1.07: PK Tech Girl.

[Texane]

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In this episode, the crew of Moya find a large ship called the Zalbinion, formerly the first line ship of the Peacekeepers, now floating in space for over 100 cycles. When they board her to find answers, and possibly weapons to protect Moya, they find her completely scavanged and empty except for one thing: a peacekeeper "tech" by the name of Gelina, who becomes a particular friend of Crighton.

In this epy, we find out about the rigid hierarchy of the Peacekeepers. We also find out that when John has been telling Aeryn about Earth, his home, when she envisioned her "home," she envisioned a ship like the Zalbinion. It
definitely gives you something to think about as the series progresses forward, particularly about how much change Aeryn is making as she goes along with the crew of Moya.

We also find out about Rygel's past. He had been aboard the Zalbinion as a prisoner and tortured by a Peacekeeper commander named Durka. Zhaan warns Rygel that he must come to terms with his past.

 

[pkgrl]

I can't believe nobody is discussing this eppy! It's the very first one that totally rocked! Especially from a shipper POV :naughty:

I mean, it's the first time Aeryn admits that she had any interest what-so-ever in our boy John. And there's nothing like a third party to juice up the jealousy....

Without Gillina, Aeryn might never have expressed any interest in John... at least, not until The Flax . Or, without this eppy, events in TF may not have gone as far as they nearly did :naughty:

Then there was the whole "Rygel puts his past to rest" storyline. This was actually crucial to me as a viewer because it was the first time I felt sympathy for the little slug. I liked how he handled himself in this ep, too. His early fear was almost palpable (for an anamatronic character) and I liked the confrontation scene with Durka's "corpse."

Then, there was the introduction of the Sheeyang... "They spit fire?! How come nobody tells me they spit fire?" And D'Argo's whole bluffing and Zhaan's coaching.

I loved this eppy because there was so much going on, it easily could have gotten out of control, but TPTB handled it all so well that all the elements kept my interest.

I loved this eppy!

 

[Texane]

I liked the subplot between D'Argo and Zhaan. We pretty much knew about D'Argo's warrior code. By the end of this epy, he sees that Zhaan, even with her choice to become a priestess, respects his code of honor among warriors.

I agree about Rygel: this is the first time I've felt any sympathy for him. And it was certainly understandable.

 

[pkgrl]

Totally!

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

Okay. I'm gonna say it and you can throw things at me til the cows come home, but I'm gonna say it anyway. John and Gilina are right for each other. Soulmates? Could be. Why does there have to be just one person for each of us? They get along, have common interests and the physical attraction is definitely there. But it's not as interesting or exciting as John and Aeryn so there you go. And that's the thing that makes this episode so great! Forget about the firespitters and D'Argos crisis of conscience for having to lie to an opponent and even Rygel confronting his dark past. This episode is all about the love triangle between Aeryn, John and Gilina. The fact that we can see that John and Gilina work so well together even though there's a connection between John and Aeryn makes it some of the best drama of the first season so far and I think the shippiest episode of Season One. This is only complicated by the fact that it's left unresolved. Gilina is out there somewhere and John and Aeryn still haven't gotten it together yet. Man I miss Gilina. She made for some good television.

 

[pkgrl]

Naw. I won't throw things, MS... at least, not yet but John and Aeryn are the ones who are MEANT to be together! They're the soulmates.

Just because John and Gillina have a lot in common, work well together, and find each other attractive does NOT meant they are supposed to be together. If anything, their "clicking" only proves to Aeryn that she's missing out on something special by NOT acting on her impulses. It's her training and strictly structured upbringing that keep her sealed off from John. (Besides, Aeryn will get her turn at "clicking" in a few eps.)

If Gillina had stayed aboard Moya (if it had been possible) she and John would have hit it off for a while, maybe he would have felt really serious about her, too, but eventually her vulnerability would have grated on him. She would have been too helpless in later events and the others would have begun to regard her as a hinderance more than a help.

In the scope of the entire series, Gillina was a reminder to John to grab on to life... NOW. She reminded him that Peacekeepers aren't "evil" even if Crais is (in John's eyes) but that they're just regular folks... like him... only Sebacean. That, and she's a physical example of something John might not have previously considered... life with someone else, even if she's not Human.

I like the asides that Aeryn gets to give regarding life as a Pk. That with their enormous power and technology they do provide a valuable service to other cultures, even if they don't live up to John's idea of what they should be. That was a GREAT line. We also got to see how many Pks see techs... almost as servants. "What was he doing guarding the likes of you?" Even away from the Pks, only a small exposure to that life is enough to allow her to regain that arrogance. Even without focusing directly on Aeryn, this eppy really let us see what she is missing being away from them.

I liked how Rygel got to confront his past. As well as D'Argo's handling of a difficult battle situation.

Those "B" story lines filled out the ep, making it another (the first since Premiere) that feels like it ought to be much longer than 50 minutes. There was so much going on that it's hard to imagine how the PTB managed to get it in under an hour and a half! Just the genius of Farscape, I guess.

 

[HanaBi]

Quite an enjoyable episode, especially the arrival, albeit temporary, of Gillina into the John/Aeryn mix. And as others have said here, it did peel back a little more of Aeryn's emotional side, splashed with little droplets of jealousy perhaps.

Gillina's arrival also taught us more about the PeacKeepers themselves, and how the more highly-regarded soldiers treat the "lowly" technicians as nothing more than a necessary hindrance. Shame she never became a permanent feature, but then again we probably wouldn't have had the delightful Chiana to grace our screens a few episodes on in "Durka Returns"

In fact that particular episode bolts on quite nicely with this one in terms of Rygel's subplot and his past dealings with Durka - not least the vivid details of torture and degradation at Durka's hands.

6/10