S03.E10: When Twilight Dims the Sky Above

[formerlyfreedom]

Amanda decides to ignore Nolan's skepticism and welcome an encouraging Votanis Collective delegation to Defiance. Meanwhile, Stahma's loyalties are tested by an unexpected arrival; and T'evgin takes another step towards acclimating to life on Earth.

 

[laagamer]

More Omec stuff. 

 

Just get back to Datak vs Nolan. That'd be great. 

[Chaos Theory]

DAAAAAATTTTTTAAAAKK!!

 

He's Baaaaaaaaaccccccck!  With a new robot arm.  

 

Usually I am not a fan of love triangles but the one between PapaOmec/Stahma/Datak is entertaining.   I mean really only Stahma could get a man from a species that EATS her species to fall in love with her.  And yet she only has eyes for her husband.  Say what you will amour Stahma and Datak they do love each other.   Plus pragmatism is sexy.

 

So annoying war wanting Omec is now in control .  This does not bode well.  Although we could be looking at another war.  One where the Voltan and the humans have a common enemy.  The enemy of my enemy......and all that.  

 

Amanda ain't playing anymore.   But she does  clean up nicely.

 

I liked the Voltan leader.  I expected her to be a villain and was rather surprised that it turned out she was exactly who she said she was. 

 

Defiance isn't allowed to have nice things is it?  Like you know an arch.  Safety.  Coffee....  And well Peace.  

 

Poor Nolan losing his mind like that.    Now he is facing very angry Voltan and a death sentence.   I swear I wasn't tearing up at the end with Nolan and Amanda.   Really no tear.  

 

NOOOOOOOLLLLLLLAANN!

Edited August 8, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[HunterHunted]

Hooray more Kindzi and war with the Votanis Collective! Said no one ever.

I don't think that the show runners know that Defiance works best when it's Deadwood with aliens and humans. These grand world changing stories don't really work and aren't doing anything for me.

[mustbekarma]

Kindzi, AKA Petulant, is as useless as tits on a boar. She just automatically ruined this episode for me. Although Papa Petulant wasn't really much better. The only saving grace was that he warned Datak to protect Stahma, and that Papa actually does care for Stahma. Although it came across as a favored pet rather than "luv, twu luv" to me.

 

Nolan took a ride on the crazy train, thanks to shell shock and stupid Ark tech. I feel fairly confident that Nolan and Irisa won't be killed off the show, but it they pull a McCauley on them, I'm out. I watch this show for Nolan and Irisa.

 

Come on, doc, why couldn't you have pulled the tech out of your neck? You could have spared us more scenes with Petulant.

[Suren Talon]

Nolan gets an insane HeadNolan! I don't think that it was from Arktech, it was from guilt.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Suren Talon

[AlwaysWatching]

Poor Wendy Crewson!  Why couldn't she have had a 3 or four episode arc?  I was really pissed at Nolan shooting, ahh, what was she called..High Commander of the Voltan Collective.  I never remember the names of alien species or their alien names.  I did want to say that I think this season has been very good. Last season I forced myself to watch the episodes.  I'm really enjoying the Omec. That's easy to remember, heh.  All I can tell you about his name is that it starts with a T.

 

I do agree with the few that have pointed out that the show works better without having to worry about another group of aliens wiping out what little is left of earth or her creatures.  Also, I never dreamed I would care for Datak. Just never liked the guy.  He's won me over and I do love seeing that he and Stahma truly love each other. Then again, I also find Stahma hot with Omec.

 

The show should get it's stuff together and give us either more Dr. Yewel ( did I get that right? ) or give her a spin-off.  She's the absolute funniest alien on TV.  Even when she is having to do something evil she can spout the words "Oh, the humanity." and I laughed.  At first I thought she was trying to find a way to get the thing out of her neck and that's what she was doing at the work table. Then I realized she was hacking into the pod that Kindzi(?) was in taking her out of stasis.  I foolishly thought she was going to make Kindzi take that dang thing out of her neck. Nope. Dr. Yewel is still a slave to the mind programming and literally meant "goodbye human race" once the constantly hungry and bitchy brat was set loose.

