Defiance S03 E03: The Broken Bough

“Defiance” is back and the Tarrs are already in trouble. On the last episode, they were forced to spy for General Tak and if they don’t, Alak’s head will be stuck on a stick. Will the Votan Collective succeed in talking over Defiance?

Amazon Goddess

The show begins with Nolan teasing Irisa about the book that’s been written about her, even though they’ve been missing for seven months, Irisa’s become a paperback hero. She’s the ‘Amazon Goddess of the Badlands.’ I think that book reminds us that this show is all about Nolan and Irisa and how they survive in a sci-fi western. It’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly with aliens. I’m really enjoying Grant Bowler’s Nolan and how he plays the befuddled father figure.

Bad Choices

Stahma and Datak return home. They’ve lost everything and they no longer have the power they once had. Datak tells a different story than what really happened, and Amanda is sending Stahma daggers with her eyes. Amanda hasn’t forgotten about her sister’s murder. They have unfinished business. You got to love Stahma’s alligator tears. Nolan decides to do his own spying and maybe kill a few VC along with the horrid General Tak, but can he count on Iris? She may be a hero in the paperback novel, but she’s been having a problem with killing people

I want to know what kind of crystals Andina was using in the communal bath. Although hubby is throwing his weight around once again, Stahma just sits back in the tub and sprinkles a little crystal into the water, leaving Datak clutching what’s left of his dignity. Stahma may be regretting her choice from the last episode. She should have let Tak kill Datak. The Tarrs contact General Tak’s headquarters to warn about Nolan’s arrival. Alak Tarr is more honorable than his parents and gets a beating for it.

Nolan and Irisa happen upon Pilar and notice the baby. There is no mistaking that this baby belongs to Alak and Christie. Nolan and Irisa play along, but they don’t trust Pilar and she doesn’t disappoint. Linda Hamilton makes her character unlikable. She caused Christie’s death. She kidnapped her daughter and placed her in General Tak’s path, now Christie is dead and if that wasn’t bad enough, she stole the baby from his father. What else can she mess up?

Irisa

Irisa may be suffering from post traumatic stress disease and that might be why it’s so hard for her to take a life. She’s not the killer that we grew to love, but a traumatized little girl. After they tie up the pesky Pilar, Irisa, showing her maternal instincts, takes the baby with her. Irisa is showing a different side to her personality this season and I’m curious to see where it will lead her.

Sabotage

Berlin stopped Datak from taking weapons from the arsenal, but Datak wasn’t taking. He was leaving a little something behind. Oh yeah, the Tarrs are back to their tricky little selves and don’t we just love when they are. While Datak promises Amanda that he’ll enlist the help of his criminal friends and join forces with the humans against the approaching VC, Stahma is hitting on T’evgin. What are Boris and Natasha up to now?

Conclusion

I didn’t expect Irisa and Nolan to infiltrate the Votanis Collective so easily, but they did. They probably would have wiped out the enemy if Irisa didn’t hesitate to kill Tak and, if that pain in the butt, Pilar didn’t get out of her restraints and attack Nolan as he was about to take his shot. I was actually happy to see Pilar die. At least I think she’s dead. You never know with Pilar.

Thanks to Stahma flirting with our purple people eater, we find out that the Omec ships were sabotaged. I’m guessing it was the Castithan race that did this. T’evgin claims that he’s not out for revenge, but everyone lies on this show. Everyone has their own agenda.

Nolan should have taken Berlin with him. Irisa has become too soft, too unreliable. The Collective is equipped with a net cutter and Volge automatons and after that failed assassination, General Tak is out for blood, heads, and ears.

Their grandchild was returned to them, but the damage is already done. Datak’s implanting the shrill within the arsenal has left the town defenseless. Stahma and Datak receive another message from Tak… blow up the St. Louis Arch. Yep! Season three is going to be good. Let the best team win.