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'Bama's Observations for Die Me Dichotomy', Pt2
Continuation of BamaGirl's award winning episode review.
34. I thought the exchange between Chiana and D'Argo before he started helping with the application of the numbing anesthetic was significant. She cautions him just as anyone would for someone they care about. But, again, he reacts like a father, not a lover. When she questions him as to what's the matter, *she's* the one who admits to trying to have a relationship. Let's face it. Between these two, when they first got together, which did we all think would want a relationship and later get their heart broken? D'Argo. But instead, for the moment anyway, his tension following the reunion with Jothee is driving a wedge between him and Chiana and he may break *her* heart *and* lose his lover and his son in the process. But I'm getting ahead of our story a bit...
35. When John and Aeryn were standing in the cryo storage area waiting for Zhaan and Grunchlk to join them, I noticed how far away she stood from him. I don?t want to read more into that than there should be, but I couldn't help but notice. And my hope expressed in #25 may be in vain as it appears that John doesn't remember much of their conversation in the neural cluster. And, of course, before Aeryn can find out what, if anything, he remembers, Zhaan and Grunchlk arrive. I loved the way John rolled his eyes when that happened.
37. What's this?! The bodies frozen in this medical facility are *alive*... Hmm... Makes you wonder how much traffic and activity goes on that this facility, too. Are there other Diagnosans there? Are there other patients? Just what kind of "scam" or "racket" could Grunchlk and/or Tocot be running here? Or is it all "honest" and "above board"? Hmm...
38. Loved the scene where Stark and D'Argo were bickering under the influence of the anesthetic. I was ROFL!
39. Uh-oh. Chiana finds out something about D'Argo while talking with Jothee in Pilot's den. D'Argo wants to buy a farm and settle down. The look on her face says a lot. That is clearly not the lifestyle she prefers to lead. In fact, her lifestyle more closely matches what Jothee wants to do. "He wants to live the quiet life. I want to live loudly." And besides, I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that Neeri is alive and she would still like to try to find him when it's safe. Chiana expresses her disappointment when she says that it'll be just the two of them who settle down. She figures she is "out of the picture" anyway, since D'Argo never discussed it with her or asked her what she might want to do. But hold on a moment, Pilot has a secret. And he decides to show Chiana a little something that D'Argo has been practicing a marriage proposal!
40. Kudos to Lani and to Pilot's handlers for their creative portrayal of Pilot "high"! It was perfect, and somewhat humorous, too. And the writers did a great job with his lines for how he misinterpreted what Chiana meant by "high", LOL! (I even wanted him to say "No, Chiana, I"m not so think as you drunk I am."
41. "Gun Shock" clearly does not appreciate Aeryn's interruption questioning him on when Tocot would begin operating on John's brain. There's something about him that gnaws at me for her safety later on. (Again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry.)
42. And just what *is* Rygel up to?! Hmm... Talking with Grunchlk about securing other passage. Of course, my first reaction was the obvious one, he's out for himself again. But for some reason, I want to hold off on judging him at the moment. Maybe like he said to Zhaan at the beginning, I make a "career" of that. We'll wait and see...
43. Maybe it *was* really John himself who started out the conversation with Zhaan about wanting her to absorb his thoughts so that if he didn't survive and they one day found Earth she could get a message to his father. *But*, John/Scorpy clone used those thoughts to manipulate Zhaan emotionally. Then when she joins with him in Unity, the Scorpy clone reveals himself to her. And he makes an interesting statement. He recognizes that she is a 10th level Pa'u *and* acknowledges that a 12th level Pa'u could break the bond he has with John. Now correct me if I'm wrong, be hadn't Zhaan attained the 11th level *way* back in Season 1 in Rhapsody in Blue? I didn't take time to recheck my tape, but I thought that after her Unity with Tahleen Zhaan said she acquired some abilities from her that took her to the 11th level. Wasn't that what enabled Zhaan to break the control that Tahleen was using to harm John as he tried to destroy the Sanctity Root in their temple? If that's true, what happened? Any thoughts on that?
