Farscape Episode 2.16: “The Locket”
Apr. 26th, 2014 09:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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scifi_rewatchThis is sort of my “hipster/anti-mainstream” episode, because although it’s widely considered to be a fan favorite…I don’t much care for it. Ok, ok, that might be a little harsh! :P With repeat watchings and consideration of others’ viewpoints, I’ve grown to appreciate it a little more, particularly the dialogue. But overall, I’m not impressed with this bastion to John/Aeryn shipperness. I suppose it’s touching and creative in it’s way, but it’s also escapist and largely without any real bearing on their continued relationship on the show.
Yea, the real takeaway plottiness from this episode (and my favorite part of it) all occurs within the final 5-10 minutes. When it comes to relationships, I’m less intrigued by our two leads than by D’argo and Chiana post-honeymoon phase, and Zhaan and a surprising partner. Those are the ones that have lasting consequences in this larger story of which our characters are a part.
Episode summary is here, courtesy of the John and Aeryn Fansite.
Let’s go ahead and start with plotty element, the stuff that has major impact on most of the rest of the season. Stark is back on board Moya, after having left Moya on a transport pod at the end of last season, post-Gammak base release. He comes with important news for D’argo, which of course gets sidestepped by the romantic A plot. But said news, we finally find out, is that Stark has news of D’argo’s son! He’s about to be sold at auction as part of a group of slaves, and we see our first picture of the boy (or young man, I should say.) They have a couple of days to get to him, though frankly I wish they’d chosen longer, knowing what I do about how many episodes transpire…*zips lips* Anywho, this is an awesome development, and gives credence to a storyline for a secondary character. Which is awesome. :P It fleshes out the wants, desires, relationships, etc, of everyone on board, it gives a satisfying, tangible endgame for all of D’argo’s griping about finding his boy, and it makes “Farscape” about more than John finding wormholes, evading Scorpius, or making googly-eyes with Aeryn.
OK, this might not be the episode to point out as proof of John not making googly-eyes with Aeryn. :P So let’s start with what worked for me. Well technically, given the worldbuilding they’ve built up, Aeryn is going to outlive John by, like, 200 cycles. (Whoah. I doubt fandom likes to think about this much. So instead, we have this episode where a time warp where they can both grow old together.) And, in theory, I like this old idea. It makes the J/A relationship about so much more than two sexy people in their prime getting together for a little PDA or the standard, romantic tryst. In this reality, they don’t even get married, which makes sense to me because their relationship is of a more mature sort. It’s enough to grow old together, to laugh and reminisce and be each other’s rock in this strange new environment that becomes their home. And yes, I like that the ep doesn’t completely reset at the end; that when the locket, which they used as a focal point of their relationship on the planet, containing a picture of “the only man [Aeryn] ever loved” came up as dusty bits, young, reset John and Aeryn knew that something was up, that they still had all these residual feelings. And all of this plays into an even bigger theme on “Farscape” about alternate realities—that even after Moya reverse-starburst into the past, pre-mist hiding, Stark and Zhaan theorized that somewhere out there, Ennix, for example, could still be mourning her grandmother.
But Ennix was one of the parts of the episode that I also didn’t like. Not the actress, Alyson Standen; she was fine, and even looked a bit like Claudia, IMHO. But she never aged! John aged on the planet after 55 years (and presumably Aeryn did, too, but she was already an old lady by then, so what the hey…) Surely Ennix should have aged, even if by less of a degree than John. Also, minor blooper, but at one point she was telling John that the family never believed Aeryn’s stories about where she came from, and later she explained how there were “outsiders” on her planet that came from beyond the mist. So why is her grandmother’s backstory of being a Peacekeeper on a Leviathan so crazy? But the major thing I didn’t like about this storyline was…you know, it’s all still a farce. Sure, it’s nice to imagine John and Aeryn growing old together, but it’s not as satisfying as seeing the real story play out. We even get a scene of old man Crichton (great accent for Ben, I’ll give my props) talking with Harvey about “oh well; you’re never gonna get the wormhole knowledge out of my head;” kind of a letdown after all of the explosive reveals after the last ep. And the J/A senior relationship (understandably, given time restraints,) isn’t really fleshed out, so it’s not really all that interesting to me. One thing I’d like to know is why Aeryn’s husband and sons died so early, presuming they were Sebaceans (and what else could they be?)
