Episode Report Card Jacob: A+ | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Agnus Dei
By Jacob | Season 2 | Episode 22 | Aired on 2001.01.26
Crichton's body. His face. His voice. All those things that make him wonderful. The swagger. Those are all different now. John enters one blackened Moya tunnel, cocking his head like Scorpius, and walks ahead, eventually reaching Rygel, who asks for a word. He wants to talk about dividing up the trinkets and baubles from the Depository; he gets a face full of fist and a bauble down his throat. John smirks and continues down the corridor, leaving Rygel choking behind him.
You never see John do these things. It's always Harvey. I don't know who that benefits, if it's the network or the actor or the show or what, but I'm glad of it. In the Uncharted Territories there's a rule that says whatever you love most, that's what's taken away from you. That's what the show requires, the sacrifice God requires: your heart. The lamb of God is whatever you love most. We know what that is for John; we've always known. And the name it carries, now, and the hateful face it wears. And it's John's.
D'Argo and Jothee rush down another burned corridor, D'Argo all in a tizz about taking Jothee down to have his facial tentacles restored by Tocot. Which Jothee is not interested in doing, but D'Argo won't hear of it. We were talking yesterday about John, about why boys watch this show: it's because John's the only human man in history who got to respond honestly to things, without other men watching. D'Argo's the same, now, for years he's not had to look anybody in the eye that he didn't want to, at least not if their opinions mattered. There's no way he's going to understand that Jothee still hates his difference, his heritage, his irreconcilable division. Luxan pride is a constant; D'Argo will never understand his son.
They pass Rygel complaining about the choking incident to Aeryn; the exhaustion in her voice is heartbreaking. We don't see John doing these things, and we don't have to be Aeryn. She has neither luxury; she's watching the man she loves go more horribly around the bend than any of them have, or will, and doing her best to compensate, for his sake and for everyone's. The thought you didn't think: what if this is it? The whole family in denial and you're looking down the barrel of a life with Crichton endangering himself, terrified and hallucinating. And wouldn't it be better if things were a bit less complicated? She's doing the best she can. "All right, Rygel. I'll take care of it." Rygel continues to bitch. "What did I just say?" She stalks away, the weight of it in her back, her legs, her eyes.