Season 2, Episode 7: “Home on the Remains”
*** out of *****
“If I had anything at all in my stomach right now, I’d throw up.”

Moya’s out of food; or at least everyone on her is. They’re starving to the point of eating dentics. To make things worse, Zhaan’s launching out spores like a dandelion going to seed as part of her species’ automatic means to attract food. Not only are people allergic, but it’s causing Moya problems [1], and if Zhaan doesn’t get food soon she’ll go berserk and die. So that’s all swell, too.

Long story short, they need food fast, and just happen to be sailing by a dead creature the size of a small moon where Chiana knows some people. She’s got a plan, so we know that’s just going to go just great. [2]

It’s a decent, middling episode. There’s a great shot toward the beginning showing the scale of the budong that zooms in alllll the way down to individual people. Budongs is BIG. The plot on the budong is stronger than the plot on Moya with Zhaan, Aeryn and Pilot, but without the latter, the former would lose urgency. It’s a bit coincidental that Chiana’s contact/friend gets killed right as they arrive. The keeva isn’t the best creature this show has created. It looks like a something spawned from a threesome between a gorilla, a wolf, and a morlock…as portrayed by a guy in a suit. Then again, it’s not the worst creature this show has created, either.

This is a rough one for Chiana as she faces a place she once escaped. It genuinely sucks when Chiana’s friend gets killed. She just loses everybody, doesn’t she? When D’Argo kisses her, it seems to genuinely surprise her, perhaps not so much by the kiss as by it being part of his insistence that she’s safe. That’s really not something she’s used to, is it?

Last line:
“Whoa.”

Other Comments:
Zhaan spews out a LOT of spores if it’s going to damage Moya permanently.

Rygel bites John. John bites back.

——
[1] Given how allergic everyone seems to be, why does this ATTRACT people?

[2] Sorry, Chiana, but we had a plan that worked last episode, and I’m pretty sure you guys only get to have one of those per season…

Yes, I’m still doing my Farscape rewatch! I’ve just been distracted with my novels and day job recently. (And, okay, also I got a PS3 to replace an old blu-ray player and have been a tad sucked into The Last of Us…) But on we go!

Season 2, Episode 5: “The Way We Weren’t”
****1/2  out of *****

“Oh, it’s perfectly fine to cut off one of his arms, then, is it Zhaan?!”

A recording is found that reveals Aeryn to not only have been aboard Moya before but to have taken part in the execution of her first pilot. It’s angst, regret, and anger all around, and a really fantastic character episode. As usual, Claudia Black does a fantastic job, and Pilot himself is as real and alive as any of the non-puppet characters.

This is another episode that contributed to my never, ever trusting Crais. Yes, Aeryn killed a pilot under orders, but Crais is the one who gave those orders—with apparent malice and zero remorse. He was an “insane military commander” even before his brother was killed. Yes, his brother’s death screwed him up, but we see here that ruthlessness lurked in him even during his regular duties. Am I judging Crais more harshly than Aeryn? I suppose that’s open to debate.

This episode also gives a deeper understanding of Pilot; how desperate he was to be bonded to a leviathan and the guilt he’s been hiding since that bonding. His anger at Aeryn is at least partially transferred self-loathing for his part in the first pilot’s death and the torture Moya underwent so she would accept him[1]. He’d never mentioned the pain, and likely accepted it previously as penance for his own crimes.

It’s interesting that, in the entire course of the series, no one ever brings up the question of whether or not Pilot has an actual name, or if he’d even like one. It would have been nice if someone had asked him, and this would have been one of the best opportunities for it.

Last line:
“And you say you think you love this man?”

Other Comments:
Pilot says he’ll have less control for a while. I don’t remember if that ever had any actual effect.

I felt bad for Pilot being wrapped up in the cargo bay like that.
——
[1] “Chop off an arm and all he can muster is a few snotty remarks…”

Season 2, Episode 4: “Crackers Don’t Matter”
****1/2 out of *****

“What the hell is this?”
“Heat-deflecting paste. You’ll burn up in there without it.”
“Smells like puke.”
“I pre-digested it to increase it’s potency.”
“It’s PUKE?!”

