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scifi_rewatchThere’s a lot of ways this episode is classic “Farscape”; the crazy, the kooky, even the downright disgusting are amped up a bit. It’s a very action-packed episode, with the bad guy and the plotty points of contention (the crackers and the beacon) set up early so that we can move quickly from point A to point B. And all these years later, I still find the character griping to be highly amusing (Ben Browder and Claudia Black especially stole that one,) though it is true that these arguments, however influenced by outside forces, belie that the crew still has some relationship issues under the surface.
There’s one scene between John and Chiana that continues to rub me the wrong way, more and more as I re-watch the show. This episode is replete with insults, adult themes and even murder attempts, but this one touches explicitly on sexual violence and then just brushes it off. Meaning no offence to Ben and Gigi, but it’s highly uncomfortable and ultimately a bit of a letdown with no resolution.
Where the showrunners failed with the John/Chiana scene, imho, they made up for it with some subtle arc building in John’s material elsewhere. Let’s just remember that this isn’t the first time this season that John’s feeling a little crazy, if you recall. They’re really building towards something greater, even in the sillier episodes.
Summary:
John and D’argo walk down a corridor, setting up the scene that “they’ve” (as in the crew sans cynical John) have invited an alien called T’raltixx on board to help shield Moya since Scorpius has upped his search for our human. As proof of that, Aeryn has brought back a Scorpy-beacon from a trading expedition to see if she can hack in to see where the signal’s from, and all they had time to buy by way of food is barrels and barrels of crackers. Chiana chokes on the dryness…sounds like Passover. :P
Zhaan introduces T’raltixx; a big-head alien with no eyes, and he wants to test his device on John’s Moya-modified module. John, for his part, is less than enthused and yammers off a story about being duped by a knife-salesman at home. T’raltixx is confused; you don’t want my help? BINGO! Says John, hurting his ears. Looks like a culture clash. To make a long story short, John has to sit in the module and turn on the engine for ten seconds, so while everyone else “oohs” and “aaaahs” over the module’s temporary invisibility, John is still an ignorant sourpuss. :P
Obviously the crew later clues him in, as John goes to talk to Pilot about their new addition. He still doesn’t trust him, but he’s on board now to travel to T’raltixx’s planet in order to build a Moya-sized invisibility cloak. Pilot is less than enthused but he goes along with it, changing Moya’s course.
On command, T’raltixx warns the crew (and cynical John) that their trajectory will take them past some pulsars that effect “lesser species,” with such things as mild, temporary dizziness. The boys are quick to assert that the pulsars aren’t affecting them—Zhaan admits to some photosynthesis enthusiasm. :P
Cynical John walks T’raltixx to his quarters and tests the alien by putting two fingers in the air; T’raltixx knows his trick and explains that his other senses overcompensating for his blindness. Meanwhile, John stops in the mess hall to chastise Chiana for eating the crackers; she’s saving some for the rest of them, right? The two scoff at each other briefly, and then John leaves and D’argo enters. Chi asserts that she’s not stealing food, like John believes, but she and D’argo have to talk… T’raltixx, meanwhile, is being a bit picky about finding quarters, given audio sensitivity to DRDs. As they continue to walk down tiers, John takes time out of his day to mock Rygel and then warn him to get to the mess hall before Chiana eats all the crackers. John’s quite the rabble-rouser today!
Aeryn has sequestered herself in the maintenance bay where she tinkers with the active beacon; a red Scorpius holograph keeps repeating “reward for the capture of John Crichton.” Zhaan comes in, which Aeryn is immediately annoyed about, so the Delvian accuses her of being secretive. Like maybe there’s a hidden message for her about amnesty for turning the rest of the crew in? John comms Zhaan just in time to ask her to babysit T’raltixx, but the crew members take a few more seconds to gripe at each other in the meantime.
Rygel is now the one eating crackers, but when D’argo enters he immediately gets angry and says that Chiana claims the Hynerian has been stealing from them. As Ryg protests his innocence, D’argo bodily slams the guy down on the table and starts stuffing his face with crackers. He finally pauses; Rygel is weakly trying to stop the assault, and the Luxan turns and storms from the room.
Zhaan proves to be a bad baysitter; she’s in the corner, acting like she’s in a trance. T’raltixx calls Pilot for a 411, so Pilot explains that she’s a plant; “put her in the sun, watch her smile.” But T’raltixx isn’t through asking questions yet…do you like your crew members? After a moment of thought, Pilot asserts that he doesn’t like them. :O Cut to John who’s annoyed that Pilot hasn’t been answering his comms (Pilot brushes it off.) With much sarcasm and insults, John asserts that he thinks something is weird around here and he wants Pilot to run a scan. He’s interrupted by the maintenance bay as Aeryn and Chiana argue loudly; Chi now wants a look at that beacon, with claims about the secret message. John steps in and takes Chiana’s side, to prove once and for all that there is no such message, but Chiana immediately is suspicious of John now. As the three of them start to heat up, D’argo enters and squares off against John and Aeryn with Chi. A few insults and a D’argo-sized punch to the chin knock John out of his snarkiness for a moment. He squares off against the crew; why are we fighting about crackers and nonexistent messages? The rest of them calm down a bit, but there’s definite tension in the air. Chiana stalks off, then Aeryn yells after her and stalks off, then after an awkward bro-pat, D’argo leaves John alone. As our human leaves the room, threatening Pilot that he’s about to come up there if he doesn’t answer his comms, we span to T’raltixx crawling high up on the walls! A DRD comes to investigate, and T’raltixx zaps it dead with his eyes! Yikes.
