FSL Challenge 3: Bringing Home the Reasons...
Alright, here are 10 moments that made me love Farscape... 2 from each season, and 2 from Peacekeeper Wars. It could easily have been 10 from each, and I still would have had an overabundance.
SEASON 1: Both moments are from the same episode, one I have loved since the first viewing. Through the Looking Glass.
First...
This episode features a moment where John arrives in the blue Moya, and asks Aeryn where she had been. "I was trying to get out of here, I didn't know if you were coming back." "I'd never leave you."
Quick statement in the midst of a lot of complicated dren on Moya (what else is new?) -- but we cut to Aeryn's face after he says it, and she looks so pleased. She smiles like it's confirmation of something she knew deep down. John would come back for her, of course he would. Such a contrast to the Aeryn in DNA Mad Scientist who tearfully admitted "I wanted to find a place where I could belong... I didn't want to get left behind." Just a few episodes later, and we have Aeryn, who on some level now knows she never will.
Second...
I never fail to smile at the closing scene of Through the Looking Glass. In the words of Ben Browder at the Final Frelling Farscape Convention "If there is an enduring legacy to Farscape, which is in the story, it is hope, it is love, it is adventure, and it is family..." In this scene, we see for the first time that the crew of Moya has become exactly that. A family, brought together by chance and happenstance, and yet a family nonetheless.
SEASON 2
First...
The relationship between Pilot and Aeryn is a beautiful one, and this scene in The Way We Weren't is the culmination of an episode that explores shame and regret, and then forgiveness and healing and growth.
"The fate of Moya's true Pilot was sealed at that moment. So you see, Aeryn - it wasn't really you who caused her death. It was - me. If I hadn't agreed to come, Velorek may never have found a replacement Pilot. But... But I just wanted so desperately to see the stars."
"Do you remember when you first came aboard Moya? Velorek stroked your cheek like this to calm you. Back then, I couldn't fathom why he would do a thing like that - and now, I couldn't fathom not doing it. We've come a long way since then Pilot. And we've still got a long way to go. Take the journey with me. "
Second...
Aeryn and John in the neural cluster in Die Me Dichotomy... John may have been under the control of Harvey in this scene, but Aeryn was being absolutely honest, and it was beautiful. "You will never be lost..." A faint echo of the moment in Through the Looking Glass where John says he'd never leave her - but now it's Aeryn who is promising to stay.
SEASON 3
First...
At the end of Relativity - Aeryn's grief after encountering Xhalax, and leaving her to be killed... John's love and understanding... Aeryn's willingness to accept it... The pictures tell the story better than I can, on this one. A crushing, beautiful moment.
Second...
Infinite Possibilities: Icarus Abides. Finally free of Harvey, and it feels so good. John's palpable joy, and Aeryn's relief in this scene make you almost believe that maybe sometimes things really do work out. You're crushed of that faint hope by the end of the episode, but it's a joyous moment while it lasts.
SEASON 4
First...
It just blows my mind that a show can whip around so wildly between tears and mirth! Noranti's dance in Lava Is A Many Splendored Thing is an ENDLESS source of amusement to me! She's just a crazy old lady getting her groove on in a cave filled with lava, and hey, what the heck, let's go bare-breasted! The horrified traumatized look on D'argo's face is absolutely hysterical! Farscape is just filled with little moments like this that make otherwise mediocre episodes memorable and utterly enjoyable.
Second...
I have to give this one to Constellation of Doubt as a whole, couldn't not... I think it's one of the most brilliant episodes of Farscape. It's a little sad, and a little troubling, but I think an accurate depiction of what our response would be to a bunch of aliens landing - suspicion, mistrust, and media sensationalism. Poor John, who'd been so sure initially that Aeryn would belong on Earth, and then was plagued with the visions Noranti gave him in Dog With Two Bones, now has proof positive in a transmission from home - Earth isn't ready for the wonders he has seen.
Peacekeeper Wars
I tried to be a little off the beaten track with these...
First...
I was just so darn happy to see Jool again. I'd loved her on the show, and missed her when she stayed behind on Arnessk, and it was great to see her again! I don't know why she went all 'Jane of the Jungle' but, whatever. And Rygel's quip in that scene is just TOO FUNNY! Augh Ryg, never stop being deadpan hilarious!
Second...
Stark's healing at the end of PK Wars moved me more than I could have expected. He was always such a tortured character. Sometimes used for comedic value, yes, but under it all was always that mournful madness. I was so glad that there at the end, he found a measure of peace.