I’m a little more on the fence about why John couldn’t just move on with life on the planets under the mist. I mean, we’re talking 55 years here. He’s already started to move on on Moya after two—Earth is no longer his only “home.” And yet, I have to concede that there are major differences when it comes to being on Moya vs being under the mist. On Moya, he gets the chance to learn and explore and continue looking for wormholes. Under the mist, he’s just trapped with no way anywhere (whereas for Aeryn, she grew to have a family here). Old man Crichton even explained to Grandma Aeryn that this was a place for gardening and he’s an astronaut—so Moya life played to his strengths. Still, it’s a little odd that he lived on this planet for most of his life, and all he came back with was some griping about Ennixx’s husband, and a deep, abiding love for Aeryn, which kept him from going on a suicide run. Yay? :p
So let’s move onto the other relationships! They’re far more slower moving, fleshed out, and applicable to the larger “Farscape” narrative. We open with Chiana accompanying Rygel to see if Aeryn brought anything back on her transport filled with Zhaan’s jungle plant. :P (Another one of those eye-rolly things that she hadn’t thought to take it out for 120 cycles, but that’s just to set up the passage of time. Anywho.) It’s a believable action for Chiana to take because, like real-life people, she regresses into old behaviors sometimes. Even though she’s, as D’argo claims, “one of us now,” thieving and sneaking are a comfortable fallback. Obviously trouble is brewing in paradise, and it’s something Chi is more aware of than D. He’s trying to change her—she calls him on it—and she doesn’t want to fit into his mold. It’s kind of heartbreaking to witness, because they’re both likeable characters in their ways and they obviously both have an affection for each other. But it’s also a true to life relationship between two people who might be more at odds, personality wise, than they’d like to admit.
The other relationship—new development!—is Stark and Zhaan. Seems only fair that Zhaan should get some, too, right? :P Speaking as someone who’s a fan of the spiritual and mystical on this show (of the characters who embody those traits, at least,) I guess I’m still a little iffy on some of the Stark components. It’s Zhaan who would be able to sense the time disruption while linked in unity, so why could Stark’s mind overpower hers? Also, why did she have to be linked to him in order to speak cosmically to John; that’s the real tickler. I mean, she and John had been joined in the past, too, so they should have their own thing going on. But speaking of “things,” I like the chemistry between Virginia Hey and Paul Goddard, especially when the latter had the most expressive “O” face for experiencing ten cycles of really good sex. :P And I like the fact that, when all of this is over and done with, they remember what happened in the mist. (I also like when Chiana’s bratty cynicism proves to be correct, so yay! :P) It makes it less of a reset than if everyone forgot, and the fact that two secondary characters are the keepers of memory, again, moves this story past being just about John and Aeryn; it makes it about the full Moya crew. And that’s awesome.
Favorite Crichtonism: *shanty tune* I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid/ A-roving, a-roving , since roving's been my rue-eye-inn I'll go no more a'roving -
Favorite Quotes:
*Zhaan waking from her meditation is a sign that something’s gone wrong…*
Rygel: Ah - What are you doing out here Zhaan? I thought you were locked in your chamber, meditating.
Zhaan: I was. But I woke early from my time with the Goddess.
D’argo: Aeryn went out into that and we haven't heard from her since. Perhaps you sensed the danger and that's what woke you.
Zhaan: How long's she been gone?
John: One solar day. Thought we'd hide in this fog - or whatever it is - from the Peacekeepers. Aeryn went on long-range recon and she hasn't come back yet.
*Aeryn is emotional as a grandmother*
Aeryn: How long -how-how how long have I been here?
John: Not long. Maybe an arn.
Aeryn: An arn?
John: Yes.
Aeryn: The mist - the opening - it goes. I have to get back to the planet. My granddaughter's waiting for me. Ennixx can't survive without my transport pod!
John: Aeryn - sshh -
Aeryn: There's no other way off the planet! *fending John off* No. I - NO! I only came back to warn you to get out of the mist as soon as possible! While you still can!
