Defiance, “History Rhymes”:

I was right — Nolan and Irisa cannot be separated. The Kaziri‘s stasis pod implanted ark tech in their brains that’s keeping them connected, and their separation wreaked havoc on their nervous systems.

As Doc Yewll struggles to save them, Nolan and Irisa are treated to a joint tour of Nolan’s memories, focusing on the horrors of the Pale Wars and his failures as a father.

It’s a good example of what makes Nolan — and his relationship with Irisa — interesting. It’s clear that Nolan genuinely loves Irisa and would do anything to keep her safe, and one cannot doubt that if he hadn’t chosen to rescue and protect her, she would have had a very short and very unpleasant life.

But the fact remains Nolan is a pretty bad parent, to put it mildly. He’s never let go of his resentment towards the Votans for what happened in the Pale Wars — and “History Rhymes” effectively illustrates why — and this colours his relationship with Irisa. Plus he’s just kind of an irresponsible screw-up in general.

On the downside, this story doesn’t have a lot in the way of strong resolution, and while it adds some extra details, it doesn’t really tell us anything the viewer didn’t already know or was likely to have surmised.

But there is plenty of Doc Yewll to be had, and thus plenty of laughs and general awesomeness.

The side plots offer the continuation of Stahma’s affair with the Omec commander — which doesn’t really go anywhere — and Alec proving himself surprisingly badass as he bucks against the brutality of Rahm Tak.

There were also a few subtle nods to the game, such as the mention of Cooper and the Votan mechs that greatly resemble the mechs used by Dark Matter* in the game. To some extent I kind of enjoy these more subtle connections than the larger tie-ins. The big ones often feel a bit forced, while the small details reinforce the idea that this is a single world.

*(No relation to the show I’m also reviewing in this post.)

Speaking of the game, this season has been making me glad I’ve played it, because if not for Ara Shondu, I’d probably think all Castithans were just violent psychopaths at this point.

But I digress.

Mostly I’d classify “History Rhymes” as a filler episode — though an enjoyable and largely well-executed one — but the final scene was quite a shocker and promises good things to come.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Dark Matter, episode four:

It’s shore-leave time, and as anyone who has ever watched a sci-fi show knows, that’s when things really go to Hell.

The Raza has arrives at the space station to repair and refuel, and the crew splits up. Two and Five try to make some money, Six puts in a visit to the doctor, Three and One try to offload the Raza‘s weapon stash, and Four looks for clues as to his past.

Naturally, almost all of them end meeting with misadventure. One and Three, in addition to sparring with each other, run afoul of a familiar face. Very familiar, in One’s case. Two and Five attract entirely the wrong kind of attention for their gambling skills, and Six learns the dangers of getting your DNA tested when you’re a wanted murderer.

Because it’s apparently Opposite Day, only Four manages to avoid meeting with violence.

I found this episode to be both quite cliche and quite predictable. There isn’t much here that you haven’t seen before on any other sci-fi show.

That said, it’s still fairly entertaining, and the fast pace and myriad of plots kept me engaged.

Episode four also continued to provide a satisfying trickle of new clues to Dark Matter’s various mysteries.

The writers clearly want us to suspect that One is responsible for wiping the crew’s memories, but I think this is a red herring. It’s too obvious and too sudden.

If any of the crew is responsible, I’m still betting it’s Two. She has the odd combination of being very confident and take-charge, as if she has a goal in mind, but also determined not to “waste” any time uncovering the truth.

That said, at this point I’m starting to wonder if any of the current crew is responsible. It’s possible something altogether more strange is going on — that ad Six saw in the waiting room was not just some random background flavour.

It does seem clear that at least some of the crew are clones, if not all of them. That then raises new questions: Who cloned them, why did they do it, and why haven’t they broken down as clones apparently do after a few days?

And in either case, Five remains a total mystery. Is she a clone as well? Is she the one who cloned them? Was she a hostage? A bystander or passenger who got caught up in all this by accident?

Overall rating: 7.1/10

I’m afraid this will be a somewhat cluttered post. I do apologize, but life has been hectic as of late.

“The Broken Bough”:

Well, after a shaky start to the season, this feels more like the Defiance I know.

Datak and Stahma return to Defiance with a rousing tale of their escape from Rahm Tak… but of course it’s all lies, and it doesn’t take long for them to begin their plans of sabotage.