"Crichton, whenever we cross paths, I leave the encounter transformed. And no more so than on this occasion. Thanks to you, I have found my own internal peace... Remember me, John. Till we meet again."
SEASON 1: Both moments are from the same episode, one I have loved since the first viewing. Through the Looking Glass.
First...
This episode features a moment where John arrives in the blue Moya, and asks Aeryn where she had been. "I was trying to get out of here, I didn't know if you were coming back." "I'd never leave you."
Quick statement in the midst of a lot of complicated dren on Moya (what else is new?) -- but we cut to Aeryn's face after he says it, and she looks so pleased. She smiles like it's confirmation of something she knew deep down. John would come back for her, of course he would. Such a contrast to the Aeryn in DNA Mad Scientist who tearfully admitted "I wanted to find a place where I could belong... I didn't want to get left behind." Just a few episodes later, and we have Aeryn, who on some level now knows she never will.
Second...
I never fail to smile at the closing scene of Through the Looking Glass. In the words of Ben Browder at the Final Frelling Farscape Convention "If there is an enduring legacy to Farscape, which is in the story, it is hope, it is love, it is adventure, and it is family..." In this scene, we see for the first time that the crew of Moya has become exactly that. A family, brought together by chance and happenstance, and yet a family nonetheless.
SEASON 2
First...
The relationship between Pilot and Aeryn is a beautiful one, and this scene in The Way We Weren't is the culmination of an episode that explores shame and regret, and then forgiveness and healing and growth.
"The fate of Moya's true Pilot was sealed at that moment. So you see, Aeryn - it wasn't really you who caused her death. It was - me. If I hadn't agreed to come, Velorek may never have found a replacement Pilot. But... But I just wanted so desperately to see the stars."
"Do you remember when you first came aboard Moya? Velorek stroked your cheek like this to calm you. Back then, I couldn't fathom why he would do a thing like that - and now, I couldn't fathom not doing it. We've come a long way since then Pilot. And we've still got a long way to go. Take the journey with me. "
Second...
Aeryn and John in the neural cluster in Die Me Dichotomy... John may have been under the control of Harvey in this scene, but Aeryn was being absolutely honest, and it was beautiful. "You will never be lost..." A faint echo of the moment in Through the Looking Glass where John says he'd never leave her - but now it's Aeryn who is promising to stay.
SEASON 3
First...
At the end of Relativity - Aeryn's grief after encountering Xhalax, and leaving her to be killed... John's love and understanding... Aeryn's willingness to accept it... The pictures tell the story better than I can, on this one. A crushing, beautiful moment.
Second...
Infinite Possibilities: Icarus Abides. Finally free of Harvey, and it feels so good. John's palpable joy, and Aeryn's relief in this scene make you almost believe that maybe sometimes things really do work out. You're crushed of that faint hope by the end of the episode, but it's a joyous moment while it lasts.
SEASON 4
First...
It just blows my mind that a show can whip around so wildly between tears and mirth! Noranti's dance in Lava Is A Many Splendored Thing is an ENDLESS source of amusement to me! She's just a crazy old lady getting her groove on in a cave filled with lava, and hey, what the heck, let's go bare-breasted! The horrified traumatized look on D'argo's face is absolutely hysterical! Farscape is just filled with little moments like this that make otherwise mediocre episodes memorable and utterly enjoyable.
Second...
I have to give this one to Constellation of Doubt as a whole, couldn't not... I think it's one of the most brilliant episodes of Farscape. It's a little sad, and a little troubling, but I think an accurate depiction of what our response would be to a bunch of aliens landing - suspicion, mistrust, and media sensationalism. Poor John, who'd been so sure initially that Aeryn would belong on Earth, and then was plagued with the visions Noranti gave him in Dog With Two Bones, now has proof positive in a transmission from home - Earth isn't ready for the wonders he has seen.
Peacekeeper Wars
I tried to be a little off the beaten track with these...
First...
I was just so darn happy to see Jool again. I'd loved her on the show, and missed her when she stayed behind on Arnessk, and it was great to see her again! I don't know why she went all 'Jane of the Jungle' but, whatever. And Rygel's quip in that scene is just TOO FUNNY! Augh Ryg, never stop being deadpan hilarious!
Second...
Stark's healing at the end of PK Wars moved me more than I could have expected. He was always such a tortured character. Sometimes used for comedic value, yes, but under it all was always that mournful madness. I was so glad that there at the end, he found a measure of peace.
"Crichton, whenever we cross paths, I leave the encounter transformed. And no more so than on this occasion. Thanks to you, I have found my own internal peace... Remember me, John. Till we meet again."