| Farscape episode | |
|---|---|
| “Suns and Lovers” | |
| |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 2 |
| Guest star(s) | Matt Newton (Ka Jothee), Leanna Walsmann (Borlik), Thomas Holesgrove (Moordil), Jessica Fallico (Alien Girl), David Lucas (Cryoman) |
| Writer(s) | Justin Monjo |
| Director | Andrew Prowse |
| Production no. | 10302 |
| Original airdate | March 23, 2001 (US); September 3, 2001 (UK) |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Season of Death" | "Self-Inflicted Wounds - Could'a, Would'a, Should'a" |
A stop at a space station turns out to be more trouble than it is worth when the station is hit by a damaging storm. Things get worse when the crew discovers the storm wasn't entirely natural, and another is on the way...
Synopsis[]
Rygel turns on a monitor to find Chiana and Ka Jothee having sex and gazes on. Meanwhile, Moya has docked at a commerce station near the Twin Suns of Qell to allow the crew to spend the money they stole from the Shadow Depository. As he gets drunk John Crichton is chatting to the barman, Moordil, when Ka D'Argo comes in and shows him some "union tattoo" for himself and Chiana, for their marriage. Stark tells Zhaan that they're going to find a planet where she can recuperate when they're finished. Aeryn Sun enters and sits with Crichton when a woman named Borlik asks if he is John Crichton. His reputation precedes him, and as she tells his story Crichton corrects her errors, blowing his cover. She says that they're all friends and they hate Peacekeepers here. As she orders him a drink, a storm suddenly hits sending the station into chaos.
Everyone is okay, but shook up and Moya's been thrown into the docking ring. Pilot calls Chiana to help, and Jothee sees one of the frozen Interions move. Chiana bumps into Rygel, who calls her a slut. He says he saw them, so she tells him not to tell D'Argo, but Rygel says he'll smell Jothee all over her. D'Argo, who was checking out the damage to Moya, says she's okay but tangled in some cables.
Borlik tells Crichton of the story of the three commerce stations which were cursed since they were built on the "Sacred Stillness." The other two are destroyed, and the storms that persist are getting worse and seem to be aimed at the station.
The Interion tells Jothee that they were on a mission looking for someone. He and another got sick, but Jool found them. He then throws up on Jothee and dies. Meanwhile, Chiana manages to seal the vent, but sees a trapped child through a window on the station.
Aeryn goes with Crichton to look for the child as Chiana says that Jothee killed the Interion. D'Argo's brings a ship on board and wants Chiana and Jothee to check it out, so she sends Jothee to bathe to get rid of her scent.
Aeryn tells Crichton that she's been thinking about how Peacekeepers relieve tension by reducing bodily fluids, through sex! Crichton is reluctant and says that now is not the time. As Aeryn unzips her suit she falls through the floor into a waste conduit. Pilot tells Crichton that the storm turned 90 degrees to hit them and another one is on its way in two arns. Rygel wants to leave, but Crichton says no. He asks who might want to destroy the station and Moordil mentions a religious sect who think that by buying and selling on their sacred ground they are desecrating it.
The ship that D'Argo brought aboard is protected by a defense screen which is still active. D'Argo tells Chiana that he's sorry and he wants to talk. She says she's not ready and she'll talk later.
The others have brought the DRDs on to the station to search for the source attracting the storm, when Stark takes a look at Zhaan's head – her condition is worsening much faster than they predicted. She says he shouldn't worry since he's an expert on dying and while he agrees he says he's just not an expert on her dying.
Jothee tells Chiana that he thinks D'Argo knows about them when suddenly D'Argo comes in and smells something other than Jothee's bathing lotion. He asks why they're both in the room and doesn't believe their reason. Chiana asks if he's spoken to Rygel and he asks about what. He realizes that the two of them have betrayed him and shows Chiana the tattoo. He says she'll never have it and imprints it on Jothee after knocking her away. He leaves and says he'll never listen to anything either of them will have to say again. As he leaves, he reveals that the smell was simply a burnt out power cell from the cryo-chambers... it was their own reactions that gave them away.
On the station, one of the DRDs picks up a signal and it goes crazy when Stark points it at Borlik, revealing that she is the source. She starts chanting and becomes stuck to the ceiling! The pipe she's against would freeze everyone if ruptured, so she's stuck there. Rygel stuffs a cloth in her mouth to shut her up. Pilot tells Crichton that a bigger source of the metal that the pipe's made of may attract her away, and they have a source of it on Moya – one of the Interion's cryo-chambers. Moya is still stuck in the cables, so even if they remove Borlik they can't get her away to keep the storm away. Crichton asks Pilot if D'Argo has looked, but Pilot says he's not answering his comm. Rygel guesses what's happened and reveals the truth about Chiana and Jothee's relationship.
Crichton goes to see D'Argo and says that he didn't know when D'Argo showed him the tattoos. He says they need D'Argo's help or they'll all die. D'Argo, clearly distraught, says that they broke his heart so everyone will die.
Crichton chews out Jothee and Chiana, angrily telling the two that they both betrayed the one person on Moya who would've done anything for either of them, even die. D'Argo, meanwhile, is drunk, but decides to go out anyway. Pilot says that Crichton told him D'Argo wasn't going and asks why he is. D'Argo just says goodbye, so Pilot urges him to come inside. Stark and Crichton are bringing the chamber aboard the station to pull Borlik onto it when Pilot tells Crichton that D'Argo's gone EVA.
