fact that women, no matter the species (or bio-mechanoid,) stick together. :P Rygel’s contribution is “I like my wives pregnant and my ships cold to the touch. That way my feet stay warm and my slumber is uninterrupted.” John is impressed by the “wives, plural,” giving the dominar a high five and proving that dudes are douches. :P John then notices that Aeryn is wearing his underwear. Aeryn stretches to read the tag in back, asking him what it says. “Calvin.” “Then they’re not yours.” Cute, but haven’t we already covered this joke in “Back to the Future”? ;)
Rygel and D’argo are discussing how they both had sexy dreams just now about their last times in the sack before Moya. John chimes in that it’s the same for him. The girls remain unimpressed with their “masculine memories,” as Zhaan puts it. Moya, near a planet, hasn’t located the ship, but they’re getting a transmission…from a Delvian! Zhaan’s peeps! She apologizes for deceiving them with the whole pregnant Leviathan scheme, but it was the only way to get their signal out there. These folks appear to be pretty big Zhaan fangirls!
John and Aeryn travel with her down to the planet. John notes how the Delvian ship has melted into the rock. Aeryn thinks it impressive from a military standpoint; the Delvians can hide from their enemies easier. “It’s always instructive to see how different cultures view the same reality,” says the Delvian, Tahleen. They view it as a way to achieve pious solitude. But speaking of piety, Zhaan is disturbed by their deception, so Tahleen admits that it might have been a mistake, but desperate times, you know? Meanwhile, John and Aeryn are watching a male Delvian in goofy, purple robes cavorting around some strange vines. Tahleen mentions that they should go down below—the surface of this planet is toxic. Uh, good to know!
Tahleen brings the Moyans into a “modest temple to the goddess of spiritual renewal.” John hisses to Aeryn that she wasn’t supposed to bring a weapon—Aeryn hisses back that she’s being cautious. Kids. :P Tahleen introduces the pair to another female, Lorana, so that they can gather food. “Please be greedy. The more you pick, the more that grows to replace it.” Kinda seems like where the lines of selflessness and greed meet. :P Lorana leads John and Aeryn into an open-air room, filled with chanting, silky drapes, and a pool of water with flower petals. “It’s so perfect my teeth ache,” John quips. “Well, that’s from all the sincerity,” Aeryn gripes. Once Zhaan and Tahleen are alone they discuss what Zhaan is needed for. “Search yourself,” is Tahleen’s suggestion. “What I do know is that you invaded my soul last night and you left me bitter,” Zhaan says, hurt. So she did dream! Tahleen shrugs it off—the others enjoyed their experiences, didn’t they? “We always remember, Zhaan. We simply choose to ignore,” Tahleen says cryptically.
John pulls a squid-like creature from the water. “Part plant, part animal, total nutrition. What’s not to like.” Aeryn is still in a bad mood; “it amazes me how people mistake theosity for superiority.” “I don’t think anything amazes you,” says insightful John. He’s feeling a lot better himself as he pulls out another squid. What do you make of this? He poses to his companion. “I dub thee trigopod,” he tells the squid. Aeryn rolls her eyes. “They’re a food source.” John calls it “unique”…interesting. It’s a word that comes up a fair bit in “Farscape.” Anywho. He implores Aeryn to look up at the cathedral-like dome of the ship with light spilling down…but then he concedes that it’s probably creepy. Huh. I didn’t see it like that. Zhaan, in similar robes now, and Tahleen enter and watch from behind as John continues to lecture Aeryn. “You know our cause is just,” says Tahleen. “I sympathize but I cannot help you,” says Zhaan. “Then give us the power to help ourselves,” says Tahleen. Damn, what did we miss?? Zhaan asks when the “madness began…” Only recently, says Tahleen, but already Pa’u Tuzak is “beyond redemption.” Zhaan accuses her of going too fast; that’s why we need your “secret,” Tahleen says. “I have no secret. I am just me,” says Zhaan. But her hatred and anger, referenced a few episodes back as part of her past, should have kept her insane! I was, says Zhaan, and she doesn’t know how she pulled through. Tahleen says they need to learn Zhaan’s control before the madness consumes all of them. “And in return, I will show you paths to abilities beyond your comprehension.” Witness as such…Tahleen reaches out to John. The water turns into an ocean memory from his childhood! He’s remembering his mother calling him away from the waves…present John leans in closer to the pool. The Delvians hold hands as the music grows tense. Young John falls in, crying for help. Present John jolts back, frightened. “There’s…stuff…in the water,” he stammers. Zhaan realizes that Tahleen altered his memory of that event. Tahleen promises to teach her, but Zhaan just wants John back the way he was. I’d think her compassion is a good way to overcome madness, but maybe that’s just me.
Our poor human is still freaked as he looks into a funglass mirror. “You are the most bizarre creature I have ever met,” Aeryn proclaims. On Moya, D’argo is thinking something similar after receiving a message from him; “finally! I’ve been saying that since he arrived,” quips Rygel. But D’argo is more concerned about “Delvian trickery” and wants to leave. “Get the food first,” is Rygel’s command. :P
John, in a new part of the temple, looks up at a freaky, gnarled root that is holding up the ship. Don’t touch it! Says the goofy Delvian from outside earlier. It’s poison leads to death. …good to know! He introduces himself as Turzak, the mad Pa’u. “I am here because of you, Peacekeeper!” he snarls. John is freaked, but he must be used to the comparison. I’m not a Peacekeeper, he tries to explain. Yes you are! Turzak argues. He blames John for his insanity. “Because I touched inside what I needed to touch you outside.” Cryptic. He asks John why he’s traveling with Zhaan, then continues babbling about “vigilance, Peacekeper. Confusing times. Do not touch the root.” …sounds kind of like a Fool’s advice to me, which actually should be taken seriously.