And here we have quite possibly the weirdest, most fun, most disturbing Farscape episode so far. It’s never a good sign when people are crawling across the ceiling.

A blind-ish fly-man thing by the name of T’raltixx comes aboard promising to make modifications that will help Moya hide from the Peacekeepers and winds up driving everyone insane as part of a plan to…get a bunch of light. (I confess, I never quite bought the whole “my species needs light!” thing. What, he can’t just go out and buy a whole crapload of floodlights?)

As I said, this is a fun episode. Clearly the actors were having a ball getting to explore their characters going crazy. John and Aeryn arguing with pulse pistols, Pilot getting anti-social and twitchy[1], Harvey making his debut before he even officially existed[2], and, well, that disturbing scene between John and Chiana in the passageway. And in what other episode do we get to see John dressed up in a cape with a sword and shield and covered in puke?

Other Comments:
I’m still hating Zhaan’s outfit.

Aren’t pulsars supposed to, ya know, pulse? I could be wrong about this, but…

——
[1] Creepy, really. Kudos to the puppeteers.

[2] “Kill her! Then we’ll have pizza! And margarita shooters!”

Season 2, Episode 3: “Taking the Stone”
**  out of *****

“Lately, do I seem…a little crazy to you?”
“What do you mean, ‘lately’?”

Chiana learns that her brother Nerri has died and, to deal with her grief, hooks up with a bunch of irritating constantly-baked teenagers with terrible hair who live on a graveyard planet. Also, Rygel’s new look haunts him (literally), and it would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their Luxan.

While I like Chiana, this episode is one of my least favorite of the season. It’s just…boring. The Rygel subplot is a bit incidental and doesn’t really go anywhere, even when it tries to give D’Argo and Zhaan something to do on the side. The drama on the planet is dull. The little bit with Chiana’s suicidal tendencies and Aeryn’s understanding is occasionally interesting[1], but there’s too much story gristle around that meat for it to redeem the episode.

It’s a shame that Crichton didn’t turn around at the start when Chiana told him she needed to talk. Edgley plays Chiana’s pain really well, and Crichton being too absorbed in his own task to see that makes me feel for her all the more. Plus, if he’d just seen that something was wrong at that point, this whole episode might have been avoided.

Crichton continues to be very protective of his crewmates. Heck, he’s willing to play Mushroom Roulette[2] just to get some information that MIGHT help Chiana. He’s a more extreme personality than he used to be, and is beginning to notice his own instabilities…

Last line:
“Let’s get out of this dead place.”

Other Comments:
So where are the pre-teens? These kids are obviously procreating.

——
[1] Aeryn clearly has more experience with people dealing with grief than Crichton does.

[2] With a one-in-four chance of dying, no less.

Season 2, Episode 2: “Vitas Mortis”
**1/2  out of *****
“The spiritual realm frightens you?”
“Losing those I care about frightens me.”

We’ve seen Delvian mysticism, now it’s time for some Luxan mysticism! D’Argo runs into a Luxan Orican–basically an extremely revered spiritual leader-type[1]–who needs his help to die in proper fashion and winds up sucking Moya’s youth to revitalize herself on accident. Gee, whoops?

This episode is alright, and has some good D’Argo moments, but it’s somewhat bland for me. The mystery of what’s happening with Moya feels a bit obvious, so it’s a little frustrating they all figure it out so slowly. Points for D’Argo for figuring it out first, though Aeryn does so at about the same time, too[2]. Also, young Nilaam (not to be confused with Nilaam Young, the famous Luxan country western singer) gets on my nerves.

One thing about this ep, especially at the beginning: Crichton’s gotten very protective of his friends. He’s furious when she thinks Nilaam has hurt D’Argo and wrongly called him a fraud. Come to think of it, Crichton’s highly protective of D’Argo here and distrustful of this whole business. Given what happened at the Delvian temple with Zhaan, and everything else he’s run afoul of in the past cycle, one can’t really blame him. He’s also likely a bit hyper-sensitive after having just effectively lost Talyn.

