Holy shtako! “Defiance” is back and I can’t wait to get my Votans organized. This show is partnered with its own game, which stays true to the show. We were left with some questions that will hopefully be answered in season two. Join me on this fast moving recap and watch out for debris falling from the Ark Belt.
Earth 2047
The people of Earth have problems. Even though the war with seven different alien species known collectively as the Votans is over, peace is mostly a fleeting possibility. Due to a mysterious event which the humans lay blame on the aliens and they on us, Earth’s ecosystem has been changed through terraforming leaving we viewers with some interesting hybrid bugs and plants to learn about; some very dangerous.
The humans and aliens who survived the Pale Wars must now live together is an uneasy truce. If you think the ongoing rants in today’s news regarding immigration laws is maddening, imagine if the alien we were speaking about was just that; alien, not from Earth. Makes you think look at the word a bit differently when you’re speaking about a fellow human, right?
St. Louis is now called Defiance and our main star Grant Bowler as Joshua Nolan, and his alien adopted Irathient daughter, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) come into town without a Lawkeeper. Nolan gets the job, and Irisa becomes a deputy along with Tommy LaSalle (Dewshane Williams). Believe me, it’s not easy getting the humans and aliens to place nice together, especially when you deal with two power hungry factions. Spoiler alert: There is something special about our little Irisa.
The Tarrs
Datak Tarr (Tony Curran) a Castithan is like the alien version of Tony Soprano. He wheels and deals with black market trading and criminal elements. His wife Stahma, played by the enchanting Jaime Murray, is by Castithan custom considered a second class citizen (think Middle East views on women) but she manipulates her husband and others around her with the ease of a black widow spider.
I did an interview of the lovely Jaime Murray and you can read it here and here. Their only child, Alak (Jesse Rath) breaks the segregation rule by falling in love with human Christie McCawley (Nicole Munoz).
The McCawleys
Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene) is a tough man and the owner of a Gulanite mine. He’s not a happy camper. His wife ran off and left him to care for the children. He’s not as understanding or accepting of the aliens like his daughter, plus there are secrets down in that mine.
The Sisters
Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) is the Mayor of Defiance having stepped in for the ailing Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan) who is the human counterpart to Datak Tarr in criminal activity. Amanda unlike her predecessor is a good mayor and is concerned for the people both alien and human, but she’s lost the election to Datak at the end of season one.
Kenya Rosewater (Mia Kirshner) is, or was, the owner of the bar/brothel called the NeedWant. As the younger sister of Amanda, she had the best clientele visit her and her ladies. Kenya made nice with lawmaker Nolan, Datak and Stahma. What can I tell you; business was good. When Kenya threatened Stahma that she would tell Datak about their little secret meetings, Stahma made sure she didn’t get the chance. She tricked Kenya into drinking poison.
The Earth Republic
Colonel Marsh (Darryl Flatman) is in charge of this human run government army. The Colonel wants something that is hidden in the mine; an alien ship full of weapons. McCawley won’t turn over his rights to the mine, so the Colonel helps Datak win the election. Datak allows the Earth Republic to take over the town. Dumb move! When Datak realizes that Marsh was only using him, he kills the Colonel.
Irisa
Irisa has weapons inside her, which Dr. Yewll (Trenna Keating) an Indogene tries to keep that secret from the Earth Republic. Nolan is killed trying to protect Irisa, but she escapes and heads to the mines, the alien ship and her destination. She makes a decision to take a fatal leap and Nolan comes back to life. We don’t know if Irisa lived.
Conclusion
This show is well written and the acting is top notch. The show is on Thursday night and hopefully more people will have a chance to see it. It reminds me of a science fiction western, but in a good way. I’ll be doing the recaps for each episode and I’m looking forward to learning more about the buried city of St. Louis. With my older grandson now part of the United States Marines, I haven’t played the Defiance game and I have no idea what happened to my avatar… sigh. Watch “Defiance” on Syfy this Thursday, June 19th at 8 PM EST. Do be careful not to step in any shtako.