At another part of the temple, Aeryn is by a flame near some pretty foliage. Another Delvian male, Hasko, storms in and tells her that her weapon is forbidden. Aeryn says that she’s not allowed to travel without it. Someone’s still in the PK zone…but these Devlians have no love for Peacekeepers. “I’ve been driven from my home by your kind; I will not be driven from here also.” He tells her to leave, and Aeryn seems happy to comply. Once she is gone, Hasko finds Lorana to voice concerns about Tahleen’s actions. What if they’re blinded by her madness? “I pity you, your jealousy,” Lorana says coyly. “Tahleen and I share unity now, not you and I.” Oh, snap! And can I just say—I love how free-natured Delvians are with both genders? …though I suppose it’s strange to think of an alien species having “genders” the way we do, but that’ll deconstruct the whole show, so desist, desist! :P
Zhaan and Tahleen are in the middle of a ritual when John comes in to say that Aeryn was booted out of the temple. Zhaan says she’s aware and in fact Aeryn took the transport back to Moya. Freaked John is now more freaked; what about them? Zhaan says she wants his help to make a decision. John goes into assumption mode; it’s ok if you want to stay here with your own, but we can bring them back on Moya. Tahleen interjects to say they have no guides to lead them home to Delvia and they’d rather not wander. Zhaan corners John and admits that she also had a dream about the last person she loved; “open your mind and keep an open mind.” Tahleen asks her if she’s sure John’s mind has the capacity for what she’s about to do; he’s less trained than a level one Pa’u, after all. Zhaan is adamant that John will understand, and asks Tahleen to show him one of her memories.
John and the audience suddenly see two Delvians, close up and face to face with chanting in the background. As they hold each other’s heads we see that one of them is Zhaan. The two of them are about to share unity. “Ease the burdens of my flesh with your soul,” says the man, Bitaal. Zhaan tells him to release his mind, surrender his demons…”for I have others to replace them.” :-O Bitaal falls away, gasping “what are you doing?” “Avenging the lives you have ruined,” an emotional Zhaan vows. Bitaal, in pain, screams her name as he dies. Whoah.
Our human falls back. “What the hell was that?” he gets out. “The crime I was imprisoned for,” Zhaan explains. John paces; “you killed a guy you were having sex with?!” Zhaan says she needs John… “for what; target practice?” Cold. Zhaan says she’s adrift and needs the judgment of someone she trusts. Nice to know how much she thinks of our human. John wants to know why she showed him this. “Because they want me to do it again,” Zhaan says. Dum dum DUUUM! She explains that Bitaal was her spiritual counselor, a powerful man. She killed him because instead of giving up his tenure when he was supposed to, he and some other conservative Pa’us brought in the Peacekeepers to round up liberals and other protesters, including Zhaan’s own father. :-/ Yikes. Was this before or after you killed him? John asks…sheesh, man, you were supposed to keep an open mind! Zhaan says she loved Bitaal. Tahleen and the others want the power to kill. “What are you supposed to do? Serve as the poster child for the revolution?” John asks. Zhaan explains that when Delvains train for purity they become vulnerable to their own dark impulses. …explains what she told Tahleen earlier about moving too fast! Anywho. It’s easy to succumb. John watches Turzak walk by the gnarled root. “Is that what happened to Grandpa Loony Tunes?” Zhaan says yes, but he was the leader and ergo it will happen to his followers, too. But not her, John realizes. She learned how to tame her darkness. Zhaan says she’d help them “through unity, the sacred surrender of two minds, two spirits, two souls.” Officialish definition. :P Wait, she’s giving a piece of her soul to these people?! John thinks it’s crazy. “Where there is risk there is also hope,” says wise Zhaan.
On Moya, Aeryn shooes Rygel out of the way though he’s begging for more “trigopod.” :P Aaw, Aeryn must have kept John’s name. D’argo tells her that John just commed; the Delvians want Zhaan for some “ceremonial mating.” The warriors don’t think much of this plan or the crewmates they left behind; Zhaan is distracted and Crichton is confused, Aeryn grouses. “Crichton is always confused,” D’argo agrees darkly. They share a look and then decide to go back to the planet, Rygel at their heels.
Lorana and Hasko have apparently relayed their concerns to Tahleen; she tells them that they could obtain through Zhaan what would take them cycles on their own. But the Peacekeeper female is returning with the Luxan, Hasko warns. Tahleen tells him to stop them; “let nothing distract Zhaan from what we want her focused on.” Lorana asks if they should send John back, but Tahleen counters that Zhaan wants him here. His mind should be weak enough not to be a threat. :P “Preoccupy them more, as you would children,” is her advice. “Attack them with their own hops and fears.” Yikes. Doesn’t sound very enlightened! “Is that how you would treat your children, Lorana?” Hasko asks pointedly when the two of them are alone.
John is sitting with his hands over his eyes when Alex walks in! :-O WHAT THE… John stands, stunned. “Who the hell are you?” “You don’t recognize me?” John backs up, claiming that they separated, back on Earth a wormhole away. “I never went to Stanford, I joined the space program with you.” Alex sounds genuinely confused. Sudden flashback to Alex in a familiar orange jumper by the Farscape module! “Yeah…” John is confused, apparently remembering this. “How did you get here?” “The same way as you,” Alex says. She grabs his face (that can be telling); in a new memory, the two of them are together in their jump suits taking pictures. John says “one is for his mom,” which I find really interesting for spoilerish reasons…but there is enough subterfuge for us to deal with just with what’s going on here, yup. What is going on here?? Did we have two humans in the uncharted territories all along? :P
Turzak and Zhaan are outside. Turzak thinks she took her sweet time in coming to him for counsel. “I needed the nerve,” Zhaan admits. She bows her head and says she’s always respected his teachings. “I respect your choice of murder victims,” Turzak quips back. Yowza. Zhaan asks what he’s doing here; he’s attending to sanctity roots. They look the same as the ones inside the ship below….hm. When Zhaan asks for advice Turzak refuses. “I have tasted of my darker impulses. I’m insane.” “What I contemplate is also a little insane,” Zhaan admits. Turzak rants about the dangers of pulling the darkness out of herself. Seems pretty dangerous. Zhaan wants his opinion whether Tahleen will hurt others with this darkness. “Certainly, but she may also free a planet from tyranny,” Turzak points out. What a complicated conundrum.
Tahleen walks by Hasko who is chanting by a fire, his eyes bright blue and distant. On Moya Rygel is staying behind after all but D’argo and Aeryn, both carting big weapons, are ready to go. …or so they think! Aeryn suddenly drops her rifle and it breaks! She tells D’argo that it fell apart, but from D’argo’s bemused point of view we see that it looks fine. “Just pick it up,” he says, exasperated. “It’s in pieces!” Aeryn protests. She kneels, grousing “I don’t know what happened.” “What happened is that you are wasting my time,” D’argo growls. Aeryn sees D’argo pick up a piece of the ripple and wag it in her face. Aeryn yanks it from him. “I don’t have any training to use this bit!” Of course, through D’argo, we see her brandishing the whole gun. :P Oh, it’s like slapstick. D’argo’s starting to realize how off things are, though, and he asks Pilot if there have been any Delvian transmissions from the planet. Interesting way to control minds. D’argo’s sudden clarity is compromised, however, when he sees his son Jothee in front of him! A Peacekeeper grabs him and D’argo runs, ordering Pilot to take action against a sudden PK attack. Well, at least he doesn’t think Rygel is Jothee this time. :P Rygel is busy feeling like he’s shrinking…another homage, perhaps, to “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” hee. Pretty similar special effects.
