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Ka D'Argo
Dargo
First appearance Premiere
Last appearance Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
Details
Nickname(s) D, D'Arg, Heavy D
Gender Male
Species Luxan
Affiliation Luxan Systems
Romantic Associations Widower of Lo'Laan Tal; Briefly engaged to Chiana; Romantically involved with Jool, Nilaam as well as several other unnamed females
Known Family Son, Ka Jothee
Vehicle of Choice Lo'La
Weapon of Choice Qualta Blade, Luxan tongue sting
Portrayed by Anthony Simcoe
Lani Tupu (voice) ("Out of Their Minds")
Gigi Edgley ("Out of Their Minds")
This article is about the Luxan. For the child of John and Aeryn see D'Argo Sun-Crichton.
"I'm your daddy!"
― Ka D'Argo (last words)

Ka D'Argo was a luxan.

Biography[]

Living an honorable life is difficult when you lose everything you love.

For Ka D'Argo, eight painful cycles as a prisoner of the Peacekeepers was nothing compared to the horrors that preceded it; the death of his wife, the loss of his son and the unjust murder conviction which left him helpless to do anything about it.

D'Argo is a huge, bellicose Luxan - a race of fierce, much-feared warriors known throughout the galaxy for their propensity to conquer anything or anyone in their path. Their first reaction to most every situation is to attack first and ask questions never.

Pre-Show[]

As a young Luxan, D'Argo dreamed of two things: becoming a mighty warrior and having a small farm to share with a family of his own. He followed the better-known traditions of his people and became an honorable warrior with two battle engagements to his credit. Then he met Lo'Laan Tal, a Sebacean woman, and the two fell madly in love with each other. But because of Peacekeeper prejudices, her family would never allow her to marry a non-Sebacean. The couple fled to a distant farming colony, where D'Argo established a home for them. The couple soon produced a son, Ka Jothee, and for a time, D'Argo thought he could be happy.

But when Jothee was about five or six cycles old, Peacekeeper Officer Macton Tal, D'Argo's brother-in-law, tracked the family to their refuge, and murdered Lo'Laan. Tal then accused D'Argo of the crime, arresting the Luxan while his own hands were still wet with his sister's blood. Tal blamed D'Argo's hyper-rage and at times D'Argo thought it was possible he had killed his wife in a hyper-rage blackout. Before he was taken away, D'Argo sent Jothee into hiding, fearing for his son's life. D'Argo was convicted, chained, and eventually imprisoned aboard Moya until the Leviathan and her captives escaped Peacekeeper custody.

D'Argo sported the tattooed chin markings of a general—a rank he never held. During his time in combat, he took the marks to protect a valued commander, hoping that the enemy would mistake him for his superior. His ruse worked, yet he was embarrassed by the lingering deception, but other species did not seem to notice.

D'Argo was extremely strong, well-trained in combat tactics and weapons, and shared the well-deserved Luxan reputation for violence and impulsiveness. He was often loud and blustery, and lost his temper with unnerving ease. When irritated, he was capable of lashing out with his Luxan tongue sting, temporarily stunning them. When truly angry, he fell victim to hyper-rage, attacking any other nearby males in order to establish dominance. These terrifying bouts often took days to subside. He had, through much effort, developed control over the hyper-rage, gained some serenity in his life. His anger towards the Peacekeepers was unquenchable and all the years of quiet hoped for the day when he could bring justice against Macton Tal.

Season 1 and 2[]

Freed from imprisonment, D'Argo reclaimed his Qualta Blade (the Luxan ceremonial long-range and close-combat weapon, and a symbol of his honor) and joined Moya's crew in their flight into the Uncharted Territories. He did not reveal the truth about his confinement when first asked, instead claming to have murdered a superior officer. He found his past history too painful to discuss, and would rather lie than endure any uncomfortable questions. It took some time before his crewmates uncovered the facts of his undeserved sentencing.

D'Argo had more difficulty connecting with others than the rest of Moya's crew. Despite his uncompromising attitude and impatient personality, D'Argo is capable of sympathy and kindness towards his crewmates; especially when they are in distress, and his determination and aggressiveness have their place on board. His bravery is unquestioned and his strength has become a rock on which his crewmates stand. He began to listen and learn the basics of strategy and science from around him, and regularly assists in repairs to Moya. D'Argo takes his ethics seriously, and he will not ignore his responsibilities to his friends in favor of his own personal interests.

