Into the Lion's Den, Part 1: Lambs to the Slaughter

Into the Lion's Den, Part 1: Lambs to the Slaughter
Written by Richard Manning
Directed by Ian Wilson

Original Airdate (U.S.): April 12, 2002

Plot: Crichton and company board Scorpius's command carrier to put into motion their plan to stop Scorpius and company from discovering how to create stable wormholes.

Review

Warning: If you've not yet seen the latest episode of Farscape, "Into the Lion's Den, Part 1: Lambs to the Slaughter" and feel that reading SPOILERS for this episode would violate our tentative truce, I strongly suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS for the latest episode just ahead...

In short: Good set-up...and is it Friday yet?!?

Before I launch into my Farscape review, I figure there are probably some people out there scratching their head right now and wondering--"OK, so who is this guy and what is this review thing?" Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael Hickerson and I'm a Farscape fanatic. I've been a fan since mid-season two and in that time, through the use of DVD and Sci-Fi's repeats, I've managed to get caught up on the saga that is, quite frankly, the best space opera show on TV today (and probably one of the best space operas of all time). Some of you may know me from other discussion groups around the Net--I write reviews for each new episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it's spinoff, Angel. I've been writing Buffy reviews for about five years now and have worked on the Angel reviews since the show started.

It's during that time, that I discovered Farscape. And I'll be honest--over the past few months, I've been itching to set down my thoughts on the episodes and give them same analysis I give each new episode of Buffy and Angel (also, I hope to go back and work on reviews for all the older episodes of Farscape, though the task does seem a bit daunting at the moment.) Several on-line friends encouraged me give the Farscape reviewing thing a whirl, so I figured why not? And that's what leads us to the review you see here before.

Let me say this up front: I don't think of myself as an expert of Farscape by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy the show and I definitely have my own opinions about it--hence the review. My reviews are intended to be simply one insane fan's opinions on the show and my intention is to hopefully generate some discussion. (Ask anyone who has read my Buffy reviews--I don't always know everything! ;-) )

So, that said, let's get into the real reason that we're here--the latest episode of Farscape.

I'll be honest here--I had the best of intentions of starting the reivews last week with "I Yensh, You Yensh." But, honestly, just the fact that we got new Farscape after the seven-month dry spell and I was so psyched to see anything new, I didn't think I'd honestly be able to objectively view the episode, much less form a coherent review about it.

And while I did enjoy I Yensh, You Yensh a good deal, in the long-run, it was pretty much a set-up for what's to come in the final three. How it all plays out is anyone's guess at this point--and if you're one of those fortunate British fans who has already seen how it all plays out, please DON'T tell me--I've been really, really good about avoiding SPOILERS and I'd hate to see seven months of patience ruined. :-) But, boy am I along for the ride on this one.

I will admit I find it hard to judge the latest episode too harshly or too fairly. It's the first of a two part story and because of that, we haven't yet seen how all of these things will play out. I have some strong feelings about where things are developing and could be going, but this is Farscape--so you can't ever really be sure of anything. However, I think the biggest thing that "Lambs to the Slaughter" did was that it moved some of the vast chess pieces around on the Farscape board in new and interesting ways. It also brought some new pieces into the game that is the political situation in the Uncharted Territories. And I have a feeling the rug is about to be yanked out from under a lot of people when part two rolls around.

If anything, season three has been about expanding the universe that is Farscape in new and interesting ways. Seasons one and two were a much more narrow focus--we got to know the crew of Moya and see their relationships grow, develop and change. Yes, we got a couple of episodes that showed us the political situation going on outside Moya--stories like The Way We Weren't and the Princess trilogy spring to mind--but we didn't have any real concrete feeling for what was going on outside of Moya. This year, we've the focus has pulled back a lot more. Part of this was that for half the year, we had two Crichtons running around and the episodic nature the series took of focusing a week on Moya-Crichton and a wek on Talyn-Crichton. But, along the way, we've had some subtle expansion of the universe that is the Uncharted Territories. We've found out why Scorpius is so obsessed with creating wormholes and what that means due to the PeaceKeepers concern over the impending war with the Scarrans.

And in "Lambs to the Slaughter" we found out a lot more about the political situation that is developing.

Just as happened with Crais back in season one, PeaceKeeper command is losing patience with Scorpius and his lack of results. It's interesting to see that sort of development--Scorpius because of his obession is manuevering himself into the same position that got Crais replaced back in season one and made him a refugee. And the potential new villain, Commandant Mele-On Grayza has some potential to be interesting, though we really didn't get too much time to see her on-screen here (I have a strong feeling she'll be back in a big way in part two). Also, we see that the PeaceKeepers no longer feel that wormholes are the ultimate doomsday weapon Scorpius seems to believe they are and are, instead, turning to other means to create an army to fend of the Scarrans, should the invasion begin.

