Recap / Farscape S 03 E 08 Green Eyed Monster

Season 3, Episode 8:

Green Eyed Monster

While Stark and Rygel are away in a transport pod, Talyn gets eaten by a budong with Crichton, Aeryn, and Crais still on board. They manage to tether Talyn to the budong's digestive tract to avoid being digested any further, but still need a way out. Soap opera-level dysfunction ensues: Crichton and Crais are at each others' throats, Talyn despises Crichton and is straight-up abusive toward Crais, and Aeryn is left trying to keep everyone from killing each other. She even accepts a modified "Hand of Friendship" neural link in an effort to keep Talyn under control, although she abandons it by the end of the episode. Stark and Rygel argue extensively over whether Talyn and crew should just be abandoned to their fate, especially as Stark is convinced that the budong is an unstoppable killing machine that nothing can survive. Finally, they come up with a solution: there is water in the ice ring around them and Talyn has cesium fuel. Water + cesium = exploding water. Talyn escapes, but not before attempting to lock Crichton outside as the explosion goes off. Aeryn assures John that nothing is going on between her and Crais (no matter what Talyn says). He gives her some sappy line about her being his guiding star. They kiss.

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Tropes present in this episode include:

• The Bait: Stark switches off the electronics on the transport pod to avoid attracting the budong. When it's time to lure the budong into swallowing loads of ice, he turns on the electronics and flies across its Giant Eye of Doom, all while gibbering that they're candy. Rygel needless to say is not happy with this plan.
  Rygel: Mother always said I'd die from incompetence! I finally know what she meant!
• Bring Me My Brown Pants: Rygel and Stark barely escape being Swallowed Whole by the budong. Cue Helium Speech.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Stark is panicky and crazy, but he knows more about budongs than anyone else, and comes up with the plan to save them.
• But Wait, There's More!: Aeryn tries to convince Crichton that the Hand of Friendship has been modified to make it safer and less invasive.
  Crichton: Yes it's new! It's improved! It's the Finger of Friendship! $19.95! But wait kids! There's more!
• Call-Back: The crew encountered a dead budong back in Season 2.
• Camera Spoofing: Talyn makes it looks like he had Crichton Thrown Out the Airlock, when he's actually locked a spacesuit-wearing Crichton outside.
• Chekhov's Gun: Talyn's cannon is damaged when the budong first swallows it, then they anchor themselves using torpedoes. Later they can't ignite the cesium fuel because the cannon doesn't work, so Crichton has to go outside and arm one of the torpedo warheads as a Time Bomb.
• Compensating for Something: Annoyed over the Testosterone Poisoning between Crais and Crichton, Aeryn snarks: "Talyn, you've seen them both naked. Perhaps you can tell us who's bigger?"
• Continuity Nod: Stark and Rygel maintain Radio Silence at first because of the Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad hunting them.
• Crazy Enough to Work:
  • Crais and Talyn don't think much of Crichton's suggestion that they "drop anchor", but admit that it would buy them some time. Crichton and Aeryn have to go outside in spacesuits and fire handheld Tac-5 torpedoes with fusion-bonded rhenium claws into the budong's ribs.
    Aeryn: Unless you have a better idea.
    John: It was my idea. But it'll work?
    Aeryn: Well the cables are iridium alloy. As long as we hit bone, we should hold fast.
    John: Good. I must be smarter than I look.
    Aeryn: That would be easy.
  • Crichton in turn isn't happy about Crais's plan to navigate the budong's digestive tract and fly out of its ass (literally). Turns out it's not a good idea as, warship or no, Talyn would never survive the inferno that a budong uses to break down its food.
  • Stark's plan to make the budong vomit them out by making it swallow ice from the planet's rings, which when combined with their cesium fuel can be ignited to make an explosion. Unfortunately, the only explosives they can use as an ignition source are in the harpoon warheads that they fired off into the budong to anchor themselves.
• Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: After Crichton foils Talyn's attempt to release the anchor cables, Crais starts screaming in agony and rips off his jacket to reveal multiple sores and lesions caused by cybernetic bleedback. Turns out when Talyn is angry, he can use pain to control his Pilot. Even through Crais assures him that Aeryn's interface is limited, Crichton is justly pissed that he'd expose her to that risk in an attempt to reassert control.
• The Dreaded
  Stark: A Budong is a killing machine—death incarnate. Five cycles I spent on a Budong mining operation. Thousands went in, none came out. And those Budong’s were dead! This one's very much alive!
• Eat Me: Talyn opens fire as they fall into the budong's maw, but it has no effect.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Rygel throwing up over Stark actually gives him the idea of how to rescue Talyn.
• Gaslighting: Crichton complains about Talyn working the DRD's above his head all night, stealing his pulse pistol, locking the doors on him and keeping the shower ice cold. He thinks Crais is behind this until he gets locked outside of Talyn, whereupon Crichton acknowledges that Crais would never go that far, as killing Crichton would turn Aeryn against him.
