Defiance - Beasts of Burden - Review: "No Misdeed Goes Unpunished"

     This week’s episode of Defiance, “Beasts of Burden,” was written by the team of Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer and directed by Allan Kroeker, who is a familiar face behind the camera. Slavkin and Swimmer last collaborated on the first season episode “The Bride Wore Black.” The episode explores a number of related themes. Everyone seems to be playing a role and everyone seems to have revenge on their minds. No misdeed goes unpunished – regardless of how cleverly it may have been covered up. Maintaining balance in all things is key.

    I’m very much enjoying all the subtext that Berlin’s (Anna Hopkins) propaganda films and surveillance cameras has added about playing a role which is very much mirrored by the rigid hierarchies of Castithan society. It’s significant that Pottinger (James Murray) is so concerned about which side of his face is turned to the camera in the first scene– he clearly has many agendas and faces that he shows to the world. The second scene jumps to Stahma’s (Jaime Murray) face and Datak (Tony Curran) remarking that he’s glad he didn’t mark her face – it’s important to keep up appearances, and underscore that Stahma’s value is simply the outside of her – not her brain.

    It’s clear that Berlin has aspirations and is flattered that New York has noticed her films, but we also see a possible chink in her E-Rep armor as she worries the films may be “too over the top.” When Josef (Ryan Kennedy) captures her, she points out all the ways he’s failed in getting his message across to the public. It’s not entirely clear if she believes what he wants her to say, but she’s smart enough that she’s going to start to think about it. I loved Tommy (Dewshane Williams) bursting in with the classic line – “They’ve taken Berlin!” Have they, in fact, taken one of the best weapons at the E-Rep’s disposal? Certainly, Berlin says she owes Nolan (Grant Bowler) at the end of the episode. If the other side starts to control the flow of information, it could be a turning point against the E-Rep. It will be interesting to see what Tommy does if Berlin starts to switch sides.

    Amanda (Julie Benz) is trying to maintain her own roles but is losing ground with Pottinger. When she tries to give him advice on finding the thieves he rebukes her completely, even though he does apologize later. He completely refuses to listen to her to show mercy to Rafe (Graham Greene). She tells Pottinger that he got his payback when Rafe killed the kid. But that is not enough to balance the books for Pottinger. Amanda can only push him so hard if she wants to maintain her pipeline to Adreno. He’s quickly being able to control her completely.

    It was both satisfying and horrifying to watch Josef make Pottinger strip and then piss on him. The show plays with the physical/spacial relationships of people to emphasize power dynamics. So Pottinger is forced to lie on the ground at Josef's feet. Jaime Murray has always done a wonderful job of dropping her eyes and even her willowy posture do demonstrate her subservience to the men around her. I love when she looks up and sideways at them, bewitching them with a soft word and ingratiating smile. We see Datak come to her while she's still in bed - and vulnerable at the beginning of the episode. When she comes to him later in the episode, she stands over him sitting in the chair at first, before going to her knees beside him. She ends the episode, however, as he began it - crouching over Datak's prone body.

      I’m very much enjoying James Murray. While he occasionally comes off as wooden, I’m attributing that to how many different sides of Pottinger he has to show us. He is clearly shaking – from more than the cold and not just anger during this scene. I’m still not entirely sure that I trust that the story he told Amanda – which does account for the scars on his hands – is entirely true, however. Did he share his own story of rape in hopes of securing more of Amanda’s confidence?

    Pottinger does seem genuinely surprised by the story of Amanda’s rape. Benz does a good job of playing a drug addict – in fact, she too is doing a great job in showcasing the different sides of Amanda – playful bedfellow of Nolan, bar keep (gotta love her pouring the cheap hooch into the expensive bottles!), tough politician, giggling drug addict. It’s the fact that she is smiling and giggling that makes the story of her rape even more appalling. I did find her giggling and asking Pottinger if he wanted her to speak to Nolan the least sympathetic scene of Amanda on the show. She almost seems to be laughing at Nolan behind his back and implying that she controls him. I think that Pottinger may be over estimating what Nolan will do for Amanda. Certainly, when Pottinger says he’s going to spare Nolan for lying to him only out of compassion for Amanda, Nolan is clearly not impressed or intimidated in any way. Nolan is also not taking Amanda into his confidences.

