TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
"Co-kura - we are experiencing heavy instabilities... attempting to recover." - Crichton
"What is causing this, John?!" - Scorpius
"Flying through wormholes ain't like dusting crops, farm boy. It takes a little finesse." - Crichton
Episode 3.21, "Into the Lion's Den, Part 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"
Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon
Directed by Rowan Woods
Air Date: 04.19.02
As this is an advance review, I wouldn't advise reading ahead unless you've either seen this episode or don't mind spoilers... big ones.
Part one, "Lambs to the Slaughter", left us hanging on the revelation of all revelations - Scorpius had found Earth. Convinced that Crichton was stalling, either through "ignorance or design", he pulled out all the stops, warning Crichton that if he did not deliver the wormhole technology, and soon, he would witness the destruction of his home world.
Needless to say, Crichton's a bit miffed about all this. Just recently, he'd been experiencing a bit of a moral dilemma as to whether or not he should actually help Scorpy or not, but after this incident, all doubt about his next move is laid to rest. He calls the troops to a meeting where he says the arrival of Commandant Grayza has changed the whole timetable, and a new plan is now necessary. They all agree, but are more than a bit slackjawed when Crichton says the new plan entails blowing up the entire command carrier.
I know part of Farscape's allure over the past three seasons has been that it's fundamentally different from shows like Star Trek in that there is no ranking officer among Moya's crew. And while that's still technically the case, there is no denying the fact that Crichton has emerged as the leader. Long gone are the jokes about Crichton's incompetentcy or crackpot ideas. While they can't quite believe what he's suggesting at first, he's simply convinces them that it must be done.
Sensing, however, that his moment of redemption in the PK ranks is at hand, Crais betrays Crichton and the others. In exchange for re-instatement and other perks, Crais spills everything to Scorpius. Meanwhile, John is still feverishly working with Co-Kura on the wormhole tech, and the equations are now coming fast and furious, despite himself. While he has no intention of giving Scorp what he wants, the knowledge from the ancients is now kicking into high gear, whether John likes it or not. Speaking of things John doesn't like, add (once again) Crais to the list. He goes ballistic when he finds out about Crais' betrayal. Scorpius now tells him that his friends are in custody, and will be killed if he does not succeed. Things are just going from bad to worse, aren't they? Well, not quite.
As much as I would have found it intriguing to see evil Crais resurface, this isn't the case. John soon finds out that it was a part of the plot. Make Scorpy believe that the entire plan had failed, so that Crais himself can blow up the carrier. Remember - this was once Crais' command carrier, and Scorpius stole it from him and ruined Crais' career. And as Crichton learned in season one, Crais does not just let things go.
Anyway, the new plan is genius in its utter simplicity - have Talyn starburst inside the command carrier. Without being able to dissipate into space, the energy released will create a chain reaction that will bring down the entire ship. But, invariably, there's always a catch, and it's this - Talyn will be killed, and Crais along with him.
But Crais needs a major distraction. So Crichton challenges Scorpy to come with him on a run through the wormhole - in Farscape 1 no less. Scorpy is hesitant, but John essentially calls him chicken, and well, you can guess the rest. Once safely back on the carrier, John and Scorpy disembark from the module, and immediately Crichton knows his distraction was successful.
"Scorpius - I am just making my final good-byes." - Crais, from inside Talyn
"Where are you Crais?" - Scorpius
"I am standing in your heart, and I'm about to squeeze." - Crais
And shortly thereafter, we hear what are presumably the final words former Peacekeeper Captain Bialar Crais will ever say: "Talyn... starburst."
