It’s time for Jaq to
go into hiding - and Jaq rightly predicts that his dad is going to Snot Cry
because he’s just so fluffy and emotional.
D’avin and Johnny
track down Delle Sayah in her hidden base - turns out it’s one of Khlyen’s
hidden safe houses. She’s there dragging up all the research he hid about the
Hullen and green. She does intend to track down the Nine and take over - but
only when she has Aneela by her side because she’s still very much in love. So
much so she even moves Johnny to declare he’ll bring Aneela back. Despite him
not being a fan of Delle Sayah after the whole murdered Pawter thing
They leave Jaq with
her - she’s not thrilled with the new name and Delle Sayah is clear that Osman
is his middle name - and Dutch urges him to learn from her as there are many
ways of fighting
Dutch also reveals to
Johnny about the weird scars appearing on her back - which Dutch assumes to be
Aneela. Johnny isn’t thrilled at being left out of the loop here
The plan now is to
take back the RAC - to free all the kids captured on board and to seize the
pool of green. This means a big reunion with Turin and Fancy and Zeph and Pip
(who is slightly nervous about Dutch after she headbutted him when he was first
possessed by the brain spider but as Zeph reassures him that if Dutch wanted
him dead he totally would be. She’s… not wrong).
Turin gives out his
tactics for the attack - with Dutch snarking all the way until Turin has to
take her aside to tell her off and threaten to demote her - and she rightly
points out what bullshit this is, this isn’t about Killjoys and he has no rank.
Instead they settle
into a kind of fun dynamic where Turin is the grumpy father figure and they’re
all his wise-cracking kids who respect him and love him but don’t necessarily
do as they’re told. Especially Pree and Dutch who are the Problem Children
The plan is to send
Weej in first and while everyone has reservations, Turin is clear that this is
NOT TO BE QUESTIONED and he trusts Weej )and points to Johnny for the “isn’t it
hard when a younger cuter model comes along” snark at Fancy because that is
definitely an A+ burn.
Unfortunately there’s
a new Hullen forcefield around the RAC and Weej ends up splattered. Alas poor
Weej, I thought you’d be an interesting character, what a shame.
To take down the
shield Johnny says lots of science things but basically they need a magic box
(Johnny is also fretting a little about being a third wheel now that Dutch and
D’avin are back on but Lucy is always there for him) which involves Dutch and
D’avin going undercover in a hippie cult (the horror! The horror!) before
claiming the box and taking it to Johnny. Of course being Killjoys this
means they only have a limited time before it causes seizures. Of course
there’s a time limit.
Zeph also does some
research on the scars on Dutch’s back which have been transmitted by Aneela:
she visits the Scarback dominatrix who can confirm what they are and what the
symbols mean individually - but not what they mean collectively as one symbol.
And despite lots of thinky sex with Pip, Zeph can’t figure it out
But they do get to
delve into Zeph’s history as part of a breeding farmer cult on Leithe and the
shadows that has left on her and how she embraces who she was along side some
powerful complicated thinking about how much trauma shapes you - and if it
shapes you so much and for so long, who is the real you? It’s really powerful
and struck a chord - nice to cover so much in so little time. Of course it also
builds further on Pip and Zeph’s complicated relationship
Time to return to the
RAC to free the kids and claim the green pool - Dutch allies with Pip (who is
coming despite Zeph’s objections to give them an onboard geek and so he can
prove himself heroic), D’avin and Fancy (who have a Legolas/Gimli bet on who
can kill the most) and Pree and Garod. Lots of action, lots of dead Hullen,
lots of snark, the kids are freed, the pool claimed….
And there’s a snag.
Because of various
Sciencyness the system reboot. Which means the RAC restarts - only this time
the Hullen will have access to all its weapon systems. Which are Big and scary
and powerful and a major problem for Turin and the fleet which will be duly splattered.
Unless they can take out the RAC - and the only way to do that is with a self
destruct sequence. Which has to be done manually by someone who won’t be able
to get out in time - a suicide mission
Naturally everyone volunteers because everyone is just That Damn Noble, but eventually it settles on Pip - who is dying from the Hullen brain spider anyway. They consider how Zeph will feel but Pip is insightful and depressingly clear: when he dies from the Hullen spider, Zeph will never forgive herself for failing to save him. She will be able to get past him sacrificing himself to save others.
It’s tragic and
there’s much sadness but this is definitely a heroic death. Honestly there’s
some sadness but not the kind of over the top sadness which is somewhat common
in shows when, when it comes down to it, Dutch, D’avin and Johnny weren’t
exactly his biggest fans or all that close. They’re sad, but not broken - and
it means we do get odd fun scenes like D’avin shooting Fancy rather than paying
up on the debt from their gambling.
They tell Zeph who is
obviously devastated. She passes on her research to Dutch before leaving - she
blames Dutch. Not because Dutch anything wrong - but because Dutch brings
people home. It’s what she does, what miracles she performs - and she didn’t
bring Pip home. Dutch seems to accept the blame.
Dutch, D’avin and
Johnny all have the location of where Jaq is hiding removed from their memories
so the Lady can’t find him. And Dutch thinks she’s figured out the key to the
code which Aneela left - a key to freeing her from the green…
...and then she has a
seizure. She falls with an image of Aneela - and when she gets up, Aneela is
the one in the body and Dutch is in the green ready to fight
I like the balance
this show managed to hit with Pip - they made his death meaningful and
emotional without milking it. His character was already established enough they
didn’t feel the need to pour on the schmaltz to make it more impactful creating
the right emotional resonance for his loss
And I will never not
love how everyone torments Turin