Zhaan tells Tahleen that she’s decided to share unity with her because of “the potential” of the other Delvian’s goals. They’re standing in front of the flame and foliage. Tahleen, grateful, says if she has doubts than she must refrain, but Zhaan says she’s in this. Tahleen reiterates that she just needs “the smallest seed” to point her in the right direction and then she’ll master the knowledge of control on her own. They touch heads and enter unity, the background dissolving into blue. Their heads and shoulders join into one. Zhaan is calm, though she notes Tahleen’s rages as she strives for too much. The camera moves back and forth between the two faces, often depicting the women standing back to back across some hazy distance, as will become common with showcasing unity on “Farscape.” Suddenly Zhaan is in pain and asks Tahleen—what are you doing? Tahleen apologizes, but “what you have achieved will take me too long to master on my own.” Double-crossed! Zhaan fights, but Tahleen is adamant; she “wants it all.” When they break apart, Zhaan’s eyes are red. Uh oh…”You betrayed me!” she hisses. Yup, Tahleen has gone to the dark side. While trying to back away from it. :/
Our favorite Delvian is sitting down elsewhere when John approaches. “I made a mistake,” she says with her shining, red eyes. The red means that tissue balm is migrating to her brain, with madness, possibly, to follow. Tahleen ripped her control away from her, she says as she stands. John quite wisely takes a step back. So take it back…he poses. Zhaan says no—it doesn’t work that way. She’ll have to start over from scratch. “I spent nearly 17 cycles tortured by my own dark impulses.” No wonder she sounds pissed! She doesn’t have the strength for it again. She pushes John down. John, freaked again, tells her to stay put.
John searches the temple for Tahleen, but comes across Alex instead. Where is he? He asks, accepting his former girlfriend’s presence easily. Alex tries to get John to sit, saying it was Zhaan’s choice to go for unity. They made a promise to always be there for each other, she reminds him, snuggling. OK, that one is true…so is the smooching, it would seem. :P John is suddenly commed by Pilot, who says everyone back on Moya is acting odd. D’argo, in the background, continues to call for Jothee. John furrows his brow as Alex burrows into him. D’argo demands Piliot’s help in finding his son while Aeryn, highly agitated, tries to figure out the controls on a console. And Rygel thinks he’s tiny(er), Pilot concludes. :P John breaks away from Alex; he’s got more problems than he thinks!
He finds Tahleen by the gnarled root. She tells him that with Zhaan’s powers she can help win back Delvia from the Peacekeepers. “This isn’t about freedom. It’s about power,” says wise John. The other two Delvians stand behind him as he implores Tahleen to change Zhaan back. Once he’s gone, the leading Delvian female tells Lorana to make John complacent “even if you have to destroy his mind.” Yikes. Going real extremist now! Lorana thinks it’s time to let the Moyans go, but Tahleen refuses; she didn’t get enough of Zhaan’s “gift” to quell the madness. Someone needs another hit! Hasko thinks taking more from Zhaan during unity might kill her!
John walks by Alex who asks him where he’s been. He asks her if anyone’s been messing with her mind, heh. “The only one messing with my mind, John, is you.” No time for this, John presses, he’s in serious mode. “You don’t think I am?” Alex holds up her hand with the engagement ring. When will she be more important to him than Zhaan? Well, there’s a romantic jealousy issue I wasn’t expecting. ;) “I never gave you that,” John says uncertainly. We flash back to his opening dream, they’re smooching in bed, but the memory shifts. Alex passes up Stanford. But she doesn’t want to be stuck in Florida alone… John promises that she’ll never be alone; he grabs the ring and proposes. In the present, John is confused. He remembers the ring, but…sudden new flash to their wedding day?? OK, this is getting out of control! Do you want it back? Alex challenges, taking the ring off. John protests. Then honor your vow, Alex demands. Or choose Zhaan. John puts the ring back on her finger, and the two of them kiss and hug. John still looks conflicted…
Tahleen talks to Turvak outside. If they return to Delvia, “many will seek to hear your word, barely coherent, over mine,” the female snaps contemptuously. “They won’t listen to me, my daughter. You didn’t.” Turvak replies. Surprise familial relationship! Turvak says he brought them to this planet to accelerate their teaching, to create a better class of Pa’u. “You go to fast. Pillaging knowledge without the wisdom to control it,” he advises. Tahleen says she’d rather take action for the sake of their homeland than stay here. Turvak grabs her, claiming what she does now is worse than insanity. I can believe it. “You’re quite lucid today, father.” Apparently this won’t do. She grabs his head and is able to kill him! :-O Guess Zhaan’s powers are working…the killing ones anyway, if not the control. Tahleen’s eyes are now red.
Zhaan lies on Turvak’s body on a funeral pyre when John finds her. Come back to Moya, he implores. Tahleen needs her, Zhaan replies. Pa’us help each other…and the two of them will join in unity one final time. “You’re full of it,” John chuckles darkly. Zhaan clearly means to kill Tahleen. “You were always more clever than the others,” Zhaan says—well there’s a first! She promises she won’t miss him. :( Forget Tahleen; think of yourself, John begs. “The urge to get retribution is intoxicating. I have missed it,” Zhaan whispers excitedly. John stands, defeated. “Alex said you were going to do this. That you’d quit.” Who? Zhaan asks. “My wife.” “…I shouldn’t have brought you here,” Zhaan replies. Now they’re both lost. She turns her head away from him.
Alex, in a white dress, approaches John by the gnarled root. Why is Zhaan so important to you? She demands. “Think of all the times she put herself on the line for us,” John answers. Not for me, Alex asserts. Zhaan couldn’t be there for her because she doesn’t know her. John goes huh? “I’m not here, John,” Alex replies. “I’ve never been.” John gets in close—don’t let them mess with your mind, he says. You’re real. “No,” Alex says. “I love you,” says John. But Alex steps away…and morphs into Lorana! :-O Guess it’s not really that surprising. :P “I release you from what is not true,” she says. John is stunned and staggering as his real memories come back. “How in God’s name do you call yourself a priest?” he croaks. Lorana admits there is no excuse for what she did—no shit! But she shares his feelings for Zhaan and the others. She realizes they fell off the path. The sanctity root is about purity. John comes in close. “Your tree is twisted on itself.” This is true. But Lorana says she found her own virtue in his mind…I guess when she decided to give it back to him. Next time, ask, says John, which seems like an understatement for such an intrusion. Lorana takes him by the cheeks. If he’s willing to take the risk he might be able to save Zhaan with the same virtue, she says.