What follows after that is some of the coolest footage we've ever been treated to in Farscape - about eight minutes worth of command carrier destruction. Make no mistake, the two or three 'bottle' episodes (most or all the action takes place on the primary sets - i.e. cheap) this season were clearing the way in the budget for this sequence. It's beautifully photographed, and accompanied with a great score. If there's a flaw in any of it, it's that the allusions to the fall of Rome or "Titanic" are a little obvious. But it's all good, because it looks so damn cool. Wayne Pygram has to get so much credit here, because the emotions he conveys without saying anything at all are priceless. Crais' statement was not an exaggeration, because Scorpius has always been the pillar of determination and confidence. Now, for the first time, he looks like an adversary defeated, a man demoralized.
With the carrier falling apart all around them and explosions everywhere, Crichton and Scorpius have one last confrontation. Theirs truly has to be one of the most complex and intriguing protagonist/antagonist relationships ever. They've been through so much, it's almost like they have some kind of weird admiration for one another, a kind of mutual respect. As it may be the last exchange between them for a very long time (or ever?) I thought I'd re-cap:
"Looks like our partnership is over." - Crichton
"John Crichton, Commander John Crichton... generations will know that name. Because of you, very soon, the Scarrans will destroy us." - Scorpius
"One evil at a time, that's the best I can do... Tell me, Ghandi - you still going after Earth?" - Crichton
"To what purpose? Vengeance against you?! The only vengeance I cared about is no longer within my grasp!... (looks at his I-Yensch bracelet) ... while holding two lights, depress 3-1-7, then release." - Scorpius
"Hold two, press 9-1-1, and release... we were close... if we're gonna get off this boat, now would be a good time." - Crichton
"I may not be getting off this ship, John... Goodbye, Crichton." - Scorpius
"Scorpius!" - Crichton
Not only is that yet another beautiful little nugget from Rockne himself, but it makes you wonder. Watching it, it's hard to tell if Crichton feels good or bad about what he's done. Scorpius looks sincerely betrayed, and hurt. And then there's that line - "we were close" - is he speaking merely about the wormhole tech? Perhaps on the surface, but John and Scorpius have connected more than just superficially through the I-Yensch bracelets. And is John actually offering Scorpy a ride out of there? By calling after him once he vanishes, he definitely seems to care about the guy. So while (once again) you are left to wonder if Scorpius survives or not, I'd bet the farm that he'll be back. In fact, the possibility even exists now, and how interesting would this be, for Crichton and Scorpius to work together against a common foe - Grayza. Who knows, stranger things have happened...
So now the aftermath. Once again, a season later, it seems that the Moya crew is at a crossroads. D'Argo and Rygel have the means to go home. Finding Jool's people shouldn't prove that difficult, either, while Chiana muses about joining her brother and the Nebari resistance. D'Argo comments that it was inevitable for all of them to go their separate ways eventually. That he never would have believed it would have taken this long in the first place. Nevertheless, you can tell Pilot is crushed at the prospect of losing the crew.
And what of John and Aeryn you say? The final shot of the episode - the two of them sitting together in command, neither having any idea what to say. Just when you're thinking, okay, John's gonna say something here and lighten the moment, the picture fades, and that's that.
Well, I don't typically go into such detail for the synopsis, but this was just such an amazing episode. I didn't know what to leave out! There are so many unanswered questions... I mean, how is this not the season finale?... What on Earth is gonna happen next week? And of course, the obvious question is, what about Talyn and Crais? Are they really dead? In science fiction in general, and Farscape in particular, death is very often a relative term. Couldn't it be possible that Crais and Talyn just ended up somewhere else? I mean, I sure don't have a PhD. in starburst theory so I can't tell you if they really got fried or not. I'll tell you this, if Crais is actually gone, he had one hell of a character arc. Lani Tupu's talents will still be utilized for the voice of Pilot, but we'll definitely miss his on-screen talents. He and Aeryn did have an appropriately pseudo-emotional goodbye, but for all that he and John went through early in the series I would have expected a little more between them. So that would lead me to think that maybe, just maybe, he'll be back. We'll have to wait and see.
But this is about as good as it gets, folks. I'm not gonna give it perfection, but damn close.
Episode Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Ultra Magnus actually felt bad for that bastard Scorpius.
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
