|
Summary: Talyn is growing up and he is becoming more than a handful for Crais. Realizing he is slowly losing control of the Leviathan/Peacekeeper hybrid, Crais enlists the help of Aeryn. Not trusting the former Peacekeeper captain, John, D'Argo, Zhaan, and Stark accompany Aeryn on her rendezvous on Talyn. They learn of Crais' plan to remove Talyn's big gun and replace it with a defensive system supplied by the Plokavians. It is learned that the Plokavians are a race of merciless weapons traders. The crew is not convinced that Crais is revealing his true intentions. However, before they can ask more questions of Crais, the Plokavians show up ahead of schedule. Without warning, Talyn fires his weapon at the unsuspecting Plokavian vessel and destroys it with ease. Confused by what just happened, Crais orders the others off Talyn. Just as the crew manages to get away from Talyn, the transport pod in which they are traveling is captured by another Plokavian vessel. Confined on a large floating disk and charged with murder, Aeryn, John, D'Argo, Zhaan, and Stark are at the mercy of the Plokavian legal system as interpreted by Gahv and Fento. One by one, each is interrogated by Gahv and Fento. Forced to sit on a strange chair suspended over what appears to be water, each crew member must recount the events leading to the destruction of the Plokavian vessel. Their versions of what happened do not match. Each crew member interjects their own bias into what they say happened. Suspicious of the crew's inability to recount the same story, the Gahv and Fento decide to execute them all. Meanwhile, there is little Chiana and Rygel can do to help their friends. Moya is bent on a fruitless search for her child and Pilot is unwilling or unable to convince her to return to their abandoned crew. Analysis: Well, we are treated to another Farscape trial episode. The last time--DALD--it was Zhaan on trial for murder. Now it is practically the entire crew. What is interesting is that we, the audience, don't know what really happened. The episode uses each crew member's testimony to flash back to the moments before Talyn destroyed the Plokavian vessel. Not only does the testimony of each defendant vary, but we see how each member views the others. For example, Aeryn's testimony shows John as a man in control and quick to catch on to Crais' plans. Yet Zhaan portrays John as easily manipulated and uncertain. Perhaps the most jarring discrepancy involves testimony of Stark's involvement. Zhaan's testimony shows him to be a peace loving man who would never hurt a soul. D'Argo, hostile towards Stark for hiding Jothee's whereabouts, portrays the former slave as consumed with hatred of Plokavian and their true murderer. Clearly someone, or everyone, is lying or hiding something. The hideous Gahv and Fento are not amused by the discrepancies in testimony and sentence all to die. Frankly, I'm not sure of what to think of Gahv and Fento. Are they truly interested in justice or revenge? Their compatriots were murdered by Talyn, so it is understandable they want to know the truth of what happened and the identity of those responsible. The Plokavians don't buy the claim that the destruction of the other vessel was just an accident. An who can blame them? Of course, the fact that Gahv and Fento are hideous looking creatures and merchants of deadly weapons makes it very easy to see them as the bad guys. But, what if they were attractive people? Would they still be the villains of the episode or just the victims? This episode is filled with blurry lines separating the good from the not-so-good. Unfortunately, Chiana and Rygel can do little in this episode except look worried. Well, Chiana looked worried, anyway. There is a very minor side story about Moya searching for her child, but it really has no effect on the episode. Overall, a pretty good episode featuring strong performances. Yet, I can't help but feel a bit unsatisfied with the events of TUT. There are no winners at the end of this story. TUT doesn't feature the usual, easily defined differences between the good guys and bad guys. Then again, issues in the real world aren't always black and white and, apparently, neither are they in the uncharted territories.
<<The Locket .....Episode Guide.....A Clockwork Nebari>>
|
|
Originally aired in the US September 8, 2000 Written By: Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr Directed By: Tony Tilse |