Hasko, also having released the Moyans from their mind-spells, addresses them by the front portal. Probably wise not to be in the same room with D’argo and Aeryn right now. :P He asks them not to return to the planet; it would destroy the balance they have left. He restored their memories as a show of good faith; “please let us do this our way.” D’argo, remarkably calm, I’d think, gives him two arns.
Tahleen prepares for unity, praying by the flame. Lorana approaches and tells her this is wrong. Tahleen indicates that she’s always found the other woman to be a fool, even when sharing unity. “You were easy and pleasurable.” Sounds like a Delvian booty call. :P Not to mention that Tahleen seems to have been a rotten apple from far back. Lorana tells her that John and Zhaan are attempting to reach their ship. Oh noes! Tahleen runs to stop them, leaving Lorana with a triumphant smile.
Zhaan arrives at the foliage spot and finds John sitting on the steps. “The part of Tahleen in tonight’s unity will be played by John Crichton,” our human says, standing. You guys keep going on about how “hot” it is; I figured I’d give it a whirl. This isn’t sex, Zhaan says disdainfully. It’s a fusion of the minds and it could kill you. Not if you’re careful, John points out. Zhaan pfts and turns to leave—John makes a chicken sound. “Your translator microbes understand that one?” Hee. Apparently, as Zhaan comes back. “I must admit, I have always wondered what could possibly go on in there,” she taunts. “Not a lot. I’m a guy.” Classic answer. He goads her a little more until she grabs his head and demands that he take hers. She explains that their two spirits will pass into each other until they inhabit the same consciousness. And finally, they enter the blue space! The two merge. John looks at his hand—“It’s like Disney on acid!” Ten years of great sex all at the same moment. Hot damn! John finds the core of Zhaan’s soul. Aka “the part of me that is still capable of murder.” John is struggling so close to the rage. Could pull him in! He tries to talk himself through it and Zhaan says they must separate. John refuses; “there’s something in me that you need to see.” Herself as he sees her, “gentle, giving, that’s you, Zhaan.” Tahleen couldn’t have taken that away. You’re still “that Pa’u.” The music turns ethereal. Was a pretty good way of handling such an emotional admission. The two of them break apart and fall. John is wiped out but Zhaan is unconscious. He can’t get to her but she finally rises…still with red eyes. Fight it! John says. Fight “all the things that betray you.” Zhaan falls again, and John is able to crawl to her this time, cradling her head in his lap. When her eyes open, they’re blue. Yaaay! *wipes sweat from brow* She smiles and thanks him to tiny bell music. John is tired but relieved. She puts her hand comfortingly around his neck as the camera pans out. Aaaaw.
Later, John hacks at the gnarled root. He’s frustrated that he can’t remember the details of their unity, but Zhaan says that’s normal. “The essence of the bonding remains.” …more than just a vague memory; he and Zhaan are now connected for life! :D Tahleen and the others enter, demanding John to stop. “Burn down the temple, sister, cos you’re a bastard sect in any religion!” John proclaims. Tahleen threatens to destroy him mind , yanking his body forward, but Zhaan says no. She’s taken Tahleen’s mind powers too and is able to shield John. John resumes hacking and the structure shakes. Tahleen protests—we want the same thing, Zhaan! But Zhaan says no. “You reach for the dark impulses I’ve left behind.” She suggests that Tahleen tend to her father’s orchard, a task fitting for decent Pa’us. She and John walk towards the exit as Tahleen falls in front of the destroyed root. John touches Lorana, forgiving her for her deception. Quite big of him, really.
Zhaan is back in her normal clothes, and puts the priest robes on an altar. “You do that and she wins,” John says. “It’s not about winning,” Zhaan tries to explain. She feels unworthy of the clothes, although learning to protect minds has elevated her to a 10th level Pa’u. She knows she’ll take up that path again, but not today. John says it’s a shame that she’s wasted all her years of training. “Hardly wasted…they were the best years of my life.” Beautiful, understated message really. All about valuing the journey over the destination. And certainly the primary reason why Tahleen lost herself along the way. Our Zhaan is made of stronger stuff. ♥
So, lots of telling stuff this ep! The introductions of Alex and Delvian unity to draw out John and Zhaan’s backstories. With John I think it’s worth noting that he’s a romantic who’s had his heart broken by more distant women before. Wonder if that will be a theme. With Zhaan, we learn that she’s actually guilty of the crime she was imprisoned for. :-O Out of all the Moyans! It’s a great story that turns convention on its head, because now Zhaan is the most serene. She’s truly learned from her mistakes—though she struggles with it and the rage inside her. There’s something so human about her…despite the fact that her alien training makes her rage a bit more dangerous than ours, really. :P But I love John and Zhaan’s bond (which is now strengthened through their unity. :D) I think she sees a kindred spirit in John—D’argo and Aeryn, the warriors, are capable of deep thinking, but neither see the universe with the wonder that our human does. Tis why that scene in the beginning with the “trigopod” was so important. :P
One final note of a serious nature. Some fans would call the Delvian manipulation of memories, John’s in particular, a matter of “mind rape.” It’s almost as if the showrunners glossed over the fact that our human had his most intimate memories tampered with. This is a theme that will continue throughout the series, sometimes addressed overtly, sometimes not. It’ll certainly play a part in changing John from this clucky innocent into someone more hardened by the Uncharted Territories. But I’ll leave it at that without going into further spoilers!
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Speaking of strange women with whom John has had sexual relations, we’re introduced to Alex! A past human girlfriend we’ve never heard of before, but apparently she was veery special to John. Huh. Always nice to get the background character details! :P In this episode that statement rings more true for Zhaan than John, really, as we finally find out the gristly details of what she’s been imprisoned for.
John sweet-talks a scantily clad blonde whom he lays atop in bed! Wowza. He calls her Alex and she says she’s taking “the Stanford job.” John, disappointed, stops making out and rolls off her. She’s going for a full grant, but he’s staying local for a space program. “We talked about this, John, about taking a break,” Alex says. “It isn’t a break if you’re all the way across the continent,” John replies, turning away. Alex promises she’ll always be there for him. John reaches down to the floor and closes a box with an engagement ring inside, pushing it under the bed. “If we were meant to be together, we’ll be together,” Alex concludes. Pretty heavy stuff, but they go back to making out.
