Through the Looking Glass


Written by David Kemper
Directed by Ian Watson


This is one of my favorite episodes so far. First I want to praise Ian Watson. When we first saw Red Moya, it was extrememly disorientating. I wanted to throw up right along with John, but after a while, I got used to it. And it was effective in putting the viewer into the episode. The partial lack of sound on Blue Moya had me turning up my TV, straining to hear, at least until the sound suddenly came back and the volume nearly deafened me. And who wasn't laughing along with John and Rygel and Chiana? One thing I noticed that I absolutely loved was when Chiana was brought onto Red Moya- she was the only one (for a time, at least) not in double vision, so we kind of got a character's view for whoever was onscreen. Same thing when John brought her to Blue Moya, while she was in pain from the sound, watch the special effects.

And then, since I seem to pick someone out every week, Ben Browder is just too cool. I've had to laugh on cue, I know how hard it is to do- and I know how hard it is to stop once you get going. His reactions to Rygel and his attempts to stop laughing were absolutely hysterical.

This was probably the first episode that was truly funny. I don't know if that was because laughter can be so contagious or what, but I was laughing so hard I was crying at parts of this. For instance, D'Argo's pronunciation of "Mississippi." Or his reaction to John's vomiting (which I could have done without). Or the stories they were telling around the table in the last scene- a drastic contrast to the bickering of the opening one.

I was adamant about getting resolution for Human Reaction. We were cut off mid-kiss by a commercial break, leaving us to wonder what happened between John and Aeryn. I'll leave that decision up to you, but something between them has definitely changed. And I love it. You want more on that? Go to my Shippery moments page and read more.

Then there's more bonding of the crew. It seemed that the crew was coming together, except for maybe Rygel, and Chiana hadn't been given enough screen time to form any real relationships with anyone. But we see it here. Zhaan and Chiana seem to be pretty protective of each other, for one. And yes, Chiana has grown on me, by the way. (Insert your own Chia Pet joke here.) Add in the last two scenes, first with everyone in Pilot's chamber just laughing, then at the table, and it adds up to a nice dynamic which I hope sticks for a while. The only thing that worries me is how Pilot and Moya fit into it. Feeling excluded and abandoned at first caused Moya to risk just about everything to prove herself to them, and then Pilot's inability to understand why they would be laughing and functioning so well after their "near miss" makes me wonder how he and Moya will fit in with the rest of the crew in future episodes now that everyone else seems to have bonded.


THE BIG QUESTION:
Do we get to see the Happy Crew again?
Let's hope so! They were fun. And happy. (Although the season finale's coming up, so who knows how long that'll last...)


GRADE: A-

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