That plotline lead to some of the most interesting revelations of the entire episode--namely just how the rest of the universe reacts to Moya and her crew. We saw earlier this year in "Suns and Lovers" that Crichton and company have a reputation that preceeds them. And it's intersting to see that come into play here--basically Crichton and the crew of Moya are making the PeaceKeepers look like a bunch of ham-fisted idiots since they can't stop one crew of escaped prisoners from having their run of the Uncharted Territories. And I love the implication that a lot of worlds who might be held in check from fear of the PeaceKeepers now consider them less of a threat since Crichton and the crew of Moya have stood up to them. It's one of those questions that, once asked, seems a logical one to ask. And it made sense that this would come into play now as the PeaceKeepers are becoming more and more in need of allies.

I also have to admit I liked Grayza's reaction to first meeting Crichton and his response of "I've really got stop pointing guns at the heads of people I just met as it tends to piss them off." That scene was superlatively done.

Of course, there has to be huge potential when you have the crew of Moya go aboard a PeaceKeeper command carrier. There is tons of potential for drama there--namely from the vantage point of seeing Crais and Aeryn in their "element."

For the most part, we saw a nice bit of Crais on the carrier. Don't get me wrong here--it's interesting as hell to see Crais being played like a violin and I have a feeling this will not end well for him. But seeing him torn between trying to connect with his old life and his loyalty to Tayln and--less so, but still there--to Moya's crew (who have put up with him these past two years) is interesting. I have a strong feeling that in part two, it will be Crais who betrays the crew to Scorpius with the promise of getting his old life back. (And if Crais believes Scorpius will do this for him for a second, he's a fool!)

That said, the more intersting look at going back home was Aeyrn. This episode served as reminder of just how far she's come since she came on board Moya. But in keeping with the development we've seen in her since "The Choice" was interesting. Based on the emotional impact the events on Talyn had on her, it's interesting to see Aeryn try to fit back into her old PeaceKeeper lifestyle--even to the point of reaching out to her old friend. (And in an interesting aside--has we possibly seen her before in The Way We Weren't? It seemed so, but I've loaned that tape to a friend and so couldn't go back and check). It's interesting to see Aeyrn's continued emotional fall-out from the death of Talyn-John and seeing her trying to connect back to her old life--even if it proves to be unsuccesful. Part of me wanted to see Aeryn possibly to her old life, but another part of me was equally glad that she didn't easily gain back her friend. Apparently the concept of forgive and forget isn't one PeaceKeepers readily embrance.

As for the main thrust of the plotline with Crichton's attempts to find out how much Scoripus knows and how to stop him, I found that interesting, but not as compelling as it should have been. The bubbling mutiny of the crew was interesting, but as for it affecting Crichton, it wasn't what I'd hope for. And while seeing him in the jetpack sequence was interesting, I found the entire plotline lacking in spots. Again, I have to remind myself that it's only the first half and all we really got to see Crichton do was find out just how much Scorpius knows--a necessary evil of the plotline. But I honestly wanted and yearned for something more and it never really materialized. But again, I'm wiling to wait impatiently for next week to see how this develops.

But let's face it--the real jewel in the crown moment was Scorpius's raising the ante in the game by revealing that a)he has found Earth and b)it's only sixty cycles away and c)he will destroy it if Crichton doesn't help. That certainly raises the bar a lot--also in the light that Crichton was feeling tempted to possibly feel for Scorpius's dilemma and considering helping him. This should make that choice a lot more difficult for our hero and it certainly has me on the edge of my seat for next week.

So, I guess that's about it for now, except a few small things...

--Intersting that the PeaceKeepers and the Luxans now have an alliance. I wonder how long that will last?

--It seems to me that all the information our heroes get is turning out to be too good to be true--yes, we'll help fix Talyn, Rygel can go home and lead a revolution to re-gain his throne, etc.

--D'argo gets his rings removed as his part of the bargain...very interesting. And what was the information Scorpius gave him?

--Chiana's future-sense is getting more and more powerful. Is this because it's growing or because the events unfolding are much more powerful and stronger, bringing them to the forefront?

--My attempt to pull a Chiana--does anyone get the feeling that Tayln's being shut down is a bit of a Trojan horse?

So, wrapping it, "Lambs to the Slaugher" was a nice beginning to the final three run of season three. It put things in motion and left me eager to see how it all plays out next week. I certainly know what my Friday night plans are now...

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Scorpius threatens Earth and someone betrays the crew...

"Infamous... two points, Commandant. One - Your boy here made a lot of promises which you should keep, because two - when my friends are threatened, I am infamous for making really stupid moves, yes?"

--John Crichton