A jolt has John tumbling from his bed on Moya in the present. He’s thrown around his quarters for a bit before he’s able to make it to command, where D’argo and Rygel have made it before him. Apparently Moya is in the middle of a rather long starburst. Aeryn and Zhaan file in shortly thereafter. When it’s over Pilot explains that Moya, not he, initiated everything. Apparently she thought she heard the distress call of another pregnant Leviathan, leading to the fact that women, no matter the species (or bio-mechanoid,) stick together. :P Rygel’s contribution is “I like my wives pregnant and my ships cold to the touch. That way my feet stay warm and my slumber is uninterrupted.” John is impressed by the “wives, plural,” giving the dominar a high five and proving that dudes are douches. :P John then notices that Aeryn is wearing his underwear. Aeryn stretches to read the tag in back, asking him what it says. “Calvin.” “Then they’re not yours.” Cute, but haven’t we already covered this joke in “Back to the Future”? ;)
Rygel and D’argo are discussing how they both had sexy dreams just now about their last times in the sack before Moya. John chimes in that it’s the same for him. The girls remain unimpressed with their “masculine memories,” as Zhaan puts it. Moya, near a planet, hasn’t located the ship, but they’re getting a transmission…from a Delvian! Zhaan’s peeps! She apologizes for deceiving them with the whole pregnant Leviathan scheme, but it was the only way to get their signal out there. These folks appear to be pretty big Zhaan fangirls!
John and Aeryn travel with her down to the planet. John notes how the Delvian ship has melted into the rock. Aeryn thinks it impressive from a military standpoint; the Delvians can hide from their enemies easier. “It’s always instructive to see how different cultures view the same reality,” says the Delvian, Tahleen. They view it as a way to achieve pious solitude. But speaking of piety, Zhaan is disturbed by their deception, so Tahleen admits that it might have been a mistake, but desperate times, you know? Meanwhile, John and Aeryn are watching a male Delvian in goofy, purple robes cavorting around some strange vines. Tahleen mentions that they should go down below—the surface of this planet is toxic. Uh, good to know!
Tahleen brings the Moyans into a “modest temple to the goddess of spiritual renewal.” John hisses to Aeryn that she wasn’t supposed to bring a weapon—Aeryn hisses back that she’s being cautious. Kids. :P Tahleen introduces the pair to another female, Lorana, so that they can gather food. “Please be greedy. The more you pick, the more that grows to replace it.” Kinda seems like where the lines of selflessness and greed meet. :P Lorana leads John and Aeryn into an open-air room, filled with chanting, silky drapes, and a pool of water with flower petals. “It’s so perfect my teeth ache,” John quips. “Well, that’s from all the sincerity,” Aeryn gripes. Once Zhaan and Tahleen are alone they discuss what Zhaan is needed for. “Search yourself,” is Tahleen’s suggestion. “What I do know is that you invaded my soul last night and you left me bitter,” Zhaan says, hurt. So she did dream! Tahleen shrugs it off—the others enjoyed their experiences, didn’t they? “We always remember, Zhaan. We simply choose to ignore,” Tahleen says cryptically.
John pulls a squid-like creature from the water. “Part plant, part animal, total nutrition. What’s not to like.” Aeryn is still in a bad mood; “it amazes me how people mistake theosity for superiority.” “I don’t think anything amazes you,” says insightful John. He’s feeling a lot better himself as he pulls out another squid. What do you make of this? He poses to his companion. “I dub thee trigopod,” he tells the squid. Aeryn rolls her eyes. “They’re a food source.” John calls it “unique”…interesting. It’s a word that comes up a fair bit in “Farscape.” Anywho. He implores Aeryn to look up at the cathedral-like dome of the ship with light spilling down…but then he concedes that it’s probably creepy. Huh. I didn’t see it like that. Zhaan, in similar robes now, and Tahleen enter and watch from behind as John continues to lecture Aeryn. “You know our cause is just,” says Tahleen. “I sympathize but I cannot help you,” says Zhaan. “Then give us the power to help ourselves,” says Tahleen. Damn, what did we miss?? Zhaan asks when the “madness began…” Only recently, says Tahleen, but already Pa’u Tuzak is “beyond redemption.” Zhaan accuses her of going too fast; that’s why we need your “secret,” Tahleen says. “I have no secret. I am just me,” says Zhaan. But her hatred and anger, referenced a few episodes back as part of her past, should have kept her insane! I was, says Zhaan, and she doesn’t know how she pulled through. Tahleen says they need to learn Zhaan’s control before the madness consumes all of them. “And in return, I will show you paths to abilities beyond your comprehension.” Witness as such…Tahleen reaches out to John. The water turns into an ocean memory from his childhood! He’s remembering his mother calling him away from the waves…present John leans in closer to the pool. The Delvians hold hands as the music grows tense. Young John falls in, crying for help. Present John jolts back, frightened. “There’s…stuff…in the water,” he stammers. Zhaan realizes that Tahleen altered his memory of that event. Tahleen promises to teach her, but Zhaan just wants John back the way he was. I’d think her compassion is a good way to overcome madness, but maybe that’s just me.
Our poor human is still freaked as he looks into a funglass mirror. “You are the most bizarre creature I have ever met,” Aeryn proclaims. On Moya, D’argo is thinking something similar after receiving a message from him; “finally! I’ve been saying that since he arrived,” quips Rygel. But D’argo is more concerned about “Delvian trickery” and wants to leave. “Get the food first,” is Rygel’s command. :P
John, in a new part of the temple, looks up at a freaky, gnarled root that is holding up the ship. Don’t touch it! Says the goofy Delvian from outside earlier. It’s poison leads to death. …good to know! He introduces himself as Turzak, the mad Pa’u. “I am here because of you, Peacekeeper!” he snarls. John is freaked, but he must be used to the comparison. I’m not a Peacekeeper, he tries to explain. Yes you are! Turzak argues. He blames John for his insanity. “Because I touched inside what I needed to touch you outside.” Cryptic. He asks John why he’s traveling with Zhaan, then continues babbling about “vigilance, Peacekeper. Confusing times. Do not touch the root.” …sounds kind of like a Fool’s advice to me, which actually should be taken seriously.
