Reviews

Defiance: A Well Respected Man, Review

You know that show that has that video game linked to it and stuff? YEAH! THIS IS IT! And its AWESOME!!

By Jen Johnson | May 7, 2013 | | 0

Well, we figured out who killed Luke McCawley, but still don’t know why. Will his father Rafe get any closer to finding out the answer in tonight’s episode? Let’s find out.First off, seems like Lawkeeper Nolan is going after Datak after all, which takes some serious cojones. Mayor Amanda Rosewater has had no idea that the town council has made deals with gun smugglers, until Datak barges in on a town meeting and it’s announced that Nolan has intercepted a couple of his men going to a deal. Even Rafe knew about it, and didn’t tell Amanda, so let’s just say she’s not too happy about it. She’s even more unhappy when she goes to confront Nolan and finds him in her sister’s room at the Need Want. Kenya has just expressed her feelings (sort of) for the new lawkeeper, refusing to take his money from this point forward, but when Amanda busts in on them, she and Kenya have it out. “Look at you, just dripping with judgment” Kenya says, to which Amanda replies, “I’m surprised you know what that word means”. I can see how one sister trying to be an upstanding mayor can have a bit of a problem with her younger sibling being a prostitute, even though Amanda herself calls it a “legitimate business”. When one of Kenya’s girls, Tirra, steals from a client and runs off into the back alleys, Kenya follows, but sees Datak’s Bioman guarding an ice cream truck full of kidnapped humans. Bioman knows he’s been discovered, so Tirra and Kenya become his newest prisoners. It’s not long before Nolan finds out that Kenya is missing, and that her disappearance could be connected to a rise in the sale of Adreno, a neuro-enhancing drug that was once produced synthetically but is now being drained from live people (which is weird, because the exact same thing was done in an episode of Continuum…that adrenal stuff must really work). Miko, who processes the drug, is more than a little upset that the Bioman has brought him the mayor’s sister, and decides that it’s time to do one last batch and then head for the hills.As soon as Nolan finds out that a Bioman took Kenya (since, you know, there’s only one Bioman in town), he goes to Datak’s house with Amanda and drags Datak outside, pretty much continuing to ruin his reputation as a respectable “lawkeeper.” When Amanda begs Datak for help finding Kenya, he refuses, saying that she lacks respect. As Amanda is leaving, she is approached by Stahma, creepy as ever, who offers her help for a very hefty price. She tells Amanda how fond she is of Kenya, then in the next breath explains that Kenya will be fine as long as Datak gets respect by being appointed to the vacant seat on the town council. I give Stahma credit: She is one sneaky bitch. She sees an opportunity and figures out a way to fit the puzzle pieces in a way that will not only benefit her, but her whole family. Other people’s lives are at stake, but who cares? Castithans are supposed to be superior to humans, and everyone else.Kenya and Tirra regain consciousness and figure out that they’re being imprisoned, kind of…all the other humans were bound and gagged, but somehow they were left unrestrained and are running freely about? They try to hide, only to be discovered by a Volge guard. As Nolan tries to find Kenya’s location, he and Datak go through the market, where Datak explains that “lawkeeping isn’t thumping heads.” Nolan still has a lot to learn about the town’s residents, including the Bioman’s special “friend,” a male Castithan who finally gives Nolan the information he needs to find Kenya. (It’s pretty obvious the Bioman, Ulysses, likes guys…he seems to have an affinity for Miko as well.)As it turns out, Kenya and Tirra WERE restrained, while being drained of their adrenal fluid. If that’s the case, why weren’t they dreaming about something happy instead of thinking they were running from a Volge? Anyway, Kenya grabs some glassware and hits Miko, killing him, which makes Ulysses pretty distraught…until he gets shot by Amanda and Nolan. Shortly after, Kenya asks Amanda how their mother died, which isn’t even certain. Their mother left both kids while they were scavenging to survive, and while under attack, mom fled while Amanda went back for her little sister. The necklace Amanda found was the medal of St. Christopher, but Amanda called it St. Finnegan…the name on the uniform of the body she was scavenging from. Fortunately, the sisters reconcile in an emotional moment…sniff, sniff… On the McCawley side, Quentin wants out of the mining business after learning that shaft L7 was shut down by his dad, who cited “safety reasons.” As soon as Quentin says he wants to leave, Rafe confesses that Luke found the golden, oddly shaped key at the bottom of L7, and that the key is most likely the reason Luke was killed. They still don’t know why, but a trip down into the mine shaft leads to some drawings on the walls that might reveal the key’s purpose.My favorite scene in this episode comes at the very end, when Datak is given the seat on the town council. He shuts the door in Nolan’s face, leaving him alone in the waiting room with Stahma. Nolan says, “You know, I’ve had my eye on the wrong snake. You’re the dangerous one.” To which she replies, with her usual smile, “You’re very sweet.” Final review: This was definitely better than last week’s episode, but there are still some issues with the show in general. The main male characters in the show are so stereotypically male it’s almost funny. Are there strong female characters? Yes, but my favorite, Irisa, was notably absent here. I was glad to see Kenya in her longest appearance ever, but I question her relationship with the town’s new lawkeeper. It seems like that would create far more problems than it would solve, since she’s in a pretty seedy business. I did find it funny that an ice cream truck was used to transport the kidnapped humans to the adrenal gland draining facility…and on another, totally different note, even though Datak is shady, he does have a point in telling Nolan that as lawkeeper, he needs to learn about the complicated, delicate relationships among the town residents before he carries out his duties.