44. There is *some* evidence of a changed Crais in his conversation with Aeryn on Talyn. But I just can't "let my guard" down about him yet. He told Talyn earlier that she could come with them only if it were of her own volition. Yet it seems like his whole tactic here is subtle manipulation of her newfound emotional traits that he observes in her. I didn't appreciate how he used Talyn "choosing her for emotional guidance" to get inside her head. He must certainly remember how disappointed she was when Talyn chose him back when he needed a captain. And now it appears, IMHO, that he's using that to persuade her to join them. And another thing, if he has realized in the last few episodes how much John means to Aeryn, why in the world did he try to "put the moves" on her?! Does he think she'll turn her back on John without even knowing if he'll survive? I could have misinterpreted what his intentions were before Talyn interrupted, but I don't think so.
45. Oh, dear. John/Scorpy clone has escaped and taken off in John's module. And for one brief lucid moment John tells Aeryn not to come after him because he's not in control. I believe he knew the Scorpy clone had enough control of him now that he would do absolutely anything to get John back to Scorpius. And if Aeryn came after him, she was risking her life in the process.
46. I could be wrong here, but I took Aeryn's "Thank you" to Crais as she left Talyn to be a polite way of declining the offer to join them. She appreciates being chosen, but her life lies with the man she's going to go try and save.
47. Kudos to David Kemper and his talented scriptwriting team for the dialogue between Aeryn and the Scorpy clone as each tried to outwit and intimidate the other in flight. Brilliant!!
48. Poor Zhaan. Her encounter with the Scorpy clone has left her quite shaken and fearing that the John she knows and cares about is no more.
49. We get a glimpse of how much D'Argo cares about John when he admits to Aeryn that he would hesitate to pull the trigger and kill John if their positions were reversed.
50. When Aeryn makes her last emotional attempt to connect with the real John, she, in fact, does hesitate. Letting her guard down in the hopes of making that connection, she failed to recognize that the Scorpy clone was willing to do whatever it took to preserve John's life for Scorpius. He would even "appear" to do exactly as she requested.
51. I did read some posts that seemed to believe that when the prowler and the module collided perhaps one or both crafts should have been sent spinning out of control. I don't know, and I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable with flight technology to discuss or speculate. I offer only this feeble theory. Perhaps PK technology on the prowler and the Moya add-ons to the module prohibited them from losing control in that manner. Just MHO. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for that.
52. I wonder what the crew will do now that the prowler and its offensive capabilities are gone.
53. I wondered how the Scorpy clone knew that Aeryn was descending over a frozen lake when I first watched this. Then it hit me. I know I'm jumping ahead but it's important. We find out later that Scorpius has been here before! It was Diagnosan Tocot who helped him with his unique physical needs resulting from the conflict between his Sebacean and Scarran traits. And depending on how much recovery time he required, he surely spent some time on or orbiting around the planet. That's how he knew about the frozen lake, IMHO.
54. Major kudos to Claudia and Ben for the beautiful heart-wrenching frustration they brought to life as Aeryn struggles to free herself from the chair and John, now in control of himself and the module, is powerless to help her. With tears in their eyes, their last words to each other broke my heart. "Baby, you're not gonna die like this. You are *not* gonna die like this." "I hope you meant what you said in the neural cluster...I did."
55. Superb editing from scene to scene brought out the desperate helplessness of everyone else after Aeryn crashes into the lake. And the silence of the soundtrack except for the roll of the timpani built the suspense as we, and they waited to see if she survived.
56. I will never forget the horrified look in John's eyes as a single tear spills over and begins to roll down his cheek. "Oh...God,...what have I done?"
57. Part of me wished there could have been enough time to devote to how they retrieved Aeryn's body. I want to know that they tried everything possible to revive her fully. But Kemper and company have left that to our imagination and speculation. I'm sure that he and TPTB will tell us what we need to know in time. But it sure is frustrating for now. And since we all know that Claudia is back for Season 3 and that they have been into production for a while now, it does take some of the sting out of losing Aeryn.
