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'Bama's Observations for Die Me Dichotomy'
2nd Runner up for the Best Episode Review category in the 2002 Farscape Fanfiction Awards
By BamaGirl
Well, friends, the Season 2 finale was an emotionally charged episode, wasn?t it? For me, personally, I felt anger toward Scorpius (can this villain *ever* be killed?), elation for Aeryn and John (they admitted their love!), disappointment for the entire crew (everyone began going their separate ways), and complete heart-wrenching sorrow (the funeral and everyone's farewells to Aeryn were so moving). And to be quite honest, part of me doesn?t want to write this review because it means I have to experience those intense emotions all over again. But I'm gonna do this because so many thoughts are flying around in my head. And they'll keep on flying until I put them down on paper and share them with y'all!
And speaking of Season 3, I know that many of y'all love to speculate and analyze and try to figure out where TPTB are gonna take us. And that's fine. But that's not my intent with these Observations, though. Yeah, you may see me ask a rhetorical question along the way. And if you have an idea or opinion - *NOT* a spoiler, though, feel free to share it. Just don't expect any lengthy discussions from me, mainly because my Internet time is so limited for now.
I also have one correction and one comment from last week's Observations of LGaM3. In #75, I mistakenly said that Aeryn *kicked* John to knock him out when he was going to go back to Scorpius. 13thNight mentioned in her reply that she thought Aeryn hit him with the butt of her pulse rifle. I decided to rewatch the scene and 13thNight is right! It was *not* a kick. She *did* hit him with the rifle. Thanks 13 for pointing that out for me. And 30d954A, I *did* go to the addy you gave me and read your essay, "Frelling Yotz!". I really liked what you had to say on the subject and it helped me put a few things into perspective, too. Thanks for telling me about it and where to find it.
Now that I've gotten all that out of the way, here are my observations of Die Me Dichotomy. The opinions and interpretations expressed here are my own. Feel free to agree or disagree. All feedback is encouraged and appreciated. OK, enough of my procrastination! Let's get started.
1. Throughout this season, I have continued to sing the praises of the ladies and gentlemen of Animal Logic. Their excellent CGI work enhanced every episode. I hope y'all are "on board" for Season 3! Here were my favorites this week:
a) the opening scene of Talyn and Moya flying above the frozen planet;
b) Scorpius' image in the mirror and the mirror shattering;
c) John morphing into John/Scorpy clone;
d) the far away shots of Talyn and Moya above the planet (various views/angles);
e) the icy mountain scene of the medical facility;
f) the moment during John's exam where it changes from looking at the exterior of his head to the view of his brain;
g) the holographic image of D'Argo's "practice" marriage proposal;
h) the beautiful close-up of Talyn in flight;
i) the flight of John's module seen through Talyn's front portal;
j) the flight of the module over the frozen planet;
k) the flight of Aeryn's prowler in pursuit of John over the planet (all views, close-ups or long, superbly effective!);
l) the shot of the prowler with the module above and a sun in the background;
m) Aeryn's ejection from the prowler;
n) Aeryn's swift descent to the surface, trapped in her ejection chair;
o) the crash of the prowler on the surface;
p) the view of the tool entering John's brain to remove the neural chip.
2. I had asked earlier if anyone could help me determine if Zhaan's quarters were in the burned part of Moya. When the scene opens with Zhaan, I noticed the bell-shaped object that seemed to be the thing that she was "ringing" back in MtB. I think that confirms for me that her quarters must have been part of what was damaged. How interesting that as the designated protector of Moya, her quarters with her belongings were among what was destroyed.
3. If Rygel calls Zhaan a "blue bitch" one more time, I'm gonna have to hurt him!
4. I must confess that, in this case, I was just as guilty as Zhaan at misjudging Rygel. The way he talked about how they were going to use their wealth from the depository to pay for the fees to heal Moya, you'd think he came up with the idea. Maybe he did, stranger things have happened.
5. Poor tormented John. Neural chip Scorpy just won't give up on taking more and more control. And John can "break" the mirror over and over but it does no good. No matter how many times he may say "I'm in control of me!", it is painfully obvious that he's not.
6. I thought Aeryn's attempt to comfort John and help him regain his composure was very reminiscent of the scene in TWWW where John found Aeryn "making hamburger" of her hands on the punching bag. "There's no one here, John. You made yourself bleed."
7. Did you notice how tender Aeryn's voice became when she told John that they had reached the surgical facility? It's almost as though she's trying to will them both into believing that there's hope for removal of the neural chip.
8. How does Ben Browder do it? How does he get those big blue eyes to tear up, drawing you in and making you feel John's pain and despair? It gets me every time.
9. Aaack! That is *not* an image I needed to see! Ben dressed as a John/Scorpy clone hybrid?
10. OK, I know that the part of Diagnosan Tocot is credited to a guy (I'm sorry I can't remember his name right now). *But*, I want to know who did the little "sing-song" voice for the character. I kept wondering if Fran, Ben's wife, could have done it. Anyone heard or read who did it? No one was listed on the credits at the end of the episode.
11. What an interesting pair, this Diagnosan Tocot and his associate, Grunchlk. And everyone's mispronunciations of his name made me think that John certainly has rubbed off on his friends.
12. Anyone here familiar with the movie, "The Princess Bride"? If so, did Grunchlk remind you of a cross between the Albino and Miracle Max? LOL!!
