S03.E09: Ostinato in White

[formerlyfreedom]

A gruesome murder is committed by an unusual beast that's on the loose and being hunted down by Nolan and Irisa, while Doc Yewll delves into the surprising victim. Elsewhere, Amanda resists welcoming back Stahma; and T'evgin learns an unsettling truth about his daughter.

[wanderingstar]

Sleep well, Kindzi. I needed a break from your ranting.

 

That said, I'm not convinced that T'evgin's people will follow him on the peaceful path once they wake up.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[mustbekarma]

Sigh. This episode automatically sucks because the Petulant Purple People Eater didn't die. Sleeping in stasis doesn't count. And I refuse to learn her real name and fear the Omec. They're purple. They eat people. If the producers of this show wanted me to take the possibly villainous Omec and The Dread Harvest seriously, they shouldn't have modeled them after a novelty song. I guess Papa Omec sure didn't want her to have sex with Nolan, and then eat him.

 

I just wanted to engage in some conflict resolution. Nolan, he saved your life. Papa, why not say Petulant did it, so she's in statis for a permanent timeout.

 

So Doc Yewll has a control implant, and it appears she killed the nice vet. Seriously, show, quit introducing new interesting characters only to kill them off. While you're at it, don't kill any of the existing characters, either, except for Petulant. This is Defiance, not The Walking Dead.

 

I think I'm supposed to feel sorry for the suicide guy, but I'm not. Excuse me, Nolan didn't kill your son. General Crazypants did. I almost wrote "get over it," but I didn't want to sound callous. I just hate it when fictional characters blame the wrong people.  I think I just hate it because the suicide was used as revenge more than grief.

 

I just want to bake Nolan some chocolate chip cookies.

[Chaos Theory]

Hey Stahms just because you get pardoned doesn't me anyone is going to forgive you.

I am still not sure if I like the Omec story. To be honest I think it is the weakest part of an otherwise intense and emotionally exhausting season.

Two Doc Yewlls I don't think the series could handle the shear amount of snark.....but I would be willing to try.

Poor Nolan. At this point Nolan and Amanda should just. Pack themselves away and drink/drug themselves into oblivion. They both kinda need/want....and deserve it.

[thuganomics85]

Silly me, I was really digging the Dr. Yewll and Samir team, so I should have known this meant Samir is a goner.  Thanks for that, Kindzi.  At least Yewll is still alive, but clearly whatever Kindzi put in her is very effective, so I won't be surprised if Yewll ends up doing other things to cover up for the Omecs.  At least T'evgin finally had enough of Kindzi's shit, but I still have a bad a feeling that putting her in stasis, is only going to delay the inevitable.  Still think this is going to end with her getting the upper-hand over him.

 

Glad to see that last week's episode is still effecting everyone, especially Nolan.  I don't blame him for everything that happen, but I can see why he would feel responsible for what happened to his recruits, and be extremely upset.  It was interesting seeing him and Irisa almost reverse roles tonight, with him being a bit of a loose cannon/hinderance, and Irisa having to be the one to control him, and then send him away.  Of course, it would end up being Amanda who gets through to him the most, but still not enough to prevent him from getting his ass handed to him by T'evgin.

 

Also not surprised that Hinder blamed him for his son's death, even though it really should have been directed at Rahm and the VC.  But since they are dead, Nolan was going to get it.  I did feel like his suicide was a low blow: it sounded like had called Nolan over, so he wanted to have Nolan see it.  Not cool, man.

 

Stahma's pardon went through, but obviously no one (including Alak), really wants to have anything to do with her.  And Amanda promises that she isn't sorry yet, and I know not to underestimate Amanda.  No update on Datak though.

[laagamer]

Well this episode was a bit of a let down.

 

What happened to Datak?! I mean come on, not even a sniff after that epic ending last week? I'm really disappointed by that.

 

The Omec situation is getting boring. Not to mention the whole Doc Ywell being bugged thing. That's just lame.

 

Hope next week is better. 

[GaT]

Not a great episode. That little musical montage with Nolan & the dead people’s pictures made me think of Survivor when the final three walk past all the torches of the ones who are gone. I hate that too. We just had the plot with Irisa not being able to do the job, now she"s OK & we have to go through it with Nolan?