At another part of the temple, Aeryn is by a flame near some pretty foliage. Another Delvian male, Hasko, storms in and tells her that her weapon is forbidden. Aeryn says that she’s not allowed to travel without it. Someone’s still in the PK zone…but these Devlians have no love for Peacekeepers. “I’ve been driven from my home by your kind; I will not be driven from here also.” He tells her to leave, and Aeryn seems happy to comply. Once she is gone, Hasko finds Lorana to voice concerns about Tahleen’s actions. What if they’re blinded by her madness? “I pity you, your jealousy,” Lorana says coyly. “Tahleen and I share unity now, not you and I.” Oh, snap! And can I just say—I love how free-natured Delvians are with both genders? …though I suppose it’s strange to think of an alien species having “genders” the way we do, but that’ll deconstruct the whole show, so desist, desist! :P
Zhaan and Tahleen are in the middle of a ritual when John comes in to say that Aeryn was booted out of the temple. Zhaan says she’s aware and in fact Aeryn took the transport back to Moya. Freaked John is now more freaked; what about them? Zhaan says she wants his help to make a decision. John goes into assumption mode; it’s ok if you want to stay here with your own, but we can bring them back on Moya. Tahleen interjects to say they have no guides to lead them home to Delvia and they’d rather not wander. Zhaan corners John and admits that she also had a dream about the last person she loved; “open your mind and keep an open mind.” Tahleen asks her if she’s sure John’s mind has the capacity for what she’s about to do; he’s less trained than a level one Pa’u, after all. Zhaan is adamant that John will understand, and asks Tahleen to show him one of her memories.
John and the audience suddenly see two Delvians, close up and face to face with chanting in the background. As they hold each other’s heads we see that one of them is Zhaan. The two of them are about to share unity. “Ease the burdens of my flesh with your soul,” says the man, Bitaal. Zhaan tells him to release his mind, surrender his demons…”for I have others to replace them.” :-O Bitaal falls away, gasping “what are you doing?” “Avenging the lives you have ruined,” an emotional Zhaan vows. Bitaal, in pain, screams her name as he dies. Whoah.
Our human falls back. “What the hell was that?” he gets out. “The crime I was imprisoned for,” Zhaan explains. John paces; “you killed a guy you were having sex with?!” Zhaan says she needs John… “for what; target practice?” Cold. Zhaan says she’s adrift and needs the judgment of someone she trusts. Nice to know how much she thinks of our human. John wants to know why she showed him this. “Because they want me to do it again,” Zhaan says. Dum dum DUUUM! She explains that Bitaal was her spiritual counselor, a powerful man. She killed him because instead of giving up his tenure when he was supposed to, he and some other conservative Pa’us brought in the Peacekeepers to round up liberals and other protesters, including Zhaan’s own father. :-/ Yikes. Was this before or after you killed him? John asks…sheesh, man, you were supposed to keep an open mind! Zhaan says she loved Bitaal. Tahleen and the others want the power to kill. “What are you supposed to do? Serve as the poster child for the revolution?” John asks. Zhaan explains that when Delvains train for purity they become vulnerable to their own dark impulses. …explains what she told Tahleen earlier about moving too fast! Anywho. It’s easy to succumb. John watches Turzak walk by the gnarled root. “Is that what happened to Grandpa Loony Tunes?” Zhaan says yes, but he was the leader and ergo it will happen to his followers, too. But not her, John realizes. She learned how to tame her darkness. Zhaan says she’d help them “through unity, the sacred surrender of two minds, two spirits, two souls.” Officialish definition. :P Wait, she’s giving a piece of her soul to these people?! John thinks it’s crazy. “Where there is risk there is also hope,” says wise Zhaan.
On Moya, Aeryn shooes Rygel out of the way though he’s begging for more “trigopod.” :P Aaw, Aeryn must have kept John’s name. D’argo tells her that John just commed; the Delvians want Zhaan for some “ceremonial mating.” The warriors don’t think much of this plan or the crewmates they left behind; Zhaan is distracted and Crichton is confused, Aeryn grouses. “Crichton is always confused,” D’argo agrees darkly. They share a look and then decide to go back to the planet, Rygel at their heels.
Lorana and Hasko have apparently relayed their concerns to Tahleen; she tells them that they could obtain through Zhaan what would take them cycles on their own. But the Peacekeeper female is returning with the Luxan, Hasko warns. Tahleen tells him to stop them; “let nothing distract Zhaan from what we want her focused on.” Lorana asks if they should send John back, but Tahleen counters that Zhaan wants him here. His mind should be weak enough not to be a threat. :P “Preoccupy them more, as you would children,” is her advice. “Attack them with their own hops and fears.” Yikes. Doesn’t sound very enlightened! “Is that how you would treat your children, Lorana?” Hasko asks pointedly when the two of them are alone.
John is sitting with his hands over his eyes when Alex walks in! :-O WHAT THE… John stands, stunned. “Who the hell are you?” “You don’t recognize me?” John backs up, claiming that they separated, back on Earth a wormhole away. “I never went to Stanford, I joined the space program with you.” Alex sounds genuinely confused. Sudden flashback to Alex in a familiar orange jumper by the Farscape module! “Yeah…” John is confused, apparently remembering this. “How did you get here?” “The same way as you,” Alex says. She grabs his face (that can be telling); in a new memory, the two of them are together in their jump suits taking pictures. John says “one is for his mom,” which I find really interesting for spoilerish reasons…but there is enough subterfuge for us to deal with just with what’s going on here, yup. What is going on here?? Did we have two humans in the uncharted territories all along? :P
Turzak and Zhaan are outside. Turzak thinks she took her sweet time in coming to him for counsel. “I needed the nerve,” Zhaan admits. She bows her head and says she’s always respected his teachings. “I respect your choice of murder victims,” Turzak quips back. Yowza. Zhaan asks what he’s doing here; he’s attending to sanctity roots. They look the same as the ones inside the ship below….hm. When Zhaan asks for advice Turzak refuses. “I have tasted of my darker impulses. I’m insane.” “What I contemplate is also a little insane,” Zhaan admits. Turzak rants about the dangers of pulling the darkness out of herself. Seems pretty dangerous. Zhaan wants his opinion whether Tahleen will hurt others with this darkness. “Certainly, but she may also free a planet from tyranny,” Turzak points out. What a complicated conundrum.