 

I was extremely unhappy with Nolan's storyline and friggin pissed when he killed Wendy Crewson.  If it wasn't for Irisa, I wouldn't mind if they replaced him. Having said that, I did like the way they had Nolan's past talking to him as the Butcher of where ever that was.  I thought Amanda was fibbing when she said Nolan's hallucinations were because of "arc tech".  If that did make him totally banana cakes and maybe we find out in the future all was not well with these particular VC...ahh. Hell no. He killed Wendy Crewson!

[thuganomics85]

Yikes, this episode's title was fitting.  Almost everyone on this show was left in a bad spot or took a loss of some kind.

 

Nolan, of course, is in huge trouble.  His guilt and possibly the Arktech on his head, caused him to loose his damn mind, and kill off one of the few reasonable people in the VC, who was trying to negotiate with them.  Amanda pretty much had no choice but to let them take him and he's off to Brazil, where there will be a trial, which I don't see going his way at all.  Irisa is coming along of course, due to the Arktech thing as well.  This is bad for Nolan.  

of course, the previews make it look like they won't even get to Brazil, thanks to Kinzi.

 

Meanwhile, after a brief moment of jealous rage over Stahma going back to Datak, T'evign seems willing to at least sit and talk with the VC of all things.  So, of course, this means Kinzi returns, thanks to having Dr. Yewll help her out this entire time, due to that thing she put in her neck.  And now she just turned the drone against T'evign, so know it's his turn to go into stasis, I guess.  Great. Just great.  I can only imagine what she is going to do with all the gadgets and powers.

 

At least Stahma and Datak reunite and get some nice "I came back from the dead and got a badass robotic hand!" sex.  Of course, I'm sure both are first on Kinzi's list, and it's not like they have many allies who would be willing to help them out.

 

Bummed that they got Wendy Crewson for just a one and done role.

 

Favorite part was Amanda's reaction to coffee, because seriously.  I can only imagine what I would be like if I had to go years without that necessity, heh.

[zxy556575]

Hooray more Kindzi and war with the Votanis Collective! Said no one ever.

I don't think that the show runners know that Defiance works best when it's Deadwood with aliens and humans. These grand world changing stories don't really work and aren't doing anything for me.

 

I certainly would have preferred a few episodes devoted to building a truce with the VC  before having it all go south. There were some interesting possibilities to explore with Datak trying to ingratiate himself with both sides, along with the personal dynamic between him, Stahma, and Papa Omec. I also did not want Petulant to return so quickly. Very one note, that girl.

 

Will somebody please pay the slightest attention to poor Yewll and notice that she has a damned bolt sticking out of her neck?

 

Why is Datak being so reticent about how he carried out his mission and managed to escape? Who does Amanda think he could possibly have been in cahoots with to take out Tak and his entire army, lose his arm, and still save himself?

[laagamer]

Wow. Really? WTF? Why make Nolan do that?
 

I'm very unhappy that Nolan is now out of Defiance. How can you not have the main character in the town named after the show?!

 

That just doesn't make any sense. 

 

As someone said above, these shuffle plots of major world players are just lack luster. They need to stay to the main core of characters. Nolan, Irisa, Datak, Amanda, Stahma. This is really disappointing.

 

If I have to watch 3 episodes of Nolan and Irisa screwing around outside of Defiance, WHICH I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH IS THE NAME OF THE SHOW AND THE PLACE THEY SHOULD BE, I might just stop watching.

 

This show is getting weak in terms of plot choices. After such a great Datak episode with the death of Rahm Tak, I'm left wanting. 

 

EDIT: The only way they could redeem this for me is to have Nolan and Irisa overthrow the Omec invasion and be welcomed back into Defiance. If I'm forced to watch a Defiance without them, or if they are killed off, I'm done with this show. Sorry, but that's just how I feel. 

Edited August 8, 2015 by laagamer

[GaT]

Hooray more Kindzi and war with the Votanis Collective! Said no one ever.

 

I was so hoping the petulant purple one was gone forever, but no, she had to come back, & whether he was rogue or not, as far as the audience knew, they were at war with the Votanis Collective all season. Having a real war with them now makes absolutely no sense, & just keeps dragging out a plot that is overdue to be finished.