While D'Argo hates all Peacekeepers (whom he blames for much of his misery), he has formed a deep friendship with Aeryn Sun, since they share the same straight code of ethics. Though initially wary of Crichton, due to his physical similarity to the Peacekeepers, he has come to realize that John has little in common with them, and the two have slowly gone from uneasy allies to close friends, sharing a brotherly bond between them. Rygel's mercenary ways and ability to get into trouble exasperate him, and he has little patience with the former Dominar. Yet D'Argo has a respect for Rygel's political knowledge which he has learned much from.

Dargo new look

D'Argo's altered appearance, Season 2 onward

Season 3[]

With Aeryn Sun dead, everyone is on a short temper. And impatient to find out what's happening on the ice planet. Eventually Rygel finds John and everyone goes down. John is unable to speak. But Scorpius is behind the scenes controlling Grunglik and tricks Zhaan, and D'Argo and Stark managed to stop her from "putting John out of his misery.". Eventually they all escape but not before Zhaan gives away most of her spiritual energy to restore Aeryn to life, a sacrifice that starts to slowly and painfully kill Zhaan. Meanwhile, despite his many untold hardships, Jothee does not treat D'Argo particularly well and generally acts selfish and somewhat cold and distant.

Chiana knows D'Argo wants to marry her but she isn't able to go through with it, and knowing D'Argo won't take no for an answer, selfishly starts an affair with Jothee as a means of getting D'Argo off her back. This affair only lasts two episodes and D'Argo finds out about it very quickly, initially being more angry at Jothee then Chiana. He brands Jothee with a Luxan union tattoo in his blaze of pain. Also he finds an old Luxan ship that he claims for his own. Soon after that, when they are about to go a planet where Zhaan can heal, John starts to check out a wormhole that pops open, and the instant he does, a Pathfinder ship crashes into Moya by accident, and the collision puts them into the wall of the wormhole. In order to save everyone, Zhaan pilots the Pathfinder ship into oblivion, turning all chances of her life being saved into dren, but saving everyone else as well.

D'Argo held John partially responsible of Zhaan's death because he should not have checked out a wormhole while they were trying to save her. Soon after that, D'Argo was split in two equal and original D'Argos, but one of these D'Argos died, same for Chiana. John was split in two as well, but both of his "twins" lived and went on separate adventures when Moya, reunited briefly with Talyn, had to flee, with half the crew on each ship, to escape the Peacekeeper retrieval squad nearby. Moya's crew at this point contained one John, D'Argo, Chiana, Jool, and Pilot, while Talyn's crew contained the other John, Aeryn, Rygel, Stark, and Crais. Jool, the woman the crew saves from the Ice Planet, slowly started to fall in love with D'Argo, and D'Argo learned how to control his ship, although almost killing John once while he was at it.

D'Argo liked Jool but he was still hurting severely from Chiana's betrayal, and in fact was sensitive about the affair and Jothee for the rest of the season. Eventually Talyn returned. One of the John's sacrficed himself to stop the Scarrans from getting wormhole weapons, as did Jack The Ancient, whom D'Argo encountered two cycles previously. Stark had also left to search for Zhaan's spirit and D'Argo wasn't sad about that. Soon after they returned, Moya's crew and Talyn decided that theyed want to obey the wishes of the dead John Twin and go after Scorpius to permanently sabotage his wormhole weapons development. They succeed, but only because Crais and Talyn starburst WITHIN the command carrier Scorpius commands, which was the same ship that had pursued them since the very first episode. Soon after that, Moya's crew, except for Pilot, Jool, and Noranti, all went separate ways to their own ends, and D'Argo, now that his collar bone rings were removed and he now had info on Machton's current location, went after Machton, presumably to kill him, but somehow ended up on Arnesk with Jool instead.

Season 4[]

D'Argo still dreamed of a day when he and his son can be reunited as a family, but would gladly give his life to save Moya or her crew. But fate would have it otherwise, as D'Argo was forced to sit helplessly in Moya as he watched both Crichton and Aeryn struck down on the planet Qujaga. During this season, D'Argo was voted captain of Moya. After Aeryn was captured by the Scarrans, he promised John they would not give up on her, and kept his promise. At the start of this season, it looked like he had started (although barely) a romantic relationship with Jool, but they were forced to end it when Moya's crew had to leave Arnesk. Around the start of the second half of the season, Scorpius, D'Argo's clear rival in terms of strength and fighting skills, enlisted D'Argo, Rygel, and most importantly John, to take part in a mental arts training camp owned by his former mentor and master, Kutoya.