13. I loved the cool eyeglasses of Diagnosan Tocot. I thought it was neat how they rotated and flipped up and down.
14. I totally cracked up at the look on Aeryn's face when Grunchlk corrected her pronunciation of his name! I don't think I've seen Claudia give that look before ? LOL!!
15. "I had to let an aunt die once because we couldn't afford to fix 'er." Grunchlk is like the sleazy used car salesman of the alien medical world.
16. Even though Chiana and D'Argo have become lovers, we can see that there's something amiss in their relationship now. Rather than enjoying spending time together, D'Argo seems to be trying to control her and make her "conform" to *his* way of living. She will not be too accepting of this for too long. She is too free a spirit to be "made" to conform. For example, when D'Argo tells her to leave Tocot alone, she just looks at him and then turns back to talk to Tocot and ask him about why he wears his mask. That's our curious Chi!
17. Eeeww! Did it appear to you that Tocot sneezed onto Grunchlk's fingers and that Grunchlk then licked it off his fingers?! Gross!!
18. How eerie did it seem to see John walking through the charred part of Moya looking like himself but acting like Scorpius?! But I must confess that a small part of me rather enjoyed seeing John/Scorpy clone smack Rygel in the corridor.
19. If D'Argo doesn't "lighten up", he's also going to alienate Jothee. Their newly reunited situation is tentative at best. But D'Argo is trying to make up for years of lost parenting time in only a few days or weeks. And since Jothee has been accustomed to being on the run and deciding for himself, he;s not going to accept this type of fatherly control, no matter how much he may love his dad.
20. You know how I love little details. I thought it was quite clever for them to include the brief exchange between Rygel and Aeryn in the midst of D'Argo's discussion with Jothee. Rygel goes to her to complain about what John did to him in the corridor.
21. So, the truth about Jothee's scars comes out. At some point during his recent past, he mutilated his Luxan features out of anger toward the father he didn't know. I wondered if there wasn't perhaps a double meaning to his statement, "It's OK. It doesn't hurt anymore, Father." Could it be that his pain and heartache have been lifted some because he found his father? Still, there's something nagging at me about Jothee. Something just doesn't feel right.
22. I know D'Argo was hurting emotionally when Chiana came up as Jothee was walking away, but did he have to treat her like a child?! This is the woman who has shared his bed. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at like she's a youth to be punished. I'm feeling the need to give D'Argo an attitude adjustment again?
23. Grunchlk has to be a liar and a cheat. I don't know if he and the Doc were working "an angle" together or not. Still, I think Grunchlk was out to make a tidy profit for himself.
24. OK, looking at the scene between John and Aeryn in the neural cluster with 20/20 hindsight, I realize that John really wasn't himself. He was a little too calm and rational compared to how he had been recently. Perhaps Aeryn should have been a little more wary of that, I don't know. Maybe she was hoping that her "pep talk" earlier had truly worked for John. The Scorpy chip worked successfully to convince Aeryn that John was reconfiguring the comm signal to track Crais instead of making it transmit their location to Scorpius. The chip even assured her that John was in control using her own words to John to do so. [Side observation: could Ben get any cuter than when he sings "The Ride of the Valkyries" theme?
25. But I *have* to believe that somewhere in the midst of the chip's deceptive tactics, the real John was there, too. The simple beauty of their intimate conversation was quite moving for me personally. I loved how Aeryn briefly rested her forehead on John's shoulder as she spoke of hope. Then we got another creepy shot of John/Scorpy clone to "ruin" the moment. Following that came some of the most touching words ever spoken, IMHO. "I would be lost without you." "Then you'll never be lost." (Did you notice how her eyes never left his, although at times it seemed he couldn't look her in the eye? That was the Scorpy effect, I'm sure.) "No matter what happens, you have worked your way into my heart." "You've shown me that I have one." [I'll explain a little later why this scene was so significant for me.
26. So, what is Crais up to now? Hmm... He and Talyn want her to join them; and if she chooses to do so, they'll tell her the truth. I'm sure the speculations are running rampant as to what this "truth" could be.
27. He may have done it as an act of rebellion against his father's wishes, but I was proud of Jothee's attempt to stop John/Scorpy clone. And did you notice that in a few of his lines it sounded as though Ben used the same accent for John that he used as "old John" in The Locket?
28. You can get a good idea of John's lack of hope about his situation from his response to Stark when he asks John how he's feeling. "Like a popsicle...down along the sphincter end of the universe." Classic Crichton, LOL!!
29. My thoughts exactly, John. Why *was* Crais present in the examination room? Oh, I know the excuse he gave, but I'm wondering if he didn't go there to find out John's condition to be used in the future, if necessary, in discussions with Aeryn. Hmm...
30. "happy-sounding little sing-song syllables" = "Get out of my way, you fur-wearing, metal-covered headed windbag, so I can examine him!" (
31. Kudos again this week to Henson's Creature Shop for another marvelous alien creature in Diagnosan Tocot. I was especially fascinated by his nostrils and how one's focus was drawn there when he removed his mask. And this was how it should be since he used his keen sense of smell to help in his diagnosis. Great work once again, ladies and gentlemen! I applaud your work throughout this season, as well.
32. One thing I wasn't quite clear on, though. Why, up until this point, did we hear Tocot in those unintelligible syllables? Shouldn't they have been able to understand him with their translator microbes all along? Hmm...
33. Woah! Watching the movement of the tendrils of the chip, totally cool and creepy at the same time! And I loved how Crais was curious and had to get a closer look.
Part 2
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