 

There's only 3 episodes left in the season, how are they going to wrap everything up without rushing it?

[Clanstarling]

I can only take one over the top angry character with poor impulse control at a time. When Ywell freed Kinzi I rolled my eyes and braced for a load of suck - but didn't expect it would get to the levels that it did (neutralizing Tvgen).

 

I've always liked Nolan, but got pretty tired of his character this season with his levels of paranoia and anger. He started out having a sense of humor, if I recall correctly. Now he's hallucinating The Butcher of Yosemite, and I just can't... I don't care if the reasons are the arch tech, or PTSD. We've already had been through this before with Irisa and I'm tired of it.

 

Which makes me very, very sad. I love this show, but Doc Ywell seems to be the only "light" in the show - and even her quips aren't doing much, given her particular plotline. I get tired of impossible odds, anger and bigotry.

 

I personally don't mind if Nolan and Irisa are in Defiance at all times - they weren't in Defiance for an episode or two when Nolan was looking for her, and I enjoyed the perspective of a different town. I'm actually pretty curious to see what a town run by the Votanis Collective would look like. I think it would help us understand why Defiance is supposedly so unique in the world.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Usually I am not a fan of love triangles but the one between PapaOmec/Stahma/Datak is entertaining.   I mean really only Stahma could get a man from a species that EATS her species to fall in love with her.  And yet she only has eyes for her husband.  Say what you will amour Stahma and Datak they do love each other.   Plus pragmatism is sexy.

 

 

I agree.

 

And despite my fears about the Omec characters at the start of the season, and I guess against the opinions of some folks here, I thought the Omec stuff was great. It was nice to see T'evgin genuinely struggling with his "new path" and to see Stahma genuinely afraid of him. But both of them getting past that, but only with difficulty. 

 

And Kindzi might be annoying, but you gotta admit, that when crazy!Nolan burst in and did his thing, "I've been upstaged" was a great line.

 

Some things that have been made clear in this episode: It seems the Omecs definitely created the Indogenes, and that the Votanis Collective was formed not for the evacuation, but earlier, to resist the Omecs. These are two things that were hinted at earlier, but I don't think they've been confirmed until now.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[CoderLady]

I love Stahma so very much. I love how she's gone by necessity from the simpering, manipulative power-behind-the-throne crime boss lady to a reluctantly brave force for good. I love her "This is my home now and no one is going to screw this one up" stance and how it's making her speak truth to the scariest person on the planet. If anyone or anything is responsible for saving the various bipedal populations of Earth from ending up in meat lockers on the Omec ship it's Stahma, though Kindzi may have screwed all that up. I hope she continues to be awesome.

 

On a shallow note, I thought she was most beautiful in her scrounged flannel shirt and soft trousers and unadorned hair while she was hiding out in Omec land.

[cali1981]

I love Stahma so very much. I love how she's gone by necessity from the simpering, manipulative power-behind-the-throne crime boss lady to a reluctantly brave force for good. I love her "This is my home now and no one is going to screw this one up" stance and how it's making her speak truth to the scariest person on the planet. If anyone or anything is responsible for saving the various bipedal populations of Earth from ending up in meat lockers on the Omec ship it's Stahma, though Kindzi may have screwed all that up. I hope she continues to be awesome.

 

On a shallow note, I thought she was most beautiful in her scrounged flannel shirt and soft trousers and unadorned hair while she was hiding out in Omec land.

I continuously marvel at Jamie Murray's acting in this series.  Her portrayal of Stahma is wonderfully subtle and nakedly transparent at the same time.  Considering the heavy makeup that she wears and the gold contacts, her facial expressions are amazing.  Everything that Stahma is thinking shows on her face and her calculations before her next move are always there to see.  She and Tony Curren (Datak) as individuals or as a couple are always worth watching.

[kieyra]

Ok, for some reason I had it in my head this was the season finale, and I was so very confused.

The Omecs are really the worst.

Second worst is "people behaving out of character due to junk in their head". It would be okay not to go back to that well quite so often. Flimsy drama generator. Can't Nolan and Irisa just be sane and competent for a while?