D'Argo says that only two cables are left and they are power cables. Pilot can't turn them off and D'Argo says that he doesn't need to wait for Crichton. Chiana tells D'Argo to wait, but he says that she'll never tell him what to do again. Chiana tells Crichton to speak to D'Argo, but he won't listen and says goodbye to Crichton. As Chiana screams, D'Argo neutralizes the cable and floats away, but is caught on the end. Crichton goes outside to help him and get Moya clear. Chiana tells him to get D'Argo, but he says he has to free Moya first.
Aeryn finds the hatch to the nursery, but Moordil dies before he can give her the code to open it. She manages to shoot it open and get the group of children. Meanwhile, Crichton slips and floats away, but D'Argo catches him. They get the cable away and Crichton goes to go in, but D'Argo doesn't follow so Crichton says he won't go alone.
The storm is starting to shake the station again when Chiana and Jothee go to see D'Argo, who tells them both to stay away from him. Crichton finds Borlik stuck to Moya's wall, thinking she's won, but Crichton reveals that the door is detachable and sends her out as Pilot laughs maniacally. The storm follows and strikes her.
The children are back on the station and Stark tells Zhaan they'll find a planet for her. Crichton tells Aeryn he's been thinking about her suggestion, but she says maybe they should wait. He asks what about fluid levels and she says there will be a backlog.
Jothee is going to leave and is speaking with Chiana as D'Argo secretly watches. Jothee says that he betrayed D'Argo and Chiana says it wasn't all his fault. He asks why she did it and she says that she didn't like his plans for them but knew he wouldn't take no for an answer, so she did something unforgivable. Jothee says that she used him and she agrees but says he enjoyed it. He tells her that if D'Argo will listen to tell him he's sorry and that he'll return one day and make it up to both he and Chiana. D'Argo watches and burns the other union tattoo, almost in tears.
Memorable quotes[]
- John: You know what? I got two hands. (Puts hands on Aeryn's breasts) I can alternate, I can release all the tension I want. I don't need your charity. (Takes his hands off)
- Aeryn: And I don't need your emotions. But we can have sex if you want.
- Zhaan: Calm yourself, Stark. Please. You're the expert here. You've witnessed more death than anyone else. So many dissatisfied souls dying before they felt ready.
- Stark: Yes. I'm an expert on dying... I'm just not an expert on you dying.
- Aeryn: Frell me dead.
Background information[]
- Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) does not appear in this episode.
- The title for this episode was partly inspired by D.H. Lawrence's classic story Sons and Lovers. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- Justin Monjo decided he wanted to make Moya's crew run into its own tempest after reading The Perfect Storm. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- Mordril is the first time Thomas Holesgrove's actual voice is heard. Dave Elsey based Mordril himself on "Les", the foul barman from the BBC's Men Behaving Badly. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- Andrew Prowse had to use a hand held camera to get some of the shots he wanted. Danny Batterham, the director of photography for the series acted as the cameraman. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- DRD "One-Eye" makes a return appearance in this episode.
- One of the children found by Aeryn is played by Prowse's daughter Stella. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- According to Gigi Edgley, the producers wanted to keep Matt Newton on the show, but the young actor was in great demand and had to depart. Prior to appearing on the show, Anthony Simcoe had briefly taught Newton at NIDA, the Australia drama school. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.1)
- D'Argo and Chiana stay split up after this for almost two whole years, which is around the same time that Jothee returns.
- Jool is first mentioned here before showing up in the next episode.
- One of the most-repeated phrases from Farscape, "frell me dead" makes its debut.
Links and references[]
Starring[]
- Ben Browder as John Crichton
- Claudia Black as Aeryn Sun
- Anthony Simcoe as Ka D'Argo
- Virginia Hey as Zotoh Zhaan
- Gigi Edgley as Chiana
- Paul Goddard as Stark
- Lani Tupu as Bialar Crais
- Wayne Pygram as Scorpius
Guest stars[]
Guest cast[]
- Jessica Fallico as Alien Girl
- Arthur Percival as Interon Cryoman
Puppeteers[]
Voice artists[]
- Jonathan Hardy as Rygel
- Lani Tupu as Pilot
Uncredited co-stars[]
- David Lucas as Cryoman
- Stella Prowse as Child
References[]
arn; aviation fuel; Berger nebula; brake fluid; breathing regulator; Buckwheat; cacking; commerce station; comms; defense screen; Dimordis tomb; docking ring; docking web; Dominar; DRD; DRD "One-Eye"; dren; energy exchanger; faddic; filtration vent; fennik; floss; flux broadcast; Frau Blücher; frell; frellnik; gamma storm; Gammak Base; Gezma; Goddess of the Delvian Seek; hamman; Harvey; Heavy D; hydro-honium steel; Interion; Jool; Kampek; khamshin; Leviathan; lip liner; Lo'La; Luxan; manin; microt; mivonks; monin artery; Moya; Nebari; neural cluster; nilit; parism; Peacekeeper; pulse pistol; Sacred Stillness; Scooby Doo; Scooby snack; Scorpius; selic acid; Shadow Depository; siezil; Sparky; Stanis; starburst; Tarnek deployer; transport hangar; transport pod; trasnik; Twin Suns of Qell; Uncharted Territories; union tattoo; Valvoline; waste conduit; Young Frankenstein;
External link[]
- Farscape World Synopsis by Dani Moure