Human Reaction


Written by Justin Monjo
Directed by Rowan Woods


Okay. Upon hearing spoilers and seeing the promos I was excited about this episode. And I had good reason to be. At this point, I have seen only three episodes, but have already developed an emotional attachment to the characters, which made this episode all the more moving. (And if the writers don't use the events of this episode for all they're worth, gr...)

First off, I need to give MAJOR kudos to Ben Browder and Claudia Black for their work in this one, both together and individually. You can't see John's face upon seeing Earth, or Aeryn's discovery of rain and not tell me they don't have talent. Try it and I may have to pummel you.

This was described as the biggest shipper episode since The Flax, and I can see why. The relationship between John and Aeryn has clearly made a lot of headway, but I don't think I need to tell you that. You want more description on that? Go to the Shippy Moments page.

But it seems that the relationships between all the members of Moya's crew have come a long way. There was John's hesitation at going back through the wormhole, which if you're looking for even more in a shipper sense can be attributed to Aeryn, but it also has to be noted that for seven months, Moya has been his home, and he's developed relationships with the others that he probably doesn't want to give up. Then Aeryn, Rygel and D'Argo go toward the wormhole to "get a closer look," checking up on John (you can also say it's because Aeryn might just be curious to at least see where John came from). And needless to say (but I'm gonna say it anyway), John is adamant about protecting them, promising to take care of them.

If you really want proof of this, just look at their reactions to Rygel's "death." Yeah, maybe it's because they know that what happened to Rygel will probably happen to them, but again, whether they have issues with him or not, after spending that much time with someone, they would have to grieve over his death. When John and Aeryn team up to escape the base, Cobb tells them that D'Argo's off to that base in Utah and Aeryn's immediate reaction is to knock him silly with her gun. (By the way, go Aeryn.) And as they're leaving, John kicks him one last time "for Rygel."

And you know, I think they did this on purpose. I saw a lot of people's opinions of Rygel (including mine) change after Durka Returns, and then next episode, they "kill" the Muppet. Don't tell me they didn't plan that. Because if you do, I won't believe you.

Something also needs to be said about the languages we got to hear. Basically, I wanna learn Sebacean. Bet you've been trying to do that click thing, haven't you? If you haven't, you probably will now. I'm not sure it's Claudia doing it. It kind of sounds like some kind of dubbing, but then again, it can be done. I've tried it. (You can stop giggling at me now.) The click thing can be done, it's kind of hard to do, but it's possible. On the other hand, I've been really paying attention to the way her mouth moves when she talks, and it seems to move along with what you hear. I don't know. Continue your own clicking.

And then of course, The Scene. The direction throughout this episode was amazing (re: the scene where John gets back to Earth, or the last scene with the psuedo-Jack), but it really hits home here. Between the lack of music and The Kiss itself, this had to be one of the most beautiful scenes ever done. And then they cut to commercial and I threw my TV Guide *at* the TV.

To be honest, this episode confused the hell out of me. I had to watch it about four times, and have different theories explained to me in detail before I finally got it. Which I think was the point, to get everyone discussing. (Another reason why Justin Monjo is a god among men.) What I get out of it is that D'Argo, Rygel and Aeryn were real, just taken out of the test at different times. Instead of being taken out of it, Aeryn and John tried to escape it, and therefore THE SCENE WAS REAL. So there.


THE BIG QUESTION:
Did they or didn't they?
My opinion? I don't think they did. For one, it's only halfway through first season, and I don't think John and Aeryn were ready for that step yet. And if they did, I would *hope* that we would get more than what we did out of it! The kiss, commercial, and then no sign that anything beyond that kiss happened. I think we're going to have to wait a while before they consummate anything.


GRADE: A. Definitely an A.


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