Defiance S03 E05: History Rhymes

On the last episode of “Defiance,” Amanda learned that she was the bio-men’s favorite porn star and, Stahma found a new playmate. Nolan and Irisa are in trouble and Dr. Yewll will need the help of the Omecs to save them. Who will keep the ear-eating, General Tak from taking over the town?

Remember

The show starts off with a trip down memory lane. Irisa is witness to an event in Nolan’s childhood. We learn that Nolan’s sister’s name was Rebecca and that the aliens arrived when he was a child. They are both trapped inside a dream, a shared dream. How this is possible we don’t know as of yet. We also witness along with Irisa how Nolan’s sister was murdered during the Pale Wars by one of the Votans. Elder and younger Nolan grieves the loss of Rebecca as Irisa looks on.

Datak and Stahma argue over the very virile Omec, T’evgin. I guess we can’t blame him. The sex scenes between Stahma and T’evgin are very steamy. Even though they need the Omec’s help, Datak wants him dead. I’m pretty sure Stahma is wishing that she hadn’t saved Datak from General Tak. I don’t particularly like the Datak character, but I do love the actor who so deviously plays him. Tony Curran portrays his Datak as a male chauvinist who belittles Stahma when he doesn’t get his way. He even stoops so far as to bad mouth Stahma to their infant grandchild. I’m thinking that Datak’s going to regret this later on.

The flashbacks continue with Nolan witnessing Irisa’s memories and they are so different than his. Nolan was in the Pale Wars and before finding Irisa, he was fighting the Votan Collective and killing any alien he came across. Why didn’t he kill Irisa? Was it her young age or was it because she was born on Earth? Irisa’s memories are mostly of her being forced to kill other Votans. They are not happy memories and Nolan is startled that he did not pick up on this. It’s about time that we see a more honest story about Nolan and Irisa’s relationship.

If we are wondering why we are sharing this flashback, it’s because Nolan is dying. Dr. Yewll realizes that the arktech inside Nolan’s and Irisa’s foreheads will not allow father and daughter to be separated. They need to find Irisa, but only Berlin knows where she is.

Afternoon Delights

I think Stahma is enjoying her little romps with that fine specimen of an Omec more than she would like to admit, but she also wants to rescue her son. Stahma tells T’evgin about a picnic that she took her son on when he was a very young child. She had promised Alak that she would always keep him safe. She has failed, but there’s still hope. T’evgin has a ship, but this alien is no dummy. Why risk his ship when he has a more grandiose plan in mind. While T’evgin is busy with Stahma, his daughter has agreed to share technology with Dr. Yewll that might save Nolan and Irisa.

Alak overhears General Tak making plans to buy some weapons from Pottinger. I’m surprised that Tak doesn’t know about Pottinger. Alak, looking every bit a prisoner of war, injures General Tak and makes his escape. He is heading home.

Conclusion

I enjoyed catching up with my shows today especially since I wasn’t able to watch them while on vacation. You can check on my recap of the season finale of “Penny Dreadful,” here. I like “Defiance.” It’s a great science fiction show, but sometimes the plot can seem a bit unconnected. That wasn’t the case with this episode. We got to see more of the fragile relationship that Nolan and Irisa have. I thought that nothing would ever come between father and daughter, but secrets can hurt. I’ve often wondered if it was easy for Irisa to kill one of her own. She isn’t human, even if a human raised her; she is and will always be an alien, a Votan.

While Dr. Yewll, using Kindzi’s Omec technology, operated on Nolan and Irisa, they continued to share memories and Nolan got the shock of his life when he sees that pre-teen Irisa tried to kill him one night. She was a child. Did he not realize how hard it was for her to kill another Votan? Nolan has to take a good look at his treatment of Irisa. In her eyes, he has failed her. He is a killer. She is not. They plan to separate after the surgery.

T’evgin has his moments with his own daughter, Kindzi. He is upset with her trickery. She has shared her technology with Yewll, but she has secretly copied our little Indogene’s cerebral source print. Papa Omec tells daughter to destroy the specimen. I doubt Kindzi will do as she’s told.

I love listening to Dr. Yewll’s rants and wisecracks. She is hilarious and I’m so happy that actress Trenna Keating is getting more air time. Dr. Yewll has to break the bad news to Nolan and Irisa that they won’t be able to part ways because she was only able to repair the arktech.

Stahma played her revenge against hubby’s putdowns with finesse and she did it by interfering with Datak’s plan of shooting T’evgin. Got to love Stahma, but she may not be able to talk herself out of Alak’s plans to cut her throat. He knows that she killed Christie.  It’s not a great time in the town of Defiance for parents or their offspring. See you next week, my little Votans.