[zxy556575]

I can only take one over the top angry character with poor impulse control at a time. When Ywell freed Kinzi I rolled my eyes and braced for a load of suck - but didn't expect it would get to the levels that it did (neutralizing Tvgen).

 

I've always liked Nolan, but got pretty tired of his character this season with his levels of paranoia and anger. He started out having a sense of humor, if I recall correctly. Now he's hallucinating The Butcher of Yosemite, and I just can't... I don't care if the reasons are the arch tech, or PTSD. We've already had been through this before with Irisa and I'm tired of it.

 

Don't get me wrong, Defiance is still one of my favorite shows, but I am right there with you. Nolan seems not only broken this season, but extraneous. Either Grant Bowler is over it or he's been directed to show pretty much the same two expressions throughout.

[wayne67]

I find it interesting in a way that both reasonable people who were holding radical elements at bay were taken off the field . Perhaps this will pave the way for a new 3 way war between humans, Votans and the Omec.

 

I wonder if the Omec are called enchanters because they made the Indogen and possibly the Bio men or because they lure away good castithan women for hot sexy times before devouring them. I'm still waiting to see how durable Tevgin is compared to his daughter.

 

Despite Stahma's obvious bias she was proven correct when she hinted that Tevgin should take care of her decisively. Maybe next episode we'll find out how many Omec are on that ship.

 

It's good to know that the stasis net was taken out by being used as part of their last ditch attack against Rahm Tak otherwise it'd be too easy to take out any nearby enemies.

Edited August 9, 2015 by wayne67

[futurechemist]

I'm very unhappy that Nolan is now out of Defiance. How can you not have the main character in the town named after the show?!

 

That just doesn't make any sense. . 

It wouldn't be the first sci-fi show to do that.  There was a multiple episode arc where most of the main characters of Star Trek Deep Space 9 were kicked out of the titular space station.  I don't think Defiance is doing it well though.  It feels like they go to the "mind-control" plot device far too often.  Nolan is hallucinating.  Doc Yewll has a bolt.  Irisa was some kind of alien goddess.  I did like the inversion that for once, the alien outsiders were fairly reasonable and it was our "heroes" that messed it all up.

 

That being said, Tevgin brought all this on himself.  In the previous episode, he saw Yewll had the mind control bolt in her neck.  He could have easily removed it when he put his daughter in stasis.  He chose not to, and then it bit him in the ass.

 

I don't recall seeing or hearing anything about him, is the vet dead?  Or just sedated and captured?

[jhlipton]

At this point, I'm hoping that with or without the daughter, Papa Omec wakes his people, tells them about his Australia plan and they kill him before he does another 180.  "I jut want peace!!! I'm a carnivore who will eat you and enjoy it!  But I just want peace!"  A least the daughter is consistent (and much more fun than daddy).

[raven]

 

That being said, Tevgin brought all this on himself.  In the previous episode, he saw Yewll had the mind control bolt in her neck.  He could have easily removed it when he put his daughter in stasis.  He chose not to, and then it bit him in the ass.

Yup, that was the first thing I thought of.  I don't mind Kindzi, she's actually pretty threatening and I need some justification for why the VC are so terrified of the Omec, she at least provides that.  Plus "I've been upstaged" was fun. 

 

Jamie Murray is a star here - her scenes with both Tevgin and Datak were great.  You can tell she likes Tevgin well enough, fears his unpredictability and was looking for a way to let him down easy in the Australia discussion.  No way she wants to go there, no matter who he offers to take with them.  And be surrounded by Omec only?  What is he thinking?  Then we get Datak's triumphant return and it's obvious she really loves him.  And Tevgin's face when she ran to him?  Aw, sorry dude, you're hot in the sack and maybe would have been more given time but not now.

 

Speaking of which (oh hi Datak!!) I'm kind of a Datak apologist but Amanda bugged me for being so hostile to him.  OK, she was hoping he was dead and thought he was up to something, but he did almost die and cut off his own arm.  She did pardon him after all.  I did like her telling Nolan to leave and the Vice Chancellor dismissing Datak with "let the grownups talk".  It was nice to see the two women trying to work something out politically.  I was sorry to lose the VC, it feels like we sacrificed some potentially interesting story for more - mind control.