Later, T’raltixx is back with vegged out Zhaan when John comes a-calling. He professes ignorance about why the pulsars are affecting everyone so much, and Zhaan says to just enjoy it. As for T’raltixx himself, well he’s blind, so the pulsars aren’t getting in. Uh huh. But once they get away from the pulsars, everything should go back to normal.
In the meantime, Aeryn is moving stealthily down the corridor with her pulse rifle strapped to her back. She finds Rygel—who’s hiding from D’argo in a crawl space—and rather martially recruits him to help her in a plan against the others. Elsewhere, D’argo and Chiana are conspiring about the hidden message and who’s working for who. They have to get off Moya ASAP! As Zhaan passes, Chi hides and D’argo tongues the Delvian, asserting that she’s working for John. John himself is in Pilot’s den where now he’s the brunt of some sarcastic abuse. As Pilot continues to rail on humans, John tries to take it upon himself to run the scan. Pilot blasts him backwards and our human again snaps out of it. He realizes that something is REALLY off, since Pilot is both affected and not directly in the pulsar light. He’s thinking on his feet, approaching Aeryn and Rygel in the cargo bay, but he’s immediately stopped by a gun. His distrustful crewmembers assert that they’re just taking their equal share of crackers since people have been stealing food, so he’d best stay back. John loses it again, going on a delightful stream of Crichtonisms about ice cream. :P
T’raltixx explains to Pilot via comms that he’s commandeered all of the DRDs to help him make light, aka change Moya’s bioluminescence. Pilot is still wary, but they bond over the fact that he trusts the rest of the crew less. Maybe they can come to some arrangement…
John has made his way to the hangar where Chiana and D’argo work on his module and argue with each other. Zhaan’s unconscious in a corner, and D and Chi immediately take up a comical stance as they accuse John of using Zhaan. But no worries—D’argo and Chi will be out of his hair asap once they get off Moya. John laughs in their faces, holds up some circuitry that renders the module useless…plus, he’s disabled the hangar doors. As he saunters out, Chiana is immediately suspicious of poor D’argo since Zhaan apparently wasn’t working for John after all. :P
Aeryn is barricading the command and griping at Rygel for not doing his job and watching her back. She’s not moving fast enough, as John is able to squeeze his head through the door. Still a bit loopy, he nonetheless tries to get the former Peacekeeper to put down her gun so they can talk. When she shoots him instead, John angrily calls for Pilot’s support, but Pilot leaves him hanging. Aeryn continues shooting at him for a little while, also exchanging crazy banter, until John escapes. He runs into Chiana playing with the still-repeating beacon in a corridor. He grabs her up, demanding to know what she’s doing, but she knees him in the groin and escapes. :P John, doubled over in pain, complains to the Scorpius image…which immediately comes to life and starts talking to him! :O If you thought things were freaky before…
In full assault mode, Aeryn ignores Rygel’s concerns that Pilot might flush them out of command somehow; risks you have to take! They continue to argue amongst themselves. John, meanwhile, is being haunted by a Scorpius who remembers his childhood and quotes Shakespeare about revenge. The crew is coming to kill you…Scorp warns. Has John lost it for good?
A desperate-sounding T’raltixx begs Pilot for more light, even as he’s surrounded by DRDs and light fixtures and such. He reminds Pilot of their deal; you save me and I’ll save you from the others! Plots abound…like with D’argo standing guard over the crackers with his qalta blade. John sneak-attacks him with pulse rifle raised and plenty of demeaning jokes about D’argo being a “good dog.” Somewhere in the mix, Scorpius enters talking about Sebacean girls and margarita shooters. D’argo seems to think John’s going a bit crazy for talking to thin air, so John shoots him in the leg! :O He’s about to finish the job when he’s momentarily distracted by Scrop (who only wants John to finish the job anyway,) but when they look back, D’argo’s gone, blood trail leading out the door.
Here’s my controversial scene…Chiana nervously walks down the hallway, calling for D’argo or Zhaan, but John is on her instead, pushing her against the wall. He mocks her for being a slut—maybe that’s why her family abandoned her, he says—and goes to kill her, despite her pleas; “my little black book is all full.” Scorpius steps in just in time, suggesting in so many words that John should “save her for dessert” after killing the others. John takes to this idea and knocks Chi out.
Aeryn and Rygel’s arguing has reached critical mass, as the Peacekeeper accuses the Hynerian of being a cowardly backstabber about to switch sides. He tries to attack her, but she knocks him out cold. Meanwhile, the door’s still not completely closed as John is able to get in, pulse rifle raised. He mocks her for the same thing she accused Rygel of, really—betraying every vow she’s ever took—and she responds that he’s a self-important little man who can’t live up to his daddy. Things escalate, including with Scorpius in a Hawaiian shirt suggesting that John kill Aeryn already and then join him for pizza. John shoots Scorp, who’s head simply explodes into a kaleidoscope—and he’s snapped out of it again, disoriented and begging Aeryn to listen. Aeryn shoots him instead, and the two of them enter an all-out brawl, which eventually turns to fists once the cartridges are spent.
