How about that pilot? Something else, huh. Well, we've got a lot to discuss so let's get to it. There wasn't a tremendous amount of action in the episode but there was a good deal of exposition and better identifying the players and their motives. We head back now to Old St. Louis....
Everyone was very relieved and happy to have won the skirmish versus the Volge, everyone but Mayor Amanda who is mourning the loss of 41 citizens and Rafe McCawley who is mourning his son Luke. (See? I told you I'd work on getting the names right.) Oh, and one of the clan of Albino Butthurt (fine, Castithan) who is being roundly reprimanded for bringing dishonor to the Castithans by running away during the firefight with the Volge.He's not having such a great day either. I personally would have been racing him for title of Biggest Coward of the Universe but apparently the Castithan have rigid codes of honor not unlike the Klingons and the only way for him to regain his honor/cleanse himself of his sins is to be drawn and quartered. In the town square. O-kay then. Nolan and Irisa happen upon the charming scene and she proceeds to freak the fuck out, going full-on Manson Lamps at the crowd. As Chief Lawkeeper, Nolan does his part to calm things down by pointing his gun at the head of a Castithan bystander and threatening to shoot if they don't release Brave Sir Robin, Mayor Amanda joins in the fun demanding that Nolan put up his weapon while looking all the while she really wished she had never heard the term 'Mayor' before. He complies and follows her off, while Irisa stays in the square to watch. Nolan my man, you are never going to win a 'Father of the Year' award like that.
Meanwhile in the McCawley homestead, which is very nice and spacious in a post non-hostile alien invasion accidental apocalypse type of way, Chrissy is cooking breakfast for bro and Dad. Shockingly, no one is excited about the upcoming nuptials with Rafe going so far as to forbid her from marrying Alec Tarr with the predictable result because it was the Tarr's fault that Luke died. (Erm, no, that would have been Ben but thanks for playing.) Oh Rafe, have you never seen any coming of age movie? Or he's just pissed that Alec didn't ask for his blessing/dowry first. Hard to say. So Chrissy storms off to find Alec with her dad's proclamation that if she leaves she's never to come back. *Slow Clap* there Rafe; now there is one. Very nicely played. *Headdesk*
But Ben? What is he doing? Why would be blow the stasis field like that? And where the hell is security in this hospital because Hipster Glasses aka Mr. Birch wanders in and gives the comatose Ben a shot - literally - in the head. Usually this is to silence the witness but oddly enough, has the effect of waking him up and partially healing him. Enough anyway to continue with the plan to destroy Defiance but Ben doesn't have beef with anyone! He just wants some dolla dolla bills to get to Antarctica which apparently IS very nice this time of year. HG sends him on his way to more mischief and NO ONE SEES A DAMN THING. Oh right, because he killed the one guard there.
Datak (Butthurt) and Stahma (Wife of Butthurt) are in the bath - again - bathing in milk or some white substance and you know what? I really don't want to know what it is. The 'water' is white, they are white, the walls are white...it very much looks like floating eyes in there. Well, Datak is in the bath seething about the interference of Nolan in Castithan justice. Lady Stahma, on the other hand, is lounging poolside with nothing but strings of beads covering her bits. She saves her scheming for the bath as she goads Datak to exhibitionism by pretending to sympathize with the humans and their culture. "I PISS on their culture!' howls an obviously deranged Datak and I hesitate to point out that culture, in fact, is not a tangible thing so one can't really piss on it and...on second thought, you go on with your bad self there. Alec chooses this moment to slouch into the bathing chambers and DOESN'T BLINK AN EYE that his mostly naked mother stands up to talk to him and embraces him as he whines that Chrissy is having second thoughts about the wedding. She comforts him and oh by the way? SHE'S MOSTLY NAKED. GAH. How the boy was not permanently scarred by that I have no idea. And if anyone suggests an Oedipal complex I will throat-punch you, so help me God.
Amanda is staring morosely out the window of her office as Nicky packs up the remaining items from her reign. She is bothered by the Castithan notion of justice and expresses so to Nicky who then proceeds to give her a civics lesson that Council agreed to let each race handle their own affairs in their own way to which Amanda basically replies, well that's just stupid. Nicky looks at her with pity then leaves. She tears HG a new one for not helping her with her box o' stuff as even though she will sacrifice the many for the good of the few (one?), she's still a lady, dammit. We can but dream that they'll never return but we know she won't because she and HG need Defiance razed to find the lost artifact that will save them all.
