After a dramatic recap of the last episode we move on to
this season… I’m leery about this, Defiance has done it before and it tends to
ram a lot into the downtime
7 months later
A giant ship approaches Earth, on board are a father and
daughter on an ominous mission – they are transferred to Earth and look for
Gulanite. They reach the McCawley mines using their super technology to drill
through the caved in tunnels. They find the Votan Arc underground and seem
surprised to find it there. Among the lifepods they find Irisa and Noland and
the woman frees them (they’re connected by some strange brain tube she cuts
because it’s all kinds of nasty). She smells them – then grows some massive
fangs (ok, these guys are definitely not Votans – Space vampires!) but her dad
stops her chowing down on Nolan’s face. Nolan wakes up – they ask if he speaks
Irathient (they’re Irathient?) and they fight – Nolan ends up unconscious.
They – or someone – dumps Irisa and Nolan in the snow. It
looks very very very very cold. They head towards the Gateway Arch. They try to
recap what happened to them and both confirm that they don’t know what species
the aliens were who rescued them. Irisa is afraid to go back as a mass-murderer
who destroyed New York and killed Tommy – though Nolan angrily rejects that
since she defeated the Arc brain that was really doing the killing – she saved
them all.
In Defiance, Amanda is mayor again – and the power has
just been cut, including their stasis net. The Gulanite reserves are gone and
power and supplies are at a terrible low. It’s all grim and ominous. Amanda is
called to the Need Want which she’s also running and where Yewl is gambling and
winning and up to something because she is Yewl and the second most awesome
person on this show. Amanda’s been called to intervene before Yewl breaks the
bank.
More pressing concerns – a gang comes in with guns to rob
the place. Amanda and Berlin (the new lawkeeper) take them out. It also gives
Amanda time to exposition all that has gone wrong for Defiance’s collapsing
economy lately.
Amanda returns Yewl’s winnings and learns that she
intends to leave. Amanda protests that this town needs Yewl. Yewl’s response
“what this town needs is a sensitively worded obituary” (see, this is why I
love Yewl). Without a gulanite mine, the town will die especially without the
Stasis Net for protection. She appeals to Yewl that as all the skilled people
leave only those with no marketable skills are let behind and desperate. Yewl
is duly snarky about their human attempts to appeal to her conscience but it
seems to work.
Oklahoma City (500
miles from Defiance)
Datak and Stahma (the most awesome) and Rafe are
following Pilar who has kidnapped Alakk, Christie and their grandchild. Stahma
makes it clear that if Pilar has harmed any of them she will die and
excruciating death. Of course she will also die an excruciating death if she
hasn’t harmed them as well. Because Stahma. And yes I am cheering excruciating
deaths – because Stahma. They’re also in Votanis Collective territory
Inside, Alak, Christie and Quentin are chained by their
feet while Pilar pretends to be friendly. She insists that her whole kidnapping
is completely reasonable.
They go back to the roller only to find a Votanis squad
has taken it. They quickly rough Rafe up and pretend to take him captive (Rafe
actually instigates the plan). They meet General Rahm Tak, known as “the
beast”, a Castithan. He scorns Datak as a crime lord but as a lower lira
(Castithan caste system) who only married above himself – he respects Stahma.
They claim that Rafe is a bounty they’re claiming – but Rahm says they’re going
to Defiance. So they can travel with him. Ooops. There he intends to slaughter
all the humans and burn the place down. Also oops.
A long distance Votanis messenger flare signals to them
that Defiance’s stasis net is down and the town is vulnerable. Rahm is so very
enthusiastic about tearing Defiance down while he apparently dines on human
ears.
They pass the house where Pilar has her little kidnapped
family – though Pilar and Alakk are out checking traps. That leaves Christie to
hide with the baby (the Votanis collective hates mixed-species babies. I also
want to know how human genetics can combine with a completely alien species
which would be pretty remarkable if it even had DNA but that’s just me) and
Quentin to talk nice to Rahm Tak. Quentin claims to be on Rahm’s side – and
Rahm shoots him in the head. Rafe screams in rage and grief, Rahm says
“oops”. Datak offers Rafe understanding
and comfort even as he picks the lock on Rafe’s cuffs. He runs around killing
guards when Stahma and Datak are called to Rahm’s side
Pilar and Alak walk with baby Luke, Pilar blaming
everything on Stahma and Datak. She finds a couple of humans and kills them for
supplies much to Alak’s shock. He doesn’t buy into Pilar’s excuses or her
willing to kill anyone for her own means. She describes her history after she
tried to poison her children, how she was abused in a monastery to cure her and
how that has led to her own current world view.
