Lambs To The Slaughter (Into the Lion's Den 1)

Ratings
1.0 (US)

Tammy MacIntosh............Jool
David Franklin.............Lt. Braca
Rebecca Riggs..............Commandant Mele-On Grayza
Sean Taylor................Lt. Reljik
Marta Dusseldorp...........Officer Yal Henta
Lenore Smith...............Lt. Darinta Larell
Lewis Fitz-Gerald..........Kor Tosko
Danny Adcock...............Co-Kura Strappa
Mark Mercedes..............Officer Vonk
Paul Shedlowich............Plint
Royston Innes..............Unspecified
Nick Frisina...............Medic

Wassup?

"When it comes to my friends, I am infamous...for making really stupid decisions, yes?"

The crew ventures aboard the Command Carrier, where John has pledged to share his wormhole knowledge with Scorpius. While Aeryn and Crais find their old crewmates less than pleased with their return, more disturbing is the Peacekeeper crew's growing animosity for their current commander...animosity which a visitor from High Command is only too happy to employ for her own purposes.

Backstory

Harvey seems to accept the rank -- and role -- of Private, in John's mental landscape. He claims that he no longer wants to die: he wants to survive, and will take whatever actions are necessary to promote that, and keep John alive.

D'Argo and Rygel apparently made fairly detailed arrangements for the truce with Scorpius. Both were already aboard the Command Carrier when Moya's transport pod arrived, and Braca was already making arrangements for the intelligence reports and surgery requested. Scorpius sent Marauders to meet the pod from Moya at a designated location, and escort it aboard the Carrier. None of this was discussed on camera in the previous episode.

Jool and Chiana were planning to jump ship prior to the Command Carrier mission, but weren't able to locate a populated planet within transport distance.

Four arns distance from Moya is still within clear comms range, with no noticeable lag in transmission.

The crew agreed Moya towed Talyn to the agreed upon rendesvous point.

Scorpius gave Moya's crew full diplomatic rights, immunities and courtesies while aboard the Carrier.

Lorrell was evidently a Leviathan specialist, during the time that Crais knew her in the Peacekeepers.

Discipline is noticeably crumbling on the Carrier: under their breath, significant numbers of the crew refer to both Aeryn and Crais as traitors, despite the fact that Scorpius has publically pardoned them.

Braca claims that Crais isn't important enough to rate surveillance devices in his quarters.

Aeryn used to gamble at cards with Henta, in the Officers' Lounge. On at least one occasion, Henta won the match.

Rygel was promised a full intelligence report on the current Hynerian political situation. D'Argo was promised surgery to remove the rings, and intelligence on Macton's current assignment. Crais manages to wrangle a makeover for Talyn. Aeryn, Chiana, and Jool apparently made no requests.

Peacekeepers apparently administer surgical anesthetics in the form of mist.

D'Argo's collarbone rings weren't designed to be removed. However, it apparently will not take long for the bone to knit, at the removal sites.

According to the surgeon, D'Argo is safe from infection if he stays in the misty grotto area next to the surgical platform.

Crais left the Peacekeepers without saying goodbye to Larrell.

Scorpius put Lorrell in the Aurora Chair and learned of her involvement with Crais.

Crais expected that everyone who knew him during his days as a Peacekeeper would be coerced into spying on him, on his return.

The latest approach by the research team is to create an external field that stabilizes the wormhole before entry. The entire ship's hull is employed as a wave repeater, and its mass acts as a multiplier. Co-Kura believes that if they knew the subharmonic formulas, they could create the right resonance pattern.

Scorpius gave John a datachip containing his personal background on it (as seen in "Incubator").

Harvey shares Scorpius's intellect, but not his passions or fears; he claims that this makes him more objective than his progenitor.

Harvey managed to normalize John's energy signature, to prevent Scorpius from detecting his lies.

Lorrell was apparently instructed to "confess" to Crais, so that he would take her into his confidence. She clearly led Braca to believe that she was spying as ordered, but her personal motivations and actual intent are unclear.

The Command Carrier contains about forty "planetary terrain reconstruction" areas, for combat training. When not in use for training exercises, they are apparently made available to the crew for recreational use.

According to Peacekeeper intelligence, calls for Dominar Bishan's abdication have spread to four of the primary Hynerian home planets.

A Marauder and two Prowlers are able to generate a Peacekeeper immobilizer pulse sufficient to stop a Leviathan attempting to starburst.

Henta seems to think that once Crais was thrown out, Aeryn could have been reinstated to the Peacekeepers.

Co-Kura was very fond of Linfer.

Lt. Reljik was thrice decorated by High Command.

