Episode 1.10 - They've Got a Secret
Synopsis
During a sweep to discover any more Peacekeeper devices ala "I, E.T.", D'Argo is successful at finding but not successful at removing an unknown device. In the process he accidentally slips during a small explosion and ends up outside the ship floating in space. He is retrieved, but is suffering from hallucinations just as Moya begins experiencing a variety of unexplainable system malfunctions. The crew must snap D'Argo out of his increasingly violent delusions and figure out what in the hell has happened to Moya at the same time. The initial suspicion is a virus as D'Argo is covered with an odd bio-mechanoid material when he is brought back aboard, but somehow, that doesn't quite seem to add up.
Review
Many find this episode to be slow and a bit of a waste but in all it is D'Argo's character sketch and gives him the depth that makes all other actions seem rational. His ability to eventually trust Aeryn as more than a warrior grows out of his belief that she truly would not betray his son to the Peacekeepers. In Zhaan, he receives ever more patience and understanding. Even Rygel displays an unusual amount of patience with his hallucinations considering what we have come to expect thus far from him. John is still in a wavering mode. He sees someone he views as a compatriot suffering and compassion rules out, but at the same time he is the target of aggression to which he has no answer. He wants common ground but he acknowledges that D'Argo is not in his right mind.
At the same time, the situation with Moya is falling apart around them. Is she sick? Is she also crazy? Either way, Pilot, the crew or both could end up dead before they find out. Suddenly the decision to do damage to another life form is not so easy. To cut off one of Pilot's arms in "DNA Mad Scientist" was easy. To sever Moya's higher functions in order to survive is not. I always found this all a bit disturbing. Either Pilot and Moya are both vital together (in my opinion) or they are not. But apparently acceptable losses are viewed differently in the Uncharted Territories. It's also interesting to note that Aeryn and John were the ones who were opposed to cutting off Pilot's arm but were the ones most for severing Moya's higher functions. Apparently, at least for John, Moya doesn't become a separate entity and a part of the crew until he realizes she is pregnant. Then he tries to be rational with her and treat her with the same respect he would any other member of the crew.
Having been through two battle campaigns and having a family with a now fifteen year old son and only being roughly thirty cycles old makes D'Argo a rather busy and complex guy. That's a lot of life experience packed into a short time. At the end of this episode, D'Argo comes to Aeryn concerned about what she thinks of his relationship with his wife and his son to which she answers she would never betray him out of respect. I believe Aeryn now sees D'Argo as more than just a warrior but as a complete person - something she could be.
Quotes :
- "Come on big guy, come on. Give me one of those big nasty smelly breaths". - John
- "Oh, my size is never a matter of discussion." - Rygel
- "Yeah, is there some kind of 'What to expect when you're expecting baby Leviathan' book? Dr Spock... Mr. Spock." - John
- "I'm going to track down that little droid and rip off both its antennae."
- "Happy place, go to your happy place." - Aeryn, John
- "Creatures still die out here. And we find new ways to suffer. And to make others suffer."
- "Well, I never said Earth had a monopoly on that."
- "But you say that you want to go back to this place, Earth, a place that you tell me has so much disease and suffering?"
- "Well, you guys don't have chocolate." - Aeryn, John
- "Does it surprise you that such a Sebacean woman would love me?"
- "D'Argo, it's ingrained in Peacekeepers from birth that we must keep the bloodlines pure. That such unions are evil."
- "Do you therefore think that my son is evil?"
- "No. Because in his eyes, I see you. D'Argo, no matter what happens to us, I will never tell anyone about your son." -D'Argo, Aeryn
Synopsis & Review by : Ninithil
Edited by : DS9ers
Put on-line by : Bluey
