| As
season-ending cliffhangers go, this one is a doozy. We’re left
with more than enough unanswered questions to keep us
speculating for months. Fortunately, at least here in the US, we
only have to wait six weeks to learn if Crichton is left
floating in space forever (that would make for a totally boring
Season Four), if Talyn and Crais are really dead (about 50-50
odds on this one), and if the crew has left Moya forever (no
way!).
There
are three interwoven stories here, two “real” and one
partially drug-induced that takes place in Crichton’s
imagination.
Story
One – Talyn and
the Lunatic Leviathan: There’s not a whole lot left of
Talyn to bury, but Moya insists, so everyone complies. The
Sacred Burial Ground is well guarded by a Peacekeeper-hating
Leviathan who refuses to let Moya bury her half Peacekeeper son
there. How the rogue knows about Talyn’s mixed species in the
first place is never explained, but she resorts to violence to
prevent him from contaminating the area. Moya is desperate to
bury her son and so she asks the crew for help. Everyone pitches
in to lay Talyn to rest, even the old woman who stands at the
viewport waving her hands at the rogue and saying “Shoo!
Shoo!”
One
of the most interesting aspects of this story is D'Argo’s
wonder ship and its weapons. Now that Talyn is gone, Moya will
need more defense than one prowler can offer and this looks like
the ship for the job.
Story
Two –
Inside the Head of John Crichton: Beginning as a dream and
ending as a nightmare, John imagines his life on earth with
Aeryn. Deep inside he’s always known that he’d be followed
to earth by his enemies, but when the “old frelnik” blows
wacky dust in his face he sees the consequences in Technicolor
in his mind and it’s devastating.
The
scene where the Peacekeepers were killing everyone at the
wedding was outstanding. Done in slow motion, with only music
and gunshots breaking the silence, it was so much more effective
than if we actually heard all the screaming and breaking dishes.
Story
Three
– Dog with Two Bones: John finally realizes he can’t
have it all, he must make a choice. Even though he’s been
longing to go back to earth since he left it, he realizes that
earth isn’t the most important thing in his life. Aeryn is.
But she also has choices she needs to make. She too wants it
all. She tries to keep her options open by not saying goodbye
but John won’t let her get away with that. They finally agree
to leave the rest of their lives to chance, to the flip of a
coin. However, we never see the coin land. Are the last few
scenes real or are we back inside John’s imagination?
While
not as action-packed as Into the Lion’s Den, Dog with Two
Bones deals with a few things that needed to be brought into
the open, most particularly the John and Aeryn relationship. It
didn’t resolve any of them, but that’s what cliffhangers are
all about.
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