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360degreesasthecrowflies · 7 years ago

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FarscapeWatch 04: 2.03 ‘Taking the Stone’

We’re back in business, people! Apologies for the long wait, but into season 2 we go for this reaction/review! See notes at the bottom for a full list of my FasrcapeWatch reactions so far :D

2.03 Taking The Stone

Open on Chiana (bestfave) IS THIS A CHIANA EPISODE?

No kidding I ship Chiana and John a lot. I feel it's probably unlikely to happen but ohmy they bring out the best in each other.

He calls her "Chi" uwu!

Uh she literally cut herself open because he said he was busy wow. Crichton is a twat.

Ooh she stole Aeryn's ship and Aeryn is PISSED. I love how she and Chiana just don't get on. Drama is the best.

So Chiana goes down to a planet by herself to investigate. Aaand she gets ambushed. Hmm but I'm not sure I buy her not taking a weapon. Altho. She is also impulsive and id-ruled.

AAAH into the episode and John and Aeryn are in THE LONG COATS.

Rygel is also there lol and John and Aeryn give no shits.

Ofc they're going to go look for Chi although Aeryn cannot b a with that.

So they run in thinking Chiana is held captive but actually she's doing some kind of sport test of strength lol. Her hair is pink now and looks A MAZING. Aeryn is so aggressive off the bat lol I love it.

Hm so. First time back seeing John and Aeryn's S2 dynamic and once again...he's not asking things of her, he's giving her commands, and I'm not super comfortable with it. It feels a bit imperialist. e.g. here John feels Chiana is mad at him so he tells Aeryn to talk to her to try and bring her back, even though Chiana has said she doesn't want to go back with them, and Aeryn and Chiana already evidently don't really get on or see eye to eye. That's a bit much from someone who's meant to be the emotionally intelligent core of the crew.

So Rygel has fucked off and left JohnAeryn and Chiana on the planet..which seems like a funeral/cemetery, or at least it is where they’ve landed. Thematic, hm. He's robbed some graves too, as you do.

So Aeryn catches up with Chiana, naturally we’re all underground, hmm, with death as a theme, I wonder if this is going to mirror a death-and-rebirth story, and Chiana asks her to stay! Ah I love how impulsive and nutty she is. Also needy. Possibly actually damaged. This character speaks to me so much. Hah. Aeryn responds a bit like Supernanny just going along with it to let the child wear themself out.

[A note on taking the stone - it’s a jump into a deep pit, using the power of faith/science/a technological trick to save your own life in a parachute before you hit the bottom. The society on this planet do it when they reach a certain age as a coming of age ritual, and Chiana has changed her style to look like them, and is learning to do it too (with the help of mind-altering drugs and mediation, colege much?), either as a test to herself, or as a maybe-suicide/danger/devil-may-care exercise, as she has just lost her brother, that was her realisation that John had no time for in the beginning of the episode.]

So we're on a bit, and hmm. I'm getting a parents and kids vibe with this episode. I genuinely can't tell though who we're supposed to root for. John is central, but is it John-was-right-Father-knows-best, or will it be John-has-to-learn-different-POVs? I'm hoping the latter, but I'm wary, Farscape has pulled the rug out from under me before. Aeryn has argued that if Chiana wishes to stay in this new society, it's her choice; to me, that's reasonable, but is the show framing it as something only an alien woman who doesn't understand how Rational People work would think? Hmm. I wish Zhaan was here, she's a character who generally can overrule John instead of being pushed to the back by him as Aeryn and Chiana sometimes fall into; ironic, of course, as they are physically strong, martial women. Chiana too has brought up her captivity trauma and that John said she could leave at any time and now appears to be reneging on that, and that's portrayed as the sneaky, silly young character trying to trick and twist the words of Our Reasonable Hero. I'm wondering if it's just a values dissonance between '99 and 2017.

Cool plot though. A suicide cult where people get high and risk their lives rather than die at 22, as they do, starting to waste away and rot while still living due to radiation in their natural habitat; perhaps a bit of a drug 101 afterschool special vibe to it, but executed well and with great sets. Interesting to see plots shifting to focus on the three humanoids too, I wonder if this will become a trend this season. D'Argo, Rygel, Pilot and Zhaan really don't have a lot to do this time round, although I guess they all had significant focus in the previous episode while Aeryn and 'Chi' were somewhat neglected.

Ultimately of course Chiana is successful and comes out gaining a new lease on life. John has gained some perspective, though it’s unclear if he actually understood Chiana’s POV or not, and the three stooges up in the ship managed to convince Rygel to give back the treasure he stole. Uh...great, I guess? Solid episode in general though, production values feel to be up, Chiana’s new design and in fact most of them are pretty solid - and throwback, watching in 2017 - and the interplay between the actors and characters seems more fitting than it was in the first season. Ace.

Some general points: John is starting to become a little more convincing as a lead again, among stronger personalities. This was most convincing in 1.16 A Human Reaction and the last four-episode arc of season 1, and at brief points earlier in that season, but it's been very iffy. I'm unsure, because I don't know the writing/writers so well yet, whether that's intentional, or just a sign of the times on writing focus. I don't feel, that is, that the kind of character that John is would be *the* obvious focal character if the show was made from scratch and debuted in 2016-17 - it's a bit as if, say, Agents of Shield had debuted as a show centered around and focused on Fitz rather than how they actually did it. Still, in any case, it's interesting to see the evolution of character.

