In the third episode of the third season of Farscape, everything and everyone is dying and I’m overwhelmed. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Farscape.
I’m not going to get over this any time soon, but SEASON OF DEATH. I was warned, and I’m not goddamn ready.
This was a relentlessly uncomfortable experience, and it’s clear to me that it was designed this way. Nearly every story in the first part of “Self Inflicted Wounds” tackles some heavy shit. Death. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Devotion. Bias. Self-preservation. Giving this show’s willingness to go to difficult places in season two, I fear I’m on the precipice of some huge changes, namely the loss of THREE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE SAME GODDAMN EPISODE. Can we not? Can we not do this?
Let’s talk about this because it’s the only way I can deal with this episode.
Collision
Truthfully, I see no way out of this without a major death. And in particular, I find it hard to see how the writers are going to resolve Moya’s collision with Neeyala’s research ship in a way that spares Moya and Pilot. As I have said a billion times before in past Farscape reviews, the show took this plot WAY TOO FAR AND EVERYTHING HURTS, MAKE IT STOP. Watching Pilot suffer and then slip into unconsciousness? Yeah, that is not something I signed up for. I did not want this.
But embedded within this experience (get it? Embedded? I’m laughing to keep from crying.) is a moral conundrum, one that eats away at most of these characters. Which choice is the ethical one? Should they abandon Moya and Pilot before knowing for certain whether they’re going to die? Should they choose the invaluable scientific research over two living beings? Should Crichton pursue a path back home? Should these characters value their own preservation over martyrdom? All of these questions are explored in detail, and all of them reflect on recent developments, too. It’s done extremely well.
And you know, I actually felt like this episode was just as crowded as the previous one. Shit, there is SO MUCH GOING ON. Despite that, I didn’t get the sense that the narrative suffered because of this, but that could all be due to how I’m watching this show. Plus, it works well to develop a persistent chaos, so WHAT DO I KNOW. It’s compelling.
D’Argo / Chiana
CAN WE TALK ABOUT AERYN BEING THE VOICE OF EMPATHY AND SYMPATHY IN THIS EPISODE, BECAUSE IT’S SO GREAT. This episode did a wonderful job of reminding us how caring Aeryn is and that she’d had a connection to Pilot that no one else did. But I did want to bring up something that Aeryn mentioned. This episode is rife with awkward scenes surrounding D’Argo and Chiana, and initially, Aeryn does her best to comfort D’Argo about his heartbreak. She reasons that both of them (Chiana and Jothee) are “kids” and that they were rebelling against D’Argo. While that’s hardly a good reason for what they did, I was perplexed because… they’re kids? How young are they? I always assumed Chiana was like… mid-to-late twenties? Somewhere around there?
Regardless, that’s only important inasmuch as it helps to frame Chiana’s mental state and her past behavior. We always knew that Chiana had difficulty in doing what others wanted of her, and this was, in essence, an extreme version of that. Well, and a painful version of that. Unfortunately, she and D’Argo are on the same ship, neither of them is going anywhere, and thus, they’re going to run into one another. A lot. And good lord, it’s so uncomfortable. But I was surprised (and impressed) at how this was handled, and I think that partially has to do with the story that’s going on around them. Unsurprisingly, the two are tense and snappy at one another, more so when D’Argo’s talking to Chiana. I expected that, and D’Argo got some good burns in there.
But I really loved that “Could’a, Would’a, Should’a” tried moving past the initial bickering and wisecracks. Amidst the loss of Moya and Pilot, D’Argo is shockingly introspective about his willingness to forgive Chiana. By the end of the episode, he’s not ready to forgive her, and he’s certainly not going to entertain a relationship with her. But the show respects this aspect of his characterization! They’re not trying to force the two together at all. However, D’Argo doesn’t deny that he feels something for Chiana, even if it’s a distant affection or a need to avoid being dismissive towards her. Whatever it is, it allows him to come to her and comfort her towards the end of the episode. He might not want to pursue her romantically, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to abandon her.
I don’t know that this gives us a hint of where their story is going, but it was a nice touch to a complicated and messy story. ALSO: FEELINGS. Also: MORE FEELINGS.