John apparently wins that fight as he drags an unconscious Aeryn to a table leg near the rest of the similarly bound crew (except for Zhaan, who is awake and vegged out happily in the sun. :P) He’s still acting a bit crazy—including kicking D’argo in his wound—but he implores everyone to listen to him, and shoots crackers onto their faces when they don’t. :P He points out that they’re past the pulsars and acting even crazier. A begrudging Zhaan is pulled away from her light to explain that she was more affected in T’raltixx’s presence than by the pulsars. Will the crew help him now or will John continue to rain crackers on their heads?
Pilot is at systems overload and T’raltixx is still screaming for more light. He crows happily as all of Moya begins to glow; she looks like an enlarged firefly from the outside. :P John opens the door to show the crew the blinding freakiness, and explains that T’raltixx wanted the crew to fight amongst themselves so that he would be free to take over. Zhaan, coming back to, confirms that the DRDs are constantly working in his quarters. D’argo and Aeryn are on board to take care T’raltixx down; once Aeryn is “honest” by admitting John still can’t trust her, he unties her. :P She then unties the others while John explains that he’s gonna be the one to kill the alien. The crew members scoff at this until Chiana points out something interesting—John’s least affected by the light because his eyes are the worst (aka he’s “deficient”) :P. Our human is immediately defensive—“I got GREAT eyes; they’re better than 20/20 and they’re BLUE!”—but he’s immediately schooled as Chiana points out the markings on a seemingly unmarked washing basin, which the rest of the crew proceeds to read. :P Well, the good news is that John gets to save the day. “Humans are superior,” he mutters to himself.
…he gets to do it covered in pre-digested (aka pukey) heat-deflecting paste, huge goggles, a part of Aeryn’s prowler to absorb laser attacks, and finally a pre-digested cap. And the comic book heroes think they have it rough. :P Our human tries to wax poetic about how he has to save the “superior beings,” but no one is impressed. They attach him by chain to his module, which is still hooked up to T’raltixx’s invisibility device. He sets to cutting down as many of T’raltixx’s power conductors with D’argo’s qalta blade as he can, so that the alien will be less powerful. T’raltixx is certainly pitching a fit and complaining to Pilot, who asserts he can’t see anything else in the room (you’d think he’d at least pick up on John’s energy signal or something…oh well. :P) T’raltixx spots the chain and zaps it, rendering John visible. He launches into a ridiculous villainous monologue, which I suppose is appropriate given John’s get-up. :P “HUMANS ARE SUPERIOR!” John says in response, and he ultimately drives the blade into the alien’s chest. The room fizzles and sparks, and then goes black.
Later, non-glowing Moya moves through space and Pilot awkwardly apologizes for his behavior, speaking to Rygel and D’argo who are alone in the mess hall. Rygel accepts his apology far easier than he accepts D’argo’s. Looking remarkably like a sentient being rather than a puppet, he asserts that he was afraid for his life and he can’t forgive the Luxan just yet.
Elsewhere, the rest of the crew helps put the command center back to rights. Aeryn looks awkward and John looks guilty, obviously wanting to talk to her, but Chiana jumps in his path first. Although he apologizes, she’s impressed and asks “how did you come up with all of that crap?” :P Typical teenager. Zhaan, sensing John’s discomfort, pulls Chiana aside to chat briefly before the Nebari leaves. John walks in close to Aeryn and starts to apologize, and Aeryn stops him with a “me too,” and leaves. A dejected John sings a verse of “Humpty Dumpty” and asks Zhaan how they can take it all back. Zhaan says she doesn’t know, and the episode ends.
Thoughts:
I’ll start with the ending, which lends a serious angle to this episode that might’ve been written off as pure ridiculous comedy otherwise. I appreciate that even in cases like this, the crew has to live with the mistakes and pain they inflict on one another. And kudos for the “Humpty Dumpty” placement; nice metaphor. :P
I like how Zhaan remained John’s mentor; even though she spent most of the episode in a ridiculous, almost sexual trance, it’s nice to remember what she represents to John. I was also really impressed with how they handled Rygel and D’argo. It never even registered for me during their scenes together that Ryg is in fact a puppet; he was completely real to me the whole time, and obviously real to guilty D’argo (perhaps not as real to Anthony Simcoe in some disturbing, curse-laden outtakes I saw. :P)
John and Aeryn were obviously meant to be the linchpin of the episode; under T’raltixx’s influence they tried to murder each other several times and spat out some very deep-cutting insults about how both of them are still reeling from past decisions that left them homeless. Ben and Claudia did such a great job with both their awkward apologies and hilarious banter. I also really enjoyed Gigi in all of her scenes—I think “Farscape” made it obvious that she had the best eyesight because she was constantly distrusting and turning on everyone (which could also speak to her general nature of being on the run from a dangerous government.) So I guess this only leaves the John/Chiana scene, and the slow but steady buildup to how our human slut-shamed and almost assaulted her. I may have some bias, because sexual assault (and slut-shaming) I react to viscerally; it’s usually a sexist form of abuse to disempower someone in a very intimate manner. I’ll take into account that Chiana didn’t know about the conversation between John and Scorp, but I think it was a real cop out for her to brush off the entire encounter. Sexual abuse will continue to permeate her story, though John won’t be the villain. Like I said before, I think that John and Chiana needed more resolution, but because the showrunners wanted to focus on J/A, or because this instance of sexual assault might be a bit too dark for “Farscape,” they overlooked it.