It was at this camp that D'Argo, at long last, ran into Machton Tal once again, for the first time in at least 12 years. Machton relentlessly tries to convince D'Argo that he killed Lo Laan in a bout of hyper rage, and eventually starts to convince D'Argo of the possibility that this is true. When Kutoya was trying to help D'Argo learn more about himself in a VR training machine, Machton either severely knocked out or killed Kutoya, taking his place on the controls of the machine, further trying to convince D'Argo that he is right, and almost succeeding, however, at the last possible minute, when D'Argo is about to be stuck in the machine in coma forever, he overcomes Machton and forces the truth out: Machton killed Lo Laan by accident during an argument/threat about why he felt the marriage should end, during a time that Lo Laan was trying to stab Machton to protect D'Argo and Jothee.

D'Argo then left Machton in a VR induced coma for the rest of his days, forcing him to relive his sister's murder until he dies, yet at the end, he was still worried about what his hyperage did to his long-ended marriage. At long last, justice was served, and D'Argo managed to get his long deserved revenge without resorting to murder after all. During the last two episodes of the season, D'Argo finally got back together with Chiana and at least mostly forgave her affair with Jothee (although clearly not entirely.). When the Moyans visited earth, D'Argo was considered by the media to clearly be the most dangerous, yet most understandable, of them all. But at the end of the season, he found himself screwed over once again, with Chiana blind, Pilot barely attached to Moya, and his newly engaged longtime friends, John and Aeryn, seemingly dead once and for all. He scream like there was no tomorrow as he watched in horror during the crystallization.

Peacekeeper Wars[]

After this unfortunate event, D'Argo and the rest of Moya's crew made contact with the people of Qujaga. Informed that the crystallization of Crichton and Aeryn was an accident, he and the rest of Moya's crew agreed to help the Qujagans recovered all of their friends' crystal remains. They spent the next 60 solar days doing this during which they stayed with the Qujagans in their hidden city.

After Rygel had recovered all of the pieces from the ocean floor and a Diagnosan found who could oversee the delicate operation, D'Argo was present to witness the reanimation of Aeryn and Crichton. Having heard about the recently declared war between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans, D'Argo agreed with the rest of his crewmates to stay in the hidden city for the time being and to finally marry off Crichton and Aeryn. Both plans, however, were cast aside with the arrival of Scorpius' command carrier. It was at this point that Noranti discovered the true identity of the Qujagans: they were the Eidelons, a species known for its abilities to influence peace. D'Argo learned from High Priestess Muoma that the Eidelons were the descendants of the Priests of Arnessk.

Having restored the priests and their temple a cycle before, D'Argo accompanied his friends on Moya back to Arnessk to reunite the priests with their descendants. It was hoped that the ancient Eidelons would be willing and able to instruct their brethren in their peace-inspiring abilities. The arrival of the Scarrans, however, ended this plan before it could begin. As the rest of Moya's crew and passengers were taken prisoner, D'Argo and Chiana slipped out in a cloaked Lo'La. The Decimator, however, was able to detect the ship through the cloak and destroyed it. D'Argo and Chiana were able to escape Lo'La's destruction, but were stranded in open space with only minutes until death.

Fortunately, both were rescued by, of all people, Jothee and a group of Luxan commandos aboard a modern Penetrator. Though the father/son reunion was a little uneasy, the Luxans worked together in an attack on the Decimator and the rescue of their friends.

After their escape from the Scarrans, D'Argo and his friends, now including Jothee, returned to Qujaga. They found the planet under attack by Scarrans and soon the site of a battle. Moya crashed in the ocean and D'Argo and the others made their way into the besieged city and to the Eidelon temple. From there, D'Argo helped defend the surviving Eidelons from wave after wave of Scarran attackers. After the birth of Aeryn's and Crichton's son, D'Argo helped lead the charge back to Moya's pick up point, battling the whole way.

D'Argos last stand

D'Argo's last stand.

Before they could reach their destination, D'Argo was fatally stabbed in the chest by a Scarran. Knowing that he didn't have much time left, D'Argo decided to stay behind and cover his retreating friends. After saying his good byes to Crichton and a tearful Chiana, D'Argo blasted the pursuing Scarrans and Charrids, howling for all to hear in his final moments.

Later, after the end of the war and the destruction of the wormhole weapon, Aeryn and Crichton named their son D'Argo in honor of their fallen comrade and friend, describing it as honoring his strength and courage.

