Season 4, Episode 9:
A Perfect Murder
The crew of Moya get caught up in a planetary coup, and Aeryn gets bit by a bug that makes her kill 18 members of the planet and Aeryn almost kills John.
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Banned from Argo: The episode opens with Chiana being stoned by the locals for seducing their men. In fairness it's not just a matter of morality; there's fragile peace between the clans and anything could be used as a Pretext for War. Chiana doesn't help by saying she'll find another clan and start again there. Her friends shove her into a Prowler on autopilot to take her back to Moya.
- Fanservice: Sikozu's encounter with a local boy which sees her topless and carefully shot to avoid exposing too much.
- How We Got Here: The opening scenes are repeated later in the episode to show how the situation led to the shootout that killed 18 people.
- In Medias Res: The episode starts with the crew of Moya already on the planet and interacting with the locals. Viewer opinion was divided over
how well this was used. - Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Aeryn is naturally confused when Crichton comments that "Elvis has left the building."
- "Rashomon"-Style: More information comes out each time the scenes are repeated.
- Tempting Fate: Right after Crichton assures the local ruler that Aeryn and Sikozu aren't anything like Chiana, we cut to Sikozu doing the same crime that Chiana was accused of.
- Virgin-Shaming: Averted; Chiana is accused of seducing a woman's son, not her husband. Apparently they don't believe in Sex as a Rite-of-Passage on this world.