So T’raltixx was obviously a one-dimensional, eyeroll-worthy villain; we will see his actor again in season three in a much more multi-faceted set of episodes. Having cynical-to-crazy John play off him was a bit hilarious. How far John has come…not to say that T’raltixx didn’t deserve it, but now John can kill folks like squashing a bug. He’s a changed man.
I’ll end with Scorpius…on the surface, perhaps “Farscape”’s most crazy hilarity to date, but long term fans know there’s much more to this. :P Without giving away any spoilers, I think it’s interesting to address what the hallucination intended. Although he constantly egged John to kill his crew mates (except with Chiana, whom he actually stopped John from killing but suggested to sexual violence instead,) what he actually accomplished was John snapping out of the crazy and ultimately bringing the rest of the crew back, too. It’s almost as if Scorpius’s insistence that John hurt his friends acted as a foil; instead John killed Scorp himself. Pretty interesting mind trick there, which ultimately saved Moya and the crew. Maybe humans are superior after all. :P
Favorite quotes:
*John meets T’raltixx*
John: You know, I once bought a set of knives from this guy on TV. Cat swore to me that-that they could-they could cut through bone, metal, shoes - Hell, he could cut through my damn car and still dice tomatoes! You know what? He was lying.
T'raltixx: I - I don't understand. If you don't wish my-my services-
John: BINGO! Give brainiac the fluffy dog!
*John walks in on Chiana eating crackers*
John: Pip! Whatcha doing?
Chiana: I'm having sex with 3 Hynerian donkeys. What does it look like?
*still trying to find T’raltixx a place to bunk*
Rygel: Well he's not coming in here!
John: He wouldn't want to go in there, cranky. All his senses are heightened. Including his nose. You might kill him without intending to.
*Zhaan and Aeryn argue about the beacon*
John: Remember what T'raltixx said about the pulsar light?
Zhaan: That's right. He said that it - it affected lesser species. That might explain her behavior.
*Chiana and D’argo get in on this beacon business…*
Chiana: She won't play me the message! There's a hidden message on there and she won't show it to me!
Aeryn: She's out of her frelling mind! There's nothing on there!
John: Show her the message.
Aeryn: What?
John: Show her the message. If there's nothing secret on the beacon, then show her the message and she can get the hell out of here.
Chiana: Wait a minute - Why do you want me to watch it? What's on there you want me to see?
John: You know what? Aeryn's right. You're freakin' insane.
Aeryn: Thank you!
D'Argo: What's going on in here?
John: Go back to your mountain, Grizzly. You're not wanted here.
*John confronts T’raltixx about the crazy pulsars behavior*
Zhaan: Just enjoy it, John. Enjoy it.
John: Yeahyeahyeah. Have another one blue girl. Ionic radiation gives her photogasms. Unless she's faking it - they can do that y'know. Hey, Zhaan! You faking it?
Zhaan: Nooo... Oh no no...
*At the end of a long tirade on human inferiority*
Pilot: You have no special abilities. You're not particularly smart, can hardly smell, can barely see, and you're not even vaguely physically or spiritually imposing. Is there anything you do well?
John: Watch football.
*John goes crazy for some ice cream*
John: WHERE'S MY DAMN ICE CREAM!?
Rygel: I have no idea what "eyes' cream" is.
John: Is that it Sparky? Gonna take the road well-traveled? Gonna play dumb? I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Baskin RobbinsBenandJerry'sGood Humor- What's your favorite? Creamsicle or fudgesicle?!
*Rygel and Aeryn start to argue*
Rygel: If you don't watch it bitch, I'll jump back into an air duct and you'll be-
Aeryn: What? Run away? As always?
Rygel: I never run away! I - strategically maneuver.
*John communes with a surprising friend*
Scorpius: And you remember that cracker? That older kid - Howie Lewis - who beat you up for what? You were just 12. It took months, but you got even. And you poured sugar in poor Howie's Harley. Howie had no idea it was you. Yes! Yes - revenge is a dish best served cold and you like revenge, don't you?
John: SHUT UP! I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare.
*John and Aeryn throw emotional punches at each other*
John: Well, well, well. This is becoming a problem you're gonna need professional help with. First you betray the Peacekeepers, and every vow you've made since you were born. And now poor Sparky, here? Tell, me Princess, when you're old and fat, will you have anything to look back on with pride?
Aeryn: Is that it? Oh, don't stop. Why don't you make - another speech? You self-important, deficient little man! All you ever do is TALK! Your father was the hero you know! He did things. You, you're just this test monkey that screwed up your first experiment.
John: That is good! That is fan-tastic! Coming from a FRIGID, FLAT-BUTTED- -PEACEKEEPER SKANK!
Scorpius: Kill her. Then we'll have pizza. And some margarita shooters. Go on, John. Kill her! Do it. Do it.
