Holy Shtako! “Defiance” is back! When we last visited the town of Defiance at the end of season two, Nolan and Irisa were inside the mine and inside a protective bubble, but there is a ship approaching with some unwelcomed guests. Meet me after the jump.
Purple People Eaters
I’m sorry I’m late with the season three recap of “Defiance,” my little Votans, but I was busy communing with nature. Horseshoe crabs would probably fit in nicely with this show. They look kind of alien and, they are older than dinosaurs.
To start the new season, we are introduced to the Omec; a cannibalistic Votan race. T’evgin (Conrad Coates) and his fanged daughter, Kindzi (Nichole Galicia) need the precious gulanite to restore power to their ship, Tsuroz. They view Earth as their very own smorgasbord and, humans are the main dish. The Omecs have a really bad reputation amongst their fellow Votans and, Berlin and Amanda have a hard time keeping the town from lynching the newcomers.
If you think it is easy making up alien names for the alien characters on “Defiance,” think again. I’m writing an apocalyptic series that features aliens, and giving names to aliens, alien planets, and alien objects, is freaking hard. I admire the people, who over the years were able to do this with shows like “Star Trek,” Star Wars, and “Defiance.”
After entering Rafe McCawley’s mine, T’evgin releases Nolan and Irisa from their seven month hiatus inside a globe. I don’t know about you, but having an umbilical cord stuck to my head is downright disgusting. Things go wrong when Kindzi tries to eat Nolan. T’evgin saves Nolan and Irisa, but they soon find themselves teleported to a snowbank outside the town. How they got there is never explained, which is unfortunate because it made the whole scene seem rushed.
In fact, most of episode one and two seemed rushed. Irisa is afraid to fight, afraid to hurt people, but we don’t get enough time to delve into this fear and we aren’t told how that globe kept them alive, or why it was hooked up to their brains. Did they dream? Weren’t they hungry? Irisa and Nolan spent seven months inside that bubble and their muscles showed no signs of atrophy?
This was a great time to explain some alien technology, but it was skipped over. We learn that there is a book about Irisa called The Amazon Goddess of the Badlands. It’s mentioned a few times, but we are at a loss as to why she’s seen as a hero to some and a traitor to others.
The Town
The E-Rep is gone and Amanda’s in charge again, but the town is falling apart and the stasis net is down; the town is open to attack. With the gulanite mines out of service, Defiance townsfolk are leaving in droves. Berlin is now the Lawkeeper and she’s hunting for Irisa’s head. In case you forgot, Irisa was under the control of the Arkbrain and was blamed for the destruction of New York and possibly Tommy’s death. Even Dr. Yewll wants to abandon ship. Although Amanda convinced Yewll to stay, the good doctor is going to regret this decision.
Defiance has a new enemy in the form of a Votan Collective Castithan ‘Mad Max‘ type of guy, General Rahm Tak (Lee Tergesen). This alien likes to eat human ears and stick human heads on poles. Just the type of enemy that season three needs to add some spice to the show. Tak has taken my favorite alien couple, Stahma and Datak, the Boris and Natasha of the alien world, prisoner. He wants them to spy on the humans. He wants to take over Defiance one head or ear at a time.
Granny from Hell
Pilar is back and contrary to her claims that she is a loving mom, she is everything but. She and Quentin hold Christie, Alak and half-breed baby Luke prisoner. We are left wondering what had happened since we last saw Pilar and why she felt the need to chain her daughter and Alak to the cabin floor.
Linda Hamilton plays her Pilar like a mad hatter helicopter parent. She hogs the infant Luke to herself, and from the few times we did see Christie with her child, it wasn’t long enough. Pilar is a self-centered woman and she is dangerous to everyone around her. Pilar and Alak are away from the cabin when General Tak shows up.
The Votans
While the Omec, Kindzi, doesn’t hide her hatred of humans and other Votans, T’evgin keeps his cards close to the chest. When Kindzi is attacked by an angry Votan mob after she kills a young boy, Amanda and Nolan surprise me by eagerly slicing some Indogene skin from Dr. Yewll to heal Kindzi. Yewll is upset and I don’t blame her.
Conclusion
I had always enjoyed the Romeo and Juliet theme surrounding Christie’s and Alak. Stahma and Datak tolerated the human girl only because she made their son happy. Rafe tolerated Alak because it made Christie happy. But then, Christie got pregnant. Everybody loves babies, so I expected the Tarrs and McCawleys to be one big happy family, but it was Rafe who put his life on the line for Christie and the baby.
General Rahm Tak might prove to be a worthy opponent for the town of Defiance. Lee Tergesen’s character is not only a scary madman, but he is also funny. General Tak was more impressive than the Omec characters. Tak quickly and unexpectedly, for a season premier, kills Rafe and Quentin. It was left to Stahma to kill Christie.
Jaime Murray has always played her Stahma like an alley cat. We’ve learned to expect how easy it is for her to kill. We’ve seen her in action before and that’s why we love her. General Tak gives Stahma a choice: kill the human or Datak dies. In a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, we can almost hear the gears turning in her head. Life would be much easier if she got rid of hubby. But, from the corner of her eye, she sees the baby hidden in the closet. Goodbye Christie. Poor Alak and baby Luke are now stuck with Pilar.
Quentin’s, Rafe’s and Christie’s death were shocking in that we never expected important characters to die so quickly and so soon into the new season. We were left to question Pilar’s decision to steal baby Luke from his father. Why would Pilar do this? Why not stay together? That scene made it feel like I’d walked into a room at the end of a conversation; unfinished.
Amanda has made a deal with T’evgin. He can mine for gulanite, but he has to share it. The Tarrs have made a deal with General Tak. The stasis net is repaired, but the wolf might already be inside the hen house. I’m hoping that the writers for “Defiance” won’t rush us through the other episodes. A good plot is like a fully loaded cold fire weapon; deadly.
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