*setting up the locket maguffin*
John: Look, you're wearing the locket. The locket that Chiana: gave you. The one that says, "Sorry I smashed your Prowler." The one she stole from the last commerce planet we were on.
Aeryn: She stole it? She told me she bought it!
John: Well, that's Chi...
*fleshing Aeryn out as a nostalgic, elderly person*
Aeryn: Look at you... I'd forgotten how beautiful you were. You're so young. I'd also forgotten how wrong you could be!
*Rygel’s excuse to D’argo about what he’s doing in Aeryn’s transport*
D’argo: What are you doing in here?
Rygel: Nothing. We're looking for -clues - to see if we can find out how this terrible, terrible thing happened to Aeryn.
*hearkening back to an older conversation with Pilot about what life means*
Pilot: Aeryn! What happened to you?
Aeryn: I lived Pilot.
*Pilot reminds everyone what his role is for their stay on Moya*
D’argo: Pilot! You let her leave?
Pilot: She asked me not to alert you. You're all free to come and go.
*trouble in the D/C paradise*
D’argo: Chiana... I didn't want to embarrass you in front of Rygel on the transport pod, but...
Chiana: You could never embarrass me.
D’argo: Maybe not. But you're one of us now. There's no need for you to act like you're not.
Chiana: D'Argo - I always do what I want, okay? I don't know why. It's just the way I am.
D’argo: I understand that, but -
Chiana: Yeah, but you're not gonna change me!
D’argo: I'm only just beginning to realize that.
Chiana: You're pretty straight, huh?
D’argo: Yes. I am.
Chiana: We're not gonna make it. Are we?
*Stark explains the worldbuilding*
Stark: An Ancient named Delik theorized about what he called Center Halos. He believed that scattered throughout the universe, were mists where all dimensions met and where time ceased to exist.
Zhaan: What? Do you think that Moya is caught in one of these Center Halos?
Stark: I thought - if you and I joined spirits...
Zhaan: Joined with you? What would that do?
Stark: I've been told that Delvians, during a mind link, can sense the time continuum.
Zhaan: Yes, that is what we strive for, but - few have achieved it.
Stark: I thought that maybe together we could catch a glimpse and see if there's a void in the time continuum around Moya, see if no time exists in the mist.
*Aeryn explains the concept of “home” to her granddaughter*
Ennixx: What happened to him nana?
Aeryn: Oh, Crichton. He was happy for a few cycles there too. Something must have reminded him - thank you - of his past. I still think about it sometimes - Moya...
Ennixx: You've never been as sad as him.
Aeryn: Well perhaps I hide it better.
Ennixx: Will he ever be over it? I've done all I can. We took him from the barren planet. Showed him our favored world.
Aeryn: I know you've tried. We've all tried, But Crichton was always stubborn.
Ennixx: Why are those from the outside always so unhappy?
Aeryn: Because we weren't born here. This is your home. Not ours. Give Crichton a few more cycles. He'll come around.
*so much for the Harvey wormhole subplot; old man Crichton’s having none of it*
Harvey: No, Crichton, no! I need the wormhole knowledge that you have locked in your brain!
John: That's great, Scorpy. You ain't never gonna get that. Ah'm dyin'. Ah'm dyin' right here on this planet an' you ain't never gonna get what's in mah head.
*a reminder that Moya is the one in a weird time loop, not John and Aeryn on the planet*
D’argo: So it's us. It's us who are not growing old.
Stark: Yes.
Rygel: I don't believe it!
Chiana: You gotta be frelling with me!
D’argo: So this means everyone we know - Crais, Scorpius:, my son - they're all old now?
Stark: Yes. It is believed that nothing ages in a Halo, and eventually it hardens, and everything inside is trapped without time forever.
*Grandma Aeryn and Old Man Crichton chatting it up*
Aeryn: How's your knee?
John: Oh, it's fahn. Jus' chasin' beautiful wimmin up n' down th' hills
Aeryn: Well. Why don't you come and sit down here, old man, or you'll give yourself a heart attack.