John: Nobody--has margaritas with pizza.
*after John hums “The Ride of the Valkyries” and strikes a “Masters of the Universe” pose in his hero’s get-up*
Aeryn: We are going to die.
___
There’s one scene between John and Chiana that continues to rub me the wrong way, more and more as I re-watch the show. This episode is replete with insults, adult themes and even murder attempts, but this one touches explicitly on sexual violence and then just brushes it off. Meaning no offence to Ben and Gigi, but it’s highly uncomfortable and ultimately a bit of a letdown with no resolution.
Where the showrunners failed with the John/Chiana scene, imho, they made up for it with some subtle arc building in John’s material elsewhere. Let’s just remember that this isn’t the first time this season that John’s feeling a little crazy, if you recall. They’re really building towards something greater, even in the sillier episodes.
Summary:
John and D’argo walk down a corridor, setting up the scene that “they’ve” (as in the crew sans cynical John) have invited an alien called T’raltixx on board to help shield Moya since Scorpius has upped his search for our human. As proof of that, Aeryn has brought back a Scorpy-beacon from a trading expedition to see if she can hack in to see where the signal’s from, and all they had time to buy by way of food is barrels and barrels of crackers. Chiana chokes on the dryness…sounds like Passover. :P
Zhaan introduces T’raltixx; a big-head alien with no eyes, and he wants to test his device on John’s Moya-modified module. John, for his part, is less than enthused and yammers off a story about being duped by a knife-salesman at home. T’raltixx is confused; you don’t want my help? BINGO! Says John, hurting his ears. Looks like a culture clash. To make a long story short, John has to sit in the module and turn on the engine for ten seconds, so while everyone else “oohs” and “aaaahs” over the module’s temporary invisibility, John is still an ignorant sourpuss. :P
Obviously the crew later clues him in, as John goes to talk to Pilot about their new addition. He still doesn’t trust him, but he’s on board now to travel to T’raltixx’s planet in order to build a Moya-sized invisibility cloak. Pilot is less than enthused but he goes along with it, changing Moya’s course.
On command, T’raltixx warns the crew (and cynical John) that their trajectory will take them past some pulsars that effect “lesser species,” with such things as mild, temporary dizziness. The boys are quick to assert that the pulsars aren’t affecting them—Zhaan admits to some photosynthesis enthusiasm. :P
Cynical John walks T’raltixx to his quarters and tests the alien by putting two fingers in the air; T’raltixx knows his trick and explains that his other senses overcompensating for his blindness. Meanwhile, John stops in the mess hall to chastise Chiana for eating the crackers; she’s saving some for the rest of them, right? The two scoff at each other briefly, and then John leaves and D’argo enters. Chi asserts that she’s not stealing food, like John believes, but she and D’argo have to talk… T’raltixx, meanwhile, is being a bit picky about finding quarters, given audio sensitivity to DRDs. As they continue to walk down tiers, John takes time out of his day to mock Rygel and then warn him to get to the mess hall before Chiana eats all the crackers. John’s quite the rabble-rouser today!
Aeryn has sequestered herself in the maintenance bay where she tinkers with the active beacon; a red Scorpius holograph keeps repeating “reward for the capture of John Crichton.” Zhaan comes in, which Aeryn is immediately annoyed about, so the Delvian accuses her of being secretive. Like maybe there’s a hidden message for her about amnesty for turning the rest of the crew in? John comms Zhaan just in time to ask her to babysit T’raltixx, but the crew members take a few more seconds to gripe at each other in the meantime.
Rygel is now the one eating crackers, but when D’argo enters he immediately gets angry and says that Chiana claims the Hynerian has been stealing from them. As Ryg protests his innocence, D’argo bodily slams the guy down on the table and starts stuffing his face with crackers. He finally pauses; Rygel is weakly trying to stop the assault, and the Luxan turns and storms from the room.
Zhaan proves to be a bad baysitter; she’s in the corner, acting like she’s in a trance. T’raltixx calls Pilot for a 411, so Pilot explains that she’s a plant; “put her in the sun, watch her smile.” But T’raltixx isn’t through asking questions yet…do you like your crew members? After a moment of thought, Pilot asserts that he doesn’t like them. :O Cut to John who’s annoyed that Pilot hasn’t been answering his comms (Pilot brushes it off.) With much sarcasm and insults, John asserts that he thinks something is weird around here and he wants Pilot to run a scan. He’s interrupted by the maintenance bay as Aeryn and Chiana argue loudly; Chi now wants a look at that beacon, with claims about the secret message. John steps in and takes Chiana’s side, to prove once and for all that there is no such message, but Chiana immediately is suspicious of John now. As the three of them start to heat up, D’argo enters and squares off against John and Aeryn with Chi. A few insults and a D’argo-sized punch to the chin knock John out of his snarkiness for a moment. He squares off against the crew; why are we fighting about crackers and nonexistent messages? The rest of them calm down a bit, but there’s definite tension in the air. Chiana stalks off, then Aeryn yells after her and stalks off, then after an awkward bro-pat, D’argo leaves John alone. As our human leaves the room, threatening Pilot that he’s about to come up there if he doesn’t answer his comms, we span to T’raltixx crawling high up on the walls! A DRD comes to investigate, and T’raltixx zaps it dead with his eyes! Yikes.