58. The funeral/farewell was indeed both beautiful and sorrowful to watch. The mournful sounds of the music set the tone perfectly. Zhaan's prayer to her goddess for Aeryn's passage to the next life. Crais' awkward, yet military stance beside the cryo container. Chiana's kiss of her hand, pressing it to her cheek. The tears on D'Argo's face as he, her fellow warrior, gives up his qualta blade for it to remain with her. Rygel's honoring her by speaking of her worth as he placed his royal medallion with her and wished her peace. The brief view of Pilot, perhaps offering a prayer to his own deity or to Moya's builder/deity. John's stoic countenance as everything takes place, finally joining the others with his own "Ament". Each of these combined to make a fitting farewell to Aeryn Sun.
59. When John walked to the side of the cryo container and asked D'Argo for his knife, my first thought was that he might do the Shakespearean thing a la "Romeo and Juliet" and attempt to end his own life. The looks on the others' faces indicate that they also thought he might try this. But D'Argo could see in his best friend's eyes and know that this wasn't the case. Instead, John bends down, asks her forgiveness, confesses his love, kisses her, and takes a small piece of her to hold onto, a lock of her beautiful raven hair. He does look at the knife, possibly considering taking the easy way out. Did you also notice Crais' reaction, the slight squint of his eyes? Surely he can understand now the depth of the love between John and Aeryn. And John doesn't take the easy way out. Instead, the strength he learned from Aeryn enables him to choose to go ahead with the attempt to remove the neural chip. And perhaps a seed of revenge is also birthed at this point in John. He wants the chip out of his head so that he can freely pursue Scorpius and avenge Aeryn's death.
60. In the close-up of John's face just before the removal procedure begins, notice the hollow stare. With Aeryn's death, a part of him has died, too. He will forever be haunted by the actions carried out by his body, even though he wasn't in control of it at the time.
61. I wonder why John chose not to have any of the others present during the procedure. Perhaps he thought the others blamed him for Aeryn's death and wouldn't support him. Or maybe he had very little hope for his own survival and wanted to die alone where Aeryn was.
62. Scary thought to have a doctor poking around in your brain that he has *no* clue about, while you stay awake to provide him with the information he needs.
63. Huge unanswered questions for the future, what information is on the PK chip that Crais and Talyn have and from whom or where did they obtain it?? What could possibly be on there that would bring a tear to Crais' eye and make Aeryn the happiest among them? I don't know that I like some of the possibilities...
64. I thought it was quite touching to see Zhaan comforting Pilot. I'm sure it had to be incredibly disheartening for him that he had no opportunity to make a personal farewell gesture to Aeryn like the others did. After all, she and he had forged a strong bond over the last two cycles.
65. I loved the slight smile on Zhaan's face as Stark asked if he could share the future with her. Zhaan is such a gracious lady, even if she is a plant.
66. LOL! Sometimes I'd like to forget American politics from Nixon to Clinton, too. Can't blame John for letting Tocot cut that one out.
67. I'm puzzled by Rygel's conversation with Grunchlk in the corridor of the medical facility. He's going to get the new ship he wanted, yet he seems almost regretful. I wonder what he's really got planned.
68. I want, no, I *need* to believe that John kept his memories of Aeryn intact. Please, oh, please, our dear brokenhearted John. Please have found the courage to want to remember her. The John I know is strong enough, even in despair, to do that.
69. OK, are TPTB setting up a D'Argo/Chiana/Jothee triangle? It kinda appears that way. If they do it without taking us to the realm of "soap opera", fine. And if anyone can avoid doing that, it'll be our cast and writing crew.
70. I loved hearing the hope return to John's voice as Tocot located the wormhole memories in his brain. But, of course, Mr. Kemper will not let us have a moment's peace to share John's hope. Lt. Braca and his marauder crew have landed. Scorpius will be there momentarily.
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