S03.E04: The Lion, The Witch & The Warlord

[The Crazed Spruce]

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An ambush sends Dutch and Johnny on the run for help; D'avin tries to get to the bottom of a Black Warrant.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Just going by the promo, this episode is just oozing potential to be very good.

[johntfs]

I don't know if Kelly McCormack is deliberately channeling Emily Bett Rickards as early Felicity Smoak, but I'm cool with it.  I kind of like Zeph more and more.  She knows her stuff.  She's socially kind of awkward and knows it.  Figure part of the reason she wants to be right about things is to make up for saying the wrong things all the time.  Still, I hope we're just seeing a brief hesitation as far as telling the others about opening the remnant as "didn't have time in the episode to fully explore it" and not her keeping that a secret so she can figure it out herself.  But I fear that's what's going to happen.

[wanderingstar]

"I don't blush, I glow." Welcome back, Pree! Really enjoyed getting his backstory, and he and his ex, Lachlan, were hot together!

Liked this episode so much better than last week's. We got some movement on the Delle Seyah/Aneela plot. And there was some good D'avin snark ("my nipples are off limits until you do more research").

Next week looks good.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

This one requires a re-watch.   Better than last week, but just couldn't quite get fully invested.  (maybe I'm in the wrong frame of mind again, or something)

So even though it didn't happen, I was right about (at least) DSK wanting Johnny captured for revenge - and the plot/plan may still be on DSK's mind for later action to try again.

Pree and his long blonde hair was good.   But highlighted the lack of Fancy & Alvis (again).  Are they vacationing while Dutch is waging war or what the hells?  Muscle-head from last season was a hoot.  His "I'm ok" and "just gonna lay here for a bit" muttering after D'avin stunned him was pretty damned funny.

Finally nice to get resolution to whether D&D knowing about Johnny shooting DSK or not.  I get that it was kind of out of character of him, but I thought they laid it on a bit thick that D&D couldn't grasp it.  DSK did just flat out gut his woman right in front of him without batting an eye.  I kinda feel like revenge shouldn't have been too far a stretch to imagine.

Dutch blocked Johnny from Level 5 - before now - to protect his 'innocence'.   Never really understood the different levels on the same team, thinking on it.  Did that mean that while Johnny could aid Dutch, only she could kill the Black Warrant subjects?

*steps onto shipper soapbox*  Johnny didn't get to say it (nor would have said the whole truth), but his answer to Dutch's wanting to know why he came back, was because he loves her - in a non-platonic fashion.  Oh!, and the using of their mouths/teeth to transfer her hairpin/lockpick was a very nice indirect allusion to them sharing open-mouthed kisses.  *steps off shipper soapbox*

Aneela can see Hullen-based mind trippers.  But I must know, where did Turin and/or Team Awesome Force get non-neutralized Hullen for experimentation?   Did Johnny lift some from Niko & Livio and wasn't mentioned, or did I miss a direct reference to their supply in the last episode??

Khlyen's blood + Hullen = key to The Remnant.   Wonder what the pink stuff was, though.  Thought it looked like tissue or something other biological.

Edited July 22, 2017 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[thuganomics85]

Oh, yeah!  A Pree-centric episode, where they touch on this time as a Warlord!  Loved seeing him with his blonde locks (did they explain how he suddenly grew it back that quickly?  Some form of technology?), and meeting his ex, and the rough way they broke up (due to Pree bailing on him.)  Does explain why Pree is the way he is, but I hope he and this new bartender guy give it a legit chance.

Dutch and John get put through trials and have to compete with one another, and it ends with truth serum (naturally), which leads to them pretty much hashing out a lot of stuff.  Hannah John-Kamen and Aaron Ashmore were great together throughout the entire episode.  Still not sure if I want them to go the romantic route, but they certainly were playing around with it in this one.  Especially the scene of them exchanging the lockpick with their mouths.  Either way, I hope they move on from their issues and become stronger for it (while it might sting, I guess Dutch socking John was her way of saying that she won't treat him with kid gloves anymore!)

