Episode Report Card Couch Baron: C+ | 1 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Next Time, Just Count To Ten
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 14 | Aired on 07.29.1999
On the surface, Neera, Lisala, and Kato-Re are having a little confab that can't bode well. Rygel emerges and makes a speech about being a united people and him rising up and leading them to the light. It's intended to be motivational, but the fact that the only response is a tepid birdcall probably indicates failure on that front. Nonetheless, Rygel presses on, but Neera loses patience and confronts him, and very soon the crowd is chanting, "False god!" It's not the prettiest scene, but I'd be willing to bet Rygel's been called worse. Rygel says he's not a god, which is the cue for the crowd to rush him. Crichton tries to protect Rygel, but D'Argo pulls him away, and the two of them escape...
... to the shore. Crichton's upset, but D'Argo rightly points out that they'll have a better chance of helping Rygel this way. Just then, the projectile lands in the water not ten feet from them, and if Aeryn's aim is that good from space, you can just add that to the very long list of reasons not to piss her off. Crichton retrieves the case and opens it to find the map that shows the vortex area.
Rygel's being marched through the town, hands tied, as he loudly tries to apologize for the wrongs of his empire and to explain his situation. I know they might still think he's a god, but given that it's Rygel, if they were going to tie him up I can't believe they didn't go the extra mile and gag him as well. Rygel's eyes widen in horror as he realizes that they're going to roast him, and not in the fun way, but then Crichton and D'Argo march back into the village and get everyone's attention. Crichton informs them of the device, and explains how it works while D'Argo repels an attack from Rokon. Crichton goes on that when their ancestors arrived at the planet, their ships functioned, and they left behind machines that functioned as well, until the device was activated. Crichton points the J'accuse! finger at Neera, saying the priestains have been lying to them for generations, an accusation that Rygel backs up. Neera exhorts Rokon to kill Crichton, and I don't know if it's past Kato-Re's nap time or what, but you'd think as the leader he might express his opinion here. Also, I'm surprised Neera isn't twirling a handlebar at this point, but maybe they thought a female actually sporting facial hair would bring some originality to this storyline, which I'm sensing is strictly off-limits. Neera = cliché = zzzzz. Anyway, Rokon does eventually attack Crichton, but when Crichton is down on the ground, he notices that the Hynerian-shaped rock has two carvings that look a lot like Muppet hands. So he runs and grabs Rygel (calling him "Sparky" in the process, which never fails to crack me up), carries him to the rock, and has him stick his hands in the holes. The rock splits open and sends a jet of blue light into the sky, and Rygel's Thronesled comes to life (presumably signaling the deactivation of the power-draining device) and flies over to him, and he sits down and rises up. It's preposterous but also hilarious, much like a lot of this episode, so I can live with it. The locals start chanting their Masata chant again, but Rygel tells them he's not a god -- just a sovereign. Neera, for her part, looks like she just swallowed a bee, and that's probably a best-case scenario for her if the Aquaran laws we've been exposed to so far are any indication. Crichton snarks to D'Argo, "The slug who would be king," as said slug goes back to doing the royal wave. Heh.