Premiere
Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon
Directed by Andrew Prowse
I really wish I had seen this episode first, instead of just hearing about it and seeing it a month and a half later. Because of that, my impressions of the episode are kind of dimmed, simply because I know what happens, I've seen other episodes I can compare it with, and that makes it hard to be objective. But I'll do my best, and I won't get too into it.
One thing that's interesting is just how the crew has changed since the first episode. There's John, who just gets sucked right into this whole situation. Never asked for it, he's just caught up in something he can't stop. He's rightfully confused, and stuck trying to gain some respect from the rest of the crew.
Zhaan is very much like she is when I first saw her on the show. It's also interesting not to know what her crime was- she doesn't seem like the kind to have committed any kind of real crime, to be an anarchist or anything else.
Then D'Argo. Who is actually pretty damn scary at first sight. Just completely off-the-wall angry, threatening everyone about everything... Yet there's also another aspect of his personality stuck in there during his conversation with Zhaan, almost a boyishness directly contrasting the other side of him that we see most of the time.
I wasn't sure what to make of Rygel at this viewing. At first he almost seemed considerate, with the line of, "You look after me now, I'll look after you later." (Notice I said almost. Then, next thing you know, he's being a rude little slug, threatening to steal John's equipment in his sleep, among other things.
Then there's Aeryn. I'm definitely a fan, and she's the character that right off the bat is given the most room to grow- a good little Peacekeeper torn out of her situation and forced to adjust under the premise that she can be more. And technically, it's Aeryn who gets them away from the Peacekeepers.
Pilot's another one I didn't know what to make of. He wasn't given much to do, and the personality that we eventually get to see in later episodes wasn't much shown here. But the concept of a being attached to a living ship has to be one of the coolest things out there today.
And of course, the very beginnings of the John/Aeryn relationship start here. I don't consider this a very shippery episode, but the idea of getting these two together had to be going through everyone's minds upon first viewing. They obviously care what happens to the other- Aeryn includes John in her escape plan despite knowing nothing about him, and John insists on bringing Aeryn with them back to Moya. You can fight me on whether or not this means that they actually care about each other but they do seem pretty concerned for each other's welfare (ignoring their first meeting, where she pretty much kicked his ass).
We also get a pretty cool bad guy out of this. Crais, one of the Good Peacekeepers, essentially turns into a madman after losing Moya- after losing the man that killed his brother. He chases them around the galaxy just to get back at him, bringing about a whole new threat to the entire crew throughout the entire season, at least.
GRADE: B+
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