Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Classics: Farscape 3:16 - Revenging Angel

Overall: 6.3

Okaaaaay. That was weird.

Plot Synopsis:

The Farscape Wiki has a recap here.

The Skinny:

Generally speaking, I like - and sometimes even love - crack. But I think I'm having trouble embracing the crack in this particular instance because the frame story makes D'Argo look psychotic. The extreme tantrum that puts John into his coma comes from nowhere in particular -- and the fit that results in the loss of D'Argo's qualta blade is equally nonsensical. Personally, I consider it a bad sign for the writing when Stark - who is genuinely insane - comes off looking more intelligible than his Luxan ally.

This episode is not without its virtues, however. The scene in which Jool admits she messed with D'Argo's ship because she simply wanted to make friends is actually rather nice. Meanwhile, the internal battle between John and Harvey over whether revenge is actually life sustaining or life destroying reaches a thematically appropriate conclusion when John dispenses with Harvey's ideas and decides to live for Aeryn's sake. And yes -- the cartoons are rather cute. Never let it be said that I can't appreciate a good homage.

Writing: 5.0

D'Argo's characterization is quite poor, so I must give the script a "weak" rating.

Acting: 6.5

Overall, the performances are merely par for this cast.

Message: 7.5

I'm giving the episode a positive bump for rejecting vengeance as a means to deal with confrontation.

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