That night she flees with the baby. When Alak tries to
follow, he is picked up…
Rahm begins to suspect Stahma and Datak of shenanigans
even as Christie is found. Rafe charges through killing guards and wounding
Rahm – but he himself his shot repeatedly when he reaches for Christie. As her
father falls, dying, Christie angrily curses them in Casti. Rahm suspects
Stahma of teaching Christie their language and curses and demands Stahma kill
Christie – he then puts a gun to Datak’s head and demands she choose, Christie
or Datak. Stahma cuts Christie’s throat as she stands and declares herself
unafraid. Outside, Alak sees and only Pilar stops him crying out. Stahma
remains collected in the face of the death, albeit visibly struggling. Only the
baby is left behind for Alakk to find among the bodies of their loved ones.
Rafe holds only to life for a brief devastating moment with Pilar and his
grandson and Alak he tells Alak to forget this day and love that baby.
Datak eats with Rahm trying to figure out how he intends
to take Defiance with such a small army –and learns they have a weapon. Rahm is
a fan of human culture – but views it as something the Votans are entitled to,
another asset to raid and exploit. Stahma is forced to serve them, as Datak
puts it “the men are talking.” Rahm intends to use Datak as a saboteur – and
keep Stahma captive to ensure his obedience.
Rather than be split up, Datak tries to make a weapon,
outraged at how Rafe – their human – was killed. Stahma, similarly furious over
Christie’s death, demands he makes her a weapon too. They got to kill Rahm –
and he is impressed by their ingenuity as a team. He agrees to send them both
to Defiance – because now he has Alak as leverage.
Back outside of Defiance, Nolan and Irisa also see the
flare – and sneak up on the spies. They kill one and the other tries to talk
Irisa down, claiming a book was written about her. Irisa, trembling and
traumatised can’t bring herself to pull the trigger and Nolan has to rescue
her.
They go to Defiance where they notice the missing E-Rep
but don’t entirely celebrate as they realise it’s the E-Rep that can stop the
Votanis Collective invading. Nolan goes to see Amanda and they have a slight
surreal reunion. He tells her about the Votanis on the way and she tells him
how they have no power, few weapons and are generally screwed. She also tells
him the mines are caved in by a rock they can’t penetrate – though Nolan points
out he and Irisa got out. If they can find the purple skinned aliens they can
find a way back in
Irisa waits
outside since she Amanda tried to shoot her last time – and someone comes to
her with a book to sign. That’s two people remarking on the book – it’s called
the “Amazing Goddess of the Badlands” and she’s hailed as saving the world.
The man is a deputy – and Berlin sends him on his way and
points a gun at her head. Not everyone is buying into the saviour meme it
seems. She cuffs Irisa then brutally beats her. Amanda and Nolan arrive and she
screams about Irisa killing Tommy while Nolan, again, argues Irisa’s innocence.
Nolan, Irisa and Amanda go to the mines where they find
shiny new ominous tech. Nolan identifies the tech as Indogene (he makes a
comment about the squatters being from Irisa’s neck of the woods to which she
snarks back “I’m from Denver”). They encounter some of the techs they identify
as terraformers and Amanda is stunned. They duly leave her behind to go and see
the massive, shiny mining operation.
Leaving her behind means the female alien finds her and
knows they have an invader. She goes to confront Nolan and Irisa she attacks
and easily beats them both even when Irisa uses shiny sparky thing – Amanda
arrives to shoot the woman twice. That works. They then have to get the woman
she shot to as doctor.
To Yewll, who is terrified when she sees the woman and
tries to leave, calling her “Enchanter, unholy taker.” (I don’t follow that, Irathient are
atheistic, do they have holy and unholy?). She would be happy to let her die
but Nolan and Amanda insist – so she insists that the woman be chained. Yewl
calls her a predator, one evolved to hunt and a cannibal, an early Votan race
that predates the rest and used to rule them all: Omec. Their Arcs were
supposed to have not worked. The Omec wakes up and Yewl pulls back, visible
terrified of her. Yewl tells Amanda to kill both the Omecs
Instead Nolan tries to befriend her though she doesn’t
speak English or Casti. Her name is Kindzi.
