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Recap / Farscape S 03 E 18 Fractures

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Season 3, Episode 18:

Fractures

In the midst of the usual crisis, Moya and Talyn are reunited and the two crews get a chance to talk about what's happened since their separation. Aeryn in particular is still in the midst of a Heroic BSoD after having lost and grieved over the man she'd fallen in love with, only to be reunited with someone near-identical. Most important of all, Crichton receives a message from his deceased double, who reinforces how dangerous the wormhole knowledge is and charges Crichton with the task of protecting it. Realising what he's got to do, he comes up with a plan and asks the crew for help:

Crichton: So that's what I'm doing. You don't have to come along. You don't have to like it. I just wanted you to know.
Pilot: Moya and I are against this idea in totality. I am sure Captain Crais is aware that Talyn resists also.
Chiana: You don't know how far Scorpius is in his wormhole research. You don't know where he keeps it. You don't know anything. How are you gonna stop him?
Jool: I'll pass if you don't mind.
[...]
Crichton: Guys... I don't see another option. Scorpius has the knowledge from my brain and I'm not gonna let him shaft the universe with it.
[A beat. Then Aeryn stands up and joins Crichton. A moment later, Crais does the same.]
Chiana: You're all gonna die.


Tropes present in this episode include:

  • Bait-and-Switch: The Cold Open sees the crew on Moya excitedly awaiting the arrival of a transport pod they believe came from Talyn. When it arrives it's filled with strangers and not their friends. The Talyn crew arrive later in the first act.
  • Bloody Hilarious: The Boolite exploding when it was shot by the Peacekeeper, and the panicking head landed right next to Jool and Crais, which caused them to start panicking too.
  • Brain Bleach: Most of the characters are clearly unsettled at the idea of Rygel and Orrhn making love on the ship.
  • Call-Back: Aeryn attempted this when she tried to remind Crichton of the first time they used make-shift anchors, before remembering he's the wrong Crichton.
  • The Cameo: Stark, in his last appearance of the season, briefly appears as a recording to tell Crichton he has a message for him.
  • Deus Exit Machina: When a Peacekeeper signal is first detected, Moya starbursts and Talyn does so along a similar trajectory, which keeps him out of the action when the villains later try to escape in a transport pod.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Almost all of the inhabitants of the pod have parallels with the crew of Moya, except gender-flipped. The inhabitants included A male peacekeeper, Androgen (intersex) Nebari and female Hynerian. The only exception is the friendly Scarran (a counterpart to D'Argo) and the Boolite.
  • Hidden Villain: Orrhn Pak
  • Intersex Tribulations: The episode features Moya's crew making the acquaintance of another gang of fugitives escaped from Peacekeeper custody. One of them, a Nebari named Hubero, turns out to be intersex: effectively exiled from her people, she bitterly refers to herself as "not exactly male, not exactly female, not exactly anything." As it turns out, intersex individuals - known as "androgen" - are a persecuted minority in the highly-conformist Nebari culture, to the point that most are executed at birth; Hubero only managed to avoid this because she grew up on an isolated liberal colony, but when the Peacekeepers raided it and tried to ransom her back to her people, Nebari Prime refused to take her in. Needless to say, she's the most guarded of all the fugitives, and only feels comfortable revealing herself to Chiana - another Nebari exile and cultural rebel.
  • Last Request: "Look at me. Now, look at yourself. You know. Don't let Scorpius crack this. Whatever it takes."
  • Ludicrous Gibs: The Boolite started the story as living gibs before being slowly put back together by Jool and Crais, then ended the story as gibs again.
  • Mood Whiplash: This episode is filled with it; such as the first time Crais screams due to Ludicrous Gibs landing on him to Crichton playing scissors-paper-rock with the hologram of his dead duplicate.
  • No Man Should Have This Power: During the message, the dead Crichton says wormhole technology could fry an entire solar system. He says the Scarrans are back to square one and implores his counterpart to keep the Peacekeepers from developing this technology.
  • Not So Stoic: When the remains of the Boolite land in Jool's lap during the fire fight in the sick bay, Crais screams just as loud as her.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: Lani Tupu himself thought this was the case when Crais starts screaming at the sight of the re-dismembered Boolite.
  • Personal Effects Reveal: Crichton goes through his dead counterpart's belongings. After looking over clothes and Winona, he comes across Stark's mask and learns about the message.
  • Rock–Paper–Scissors: During the message, the two Crichtons do this one last time. Still tied.
  • Shout-Out: Crichton compares talking to the disassembled Boolite to Naked Lunch.
  • Take Up My Sword: The dead Crichton tells his counterpart that the Peacekeepers are his problem and implores him not to let Scorpius obtain wormhole technology.
  • The Tape Knew You Would Say That: The dead Crichton knew he and his counterpart would both shoot scissors and proceeded to laugh.
  • Token Heroic Orc: A friendly Scarran is a crew member of the escape pod.

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