John: Don't-don't-don't you "ol' man" me, woman! You're 200 cycles older than ah am!
*John’s life on the planet*
John: Well, Ah ain't a gardener. Ah never wanted t'be one. S'awll we do around here - garden! Plant things! Ah was a pilot, Aeryn. Astronaut. Ah was what ah wanted t'be. Ah ain't going to forget that an' ah can't accept this.
Aeryn: Do you regret this?
John: What?
Aeryn: Spending the last 55 cycles here with me.
John: Aeryn you are the one thing which has kept me from doing a kamikaze in the transport. Ah just have t'try to get back to my old life. Just - for a day. That's the hope. Hope! That's what keeps me goin'!
*Grandma Aeryn and Old Man Crichton move on to flirting*
John: I gotchyer locket. Whose, uh - image you got in here, anyway?
Aeryn: You know who's in there.
John: Yer husban'? He's been dead 90 cycles. Why would you have his image in there?
Aeryn: Just to drive you crazy.
John: You know what ah think? Ah don't think it's him in there. Ah think you've got my picture.
Aeryn: Don't flatter yourself.
John: Yeah! Yeah, mah picture! Surrounded by roses an' hearts an' - yotz!
Aeryn: Open it then.
John: What?
Aeryn: Take a look inside. You'll see his image. The only love of my life.
*Aeryn also embraces her roots at the end*
Ennixx: Why are you going? Stay with us! Look, come back to the favored planet and I will take care of you. The mist is dangerous! It-
Aeryn: Ennixx - listen to me! I grew up a Peacekeeper. We are born in space and we must die in space.
Ennixx: But what about-?
Aeryn: Now I have spent most of my life down here with you, and it has been glorious! But when I die - I belong up there.
*the crew decides on their final plan to get out of this mess*
Pilot: If we're going to try and starburst out, I think we should go forward down to the planet, not backwards.
John: Is that what you want? You want that? You wanna live yer life on that planet? The place where you'll never see anyone you know ever again. I have done that. And let me assure you, whatever the risk, it is worth getting your life back.
D’argo: I'm with John. I do not want to live a life without a past. I want to see my son again.
Chiana: Me too. I never wanted to go into the mist anyway.
Rygel: I guess I'm in agreement as well.
Zhaan: Goddess be with us all. Pilot! Start initiating sequence for reverse starburst.
*John’s goodbye speech to Aeryn, before he finally opens the locket*
John: Oh... Oh, baby... There are so many places that I wanted you to see. People... There's this lake in Maine. Used t'spend summers there when ah 's a kid. Had more mosquitoes than a dawg had fleas. Mah Dad an' ah, we'd camp out there. An' one night, the astronauts landed on the moon. Ah remember looking up at the skah. Ah knew right then what ah was gonna do with the rest of mah life. Couldn't a been more'n 4 years old. Yeah ah really wanted you t'see that. Damn, baby ah miss you already. Who else'm ah gonna tell this crap to?
*Stark and Zhaan theorize over the arc of this episode*
Zhaan: None of them remember anything. Yet - yet we do.
Stark: Because we've returned to a time before any of it happened. They have nothing to remember, Zhaan. I think we only remember because we were joined when Moya broke free.
Zhaan: What about Aeryn’s life and the family she had?
Stark: Let's theorize that through every opening in a center halo, our world splits into an infinite number of universes.
Zhaan: Are you saying that Ennixx could still be alive?
Stark: Yes. And mourning the loss of her grandmother.
*…and finally, we get to the major show plot of this episode!*
Stark: D'Argo - um - I've been waiting to show you this. *shows D’argo picture* I found it in a manifest of slaves being sold to the Caton mines.
D’argo: Who is this?
Zhaan: The manifest lists him as - as "Jothee - son of Ka D'Argo."
D’argo: My son. My son is being sold into slavery. *seizes Stark* HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?
Zhaan: D'ARGO!
Stark: I - just found out.
Zhaan: D'ARGO! STARK WANTED ME AWAKE BEFORE HE TOLD YOU! D'ARGO! LET HIM GO - PLEASE! THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME. THE AUCTION ISN'T FOR A FEW SOLAR DAYS. WE WILL - FIND - A WAY TO RESCUE JOTHEE! *trying to get him to let Stark go* D'Argo... D'Argo! D'Argo...
