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Killjoys: Ep. 3 Review, Harvest – “EEEEAAARE’S JOHNNY!”

Some of the mysteries continue this week on Killjoys – what’s going to happen when Khlyen discovers that Dutch has disobeyed him and let her target go? I’m really intrigued by Khlyen and Dutch’s past – are there more like her? Wlll she come up against them in the future? What was it all about? And what, or who, is D’Avin looking for? What’s the matter with him? But one mystery seems to be stalled – who put the initial warrant out on D’Avin? I’m waiting for that to come back. Somebody had a reason to want him dead. But this episode gave us a fascinating glimpse into the Quad and the worlds around it.

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D’Avin is now officially a Killjoy! Did you have any doubt? He has the skills, of course, but we already knew that. But could he pass the psych exam? If he really took a legitimate psych exam, what do you think? We’ve seen bits and pieces of D’Avin’s psych issues, but maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t have to. He understands himself pretty well – when asked to explain why he wants to be a Killjoy, he hesitates a little bit, but at the last second, says, “I don’t fit in anywhere else. I’m not cut out to be a civilian, and I’m done being a soldier. I’m not good at a lot of things, but I’m good at that. And I would be good for the RAC.”

This gives Johnny a lot to process. D’Avin’s a level 4? Whaaaaa? “D’Avin’s like a comet,” he tells Dutch. “Me, I’m more like dark matter. Stable.” This is going to take some time for Johnny to process.

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But he’s right – he is stable, with a well-developed sense of justice and friendship. “You have to stop being friends with everyone you sleep with,” Dutch says, after Johnny sets them off on a hunt for the husband of his hooker (“sexer”, thank you Pree) friend No’a. Husband Vince has gone off to work on a hock harvest on Leith, one of Qresh’s other moons, and hasn’t returned, threatening the terms of his visa. Boy, this is a strict world with strict rules! Miss your return date and you work in the mines for 10 years – miss it completely, and anyone who signed a bond for you has to serve your sentence. And No’a isn’t about to do that. So takes out a warrant on Vincent, and Johnny agrees to take it – oh, the power of pillow talk!

So Dutch agrees to go, thinking this will be a little vacation – Johnny says they can go undercover and reminds her how much she enjoys that. She gets to pick their covers – and she definitely got the smart end of that stick! The view of higher society in the Quad is enticing. She masquerades as a hock buyer – purchasing what looks like fine wines or liqueurs, all dressed up, with a fine man, while Johnny gets to pick beans or pods in a field for 12 hours a day, with an explodo tracker injected into his ear. Where would you rather be? But they both have their roles to play in order to find Vince.

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And D’Avin’s attempting to get his psych eval taken care of without having a psych eval. He goes to see Pawter Simms,a RAC-certified doctor and bar brawler. In return for her promise to sign off for him, he gets her a ride to the Leith bazaar with Dutch and Johnny. D’Avin and Pawter are a pretty well matched set, both with something to hide. She’s got his number: “D’Avin Jaqobis. Fearless, decisive, has what it takes to be a Killjoys. He’s also hyper-violent, he ha trouble sleeping and he can’t distinguish between civilian life and battle. My diagnosis, stress response syndrome.” And she questions him on his request for copazenol, saying that it’s a powerful neurological med – why is he taking it? IS he taking it? Why would he need something like that? And the doctor asks, “Who prescribed it to you?” “Some Army doctor,” he replies. “What was she treating you for?” “I honestly can’t remember.”

But she’s got her own issues. “Want to know what I’ve observed?” D’Avin challenges her. “Messiah complex. Fraud. You’re on Westerley for the same reason as the rest of us, because you have nowhere else to go.” Why not? What’s in her background? I love when a show leaves us with more questions than answers – finding the answers is always so much fun.

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Dutch has made contact with Martell, in more intimate ways than testing his liquor. She’s not afraid to use her looks to get what she wants! She gets a video of his eye to use to get onto his computer system, and and she is able to get the info on Vince’s whereabouts – except it’s not all of Vince. Johnny’s talked his way into the illegal drug operation on the estate – the jakk grow-up – and discovered that the only way to be free is to cut off the whole ear containing the explodo tracker. So in order to be let in on the secret, sure that this is the key to finding Vince to finish the warrant, Johnny lets them Vincent Van Gogh him.

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Do you remember the discussion with the “scarback” priest in the first episode, where he said that he wanted a rebellion for Westerly? The drug-makers are part of the lower class, looking to have more than The Company and the Qreshi citizens are willing to provide. This operation is part of the class warfare that’s part of the Quad, and I’m sure it will feature prominently in upcoming episodes. (If you haven’t read about the World of Killjoys on the their website, take a few minutes – it’s fascinating, and will help you understand what’s going on here.)

Martell has called in a defoliation crew to get rid of the jakk growers before they can be discovered on his land – I’m sure he’s been benefitting from their illegal operation but doesn’t want to be caught in it. He may be sophisticated and handsome and wealthy, but he’s dirty. And now Dutch and Johnny have go grab Vince and get off of Leith to return to Westerly before the poison-bearing planes arrive – and so D’Avin pilots Lucy to pick them up in a hurry.

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So the Killjoys get their man. No’a gets her revenge on a straying husband. D’Avin gets his psych form signed. Dutch and Johnny try to clear the air. “Disobeying orders, cutting off your ear… what’s going on with you, Jaqobis?” “You first,” he tells her. “Strange red box, mystery  business, asking D’Av to join the team without asking me first? It’s complicated,” he explains. “For once, I had something that I was amazing at, a partner that I loved working with, and then he just comes in, he starts D’Avining all over it. They started him at a level 4. I’m allowed to be conflicted for a day.” But Dutch shows him where her loyalty lies, despite the little looks she’s been giving D’Avin. “His level 4 is nothing compared to the six years we’ve had each others’ backs. If you’re worried about being replaced, don’t be. You’re irreplaceable to me.” “Thank you. I like when you use your words,” Johnny says.

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But will things ever be the same? The tension that D’Avin brings between the two has to color their relationship – someone had a kill warrant on him, and that will have to be dealt with. And as long as there’s no romantic notion between Dutch and Johnny – and they both deny that there is – that leaves the field free for a possible D’Avin/Dutch relationship. Unless D’Avin takes up with the doctor.The growing tension on Westerly may be a pull on the Killjoys, even though, as their oath says, they’re “nobody’s citizen, nobody’s soldier.”

I’m having fun watching the characters, the relationships, the world-building on this show – this is one of my favorite new shows of the year. Tell me what you think about it, three episodes in – is it a keeper?

Wondering about the great music from Killjoys? Canada’s SPACE network, a partner in developing the series, publishes a weekly recap with videos of all of the show’s music. Click here for this week’s SPACE recap and music videos. Here’s one of the numbers: “Money” by Five Knives.

The Killjoys Website

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