Zeph was more tolerable this go around and I wonder if it's because I think she works better opposite of D'Avin compared to John.  Then again, after not being wild about him in the first season, I'm starting to find D'Avin to be one of those characters who is great with pretty much everyone (really better get some more D'Avin/Fancy scenes soon.)  A strange comparison, but he is reminding me of Major on iZombie in that way.

Oh, Delle Seyah!  I really think she is going to end up being at the wrong end of an Aneela outburst.  So, Aneela can actually see other Hullen's during their mind trips or whatever they are called?  Hmm..

Heh, I'm really warming up Turin and his willingness to protect his killjoys, even if he thinks they are assholes!

Awesome episode.

[wanderingstar]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

but I hope he and this new bartender guy give it a legit chance.

Oh me too! I think they are cute together.

 

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Then again, after not being wild about him in the first season, I'm starting to find D'Avin to be one of those characters who is great with pretty much everyone (really better get some more D'Avin/Fancy scenes soon.)

Seriously! I can't remember the last time I had a turnaround on a character the way I have with D'avin. He's just great with everyone. I still remember his great scenes with Alvis last season ("You know, monk me up a bit") 

Speaking of which, I need more Alvis this season.

[UNOSEZ]

Is mayko nguyen pregnant the way they are shooting her makes me think so... Good epi... Looking fwd to the im daddy K's fav daughter battle tween nutso and aggro

[MissLucas]

Best episode this season so far but still no Fancy or Alvis, I guess we can't everyting. Plot moved along, great character moments (esp. Dutch and Johnny), snappy dialogues. And we finally got to see Pree's backstory which was as expected pretty awesome.* I was amused by the fact that the most fearsome mercenaries of the J have trial by combat turned into battle of skills and minds and not a simple fight to the death. Not what I had expected. And Dutch found herself an army though I'm not sure about pilots. Also: Dutch and Johnny's ice-moon gear was really cool - hard to not mumble 'Winter is coming' seeing at those coats.

Do we know who's the Admiral Aleena mentioned?

D'avin and Zeph were great. And yes, D'avin (or Luke McFarlane) is just great with everybody.

Hard to pick a favorite line but I'll go with: 'Your hair's too big for your face. You leave knives lying around everywhere and your pottery sucks!'

(* Speaking of awesome: I wouldn't mind seeing 'awesome' Killjoy return, just saying.)

[tessaray]

I thought that the Johnny/Level 5 subplot was a nice bit of continuity from early Killjoys where Du/J wouldn't take kill warrants. 

Oh, Zeph. Telling Dutch better be the first thing you do in the next episode. So, of course she probably won't.  I do think they are deliberately teasing the audience with a 1st season Arrow/Olicity vibe between Zeph and D'avin.  (As long as it doesn't get too much screen time, I don't mind.)  The Aneela/D'avin exchange was quite interesting and Pree looked pretty good with the warlord getup, too.  All in all, a definite improvement over last week.      

[Shenanigan]

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Hard to pick a favorite line but I'll go with: 'Your hair's too big for your face. You leave knives lying around everywhere and your pottery sucks!'

 

That was great, but I'll go with: "How are you feeling?" "Upside down-y." That dude's delivery of that was hilarious.

[2727]

Maybe it's my own antipathy towards multiple episode/season storylines, but I'm bored by the Hullen. I miss the team just getting a warrant, kicking butt, and having an adventure once in a while. Guess we've permanently moved on from that.

Edited July 23, 2017 by 2727

[CaptainTightpants]

Devin calling Johnny and Zeph "pocket protectors" was a great opening salvo! So many funny nerd comments in this episode, it was great to have a fun show again.

Poor Pree! Everyone keeps shooting up his damn bar! And while I wish that the show would ease up on all the new characters, I am quite enjoying the new bartender. (:

I had quite a bad feeling about Zeph at the ending though. She seems the type to really screw things up all in an effort to show everybody that she is the smartest nerd in the class. 