Quotes[]

  • Fear accompanies the possibility of death. Calm shepherds its certainty.
  • If you can be an idiot, I can be an idiot.
  • John, I've never put this into words before, but I love shooting things!........ I'm also very good at it.
  • I've become so distrustful of people, even when they're trying to help me. What does that say about what I've become?
  • See plant, Kill plant.
  • I love shooting things.
  • We couldn't override their override of our override!
  • If you're going to be as stubborn as an unmated flibisk, I WILL go away.
  • Always happy to lend a hand to a dominar.
  • It's not you that I'm afraid for, Zhaan, it's the rest of the universe.
  • I WILL KILL MACTON! I. WILL. KILL THIS MAN!
  • I loved my wife. But you wouldn't know that - you didn't know Lo'Laan. I did. She could have left me for my failings. Maybe she should have, but I know this: she would never have left her son without a mother.
  • One thing you have to learn, my friend. There is ALWAYS time for beer!
  • Captain Braca, listen carefully. We've attached a bomb to Scorpius. Follow us, and the bomb explodes. Let us go, and the bomb deactivates. Couldn't be simpler. Oh, and don't bother responding. We're not listening.
  • [last words] I'm your daddy.

Involving Others[]

John: How much time did Zhaan say we'd have after we ignite the lutre oil?
D'Argo: She was vague to the point where I thought she didn't have a clue.
John: Excellent.
D'Argo: The bad news is that you're married, and must endure as a statue for 80 cycles in a strange world.
John: What's the good news?
D'Argo: Chiana and I are having fantastic sex!
D'Argo: Aeryn, John has said that he'd rather die than fall to the hands of Scorpius.
Aeryn: What makes you think I'd hesitate to shoot him?
D'Argo: Because if our roles were reversed, I would.
D'Argo: We're gonna bring him out here, and see how HE likes the cold!
John: And what if he likes it?
D'Argo: Look, one plan at a time!
John: He just better be taking care of her.
D'Argo: Oh, I'm sure he's taking care of her!
John: You know what I mean!
Aeryn: D'Argo! Can you please stop chasing John.
D'Argo: Um.... NO! YEAAARRRG!
Aeryn: Run, Forrest, run!
Jool: You're someone that.... I like. I just thought, that... if this ship means so much to you, that maybe.... if I learned a little bit about it, that maybe, we'd have something to talk about.
D'Argo: Thanks for making the effort.
D'Argo: Day by day, trust takes time.
Jothee: Yes it does.
D'Argo: CHIANA!!!!
Chiana: D'ARGO!
D'Argo: CHIANAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Background information[]

  • D'Argo's backstory changed between the days of Space Chase and the first episode of Farscape. In the original concept, he was a general, much older, and have been framed by another general. The producers did not feel that this D'Argo was vulnerable enough, and made him much younger. (Farscape: The Illustrated Companion, "Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v2.1)
  • When Farscape first began, part of the D'Argo make-up included green contact lenses however these were dispensed of early in the show's run.
  • Anthony Simcoe auditioned for the part using his natural voice and not knowing that he would be wearing prosthetics. When they were first rehearsing without make-up, his soft tones were not working for the part, and Simcoe switched to what became D'Argo's distinctive rumble. "It was a real last-minute decision, but it created that synergy between the mask and voice," remembers Simcoe. (Farscape: The Illustrated Companion)
  • Nigel Booth was the sculptor responsible for creating the original D'Argo mask worn by Anthony Simcoe. (Farscape: The Illustrated Companion)
  • D'Argo initially lies about his reason for being imprisoned, claiming he killed a superior officer. The truth was revealed in "They've Got a Secret"; Since his wife Lo'Laan was a Sebacean, a race widely known to be prejudiced against other intelligent species, her marriage to D'Argo was a cause of turmoil within her family. This caused Lo'Laan's brother to harass her about the marriage until he accidentally killed her in a heated argument. D'Argo later confronts his wife's killer, but rather than simply killing him, as he easily could in the situation, he left him to mentally relive the murder of his sister over and over forever.
  • D'Argo bears the facial markings of a general although he never earned that rank. He took on the markings so his actual general would not be captured and interrogated during a battle.
  • He has a powerful tongue that he can shoot out at a high velocity, similar to a frog or chameleon. The tip can inject an adaptive venom that can adjusts its potency to render a humanoid target unconscious.
  • Though D'Argo parts on bad terms with his son, Ka Jothee in "Suns and Lovers", they are later reunited and somewhat reconciled in the miniseries.
  • D'Argo is the only known character to have met Harvey inside John's head. Zhaan and Aeryn also met him outside twice (Zhaan through Unity and Aeryn fought against him twice. She died on the first occasion and was resurrected. Ironically, Harvey himself died on the second occasion).
  • D'Argo's most serious and longest lasting relationship during the series is with Chiana. He also has a short flirtatious fling with Jool, and an even shorter one with Zhaan.
  • D'Argo appears to die in the miniseries when he is stabbed through the chest and stays behind to cover the others' retreat. The entire planet is then ripped apart by a wormhole weapon.
  • D'Argo is parodied by the character Teal'c in the Stargate SG-1 episode "200."
  • D'Argo mentions that his parents are still alive in Season 1, but he never gets to meet them during the show.
  • D'Argo is one of nine characters to appear in all four seasons of Farscape as well as The Peacekeeper Wars. The others are Crichton, Aeryn, Rygel, Chiana, Pilot, Scorpius, Stark and Braca.