• Giant Eye of Doom: Stark flies the transport pod over the budong's eye.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Right there in the title. The budong has massive glowing green eyes, but the real green-eyed monster is Talyn, jealous of Crichton getting between Papa Crais and Auntie Aeryn.
• Ignored Expert: According to Crais, Talyn doesn't believe what Stark says about the budong.
• Irony: Noted by Crais when Crichton pulls a gun on him. "We've come full circle, John Crichton. Now you want to kill me."
• Last-Name Basis: Crichton takes offense to Crais calling him "John."
• Literary Allusion Title: From Othello.
• Love Is a Crapshoot: Aeryn calls John on how he came into her well-regimented life and completely frelled it up.
• Man Bites Man: Rygel swallows the comm relay circuit to prevent Stark passing on his rescue plan. Stark has to force his hand down Rygel's throat to get it back, getting bitten in the process.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: What Talyn ultimately attempts to get John out of the way. Averted with Crichton who forgoes a legitimate opportunity to shoot Crais after finding out Talyn is controlling his actions.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Crais knew about Talyn's dislike of Crichton, but he's stunned to see what it almost leads to.
• Not What It Looks Like: While a stunned Crichton is watching the recording of Aeryn having sex with Crais, Crais is shown removing his jacket for Aeryn, and Crichton returns just as he's buttoning it up. Turns out the recording has been faked by Talyn and Crais is showing Aeryn his body sores to explain why she needs to help him control Talyn.
• Playing Possum: Crais goes to wake Talyn up for their escape only to realise he's been awake for some time.
• Recorded Spliced Conversation: Talyn uses this to lure Crichton into Crais's cabin, so he'll find the recording of Crais having sex with Aeryn. It's foreshadowing that the recording is faked as well, edited from Talyn's surveillance logs.
• Shipper on Deck: Talyn. The ship. He makes his own Fan vids. Erotic fanvids.
• Shock and Awe: Aeryn is able to temporarily shut down Talyn by yanking out a power cable and jamming it into Talyn's sense structure.
• Shout-Out: The stars Crichton has made up names for include Huey, Dewey & Louie.
• Sidetracked by the Analogy
  Aeryn: I want you to stop acting like a drannit.
  John: You know what? I have no idea what a drannit is.
  Aeryn: No don't play dumb with me! That hasn't worked for over 2 cycles, John.
  John: Aeryn, I am dumb! I don't understand you half the time and I have no idea what a drannit is!
  Aeryn: Fine! Forget the drannit!
  John: Fine! Screw the drannit! (Aeryn's mouth starts to twitch) What?
  Aeryn: You really have no idea what a drannit is do you?
• Space Whale: With the inevitable Jonah comparison from Crichton. And there are space harpoons.
• Stargazing Scene: After listening to Aeryn vent over how their relationship has ruined her life, Crichton coaxes her into joining him at the window looking out onto a starfield, and shows her a handwritten starchart he's making, with Aeryn as his guiding star. Said star twinkles as they have a Big Damn Kiss.
• Talk to the Fist: Rygel is shouting about the insanity of Stark's plan when Stark knocks him out with an Offhand Backhand.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Stark and Rygel on their transport pod fight while Crais, Crichton, Talyn and Aeryn barely survive thanks to lack of communication and their mutual jealousies and suspicions.
• That's No Moon: Crichton points out a small moon which, surprisingly, has appeared in the rings of the planet they're orbiting. Aeryn and Crais are wondering why they didn't see it before when the 'moon' changes course and accelerates towards them.
  Crichton: That's no moon...
  Crais: Talyn, focus on propulsion!
  Crichton: That's a Budong!
  (The Budong's mouth rises from the ring plane and swallows Talyn whole)
• This Is No Time to Panic: When Crais tells Stark of his plan to fly through the digestive tract, Stark is reduced to gibbering fear, shouting that a budong's stomach is an inferno that nothing living can survive. Rygel cuts the comms but Talyn hears this and starts to panic, using the neural link to force Crais to release the cables anchoring it.
• Violence is the Only Option: Crais tries to get Talyn to focus on propulsion to avoid the oncoming Budong, but it's too busy powering up its cannon which doesn't even scratch it.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Stark has Rygel Bound and Gagged while he's rambling away, but stops when he hears Rygel mumble an insult.
  Stark: What's that? My mother sucks what?
  (Stark removes the gag only for Rygel to projectile-vomit all over him)
  Stark: What have you eaten? (Rygel just looks satisfied as he wipes his mouth off and Stark struggles to keep his own gorge down) Ughugh! Oh! I think I'm going to—
  Rygel: Waste funnel's in the back. (he smiles as Stark rushes off and the sound of him retching is heard) I love that trick.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Aeryn shares "something denied to Peacekeepers" with Talyn via her neural link, then yanks it out to show what it's like to lose that person. Talyn relents and opens the airlock door to let Crichton back in Just in Time to avoid the explosion.