Wormholes
One of my favorite aspects of this episode is how openly the writers address the idea of bias. Nearly all of these characters are heavily biased in their approach to the fusion of Moya and the research ship. While the reason for Neeyala’s bias is only hinted at (they possess something important? Data? Research? Something to save their family? Is it that serpent thingy? I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING), Crichton’s bias is AN OPEN BOOK. It’s all over this! And while I actually thought it was pretty understandable to trust Neeyala’s people, I couldn’t deny that Crichton had a huge stake in pursuing his understanding of wormholes.
Was that pursuit to the detriment of his friends? It’s hard to tell at this point. I suppose you could say that if he hadn’t told Pilot to investigate the wormhole at the beginning of the episode, the research vessel wouldn’t have crashed into Moya. But that situation was so close anyway that I suspect it would have happened regardless of Crichton’s involvement. So, for the sake of discussion, let’s put that aside. What about Crichton’s actions after the two ships are fused? Initially, I think it’s easy to say that Crichton was just doing his best to map the wormhole so that Neeyala could help pull the ships apart. But as Crichton spent more and more time in that wormhole, I think he also found it rather tempting to subconsciously begin to entertain the notion of traveling home. Perhaps that’s what Rygel suspected the whole time he was riding along with Crichton. If anyone is going to be able to weed out self-serving interests in others, it’s Rygel. He’s the poster boy for selfishness.
Still, this is a hopelessly complicated situation, and I think you’d be selling the story short to blame a significant portion of this on Crichton. His desires are an influence on the direction this has taken, but it’s not everything. BUT IT ALSO GIVES US A RATHER ENTERTAINING SEQUENCE WITH HARVEY. Oh my god, can these happen more often?
Zhaan / Stark
I do think that both of these characters needed more onscreen development, FULL STOP. I mean, I’m a huge Zhaan fan because I’m obsessed with the healers and mystics in genre series, and goddamn it, she’s seriously one of the most compelling characters in the whole show. And now that she’s contemplating her own death, I feel like Farscape has strangely ignored aspects of her own development. We keep hearing about her and Stark being lovers (Stark even confirms it aloud in this episode!), but how come we’ve never seen it? Why is so much of their relationship growing off-screen? Then, Zhaan reveals in the midst of a conversation that Stark is replacing her, and W H A T?!?!?!? What the fuck are you talking about? Replacing her how? As the healer onboard Moya? As… what? What does that mean? Why are we finding about this in a conversation?
I’m worried that this little arc, however long it is, is going to feature Zhaan’s death, and maybe that’s part of the reason I’m so desperate for any sort of answers here. Zhaan is an integral part of the Farscape cast of characters, and I’m curious as to why she’s not front and center for this story. It’s weird!
Jool
HOLY SHIT, HELLO, HI, YOU’RE VERY INTERESTING TO ME. I don’t even know what species she is, but SHE IS SO FUN. Jool is introduced here, and I have no idea if she’s going to be a recurring character, but I’m going to immediately align myself as a fan of hers because I suspect she annoys the fandom. Her first episode is not exactly a gentle introduction to her, I admit that. She’s loud, she’s brash, her screams can melt metal, and she’s kind of in the way? But here’s the thing: YOU WOULD PROBABLY ACT THE SAME WAY IF YOU WOKE UP ON A SHIP TUMBLING THROUGH A WORMHOLE AND THERE WERE A BUNCH OF STRANGERS ALL AROUND YOU AND ONE OF THEM HAS YOUR COUSIN’S BRAIN FLUID IN HIS BODY. Jool is annoying, but I kind of like annoying characters a lot? I like characters who assert their presence like she does, and I completely understand why she does it.
I WANT TO KNOW SO MUCH MORE ABOUT HER. Where’d she come from? What happened to her before she was frozen? Oh god, she fits perfectly into this group because she’s also got a ~mysterious background~ and she’s far from home. JOOL, LET’S BE FRIENDS, THIS IS GREAT.
Everything Sucks
At least I went into this episode knowing it would have a “To Be Continued…” at the end of it. Still, I kind of forgot about it. JUST… WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME. That’s three episodes in a row where the threat of death is EVERYWHERE. This cliffhanger is particularly rude because THAT’S THE THREE STOOGES. EARTH. EARTH IS IN THE PATH OF THAT WORMHOLE. And then CARNIVOROUS SERPENT. Great. GREAT.
I don’t see how this can be resolved without sadness. Damn it, now I have to go find out how destroyed I’m gonna be.
The video for “Could’a, Would’a, Should’a” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.
– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2014, so check my Tour Dates / Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!
