Defiance, the longest running series on SyFy Fridays, continues to entertain and last week’s episode, History Rhymes saw Alak reunite with Stahma and Datak after his escape from Rahm Tak. He grabbed his mother and put a knife to her throat. In this week’s episode of Defiance, Where the Apples Fell, his mother and father attack and the boy turns both his parents in for treason after ensuring his son Luke is all right.
By the end of this episode, Stahma is at death’s door and that of the Omec T’evgin, Datak is in custody for treason and Rahm Tak finally shows just how crazy he is.
Nolan shows up at the Tarr’s residence, Andina ran to get the Lawkeeper during the fight, and Alak reveals that his parents were working as spies for the V.C. Datak and Stahma go on the run and Joshua calls a meeting and puts the entire town of Defiance on their trail.
After sending out teams of Lawkeepers to find the two traitors, Irisa is tasked to look after baby Luke. Stahma and Datak split up, she goes to retrieve weapons and money from their garden and Datak goes to see Dr. Yewill. Rahm Tak addresses his troops and promises them that they will ride on Defiance in a few days time. While he pumps his people up a rider approaches and it turns out to be his wife Volubela (Mayko Nguyen in yet another role on a SyFy show, the other being Killjoys)
Nolan and Alak go to see T’evgin. The Omec leader refuses Nolan’s request for help against the V.C. and Kindzi learns that Alak’s mother and T’evgin had sexual congress at least twice. Before that, Nolan guesses that T’evgin is fairly powerless in terms of his spaceship and that is the reason he refuses to help. Kindzi is furious that her father had sex with Stahma and it is revealed that the Omec practice incest at a major level.
Stahma is in the process of retrieving the items from their hiding place when a deputy confronts her. She kills him and takes his weapon. Volubela reveals that the V.C. Collective know that Rahm has gone rogue and she asks him to go home. She is revolted at her husband’s actions. Tak says that he is doing this for his sons. She tells him that the Collective will forgive him if he stops now and punish him if he does not. The two have sex while the general gazes at his human head collection.
Berlin spots Datak going into Dr. Yewill’s office and calls Nolan. Tarr convinces the doctor to help him and his wife. Nolan shows up with Alak and the three follow Yewill and Datak. Kindzi and T’evgin clear the air about Stahma and she explains that she is not jealous about the “alabaster whore” but she is angry he did not tell her. At the end of their short conversation the two sink out of camera shot…
Yewill spots Nolan just as they get to Stahma and Datak runs off to save his wife. After being caught, Nolan questioned him while Alak watches. Joshua tells Datak that he does not know whether he is lying or not and grabs Alak threatening to shoot him. After shooting near his son, Datak swears that he knows nothing of Rahm Tak’s plans and he pleads with Nolan not to kill his only child. Afterward he realizes that both Alak and Nolan were working together and he laughs hysterically applauding the two of them.
Alak heads home and panics when he cannot find Andina or Luke. Irisa shows up with the baby calling him Bear. She tells him that they rescued his son from Pilar (Linda Hamilton) and that she called Alak and Christie’s baby Bear. Alak thanks Irisa for telling him who saved his son from the crazy lady in the woods.
Stahma shows up in Mayor Amanda Rosewater’s office armed with the deputy’s gun and the two get into a violent altercation. By the end of the fight Amanda is knocked unconscious and Stahma has a letter opener in her stomach. She tells the Mayor of Defiance that this will be the second time that she has spared Amanda’s life and that she hopes Rosewater will go to her grave wondering why.
Alak and Nolan talk about parents and children and Joshua tell him that he messed up when raising Irisa. Alak talks about Christie, he misses her and Nolan says that he knows.
Bebe comes up to Rahm Tak’s tent and stands waiting for his general to come out. Inside the tent, a tearful Rahm asks his dead wife to forgive him. Tak has murdered her and he drags her lifeless body outside telling his followers that she was hired by the humans to kill him. He tells Bebe, “Put on the coffee, it’s time to burn the city.”
Nolan and Datak talk and it appears that Amanda plans to hang him for treason Nolan also learns how Rafe died. After taking a spoonful of the food Joshua brought him, he asks for a dash more salt. Stahma shows up at T’evgin’s door bloodied from her fight with Amanda and asks for help.
Defiance is rushing toward Rahm Tak’s assault on the town and the character interaction continues to be the strong point of the show. Nolan and Irisa, Alak and his parents, T’evgin and Kindzi, and her apparent fascination with Joshua, Berlin with her hatred of Irisa, Stahma and Datak (his suggestion to moor a boat along the coast with wild otters was touching and seemed to signal his acceptance that things were going badly) and General Tak killing his wife.
Lee Tergesen’s rogue general with his almost desperate interest in all human culture gets the best line of the episode with his fractured coffee line. Although Tony Curran as Datak gets special kudos for his scene in the cell, pleading and then becoming hysterical, and later in the same cell his “dash more salt” line is priceless.
Defiance is part of SyFy Fridays and in its third season. This show is simply addictive and not to be missed.
Mikes Film Talk 