I’ve come to the conclusion Defiance is a difficult show to write reviews of. Mediocrity is always hard to review. If there are no major blunders to rant about, and no brilliant moments to lavish praise on, what am I supposed to write about, exactly?

I consider myself a professional, so I shall press on, but I’ll be honest with you, this review could have just easily have been a simple, “Meh, it was okay.”

But if you want more detail, read on.

“The Serpent’s Egg” has two plots that are largely disconnected in both tone and content. In one, Nolan and Amanda battle threats from many different sources while escorting a prisoner to Las Vegas. In the other, Irisa goes more psycho than usual after encountering a Castithan man she believes to be responsible for the horrors she endured as a child.

The first plot was plenty fun, if a little shallow and predictable. A nice space Western adventure with a hint of a further threat down the line. It’s also noteworthy for being the first obvious tie-in with the Defiance the video game. Rynn has now left the show to become a character in the game.

I think the more memorable plot is Irisa’s, though. It packed a bigger emotional punch, and while I can’t say for certain, I get the feeling it will have bigger ramifications down the line.

I’m still not quite sure how to feel about Irisa. She borders on being one-dimensional, but I can’t tell if it’s due to how the actress plays her or how she’s written. I’d really love to see her be something other than crazy for a change, but I’m beginning to think that’s a futile hope.

On the plus side, at least now I understand why her personality seems to consist entirely of an overcharged fight or flight instinct. Makes her a little more relatable and sympathetic.

This idea of her having a greater destiny could prove interesting, as well. Sure, the whole “chosen one” thing has been done to death, but there’s a reason it’s been done to death, and they’ve already got an interesting take on it with the question of what, precisely, she’s chosen for. Is she a savior, or a destroyer?

This could go interesting places.

I don’t really have anything to complain about with this episode, aside from the lack of Datak Tarr. But I’d say that’s compensated by the merciful break from the ongoing saga of the McCawley kids.

Overall rating: 7/10 Needs more Tarr.

New articles:

I’ve got a new article up at ADANAI: Top 10 Iconic Video Game Heroes.

Fun facts about this article: The first and last entries both have goofy accents, two are super soldiers, two have risen to fame on the proverbial backs of their ultra-advanced combat suits, two are female and two are obviously effeminate (but they’re not necessarily the same two), one is also known as green Jesus, and one is not as cool a scientist as Neil deGrasse Tyson.

In other news, my latest article for WhatMMO is 6 Things That Are Destroying MMOs… according to the community.