Amanda goes to ask a Casti friend of hers about the Omec
and he describes them as devils, enchanters, dark gods. They’re not technically
cannibals because they don’t eat their own – they ate other Votans. When their
planet came close to the other Votan planets they would raid and would harvest
thousands to enslave and/or eat. Though his son doesn’t think they even
existed.
Underscoring his point, the other Omec walks through town
and into the Need Want, the crowds scattering in terror as he walks through. He
speaks English and demands his daughter. Amanda and Nolan drink with him in a
deserted bar, he introduces himself (reluctantly) as T’evgin (his naming
conventions also reveal he has a ship). He describes how he saved them from the
pods. He is harvesting Gulanite to repair his ship so he can then return to
space and look for the rest of his people. He has a temper tantrum when Amanda
proposes trade but Amanda and Nolan pull guns and Amanda waits until the drama
is over with a glorious calm. She’s effectively using Kindzi as a hostage so
T’evgin will use his techmnology and share the Gulanite he harvests
In the prison, Kindzi is a noisy hostage, Berlin is still
no fan of Irissa’s and she gets some more fans prasing her amazing mass killing
skills. The curious kids stupidly poke a metal pipe through the bars of the
cage – and one of the kids ends up dead. Before Kindiz rips open her prison
with her bare hands. Ooooookay then.
They examine the body and Yewl considers whether it’s
inconsiderate to say “I told you so”. T’evgin hits her for her snark – and a
gathering crowd wants to kill him.
The mob finds the injured Kindzi, attacks her and
prepares to hang her before Nolan stops them, then stops T’evgin rampaging into
the crowd. He roars – the Omec have very impressive roars
To the doctor’s office and he needs Yewl – not her
medical expertise, but her skin. Indogene (a manufactured race – I wonder if
that’s meant literally or the way they cybernetically enhance themselves) have
skin that he can easily use to patch wounds. If he doesn’t get his skin (which
Yewll will recover from) then there will be no Gulanite deal.
Amanda tells Nolan to grab Yewll – and he and Irisa
capture her and knock her unconscious then slice off her skin while Yewl
screams. T’evgin uses the skin to heal Kindzi. That night he tells a newly
conscious Kindzi that they need to keep the town of Defiance onside, they’re
too badly out numbered and their entire species faces extinction. OF course,
they also have a ship full of sleeping people who will conquer the planet when
the ship is repaired
He agrees to Amanda’s deal for the Gulanite. But the
father of the dead Casti child snipes at them when they try to leave. Irisa
goes to him to talk him down, peacefully and drawing on her own pain at being a
killer – but Nolan shoots him in the back. Irisa is horrified, she had a
peaceful method. Nolan says no-one forced the man to shoot at innocent people,
Irisa mocks the word “innocent.” After all, no-one he shot at was innocent.
Power returns to Defiance.
Ok… that was… unexpected. The entire McCauley family is
now dead? Rafe, Quentin, Christie? That was harsh. That was devastating. There
was a lot of emotion there and left me both shocked and terribly sad – which is
impressive because I didn’t overly care much about the McCauley’s.
I am torn, because I both love Yewl and want her to stay
forever and think that, after the shit Amanda and Nolan just pulled, she needs
to take her money and get out of town so fast that she leaves a blazing trail
behind her.
Rahm is an enemy of Stahma. He is DOOOMED. Also
interesting is the interactions between the Castithans – in particularly
related to both class and gender. Their society is grossly misogynist, and
Stahma is forced to play waitress to them and keep silent. At the same time it’s
very classist – with Stahma being accounted more respect than Datak because of
her caste.
Now this is the first episode of a new season and, as is
my habit, I like to wait a few episodes before unleashing – but the death of
the McCaulys, a family of Native Americans, by a man talking about Manifest
Destiny? Nope – this is way too appropriative and just outrageously out of line
– which follows a lot of appropriative plot lines with things like the McCauly’s
taking Native Irathient land… this kind of appropriation is far too common with
this show. It also means that nearly all of the POC in this show have been
slaughtered – Defiance is going to
have to do a lot to pull this back
I’d be interested in Irisa’s storyline, her dealing with
the huge guilt of what she did last season and what she was – but it also looks
like another season of Irisa being fragile and vulnerable and Nolan being all
reassuring and comforting.
