If “Beast of Burden” was somehow less than the sum of its parts, then “Putting the Damage On” is more.

This isn’t really a pivotal episode. It’s not quite filler, but it is only a very small step forward for the greater storyline. Despite that, however, I found “Putting the Damage On” quite enjoyable.

This episode sees Amanda attacked in her room at the Need/Want by what appears to have been the man who raped her in New York. However, her story doesn’t add-up, and as odd happenings follow not only her, but also Mayor Pottinger and Doc Yewll, it becomes clear something much stranger is going on.

Meanwhile, Rafe McCawley lands on his feet after being evicted by the E-Rep as he is welcomed into the Tarr household by Stahma. Cue Odd Couple theme.

This episode reminds me of the first season of Defiance, but not entirely in a bad way. We’re once again in a situation where the main plot of the episode isn’t terribly interesting, but it does serve as a framework for some very interesting and/or amusing character interactions.

For sheer entertainment value, the best parts of this episode were of Rafe McCawley integrating into life in the Tarr house. Defiance has always had a healthy sense of humour, but I can’t recall ever cracking up quite this much.

Especially when Datak finds out he’s moved in.

“I borrowed your slippers. Hope you don’t mind.”

Ah, Rafe. You’re never not awesome.

Seeing where things could be going for him and Datak is pretty intriguing, too. Never expected to see those two on the same side of anything, but I suppose the enemy of my enemy is my friend…

Regardless, any day Rafe and Datak are in the same scene is a good day, and it looks like there shall be many such days in the future.

The other aspect of this episode I found compelling was learning more about Doc Yewll’s past. I do think she is one of the more interesting characters on the show — no small feat — and I wish she’d get more time in the spotlight.

On the downside, we didn’t really learn that much about her that we didn’t already know, or could have surmised. She did horrible things in the war. She’s trying to atone. “Putting the Damage On” offers a little more detail on that, but there’s still a lot left unanswered, especially regarding her current plans.

On the one hand, I enjoy the mystery. On the other, Yewll’s been a question mark for one and a half seasons now. Let’s start getting some idea of what’s actually going on with her.

There were a few other interesting things about this episode.

For one, I was surprised that Pottinger’s story of being attacked by the Votans as a child was apparently true. I had been operating under the assumption he made it up to win sympathy from Amanda.

Damn it, Defiance, how dare you make a character I dislike into a three-dimensional person rather than leaving them as a cartoon effigy for me to hate?

It also seems to me that this season is both including more references to the game version of Defiance, and being more natural about it. There are a lot of little nods to the game in “Putting the Damage On”: EGO implants (and mention of “soldiers in the West,” IE players, using them), Varus Soleptor supplying Pottinger’s drugs, and technology from Von Bach Industries.

But they don’t feel as forced or randomly tossed in as the game tie-ins of the first season. It feels more like a seamless blending of the two stories.

Finally, I found it somewhat interesting that Yewll is apparently into girls. I find this noteworthy purely because the main Indogene character in Defiance the MMO, Eren Niden, is strongly implied to be in a relationship with a human woman, Rosa Rodriguez. Makes me wonder if there’s some aspect of Indogene culture and/or biology that grants them a predilection towards same-sex relationships, at least where females are concerned.

Heck, considering that Indogenes appear to be one of the more biologically alien Votan races, gender might not work the same way for them as it does for us.

Yes, I’m enough of a nerd to be interested in such things.

But this is a fairly irrelevant tangent.

Point is, “Putting the Damage On” moves the story in interesting directions. It doesn’t move it as much as I would like, but it does enough to keep me happy for the moment.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

It’s not a good day to be a powerful man in Defiance.

“Beast of Burden” opens with Mayor Pottinger escorting a shipment of advanced mining equipment back to Defiance. The caravan is attacked by masked raiders, and the guards are killed, the equipment stolen, and Pottinger utterly humiliated.

The search is on to find the culprits, and Rafe McCawley is as surprised as anyone when the trail leads right to his doorstep. His days of grudging tolerance by the E-Rep may be coming to an end.

Meanwhile, Datak Tarr is enjoying life out of prison, settling old debts and reestablishing himself as the master of his criminal empire. But he may be pushing too hard and too fast. It’s a new world, and not all are happy to see his return to power.

I didn’t enjoy “Beast of Burden” as much as I have the last few episodes, though I can’t quite put my finger on why.

Maybe I just don’t like seeing Rafe tore down any further than he already has been. Maybe I don’t like that Alak regressed to being more or less the non-entity he used to be. Maybe it’s that I am disappointed by the fact the one person in Defiance willing to stand up to the E-Rep is apparently a complete idiot.

Or perhaps I am underwhelmed that Doc Yewll and Irisa’s arcs, which seemed to be building to interesting things last episode, fell to the wayside.

That’s not to say this isn’t an episode without some merits. We got an interesting — if disturbing — insight into Amanda’s past that shines a new light on what led her to her current place in Defiance. Stahma had the opportunity to be more badass than she ever has. Pottinger had a bad day, which evokes a pleasant jolt of schadenfreude. Rafe McCawley got plenty of attention, and that’s never a bad thing.

Christie even showed some personality for once. I’m actually starting to wonder how much longer she’s going to put up with Alak telling her she doesn’t understand things because she’s human. Alak’s a decent guy by most standards, but man, is he a douche to Christie. I suppose it could be a lot worse, considering Castithan attitudes towards women.

And the Tarr clan once again stars in an absolutely amazing closing scene.

Still, I feel a little underwhelmed.

I guess it just boils down to the fact “Beast of Burden” didn’t really evolve the characters or offer any new clues to the mysteries of Defiance — barring the Tarr storyline, which was easily the best part of the episode. “Beast of Burden” isn’t bad; it just doesn’t quite fit into the ongoing arc as well as previous episodes have.

It could have interesting repercussions down the road, at least. I really don’t know what’s next for Datak, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Overall rating: 7.1/10