Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Reality Bites
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 07.22.1999
On Moya, Rygel is babbling to Aeryn about the virtues of the squalamucumber until Aeryn backhands him and his Thronesled into a wall. Heh. After comparing notes, D'Argo and Aeryn decide to head back to the planet, and Rygel says he'll tag along.
In the temple, Hasko informs Lorana and Tahleen that Aeryn and D'Argo intend to return. I'm surprised Aeryn announced this to the Delvians. Not that it likely would have made a difference, but still. Tahleen says they must be stopped, so as not to distract Zhaan. She instructs the two underlings to attack Crichton's, D'Argo's, and Aeryn's minds "with their own hopes and fears." She leaves, and the underlings are none too pleased.
Crichton's sitting somewhere in the temple when Alex comes marching up. He asks who the hell she is. Under further questioning, she explains that she never went to Stanford, but instead joined the space program. At that moment, Crichton gets a fake memory of Alex in an IASA uniform. It's too bad the fake memory couldn't have included a more flattering hairstyle for Alex, but who am I to tell the superior Delvians what to do? As Crichton gets his patented "somewhat drunk-looking and therefore dumber than usual" look on his face, another fake memory gives Crichton the idea that Alex was his co-pilot on the mission.
Outside, crazy old Tuzak is poking around with his rake when Zhaan finds him. They each affirm that they know who the other one is. Between the closed-captioning and the recap, I sure as hell hope so. Tuzak is tending the "orchard," which only contains dead-looking wood, but as he explains, "sanctity roots don't grow on trees." That's Tuzak for you, ladies and gentlemen. Fortunately, I've seen the rest of the episode, and I can guarantee he won't be here all week. After affirming that Zhaan is a "ninth-level" Pa'u, he tells her that experiencing the darkness is normal, but when you reach down to pull it up, that's when there's trouble. Zhaan asks if she should give Tahleen what she wants, but his answer is infuriatingly, if predictably, equivocal.
Inside the temple, a milky-eyed Hasko chants as Tahleen waits. On Moya, the chanting is audible as D'Argo grabs his sword and instructs Rygel to come after them if he hears nothing. Rygel: "Yes, of course. My thought exactly." Heh. They're ready to go, but suddenly Aeryn drops her pulse rifle, and we see she's under the illusion that it's fallen apart. They argue for a little too long until D'Argo cottons on and asks Pilot if any Delvian transmissions are coming to Moya. Before we hear a reply, however, D'Argo hears the anguished cries of his son, Jothee. Jothee may be a kid, but he still sounds like kind of a wuss for a Luxan. D'Argo stands up and sees a Peacekeeper bustle Jothee away, and orders Pilot to seal all the exits as he goes chasing after the vision. Aeryn asks Rygel for help, but he suddenly shrinks to a tiny percentage of his normal size. Well, it's not like he can afford that, but perhaps there will be a plus side and his ego will shrink accordingly. He's got a little more to spare in that department.