Defiance: Of a Demon in My View (Recap and Review)

By the time end credits rolled on Defiance last week, Nolan was sent off for execution in Brazil and Kindzi had overpowered T’evgin placing herself in charge of the sleeping Omec in orbit above the Earth. This week, Of a Demon in My View has Nolan being taken from his temporary captors, Doc Yewll as Omec assistant and Kindzi is indeed the new big bad, along with the Omec hoard that she is in the process of waking for the Dread Harvest and Berlin is back.

Things have been going south for the denizen’s of Defiance since Rahm Tak was destroyed. Now, just when you thought things could not “go south” any more than a crazed Nolan killing the Voltanis Collective emissary, and his being sent to Brazil for his own execution, Kindzi proves to be clever enough to take over the reins of power from T’evgin.

While last week’s episode was pretty dark, and anyone who forgot just how dark need go no further than the pre-opening credit scenes in this week’s show. The specter of The Butcher of Yosemite is still with Nolan. Irisa and Joshua sit in the back of the van and the camera shows the “shadow” all dressed for battle and no one to fight. Irisa asks Nolan if he can still see it and he says yes.

Datak Tarr and Stahma are playing cards while waiting for the Omec leader to give them the Kindzi all clear. While they wait, Datak takes little jealous nips at his wife. In one of the few amusing moments in the show, Tarr shows that he still resents his Favi Tarr sleeping with T’evgin. Stahma reassures him that while she has affection for the Omec leader, her heart belongs to Datak.

Kindzi is draining her father’s blood to keep him weak. “You are stronger than any other Omec, stronger than me.” she tells the chained T’evgin. “You should just kill me,” T’evgin tells her. “Kill you? No.” Kindzi leans close to her father and after kissing him, finishes in their native tongue, “I love you father.”

The Omec princess loves someone else too, or perhaps lusts after is a more accurate description of her feelings for Joshua. It is she who took Nolan from the Voltanis Collective and Irisa, who was rescued from the crashed van by Berlin, comes close to figuring that out. She recognizes the bite marks on the dead VC members. Meanwhile, Doc Yewll who is still under Kindzi’s control, is keeping Nolan alive.

Doc still will not remove the remaining bits of “hardware” from Nolan’s head but Kindzi has no issue with endangering her new pet. She takes the remaining tech out of Nolan’s brain but not before Yewll displays uncharacteristic backbone as she tells the Omec princess that she is “broken.” The Indogene’s  analysis of Kindzi includes telling her that: She has a screw loose, is a born sociopath and is “sick.” She ends her display of bravado  with “You make me sick and that’s the truth.”

*Sidenote* Did anyone else hear Lily Tomlin’s character of “the kid” lisping delivery in their head – “and that’th the truth.” (Insert raspberry noise here.)?

Kindzi kicks Yewll out and does the risky surgery herself. (She is not going to have a damaged pet thank you very much.) She forces the drone to take the last of the tech out and instantly the connection between Irisa and Nolan is severed.

A pause to contemplate the return of Berlin (played by Canadian actress Anna Hopkins). Jessica “Berlin” Rainer scarpered away from the rogue VC troops and Rahm Tak just when Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) needed her most. Using her weapons dealer boyfriend as combination excuse and means of transportation, Berlin deserted what she saw as the sinking Defiance ship. Now she is back, she says, to offer the mayor of Defiance help since Nolan went nuts and killed the Collective emissary.

Meanwhile back at the Omec “headquarters” Kindzi seduces Nolan. Afterward, as the two “cuddle” and Kindzi praises Joshua for his killing of the “Castithan politician.” She tells him that the action reminded her of how her father used to be. Nolan explains that killing the vice chancellor is not something he is “proud of.”

As their post coital conversation continues, Nolan learns that the shadow he saw, while the arktech was still in his head, is not unusual. According to Kindzi there is even an Omec name for it. Joshua begins quizzing Kindzi about the raid where she rescued him and how Irisa is. Kindzi starts lying and Nolan, despite having just had brain surgery, picks up on it.

After one amusing moment where Kindzi actually offers to make pancakes for Nolan, he tells her, “No, I got this,” and heads to the kitchen. He grabs a knife and Kindzi shocks him. As he drops the weapon and falls to the floor, she tells her new pet in her native tongue “You’ve disappointed me.”

Disappointment is the theme in the Tarr household as well. Datak has hired some reluctant mercenaries to guard Stahma as T’evgin has still not arrived to give the Tarr’s the Kindzi all clear. Datak is desperate to see Doc Yewll. She is not answering her hailer and he wants to know how to kill a mature Omec, in case T’evgin has sided with his daughter. He is not overly thrilled with his temporary security force.

