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Greetings Scapers!
The tragic ending of Infinite Possibilities, Part 2: Icarus Abides left a lot of unanswered questions. How will Talyn's crew deal with the loss of Crichton? How will they react when they meet back up with the other Crichton? And most importantly, where does all this leave Aeryn Sun?
The Choice
Season III, Episode XVII
Directed by Rowan Woods
Written by Justin Monjo
With no real reason to stay aboard Talyn, and certainly not wanting to see the other Crichton aboard Moya, Aeryn leaves for the mystical planet Valldon - a world where the dead speak. Supposedly, anyway. Aeryn doesn't really buy into any of this spiritual stuff, but she's severely depressed and looking for something, anything to believe in. Having just lost of the only love of her life, she doesn't know where she fits anymore.
To call this episode a standalone would be selling it short. Though not much happens plot-wise that will affect future episodes, it is a characterization piece that showcases Aeryn's fragile emotional state and Claudia Black's superb acting chops. Unfortunately, even the sultry Aussie couldn't quite save this one.
Xhalax Sun, apparently is alive. Crais let her go with the understanding that she would report them all dead to PK High Command. Not content to just disappear, however, Xhalax is also on Valldon and has a vendetta against Aeryn. Harboring a lifetime's worth of hate (she blames Aeryn for ruining her career), she won't quit until Aeryn has suffered. She goes to great lengths to see that it happens, including hiring a seer to make her think that John's spirit might be able to come back to the world of the living, and somebody to impersonate her long lost father, Talyn. Why go through all this trouble? Well, in the climactic confrontation between the two, it is finally revealed that High Command gave Xhalax a choice - kill Talyn, or kill Aeryn. And Xhalax has resented her ever since.
So was Xhalax's decision to kill Talyn and allow Aeryn to live really the titular choice? I don't think so. The Choice, I believe refers to Aeryn's decision to abandon the progress she'd made with John to become more 'human' and emotional. She's learned a painful lesson - that her peacekeeper ideals were correct all along. By loving Crichton so much, and now having lost him, she's opened herself up to pain and suffering. By the end of the episode, she realizes this, and reverts back to her cold, soldier-like self. Calling it 'hitting the reset' button would be ridiculous, but like it or not, it appears Aeryn has gone full circle. The John still aboard Moya will have a very hard time cracking that cold exterior again.
I really liked all the aspects of this episode that dealt with Aeryn's emotional state and transformation, but I really could have done without the entire Xhalax/ Talyn side plot. For one thing, I just didn't really get it. Xhalax's desire to see Aeryn suffer seems contrived and unwarranted. For another, just how did she know that Aeryn was on that planet? And for another, why did she kill the Talyn-imposter for real? What purpose did that serve? And lastly, it illegitimatized Xhalax's previously well done 'death' in Relativity. Not to mention, we doubt Crais' motives even more now. His character is just bothersome to me. With all this dying going around, I really wish somebody would just bump him off already.
The positives were Claudia Black's great acting, fantastic set designs and cityscapes, and some cool references to past episodes, but overall, the hackneyed plotline just squashed what could have been a great episode. I'm also very wary of the possibility that Zhaan could be back in any way. Stark stayed behind on the planet to figure out why she's calling out to him, but if one more 'dead' character comes back …I just don't know… There certainly is something mystical about the planet - Aeryn did have a potentially real experience with the dead Crichton, and experienced memories from an alternate timeline that she couldn't possibly have had. (Scenes from The Locket)
Now one really interesting thing is why exactly Stark left his mask behind. In his message, he said that the other Crichton, and only Crichton, would know what to do with it. Now if you remember, I called this one two weeks ago - there was definitely something important shared between Stark and Talyn-John just before he died. What that is, exactly, we will hopefully find out next week.
Episode Rating: 6 out of 10
Next week defines "can't miss", as we get the long awaited reunion of the two crews in Fractures. It has all the makings of a truly great episode, and will surely end with a cliffhanger, as the Summer of Sci Fi will sadly come to a close. That's right - break out the hankies - after next week, no more new Farscape for a long time …oh well, it's been a great run overall.
- your resident Farscape guru, Ultra Magnus
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