D’argo: *releases Stark, exhausted* All right. I'm sorry, Stark I - uh - I've got... I've gotta... save my son Zhaan. We've got to find a way.
___
Yea, the real takeaway plottiness from this episode (and my favorite part of it) all occurs within the final 5-10 minutes. When it comes to relationships, I’m less intrigued by our two leads than by D’argo and Chiana post-honeymoon phase, and Zhaan and a surprising partner. Those are the ones that have lasting consequences in this larger story of which our characters are a part.
Episode summary is here, courtesy of the John and Aeryn Fansite.
Let’s go ahead and start with plotty element, the stuff that has major impact on most of the rest of the season. Stark is back on board Moya, after having left Moya on a transport pod at the end of last season, post-Gammak base release. He comes with important news for D’argo, which of course gets sidestepped by the romantic A plot. But said news, we finally find out, is that Stark has news of D’argo’s son! He’s about to be sold at auction as part of a group of slaves, and we see our first picture of the boy (or young man, I should say.) They have a couple of days to get to him, though frankly I wish they’d chosen longer, knowing what I do about how many episodes transpire…*zips lips* Anywho, this is an awesome development, and gives credence to a storyline for a secondary character. Which is awesome. :P It fleshes out the wants, desires, relationships, etc, of everyone on board, it gives a satisfying, tangible endgame for all of D’argo’s griping about finding his boy, and it makes “Farscape” about more than John finding wormholes, evading Scorpius, or making googly-eyes with Aeryn.
OK, this might not be the episode to point out as proof of John not making googly-eyes with Aeryn. :P So let’s start with what worked for me. Well technically, given the worldbuilding they’ve built up, Aeryn is going to outlive John by, like, 200 cycles. (Whoah. I doubt fandom likes to think about this much. So instead, we have this episode where a time warp where they can both grow old together.) And, in theory, I like this old idea. It makes the J/A relationship about so much more than two sexy people in their prime getting together for a little PDA or the standard, romantic tryst. In this reality, they don’t even get married, which makes sense to me because their relationship is of a more mature sort. It’s enough to grow old together, to laugh and reminisce and be each other’s rock in this strange new environment that becomes their home. And yes, I like that the ep doesn’t completely reset at the end; that when the locket, which they used as a focal point of their relationship on the planet, containing a picture of “the only man [Aeryn] ever loved” came up as dusty bits, young, reset John and Aeryn knew that something was up, that they still had all these residual feelings. And all of this plays into an even bigger theme on “Farscape” about alternate realities—that even after Moya reverse-starburst into the past, pre-mist hiding, Stark and Zhaan theorized that somewhere out there, Ennix, for example, could still be mourning her grandmother.
But Ennix was one of the parts of the episode that I also didn’t like. Not the actress, Alyson Standen; she was fine, and even looked a bit like Claudia, IMHO. But she never aged! John aged on the planet after 55 years (and presumably Aeryn did, too, but she was already an old lady by then, so what the hey…) Surely Ennix should have aged, even if by less of a degree than John. Also, minor blooper, but at one point she was telling John that the family never believed Aeryn’s stories about where she came from, and later she explained how there were “outsiders” on her planet that came from beyond the mist. So why is her grandmother’s backstory of being a Peacekeeper on a Leviathan so crazy? But the major thing I didn’t like about this storyline was…you know, it’s all still a farce. Sure, it’s nice to imagine John and Aeryn growing old together, but it’s not as satisfying as seeing the real story play out. We even get a scene of old man Crichton (great accent for Ben, I’ll give my props) talking with Harvey about “oh well; you’re never gonna get the wormhole knowledge out of my head;” kind of a letdown after all of the explosive reveals after the last ep. And the J/A senior relationship (understandably, given time restraints,) isn’t really fleshed out, so it’s not really all that interesting to me. One thing I’d like to know is why Aeryn’s husband and sons died so early, presuming they were Sebaceans (and what else could they be?)
