Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Enemy Of My Enemy Is...
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 15 | Aired on 08.12.1999
Sometime later, D'Argo is opening a large case which contains several explosive ingredients. He tells Crichton, "Fortunately, the ignorant Hynerian got all the proportions wrong." As if Rygel weren't sensitive enough about his proportions. He goes on that if Rygel had gotten the explosives right, Crichton would be in a million of the prettiest little pieces you've ever seen. Yes, I'm paraphrasing a little bit.
Pilot informs Zhaan that the explosion caused no damage to Moya. Salis butts in and asks what happens if he tries again, but is told that that won't happen, as he's locked in his quarters and under restraint. Salis "suggests" that Zhaan turn Rygel over to him when his ship arrives, a request she flatly denies. Salis says that Rygel has serious flaws in his character that must be corrected. When he puts it that way, he's starting to make some sense. Zhaan does agree with him somewhat when she says that "even Rygel, with his many faults, does not deserve that." Salis opines that Zhaan could use an adjustment herself, causing her to step forward with a "just give me an excuse, you slow-talking freak" look on her face. Instead of being cowed, however, Salis notes, "My point exactly," before self-satisfying his way out of there.
Chiana's freed her hands, and is working on the collar with some tool she probably ganked from Crichton when she was all woe-is-me with him earlier. She succeeds in releasing it.
Rygel's asleep in his quarters, hands tied in front of him. His door opens, waking him up, and he loudly complains that he's in no mood for visitors. Chiana appears out of nowhere and shoves a pillow over his mouth. Considering that she hasn't even met Rygel before, you have to admire her instincts. She suggests they deal, as Rygel wants to get untied so he can kill Durka, and she wants to get off Moya. Rygel seems terrifiedly amenable, so Chiana makes to take the pillow away. "You scream, I push this cushion down in your colon." The cushion seriously is hoping that Rygel doesn't scream. When Chiana's released him and he's caught his breath, he asks her to untie him, saying that he can tell her how to get to the transport hangar and what codes will open the door. Chiana finds that insufficient, as she's quite the expert on cracking codes, so Rygel offers to create a diversion to facilitate her escape. Chiana agrees to that plan, and as she starts to untie Rygel's hands, she apologizes for calling him a toad. Rygel says he makes allowances for stress on the ship. Chiana chuckles: "This isn't stress, old man. Stress is if you don't come through for me." Rygel looks like he's having Chiana-related performance anxiety, and if that's Chiana's typical motivational speech, I highly doubt he's anywhere near the first. However, despite Chiana's menace, as soon as Rygel's hands are free he hits his comm and yells that Chiana's escaped and is in his quarters. This is the only part of the episode that rings false for me, as (a) at least from my point of view, Chiana's deal looked both reasonable and attractive as far as Rygel was concerned, and, far more importantly, (b) Rygel had no idea that Chiana wouldn't kill him for his betrayal. That would have been just as quick as what she ended up doing to him, no?