The Council is exploring a truce with the Scarrans; they are working to unite the Uncharted Territories as much as possible, to strengthen their position at the bargaining table. While Grayza thinks the wormhole research project endangers those negotiations, Scorpius thinks the negotiations themselves are a fatal sign of weakness in front of the Scarrans.

This is the first indication we've had, that Scorpius' power within the Peacekeeper hierarchy has limitations of any significance. Grayza threatens him with a full Council sanction, and he appears to take this threat seriously, driving John to accelerate their research timetable.

Evidently the reputation of John et al has continued to grow. Grayza herself refers to John as "infamous", and Moya's crew as "a handful of escaped prisoners, whose exploits are becoming legendary"; she clearly considers it a significant problem with regard to public perception of the Peacekeepers. Nonetheless, Kor Tosko claims that half the worlds he visits are afraid of the Peacekeepers.

John has no illusions about the quality of his judgement where his friends' well-being is concerned.

Moya would rather be dead than accept another control collar.

Scorpius is obviously frustrated with the more political aspects of his role in the Peacekeepers, and with due cause. Grayza's involvement of Reljik in an assassination plot demonstrates that military hierarchy does not always rule out intrigue.

Henta believes without question that the Peacekeepers are a positive force, with ideals of loyalty, sacrifice, and honor.

D'Argo is stunned that the Luxans signed a pact with the Peacekeepers, even though Scorpius claims it's only an agreement to stand with the Peacekeepers against the Scarrans, and not a diminishment of Luxan autonomy.

John is starting to see a viable research path, courtesy of the Ancients' gift. But ethically he is no longer sure of his actions, struggling to weigh the danger posed by Scarran expansion against the evils of Peacekeeper domination; this begins to differentiate him from his twin in Aeryn's (and his own) eyes.

Larrell encourages Crais to give Scorpius information about Crichton (and presumably his plans), as a way to prove Crais' loyalty to Scorpius, paving the way for a return to Peacekeeper service.

The generator seems to reverse pulse energy discharges, sending the attacker's shot back to the originating source.

There are at least four (and possibly five or more) tiers to the generator, in rows at least seven deep. Maintenance crews apparently use personal jet packs to service the upper level components. Contact with the energy inside the framework of a component block is apparently fatal.

Despite Harvey's ability to cloak John's energy signature, Scorpius still suspects John of noncooperation.

Scorpius may have located Earth. Although John suspects that Scorpius is bluffing, and simply pulled the image of Earth out of John's memories on the extracted neural chip, Scorpius claims to have triangulated the stars from Earth, and obtained a visual confirmation. He claims that Earth is reachable, even without a wormhole, in just over 60 cycles at top speed, and that he can keep John alive long enough to witness its destruction.

If necessary, John is willing to shoot Scorpius (thereby killing himself as well) to protect Earth.

Reactions

Questions

1. We finally get to see Jool's red hair again.
2. Contrast this John with the John Crichton of season one:

   "[...] you shouldn't have pointed a weapon at me."
   "Damn, I gotta stop pointing guns at people."

   Long gone is our 'talk first, shoot later (and only if you absolutely have to)' hero, and John finally seems to have recognized this change in himself.

Observations

1. Why didn't Jool and Chiana stay on Moya, rather than going to the Carrier?
2. Pilot says that Moya is under great stress -- but is it physical or psychological? Is she merely worrying as any mother would, over an ill child? Or was she sufficiently damaged from Talyn's attack in the previous episode, that the physical effort of towing him to their hiding place was unusually stressful? Either way, her state certainly has a noticeable impact on Pilot: his effort in speaking is evident to the crew over comms.
3. D'Argo receives anesthetic in a mist form, then is told to rest in the grotto mist (which apparently will keep him safe against infection). Are these both the same kind of mist? Other, non-surgical cases, are partaking of the area, as well. Does the mist offer some kind of general panacea or other beneficial effect? According to Crais, it interferes with the ship's surveillance equipment; given the Peacekeepers' general levels of paranoia, why are there no alternate means of monitoring the crew in this area?
4. Why didn't D'Argo's tongue lash knock out Mr. Buzzsaw?
5. What was the Battle of Stalaro, and why did they make Mr. Buzzsaw's prosthetic for it?
6. D'Argo tried to keep Mr. Buzzsaw from falling over the edge. Why? This seems an unusally level-headed action on his part; typically, he reacts more emotionally, and he has a strong hatred of Peacekeepers.
7. How many primary Hynerian "home planets" are there?
8. Why does Henta think that Crais's defection from the Peacekeepers would have enabled Aeryn to rejoin their ranks?
9. How are the large blocks of the generator secured in place? They don't appear to be connected, yet they are evenly spaced in a three dimensional matrix.
10. How did Scorpius acquire his "visual confirmation" of Earth's location and appearance, if the planet is just over 60 cycles away at top speed?
11. Why did Scorpius give Moya's crew free run of the ship, unescorted?

