Episode Report Card Jacob Clifton: C- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Right Now I'm A Race Car
By Jacob Clifton | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 04.08.1999
Rygel: "Oh, argue later. They've docked. Positions, please! Come on, now! If you must address me, do so as Your Supreme Eminence" -- D'Argo stares at his weird wee ass -- "which you should be doing anyway." John smiles and they wait patiently for the cargo doors to open. Rygel is standing center, regal, with D'Argo and Aeryn on his right, and John and Zhaan on his left. Soldiers v. Scientists; Body v. Mind. The MacGuffin is purely the science of violence. The A Story -- Bekhesh -- is all about D'Argo and Aeryn, and their approaches to violence, but it's interesting to note they've already self-selected out this way: the two that don't want to deal with the Tavloids, and the two that don't mind. The B Stories -- Kyr and nameless ladies -- are about how John and Zhaan throw themselves physically between these people and their violence, because they don't know what else to do, because they both have a vested interest in avoiding violence: one because he's not strong enough for it, the other because she's...well. Not strong enough for it, actually. Interesting. This is, possibly, Zhaan's best episode in the first season (and, leaving out the Season Two trilogies, her best in the series -- not to mention no Stark cocking it up with his hot crazy ass).
It's lovely, because the Tavloids line up just as perfectly, in terms of the story. Bekhesh is on our right -- facing off against D'Argo and Aeryn -- while Kyr is on the left, with John and Zhaan. It's a chess game (wait for S3), with the pawns in the middle (Rygel and the nameless third Tavloid that grabs him). Everybody's facing their partners in the dance -- even though John ultimately takes out Bekhesh, it's because he's the opposite of Bekhesh, and because he rightfully belongs on the left, with Zhaan. (Not to mention that Kyr's relationship with Zhaan is an echo of his own -- and Zhaan's with John, to be frank, later on.) Bekhesh's head is a metal mask from the nose up, with little BB gunshots for seeing out of. He's the leader of their group of warriors, and totally intense. Kyr -- who is young and pretty fabulous, and who will be dealing with Zhaan this episode -- is wearing a ridiculous helmet. They're wearing their aggression on their sleeves, metaphorically and literally, all jumpy roid rage and shiny gauntlet weapons clearly armed and ready. Their bodies are maps of scars and scabs and war pride; adding them to the series in this episode is like adding real violence to the mixture. So far, it's only the PKs that engender violence, and they're the antagonists, so it makes sense, but now that a "lower" race is involved, a race that seems to be actually made, forged, of violence and rage...things get scarier than they have been, now that we have to look them in the eye. (And, of course, once we taste their anger for ourselves.) Dropped into the beaker, so to speak: Oh, this show is like that. Huh. "No movement!" they shout, and "Remain where you are!" The music does this cool thing like at the beginning of "Downloaded," where there's a beat of silence for yelling, before it comes back in -- really amps up the tension. The Tavloids charge their weapons, and Bekhesh dares Aeryn to move. Zhaan steps forward to apologize, sure that they've "misunderstood" something along the way...which is dumb, but I like it. Especially after watching her fall under the suspiciousness spell last week with the Drak, it's cool to see her back to assuming the best of people at all times. It's pretty transcendent, as well, especially since we get to watch her work it out for herself, and see where she stands. Which again: best place possible, and one she frankly should have kept her beautiful eye on.
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