'Defiance' Recap: 'The World We Seize' and 'The Last Unicorns'

Courtesy Syfy
BY DAWN FEAKES

At the end of Defiance's last season, Pilar kidnapped Alak and a pregnant Christy, Irisa blew up New York but saved the world and Datak, Rafe, and Stahma undertook an epic roadtrip of true odd-couple proportions. Let's do this.

Seven months have passed after the mine caved in and oh look, new aliens are in orbit complete with daddy issues and power needs. Maybe the new girl and Irisa can have some angsty teenager bonding. Amanda's back in power after the Earth Republic left town following the loss of the mines, the opportunistic assholes. Because the mines are buried, there is no power source so the stasis nets are down. Huh, maybe the ER had the right idea after all.

Never fear though, the Need/Want still has power thanks to the girls who are between clients and some strategically placed bikes. Doc Yewll is gambling, desperate people are robbing, and the town is a hairsbreadth away from complete anarchy.  The new aliens in town find the Votan ark buried under the mines and the dying safety pods. They release the pod with Nolan and Irisa, saving them but then the girl tries to eat Nolan and take his gun. Waking up, he gets knocked out (again) and is left in the snow. Man, he's had a really bad year.

Stahma, Rafe, and Datak track Pilar, Quentin, Alak and Christy to Pilar's family's cabin in Oklahoma. The baby's been born so that's good and like any good grandmother, Stahma promises Pilar will die an excruciating death if the kids have been harmed. And even if they haven't been. Doesn't seem to bother her either way. Pilar is not letting baby Luke out of her sight and really Pilar, how will Christy and Alak learn to parent if you don't give them some space? It's almost like you want a do-over with a kid. With their ride spotted by the local death squad, it's on to Plan B - pretend Rafe is a Castithan hostage and talk their way into the camp. Alas, Rahm Tak the Beast is in charge and hasn't been too impressed with the Tarr's contributions to the Votan Collective but hey, it's a new day and you're just in time to join the cause of burning Defiance to the  ground. Delightful!

Yewll is leaving Defiance as what the town needs is a sensitively worded obituary but Amanda and Berlin guilt her into staying. You're probably going to regret this Doc. Out in the woods, Nolan and Irisa try to make sense of where they are and what the hell happened when they see a communications flare go up. Secret's out that the stasis nets are down so this is the perfect time for Tak to attack (I'll see myself out.) Tak, if you have to tell people that you aren't delusional, that's a pretty good indication that you are, in fact, bat-crap insane. Going after the spies, Irisa loses her nerve and has to be rescued by Nolan. Again. Girl, give yourself a break; your mind was broken into by a homicidal computer masquerading as a god. It could happen to anyone.

Pilar wan't leaving her family a second time so she took her family with her...however unwillingly. Eh, details, details.  Nolan and Irisa end up back in Defiance, yeah, you should stay in the car. Nolan finds Amanda and finds out that they've been gone for seven months and what do you mean the stais nets are down?! You gotta fix the power issue and quick cause the VC is coming for you and the ER said 'sayonara, sweetheart.' Irisa decides to wait outside the care as she's terrible at following directions and Berlin finds her. A Lawkeeper with an axe to grind about Tommy dying? Yeah, there might be some not-so-latent hostility present. There has to be some way to get to the mines as the purple skins brought Nolan and Irisa back to the surface. A quest!  Oh look, Nolan found his gun...and a bunch of flying orbs. Orbs with attitude as Amanda ends up tased. Oh, she's fine. It's just a flesh wound. Onward!

Leaving Amanda on the floor, Nolan and Irisa follow the orbs underground. No worries though, purple skin girl finds Amanda but it must not be lunchtime as she leaves her alone. Irisa is still no good in a fight so after they get their butts handed to them, Amanda comes to the rescue with a gut shot. Meanwhile, a VC patrol comes to the cabin where Christy and Quentin are with Luke as Pilar and Alak have headed out for a bonding moment. They hate humans but hate half-breeds even more so Christy and Luke hide while Quentin deals with the threat. The Beast is not impressed with Q's protestations and shoots him point-blank in the head. Well done, Pilar! Your vendetta against the Tarrs has cost the life of your kid. Now there is one. 'Prisoner' Rafe sees this and loses his mind; even Datak and Stahma look ill so you know it's pretty bad. The Tarrs are called on to help with the house search and Rafe escapes. Don't do anything stupid Rafe. The Bastard, sorry, Beast, isn't buying the cover story and Christy chooses that moment to make a noise and get herself caught. This won't end well. Rafe gets ahold of a gun and goes in, gun ablazing and gets himself lit up like a Christmas tree. Right in front of his daughter who then proceeds to cuss everyone out in Castithan. Tak doesn't take kindly to her diatribe and offers Stahma a choice: kill the human with Datak's blade or he'll kill Datak. Make your choice but try not to think of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Alak and Pilar return just in time to see Stahma slice Christy's throat. Datak has never been so disturbed. Or turned on.