Andina (Amy Forsyth) tells Datak to give her a gun. “I’ll fight for you Favi,” she says, “die defending you if necessary.” Stahma is touched. Tarr gives the handmaiden a gun and tells her “Safety’s on the side.”

Nolan is learning that he has lost status with Kindzi. He is no longer a cherished pet. Now he is to be lunch. Irisa and Berlin show up at Kindzi’s to look for her father. Kindzi gives them the run of the place. Berlin decides to warn Amanda that the VC convoy was attacked, and Nolan taken, while Irisa stays to search for her father.

Joshua has escaped and found a weakened T’evgin. As Nolan frees the Omec leader, T’evgin explains that Kindzi wants war and that her sociopathic tendencies are his fault. Andina and Stahma have a little “getting to know you” time. It seems that the handmaiden’s bonding with Alak and Luke has given her ideas. While Stahma shows Andina how to “knit” the girl tells her Favi that this closeness is only temporary. Favi Tarr plays “matchmaker” and points out that Andina could raise her social status through marriage…to Alak.

Andina puts all her cards on the table and tells Stahma that while she “whispers” into Alak’s ear for him to forgive his mother, she can bring Luke to his grandmother for secret visits. Stahma, looking at the knitting, says, perceptively, “you’ve got quite a knack for this. I’m impressed.” It looks like the Shanje may be getting a new family member.

Berlin, risks the wrath of Amanda (Julie Benz) to tell her of the attack and Nolan’s kidnapping. Rosewater immediately begins collecting personal bits that belong to her missing lawkeeper. She plans on placing these at the attack site and telling the Voltanis Collective that Joshua Nolan was killed in the attack.

Datak Tarr finds Doc Yewll and she tells him of a pandemic and offers him a vaccine. She injects him as he insists that the Tarr family need to be inoculated. He passes out and Yewll promises that she will be collecting his entire family, “the Omec will see to that.”

Berlin helps Amanda drag Votan bodies into a fire and the mayor of Defiance reluctantly thanks her former lawkeeper. Berlin tells Rosewater that she will be there as long as she is needed, “Conrad understands.”

“I missed you,” Amanda says flatly. “Same here,” says Berlin.

Kindzi interrupts Nolan while he is releasing T’evgin. She throws Nolan across the room and then goes to eat him. Irisa stops the feast before it can get started emptying her gun at Kindzi. As she comes down the stairs, she throws an axe at Kindzi and it misses. T’evgin grabs the weapon and uses it to free himself from the last of the chains.

His daughter demands that he fight and kill Nolan and Irisa, “They will come back with weapons and kill me,” she says. Telling Nolan that this is not his fight, T’evgin tells the father and daughter to leave. After a very short battle, Kindzi tricks her father and kills him. “You are old and stupid,” she tells her father as he dies. Kindzi screams, it is not a victory scream but one of grief.

Cue a flashback to 1978 and the Omec ship is scanning radio frequencies. T’evgin and Kindzi are the only Omec awake and just as she states that nothing is out there, a song crackles into life on the radio, it sounds like the Bobby Day original version of “Rocking Robin”. The Omec father and daughter dance to the music, excited that they have found the Votan’s planet of refuge.

After this brief memory, Kindzi sings a ceremonial song and then rips her father’s heart from his chest and eats it. She flies to the Omec ship, where a caged Datak Tarr waits to be eaten in the Dread Harvest. Kindzi is awakening her brothers and sisters for the big war and feast. Datak is not alone.  His cage is surrounded by hundreds of others, Doc Yewll has been a very busy Indogene. Tarr begins speaking in Castithan as he struggles to free himself.

This episode was the “Kindzi hour.”  As predicted, she is now the new villain in Defiance and Doc Yewll is her reluctant “sidekick.” Intense stuff from all concerned and it seems that Andina’s climb to gain social status may be interrupted by the Omec Dread Harvest.

Most shocking moment of the show had to be T’evgin’s “death by Kindzi” followed by Datak’s waking in that cage.

Nolan and Irisa may be going for reinforcements and Berlin may have come back to help Amanda, but this could all be for naught if those Omec siblings wake up too quickly. Kindzi and her family are almost ready to take part in a Defiance smorgasbord.

Meanwhile, the Voltanis Collective have yet to learn of the Nolan convoy incident. These uncomfortable allies may well help “save the day” when Kindzi starts “the big munch.”

Defiance is part of SyFy Friday and is not to be missed. Fans will now be desperate to see who survives this latest threat.  Join them and be mesmerized by Julie Benz, Grant Bowler, Tony Curran, Julie Murray, Stephanie Leonidas and Nichole Galicia as Kindzi.