Back and Back and Back to the Future
Written by Babs Greyhosky
Directed by Rowan Woods
It took me a while to appreciate this episode. When I first watched this one, I was so frustrated at not knowing what was going on, that I was intent on hating an episode that could confuse me so much. But after a couple more viewings, I began to see why this was actually a good episode, and my confusion is gone.
For one, Matala is definitely a creepy villain. And I hated her. No, hated isn't a strong enough word. Have you read anything I've said about Gilina from the PK Tech Girl stuff? If you have, I hated Matala worse than I hated her. Yeah. That says quite a bit, doesn't it? From those flashforwards John has of her to the outcome of the whole situation, she's kind of scary, and I hate her. But that's the sign of a good bad guy for me to hate them so much. But I won't be begging anyone to bring her back.
One of the best scenes in this episode had to be that little sparring session between Matala and Aeryn. (Not a scene to watch while in the room with a guy whistling and screaming, "Catfight!" by the way.) We get Aeryn's ingenuity at finding out Matala's little secret, while also getting to see KickAssAeryn in action. Plus, that final bird's eye image of Aeryn lying unconscious on the Peacekeeper symbol is pretty damn creepy in itself. I'm also sure there's some symbolism there, but if I analyze that one, rest assured you will be reading for a long time.
The thing that bothered me at first about this episode was that I had no idea what was real and what wasn't. Now I see that that's the beauty of the episode. If the direction in episodes like Thank God It's Friday, Again and Through the Looking Glass brings us into the situation, being a part of John's flashforward has the same purpose. So although it was frustrating for me at first, it definitely worked for this episode. I think the purpose was actually to confuse the audience, which it succeeded in doing. Although maybe I had a strange reaction, considering I had to see this one about three times before I stopped hating it.
We also get a nice little insight into D'Argo in this one, and a nice job shoutout to Anthony Simcoe on this one. He's so into helping these people, and he wants Matala, and instead he kind of gets slapped in the face by this whole thing. You definitely have to feel bad for him. Not to mention that we know that his real crime is brought to light, although we don't find out exactly what it is yet.
GRADE: B
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