Tahleen walks by Hasko who is chanting by a fire, his eyes bright blue and distant. On Moya Rygel is staying behind after all but D’argo and Aeryn, both carting big weapons, are ready to go. …or so they think! Aeryn suddenly drops her rifle and it breaks! She tells D’argo that it fell apart, but from D’argo’s bemused point of view we see that it looks fine. “Just pick it up,” he says, exasperated. “It’s in pieces!” Aeryn protests. She kneels, grousing “I don’t know what happened.” “What happened is that you are wasting my time,” D’argo growls. Aeryn sees D’argo pick up a piece of the ripple and wag it in her face. Aeryn yanks it from him. “I don’t have any training to use this bit!” Of course, through D’argo, we see her brandishing the whole gun. :P Oh, it’s like slapstick. D’argo’s starting to realize how off things are, though, and he asks Pilot if there have been any Delvian transmissions from the planet. Interesting way to control minds. D’argo’s sudden clarity is compromised, however, when he sees his son Jothee in front of him! A Peacekeeper grabs him and D’argo runs, ordering Pilot to take action against a sudden PK attack. Well, at least he doesn’t think Rygel is Jothee this time. :P Rygel is busy feeling like he’s shrinking…another homage, perhaps, to “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” hee. Pretty similar special effects.
Zhaan tells Tahleen that she’s decided to share unity with her because of “the potential” of the other Delvian’s goals. They’re standing in front of the flame and foliage. Tahleen, grateful, says if she has doubts than she must refrain, but Zhaan says she’s in this. Tahleen reiterates that she just needs “the smallest seed” to point her in the right direction and then she’ll master the knowledge of control on her own. They touch heads and enter unity, the background dissolving into blue. Their heads and shoulders join into one. Zhaan is calm, though she notes Tahleen’s rages as she strives for too much. The camera moves back and forth between the two faces, often depicting the women standing back to back across some hazy distance, as will become common with showcasing unity on “Farscape.” Suddenly Zhaan is in pain and asks Tahleen—what are you doing? Tahleen apologizes, but “what you have achieved will take me too long to master on my own.” Double-crossed! Zhaan fights, but Tahleen is adamant; she “wants it all.” When they break apart, Zhaan’s eyes are red. Uh oh…”You betrayed me!” she hisses. Yup, Tahleen has gone to the dark side. While trying to back away from it. :/
Our favorite Delvian is sitting down elsewhere when John approaches. “I made a mistake,” she says with her shining, red eyes. The red means that tissue balm is migrating to her brain, with madness, possibly, to follow. Tahleen ripped her control away from her, she says as she stands. John quite wisely takes a step back. So take it back…he poses. Zhaan says no—it doesn’t work that way. She’ll have to start over from scratch. “I spent nearly 17 cycles tortured by my own dark impulses.” No wonder she sounds pissed! She doesn’t have the strength for it again. She pushes John down. John, freaked again, tells her to stay put.
John searches the temple for Tahleen, but comes across Alex instead. Where is he? He asks, accepting his former girlfriend’s presence easily. Alex tries to get John to sit, saying it was Zhaan’s choice to go for unity. They made a promise to always be there for each other, she reminds him, snuggling. OK, that one is true…so is the smooching, it would seem. :P John is suddenly commed by Pilot, who says everyone back on Moya is acting odd. D’argo, in the background, continues to call for Jothee. John furrows his brow as Alex burrows into him. D’argo demands Piliot’s help in finding his son while Aeryn, highly agitated, tries to figure out the controls on a console. And Rygel thinks he’s tiny(er), Pilot concludes. :P John breaks away from Alex; he’s got more problems than he thinks!
He finds Tahleen by the gnarled root. She tells him that with Zhaan’s powers she can help win back Delvia from the Peacekeepers. “This isn’t about freedom. It’s about power,” says wise John. The other two Delvians stand behind him as he implores Tahleen to change Zhaan back. Once he’s gone, the leading Delvian female tells Lorana to make John complacent “even if you have to destroy his mind.” Yikes. Going real extremist now! Lorana thinks it’s time to let the Moyans go, but Tahleen refuses; she didn’t get enough of Zhaan’s “gift” to quell the madness. Someone needs another hit! Hasko thinks taking more from Zhaan during unity might kill her!
John walks by Alex who asks him where he’s been. He asks her if anyone’s been messing with her mind, heh. “The only one messing with my mind, John, is you.” No time for this, John presses, he’s in serious mode. “You don’t think I am?” Alex holds up her hand with the engagement ring. When will she be more important to him than Zhaan? Well, there’s a romantic jealousy issue I wasn’t expecting. ;) “I never gave you that,” John says uncertainly. We flash back to his opening dream, they’re smooching in bed, but the memory shifts. Alex passes up Stanford. But she doesn’t want to be stuck in Florida alone… John promises that she’ll never be alone; he grabs the ring and proposes. In the present, John is confused. He remembers the ring, but…sudden new flash to their wedding day?? OK, this is getting out of control! Do you want it back? Alex challenges, taking the ring off. John protests. Then honor your vow, Alex demands. Or choose Zhaan. John puts the ring back on her finger, and the two of them kiss and hug. John still looks conflicted…
Tahleen talks to Turvak outside. If they return to Delvia, “many will seek to hear your word, barely coherent, over mine,” the female snaps contemptuously. “They won’t listen to me, my daughter. You didn’t.” Turvak replies. Surprise familial relationship! Turvak says he brought them to this planet to accelerate their teaching, to create a better class of Pa’u. “You go to fast. Pillaging knowledge without the wisdom to control it,” he advises. Tahleen says she’d rather take action for the sake of their homeland than stay here. Turvak grabs her, claiming what she does now is worse than insanity. I can believe it. “You’re quite lucid today, father.” Apparently this won’t do. She grabs his head and is able to kill him! :-O Guess Zhaan’s powers are working…the killing ones anyway, if not the control. Tahleen’s eyes are now red.
Zhaan lies on Turvak’s body on a funeral pyre when John finds her. Come back to Moya, he implores. Tahleen needs her, Zhaan replies. Pa’us help each other…and the two of them will join in unity one final time. “You’re full of it,” John chuckles darkly. Zhaan clearly means to kill Tahleen. “You were always more clever than the others,” Zhaan says—well there’s a first! She promises she won’t miss him. :( Forget Tahleen; think of yourself, John begs. “The urge to get retribution is intoxicating. I have missed it,” Zhaan whispers excitedly. John stands, defeated. “Alex said you were going to do this. That you’d quit.” Who? Zhaan asks. “My wife.” “…I shouldn’t have brought you here,” Zhaan replies. Now they’re both lost. She turns her head away from him.