I’m a little more on the fence about why John couldn’t just move on with life on the planets under the mist. I mean, we’re talking 55 years here. He’s already started to move on on Moya after two—Earth is no longer his only “home.” And yet, I have to concede that there are major differences when it comes to being on Moya vs being under the mist. On Moya, he gets the chance to learn and explore and continue looking for wormholes. Under the mist, he’s just trapped with no way anywhere (whereas for Aeryn, she grew to have a family here). Old man Crichton even explained to Grandma Aeryn that this was a place for gardening and he’s an astronaut—so Moya life played to his strengths. Still, it’s a little odd that he lived on this planet for most of his life, and all he came back with was some griping about Ennixx’s husband, and a deep, abiding love for Aeryn, which kept him from going on a suicide run. Yay? :p
So let’s move onto the other relationships! They’re far more slower moving, fleshed out, and applicable to the larger “Farscape” narrative. We open with Chiana accompanying Rygel to see if Aeryn brought anything back on her transport filled with Zhaan’s jungle plant. :P (Another one of those eye-rolly things that she hadn’t thought to take it out for 120 cycles, but that’s just to set up the passage of time. Anywho.) It’s a believable action for Chiana to take because, like real-life people, she regresses into old behaviors sometimes. Even though she’s, as D’argo claims, “one of us now,” thieving and sneaking are a comfortable fallback. Obviously trouble is brewing in paradise, and it’s something Chi is more aware of than D. He’s trying to change her—she calls him on it—and she doesn’t want to fit into his mold. It’s kind of heartbreaking to witness, because they’re both likeable characters in their ways and they obviously both have an affection for each other. But it’s also a true to life relationship between two people who might be more at odds, personality wise, than they’d like to admit.
The other relationship—new development!—is Stark and Zhaan. Seems only fair that Zhaan should get some, too, right? :P Speaking as someone who’s a fan of the spiritual and mystical on this show (of the characters who embody those traits, at least,) I guess I’m still a little iffy on some of the Stark components. It’s Zhaan who would be able to sense the time disruption while linked in unity, so why could Stark’s mind overpower hers? Also, why did she have to be linked to him in order to speak cosmically to John; that’s the real tickler. I mean, she and John had been joined in the past, too, so they should have their own thing going on. But speaking of “things,” I like the chemistry between Virginia Hey and Paul Goddard, especially when the latter had the most expressive “O” face for experiencing ten cycles of really good sex. :P And I like the fact that, when all of this is over and done with, they remember what happened in the mist. (I also like when Chiana’s bratty cynicism proves to be correct, so yay! :P) It makes it less of a reset than if everyone forgot, and the fact that two secondary characters are the keepers of memory, again, moves this story past being just about John and Aeryn; it makes it about the full Moya crew. And that’s awesome.
Favorite Crichtonism: *shanty tune* I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid/ A-roving, a-roving , since roving's been my rue-eye-inn I'll go no more a'roving -
Favorite Quotes:
*Zhaan waking from her meditation is a sign that something’s gone wrong…*
Rygel: Ah - What are you doing out here Zhaan? I thought you were locked in your chamber, meditating.
Zhaan: I was. But I woke early from my time with the Goddess.
D’argo: Aeryn went out into that and we haven't heard from her since. Perhaps you sensed the danger and that's what woke you.
Zhaan: How long's she been gone?
John: One solar day. Thought we'd hide in this fog - or whatever it is - from the Peacekeepers. Aeryn went on long-range recon and she hasn't come back yet.
*Aeryn is emotional as a grandmother*
Aeryn: How long -how-how how long have I been here?
John: Not long. Maybe an arn.
Aeryn: An arn?
John: Yes.
Aeryn: The mist - the opening - it goes. I have to get back to the planet. My granddaughter's waiting for me. Ennixx can't survive without my transport pod!
John: Aeryn - sshh -
Aeryn: There's no other way off the planet! *fending John off* No. I - NO! I only came back to warn you to get out of the mist as soon as possible! While you still can!
*setting up the locket maguffin*
John: Look, you're wearing the locket. The locket that Chiana: gave you. The one that says, "Sorry I smashed your Prowler." The one she stole from the last commerce planet we were on.
