Defiance S03 E06: Where the Apples Fell

On last week’s episode of “Defiance,” we saw some very steamy alien sex and a whole bunch of teenage angst. Stahma and Nolan are in the dog house with their kids. Can Stahma talk her way out of this mess?

Sired Angst

Parents, in their teenage children’s eyes at least, can do nothing right. Last week’s theme carries over to this episode. Alak would have probably killed his own mother if Datak did not come to the rescue. Alak loved Christie. Towards the end of last season, I had doubts especially with Andina flirting with him, but his time in captivity under Pilar and, the birth of his son only sealed his loyalty to his wife.

If Stahma and Datak thought that Alak would not reveal their working for General Tak and the collective, they were in for a surprise and so were we. Maybe it was Stahma and Datak’s attempt to keep baby Luke with them; to keep Alak a prisoner in their home? When Andina arrives with Nolan, Alak tells him everything about his parents and, General Tak. Did we ever expect Alak to betray the sly and foxy Tarr family? Was he right to do so? I like this new Alak and I can’t wait to learn more on Berlin’s old boyfriend, Conrad Von Bach.

Family

Even Attila the Hun had family. Just because you’re a conqueror doesn’t mean that there isn’t a wife or children waiting home for you. General Tak gets a surprise visit from his wife, Volubela, and she has a message from Vice Chandler Voske. Will the head-spiking-ear-eating, Tak, like this message? It was cool to hear Tak bring up David Bowie and his music. I’ve always felt that pop music is, and has always been, the gateway between cultures.

Speaking of families and their customs, we learn some interesting and disturbing information about Omec families when Nolan and Alak go visit T’evgin. While Nolan is asking T’evgin to use his ship’s satellites to locate the fleeing Tarrs, Alak gets a good whiff of a familiar scent. If we wondered if Kindzi was okay with the sexual romps between dad and Stahma; she wasn’t.

Alak is upset to learn that mommy dearest was cheating on dad with the Omec. That is understandable, although he should be accustomed to his parents’ infidelity by now. What wasn’t expected was Kindzi’s jealousy. Omec men bed family and friends alike… big gross out… but it appears that incest is normal in the Omec families.  Nolan and Alak leave when they realize that T’evgin is unable or unwilling to help.

While on the run, we see a new side of Datak. He’s a bastard, we can all agree on this, but he loves Stahma. What we’re reminded of in this episode is that Stahma loves herself. She has her own agenda. She kills a peacekeeper while getting some of her hidden treasures.

Conclusion

I like where the writers of this show are going in this season. The biggest enemy we sometimes need to face is not the invader that threatens to take over our town, but the people we call family. Alak’s love of Christie and his son, Luke, has opened the boy’s eyes. He sees his parents for what they are. He even played along with Nolan to trick his father into giving up more information on General Tak.

Alak, who up to this season, was introduced to us as the spoiled son of powerful people, has grown up. Maybe it was the love he had for the human, Christie, or maybe, it was fatherhood. Children, because of their vulnerability, force us to think and act like adults. Their helplessness and their cuteness make us look outside of ourselves. They become more important than our very lives. We are willing to die for them; pushing the inbred act of self-survival into a closet and forever locking the door.

Irisa has finally faced the truth about Nolan’s bad parenting. She’s still raw from the shared visions she had while under the influence of the arktech, but little Luke is helping her to heal. Alak is surprised, but happy that it was Irisa and Nolan who saved his child from the Mad Hatter, Pilar. I am hoping these two wounded children will develop a friendship and help each other heal.

Datak went to Dr. Yewll for help, and once again, we were treated to wonderful dialogue. The creators of the show are allowing Yewll to show off her wit and I love it. When Datak tries to keep her from shouting out and alerting the peacekeepers, Yewll says, “I hope you washed your hands. It’s the flu season.” I hope to see more Yewll humor on this show.

General Tak may love David Bowie music and, he might have loved his wife, but he loves conquering, more. This is a sick man who gets off looking at human heads on a spike during coitus. Volubela’s pleas for Tak to come home to his family and the Vice Chandler’s order to not attack Defiance fall on deaf ears.

Tak kills his wife and tells his soldiers that she was a spy for the humans. He may have the support of some of the Votans who live in Defiance. Not every alien is happy living under human rule. Volubela and Tak did bring up an interesting theory. Did the collective know that earth was already inhabited? Tak thinks so.

After Datak is captured and jailed, Stahma tries to force Amanda into helping her. Amanda reminds Stahma why she wouldn’t. Stahma is severely injured in a fight with Amanda and goes to T’evgin for help. I am dying to see what Kindzi has to say about that.

Sired Angst Part 2

Nolan, through his shared visions with Irisa knows that he sucked big time as a father. He’s hoping that this failure hasn’t permanently damaged the relationship with his daughter. He really does love Irisa and he wants to be a good father. Alak is wondering if he can do right by his son. He wants to be different than his parents. Isn’t that what we all say? We want to be better than the people who raised us. Sometimes we succeed, but… most times… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

See you next week, my little Votans. Give your parents a hug. They’re only human.