ICYMI - worry not, I've got you covered. Completely.
Developments
since pilot: we now have an opening sequence. We no longer have Irisa
voiceovers, this one has music as `bookends'.
The episode
starts with a series of flashbacks, no real dialogue. We see a Castithan
frantically running through a forest – we flash back to 24 hours in the past
when he deserted his post during the battle with the Volge, in full view of
Datak Tarr. Just before the opening titles, he is caught by Castithans who drag
him back to Defiance.
We next see the
deserter strung up against an apparatus in the shape of an X – each of the
deserter’s limbs is tied to the apparatus and it works with pulleys and levers.
There’s a basket behind it that Castithans place rocks into, exerting pressure
on the restraints keeping the deserter trussed up and it looks a little like
he’s being drawn and quartered. It looks like torture to Nolan and Irisa who
come upon the scene, but they are informed by Datak Tarr that it is a cleansing
ritual, as prescribed by the Castithans’ faith. The man has shamed his caste by
running from battle, taken their honour, and unless the ritual is performed,
the man could never pass to the Afterlife. Even the man himself protests, he is
going through the ritual because “they have no choice. I must do this for my
family.” Nolan continues to try and free the man, a Castithan resists, Nolan
draws his gun and threatens to arrest every one of them unless they stop. Mayor
Amanda, her arm in a sling, enters the fray at this point. How did she know?
Tommy, the former Lawkeeper’s Deputy, had snuck off and brought her. Datak Tarr
immediately asks her to put a muzzle on her new Lawkeeper (ding ding: Nolan
accepted the job) and rather patronisingly reminds Amanda that religious
understanding was negotiated with her predecessor at the time of the founding
of Defiance, and did she really want to cause a fuss in only her 3rd
week on the job. Her response is in the Castithan language to the effect that
she respects their traditions just like Nikki did. In an undertone and in
English, she tells him to keep this ceremonies in the Hollows. When Datak
responds and uses her first name, she corrects Datak that she is to be called
“Mayor” and takes Nolan with her as she leaves. The ceremony continues without
a change in location. Irisa has a concerned expression on her face that the
Deputy tries to put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She goes into a
defensive move and stops him in his tracks by pinning his arm and his shoulder.
He apologises, looks down and sees a wide scar around her wrists. She snatches
her arm back and goes back to watching the ceremony.
Cut to Nolan
and Amanda. He gets a “you’re not from around here, so I’m going to ‘splain to
you why and how things are how they are” speech from her. Defiance was founded
only 8 years previously. When the town instituted a mandatory vaccination
policy for all children, the well over 1,000 Irathients living in Defiance at
the time refused. The vaccination policy was written into the town charter as
law and children were vaccinated by force when Deputies went house to house to
enforce the law. There was an uprising. It didn’t go well for the Irathients as
they were outgunned and outnumbered. The ones who weren’t killed left the town.
Amanda says the town council then informally decided (my note: did not amend
the charter) to allow the 8 races to practice their religious beliefs and
traditions without human interference. Nolan questions the ‘rightness’ (he is
moral compass guy, things are black and white to him – like Dean Winchester for
the first 6 seasons of Supernatural) of it – Amanda responds “It’s necessary”
(so she’s shades of grey girl, a Sam Winchester to Nolan’s Dean).
The ceremony
continues, Nolan returns to Irisa. She is almost near tears and expresses
disappointment when Nolan won’t stop it. He doesn’t like it but tells Irisa
that Amanda promised to do something about it. Iris doesn’t put a lot of faith
into promises, but Nolan tells her he’s going to "take a beat" and
give Amanda a chance to essentially prove how much her word is worth. It’s a
trust exercise, but considering the man didn’t want to be saved, Nolan’s
willing to let it play out.
The hospital:
Mister Birch incapacitates a guard just outside the door. He enters, tells an
apparently undead Ben it’s time to wake up and injects something into his brain
causing him to wake up. We find out Ben’s cooperation was under duress to
protect his family and that they would bear the consequences if Ben failed
Birch again. He reminds Ben of ‘the old plan’ which apparently involved the mines
possibly jeopardising what Birch is trying to find. Ben tries to back out,
Birch doesn’t care and leaves, Ben makes his escape.
The mines were
mentioned, cue a visit to the McCawleys where we learn about the family
dynamic. Their mother is long dead, Christie, according to Quentin, is the one
who kept the family together while Luke could do no wrong in his father’s eyes.
Quentin accuses Rafe of turning on Christie the one time she does something he
doesn’t like (falling in love and making preparations to marry Alak Tarr) after
he issues the ‘if you walk out that door, don’t ever come back’ ultimatum.
Quentin asks his father if Luke was such a good man, why was he meeting Ben – a
traitor – alone in the woods? Cut to Rafe walking into Luke’s room where he gets
a phone call that there’s been an explosion in the mine.
Blip of a scene
in the hospital: Indogene doctor examines the guard while Nolan and Amanda look
on. Deputy arrives to say Quentin has just called to let them know what’s
happened at the mine. They need to get there somehow.