Later, T’raltixx is back with vegged out Zhaan when John comes a-calling. He professes ignorance about why the pulsars are affecting everyone so much, and Zhaan says to just enjoy it. As for T’raltixx himself, well he’s blind, so the pulsars aren’t getting in. Uh huh. But once they get away from the pulsars, everything should go back to normal.
In the meantime, Aeryn is moving stealthily down the corridor with her pulse rifle strapped to her back. She finds Rygel—who’s hiding from D’argo in a crawl space—and rather martially recruits him to help her in a plan against the others. Elsewhere, D’argo and Chiana are conspiring about the hidden message and who’s working for who. They have to get off Moya ASAP! As Zhaan passes, Chi hides and D’argo tongues the Delvian, asserting that she’s working for John. John himself is in Pilot’s den where now he’s the brunt of some sarcastic abuse. As Pilot continues to rail on humans, John tries to take it upon himself to run the scan. Pilot blasts him backwards and our human again snaps out of it. He realizes that something is REALLY off, since Pilot is both affected and not directly in the pulsar light. He’s thinking on his feet, approaching Aeryn and Rygel in the cargo bay, but he’s immediately stopped by a gun. His distrustful crewmembers assert that they’re just taking their equal share of crackers since people have been stealing food, so he’d best stay back. John loses it again, going on a delightful stream of Crichtonisms about ice cream. :P
T’raltixx explains to Pilot via comms that he’s commandeered all of the DRDs to help him make light, aka change Moya’s bioluminescence. Pilot is still wary, but they bond over the fact that he trusts the rest of the crew less. Maybe they can come to some arrangement…
John has made his way to the hangar where Chiana and D’argo work on his module and argue with each other. Zhaan’s unconscious in a corner, and D and Chi immediately take up a comical stance as they accuse John of using Zhaan. But no worries—D’argo and Chi will be out of his hair asap once they get off Moya. John laughs in their faces, holds up some circuitry that renders the module useless…plus, he’s disabled the hangar doors. As he saunters out, Chiana is immediately suspicious of poor D’argo since Zhaan apparently wasn’t working for John after all. :P
Aeryn is barricading the command and griping at Rygel for not doing his job and watching her back. She’s not moving fast enough, as John is able to squeeze his head through the door. Still a bit loopy, he nonetheless tries to get the former Peacekeeper to put down her gun so they can talk. When she shoots him instead, John angrily calls for Pilot’s support, but Pilot leaves him hanging. Aeryn continues shooting at him for a little while, also exchanging crazy banter, until John escapes. He runs into Chiana playing with the still-repeating beacon in a corridor. He grabs her up, demanding to know what she’s doing, but she knees him in the groin and escapes. :P John, doubled over in pain, complains to the Scorpius image…which immediately comes to life and starts talking to him! :O If you thought things were freaky before…
In full assault mode, Aeryn ignores Rygel’s concerns that Pilot might flush them out of command somehow; risks you have to take! They continue to argue amongst themselves. John, meanwhile, is being haunted by a Scorpius who remembers his childhood and quotes Shakespeare about revenge. The crew is coming to kill you…Scorp warns. Has John lost it for good?
A desperate-sounding T’raltixx begs Pilot for more light, even as he’s surrounded by DRDs and light fixtures and such. He reminds Pilot of their deal; you save me and I’ll save you from the others! Plots abound…like with D’argo standing guard over the crackers with his qalta blade. John sneak-attacks him with pulse rifle raised and plenty of demeaning jokes about D’argo being a “good dog.” Somewhere in the mix, Scorpius enters talking about Sebacean girls and margarita shooters. D’argo seems to think John’s going a bit crazy for talking to thin air, so John shoots him in the leg! :O He’s about to finish the job when he’s momentarily distracted by Scrop (who only wants John to finish the job anyway,) but when they look back, D’argo’s gone, blood trail leading out the door.
Here’s my controversial scene…Chiana nervously walks down the hallway, calling for D’argo or Zhaan, but John is on her instead, pushing her against the wall. He mocks her for being a slut—maybe that’s why her family abandoned her, he says—and goes to kill her, despite her pleas; “my little black book is all full.” Scorpius steps in just in time, suggesting in so many words that John should “save her for dessert” after killing the others. John takes to this idea and knocks Chi out.
Aeryn and Rygel’s arguing has reached critical mass, as the Peacekeeper accuses the Hynerian of being a cowardly backstabber about to switch sides. He tries to attack her, but she knocks him out cold. Meanwhile, the door’s still not completely closed as John is able to get in, pulse rifle raised. He mocks her for the same thing she accused Rygel of, really—betraying every vow she’s ever took—and she responds that he’s a self-important little man who can’t live up to his daddy. Things escalate, including with Scorpius in a Hawaiian shirt suggesting that John kill Aeryn already and then join him for pizza. John shoots Scorp, who’s head simply explodes into a kaleidoscope—and he’s snapped out of it again, disoriented and begging Aeryn to listen. Aeryn shoots him instead, and the two of them enter an all-out brawl, which eventually turns to fists once the cartridges are spent.