Last line:
“I do. But not yet.”

Other Comments:
We see how laundry is done aboard Moya. Speaking of which, Chiana took a long time to do laundry, given how long she’s standing in that fluid before she’s stuck.

I’m not a fan of Zhaan’s new golden collar and gauntlets. Not earthy enough for her personality. Is she going to deflect bullets with those things?

Rygel has got one resilient butt, and that’s all I have to say about that.

——
[1] Never particularly answered: If she’s so damned revered, what the heck is she doing out there all alone? Did she lose a fight with Palpatine or something?

[2] Aeryn’s solution to the problem involves applying the biggest gun she can find.

Season 2, Episode 1: “Mind the Baby”
 **** out of *****

“Again I win!”
“No, I win. Paper wraps rock.”
“No, paper cannot possibly beat rock.”
“It does; paper beats rock.”
“Rock rips through paper!”
“D’Argo, that’s not how it works! Paper beats rock!”
“That is not realistic!”
“Well, it’s the rules, and it’s not supposed to be realistic, it’s supposed to be entertaining!”
“My coma was more entertaining.”

It’s more disturbing in motion.

So this episode brings us Scorpy’s first cooling rod scene (and THAT weirded me out the first time, let me tell you), new “sunburned” make-up for D’Argo[1], and D’Argo’s introduction to Rock, Paper, Scissors. Oh, and also Moya and the gang are re-united, Talyn creates a neural link for Crais and leaves Moya, and people nearly die a few times.

As many Farscape fans already know, this episode wasn’t originally supposed to be the premiere. What the show-runners wanted was to do an episode with just Chiana, Rygel, and Zhaan on Moya, leaving the viewers in the dark about what happened to the others as much as they were. I think such an approach would’ve annoyed me the first time I saw it, but having seen what happened while they were away[2], Zhaan’s behavior in this episode would make more sense had we seen what was going on with her previously. As it is, she comes off as kind of stupid and unsympathetic. (Not that we were supposed to side with her choices here in the first place, but it would have at least been more understandable and organic.)

Again, this is very much a character-driven episode, and that goes for the characters of the two leviathans as well. They definitely show their personalities. Moya’s not just a ship, she’s a mother who believes only the best in her child. As for Talyn, I can’t tell which would be more correct to say–that he’s a toddler with a gun, or a scared teenager.

It was frustrating in my first viewing to see Talyn siding with Crais. The poor kid doesn’t know any better (heck, HE didn’t see most of the first season, right?)[3]. I’d come to care about that little ship through seeing how Aeryn and the others related to him. Talyn offering the transponder to Crais instead of Aeryn really ticked me off originally–I didn’t want Talyn running away, I wanted him for a regular character. But at least he comes back. I still loathed Crais for doing it, though. I was very much in Crichton’s camp of distrust when it came to that guy.

One of the flaws I feel the episode has: It still feels like a bit of a cheat to just start with everyone already rescued and safe aboard the asteroid[4]. On the other hand it does at least give us 2 and 2 and let us get to 4 with regard to what happened. It also makes the (temporarily) unknown arrangement between Aeryn and Crais a more engaging unknown. Yet it’s never quite worked for me, or I’d have rated this episode higher.

Last line:
“Well. You have. …But Crais?”

Other Comments:
This episode also contains one of Farscape’s more meta (and amusing) lines from John: “Haven’t you people ever heard of FUSES?”

——
[1] Also faster to apply and easier to emote in, which is the real reason they did it…

[2] This was re-tooled into a flashback ep coming later this season called “Dream a Little Dream.”

[3] Heck, it’s still frustrating even though I know it’s going to happen, because the same frustration is so clearly felt by the characters.

[4] And geez, is this not the most ridiculously diverse and versatile asteroid field you’ve ever seen?