The mine: we
are at an abandoned shaft that Ben collapsed behind him after stealing 20 kgs
of guanite. Amanda estimates 2 kg were used to blow the shaft, still leaving
him in possession of enough to make a big bomb, but not enough to hurt Defiance
any was the first assessment. The shaft leads to “Old St Louis” – parts of the
city had apparently stayed intact during the terraforming, which unlike most
other cities hardened on top of it instead of obliterating it (still doesn’t explain
why the Arch is still standing tall). Following Ben is impossible, they must go
another way, through a maze of tunnels with steep drops and razor sharp rocks
(ooooooh) called the Rat’s Nest, discovered by Rafe, so naturally he is part of
the party. Nolan is too (handily producing the appropriate underground
experience from his CV to justify he won’t hold Rafe back) and a couple of
miners (expandables) form the crew. Irisa asks Nolan not to risk his life for
these people, he tells her to help Deputy Tommy to figure out who’s behind
Ben’s escape and to stay far away from the man who was tortured/ceremonially
cleansed. The look she has on her face as soon as Nolan is far enough away
doesn’t give the impression she’s going to do what he asks.
In a white chamber,
the Tarrs are getting some grooming done while they discuss the ceremony.
Stahma questions why Datak is so hung up on the old traditions since back on
Casti, he was part of the lowest caste, poor and degraded. This new world gave
him the opportunity to rise up so high, so why hang on to a way of life that
was keeping him so low? Firstly, though, if the town were to be against them,
they could not successfully take over the mines, jeopardising their son’s
future. When Alak enters the bath chamber to have a tantrum about how the
wedding might have to be cancelled because of Rafe and Christie, the virtually
naked Stahma embraces her son and soothingly assures him that Mother will take
care of everything. She always seems very calm and in control of not only her
emotions but also the important things around her. I wonder what it takes for
her to lose that carefully constructed facade we know it to be. Even Mister
Spock eventually showed a chink in his armour.
Rat’s Nest: the
party of 6 headlamps arrives in “Old St Louis”, an aerial pan to a cavernous
chunk of the city. No purpose here, it's just a "you are here"
signpost. The Arch officially makes zero sense; its only purpose seeming to be
a symbolic one and therefore not subject to any laws of physics (unless we have
to learn some weird terraforming physics - and until such time or until it
actually becomes significant, that's the last I'll say about it.).
Mayor Nikki,
haven’t seen her all episode. She’s in Mentor Nikki mode packing up her stuff
out of the Mayor’s office. Amanda sits on a window seat and gazes out at the
man being tortured. Turns out only 3 hours have passed since he was strung up.
Nikki and Amanda talk how similar humans and Castithans are, despite the
apparent differences. “They build their lives around ancient traditions that
may once have had a purpose. None of them can agree on what it was.” Except
they lost their past when their planet blew up, so the rituals are all they
have left, so Nikki cautions Amanda that if she were to take that from them, it
would be “like the Iraths all over again” – referring to the Irathient
rebellion Amanda told Nolan about in the first half of the episode (isn’t it
nice how information loops close?) Amanda disagrees: she believes a bigger
identity than the superficial racial one is being forged in Defiance (if she’s
right, that’s something Nikki can use against her in her scheming). They look
at each other warmly. All warmth disappears on the street where Nikki hands a
small trunk to Mister Birch. He’s there to give her a status update (Ben should
be at the target in 2 hours) and drive her around so she can say goodbye to
some people. Mister Birch questions the point of it, Nikki seems to have a
genuine attachments to them. But, her next words are not unlike those uttered
by political and religious fanatics / fundamentalists in justification of
their often horrific actions: “What I do is for the benefit of all, and because
it must be done. I take no pleasure in this...”
In “Old St
Louis” – the purpose of the scene: primarily back story and the 'finding of
common ground' for Nolan and Rafe. We find out that Nolan and Rafe both grew up
in St Louis – Nolan left when he was 9, Rafe stayed. Rafe’s family was in the
dog food manufacturing business (Nolan even remembers their jingle) but Rafe
wanted to become a photographer. He gave it up when photographing terraformed
landscapes depressed him too much. The only thing that furthers the plot in
this scene is that although Nolan promised to bring Ben back alive, Rafe did
not. The inkling of a showdown looms.
Speaking of
promises, Irisa is at the ritual site, where one Castithan after another puts a
stone in the basket. When a child is next to put a rock in it, Irisa stops him
and starts cutting the deserter down. The Castithans then turn on Irisa but
before she can be in any real danger, Tommy fires a shot from his rifle into
the air stopping everyone in their tracks. He decides to arrest him, loitering
is the first thing that comes to mind when he's verbally challenged.
