In the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the first season of Farscape, the crew hides from the Peacekeepers in an asteroid field, but receives a strange distress call while doing so. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Farscape.
Well, this was a neat episode! I admit that I expected something a bit bigger as a setup for the finale, but that’s to say that there isn’t important storytelling here. I had a good time watching this episode, though! And clearly I’m unprepared for how this season will end since I have no clue what’s in the next episode. With that, let’s discuss the three plots in “Bone to Be Wild.”
Moya and Aeryn
I think it’s fairly easy for me to say that my favorite story in this episode involves Aeryn’s work to bring Moya and her son closer together. With the birth of her child, Moya and her crew discover the complications present in the genetic planning of the Leviathan child. The unnamed son is not merely a smaller version of a normal Leviathan; he was specifically designed through genetics to be a combination between a Leviathan and a Peacekeeper assault vessel. We saw some of the complications of that in the previous episode when Moya had difficulty giving birth. Now, however, Moya finds out that she’s having a hard time making a connection with her son, so, through Pilot, she asks the only Peacekeeper she knows to help make this easier for her.
There is something beautiful and moving about watching Aeryn discover her motherly side, and I really do think it’s the strongest part of this episode. It did make me wonder if the child will ever need a Pilot of his own at some point, but for now, it’s clear that Aeryn does a wonderful thing for this mother and son combo. There’s a callback to Aeryn and Pilot’s connection due to the trust they have for one another, and I got the feeling that they’ve grown even closer because of the events in this episode. Really, trust plays a big part of this. The child ship is confused and frightened and not all that eager to communicate with anyone. That is, until Aeryn boards him. The two converse as best as they can without using any words, and it was spellbinding to watch.
As I said, though, trust is an important part of their interactions. It wasn’t lost on me that someone like Aeryn, who was once a Peacekeeper herself, was the only creature able to get the baby to trust someone other than himself. This child will always be part Peacekeeper, too, and he’ll have to come to terms with that. (I’M REFERRING TO A SPACESHIP, THIS IS SO COOL, BLESS THIS SHOW.) Aeryn was the one to talk him through this for the first time, and Moya eventually appreciates Aeryn for what she was able to do for her son. SO WHAT IS THE CHILD’S NAME??? Oh gods, I’m so excited to find out!
Scorpius and Crais
Oh, so Crais is largely okay after what happened in the last episode! Just kidding, he’ll never be okay again. Crais is never going to be able to escape what he’s done this season, and Scorpius’s role in “Bone to Be Wild” is to remind him of that. It’s chilling to watch because Scorpius slowly manipulates all of Crais’s crew away from him. He makes everyone question whether or not Crais is capable of being the captain of his ship, and IT’S SO DISTURBING. Again, Crais has spent so much of this season being an antagonist that I don’t personally feel all that sorry for him. That doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching him be humiliated by Scorpius. AND WHAT EXACTLY IS SCORPIUS? We have our first on-screen confirmation that he can read the thoughts and fears of anyone around him, and then there’s his big fight scene with Crais. UM, OKAY, WHAT THE HELL. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Scorpius is so strong, but HOLY SHIT. What is he??? Why is he holding back his true nature? Actually, that might not be the correct way of viewing him. His quiet patience seems just as natural as his physical prowess, you know? Bah, I NEED TO KNOW SO MUCH MORE.
So, Crais has given up fighting Scorpius by the end of this episode, yes? Maybe? Does he have some sort of secret plan up his sleeve? WHAT’S GOING ON WITH HIM?
Plants!
The main plot for “Bone to Be Wild” is okay. There’s some neat trope twisting at work here, especially since we’re meant to think of Br’Nee as the monster and M’Lee as the victim. Which isn’t true! Well, and the reverse isn’t true either; it’s a lot more complicated than that. I think the actual background of how these two species ended up on this specific asteroid is fascinating, but I tired of how frequently this show had the main characters trusting one of the “antagonists,” only to find out they were lying. They go back and forth so many times over the course of this episode!
But I do appreciate the complexity present in Br’Nee and M’Lee. Ultimately, it’s M’Lee who is the most sympathetic creature. Br’Nee’s race brought the calcivores to the asteroid in order to rid it of all the creatures that were threatening the local plant life, but never planned for them to ever coexist with anyone or anything. It’s a brutal and horrifying thing that happens to M’Lee’s species, and it’s why I felt so sorry for her. She didn’t have any other way to survive! She hunted down the other scientists because there wasn’t another food source. She’s not a malicious force here because her own survival was at stake. Br’Nee was the one who viewed other species and beings as necessary to the furthering of science since he was a botanist. That’s what was most important to him. He painted M’Lee negatively to avoid taking responsibility for what he’d done to her people, and then he tries to kidnap Zhaan.
RIGHT BECAUSE ZHAAN IS ACTUALLY A PLANT. HAHA HOLY SHIT, THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING REVEAL. And it makes a whole lot of sense! The photogasms, her expertise in dealing with herbs and natural forms of medicine, her other powers… lord, all the clues were there! That’s why she’s so disappointed with Br’Nee in the end; he didn’t appreciate plant life. He wanted to control it.
And then he got chopped in half by his own laser. WHOOPS.
So am I meant to think that M’Lee is going to eat a ton of Peacekeepers? Does Scorpius know what she is? WAS THAT A CLIFFHANGER, I GENUINELY COULDN’T TELL. Shit, y’all, I’m about to finish season one of Farscape. How did this happen???
The video for “Bone to Be Wild” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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