In the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the second season of Farscape, A THIRD HEIST IN A ROW. This show has become my every dream. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Farscape.
Seriously. A trilogy of episodes that is a trilogy of heists. Emotional destruction. Twists and turns and betrayals and character development and this show has gotten so good. I get it, y’all, I GET WHY PEOPLE LIKE THIS SHOW SO MUCH AND HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDING IT FOR YEARS. (And let me be honest, I probably don’t even truly understand Farscape. I’m almost at the halfway point, though!)
It’s clear now that the entire “Liars, Guns and Money” trilogy takes place over the course of less than a day, and I love how intense and brutal that makes this arc feel. In particular, “Plan B” is the culmination of all the assembled pieces and the new plan that D’Argo comes up with to counter Stark’s needlessly complicated one. That means that this feels more urgent than perhaps any episode this season. And somehow, I still have another episode in season 2? Wow, unfair, totally not okay.
I noticed that this episode begins and ends with the same thing in a sense. It’s book-ended by Crichton being the saddest character in the universe, and I’m not making fun of him. It’s one of the more upsetting things this show has done because it reminds us of the toll that Scorpius neural clone has taken on Crichton’s mind and body. That’s not to say that Crichton’s sacrifice isn’t some noble thing. He really does care about saving his friends and returning Jothee to his father. But it’s now obvious that John Crichton is tired. He’s sick of feeling pain, he’s sick of talking to himself, and he’s sick of having to fight with his own mind.
We see this play out over “Plan B” as Crichton doesn’t resist turning himself over, he doesn’t fight Scorpius entering his mind, and he shows no reluctance in handing over the wormhole technology put in his head by the Ancients. I feel like this is all a continuation of what was brought up in the “Look at the Princess” arc, since Crichton also expressed exhaustion to Aeryn back then. But the context is different here. Aeryn understands what’s at stake, and she’s willing to ride this out, whether that means rescuing Crichton or shooting him in the head. EMOTIONAL GROWTH, HELLO, HOW ARE YOU, THANKS FOR RUINING MY LIFE.
So, the mercenaries… bicker. A lot. AND IT’S REALLY ENTERTAINING. Because seriously, who is surprised that a bunch of ruthless assassins and criminals-for-hire would immediately turn on one another? Of all the heists in the “Liars, Guns and Money” arc, this one is the sloppiest. Openly so! That’s most of the conflict in the first half of this episode. Stark’s plan to infiltrate the depository is so ridiculously complex, no one knows if they’re actually going to get paid, and everyone can apparently get along for five seconds max out of every hour. It’s a mess, and… oh god, it’s a mess because Crichton isn’t around to help organize them, isn’t it? It’s one of his better qualities as a crewmember and I JUST REALIZED HIS ABSENCE HAS A VISIBLE EFFECT ON THESE PEOPLE.
Lord.
Then we’ve got Crais, who shows up after Talyn comes to his mother to soothe her and help her heal, and IT’S ALSO A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO THIS EPISODE. I had a moment watching this where I realized how surreal it was to witness Crais act reluctant to use Talyn for violence. Crais. BIALAR CRAIS DOESN’T WANT TO BE VIOLENT. Oh my god, why isn’t there a spin-off show that’s just travels with Talyn and Crais? Because I’m so fascinated by all the character development happening with him off-screen. He’s absolutely not the character he was last season, and I’m just such a huge fan of how this show took a rather stereotypical sci-fi villain and made him into… this? It’s not even like he went from one trope to another, because Crais isn’t a sudden hero. He’s more like a reluctant ally who shows up every so often, but is mostly off on his own adventures?
CRAIS.
I haven’t written about her much, but this arc’s other incredible characterization goes to Natira, who has my absolute favorite character design in the whole show. Over the course of these three episodes, she’s gone from an antagonistic force to… who fucking knows??? Her end here is very ambiguous, and all we know is that she apparently escaped before Talyn bombed the depository. Her transformation is largely due to self-preservation, as Crichton correctly determines that her need to stay alive will take precedence over her loyalty and attraction to Scorpius. But he goads her along the way, and it’s so fascinating to watch Natira and Crichton interact. I mean, she actually saves his life in the end??? Before that even happens, I was DESTROYED by the fact that Crichton was still willing to give up the wormhole technology and his own goddamn eye. All he wanted was relief. He wanted that chip out of his head, and he wanted this ridiculous nightmare to end. Sure, it was relieving to find out that he could get the chip out without it killing him, but at the end of this? He’s still got Scorpius in his head.
I’ll get to that in a second. Because LET’S TALK ABOUT THE RAID / HEIST / MOST CHAOTIC SCENE THIS SHOW’S EVER GIVEN US. For a space drama, there actually aren’t all that many massive fight scenes, so this one felt special to me. It’s spread out all over the depository, it’s choreographed to heighten the anarchic nature of the fight, and PEOPLE WERE DYING AND I GOT REALLY, REALLY WORRIED. I actually had this terrible fear that D’Argo was going to die on the very day he was reunited with his son AND I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OKAY WITH THIS AT ALL. That doesn’t minimize Teurac’s sacrifice, nor does it make it less sad that Rorf was killed helping Crichton escape. (I am still fucked up over Rorf begging D’Argo to go to his wife. Wow, Farscape, that is some rude shit.)
It’s a messy fight for a messy heist. It was frightening to watch, and most of that? It was hinged on the upsetting state of John Crichton. Even when his friends find him, he’s still messed up from being attached to Scorpius’s jungle gym. (SORRY, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.) He’s still fighting the voice in his head. Even with rescue seconds away, he continues to drift towards Scorpius. My gods, y’all, that scene where the two stood in the hallway, staring at one another, was so incredibly haunting. It spoke volumes about how these two characters are intertwined with one another, and I could see this struggle between Crichton and Scorpius lasting YEARS. Years!
Which is why it’s so unnerving to see how this trilogy ends. Shockingly, they actually make off with a huge heist. They actually did it. They have currency. Jothee is reunited with his father. Moya is still in pain, but alive. And yet? Rygel’s about the only one who is happy here because… oh god, Crichton. How much longer can his mind and body stand what Scorpius has done to him? It’s frightening to me because up to this point, Crichton’s always had the power to fight back. But what if that chip was designed to wear that down as well?
Poor Crichton. 🙁
The video for “Plan B” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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