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
Aeryn yells that Rygel better not be lying, and Crichton runs off as D'Argo says he'll keep watch over the Nebari ship. Durka informs Salis that Chiana has escaped, and he's all, "Find her." I can see why he's in charge.
Crichton and Aeryn reach Rygel's quarters and hear muffled Rygel-like sounds. They find Rygel in some cubbyhole with a bag over his head, and when they take it off, he tells them that Chiana's headed to try to steal a transport. Crichton informs Zhaan, who's up in Command, of the situation, and she orders Pilot to get the DRDs searching. Aeryn and Crichton leave Rygel, whose hands are re-tied, where he is, much to his chagrin.
Aeryn checks Chiana's cell, but all that's left is her cloak and the collar. Salis tries to activate the collar with his implants, but obviously fails. The Xylophone Of Maybe I Shouldn't Have Been So Trigger-Happy plays. We get shots of the DRDs, Zhaan, Crichton, Durka, and Salis all in different parts of the ship. I'd be tempted to make a Clue-esque guess about the upcoming murder if I hadn't seen the episode already.
Aeryn's taken pity on Rygel and is attempting to free his hands when Durka startles her. He tells her he can't find Chiana, and asks if anyone's guarding Command. Aeryn warily asks if she's capable of taking over the ship, and is told she's capable of just about anything.
Pilot urgently tells Crichton that there's movement on his tier, and if Crichton weren't the star of the show, I'd be really afraid of him undergoing the fate of the Tom Skerritt character in Alien. However, when he goes to investigate, he finds Salis lying dead in a pool of blood with one of his collars lying next to him. Oh, Salis -- bleeding all over someone else's ship just seems so...inappropriate.
When we return, Zhaan has joined Crichton corpse-side. Crichton notes that the likely murderer is Chiana, and Zhaan says she's not surprised, given what Salis had in store for her. Zhaan's tone is neither condoning nor condemning, and I like her a lot more when she acknowledges moral ambiguity than when she's preaching. Or worse, chanting. Zhaan echoes D'Argo's pragmatism from earlier when she points out that the big question is how the Nebari will react to Salis's death. Crichton gets up off his ass to resume the search.
Aeryn, pulse rifle drawn, warily enters Command with Rygel in tow. Pilot informs her that the DRDs have reported no trace of Chiana. D'Argo bellows that if she sees Chiana, she should shoot to kill, and Aeryn separates her weapon into two, one for each hand, and responds, "If you insist." Hee. Hearing movement behind her, she whirls, but it's Durka, so she holds her fire. She's going to have reason to regret having such finely honed reflexes soon enough. Durka...asks...if...Salis...is...dead. Aeryn says yes, and expresses her sympathy. Durka falls to his knees and begins to snivel, and the eye patch is coming in handy again, as its presence means that crocodile tears dripping from only one eye will be sufficient. Also, Rygel's ears amusingly call bullshit by pricking up at that moment. Aeryn holsters one of her guns and walks up to Durka, who immediately grabs her other gun away, throwing her aside in the process, and then kicks Rygel in the face. I'm not rooting for Durka here or anything, but I have to note that that must have been pretty satisfying. Aeryn does manage to avoid being shot, but the element of surprise has her half a step slow through the ensuing fight, and soon Durka boots her into unconsciousness.