Bloopers

1. John could not have changed clothes, from his standard leathers to the silver pajamas worn in the grotto area, without removing the bracelet.
2. The generator blocks are supposed to be open framework, but in John and Reljik's final bout (around the 41-minute mark), you can see that they're standing atop a piece of plexiglass.

Annotations

The two "World War II" sequences (with Harvey) may be a reference to a specific WWII film, but I don't recognize them as such. However, the music during those sequences (and the similar one in Part Two) interpolates the Civil War-era song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", which is a variation on an older Irish song, "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye", but puts a more cheerfully victorious spin on it. "Fighting for Strangers" is another excellent variant, best known in its version by the British folk-rock band Steeleye Span.

Scorpius: "I'm sorry, John, but we must move faster. The equations we need are in here."
John: "Don't touch me! Locked away; I can't get at 'em."
Scorpius: "Or perhaps you're holding back."
John: "Grasshopper, you tried to snatch the feather from my head."

A reference (actually, two references) to the 1970s TV series KUNG FU. "Grasshopper" was the nickname given to the young Kwai Chang Caine (Radames Pera) by Shaolin Master Po (Keye Luke) during a flashback sequence in the pilot movie:

Master Po: "Close your eyes. What do you hear?"
Caine: "I hear the water. I hear a bird."
Master Po: "Do you hear your own heartbeat?"
Caine: "No."
Master Po: "Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?"
Caine [amazed when he sees there is indeed a grasshopper there]: "Old man, how is it that you hear these things?"
Master Po: "Young man, how is it that you do not?"

"Snatch the feather from my head" is a variation on another oft-shown sequence from KUNG FU, in which Master Kan (Philip Ahn) explains to the grown up Caine (David Carradine) when Caine's studies will be completed:

Master Kan: "As quickly as you can...snatch the pebble from my hand." [Caine tries and fails] "When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave."

John: "Look, Scorpy thinks that Scarrans are Public Enemy No. 1. They want to wipe out other, lesser species. Is that true?"
Aeryn: "It's what we were taught."

"Public Enemy No. 1" is a label given by the FBI to the first person on their "Most Wanted" list. The first person to be so labelled was the infamous gangster John Dillinger in 1934.

John: "Hey, Hopper, let 'em go, or I will kill you, bracelet or no bracelet."
Scorpius: "Calm down, John, calm down. Moya and your friends are unharmed."

"Hopper" may be just a shortened version of "Grasshopper", which John calls Scorpius earlier (see above) and in Part Two. Or it could be a reference to the Kevin Spacey-voiced villain in the Pixar Studios film A BUG'S LIFE (1998).

Scorpius: "I suspect you're stalling. Either through ignorance or by design. I hoped you'd see reason."
John: "What do you think I see? Hunh? I'm here, on a big, stinkin' command carrier, Dick Tracy's freakin' neural bracelet linkin' me to Bram Stoker's nightmare. What more do you want from me?"

The "Dick Tracy" remark refers to the famous comic strip created by Chester Gould in 1931, which later made the jump to books, radio, and film. Though the Tracy strip never had I-Yensch neural bracelets, it often featured technologically advanced gadgets, the most notable and best-known one being a two-way radio wristwatch.

"Bram Stoker's nightmare" is the vampire character Dracula created by Stoker in his 1897 novel, which also made the transition to other media (more movies have been made about Dracula than virtually any other literary character).

Crichton had previously linked Scorpius to Dracula when he called him "Nosferatu" in the first season episode "Nerve".

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"Turn back, John."
"Shut up, Private, we're goin' in."
- Harvey, John Crichton

"Let's test the jewelry."
"All right."
"Ahhh!"
[growls in surprised discomfort]
"Just checking."
- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Scorpius

"At last. The rift between us is finally bridged."
- Scorpius

"Moya, Pilot, Aeryn, D'Argo...they've been through hell, in large part because of me. It's time I did something for them. Do not screw with them, Scorpius. Give them what they want. It's a good deal for you."
"Oh, uncontested."
- John Crichton, Scorpius

"Your shipmates have been invited to refreshments in the officers' lounge. Shall we join them?"
"No, thank you. I came to work."
"For, or against me?"
- Scorpius, John Crichton

"I don't assist."
"John, the intention was to--"
"Screw you and your intentions, Scorp. I do not eat at the kiddie table. Now you either give me the big toys, or you send me home."
- John Crichton, Scorpius

"Lt. Braca...I predicted your rise in this organization. I stand by that prediction. You are a consummate Peacekeeper."
- Bialar Crais

