Holy Shaming Rack! On last week’s episode of “Defiance,” our favorite aliens were in deep Shtako. Datak is on the rack, Stahma might wish she were, Irisa flunked Amazon Goddess 101 and, Berlin has flown the coop with the king of bad shark movies. General Tak’s men have dug under the stasis net, but can Lieutenant Bebe masquerade as a human? Choose your friends wisely.
Datak
Our favorite rascally rabbit is still alive, but not for long. Strapped to the rack Datak has time to reminisce. What was little Datak like? Charge Blade in hand, little Datak practices his spiel and gives us insight into his mindset at a very young age.
He and his father argue constantly and they seem no different than their human counterparts. I liked that Tony Curran got to play the character of Datak’s father in this episode. I also liked that we got a peek of the world that Datak and Stahma lived on. Showing their background and their home planet made this episode extra enjoyable.
Stahma
While hubby is hallucinating, Stahma is dealing with the dangerous daughter of T’evgin. Why did Kindzi reveal her father’s plans? The past two episodes we see Stahma in a new light. She is frightened and outmatched by Kindzi, but don’t let Stahma’s fear mislead you into thinking that she is down and out. Stahma is at her most cunning when the cards are stacked against her.
Bebe
Our double agent, Bebe has infiltrated the town along with his comrades, and those injections did make him pass as human. Everyone is fooled into thinking Bebe AKA Chris Beckman is a good guy. I thought for a brief moment that Alak had sensed his real identity.
I was surprised that Datak was left on the rack even when the town was attacked. They could have used him in the battle, and yet, there he hangs. While Bebe befriends Nolan and the townsfolk of Defiance, his friends go through the town executing at will.
Nolan has to get his ragtag militia together. Irisa is now on board to fight beside her father, but how can the few stand up to the many. Nolan’s plea for T’evgin to join forces is turned down, but I think the time spent bedding Stahma and his respect for Nolan has done something to T’evgin. He is starting to like the people of Defiance and even saves a human family from execution by one of Tak’s men.
Bebe has been leading Nolan and his militia into a trap from the moment he arrived. After shooting Alak and almost killing Irisa and Nolan, Bebe blows up the mine where the militia waited for Nolan’s call to arms. There is a plan B, but Dr. Yewll reminds Nolan that it is a one way trip for the volunteer. Now I wonder who that volunteer will be.
Conclusion
Some series take time to build a large fan base, while others hit the ground running. It’s the risk a network and its sponsors take when presenting a new show. I always feel that a strong script and a great cast will help most fledgling series survive until the news gets out and, the fan base grows. “Defiance” is a great series: the cast is talented; the writing is superb and, the special effects are kick ass. But, I think this past season finally brought “Defiance” into its own. We had General Tak as the bad guy. Sure, he’s a mad man, but he’s a mad man with a warped sense of humor.
This year we saw our favorite characters grow in depth. While Datak values greed and ambition, his father treasured honor. With the passing of the charge blade, Datak’s father stayed behind on a dying planet. He was a man of honor. Datak is given a chance to prove that he too is an honorable man. All Datak has to do is walk into General Tak’s camp. The implant in his arm will get the stasis net to wipe out Tak’s army.
The Tarr family and the Votans of Defiance have been center stage this season and I love it. We watched Alak grow into his role as father and warrior. I like this new Alak and so does Irisa, who finally got the hang of being the Amazon Goddess that she is. Stahma stood her ground with Kindzi and T’evgin and, like I said in the beginning, Stahma is at her best when the cards are stacked against her. T’evgin has changed his mind about conquering the world. The bad news; Kindzi has not.
Dr. Yewll’s plan worked and the implant in Datak’s arm caused the stasis net to blow General Tak’s army to smithereens as The Doors‘ song, “When the Music is Over,” plays in the background. Oh, and don’t worry about our favorite rascally Castithan. Datak had no intention of dying. It cost him an arm, but damn! What a comeback!
See you next week, my little Votans.