The Tarrs always seem to find ways to weasel out of trouble and maintain their place in Defiance, but when their collaboration (forced, to be fair) with the VC comes to light, it’s hard to imagine what could stop Amanda from skinning them alive.

We also see Stahma strike up an unlikely friendship with the Omec commander. It’s a welcome nod to Stahma’s rarely mentioned past life as a poet, but one has to wonder what her angle is.

This is Stahma. She always has an angle.

Meanwhile, Nolan and Irisa head off to scout the VC forces. But Irisa’s newfound abhorrence for violence, Nolan’s determination to strike a blow in retribution for Rafe’s death, and an encounter with Pilar McCawley quickly turn things into what the Trailer Park Boys would describe as a “horror show.”

To my surprise, I’m actually rather liking Irisa’s arc this season. While it’s obviously frustrating to see her constantly fail at the only thing she’s good at, it’s a good kind of frustration — the kind that builds drama — and it adds something akin to depth or nuance to Irisa’s character. After two seasons, she’s finally doing something other than screaming, crying, and stabbing.

Irisa has long been the weakest part of Defiance. Could that finally be changing?

“The Broken Bough” doesn’t have any shocking twists or major developments, but it moves the plot forward enough to be satisfying, and all the story arcs are tight, compelling, and well-executed.

Really my only complaint is the forced and somewhat cheesy Terminator reference.

Overall rating: 7.4/10

“Dead Air”:

That title makes me think of both a Chvrches song and a mission in The Secret World. Both good things to be reminded of.

Anyway…

Defiance needs weapons to defend against the impending Votanis Collective attack. Nolan digs up records of an Earth Military Coalition bunker that may have the munitions they need, and he and Amanda set off to plunder it.

But when they get there, they find that it has been taken over by a familiar face: Niles Pottinger. The months of isolation have stripped away whatever little sanity Pottinger ever laid claim to, and he’s become some bizarre melding of a Bond villain and Marlin Brando’s character from Apocalypse Now.

Somewhat to my own surprise, I was rather glad to see Pottinger show up again. I mean, he’s vile, and I hate his guts, but he does make for an interesting story.

And that definitely holds true here. As weird and creepy as “Dead Air” is, it’s also a thoroughly compelling story, and it provides much needed closure to one of the second season’s biggest loose ends.

The other plots were less compelling, but still enjoyable.

Stahma is ordered to assassinate the Omec leader by Rahm Tak, but of course killing a flesh-eating evil space god is not really that easy.

I’m starting to think Datak is just straight up screwed at this point. When the people of Defiance find out what he and Stahma have done, they’re going to want to string both of them up, but Stahma might at least be saved by the Omec. Datak? Datak’s boned.

We also see that Nolan and Irisa seem to be suffering some nasty side-effect of their time in the Kaziri‘s stasis pod. I’m guessing it’s something that manifests from them being too far apart. That would be a good source of drama considering that Irisa’s newfound nonviolence makes her a liability in a lot of situations.

Overall rating: 7.9/10

Dark Matter, episode three:

Well, it didn’t take them long to recover from that weak second episode.

Two is able to determine that Five’s strange visions are likely because her mind contains the memories of the entire crew, buried in her subconscious.

Soon after, the Raza‘s engines fail, putting the entire crew in danger as the ship is bombarded by lethal radiation. As the crew’s suspicions boil over, threatening to tear them apart, it’s up to the android to venture outside the ship and conduct emergency repairs.

This is a return to everything that made the pilot so entertaining: mystery, intrigue, and strong characterization.

I think what stood out the most in this episode was the dialogue. It was all very snappy and clever, and I often found myself laughing out loud.

“This is gonna skew the test.”

Fasntastic.

I recall funny one-liners were another strength of the Stargate shows, and I kind of want to rewatch Atlantis now.

Also, Five continues to be awesome.

My guess is that Two erased their memories. Three and Four are too obvious, Five has already been ruled out, and there’s no evidence that it was One or Six. Two is too eager to convince people to drop the subject, and wasn’t she telling the android* to keep something secret?

*(I do wish they’d give her a name.)

Of course, that twist at the end — which was another great one — throws everything into question. Are these even the people we think they are?

My only complaint is the continued romantic/sexual tension between One and Two. It feels forced — as these things often do — and it probably doesn’t help that they are the show’s two least interesting characters at the moment. At least the android has some value as comedy relief.

That minor issue aside, this was a thoroughly entertaining episode.

Overall rating: 7.5/10