"D'Argo. We didn't come here to fight."
"No. No, I wouldn't dream of it."
- Aeryn Sun, D'Argo

"Will you have a drink with me?"
"Thank you, but I only drink with Peacekeepers."
- Aeryn Sun, Henta

"Fellas. Open the bag or call me a cab. I cannot work blind."
- John Crichton

"Have you decided on a plan?"
"Plan A was to wipe all their data, send 'em back to square one. That would work if I could find the erase button."
"Mmhmm."
"Plan B, steer them in the wrong direction, 'cept I don't know which way that is."
"Mmhmm."
"I'm starting to look at Plan C."
"Which is?"
"Forget the whole thing and run like hell before they kill us."
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"Perhaps you're holding back."
"Grasshopper, you tried to snatch the feather from my head!"
- Scorpius, John Crichton

"You say you're only after Scarrans. I'm cool with that. As long as it's true."
- John Crichton

"Linfer suggested this formula. I disagreed."
"You two argue a lot?"
"She was a great mind and a...a tragic loss."
"Yeah, I really didn't get a chance to know her. But I liked her. And you abviously liked her...that's good."
- Co-Kura Strappa, John Crichton

"[...] half the planets I visit fear Peacekeepers."
"The other half laugh at us, for our simple inability to capture a handful of escaped prisoners, whose exploits are becoming legendary."
- Kor Tosko, Grayza

"The very existence of this project imperils a truce."
"The very idea of a truce imperils every Sabacean."
- Grayza, Scorpius

"Hey, Hopper, let 'em go, or I will kill you, bracelet or no bracelet."
- John Crichton

"And you must be the infamous John Crichton."
"Infamous? Two points, Commandant. One, your boy here has made a lot of promises which you should keep, because two, when my friends are threatened, I am infamous -- for making really stupid moves. Yes?"
"Mmm."
"Point two is clearly correct."
- Grayza, John Crichton, Aeryn Sun

"All right, Scorpius, we'll do this the hard way. I'll return with a full Council sanction. You shouldn't have made me into an enemy. [turns to John] And you shouldn't have pointed a weapon at me."
"Damn, I gotta stop pointing guns at people."
- Grayza, John Crichton

"John, now you know what stupidity I have to deal with. You must not fail!"
- Scorpius

"Lt., I intend to remove Scorpius from command."
"I'm sure most of us here would fully approve of that action."
"But going through channels takes time, and given the crew's low opinion of Scorpius, I'm concerned for his safety."
"He is well protected, but because of the I-Yensch bracelet he is vulnerable, through John Crichton."
"Then I am equally concerned for Crichton's safety."
"I will do my best to address your concerns, ma'am."
"Thank you, Lt."
- Grayza, Reljik

"Then you've rejected our ideals?"
"No, not all of them. I've actually kept loyalty, sacrifice, honor. Not all Peacekeepers believe in those ideals, you know."
"I still do."
"Yes, I'm sure you do. [...] Aren't you ever worried, that you might be fighting for the wrong cause?"
"No, never."
"What about the wrong leaders?"
- Henta, Aeryn Sun

"The other John gave up his life to stop the Scarrans from getting this information--"
"I know. But it's my shift now."
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"Aw, hell, karate man..."
- John Crichton

"It's just not fair..."
"Crichton, where are you?"
"Up top, about to blow up!"
- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun

"Grayza's arrival drastically changes our timetable."
"It is Einstein's timetable. God. It's God's timetable, Scorp. Fix your end, I'm doing my bit."
"Are you?"
"Why're you bitchin' at me like we're married, Scorpy Sue?"
[...]
"I'd hoped you'd see reason."
"What do you think I see? Huh? I'm here. On a big, stinking Command Carrier, Dick Tracy's freakin' neural bracelet linking me to Bram Stoker's nightmare. What more do you want from me?"
- Scorpius, John Crichton

"It took quite some effort, to triangulate the stars from your planet. More, to gain a visual confirmation."
- Scorpius

Comments from Cast & Crew

Farscape Wrap Day Extravaganza, July 26, 2001

• Moderator: <shokoti> to <Moderator>: Hi Froon! What's your favourite episode in season 3, that you did or didn't write?

  FrooniumRicky: that I Did write... hm, hard to say, I've liked 'em both so far
  FrooniumRicky: that I Didn't write... hey, if I don't have to write it, it's always my favorite

• Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to <Moderator>: Ricky, What are the titles of the last 4 eps?

  FrooniumRicky: 319, 320, 321, 322
  FrooniumRicky: truthfully, we haven't even locked titles down for half of 'me
  FrooniumRicky: 'em, rather