John apparently wins that fight as he drags an unconscious Aeryn to a table leg near the rest of the similarly bound crew (except for Zhaan, who is awake and vegged out happily in the sun. :P) He’s still acting a bit crazy—including kicking D’argo in his wound—but he implores everyone to listen to him, and shoots crackers onto their faces when they don’t. :P He points out that they’re past the pulsars and acting even crazier. A begrudging Zhaan is pulled away from her light to explain that she was more affected in T’raltixx’s presence than by the pulsars. Will the crew help him now or will John continue to rain crackers on their heads?
Pilot is at systems overload and T’raltixx is still screaming for more light. He crows happily as all of Moya begins to glow; she looks like an enlarged firefly from the outside. :P John opens the door to show the crew the blinding freakiness, and explains that T’raltixx wanted the crew to fight amongst themselves so that he would be free to take over. Zhaan, coming back to, confirms that the DRDs are constantly working in his quarters. D’argo and Aeryn are on board to take care T’raltixx down; once Aeryn is “honest” by admitting John still can’t trust her, he unties her. :P She then unties the others while John explains that he’s gonna be the one to kill the alien. The crew members scoff at this until Chiana points out something interesting—John’s least affected by the light because his eyes are the worst (aka he’s “deficient”) :P. Our human is immediately defensive—“I got GREAT eyes; they’re better than 20/20 and they’re BLUE!”—but he’s immediately schooled as Chiana points out the markings on a seemingly unmarked washing basin, which the rest of the crew proceeds to read. :P Well, the good news is that John gets to save the day. “Humans are superior,” he mutters to himself.
…he gets to do it covered in pre-digested (aka pukey) heat-deflecting paste, huge goggles, a part of Aeryn’s prowler to absorb laser attacks, and finally a pre-digested cap. And the comic book heroes think they have it rough. :P Our human tries to wax poetic about how he has to save the “superior beings,” but no one is impressed. They attach him by chain to his module, which is still hooked up to T’raltixx’s invisibility device. He sets to cutting down as many of T’raltixx’s power conductors with D’argo’s qalta blade as he can, so that the alien will be less powerful. T’raltixx is certainly pitching a fit and complaining to Pilot, who asserts he can’t see anything else in the room (you’d think he’d at least pick up on John’s energy signal or something…oh well. :P) T’raltixx spots the chain and zaps it, rendering John visible. He launches into a ridiculous villainous monologue, which I suppose is appropriate given John’s get-up. :P “HUMANS ARE SUPERIOR!” John says in response, and he ultimately drives the blade into the alien’s chest. The room fizzles and sparks, and then goes black.
Later, non-glowing Moya moves through space and Pilot awkwardly apologizes for his behavior, speaking to Rygel and D’argo who are alone in the mess hall. Rygel accepts his apology far easier than he accepts D’argo’s. Looking remarkably like a sentient being rather than a puppet, he asserts that he was afraid for his life and he can’t forgive the Luxan just yet.
Elsewhere, the rest of the crew helps put the command center back to rights. Aeryn looks awkward and John looks guilty, obviously wanting to talk to her, but Chiana jumps in his path first. Although he apologizes, she’s impressed and asks “how did you come up with all of that crap?” :P Typical teenager. Zhaan, sensing John’s discomfort, pulls Chiana aside to chat briefly before the Nebari leaves. John walks in close to Aeryn and starts to apologize, and Aeryn stops him with a “me too,” and leaves. A dejected John sings a verse of “Humpty Dumpty” and asks Zhaan how they can take it all back. Zhaan says she doesn’t know, and the episode ends.
Thoughts:
I’ll start with the ending, which lends a serious angle to this episode that might’ve been written off as pure ridiculous comedy otherwise. I appreciate that even in cases like this, the crew has to live with the mistakes and pain they inflict on one another. And kudos for the “Humpty Dumpty” placement; nice metaphor. :P
I like how Zhaan remained John’s mentor; even though she spent most of the episode in a ridiculous, almost sexual trance, it’s nice to remember what she represents to John. I was also really impressed with how they handled Rygel and D’argo. It never even registered for me during their scenes together that Ryg is in fact a puppet; he was completely real to me the whole time, and obviously real to guilty D’argo (perhaps not as real to Anthony Simcoe in some disturbing, curse-laden outtakes I saw. :P)
John and Aeryn were obviously meant to be the linchpin of the episode; under T’raltixx’s influence they tried to murder each other several times and spat out some very deep-cutting insults about how both of them are still reeling from past decisions that left them homeless. Ben and Claudia did such a great job with both their awkward apologies and hilarious banter. I also really enjoyed Gigi in all of her scenes—I think “Farscape” made it obvious that she had the best eyesight because she was constantly distrusting and turning on everyone (which could also speak to her general nature of being on the run from a dangerous government.) So I guess this only leaves the John/Chiana scene, and the slow but steady buildup to how our human slut-shamed and almost assaulted her. I may have some bias, because sexual assault (and slut-shaming) I react to viscerally; it’s usually a sexist form of abuse to disempower someone in a very intimate manner. I’ll take into account that Chiana didn’t know about the conversation between John and Scorp, but I think it was a real cop out for her to brush off the entire encounter. Sexual abuse will continue to permeate her story, though John won’t be the villain. Like I said before, I think that John and Chiana needed more resolution, but because the showrunners wanted to focus on J/A, or because this instance of sexual assault might be a bit too dark for “Farscape,” they overlooked it.