 

I am over the Omec, please tell me the little purple bitch is gone forever. I can live with her being in stasis, just as long as she isn't in Defiance.

 

I'm confused about Doc Yewll, the purple bitch told her to go back to Defiance & not tell anyone. She didn't say anything about sticking a giant needle in Samir, where did that come from & why didn't daddy Omec remove the whatsit from her neck?

[zxy556575]

Yech. I'm hoping Yewll only drugged Samir to temporarily get him out of the way. I did not enjoy seeing her put herself in danger, finding those sickening clones, then giving in so easily to Kindzi with the control implant.

 

I agree it shouldn't haven taken this long for Datak to stumble one-armed back into Defiance, if only at the end of the episode.

 

Getting tired of Nolan's leather coat and several layers of clothing to (try to) hide his widening body.

Edited August 1, 2015 by lordonia

[wayne67]

I am over the Omec, please tell me the little purple bitch is gone forever. I can live with her being in stasis, just as long as she isn't in Defiance.

 

I'm confused about Doc Yewll, the purple bitch told her to go back to Defiance & not tell anyone. She didn't say anything about sticking a giant needle in Samir, where did that come from & why didn't daddy Omec remove the whatsit from her neck?

 

Purple Daughter said something to the effect of "go back and protect my interests at all costs". As soon as she said that I knew that the vet was in trouble....

 

I'm hoping she's gone for a while. I could do with a break from her petulance and constant disobedience to direct orders. I guess sleeping with the boss gets you a lot of leeway especially when he's also your father...

 

This is why nepotism is often a terrible idea.

[Clanstarling]

When did Alak move to the McCawley house? Did I miss that? Because I totally thought Papa Omec expected Stahma to be killed when taking her home (he'd told her Alak's words were harsh, but not that Alak threatened to kill her). I figured he decided that if Alak killed Stahma, then he'd be rid of the problem of Stahma knowing too much about his people in the ship. I also found it interesting that although he rescued Doc Ywell, and dealt with Kinzi harshly (though not definitively), he did not remove the device from her neck. So she's still obeying the directive to protect their interests. Whatever else he is, Papa Omec is very pragmatic.

 

I also hope Ywell just sedated the vet. He was getting to be interesting and laying out journeyman level snark. But then I thought Hinder's son would be an ongoing character too - the actor just rocked the role and stood out. 

 

On the one hand, it's nice that no one is actually safe (I bought, with some reluctance, that it was Ywell getting killed in the opening act), but on the other hand, I think "actual" deaths would be better scattered here and there throughout the season - rather than with nearly every episode. Killing off the McCawleys bought a lot of "oh crap, they're really killing off characters" cred to last for most of the season.

 

The Casti mourning ink and ritual was very beautiful. It looked like they applied a bit more white makeup to Stahma once she was out of the caves. Maybe it was a lighting issue that made her look more pink.

Edited August 1, 2015 by clanstarling

[wanderingstar]

Killing off the McCawleys bought a lot of "oh crap, they're really killing off characters" cred to last for most of the season.

 

Yeah - I don't need any more Shocking Deaths. Frankly, the body count this season is already pretty high, so I could do without more deaths for at least an ep or 2.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[zxy556575]

It was kind of a throwaway scene, but I'm guessing the three homeless (?) men grousing about having nothing while Stahma lives in her big house is going to come up again as a recurring theme in Defiance. Viva la Revolución!

 

How long will the Datak money last, anyway. Are we to assume that their drug business is still viable, or are they living off their former profits?

[kieyra]

Not a great episode. That little musical montage with Nolan & the dead people’s pictures made me think of Survivor when the final three walk past all the torches of the ones who are gone. I hate that too. We just had the plot with Irisa not being able to do the job, now she"s OK & we have to go through it with Nolan?

 

None of the will they/won't they dilemmas about war and violence this season have felt organic.

