• Part I: A Not So Simple Plan
• Part II: With Friends Like These...
• Part III: Plan B

Brief synopsis:

The Main Story:

To be continued... (see Plan B)

Trivia Quiz:

References and continuity:

Crichton: "Three: We need a Tavloid."
Rygel + D'Argo: "Tavlek!"

Picking up where he left off in Throne For A Loss, Crichton continues to call the Tavleks Tavloids, prompting Rygel and D'Argo to correct him. Again.

Crichton: "That's the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that's a classic!"

The classic 1976 movie with chainsaw wielding Leatherface (fitting for Scorpius) cannibalising and killing and engaging in other sadist activities, many saw only the violence (and walked out early), but others appreciated its underlying quality as one of the all time classic movies, and the film soon inspired many horror films to come.

• How did Durka escape? At the end of Durka Returns he was left in a damaged ship, right next to a Nebari rendezvous point. Fortunately for him, he was caught in the Zenetan pirates net, the Flax, and from there he worked his way to command.
• Rorf, the Vorcarian, was told by D'Argo that he was a good torturer. D'Argo knows this because the two "met" in Till The Blood Runs Clear.
• The Sheyang, Teurac, was the leader aboard the Sheyang pirate vessel that attacked the crew back in PK Tech Girl.
• We already knew Scorpius had a Scarren father, and sebacean mother, but it is now also revealed that this came to be because the Scarren raped his mother.
• Rygel expects to meet Kcrackic when he goes to the Zenetans, as he was in charge during The Flax, but Durka has taken over since then.
• Scorpius doesn't know about the sabotage when the crew shout at him during their comm conversation, and this is the truth as it was Natira's money in Scorpius's vault, a replacement meant to get at Scorpius.

Chiana: "I'm going to get some Brinnigan fire silk. Its for my bed."
Rygel: "Everytime I think there's more to you than a pair of pushed up bloomers and a corset, you disappoint me."
Chiana: "From you... I'll take that as a compliment."

Rygel and Chiana discuss their newly acquired wealth, and its clear that the two are very comfortable with eachother, and in particular, with eachother's attitudes to life.

D'Argo: "At the command, for a microt, I was ready to take Crichton by force, and deliver him to Scorpius. It was all I could do to stop myself."
Chiana: "Crichton is your friend."
D'Argo: "Jothee is my blood, my child, all I have left of my wife. Now why is that not enough?"

Honest as ever, D'Argo reveals that he was close to handing over his friend, Crichton in an attempt to save his son.

Harvey: "You weren't supposed to be able to initiate a conversation with the neural implant."
Cricthon: "Yeah - kinda suck having someone inside your head dun'it!"
Harvey: "No matter. The tast is almost complete. It wasn't easy, there are vast regions of your brain filled with nothing but gibberish."
Cricthon: "That would be high school. Like it or not Scorp, I know how you think. We're sharing now, and that's how I'm gonna beat you."
Harvey: "Perhaps you only believe that because its what we want you to think."

A big turning point for Crichton, the fact that he can talk back at Harvey now, a fact that becomes very useful in Season Of Death when he needs to fight off the neural clone.

Crichton: "I need your Gauntlet."
Bekhesh: "No! Its a tool of destruction."
Crichton: "That's why I want it."

A bit of a role reversal now, as Crichton seeks violence, where Bekhesh is perhaps reformed.

D'Argo: "Everything you've been through - so many cycles. I'm sorry!" Jothee: "S'not your fault." D'Argo: "I never stopped thinking about you, trying to find you. I almost lost hope." Jothee: "I didn't. I knew you would come for me." D'Argo: "My son. My son!" A happy reunion for the two luxans, but is everything as good as it seems? After so long away there have been lots of changes to Jothee.

Crichton: "You want the wormhole technology. I want your implant out of my head. So finally the rift between us isn't so great... You do what you gotta do. You win."
Scorpius: "As if there was ever any doubt."

Giving in for only the second time this season (the first being marrying Katralla in I Do, I Think, Crichton submits to Scorpius.

Writer:

Writer Naren Shankar was also responsible for:

Director:

The director of this episode was Catherine Millar, who also directed:

New Aliens:
Karak Metallites Little spider-like creatures that can disguise themselves as Berinium ingots, they are very resistant to heat and vacuum, and are able to scurry around eating through metal. Aboard a ship in great numbers they can quickly disable it.

Farewell to:

PK Tracker		D'Argo shoots the tracker following the Vorcarians.
Banik slaves		Thousands of Banik slaves are killed when Scorpius no longer needs them.
Crichton		He hands himself over in exchange for Jothee.

Guest Stars:

• Nicholas Hope as Akkor.
• Claudia Karvan as Natira.
• Matt Newton as Jothee.
• David Franklin as Lieutenant Braca.
• John Adam as Bekhesh.

Jeremy Sims as Rorf. Jo Kerrigan as Rorg. Thomas Holesgrove as Teurac. David Wheeler as Durka. Lionel Haft as Zelkin. David Bowers as Kurz.

Personal Opinion:

The middle of this trilogy at first appears a little weak compared to its partners. Zhaan mopes around Moya whilst the crew look back on "old times" as they visit previous enemies, making the action appear tame. However, its these old reminders that help make the episode fun. Looking back at some of the previous adventures, and adding those into the complex mix at the end of season 2 is quite fun to watch. On top of this, the moment where D'Argo and Aeryn realise why Jothee has been released is extremely powerful.

The loss of the Baniks wasn't something I truly understood though. It didn't seem like Scorpius to just waste people like that. I'm guessing that his cold logic told him that they would cost far more alive, but unless another Peacekeeper was responsible for the order, it seemed a little out of place. Other than that, it was an exciting episode, and the consequences of burning Moya lead to some exciting plot developments later on.

	What a team...?		8/10