Some brief points from season 1-2, as this will be my first comeback reaction I'm posting in the new order: A Human Reaction, Durka Returns, and Nerve were my big turning points as to how I was reacting to the series. Introducing Chiana was a big plus; instantly becoming one of my top 2 favourite characters, and immediately coming up with ways to make her central - even at the apparent expense of fan fave and seeded lead woman Aeryn! - was a brave and risky strategy on the part of the showrunners that I was pretty impressed by. Again to analogize to shows I've also seen, it was as if upon first introducing Faith to Buffy season 3, they pushed Willow back from the off in favour of focusing on her and what she could do. She fits neatly into the credits, too, here's hoping she sticks around for a long time.

D'Argo has gone up in my estimations, actually, all the characters have. They'd probably at least average on a 5-6 out of ten now, which is a big step up from the 2-3 D'Argo and Rygel were on earlier in season 1.

Things I don't like as much: the Talyn (sp?) and Crais stuff feels a bit Xena and a bit overdone, though that could be a case of the Seinfeld is Unfunny trope (side note, I actually have never found that show funny tho...awks), that is, aspects of a show seeming unoriginal now because since it aired - or even debuted - such elements, they've become much more common as to seem stereotypical and tired in many forms of media. I don't like the Crais/Aeryn ship teasing, especially in light of the recent Hollywood developments, it seems a little close to the bone and aggressive, one-sided, and presumptive of Crais. Presumably he's going to reform and win me over, but I'm not on team Crais right now. I'm also slightly alarmed at where Zhaan's character arc seems to be going, though unsurprised that she had to be nerfed, she was pretty great at everything in season 1, with even her shades of not quite sanity proving to be an advantage in some situations. Also, I'm unsure if it's intentional or symbolic, but her new costume is hella ugly.

Right, those aside, recap time then!

CHARACTER BEATS

JOHN

Lots of stuff here. For John this episode is a lot about leadership and personal connection. John must learn that one leadership style does not work for all - not that I would even say this John IS the leader, although he's the show's designated lead and does TAKE the lead. I'm not 100% on whether we're meant to root for John or not. This episode sees him acting somewhat parental towards Chiana which I - and she, probably - find a bit patronising given that as far as has been established thus far, they're both adults of a similar age. For me, this episode is John learning socialisation and how people of different kinds tick, as well as that sometimes you just can't win people over or bend them to your will - quite a good lesson to see our white male lead learning.

CHIANA

Lots of stuff in this one for Chiana too, which is good, it is a Chiana episode after all. A few early notes on Chi - easily my favourite character right now, being exactly the kind I root for in general. I love a wildcard, and Chiana thus far has been about the definition of a chaotic neutral, with occasional shades of broken bird thrown in, hinting at a traumatic past to make her become this way. Or she could just not be neurotypical, or just an alien, who knows. Now, I definitely didn't think Chiana wanted to kill herself in this episode as it was hinted at and discussed by some of the characters, she just didn't care, she was a risk-taker and upset and traumatised. It's slight, but there's a difference. Chiana realises in this episode her brother has died and reacts by acting out and essentially going on a bender with drugs, getting high, and essentially changing her whole style and motivations, culminating with a risky athletic feat that could kill her if she failed. Aka, textbook response to trauma by certain extroverted and already risk-taking individuals. It was great to see, and also unexpectedly positive to see Aeryn sticking up for her - of course, just using cold logic, rather than emotions - and Chiana, too, showing willing to make a connection with Aeryn, after generally the two being mutually hostile these last few episodes so far. Great stuff.

ZHAAN

Zhaan's a little quiet on this one, still inside herself a bit, or trolling? She seems more content to let a snarky, bitchy side out this time round - perhaps due to a season of people generally not taking her advice and then winding up in the shit.

D'ARGO

D'Argo really doesn't do much here, slipping back to season 1 characterization a bit. I'll give him a pass, as he's perhaps recuperating from the previous episode's traumatic experiences.

RYGEL

Rygel really doesn't have a lot to do here. Stealing is wrong, and he likes eating bugs. I wonder if this subplot was shoehorned in at a late stage because the actors complained, or something else fell through? On the plus side, it leaves main focus unequivocally on the Chiana storyline.

AERYN

A good storyline for Aeryn too, she gets to be athletic with a mini fight scene, she gets to be the voice of reason, and she also makes a mini connection with Chiana, after a while of the two sniping at each other. She and John also work well as friends, comrades - just as a two, not as part of a larger unit - and maybe something more? This episode has shades of a buddy-cop drama with John and Aeryn as detective partners, as well as hints of them being dysfunctional parents to an acting-out and rebellious kid. Aeryn is moving to be more central in this season, and I'm intrigued to see what comes of that change.

PLOT POINTS AS OF 2.03

A little confusing. Everyone is dealing with their own trauma while still running away from the Peacekeepers, led by new creepy (telepathic?) baddie Scorpius. We've had a D'Argo episode so far and a Chiana episode, so perhaps everyone is up to have solo episodes for a while to get this season established? Not much hint of an overarching plot yet which is nicely lampshaded by Chiana in-episode when she asks Crichton what they're even doing up there on Moya - smooth. This feels a little like a re-pilot, repositioning who the characters are and how they relate to each other.

WHAT THIS EPISODE ADVANCED:

Chiana's trauma. Chiana's character development. Chiana's relationships with John and with Aeryn. Aeryn and John's relationship. Aeryn and John's norms, ethics, and approaches to problem solving differing. John revealing himself to have a reckless side, which seems role reversal from earlier in season 1 wherein John was cautious and reserved and Aeryn cold but quick to use violence and inflicting her will as a quick-fix solution.

CHARACTER RANKING AS OF 2.03:

1) Chiana 2) Aeryn 3) John 4) Zhaan 5) D'Argo 6) Rygel 7) Pilot 8) Crais

And that’s it for this episode of FarscapeWatch! Check back in my Farscape reviews masterlist section on my blog or follow my farscapewatch tag to catch my episode reviews, as they come! Or feel free to give me a follow to catch all of my stuff ;)

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