 

Sharpshooter kid's dad was pushing the kid at Nolan hard, then freaking out and reversing because he only wanted his kid to fight if Irisa was fighting too, then mad at Nolan that his kid was dead ... then killing himself. And worshipping guns to the last. I never understood his reactions or motivations from one scene to the next. I get it, war sucks, but it's not like you were formerly living somewhere that wasn't essentially war-torn.

Edited August 1, 2015 by kieyra

[GaT]

Purple Daughter said something to the effect of "go back and protect my interests at all costs". As soon as she said that I knew that the vet was in trouble....

 

 

Ah, I must have missed that, I tend to tune her out, thanks

[Chaos Theory]

I think having Datak  return right away would have been a mistake.  This episode was about the immediate consequences of the war.  Like my above post said for Stahma just because she had been pardoned doesn't mean anyone had forgiven her.  Added to that fact she had to mourn the death of her husband.  .  Having Datak return would ruin the moment. 

 

Then there was the emotional impact of the war on Nolan.  Having Datak return would switch the focus from Nolan to Datak and that would be a mistake.  This was soley about how the war and the loss of life of so many effects a man like Nolan.  

 

Yes Datak is going to return eventually but to return the this episode would have ruined the emotional tone of the episode.  

Edited August 1, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[90PercentGravity]

The scene with Nolan sloppily drinking in front of the memorial was just plain BAD. It was trying to pull emotions it wasn't earning. I don't remember a single one of those people from before a couple of episodes ago. That combined with the bad OOT acting and the horrible music made it almost seem like comedy. Really weird note there.

 

If you take out every scene with Nolan this episode, it is actually not a bad episode. I think anything was bound to be a bit disappointing after the awesome that was last week. 

[raven]

I liked the scene with Nolan at the memorial.  GB isn't a great actor, but he can pull off drunken guilt, it worked for me seeing bits and pieces of flashback of the people who died; otherwise they were just flat pictures to me. 

 

Kind of disappointed that they went predictable and it was Kindzi doing the killing.  Would have preferred some kind of exotic creature sneaking into town. 

 

I guess Papa Omec sure didn't want her to have sex with Nolan, and then eat him.

I don't know how much he cared about the sex part, but he definitely lured her out of there with his own snarling, maybe to get her to go home so he could confront her before she killed anyone else.  That was my thought anyway.   I'm kind of annoyed at Nolan's and Amanda's obvious fear of him BTW.  With everything they've faced, it seems OOC, they know he's hiding some knowledge about more dead citizens and they just tear out of there. 

 

 

I think I just hate it because the suicide was used as revenge more than grief.

I get that reaction and I found it believable.  He wanted to end his own suffering while trying to make sure that Nolan still suffers.  I'm just glad we won't have more guilt-tripping scenes. 

 

I also liked Stahma's mourning ritual and the fact that Alak moved to the McCawley's house; I'd like to see him getting set up there.  I assume he did that recently when he didn't need the servant to watch the baby (though how is he making a living?) and he probably expected Stahma to return to the white house now that she's pardoned. 

 

Dr. Yewll allowing the doohickey to be implanted is consistent with her character; she's brave in her own way but doesn't want to die.  I'm hoping that she has some idea to fix that situation.  Count me with those who think she just knocked out the vet and didn't kill him. 

 

 

Having Datak return would switch the focus from Nolan to Datak and that would be a mistake.

I agree; I assume Datak's going to make quite an entrance which would have felt out of place in this episode.

Edited August 2, 2015 by raven

[Rosieroo]

 

Getting tired of Nolan's leather coat and several layers of clothing to (try to) hide his widening body.

Is he pregnant?  I hate it when they do that. Scully with the scrubs always behind an autopsy table and Cordelia with the Zoe baby.  Pfft.  We can always tell. 

[maczero]

Getting tired of Nolan's leather coat and several layers of clothing to (try to) hide his widening body.

It fooled me.  I wonder if the powers that be want to portray Nolan as physically fit or if the character wants to hide that he's getting a little doughy.

[SmithW6079]

Count me with those who think she just knocked out the vet and didn't kill him.

 

I hope so. The deaths of other human characters didn't really bother me (I never really liked the McCawleys), but it bothers me that the snarky vet might have been offed so soon.