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Defiance Review: Coming Down To The Wire

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Man. Just when I thought I had a handle on how each of the town residents would interact with each other....

Datak Tarr decided to turn the town on its side by playing more dirty that normal on "Past Is Prologue."

Datak using Nolan’s military record against him and Amanda was nothing short of genius. Oh, it was completely evil and mean... but genius nonetheless. Being able to arrange for Nolan to do what he does best and then turn that action against two people takes some brains. 

Amanda's Past

Kenya also has some brains in her head. She's figured out that Stahma played her and isn't taking it quietly. I had to admire Kenya's attitude and spirit facing off against Stahma, as exampled by:

Stahma: The election is over tomorrow, you can't change anything.
Kenya: I'm not trying to change anything, I'm just trying to hurt you. 

I think the wild card in here is going to be Alak. Between Rafe beating a warning into him about disappointing him as his new son-in-law, and Alak not knowing that his friend was going to get killed, there is a better than average chance Alak may turn on Datak. But I’m not holding my breath.

I adore Amanda’s loyalty to Nolan. She can see and believes in the good inside him. I’m not sure anyone beyond Irisa has ever trusted him as much. Speaking of Nolan, he really does care about Defiance and, had Irisa not stopped him, I have a feeling there would have been no need for an election. 

I do have to compliment Irisa's beautiful boot to the head on Datak Tarr; she would make The Frantics proud. 

While we are talking about Irisa, holy shtako... what came out of her back? Doc Yewll called it a Votan parasite and from what we saw it looks like the gold medallion that Luke had, that Quentin gave to Nikki and finally Yewll experimented on had the same type of parasite in it. 

Given that one was silver and one was gold, could they be a mated pair? Could this be the source of Irisa’s visions? And how does Rynn fit into all of this? The season finale next week really has a lot to cover. 

Overall, I’m giving this episode 4.3 votes for Amanda as she wants to do the right thing and believes in Nolan. 


Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (25 Votes)


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    (cont'd) that Stahma is the major player behind the scenes. If Datak becomes mayor it will be Stahma who pulls the strings.


    I knew Datak would try to smear Amanda somehow. I like the unique way it was written, combining Amanda's hiring of Nolan and then using Nolan's quote to try and discredit them both. Using the 'race card' is prevalent in today's politics, why not in the future too?
    Man, I'd hate to be Alak right now. He has a ruthless, perhaps sadistic, father, pulling him one way, and a determined, possibly homicidal father-in-law pulling him another. He should leave town with his wife and never look back.
    So far Stahma's veneer of calm has been unshakeable. Even Kenya's threats had no visible effect. I still wonder if Kenya reveals the extent of their unique relationship, if Datak would even care. Then again, you never know. Especially if it comes to a question of honor. Their race is kinda prickly on that subject. Datak might blow a gasket.
    I'd like to know why Irissa is so special. I'm trying, and failing, to recall if her flashbacks featured any Indogens.
    @General: I agree that Stahma is the major player behind the scenes player here. If Datak becomes mayor, she will be the puppet master, pulling the strings.


    @Jim, on second thought, it's possible that the device in Irisa is in some sense a parasite. It doesn't look biological, although it could be some sort of partially organic tech. Even a pure machine can be, by analogy, a parasite, in the same way the machines in The Matrix were parasitical. So, Yewll could have been telling a small truth while hiding larger truths. On the other hand, I suspect that, if the device can be compared to anything biological, it is a symbiote.

    FWIW, I would have edited that last post, but tvfanatic doesn't allow it.


    @Jim, the position you're taking -- unrequited love doesn't count, and it's a parasite because the obviously-lying Yewll says it is -- doesn't make any sense to me, but thank you for taking the time to explain.


    @WatchtooMuch, I'm aware that Amanda has feeling for Nolan and I'm guessing he has feelings too. However, until Syfy moves beyond the doe-eyed stare, we are stuck watching them at arms length :P

    As for the thing in Irisa's back, give one broke through from the roof and one was reaching from her back, I was sticking with parasite as it was showing intelligence, I'm totally expecting to be wrong when the truth comes out :)


    4. @Jim: You seem not to get that the mayor is infatuated with Nolan and that the show has been hinting since episode 1 that they're fated to be together. She's not just standing up for him because she doesn't want to lose a valuable civil servant.

    5. Contra @GeneralRapunzel, I find Stahma's sweetly oily manner more irritating every episode. Women who pull strings from behind the scenes have a long history in literature and art, but I don't recall any of them being half as annoying as Stahma.

    6. I never thought that Mayor Nikki's MacGuffin would amount to anything, but now I'm intrigued. Don't blow it, Defiance!


    1. What I liked most about this episode was how packed it was. Between Stahma's duplicitous "revelation" at the outset to Irisa's somewhat less than fortuitous encounter with Rynn at the end, a whole lot of shtako went down.

    2. @Jim, the thing in Irisa's back is not a "parasite"; it's an alien biotech device. Yewll used her device to incapacitate Irisa and then lied to Nolan to cover her attempted theft of the other device. Fortunately (?) for Irisa, the devices had other ideas.

    3. Another thing I liked about this episode was the reminder that the town is corrupt to the core. It's torn between the Tarr mafia family and the McCawley robber barons. The Rosewater family business, featuring prostitution, gambling, and alcohol, helps keep the whole thing spinning along.


    I have a feeling that the person who should be mayor is Stahma Tarr. She is the smartest and canniest of the bunch. I love her character. Irisa is a close second.

    I do look forward to Kenya's revenge.
