Sure, Qresh looks pretty, but how many of you think you’d enjoy all of that bowing and scraping and sitting and standing and family honor? If that doesn’t appeal to you, I suggest you not try to run for Lady of the Land. Not that any of us would qualify, but still. I loving how all of the details – from Season 1 and so far this season (we’re half through!) are so tangled up. You really have to pay attention! And keep a spreadsheet!
This episode makes me feel grateful for the parents I have. We had all kinds of mommy and daddy (and pseudo-Daddy) issues here. Pawter’s had a really lousy day – facing her sister (not a bad thing), with her sister’s slimy fiancé – even from the start I didn’t like him at all. And did you pick up on one of Mom’s comments that gave us the idea that he had at one point been Pawter’s boyfriend? Mom is the most powerful woman on Qresh, or one of the biggies – and she won’t even look at her daughter. Dad’s much nicer, but he, we learn, is not a Simms by birth, only by marriage. Although it does say something good, I think, about Adeline that she married for love, not for power – marrying a carpenter couldn’t have been easy for a future Lady of the Land. And she didn’t seem to have an objection to Johnny. More points in her favor.
But Mom is also part Evil Scientist, creating a chemical designed to ruin Qresh in an effort to, what, break up the Nine? and bring down those who don’t share her vision of what the world should be? There was already a devastating attack on the family by Khlyen’s Level 6s in the first season. What’s the debate? I really want to know this story – the ruling class is not in good shape. The only heir of one family is the child whose surrogate mother our Killjoys rescued. Della Seyah says that she’s creating a human seedbank, but isn’t sure whether it’s in case of “winter or war.” Who or what is threatening the families? And why? This could be a fascinating story all on its own.
As the virus is released – in an attack carried out by slimy Hank (hired by who???) specifically directed at the Simms family – it’s a good thing that there was a resourceful Killjoys “scoundrel” on hand. And a brave, selfless father, two very smart daughters, and a mother who, in the end, gave Pawter something that she needed. It turns out that Adeline wasn’t banishing Pawter because she screwed up, but because she recognized that the life the she herself had led would be completely wrong for Pawter, and she was doing the best she could to make sure that Pawter wasn’t subjected to it. “She didn’t even say I love you. She was giving orders until the very end,” Pawter says to her sister. “I don’t know, I think giving orders was Mommy’s way of saying ‘I love you.’ ”
In the end, though, Pawter makes the decision to step up and become the head of her household – and I don’t quite understand the Qreshi hierarchy, but is she just the Lady of the Land for the Simms family, or over all of Qresh? – in order to help the oppressed people of Old Town, and others that the Company is threatening. And Johnny wants to be at her side – “Don’t do this for me,” she tells him. “I’m not that guy. Well, I’ve been that guy,” he answers. And she questions, “What about ‘the warrant is all’?”
That’s Killjoys Johnny. Qreshi Fireball Johnny wants something different. To give a shit. Like you do. I’m tired of not being able to do that. And, I want to give a shit together. Maybe the warrant isn’t all for me.
D’avin’s having his own Daddy issues. Khlyen and Fancy go to Tellin to find Dad Jaqobis, because they need to know if it’s something genetic that caused D’avin to reject the Level 6 procedure. Nothing is straightforward, though, and when Khlyen tries to get into D’Avin’s mind using the green goo as a mind link, he hums a special song that he had once written for Yelena – D’avin hums it, Dutch recognizes it, and they realize what’s happening. D’avin’s stronger than Khlyen recognizes, and is able to fight the intrusion – and faster than you can say Freaky Friday! they’ve switched brains and abilities! “I’m so strong!” D’avin-body says, as he and Dutch fight two prisoners they’re transporting. It’s fun to see Luke MacFarlane and Rob Stewart with each others’ mannerisms, voice inflections and fighting styles! Fascinating that Khlyen hasn’t felt pain in a long time, not since he stepped into D’avin’s much more mortal body.
Khlyen-body D’avin has a wonderful moment with his father, the father that he and Johnny both called abusive, that they both ran away from, and Dad apologizes for being a horrible father. I wish Johnny could have heard this directly from his father – maybe he will at some point (I’ll bet they never show it on camera, but we can imagine, in a fan-fiction way). The apology will hopefully go a long way toward healing both men. However, non-conflicted D’avin and Johnny would probably not be as interesting.
I can’t be the only one who thought that D’avin rejected the Level 6 procedure because of the Army experiments D’avin was subjected to – now Khlyen knows, and maybe we’ll get some answers to what happened to him! But what do you think Khlyen’s going to do to D’avin to figure it all out? The poor guy’s been through enough!
While Dutch has D’avin-body Khlyen, she asks him about the vision/memory D’avin had, of seeing her massacring Scarbacks on Arkyn. Khlyen says, “That wasn’t you.” SO, WTH!!! Who was it? A Dutch clone? a twin? Dutch’s look-alike mother? or a projection of Dutch’s face through D’avin’s memory? Whatever it was, it has to 1) relieve Dutch a bit that she wasn’t actually involved; and 2) confuse the heck out of her. But either way, she’s no closer to figuring out who she is and what she believes in.
The one thing she does know – she thinks she knows – is that she can always count on Johnny. “A lot of things have changed for me lately,” she tells him when he returns from Qresh. “I’m glad we haven’t. You’re my gravity, Johnny Jaqobis. If things did change, you’d tell me, right?” Johnny’s major hesitation before answering “Of course. I would,” should alert her that something’s wrong. He’s definitely torn – between Pawter, whom he has just realized that he loves, and Dutch, who has been the center of his life for so long. But will he be able to carry the burden of not revealing his new direction to Dutch? What will his deception do to his relationship with her?
KILLJOYS — “Meet The Parents” Episode 205 — Pictured: (l-r) Aaron Ashmore as John, Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch — (Photo by: Steve Wilkie/Syfy/Killjoys II Productions Limited)
I love the music this series uses. Here’s the terrific piece that played during Pawter and Johnny’s kiss, Wait for Love by Strand of Oaks.
https://youtu.be/hqPUotRW7CQ?list=RDhqPUotRW7CQ
Killjoys Website
Watch for an interview with Lucy (Tamsen McDonough) in just a couple of days!
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