Alternate Versions[]

Gary Regal[]

Main Article: Gary Regal
Episode: "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Gary Regal was a presumably human representation of D'Argo presented to Crichton in the Scarran virtual reality device used in an effort to torture and break his mind. Cocky and ambitious, Gary was a fellow astronaut and rising hotshot in IASA. He also seemed to know how to have a good time, frequently hitting on any women he saw and noting that "there is always time for beer." When Crichton questions Gary's tentacled appearance, DK dismisses it as a "lifestyle choice".

Animated D'Argo[]

Animated D

Animated D'Argo

Episode: "Revenging Angel"

After an accident with an enraged D'Argo sent him to the brink of death, an unconscious Crichton created a cartoon world in the style of Chuck Jones in which he interacted with this version of D'Argo. D'Argo played the Coyote to John's Road Runner, chasing Crichton and getting injured in a series of failed attempts to trap him.

Hansel[]

Game D'Argo

Hansel

Episode: "John Quixote"

This image existed in one of the levels in a mental video game-like device created from Crichton's memories. In a strange reversal to the tale, Hansel had two witches (who sported the visages of Chiana and Jool) locked in a cage with plans to later eat them. Like other characters in the game, Hansel-D'Argo feared the wrath of the ogre and felt that he could not let Crichton and Chiana pass through his room without some molestation. Crichton still made it out of the room, unknowingly leaving Chiana behind after Hansel had tongued her. When Crichton later returned to the room and realized his mistake, he freed Chiana who quickly knocked Hansel out with a lollipop.

D'Argo/Rygel[]

Dargorygel

D'Argo/Rygel

Episode: "Unrealized Reality"

D'Argo/Rygel existed in one of the unrealized realities Crichton saw while being shown the dangers of wormhole travel by the Ancient "Einstein". He appeared to be much like Rygel with Luxan features, including a beard and a miniature Qualta Blade. Like the D'Argo of Crichton's universe, he was considered captain of Moya, had slept with Chiana/Aeryn, and had been married to Lo'Laan.

When Moya came under Peacekeeper attack, D'Argo/Rygel tried to maintain control as chaos reigned around him. Becoming stressed as no one listened to him, he tongued and accidentally killed Chiana/Aeryn and was caught in an explosion moments later.

Jool/D'Argo[]

D'Argo Jool

Jool/D'Argo

Episode: "Unrealized Reality", "Prayer"

Jool/D'Argo existed in one of the unrealized realities Crichton saw while being shown the dangers of wormhole travel by the Ancient "Einstein". She appeared to have D'Argo's size and nose with Jool's hair, skin, body, outfit, and personality. Crichton first encountered her while Moya was under Peacekeeper attack. True to his Jool, she was easily panicked, providing little help against the Peacekeepers. Her hysteria eventually led to Crichton knocking her unconscious.

When Crichton returned to the "Bizarro"-Moya with Scorpius, he encountered Jool/D'Argo once again. Crichton and Scorpius had kidnapped and bound Chiana/Aeryn, hoping to give Stark/Sikozu someone to cross over. Suspicious of their intentions, Jool confronted them with a pulse rifle. When Crichton offered no explanation, Jool opened fire on them, forcing Crichton to return fire, killing her. Her personality seemed to be an aggressive version of Jool.

Alternate Dimension D'Argo[]

Episode: "Gone And Back"

This D'Argo lived on an alternate version of Moya having survived his 4+ cycles there. He was happily married to Chiana, never met Aeryn, and is the captain of Lo'La. In this reality, Lo'La is Talyn. D'Argo is also good friends with another person in that version of Moya's crew, Coron.

Appearances[]

Dargorygel
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