After that blip
of a scene, some not-to-scale nuclear reactors come into the frame. From being
ground level at Jefferson Park, the group have now climbed another great height
for another painted / CG aerial shot, this time of a nuclear power plant that is
showing signs of coming back to life (Ben’s target). A bomb detonated there
would pose a definite threat to Defiance. So much for the first assessment of
the bomb not posing a threat. Episode climax scenes coming up, right after
Stahma visits her future daughter-in-law at work: a subway car repurposed to a
cafe where Christie is a server. They don’t have a heart-to-heart as much as
Stahma tells her the (a?) story of how she and Datak got together.
Shockingly, their situation was not dissimilar to Alak and Christie’s. Stahma’s
parents had her betrothed to a man of honour and of the highest caste, Datak
was a “scruffy nobody”. The men challenged each other to a ‘Castithan Blood
Duel’, but en route, Stahma’s betrothed was accidentally flushed out of an
airlock...Christie is given to understand that Datak is a survivor and there is
nothing he won’t do to keep them, his family, safe...even if/especially if up
against Christie’s father...just not in those words.
Back
underground, where Ben is holed up inside the reactor, the posse goes in search
of him. Most of the expendables are quickly killed off by Ben, who is himself
wounded. As he reaches to detonate the glowy blue sacks of explosive, Nolan
puts a very large gun against his head. Well, if that was the climax, that was
disappointing. Thankfully, it’s just a commercial and so the drama will
continue unabated on the DVD version. Rafe now has a gun to Ben’s head and
Nolan has to talk him down. Ben either has an urge to confess all or has a
death wish, because by telling Rafe that Luke hated his guts and all he wanted
was enough money to get out of Defiance and out of his father’s house
(especially after what Rafe did to his mother....which was what exactly,
another mystery), Rafe gets ready to pull the trigger. Nolan tells Rafe to make
a choice: avenge his son’s death or find out what happened? Rafe makes ready to
disarm, but Ben pretty much goes harikiri on him and dies saying “tell Amanda
I’m sorry”. Awwww. Crap.
Turns out
there’s more in store in this episode's drama department: we’re in the
Lawkeeper's office / jail (just like in an old Western). The deserter, Tommy
and Irisa are waiting for Amanda. Although Tommy says it’s quiet outside Irisa
is sure they’ll come and Tommy was stupid to help her. 5-4-3-2-1, Tommy spots
an approach, the doors open and the Castithans walk in demanding release of the
`coward’. Blah-blah, Mexican stand-off. Amanda arrives to say she is pardoning
the prisoner. Nolan and Rafe arrive to bring up the rear and we’re in a proper
Mexican stand-off. Blah-blah. Datak seems to acquiesce and offers an opening
towards dialogue and resolution before he leaves with his men, head held high.
It’s been a
long day – Amanda goes to bury the 41 people who died in the battle with the
Volge, Irisa explains in her minimalist way that she freed the man because she
couldn’t stand him being in chains and that Amanda helped. Nolan says in an
ironic-know-it-all voice “so we were right to trust her”, but Irisa is unmoved.
He’s starting to put the town before their dream of going to Antarctica, and
this might cause a rift between him and Irisa down the road if she does not
eventually change her stance on the temporariness (or lack thereof) of their
sojourn in Defiance. It looks like Defiance may have found itself a champion,
but I believe Irisa thinks Nolan might be setting himself up to fight
windmills, and it’s her task as a Sancho Panza to show Don Quixote what he
believes to be real isn’t so they can leave.
The episode
ends with a slowed-down cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”. It is the score
for a series of actions: Defiance commemorating the dead in the forest as a
community, the lovebirds looking lovey (the wedding's back on), the Tarrs
looking pleased -- followed by Rafe searching Luke’s room for clues – we know
it’s Luke’s room because it’s where Rafe got his phone call, its only purpose
then was to introduce this bit now. And Rafe is successful, he finds Luke’s
money stash and a big decoratively worked, gold coloured, emblem-looking thing
with holes spaced out along its sides and one through the centre: the key. To
what? -- The song continues, and the tortured man is back with his family until
Datak takes him to where he can execute him (the man is grateful for Datak’s
mercy, he does not resist) -- a rest in the song allows a scream to pierce the
melody and Irisa, Tommy, and Nolan open the Lawkeeper’s office door to find the
dead man on the stoop. The shock registering on Irisa’s face might further her
distance from getting involved with people of Defiance again, as if she’s
thinking “that’s the last time I meddle to help one of them”.
This episode
served to provide a lot more backstory in addition to what the pilot provided
(and it laid some good groundwork), but failed to move the plot forward in any
meaningful way. More questions arose than were answered. The ones that have
come up along the way, you might have more, are:
- Where do Irisa’s scars come from? Her parents?
- Does Irisa’s “welcome to Antarctica” postcard have any wider significance?
- How did Casti blow up and why?
- Are the people Nikki says goodbye to important in any way, as we don't actually see this tidbit progress any?
- What happened to Rafe's wife? What did he "do" to her?
- Now that Rafe has the key, what will he do next?
Looks like we
got ourselves a multi-layered show. I really am starting to hope we get to see
it through.
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