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| Courtesy Syfy |
On this week's "Defiance," secrets are kept, angles are played and Scratch from "We're Alive" joins the town in spirit. Let's do this.
With the stasis field finally working again, you would think the town would be more safe from the Votanis Collective but according to the soldiers manning the gate, you would be wrong. Constant vigilance! They can stop the Votan but are they any match for an increasingly jittery teenage driver who has become the avenging weapon of the Irathient God Izru? I think not. Fortunately, Nolan recovers control of the car in time to stop before plowing into the fully functional force field. Sadly, their reputations precede them and they are relieved of their weapons. And journal which pisses Irisa off more than losing her knives. Almost as much as the captain when Nolan tells her that he's always wanted to visit Berlin. Wait, her name is Berlin. Oh, Nolan. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.
Who haven't we seen yet this new season? Christie! And boy do we see a lot of Christie as she's enjoying family bath time (Drink!) with Stahma and Alak. Questionable taste in husbands aside, Christie is no fool and challenges Alak about him becoming like his folks. Uh, Christie? Castithans really don't like being questioned by women. Alak handles it with his usual tact, storming out telling her to stop acting like such a...a...human. The nerve of her! Suddenly married life isn't that attractive.
Over in the prison, Datak and Doc Yewll put their escape plan into action which involved Datak humbling himself in front of another Castithan as that always works out splendidly. Meanwhile in Defiance, someone is working with worms and a giant crab pinata. Fiesta! Stahma and Pottinger meet up in marketplace; he's going after the Blue Devil business - it's too popular and his soldiers are becoming addicted. Can't have that. He can offer her Datak's release if she steps aside. Shockingly, Stahma declines as it's safer for him in prison..for now. The steel is beginning to show through the cracks in the deferential exterior and I doubt anyone is ready for Castithan women to rise up.
Welcome home Irisa! Here's a jail cell for you! As Irisa is an enemy of the state, Nolan needs to see the mayor to secure her release. Who does her run into in the mayor's office but Amanda...who easily shifts between mayoral Chief of Staff and proprietress of the Need/Want with the removal of her black lace veil. Ladies, take note. Nolan likes what he sees as does half the population of Defiance but no matter, a bomb has exploded in the marketplace! Damn those crab people!
That crab packed a powerful punch thanks to the shrell used in them. Order must be restored to Pottinger's perfect kingdom so the perpetrator must be found immediately. Amanda being Amanda offers up Nolan's tracking services for use playing the 'we'll release Irisa if you help us' card. Lawkeeper Tommy is all, 'um, hey, over here' but Amanda shoots him down. He's second best to Nolan again and is clearly starting to resent it. Nolan has 24 hours to crack the case or Irisa's release is off the table so no pressure. Sorry Tommy, but I have really important job for you: guarding Irisa. But without your gun because I need it. Kthanxbai. No jailhouse rock for him though as he's moved on with a different life. YOU DIDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE! Even stung by his rejection, Irisa confides that there's something wrong with her and she's scared. Hon, that's not really a secret; we've know that there was something wrong with you for a long time. She'll show him everything though as all answers are in the mines. I'm going to have to remember that one to use at work.
Speaking of the mines, Nolan interviews Rafe when a miner unleashes a bunch of shrell. Cleverly deducing a clue, Nolan goes off to track the miner who removed them from the mines to use against the soldiers. Good idea except for the whole not-hurting-any-soldiers-but-doing-a-bang-up-job-on-civilians thing.
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Yewll and Datak begin to put their plan into motion. Halfway to the holy man, Doc is stopped by the mayor's men wanting a word with her. What do you know about what Colonel Marsh was doing? Well, see, he was obsessed with a prophecy and this girl and I had to cut her open. You know, crazy end of the world stuff. Less than impressed with her flippancy, Pottinger pulls a Scratch and cuts off one of her fingers. Apparently Indogenes bleed snot.
Back in the Need/Want; Nolan visits Amanda for drinks and info and maybe something else (nudge nudge wink wink say no more). So where's Kenya? Amanda knows she's dead but can't quite face it yet. Running the Need/Want isn't so bad; no council meetings, no complications, just sex. Well okay then. She'll thank him properly once he catches the bomber who frequents the bar. And the chase is on! Nolan and Berlin (huh? Where did she come from?) follow him but lose him in tent city where no one looks happy to see them.
With Doc in shock, Datak relieves her of the knife she was supposed to give to the Castithan holy man and does it himself. The holy man attacks Pottinger when Datak heroically takes the knife back from him thus 'saving' Pottinger's life. Grateful but not stupid, Pottinger sees right through the hero ploy so Datak tries a different tack - couldn't you use a man who convinced another man to commit murder then killed him when he went to do the job on the outside? A man who knows his place in the world and is resourceful and cunning? Why yes, Pottinger could use such a man...in 10 years when his sentence is up. Oh snap!
One change the ER made that is useful was placing security cameras all around the town so off to the control room we go! Searching through video footage, Berlin insults Nolan by characterizing him as a Happy Cowby and 3/4 of the western world by sneering at Star Wars. He thrives in these conditions while she joined up with the ER to avenge her mother and brother and bring security to those who need it. Good thing she can multitask as she finds the perp ducking into Skeevy's trailer. Re-energized, they surround the trailer and catch both. Nolan takes note of the evidence of a second bomb and when asking nicely where it is doesn't work, puts Skeevy's head through a window. Where is it? Under Stahma's car apparently. Wait, what?
Nolan and Berlin on the run...again...in a race against time and we discover he is a terrible hurdler. He yanks Stahma out of the car and with 10 seconds to defuse the bomb, has to pull the right wire. He does of course and Stahma, recovering from her shock, hails him as a hero. The crowd reacts to Nolan the same way, effectively cancelling out the previous suspicion and we see just how much power Stahma wields.
Amanda may not have to attend council meetings anymore but she does have to get ready for work and no outfit is complete without a lacy black veil and a snort of Blue Devil. Pottinger brings her drugs and documents so it appears that her secret...isn't. But then takes them back because he's an asshole. Stahma blames Alak for the attack on her delicate person, seeing it was Skeevy's revenge for his beatdown and now he must rectify it. Alak is less than thrilled with his options; being man of the house is infinitely less fun than playing with his records. He is having a really bad day. Sprung from jail, Irisa goes to make good on her promise to Tommy and Nolan approves which is the kiss of death in any teenaged relationship.
Alak has to kill Skeevy and he can't do it; it's just not him. Sensing weakness, Skeevy grabs for the knife and we all know how this is going to end right? Proving that the taunt 'chicken' transcends all races, Alak kills him when Skeevy taunts that he can't do it. Does this mean that Alak has been 'made' now? Pottinger congratulates Nolan on cracking the case but he wants no part of it. Amanda knows that he's the best person to be Lawkeeper as he'll act as a barrier between the ER and Defiance. Citing the British occupation of India as nothing more than a blip on the timeline of history, they have to do what they don't want to do to keep the town safe because things could change tomorrow. Considering the drugs coursing through her system, it's a fairly logical argument. He'll think about it but there's really no doubt here - she knows him better than he knows himself. But come on, Happy Cowboy, let me welcome you back properly with Mayor Creepy watching through Felix the Cat. Looking for Tommy, Irisa finds him with his new lady love. He certainly did move on. And up - and into - Berlin.
Tune in to Syfy next Thursday at 8 p.m. ET when Irisa fights back against Izru and Stahma plots with Alak to keep Datak in prison which all will go amazingly well, I'm sure.