Defiance: The Bride Wore Black, Review
A wedding, a new secret uncovered and a good, old fashioned murder mystery to solve in this week's Defiance.
So, in this episode, we get to see an alien bachelor party. It’s not much different from a human bachelor party. There’s booze, a hooker, and guys picking on each other. Until they find a dead body inside one of the walls of the Need Want. Holy shtako… kind of ruins the mood.The McCawley/Tarr wedding is already a little strange, not only between the families but the guests. Tommy’s asking Irisa to be his date gets awkward. However, Tommy is able to identify the dead body from its ring…the ex-husband of Kenya Rosewater, named Hunter Bell. He went missing seven years before, but because he had so many enemies, no one really missed him. He was even abusive to Kenya, but she refuses to admit it even under pressure from Nolan.Amanda is officiating the wedding, and feels weird about it since Datak is her new competitor in the mayoral race. But the more pressing question is, why are both Amanda and Kenya lying about Hunter?Tensions arise as Rafe announces that the Iraths will inherit the mines if he dies. Datak’s rage creates even more tension between him and wife Stahma. I always find it amazing how quickly she can change emotions…again, like a human, but not quite. She’s always aware of the delicate balance between the cultures, while Datak plows over them. Even Rafe asks him, “If you hate humans so much, why are you letting Alak marry one?” Of course, Datak is not going to say, “Because I’m a power hungry alien scumbag who allies himself with whoever will fulfill his own desires at the given moment!”In case you haven’t guessed, I am not fond of Datak Tarr. He’s a power hungry alien scumbag who…well, I’ve already explained.So, the wedding is on, even though Datak declared it off. Ex-mayor Nicky and Doc Yewll turn out to be responsible for Hunter’s death, after he bribes them to keep his info quiet. Jered is a witness, and pays the price seven years later. Yewll has had enough, despite her lack of emotion, and kills Nicky “for the greater good”. DING DONG, NICKY’S GONE…Ahem…sorry. I was kind of happy about that.Irisa shows up for the wedding, dressed up, by Irath standards, even holding Tommy’s hand. The wedding goes on as planned, with Christie not wearing the liro mask as Datak wanted…because Stahma intervened with a veil traditional to humans. Yewll does a very clever cover up of her murder of Nicky, even forging a suicide note… Final review: Wow. This show is far more complicated than one short review will allow. This is not an alien invasion story; it’s a close study of race relations, culture, and politics that closely mirrors everything that happens in the world today. What really bugs me is the cover up of the domestic violence between Kenya and her late husband. Of all the issues in the show, why is this one shoved under the rug? I’m glad that it’s brought up, but it’s not addressed. No one says that Hunter was an abusive asshole who deserved to die. Still, the show digs deep, and with only two episodes left, I can’t wait to see how things turn out. But one thing: Why is the title called “The Bride Wore Black“?