 

I'm also over the mind control thing.  How about just some normal conflict type stuff?  There's enough plot for that.  I wouldn't mind seeing some of the world outside of Defiance, I'm especially curious about Antarctica (isn't that where Nolan/Irisa were heading in S1?)  I want to see this paradise. 

 

Great costuming - Stahma's gray dress when she was with Tevgin, then pretty much everyone at the dinner (except Nolan, heh).  Though a little color wouldn't hurt, Defiance costuming people. 

 

 

I don't recall seeing or hearing anything about him, is the vet dead?  Or just sedated and captured?

We didn't see anything, I'm keeping fingers crossed for sedated.

Edited August 9, 2015 by raven

[Vandy10]

Sigh. This season is all about stamping out all hope, right?

 

I knew the Vice Chancellor lady was too good (i.e. moderate, reasonable, and peace-seeking) to be true. But I thought it was because she had secret, nefarious plans. Nope. Turns out she was too good to be true because Nolan had to shoot her.

 

Why did they let an obviously wack-a-doodle lawkeeper run around free anyway?

[Latverian Diplomat]

At this point, I'm hoping that with or without the daughter, Papa Omec wakes his people, tells them about his Australia plan and they kill him before he does another 180.  "I jut want peace!!! I'm a carnivore who will eat you and enjoy it!  But I just want peace!"  A least the daughter is consistent (and much more fun than daddy).

It wasn't a 180, exactly, and it wasn't random. Seeing Stahma and Datak together set him off. And he was confronting, perhaps for the first time, his ideas of peaceful coexistence costing him something (more precisely someone) he wanted. Someone that in his past would have been his for the taking. It would be unrealistic if that wasn't a struggle for him. IMHO, it was a well-written, and even better-acted, character moment.

Edited August 9, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[wayne67]

Why did they let an obviously wack-a-doodle lawkeeper run around free anyway?

 

Because Irisa didn't tranq his ass on sight when he started showing signs of the crazy or even take away his gun. I don't think there are any other deputies and Amanda is indulgent of Nolan's murderous quirks.

[Vandy10]

Because Irisa didn't tranq his ass on sight when he started showing signs of the crazy or even take away his gun. I don't think there are any other deputies and Amanda is indulgent of Nolan's murderous quirks.

And while Irisa disappoints me for not taking greater action against Nolan, I suppose it was in character for her. It's always been the Nolan and Irisa team against the world, so it makes sense that her first loyalty is to him. It was the wrong choice, obviously, but not an unexpected one.

[wayne67]

And while Irisa disappoints me for not taking greater action against Nolan, I suppose it was in character for her. It's always been the Nolan and Irisa team against the world, so it makes sense that her first loyalty is to him. It was the wrong choice, obviously, but not an unexpected one.

 

Considering her experience last season being mind frelled and bombing New York and killing Tommy you'd think she'd be a bit more invested in making sure Nolan didn't repeat her mistakes and got further help for his condition. Or at least was sedated for a few hours bed rest until Doc Yewll was less preoccupied. Instead he's now on the hook for killing a politician.

 

Did they ever explain how Irisa avoided any punishment or trial for murdering New York? And Tommy.

 

Tevgin overestimated his own ability to control his daughter/lover and completely flubbed the whole mind controlled indogene situation. No wonder his race is endangered, they seem to think they can do whatever they want without reprisals or reaction.

 

I did wonder why Amanda thought it was a good idea to antagonise Datak and Stahma in their own house.

Edited August 10, 2015 by wayne67

[maczero]

Nolan gets an insane HeadNolan! I don't think that it was from Arktech, it was from guilt.

I would prefer that it was from guilt but Arktech makes a nice defense if he's going to trial.

 

I'm very unhappy that Nolan is now out of Defiance. How can you not have the main character in the town named after the show?!

 

That just doesn't make any sense. 

 

If I have to watch 3 episodes of Nolan and Irisa screwing around outside of Defiance, WHICH I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH IS THE NAME OF THE SHOW AND THE PLACE THEY SHOULD BE, I might just stop watching.