Alak is distraught. and hears Luke crying. Chrisy saved their baby. Rafe is somehow alive long enough to see his grandson then he too dies. Alak isn't the only one in shock.

Hey Doc, remember how you wanted to get the hell out of Defiance? It was a good instinct as boy does Nolan have a patient for you. It's the only thing I've ever seen shake the good doctor. So what is she? An early Votan race and your best bet is to let it die or kill it with fire because half dead is still alive. Either will do. They preyed on the other Votan races every 76 years as part of the Dread Harvest. The Omec are real...and dangerous...and here. Oh goody. There was a glaring power void since the Earth Republic skipped outta town.

Datak tries to manage the Beast who is having none of it. For someone who hates everything human, he has certainly taken a liking to the finer things Earth has to offer such as country music but make no mistake; anything Datak does to displease him will result in Stahma losing body parts. So, no pressure Datak.

Pilar, Alak and Luke find a trailer and Pilar goes to ask for help whereby 'help' she means 'kill them all.' Gramma gonna take care of her grandson and Alak looks like he wishes he had never heard of humans.

Papa Omec is looking for his daughter and props to Amanda to laying a deal on the table and not flinching when he tries to go all cannibal-ly. Call me 'T'evgin.' Are you done with your tantrum now sir? You want your daughter, we want power restored...do we have an accord? You guys better hurry this up because his girl Kindzi is not finding the accommodations much to her liking and after being taunted by some local boys, puts a stick through the youngest's eye and breaks out of her cell. Oh crap. On the bright side though, this one wasn't Irisa's fault so there's that.

Kill the Omec! Well, the town needed a rallying point to distract them. Alak and Pilar have some quality bonding time and her admitting that she tried to poison her kids years ago does not give him the warm and fuzzies. It's cool though, she learned to look beyond her own needs to take care of her family...all of whom save Luke is dead but details, details. Sadly, Alak is useless so just follows along. Psst. Alak? You can't reason with crazy. Just so you know.

There's a lynch mob after Kindzi; T'evgin is out for blood and Nolan is protecting the Omec. Drinks? Wait, if Berlin is the Lawkeeper now, where the blazes is she? The Tarrs are plotting to kill the Beast and Pilar is plotting to leave Alak. Well, at least he doesn't have to travel with his crazy ex-mother in law now. On the downside though, she took the baby. I think Pilar needed a few more decades in lock-up.

T'evgin and Nolan bring Kindzi to the OR and Yewll has to put aside her prejudices. Or be forced to give up some of her hide for protoforming. Shockingly, Doc is not down with this plan but if Kindzi dies, the town dies so Amanda says 'pony up, beyotch.'

Kindzi is okay but T'evgin has to reprimand her now. Honey, we're slightly outnumbered here. Gotta play it cool until the rest of the family is awakened and then vengeance will be theirs. It's game time though so T'evgin accepts Amanda's proposal for sharing the power source when the father of the Castithan boy who was killed starts taking pot shots. You guys didn't really think he was just going to accept his son being murdered, did you? Have you ever actually met a Castithan before? Displaying personal growth we never imagined possible, Irisa uses her words to defuse the situation when Nolan goes 'NOPE' and puts a bullet in his head. Irisa is having a really, really bad day.

Datak and Stahma go to 'visit' Tak who decides that they can infiltrate Defiance together because he's lucked into a new ace in the hole: Alak. Dammit Alak.

Pilar has Luke, Defiance has power, Irisa is loathed for having caused so much death and revered for saving the world, Doc Yewll is nursing a helluva grudge and a hole in her back and the Omec? Well, there are millions of them in hypersleep orbiting the planet. Buckle up y'all; it's about to get real.

Tune in to Syfy on Friday, June 19th at 8 p.m. ET for 'Broken Bough.'