So T’raltixx was obviously a one-dimensional, eyeroll-worthy villain; we will see his actor again in season three in a much more multi-faceted set of episodes. Having cynical-to-crazy John play off him was a bit hilarious. How far John has come…not to say that T’raltixx didn’t deserve it, but now John can kill folks like squashing a bug. He’s a changed man.
I’ll end with Scorpius…on the surface, perhaps “Farscape”’s most crazy hilarity to date, but long term fans know there’s much more to this. :P Without giving away any spoilers, I think it’s interesting to address what the hallucination intended. Although he constantly egged John to kill his crew mates (except with Chiana, whom he actually stopped John from killing but suggested to sexual violence instead,) what he actually accomplished was John snapping out of the crazy and ultimately bringing the rest of the crew back, too. It’s almost as if Scorpius’s insistence that John hurt his friends acted as a foil; instead John killed Scorp himself. Pretty interesting mind trick there, which ultimately saved Moya and the crew. Maybe humans are superior after all. :P
Favorite quotes:
*John meets T’raltixx*
John: You know, I once bought a set of knives from this guy on TV. Cat swore to me that-that they could-they could cut through bone, metal, shoes - Hell, he could cut through my damn car and still dice tomatoes! You know what? He was lying.
T'raltixx: I - I don't understand. If you don't wish my-my services-
John: BINGO! Give brainiac the fluffy dog!
*John walks in on Chiana eating crackers*
John: Pip! Whatcha doing?
Chiana: I'm having sex with 3 Hynerian donkeys. What does it look like?
*still trying to find T’raltixx a place to bunk*
Rygel: Well he's not coming in here!
John: He wouldn't want to go in there, cranky. All his senses are heightened. Including his nose. You might kill him without intending to.
*Zhaan and Aeryn argue about the beacon*
John: Remember what T'raltixx said about the pulsar light?
Zhaan: That's right. He said that it - it affected lesser species. That might explain her behavior.
*Chiana and D’argo get in on this beacon business…*
Chiana: She won't play me the message! There's a hidden message on there and she won't show it to me!
Aeryn: She's out of her frelling mind! There's nothing on there!
John: Show her the message.
Aeryn: What?
John: Show her the message. If there's nothing secret on the beacon, then show her the message and she can get the hell out of here.
Chiana: Wait a minute - Why do you want me to watch it? What's on there you want me to see?
John: You know what? Aeryn's right. You're freakin' insane.
Aeryn: Thank you!
D'Argo: What's going on in here?
John: Go back to your mountain, Grizzly. You're not wanted here.
*John confronts T’raltixx about the crazy pulsars behavior*
Zhaan: Just enjoy it, John. Enjoy it.
John: Yeahyeahyeah. Have another one blue girl. Ionic radiation gives her photogasms. Unless she's faking it - they can do that y'know. Hey, Zhaan! You faking it?
Zhaan: Nooo... Oh no no...
*At the end of a long tirade on human inferiority*
Pilot: You have no special abilities. You're not particularly smart, can hardly smell, can barely see, and you're not even vaguely physically or spiritually imposing. Is there anything you do well?
John: Watch football.
*John goes crazy for some ice cream*
John: WHERE'S MY DAMN ICE CREAM!?
Rygel: I have no idea what "eyes' cream" is.
John: Is that it Sparky? Gonna take the road well-traveled? Gonna play dumb? I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Baskin RobbinsBenandJerry'sGood Humor- What's your favorite? Creamsicle or fudgesicle?!
*Rygel and Aeryn start to argue*
Rygel: If you don't watch it bitch, I'll jump back into an air duct and you'll be-
Aeryn: What? Run away? As always?
Rygel: I never run away! I - strategically maneuver.
*John communes with a surprising friend*
Scorpius: And you remember that cracker? That older kid - Howie Lewis - who beat you up for what? You were just 12. It took months, but you got even. And you poured sugar in poor Howie's Harley. Howie had no idea it was you. Yes! Yes - revenge is a dish best served cold and you like revenge, don't you?
John: SHUT UP! I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare.
*John and Aeryn throw emotional punches at each other*
John: Well, well, well. This is becoming a problem you're gonna need professional help with. First you betray the Peacekeepers, and every vow you've made since you were born. And now poor Sparky, here? Tell, me Princess, when you're old and fat, will you have anything to look back on with pride?
Aeryn: Is that it? Oh, don't stop. Why don't you make - another speech? You self-important, deficient little man! All you ever do is TALK! Your father was the hero you know! He did things. You, you're just this test monkey that screwed up your first experiment.
John: That is good! That is fan-tastic! Coming from a FRIGID, FLAT-BUTTED- -PEACEKEEPER SKANK!
Scorpius: Kill her. Then we'll have pizza. And some margarita shooters. Go on, John. Kill her! Do it. Do it.
John: Nobody--has margaritas with pizza.
*after John hums “The Ride of the Valkyries” and strikes a “Masters of the Universe” pose in his hero’s get-up*
Aeryn: We are going to die.
___
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