 

I'm good with this development.  First, there's a lot of world building for this show.  The catch is you have to be into the video game or browse the show's website to view it.  It's a nice change of pace to have some of these other locations feature on the show.

 

Second, there's still plenty of stories set in Defiance.  Amanda, the Omec, the Tarrs and Yewell are all still in Defiance so it's not like the show is going to drop all that just to focus on Nolan's troubles.

 

Why did they let an obviously wack-a-doodle lawkeeper run around free anyway?

I think Amanda didn't know how far off the deep end Nolan had gone.  And Irisa hasn't seen Nolan like this so she was hoping he was strong enough to pull himself together without being forcefully drugged.

 

Considering her experience last season being mind frelled and bombing New York and killing Tommy you'd think she'd be a bit more invested in making sure Nolan didn't repeat her mistakes and got further help for his condition. Or at least was sedated for a few hours bed rest until Doc Yewll was less preoccupied. Instead he's now on the hook for killing a politician.

 

 

It's not like she did nothing.  She first tried to get him to take the drug willingly.  Her second attempt was to inject him the moment he turned his back and that earned her a gun in her face.  After that she had to choose between providing security for the party or going after Nolan while he was still wound up.  Did she make the right call?  Hard to say.  If she had pressed him any further he could have shot her.

 

 

Did they ever explain how Irisa avoided any punishment or trial for murdering New York? And Tommy.

 

From what we learned from Pottinger, the Earth Republic is all but finished.  So I doubt she'll be standing for her crimes in front of the E-Rep.  And thanks to that book about Irisa's exploits, I'm guessing many think she's a hero.  As for killing Tommy, I'm guessing that's more Amanda's call and she pretty much always backs Nolan and by extension Irisa.   

 

I did wonder why Amanda thought it was a good idea to antagonise Datak and Stahma in their own house.

I kinda like this.  It shows Amanda isn't going to forgive the Tarrs about Kenya.  And let's face it, the Tarrs aren't the power couple they used to be.  They don't have their crime organization and nearly everyone in town hates them.  If Amanda allowed it, I'd bet a good portion of the town would lynch them (or put them on the shaming rack).

[Chicago Redshirt]

Why did they let an obviously wack-a-doodle lawkeeper run around free anyway?

 

Obvious to us, but not necessarily to outward appearances. In terms of things he did that seemed over-the-top, calling Datak a haint and being a little paranoid was about the worst, and that's explainable by guilt/stress, and, of course, that Datak probably deserves to be called worse than a haint considering all the shady stuff he's done.

 

Also, it is not like they have too many backups.

 

Irisa was recently whackadoo and genocidal. Until recently, she had frozen to the point where she couldn't kill.

 

Berlin has peaced out.

 

It seems like everyone else who works for the lawkeeper is on strict redshirt status (like the poor guy Stahma killed about 2 episodes back).

[wayne67]

I kinda like this.  It shows Amanda isn't going to forgive the Tarrs about Kenya.  And let's face it, the Tarrs aren't the power couple they used to be.  They don't have their crime organization and nearly everyone in town hates them.  If Amanda allowed it, I'd bet a good portion of the town would lynch them (or put them on the shaming rack).

 

I don't mind that Amanda is pissed off about the Tarrs being responsible for multiple deaths but it seems awfully short sighted to piss off the people who you think has sway over the Omec who is providing the tech for mining the gualanite that keeps the town you run functioning. Threatening to have the Votan Collective Soldiers put a bullet into Datak seems like overkill, she could have just gone with "I'll revoke the pardon."

 

Papa Omec likes Stahma enough to stand up for her and hide her so pissing off Stahma seems like a bad idea considering that while Stahma and Datak no longer run the criminal underworld, they are still stone cold killers with expertise with explosives and deception.

 

Amanda really needs to invest in peacekeepers without rage issues or Ark Tech in their heads. No wonder the town of Defiance is shrivelling up and dying since they showed up.

[zxy556575]

Do we know how random people get into town? The stasis net is down now but when it wasn't, there were other travelers and buses and whatnot coming into town. Did there used to be a sentry at the pass or something?