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Greetings Scapers!
Picking up from last week's dynamic season III premiere, Crichton's regained the ability to speak, Aeryn Sun is alive, Zhaan is dying, and Jothee and Chiana are getting just a little bit too cozy. So can this week's installment keep the momentum going?
Season III, Episode II -- "Suns and Lovers"
Original Air Date: 3.23.00
I suppose I'm tempted to label this episode as "filler", mainly because Scorpy and Crais are completely absent, but that would be selling it short. After all, this episode was far more entertaining than some of the dreck that passes as an X-Files filler story these days.
Anyway, the crew is taking some much needed r&r at a space station pub, and while things are a bit friendlier than say, Mos Eisley, it's not too long before things go awry. Just as the crew is starting to relax, the station comes under fire from a gamma wave storm from a nearby nebula. The station is severely damaged, and Moya has become trapped between some collapsed cables. Crichton wonders why nobody saw the storm approaching, and asks Pilot to look into it. Apparently, the storm took a 90 degree turn before hitting the station, as if it were aimed at it. And to make matters worse, a second and more powerful storm is en route.
So not only is Moya trapped, but there's a nursery full of children that has become separated and Aeryn insists on trying to save them before evacuating. As for the ship, D'Argo is the only one strong and skilled enough to free it, but becomes awfully indifferent to the crew's survival once he finds out what's been going on behind his back. Chiana and Jothee, his son, have been having an affair, and the realization of it breaks his heart, and will to live. The timing could not have been worse, as D'Argo informed Crichton he was going to propose marriage to Chiana.
So much went on during this episode, that's it's extremely hard to sum it all up. Using the DRDs, Crichton was able to pinpoint the source of the gamma wave beacon - an exotic looking female in the bar named Borlik. Once detected, the religious zealot (she claimed the station occupied a region of space called the "sacred stillness") magnetizes herself to a support structure composed of a special type of steel. As luck would have it, though, Aeryn's old coffin is made of the exact same metal. They successfully trap Borlik in the coffin as it contains more of the material. The problem of leaving, however, has yet to be solved due to D'Argo's precarious mental state. John does eventually convince him to help, however, and the ship is freed.
Possibly the coolest scene came near the end, as Borlik had escaped the coffin and re-magnetized herself to the inside of Moya. Just as she thought she'd won, John took great pleasure in saying: "The wall you've just attached yourself to is detachable. Pilot, I'm clear. Blow this bitch out of here." The craziest/most disturbing part was when Pilot started laughing maniacally, a side of him we'd certainly never seen before. He has been developing a little bit of a mean streak hasn't he?
This led me to wonder, what exactly was Borlik's motive? She initially claimed that the station was cursed, and then it appeared she was trying to destroy it for religious reasons. But then, why still broadcast the beacon once inside Moya and away from the station? Not only that, she approached John before the storm and identified him as the man who destroyed a Gammack base and killed many a PeaceKeeper. So was John the real target, and Borlik an assassin?
And for all you shippers, there was plenty to keep you happy. D'Argo's anger at his son and lover was intense, and justified. As it turns out, Chiana used Jothee to make sure that D'Argo would not want to marry her, because ultimately, she does not want to settle down, even with him. As for John/Aeryn, who have now professed their love for each other, there wasn't too much interaction, save for a very funny advance by Aeryn, who suggested that they "reduce bodily fluids" in order to lower stress. She's a charmer, isn't she? Well, John basically said no, because it either didn't feel like the right time, or because the station was under imminent attack. Maybe both.
Other than that, Zhaan is slowly decomposing, and one of the frozen Interons woke up briefly before puking and dying. Oh, and Rygel called Chiana a "slut", which was pretty funny, and probably accurate.
All in all, I think a little too much was going on in this episode, yet strangely enough, not much really happened. If that makes any sense. I guess the main thing is that D'Argo and Chiana seem done. Out of guilt for his betrayal, Jothee has left. (didn't I call that one last week?...)
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10.
A final note -- I watched my brand new Farscape Vol. 2 dvd right before this episode, and my god -- the production values are so much better now. There were some truly fantastic SFX shots in this episode, like the space station against the backdrop of a star. They've been advertising that Farscape has "theatrical level special effects" for some time now, and while they've always been good, they may finally be right.
- your resident Farscape guru, Ultra Magnus
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