Rafe is morosely searching Luke's room for clues as to why Ben killed him when he receives a call that Ben has escaped and blew something up in the mine. For a prisoner, Ben really gets around. Well, that rounds up the posse of Lawkeepers and miners and they head to the mines, back to the dark dangerous places that no one goes. But they will or die trying.
Chrissy apparently works in a restaurant and Stahma comes in to talk to her about why she wanted to cancel the wedding. Chrissy tells her that it's hard with her dad and losing Luke and can they just take it slow for a while? Stahma responds by telling a creepy ass story about her father putting her on the ship with a good honorable guard but then she had googly eyes for another dude who suffered from a severe case of the inferiors so Unstable Inferior Man 'accidentally' flushed 'Good Honorable Man' out of an airlock and everyone lived happily ever after. Except for Good Honorable Man who was, of course, dead. But hey, you can't win them all. Chrissy is comforted by this story (Dafuq?) and appears to regain confidence and I continue to maintain the Stahma IS Cersei, you know, aside from the brother-lovin'.
Remember Irisa? Who was left in the square with the Castithans drawing and quartering Brave Sir Robin? Right, well she continues to Manson Lamps at the folks but completely loses it when a young child picks up a rock to put in the basket. It's her against them all as she cuts down Brave Sir Robin; the crowd starting throwing the rocks at her when a shotgun blast splits the air. It's Deputy Tommy to the rescue! Again. He threatens to arrest everyone unless they disperse. Under what charge my good sir? Um, loitering. Oh well played Tommy! That sure put them in their place. *Rolls eyes* Irisa and Deputy Tommy drag the unconscious Brave Sir Robin to jail where Tommy obviously hopes this will win if not her affection then at least her panties.
Wandering the mines, Nolan and Rafe have a heart to heart about life which ends with Rafe pretty much telling Nolan to mind his own damn business. The dangerous part of the mine? Atlantis! No, it's actually old St. Louis and as they clamber over scaffolding being the loudest tracking bounty hunters in the history of ever, Ben shoots one of the posse and they quickly corner him as being a political stooge in no way prepared him for this. Nolan tries to get answers and Rafe is all, 'Imma let you finish but first Imma pop a cap in his ass.' Nolan reasons with Rafe telling him that he can either do right by his dead kid or his two living ones ever the one who was banished but whatevs, details are of no use to him her proselytizing, but not both. When Nolan is the sane one in the group you know you have issues is all I'm saying. It's the hardest thing that Rafe has ever had to do but he lowers his weapon. Ben, who is clearly not as stupid as he looks, notices that Rafe did not re-engage the safety, jams his chest into the gun and grabbing Rafe's hand, pulls the trigger shooting himself. Well that was certainly unexpected but instead of giving up who is calling the shots, he asks them to tell Amanda that he is sorry. I'm sure that will comfort her greatly. Thanks Ben!
Tommy and Irisa are guarding Brave Sir Robin from the inevitable lynch mob who show up pretty much right on schedule. They are prepared to fight off Datak and his Bio-Man when the cavalry arrives in the form of Amanda, Nolan, Rafe, and Chewbacca's illegitimate lovechild by way of orangutan. A stand-off which Amanda bravely, or dumbly depending on your point of view, faces down Datak saying that she pardoned Brave Sir Robin and that they all need to be subject to the same laws. Datak smarms her saying of course Madam Mayor and slinks out with his entourage in tow. Nolan looks very much like he would like nothing better than to turn Irisa over his knee and spank the bejesus out of her but he won't as he knows full well that doing so will result in his arm being returned to him.
The atmosphere is somber as they head out to the burial of the 41 casualties of the battle with the Volge. Tensions are heightened as Chrissy stands with the Tarrs, clearly having made her choice. Later in the evening, Brave Sir Robin is enjoying a meal with his family when a knock on the door requests his presence outside. Oh look, it's his new best friend Datak and when Brave Sir Robin thanks his for allowing him to see his family once more, and that he will see justice served, you know. Datak's truncated lightsaber flashes once and thy will was done.
Nolan and Deputy Tommy are hanging out in the jail with Irisa when there's a knock on the door. Going out, they find someone has left them a welcome gift: Brave Sir Robin. Rafe continues to ransack his late son's room doing a far better job at playing detective then Nolan every will. He finds a hidden compartment with money and what appears to be a gold brooch. What was Luke doing with this? What is it? And is this the artifact that Nicky and HG are willing to sacrifice the entire town to retrieve?
This is where the series will either take off or die: there is internal fighting for power in Defiance, there is the ever present threat of the Volge and there are the machinations of the former Mayor to reclaim an artifact. Here's hoping that the next episode will be a little less talk and a lot more action*.
*My abject apologies to Toby Keith.
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