Overall: 7.7
This one shouldn't be underestimated. The premise is kind of dopey, but in the end, the message is very strong.
Plot Synopsis:
The Farscape Wiki has a summary here.
The Skinny:
This episode is a prime illustration of why SABR Matt and I settled on our three-tier rating structure. A glowing ball of energy that spits out genetically altered clones of Our Hero? That's pure B-movie sci-fi fit for the "meh" range. But weirdly enough, writer Grant McAloon has his heart in the right place, a fact that becomes increasingly apparent as the episode approaches its zenith.
These days, a lot of people have swallowed the idea that smarter is better. In the political arena especially, a shiny degree from a top-flight university and a certain eloquence seem to get you very far indeed. But are these supposed "brights" better leaders when all is said and done? Hardly. As it turns out, a high IQ does not necessarily shield you from shoddy reasoning -- and it certainly doesn't ensure that you are morally centered. Look at all the intellectuals over the course of history who've taken a shining to totalitarianism. Stalin had many "smart" admirers, and so did Hitler.
McAloon, fortunately, does not subscribe to the notion that intelligence makes you a better, more valuable person. CranioCrichton may be able to work out problems at lightning speed, but as we see, he is spiritually and morally empty. He is, in point of fact, a devastatingly accurate portrayal of the consequences of hyper-rationality. CaveCrichton, on the other hand, may not have much in the way of pure brain power, but he has all of the original Crichton's heroic instincts. In other words, he embodies the Chestertonian idea that virtue is distinctly irrational in those moments in which it means everything.
Writing: 7.0
As I said, the idea behind the episode is pretty silly, and until the end, the execution is merely okay.
Acting: 7.0
There's also not much to write home about on the acting front. This is a par episode for this cast.
Message: 9.0
Being a brainiac does not make you better. As McAloon highlights in his characterization of CranioCrichton, many supposedly bright people use their smarts to rationalize all sorts of hideous evils.
Highlights:
CranioCrichton: Where is he? (He means CaveCrichton, of course.)
John: I let him go.
CranioCrichton: I thought you would. John, you had your chance - and you blew it. You let your emotions get the better of ya'. You couldn't face reality.
John: You wanna face - reality? Face reality! We were saving ourselves at someone else's expense!
CranioCrichton: He wasn't worth saving. Come on, John-ee, don't tell me you didn't think that? I can see a part of you still thinks it. Remember the way you first saw the ape-man? How you could legitimize sacrificing him? Well, guess what? That's the way I see you.
(And in a lightning-fast movement, CranioCrichton fires and John drops, using the cover of Moya’s tremors and vapors to take cover out of the line of fire.)
John: Tell me something - if I wasn't here, you wouldn't volunteer to go in the sphere - would ya'?
CranioCrichton: Moya might emerge through the dimensional portal unscathed - I'll take that risk.
John: Oh yeah? Aren't you special. With an attitude like that, do you really think you're the best of the three of us?
CranioCrichton: You know I am.
John: Yeah - you're fantastic. You're gonna fit in great around here. The rest of the crew's just gonna love ya'.
CranioCrichton: They will when they see what I can do for 'em.
John: You just told me you'd sell 'em down the river - let 'em go through the portal! I tell you what - you ever wanna know what it was like to have 'em as friends? Just think back to when you were me.
CranioCrichton: You're very judgmental for someone who's still hiding.
(And with that, John drops down from the rafters in front of CranioCrichton - with his gun drawn.)
John: No, I'm not. We're out of time. (He grimaces at CranioCrichton - and tosses his gun aside.) Bet you didn't guess that move.
CranioCrichton: You're very predictable.
John: I prefer to think of it as reliable.
CranioCrichton: Oh. (Then he sucker-punches John, who goes down like a sack of potatoes but doesn't lose consciousness.) You understand it has to be this way. I could never really be me with you still around. I'd always be the outsider. Smarter. More capable. Yet not quite John. Can you understand how frustrating that would be?
John: You think you're ever going to be anything but an outsider?
CranioCrichton: Better'n dyin'.
John: So you're the future. I'm glad I won't be here to see it.
(And he silently turns towards the green sphere. CranioCrichton watches dispassionately as John approaches it - but just as he's about to make contact with it - CaveCrichton leaps out of the shadows and brains CranioCrichton with a metal rod. CranioCrichton collapses and CaveCrichton grunts with satisfaction.)
CaveCrichton: (as John examines CranioCrichton) Dead?
John: Yeah.
CaveCrichton: Good.
(And he hoists the body of CranioCrichton over his shoulders and heads for the sphere.)
John: Hey! Hey - you don't have to do that!
CaveCrichton: (looking back at John) Want to. Not my place. Don't belong.
John: Look, I don't - I don't really belong here either.
CaveCrichton: Your time. Your place. My fate - I accept.
John: I understand. (A surpisingly good climax on so many levels.)
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