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"Brave Sir Knight... I am King Arthur of Camelot, and this is my loyal vassal Patsy." -- John (Quixote)
"Bollucks! You're a pimped-out, arrogant fleshy who wants to use my road... where none shall pass!" -- Black Knight Rygel
Episode 4.07, "John Quixote"
Written by Ben Browder
Directed by Tony Tilse
Air Date 7.26.02
I hardly know where to begin in writing this review, so I'll simply say this - Ben Browder is a genius. I really don't think an episode this far out, this frelling hysterical, or this twisted could have come out of anyone else's mind.
Destined to be adored by many, and probably loathed by nearly as many, "John Quixote" is like Farscape on acid. It's definitely one of those episodes that demands to be watched several times as you'll pick up more things each viewing. If only Cervantes himself could have been around to see it...
The episode starts off with Sikozu walking up to Scorpius in his cell with a game board. She tells him it's Crichton's and asks if he knows how to play. Scorpius says it would be easier for him to play if the door were open...
Meanwhile, Crichton and Chiana are en route to Moya on a transport pod, presumably on the way back from a supply run. Bad idea bringing Pip along. She picked up a couple of VR games, straight outta Existenz. Just as D'Argo comms the two to tell them of potential problems aboard Moya, Chiana slaps the VR game against Crichton's hand and next thing you know, they're both inside Scorpius' long since destroyed Gammak Base. Oh yeah, and Gilina's there, too. Before long, though, they're shot out of that level and into another one, and suddenly Crichton and Chiana are wearing some hysterical medieval digs standing outside an ivory tower where a blonde Aeryn is calling to be rescued. Then the television set falls from the tower and hits Crichton on the head. Like I said, genius.
Crichton is not really amused, however, as they need to return to Moya asap. To their dismay, though, the auto-out doesn't work, and they're stuck in the game. At this point, Stark shows up - only it's not really stark, simply his image as the game's avatar. He mostly speaks in riddles, but he explains to them that as Stark eased the other Crichton's passage, he also absorbed his memories, which were then included with Stark's own when he sold them to a game designer called Yoti. Not surprisingly, Crichton is still not amused.
Embarking on a quest to either "kiss a princess fair, by ugliness enslaved" or simply find a green door, John and Chiana go through various levels where they run into: a fat male Zhaan (played by staff director Rowan Woods), Dark Knight Rygel, a scene straight out of Hansel & Grettel featuring D'Argo, Jool, and another Chiana, and finally they reach the top of the tower where Aeryn is waited on by butler Scorpius and married to Ogre Crais. (complete with horns)
Midway through the journey, John and Chiana think they've escaped the game, and the episode's entire third act is aboard Moya where Scorpius has taken control of the ship and crew. Unfortunately, we're trained to know as viewers that in any situation concerning reality vs. simulation, the heroes are never quite out of the game that first time. Plus, to the discerning viewer there were some clues, such as D'Argo wearing his season three outfit during that sequence, not his current one. So by act four, we're back in the game, and an increasingly desperate Crichton must figure out how to win the game and escape. But after successfully killing the ogre and kissing Aeryn, still nothing happens. Crichton finally realizes the meaning of the hint, though -- "Kiss a princess fair, by ugliness enslaved." He jumps out of a window, killing himself as to reset the game. Back at the beginning with fat male Zhaan, he slices him right down the middle with his sword, releasing the 'real' Zhaan.
Now this was a real treat. Though it was only a VR Zhaan (or was it?...), it was still our first glimpse of that beautiful blue bitch in over a season. Unfortunately, it was indeed short lived, as John kisses her after a brief exchange, and that's it - the game is finally over.
Back in the real world, Crichton and Chiana are relieved to hear that Scorpius did not actually escape, there was simply a 'problem' with his cell door. Which, of course, we know had something to do with Sikozu... The opening bit of dialogue from Sikozu was a clever little bit of foreshadowing, by the way. Nice little touches like that impress me.
As I watched, and re-watched this episode, there were countless things I knew I'd want to mention in this review, and I know I'm probably forgetting most of them. While I know many may have had issues with Tilse's direction in this episode, I think it was a perfect interpretation of Browder's wacky script. So if you haven't already guessed, I've come to really love this episode. Everything from the production design, the costumes, Aeryn's southern lisp, the various homages to Max Headroom, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Labyrinth, and I'm sure countless others I missed. As an aside, a little trivia factoid for y'all: in the early stages of Farscape's development, Zhaan was intended to actually be fat and male. Now that we've seen what that would have been like, let's be thankful they went with slender and female.
As a final observation, it's interesting to mention a key difference in the two Browder-penned episodes thus far. In "GEM", the final scene was of Crichton and Aeryn making an emotional breakthrough, and kissing amidst a backdrop of stars. In "John Quixote", Noranti advises John to get his mind off of Aeryn, by taking a whiff of 'distillate of lacca.' For a time, he'll be able to think clearly she says. Later, as Crichton passes Aeryn in the corridor, Aeryn quips playfully, "So I heard I was a princess." Crichton says nothing, and just keeps walking.
Episode Rating: 8.5 out of 10
- Rafael "Ultra Magnus" Pujals
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