Farscape (TV Series) Nerve (2000) User Reviews

Introducing Scorpius

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 19 May 2012]

Following on from the events of the previous episode where Aeryn was stabbed we learn that the blade caught a vital nerve and if she doesn't get a tissue sample from a suitable Sebacean she will die within the next couple of days. She accepts this but Crichton doesn't; he decides that he will go to the secret Peacekeeper base and attempt to get the required sample. He intended to go alone but Chiana persuades him that she will be of use. The two of them successfully enter the base but fear their cover is about to be blown when John has to submit to a DNA test… amazingly he isn't caught. It turns out he has a friend in the base; Gilina, the Tech girl he met on the Zelbinion. She helps him get the necessary sample but he is caught as he prepares to return to Moya. His captor is Scorpius, a Peacekeeper but not a Sebacean like all the others. He puts Crichton in a device called the Aurora Chair; it causes pain but more dangerously it allows Scorpius to probe Crichton's mind and see his memories; something that could not only endanger his friends on Moya but also Earth as Crichton has information about wormholes buried deep in his subconscious.

This was a really good episode which nicely followed on from things we have seen before and introduced themes and characters that will continue for the rest of the series. The most important introduction is the sinister Scorpius; at this point we have no idea what he is but it is clear that he is dangerous and has an interest in both wormholes and developing Peacekeeper weaponry; actor Wayne Pygram brings just the right amount of menace to the character without going over the top. Alyssa-Jane Cook makes a welcome return as Gilina; the PK Tech girl who still obviously cares for Crichton. Once again Gigi Edgely impresses as Chiana; seductively distracting the Peacekeepers then pretending to be one when she must return to Moya alone with the cure. The final 'To be continued' moment left Crichton in danger and set things up nicely for the next episode.

Peacekeepers are back

[craybatesedu · 8/10 · 22 July 2019]

Perhaps sensing that the Peacekeepers had lost much of their scare value after several recent episodes in which they have been so easily overpowered, bamboozled, bug-infested, rank-pulled, and out-backflipped by the crew, we are introduced to a brand new Peacekeeper supervillain who is every bit as intimidating as we were meant to find Crais in the beginning.

As part of an elaborate scheme to save Sun from an injury that can be healed only with Peacekeeper technology, we return to the Top Secret Base (which appears to be quite public knowledge). The burst of continuity that follows is wonderful. The Peacekeeper engineer from the abandoned ship several episodes back returns in every detail, right down to the unrequited love interest in Crichton. The interesting tension this brings drives the plot, which is tense and unnerving.

The new Peacekeeper villain, a masked albino in a ninja costume and a Bane mask, is everything Crais is not - genuinely cruel and scary, embodying the elements of the Peacekeepers we were meant to find scary but which, to date, we have not. He is a violent interrogator extraordinaire who lacks even the baseline humanity of other Peacekeepers who, as we have seen, are at least susceptible to weaknesses like vice, honor, and mild heatstroke. The new villain is not.

This is the first real cliffhangar two-parter we have seen so far and we are set up for the crew once again facing the choice of "escape but one of us dies" vs. "go back for our friend but maybe we all die." It is obvious what we will choose, but it will take some elaborate plot that will surely astound us all to rescue Crichton from the clutches of the evil Peacekeeper commander. Can't wait.