Episode Report Card Jacob: A | 366 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT A Human Reaction
By Jacob | Season 1 | Episode 16 | Aired on 1999.08.20
John and Aeryn walk through the city, Aeryn wondering why everybody's staring at her. "They think you look good," says John, but I don't know how this is anything other than a placatory nothing, because if anything they're seeing how good she could look. The girl from the beach walks past them, and John turns to stare, and Aeryn wonders why. "That girl," says John. The girl turns back to look at them. "She was on the beach the other day, when I crash-landed," John explains. "That one." Aeryn's not feeling this particular paranoia, considering that they have an actual global alliance of governments on their asses. "[So] I think I know her. I think...we went to high school together? It was only for a couple of weeks, we never talked, but..." Aeryn giggles, but not in a funny way; more like how every episode somebody goes completely nuts and Aeryn's used to it. "Yeah, yeah, she looks familiar." She smiles at John, because you don't feed the beast of John being crazy, ever, or else you get Season 3. Best to just ignore it and laugh it off. The cameras whirl, adding an edge to the overall dreamy quality, as John starts going through the stacks of magazines at a newsstand, tossing aside magazine after magazine. "They're all seven months old. Why are they all seven months old?" Aeryn, worried now, keeps dipping into the shot, getting between John and whoever he's yelling at all crazy. It's very disorienting, because people on TV don't just jump in front of the camera like that normally. Quite inventive. "John, stop it," she tells him. He screams that he's seen all the magazines and shit from before, because they're from when he left, and Aeryn is getting scared that he's going to throw the whole "sneaky" part of their plan. He starts yelling at the newsstand guy, who is the Speedo gentleman from earlier: "I used to ride my bike past your house, in the fifth grade!" People are staring; Aeryn cannot deal. The guy -- who has an Australian accent, which I can see them giving him -- protests, but John starts yelling at Aeryn: "Everybody here, Aeryn. I know them all. I know Wilson, I know Cobb, I know you!" Not really getting the full implication -- and I must admit that, sitting down to review this episode, I couldn't even remember if she was real or not -- she just keeps trying to calm him down. John pulls a gun from his bag and tells Aeryn to get lost: "Get away from me, Aeryn! Get away! Back off! Every place I've been, I've been there before. Every. Place." He turns to a random guy nearby. "Greg Kukonus! I dated your sister!" John does an awesome Buffy move, jumping onto a nearby concrete wall and speeding off, down, away. Away from Aeryn. We won't see her again. All we have is John, now. He's ready for the test. He knows it. It's a fairy tale.