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Rygel is kidnapped during what the crew had expected to be a simple business transaction. The Tavleks, believing Rygel's boasts about his enormous realm, assume he's valuable. They grab him from Moya and imprison him in a cell on the planet's surface to await ransom. During the action, one of the Tavleks is knocked unconscious and his gauntlet pops open. This weapon is worn on the forearm and injects a stimulant into the wearer, adding to his strength and enhancing his aggressive behavior.
Rygel had stolen one of Moya's essential synaptic processors to decorate his scepter, and soon the ship's orbit begins to decay. Crichton plans to negotiate with the Tavleks but Aeryn wants to go down to the planet and take Rygel back by force. When John refuses, Aeryn pantak jabs him, loads him into her prowler while he's unconscious, and heads for the surface.
Meanwhile, poor Rygel, half buried in the floor of his cell, antagonizes Bekhesh, the Tavlek leader. Bekhesh kills him in retaliation, but he's revitalized by his next-cell neighbor, Jotheb, who expects to assimilate Rygel's billions of subjects into his own empire. When John and D'Argo arrive at the prison, they find that Bekhesh (thanks to Jotheb) believes Rygel to be even more valuable than he had first thought and is in the process of moving him to a more secure location. John puts on the gauntlet to chase after them, but when it runs out of stimulant John has to negotiate Rygel's return, which is what he wanted to do in the first place.
I really enjoyed this episode for the excellent interactions between the crew and because everyone seemed to be more himself/herself. Aeryn and D'Argo became more the aggressive soldiers when they put on the gauntlet. Rygel was more of a braggart than usual, and so obnoxious that he got himself killed. Zhaan outdid herself in the role of counselor/priest with the young Tavlek, and we also got to see her first "plant" characteristic when she dripped blood (sap?) into the glass to use as a remedy for him. John was fun to watch as he discovered the wonders of the oculars and tried to work the pulse rifle.
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