Aeryn: She stole it? She told me she bought it!
John: Well, that's Chi...
*fleshing Aeryn out as a nostalgic, elderly person*
Aeryn: Look at you... I'd forgotten how beautiful you were. You're so young. I'd also forgotten how wrong you could be!
*Rygel’s excuse to D’argo about what he’s doing in Aeryn’s transport*
D’argo: What are you doing in here?
Rygel: Nothing. We're looking for -clues - to see if we can find out how this terrible, terrible thing happened to Aeryn.
*hearkening back to an older conversation with Pilot about what life means*
Pilot: Aeryn! What happened to you?
Aeryn: I lived Pilot.
*Pilot reminds everyone what his role is for their stay on Moya*
D’argo: Pilot! You let her leave?
Pilot: She asked me not to alert you. You're all free to come and go.
*trouble in the D/C paradise*
D’argo: Chiana... I didn't want to embarrass you in front of Rygel on the transport pod, but...
Chiana: You could never embarrass me.
D’argo: Maybe not. But you're one of us now. There's no need for you to act like you're not.
Chiana: D'Argo - I always do what I want, okay? I don't know why. It's just the way I am.
D’argo: I understand that, but -
Chiana: Yeah, but you're not gonna change me!
D’argo: I'm only just beginning to realize that.
Chiana: You're pretty straight, huh?
D’argo: Yes. I am.
Chiana: We're not gonna make it. Are we?
*Stark explains the worldbuilding*
Stark: An Ancient named Delik theorized about what he called Center Halos. He believed that scattered throughout the universe, were mists where all dimensions met and where time ceased to exist.
Zhaan: What? Do you think that Moya is caught in one of these Center Halos?
Stark: I thought - if you and I joined spirits...
Zhaan: Joined with you? What would that do?
Stark: I've been told that Delvians, during a mind link, can sense the time continuum.
Zhaan: Yes, that is what we strive for, but - few have achieved it.
Stark: I thought that maybe together we could catch a glimpse and see if there's a void in the time continuum around Moya, see if no time exists in the mist.
*Aeryn explains the concept of “home” to her granddaughter*
Ennixx: What happened to him nana?
Aeryn: Oh, Crichton. He was happy for a few cycles there too. Something must have reminded him - thank you - of his past. I still think about it sometimes - Moya...
Ennixx: You've never been as sad as him.
Aeryn: Well perhaps I hide it better.
Ennixx: Will he ever be over it? I've done all I can. We took him from the barren planet. Showed him our favored world.
Aeryn: I know you've tried. We've all tried, But Crichton was always stubborn.
Ennixx: Why are those from the outside always so unhappy?
Aeryn: Because we weren't born here. This is your home. Not ours. Give Crichton a few more cycles. He'll come around.
*so much for the Harvey wormhole subplot; old man Crichton’s having none of it*
Harvey: No, Crichton, no! I need the wormhole knowledge that you have locked in your brain!
John: That's great, Scorpy. You ain't never gonna get that. Ah'm dyin'. Ah'm dyin' right here on this planet an' you ain't never gonna get what's in mah head.
*a reminder that Moya is the one in a weird time loop, not John and Aeryn on the planet*
D’argo: So it's us. It's us who are not growing old.
Stark: Yes.
Rygel: I don't believe it!
Chiana: You gotta be frelling with me!
D’argo: So this means everyone we know - Crais, Scorpius:, my son - they're all old now?
Stark: Yes. It is believed that nothing ages in a Halo, and eventually it hardens, and everything inside is trapped without time forever.
*Grandma Aeryn and Old Man Crichton chatting it up*
Aeryn: How's your knee?
John: Oh, it's fahn. Jus' chasin' beautiful wimmin up n' down th' hills
Aeryn: Well. Why don't you come and sit down here, old man, or you'll give yourself a heart attack.
John: Don't-don't-don't you "ol' man" me, woman! You're 200 cycles older than ah am!
*John’s life on the planet*
John: Well, Ah ain't a gardener. Ah never wanted t'be one. S'awll we do around here - garden! Plant things! Ah was a pilot, Aeryn. Astronaut. Ah was what ah wanted t'be. Ah ain't going to forget that an' ah can't accept this.
