'Defiance' recap: 'The Serpent's Egg'

Courtesy Syfy
BY MELISSA HARKNESS

Last week gave us hookers in danger, lies about Catholic saints and alien arts and crafts. This week Defiance delivers unto thee snakes, polygamy and lying politicians. How about lying politicians are polygamous snakes? Hey, that works too!

Aww, Alak Tarr is a DJ. He abandons his headphones though because the Overland Transport has arrived. This “coach” is the only means of contact with the outside world. It's a good 'ol time in Defiance town tonight! The good news is that Nolan and Amanda are getting on the coach for a little business trip with a side of prisoner transport.

 The prisoner is Rynn, our not very friendly Hellbug breeder. Only an Earth Republic ambassador and her two husbands also shows up to ride the coach. Seriously, two husbands? Egads! Amanda confides to Nolan that she has considered group marriage. Apparently, she doesn't believe in true love and having two husbands would help her do her job more effectively. I have to disagree, but I do admire the show's exploration of polyandry in the alien apocalypse. Nolan, on the other hand, admires the benefits of group sex, but looks like he's holding out for true love ladies.

Irisa and Tommy have been left at home to hold down the fort. Of course, this means that Irisa will probably kill someone. Oh, look! There goes a potential victim now! A Castithan gentleman arrived in town via the coach. Irisa finds something terrifyingly familiar about the man and follows him into the Need/Want. After turning down some company from one of the staff he leaves the bar. He doesn't get far before Irisa kicks him in the gonads and carts him off for a little one on one time. She calls him Dygo and thinks he tortured her as a child; a claim he vehemently denies. However, when she goes through his things, she finds a skull-shaped medallion. He claims to be a poor jewelry merchant and he bought the pendant in a market. Unfortunately for him, Irisa doesn't believe him. She tells him, that it's the Devouring Mother, and he wore it while he tortured her.

While Irisa is busy torturing Castithans, the coach gets hijacked by bandits. They take the money that Nolan and Amanda are transporting and then start in on the ambassador. They shoot one of her girly husbands for her scrip chip. A scuffle ensues and the bandits end up with the ambassador, while everyone else is holed up in the disabled coach. Rynn is highly amused by this turn of events.

Irisa takes a break from punching on the guy she has duct-taped to a chair and makes a quick trip to the market. Tommy spies her marching along carrying a large burlap bag. Well, Mr. Junior Lawkeeper follows her just in time to find her unbagging a large snake. He tries to interfere, but finds himself handcuffed to a pipe. When will Tommy Boy learn that Irisa is not a sweet little girl? Anyway, Irisa describes how this weird guy convinced her parents that she was special and meant for great things and that only he could prepare her for them. Apparently this meant torturing her while her parents watched. When Irisa fails to correctly recall the color of the man's eyes, the Castithan thinks he's convinced her. Until she picks up the snake and lets it bite him. Understandably, there is a lot of girlish screaming.

Speaking of girls, Nolan sets off to save the ambassador from the lone remaining bad guy and thereby impress Amanda. This doesn't quite work out as planned. While he does rescue her, Rynn manages to escape while everyone is busy. As night falls, the group huddles around a campfire, until the ambassador pulls out a gun and proves she really is an evil politician; even her husband is shocked. Luckily for everyone, as she is delivering her requisite evil monologue, Rynn shoots her.

Not to be outdone, our Castithan friend has been shown the light by the snake venom coursing through his veins and embarks upon his own evil monologue. He admits to everything. He believes that Irisa is the Chosen One, the embodiment of the Devouring Mother and essentially a destroyer of all things. All that was needed for the ritual to be completed was for her to kill a supplicant, but Nolan ruined it by leading his soldiers in and killing everyone standing around the screaming child-Irisa. The ringleader escaped of course and Nolan immediately comforted the poor tortured little girl. Aww, that was sweet. Well, after the torture part.

Anyway, Torture Man now understands that he was the sacrifice that Irisa needed to kill, and he implores her to do so now. Only, Irisa, ever the rebel, walks over and uncuffs Tommy. Since he confessed, it's time to take him to Dr. Yewll, but not before Tommy kicks the shit out of the bastard. Irisa gets him patched up and then turns him loose, considering an ordinary life a proper punishment. Tommy and Irisa take a moment to have a touching little chat and then makeout. I guess Nolan really shouldn't leave these kids alone.

Nolan and Amanda seem very self satisfied to see the ambassador being loaded onto a new coach. They just think she's headed to prison. Once she's on the transport. The guards uncuff her and she issues ominous instructions to find out every single tiny little detail of Amanda's life. Looks like we have yet another active enemy to deal with folks! I wonder if she'll get a few new husbands first?

The next episode of Defiance, "Brothers In Arms," airs Monday, May 20 at 9 p.m. ET on Syfy.