    One other interesting thing came out of Amanda’s confession – Pottinger’s continued interest in Conor Lang. We heard in the first episode that he was aiming for Lang’s vacant seat, and here he is trying to get close to Lang’s former fiancé. Why is Pottinger seemingly obsessed with Lang? Amanda tells Pottinger that she never explained her abortion to Lang and she also points out that she told no one because you can’t look weak in politics. This is a role that many are playing – especially in the Tarr family. It remains to be seen if Amanda’s desire to help Pottinger not feel alone which he says is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for him, will come back to haunt her – or will she use his weakness against him?

    Datak spends the episode trying to regain control of his own political empire. He rebuffs Stahma’s request to become his partner. He spends the entire day torturing Alak (Jesse Rath) in every possible way. He taunts him that before he’d gone to prison his plan had been to let Alak become a model citizen, to break away from the family business. However, now that Alak has taken on the role of acting head of the business – a role he never truly played – he can never go back from that role. He then forces Alak to watch while Datak kills one of his men for Alak’s mistakes. Finally, Datak tells Alak that he was going to burn down the record business but has decided instead to use it as a front for the illegal business – a fate worse than being burned down for Alak. Datak rounds out his day by making his biggest mistake – he physically scars his son by putting his hand in a record press.

    It’s possible that Stahma would have accepted Datak’s return had he not harmed Alak – at least for the time being. I loved the scene in which Christie (Nicole Munoz) is incensed about Datak’s treatment of Alak, and Alak tells her she doesn’t understand because she’s not Castithan – which is true, she does not understand those roles. However, she – and the other humans – have taught both Alak and Stahma that other roles are possible.

    Curran, Jaime Murray, and Rath once again turn in riveting performances as the Tarrs. Curran is wonderful as Datak bounces between loving father/husband and psychopath. It’s impossible to tell if he’s really found “religion” or is simply returning to a time when things were more “ordered” and people had clear rules and roles to follow. We do learn that his father would have – and did – do worse than what he did to either Alak or Stahma. It starts to become clearer about why Datak is the way he is. He tells Stahma that his father’s “ministrations” made him stronger. I wonder if he will feel the same way about Stahma’s ministrations?

    Balance is also an important theme – balance between roles and balance between revenge and retribution. Stahma tells Datak that as long as she’s known him, he’s lacked all balance. We’ve seen that Stahma has balanced her leadership with brutal control – having Skevur beaten and then forcing Alak to murder him – with compassion – taking tea to her withdrawing former customers. It seems that Pottinger’s balance may be shifting – has he gained Amanda only to be in danger of losing Berlin?

    Rafe has been trying since the E-Rep appeared to maintain a balance between the workers and the E-Rep while still protecting his home and family. Greene is really outstanding in this episode as we see Rafe torn apart in trying to maintain that balance. Josef’s last words to Rafe are that Rafe has to lead the people and get them to fight. Now that Rafe’s delicate balance has been upset and he’s lost everything, maybe he is ready to fight.

    The final scenes of this episode are beautifully shot and edited. As with previous episodes, the final scenes are accompanied primarily by music. We see a wonderful silhouette of Rafe, sitting in his favorite chair, sipping his finest Scotch. We then see the silhouettes of Pottinger and his men passing the window in front of Rafe. Pottinger hands Rafe the eviction notice and Rafe picks up his already packed bags.

    We then shift to Datak entering his fight tent – the seat of his power. All his men are there – with Stahma and Alak. Raiga (Kevin Shand) shuts the tent. We hear Stahma tell Datak, “Hello, my love,” just before all the men begin beating Datak – there is no sound of the beating, just the sound of the music, and when Alak tries to turn away from the violence, only Stahma’s voice is heard telling him “Do not look away.” After the beating, other sounds are heard beneath the music as Datak is left unconscious on the street. Stahma follows him out and whispers in his ear that he should have made her a partner.

    What did you think of the episode? How do you think Datak is going to react? Did you feel just a tiny bit sorry for him? Did you buy his “I found religion” explanation? Do you think Pottinger is telling the truth about his past? Do you think Amanda is going to be able to pull away before she betrays her friends? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!