 

 

12 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Is mayko nguyen pregnant the way they are shooting her makes me think so... Good epi... Looking fwd to the im daddy K's fav daughter battle tween nutso and aggro

I assumed she was pregnant as soon as I saw her sack dress the first time. The costuming on this show is magnificent, and DSL has rocked some power outfits in past seasons. So pregnancy is the only reason I can think of for her to be dressed like she is. I'm glad that they aren't having her hide behind furniture or hold packages in front of herself, because that gets ridiculous pretty quickly!

Also, I think that Baroness Von Batshit is a sweet new nickname for her, and D'Av is awesome for coming up with It! Who could have predicted that he would become just about the funniest  guy in the show?

3 episodes  now without Fancy and Alvis, I have a definite madface about this!

Lastly, Banyon is coming across as an idiot. For someone who is supposed to have leadership experience and whose stated objective is to reunify the RAC, she is going about it all wrong! I honestly don't think she is Hullen at this point, just incompetent as a commander. Clearly I am really not enjoying this addition to the cast. Again I ask, why so many new characters and sideplots when we get such a short season?

[The Companion]

I agree that the Aneela portions didn't feel as forced this episode. They seemed to fit better this episode. I enjoyed this one, though I feel like we are due for a little more fun. It was nice to both get some backstory and see another group. I know they are doing it to get groups for the final showdown, but I have loved how the world has expanded this season. We aren't going to the same few locations. 

I do wish we had a little less of the overarching story. I get that we are building towards a show down, but I like the one off episodes better. 

[johntfs]

4 hours ago, CaptainTightpants said:

Lastly, Banyon is coming across as an idiot. For someone who is supposed to have leadership experience and whose stated objective is to reunify the RAC, she is going about it all wrong! I honestly don't think she is Hullen at this point, just incompetent as a commander.

Banyon reminds me a lot of Turin from Season One or so.  He didn't like the way Dutch and Johnny (especially Dutch) got special treatment and got away with breaking the rules so often.  He ultimately came around once the threat of the Hullen became clear.  Banyon is a law/rules oriented person who is as yet ignorant of the situation in the Quad.  I'd expect her to get pulled into a room where someone cuts her hand (or whatever).  Once it's clear she's not Hullen, she'll be read in and likely mobilize the resources Dutch needs to cleanse the RAC.

[marinw]

On 7/22/2017 at 1:31 AM, thuganomics85 said:

 Loved seeing him with his blonde locks (did they explain how he suddenly grew it back that quickly?  Some form of technology?

Maybe it was some sort of wig? I like him better bald, although he clearly likes hairy guys.

[tennisgurl]

I swear, they might not be deliberately trying to go to a Johnny/Dutch shipper place, but holy crap this episode was pretty hard core shipper fuel. Johnny looked like he was two seconds from telling Dutch he came back because he loved her, the whole key/mouth sharing, Dutch looking lovingly at him while in cryo freeze, its all right there. But even if they're still platonic best friends, this was a really great episode for them, and its been coming for this whole season. Glad they got to hash some stuff out, the chemistry between Hannah Aaron was as on point as always, and we got lots of snappy banter.

We also got Pree backstory! Oh happy day! He really is a Cave of Wonders, isn't he? His ex boyfriend seemed pretty cool too, I would be happy seeing him and his people show up near the end of the season for the big fight. I loved learning more about him, and he got to be sassy, and show some real emotion and development. I liked his new guy (of course Pree can make anyone, even people who he stabbed, fall for him) and I hope they can work things out, at least for a bit. Now we just need Alvis and Fancy, and we`ll have a REAL party!

D'avin in super protective big brother mode is always fun, and I really liked his banter with Zeph. I agree with everyone else that D'avin has really come along was as a character, now that they've let him be less angsty, and more fun. It matches the shows tone a whole lot more, and Luke has really great comedic timing.

