After the traditional opening where we see the Killjoys
be their usual silly, fun selves. I do like these little preludes that remind
us that normal life (such as it is) goes on.
But the gang needs answers and the best way to get this
is with the green goo they have in Johnny’s pet Mossapede. Taking inspiration
from Pawter’s mother they decide to experiment by injecting said goo into
someone and seeing what happens –namely D’avin since he has all kinds of gooey
woo-woo in his system
It turns out that injecting random animal secretions into
yourself is a bad idea. The goo forms a mental bond between D’avin and the
Mossapede which is most unpleasant. Life in a bug’s head is not good. From this
they conclude they need some pure goo
Thankfully Pree has a contact from his Stylish Dictator
Days that may provide just that.
San has a ship on an asteroid and is a collector – you
know the trope I don’t need to spell out the oceans of shiny things he has. And
he wants to trade for more
He’s all jaded and not impressed and ends up double
crossing them (to the shock of no-one) and doesn’t instantly get mauled by
Dutch because he has 3 illegal sexy, deadly female androids.
Yes, sexualised jokes are included but I have seen so
much worse. Much more fun is Lucy hacking one of those Androids and clearly
having a huge crush on Johnny to the point of being willing to sacrifice her
new shiny Android body for him. It’s actually fun and kind of touching and I
think I’ll miss Android Lucy.
The main story is Dutch and San – he wants her Sitarra,
her musical instrument and the story behind it and uses woo-woo tech to see what
she sees to see their past
We hear her tragic story of her past. Or some of it: of
her being placed in a Harem, of her having Khlyen as a tutor who taught her how
to play music and her promise of leaving the harem when she marries. It’s all
very very sweet right up until Dutch shares the rest of her story – at the Harem
she was taught to find a good husband. But to kill him. The musical instrument
has poisoned strings that are then used to garrotte… and all of Khlyen’s
promises about her not having to kill once she got married were a lie – because
her mission was to kill her husband and with it all her dreams of being free.
It’s tragic, heartfelt, incredibly powerful and brutal.
Her singing before the whole garrotting is beautiful and hits all his emotions
as well and longings as well. It’s an awesome scene.
But he’s not dead – and we get his story. Aliens invaded
his planet 4 centuries ago, he was tortured and he betrayed his people (he and
Dutch strike a commonality with the idea that they both traded other people’s
lives for their freedom and now hate themselves for it). He sought medical help
– and ended up being filled with illegal nanites that, effectively make him
immortal by healing all damage.
He has found common cause with Dutch, she understands,
she invokes emotion so perfectly – he wants someone to stay with him. He wants
someone to make him a better man. He wants Dutch to make him a better man.
“I’m not your Manic Pixie Assassin”.
I would love this show eternally for that line alone.
This come back is awesome and a perfect counter to so many depictions of just
this trope. A woman’s purpose is not to help a man improve himself or find
himself or grow or change or evolve. And his emotional need does not define her
existence. She also scores some extra green goo from him
The killer androids are dealt with by D’avin and his
shiny new goo-manipulating powers that gives him a sense of purpose and strength
from this and has apparently shed a lot of baggage. So has Dutch – and she
urges him to see Sabine
Which is nice to see her put away some of the hating all
women near her menfolk. But when D’avin and Sabine have sex, she bleeds green
goo from her eyes and has a seizure. That’s a major goo side effect right
there.
Dutch perhaps feels free to let D’avin loose – because she
has decided to get with Alvis at last. And in their post-sex musings they talk
about the green goo being mentioned in Scarback holy writ as “sap of the tree
of life” which sounds kind of cool. But they also speculate the reason
scarbacks cut themselves is to prove they haven’t been filled with green goo –
that they can bleed and scar. Which suggests the tree of life is a not good
thing.
And Pawter and Johnny are also getting it on.
Heteronormative relationships everywhere!
I still give all the points for "not your manic pixie dream assassin". I mean, every time I start to frown at this show for sexy androids or Dutch hating other women it drops a line like this...