Alex, in a white dress, approaches John by the gnarled root. Why is Zhaan so important to you? She demands. “Think of all the times she put herself on the line for us,” John answers. Not for me, Alex asserts. Zhaan couldn’t be there for her because she doesn’t know her. John goes huh? “I’m not here, John,” Alex replies. “I’ve never been.” John gets in close—don’t let them mess with your mind, he says. You’re real. “No,” Alex says. “I love you,” says John. But Alex steps away…and morphs into Lorana! :-O Guess it’s not really that surprising. :P “I release you from what is not true,” she says. John is stunned and staggering as his real memories come back. “How in God’s name do you call yourself a priest?” he croaks. Lorana admits there is no excuse for what she did—no shit! But she shares his feelings for Zhaan and the others. She realizes they fell off the path. The sanctity root is about purity. John comes in close. “Your tree is twisted on itself.” This is true. But Lorana says she found her own virtue in his mind…I guess when she decided to give it back to him. Next time, ask, says John, which seems like an understatement for such an intrusion. Lorana takes him by the cheeks. If he’s willing to take the risk he might be able to save Zhaan with the same virtue, she says.
Hasko, also having released the Moyans from their mind-spells, addresses them by the front portal. Probably wise not to be in the same room with D’argo and Aeryn right now. :P He asks them not to return to the planet; it would destroy the balance they have left. He restored their memories as a show of good faith; “please let us do this our way.” D’argo, remarkably calm, I’d think, gives him two arns.
Tahleen prepares for unity, praying by the flame. Lorana approaches and tells her this is wrong. Tahleen indicates that she’s always found the other woman to be a fool, even when sharing unity. “You were easy and pleasurable.” Sounds like a Delvian booty call. :P Not to mention that Tahleen seems to have been a rotten apple from far back. Lorana tells her that John and Zhaan are attempting to reach their ship. Oh noes! Tahleen runs to stop them, leaving Lorana with a triumphant smile.
Zhaan arrives at the foliage spot and finds John sitting on the steps. “The part of Tahleen in tonight’s unity will be played by John Crichton,” our human says, standing. You guys keep going on about how “hot” it is; I figured I’d give it a whirl. This isn’t sex, Zhaan says disdainfully. It’s a fusion of the minds and it could kill you. Not if you’re careful, John points out. Zhaan pfts and turns to leave—John makes a chicken sound. “Your translator microbes understand that one?” Hee. Apparently, as Zhaan comes back. “I must admit, I have always wondered what could possibly go on in there,” she taunts. “Not a lot. I’m a guy.” Classic answer. He goads her a little more until she grabs his head and demands that he take hers. She explains that their two spirits will pass into each other until they inhabit the same consciousness. And finally, they enter the blue space! The two merge. John looks at his hand—“It’s like Disney on acid!” Ten years of great sex all at the same moment. Hot damn! John finds the core of Zhaan’s soul. Aka “the part of me that is still capable of murder.” John is struggling so close to the rage. Could pull him in! He tries to talk himself through it and Zhaan says they must separate. John refuses; “there’s something in me that you need to see.” Herself as he sees her, “gentle, giving, that’s you, Zhaan.” Tahleen couldn’t have taken that away. You’re still “that Pa’u.” The music turns ethereal. Was a pretty good way of handling such an emotional admission. The two of them break apart and fall. John is wiped out but Zhaan is unconscious. He can’t get to her but she finally rises…still with red eyes. Fight it! John says. Fight “all the things that betray you.” Zhaan falls again, and John is able to crawl to her this time, cradling her head in his lap. When her eyes open, they’re blue. Yaaay! *wipes sweat from brow* She smiles and thanks him to tiny bell music. John is tired but relieved. She puts her hand comfortingly around his neck as the camera pans out. Aaaaw.
Later, John hacks at the gnarled root. He’s frustrated that he can’t remember the details of their unity, but Zhaan says that’s normal. “The essence of the bonding remains.” …more than just a vague memory; he and Zhaan are now connected for life! :D Tahleen and the others enter, demanding John to stop. “Burn down the temple, sister, cos you’re a bastard sect in any religion!” John proclaims. Tahleen threatens to destroy him mind , yanking his body forward, but Zhaan says no. She’s taken Tahleen’s mind powers too and is able to shield John. John resumes hacking and the structure shakes. Tahleen protests—we want the same thing, Zhaan! But Zhaan says no. “You reach for the dark impulses I’ve left behind.” She suggests that Tahleen tend to her father’s orchard, a task fitting for decent Pa’us. She and John walk towards the exit as Tahleen falls in front of the destroyed root. John touches Lorana, forgiving her for her deception. Quite big of him, really.
Zhaan is back in her normal clothes, and puts the priest robes on an altar. “You do that and she wins,” John says. “It’s not about winning,” Zhaan tries to explain. She feels unworthy of the clothes, although learning to protect minds has elevated her to a 10th level Pa’u. She knows she’ll take up that path again, but not today. John says it’s a shame that she’s wasted all her years of training. “Hardly wasted…they were the best years of my life.” Beautiful, understated message really. All about valuing the journey over the destination. And certainly the primary reason why Tahleen lost herself along the way. Our Zhaan is made of stronger stuff. ♥
So, lots of telling stuff this ep! The introductions of Alex and Delvian unity to draw out John and Zhaan’s backstories. With John I think it’s worth noting that he’s a romantic who’s had his heart broken by more distant women before. Wonder if that will be a theme. With Zhaan, we learn that she’s actually guilty of the crime she was imprisoned for. :-O Out of all the Moyans! It’s a great story that turns convention on its head, because now Zhaan is the most serene. She’s truly learned from her mistakes—though she struggles with it and the rage inside her. There’s something so human about her…despite the fact that her alien training makes her rage a bit more dangerous than ours, really. :P But I love John and Zhaan’s bond (which is now strengthened through their unity. :D) I think she sees a kindred spirit in John—D’argo and Aeryn, the warriors, are capable of deep thinking, but neither see the universe with the wonder that our human does. Tis why that scene in the beginning with the “trigopod” was so important. :P
One final note of a serious nature. Some fans would call the Delvian manipulation of memories, John’s in particular, a matter of “mind rape.” It’s almost as if the showrunners glossed over the fact that our human had his most intimate memories tampered with. This is a theme that will continue throughout the series, sometimes addressed overtly, sometimes not. It’ll certainly play a part in changing John from this clucky innocent into someone more hardened by the Uncharted Territories. But I’ll leave it at that without going into further spoilers!
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