I thought the plot with Dutch blocking Johnny from getting to Level 5 (I love the Killjoy celebratory tradition of punching people getting a promotion in the face! I continue to enjoy the shows world building of the different groups in this world) was really interesting, and was consistent with things that have already been established. I thought it was weird early on that Dutch and D'avin were both Level 5, while Johnny, who is super good at his job, never made it to the next level, and now we know why. I think Johnny had a good point that Dutch sees Johnny as the angel on her shoulder, and as this sweet, innocent guy who needs her to protect him and his innate goodness, while Johnny sees himself as a more complicated person whos capable of making questionable moral choices, and isn't his job to make Dutch a better person. On the other hand, I think a lot of it is Dutch just being protective, as Johnny is one of the few people in the world she cares about, and she doesn't want him to get hurt, or to become more like her. If anything, that says more about how Dutch sees herself than how she sees Johnny.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

This episode was much more engaging with a re-watch and seemed to flow much better than the first go-round.

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I swear, they might not be deliberately trying to go to a Johnny/Dutch shipper place, but holy crap this episode was pretty hard core shipper fuel. Johnny looked like he was two seconds from telling Dutch he came back because he loved her, the whole key/mouth sharing, Dutch looking lovingly at him while in cryo freeze, its all right there. But even if they're still platonic best friends, this was a really great episode for them, and its been coming for this whole season. Glad they got to hash some stuff out, the chemistry between Hannah Aaron was as on point as always, and we got lots of snappy banter.

I know, right?  And its isn't just the things said, its how the lines are delivered - both in tone and wording - that really makes a shipper notice.  I can't quote it all word for word, but the (possibly just imagined) subtext was through the roof in a lot of that 'truth jakk' exchange between Dutch & Johnny.  Call it a reach, but when Dutch asked Johnny why he bothered coming back, his hesitation and then the gassing felt like such a classic "stall" moment.  IE; one of those pre-romantic relationship moments on shows where a push to start the actual relationship is meant to happen but circumstances intervene to prolong the WT/WT.  Dutch can be pretty catty when jealous, as proven last season and in this one;  "You ran off with Clara to play 'house'.".  Not even close to what happened or reason behind leaving.

Then there's lines like "Did we break up back there?  Kinda felt like we broke up."/"Look, you wanted space.  I gave you space."/"I was talking 'actual space' space, not between us!" and "You know, its tough when Mommy & Daddy fight.".  How can a shipper not notice those types of dialogue.  It makes one wonder if ML & the writers are intentionally throwing bones to the Du/J shippers, even if it will never be more or different than a platonic 'lifebond'.

IF they are planning any Du/J in the future, the dialogue and sharing of feelings & truths needed to happen like they did here.  Kind of reiterating you're final points, @tennisgurl, but now instead of Dutch seeing Johnny mostly just as a geeky little brother, he opened her eyes to the fact that he isn't like she's always imagined or seen him as.  He's an adult who struggles with a lot of the same stuff she does.  Now she can look upon him as more of an equal, instead of her 'little ray of sunshine' that needs to be sheltered and protected, while only being most helpful as when serving as the physical avatar of angelic harmony to 'keep her from being a monster'.  And I think we saw her take the first steps in acknowledging and acceptance, when she greeted his awakening from cryo with a punch to the face.  "Now that you're a Level 5, no more pulling punches."

I've never paid hardcore attention to this type of thing in every single KJ episode, but when they have closely concurrent storylines running - especially the emotional & character development impacts - do they usually mirror each other fairly closely?   If so, then the Pree/Lachlan playing alongside the Dutch & Johnny could be implying...?  Pree, to Lachlan:  "For what its worth, leaving you burned a hole in my heart.".  Pree 'killed' Varrick and left Lachlan because he wanted the best for him.  The fallout of Johnny leaving after shooting DSK was him wanting to shield her (& D'avin) from the consequences;  IE, Johnny's version of doing what he thought was best for who he loves coughnon-platonicallyahem.  *innocently shrugging emoji*

Edited July 24, 2017 by iRarelyWatchTV36