Aeryn: Do you regret this?
John: What?
Aeryn: Spending the last 55 cycles here with me.
John: Aeryn you are the one thing which has kept me from doing a kamikaze in the transport. Ah just have t'try to get back to my old life. Just - for a day. That's the hope. Hope! That's what keeps me goin'!
*Grandma Aeryn and Old Man Crichton move on to flirting*
John: I gotchyer locket. Whose, uh - image you got in here, anyway?
Aeryn: You know who's in there.
John: Yer husban'? He's been dead 90 cycles. Why would you have his image in there?
Aeryn: Just to drive you crazy.
John: You know what ah think? Ah don't think it's him in there. Ah think you've got my picture.
Aeryn: Don't flatter yourself.
John: Yeah! Yeah, mah picture! Surrounded by roses an' hearts an' - yotz!
Aeryn: Open it then.
John: What?
Aeryn: Take a look inside. You'll see his image. The only love of my life.
*Aeryn also embraces her roots at the end*
Ennixx: Why are you going? Stay with us! Look, come back to the favored planet and I will take care of you. The mist is dangerous! It-
Aeryn: Ennixx - listen to me! I grew up a Peacekeeper. We are born in space and we must die in space.
Ennixx: But what about-?
Aeryn: Now I have spent most of my life down here with you, and it has been glorious! But when I die - I belong up there.
*the crew decides on their final plan to get out of this mess*
Pilot: If we're going to try and starburst out, I think we should go forward down to the planet, not backwards.
John: Is that what you want? You want that? You wanna live yer life on that planet? The place where you'll never see anyone you know ever again. I have done that. And let me assure you, whatever the risk, it is worth getting your life back.
D’argo: I'm with John. I do not want to live a life without a past. I want to see my son again.
Chiana: Me too. I never wanted to go into the mist anyway.
Rygel: I guess I'm in agreement as well.
Zhaan: Goddess be with us all. Pilot! Start initiating sequence for reverse starburst.
*John’s goodbye speech to Aeryn, before he finally opens the locket*
John: Oh... Oh, baby... There are so many places that I wanted you to see. People... There's this lake in Maine. Used t'spend summers there when ah 's a kid. Had more mosquitoes than a dawg had fleas. Mah Dad an' ah, we'd camp out there. An' one night, the astronauts landed on the moon. Ah remember looking up at the skah. Ah knew right then what ah was gonna do with the rest of mah life. Couldn't a been more'n 4 years old. Yeah ah really wanted you t'see that. Damn, baby ah miss you already. Who else'm ah gonna tell this crap to?
*Stark and Zhaan theorize over the arc of this episode*
Zhaan: None of them remember anything. Yet - yet we do.
Stark: Because we've returned to a time before any of it happened. They have nothing to remember, Zhaan. I think we only remember because we were joined when Moya broke free.
Zhaan: What about Aeryn’s life and the family she had?
Stark: Let's theorize that through every opening in a center halo, our world splits into an infinite number of universes.
Zhaan: Are you saying that Ennixx could still be alive?
Stark: Yes. And mourning the loss of her grandmother.
*…and finally, we get to the major show plot of this episode!*
Stark: D'Argo - um - I've been waiting to show you this. *shows D’argo picture* I found it in a manifest of slaves being sold to the Caton mines.
D’argo: Who is this?
Zhaan: The manifest lists him as - as "Jothee - son of Ka D'Argo."
D’argo: My son. My son is being sold into slavery. *seizes Stark* HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?
Zhaan: D'ARGO!
Stark: I - just found out.
Zhaan: D'ARGO! STARK WANTED ME AWAKE BEFORE HE TOLD YOU! D'ARGO! LET HIM GO - PLEASE! THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME. THE AUCTION ISN'T FOR A FEW SOLAR DAYS. WE WILL - FIND - A WAY TO RESCUE JOTHEE! *trying to get him to let Stark go* D'Argo... D'Argo! D'Argo...
D’argo: *releases Stark, exhausted* All right. I'm sorry, Stark I - uh - I've got... I've gotta... save my son Zhaan. We've got to find a way.
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