Defiance - Bottom of the World - Review

Defiance, “Bottom of the World,” was written by Anupam Nigam and directed by Andy Wolk. This is Nigam’s first episode since the second episode of season one, and Wolk’s first this season, having last directed episodes six and seven of the first season. This episode might have felt like filler with the cave in storyline except we did finally start to see some real progress on the Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) storyline.

Nolan’s (Grant Bowler) rough exterior and Bowler’s often gleeful delivery make us underestimate how clever he actually is. Bowler is doing his best work when he plays it straight, however, especially when Nolan is angry with Irisa.

I was happy to see Alak (Jesse Rath) and Christie (Nicole Munoz) finally get back on the same page. I feel a little sorry for Alak who seems completely at the mercy of every woman in his life. Rath, however, is a joy to watch and delivers a terrific performance – even when he doesn’t always have a strong performance to play off of. I loved Alak’s heartfelt – though not complete – confession. I particularly liked that Christie really did come across as intelligent and more than worthy of his fidelity and love. I liked that we finally have her articulate and more importantly show that her interest in his culture is easily as great as Alak’s interest in human culture. He may know pop culture, but she has a real understanding of his.

The episode saw the brief return of Jean MacLean as Olfin Tennety. Her banter with Amanda (Julie Benz) and Nolan almost made me sad to see the end of the character.

The scenes between Irisa and Tommy (Dewshane Williams) were painful as I really loved them together, and it became clear that Irisa was simply manipulating Tommy.

This episode was fraught with some awkward moments and continuity issues, however. When Nolan shows up to escort Tennety, he has Irisa in tow with a flag draped over her to hide the handcuffs on her wrists. Why a flag? Hardly a subtle disguise. Then when Amada asks “Handcuffs?” we get a close up of Irisa’s handcuffed wrists which the flag is not covering at all, but then as Nolan turns her and walks away, the flag is covering them again. Nolan warns Berlin (Anna Hopkins) not to get to close to the liquid golanite because it will melt steel, but then when the mine starts going crazy, she’s pretty clearly spattered with it…

However, the special effects of the mine going crazy were good as were those of the “becoming.” Unfortunately, the cave in itself was not the show’s best work. The lighting within the cave in was spectacular, helping to enhance the claustrophobia. One thing I really appreciate from a show that has so much makeup used is the realistic use of it. Amanda’s mascara is realistically smudged and last week Mia Kirshner appeared without any makeup. I did like the set up for the events of the next episode involving Deirdre (Kristina Pesic).

As always, the scene between Datak (Tony Curran) and Stahma (Jaime Murray) stands out. I love watching them toy with each other. The best moment is perhaps after Stahma tells Datak that his price is too high and that she’ll “gut the little whore” herself. As she leaves, a look of admiration and a small smile plays across Datak’s face – Curran is wonderful. Their relationship is layered, complicated, and very real. It’s also interesting that Stahma has mastered human culture more than either her son or husband has. She’s also clearly fond of Christie – and there is no gain in it for them now that Rafe (Graham Greene) no longer owns the mine.

James Murray (Pottinger) managed to do the unthinkable – he managed to make me feel sorry for Pottinger – even knowing what he’s done. The scenes between Amanda and Pottinger in the cave were excellent. Pottinger confesses to being a monster – which is true, but he’s also sincere in wanting Amanda to kill him in order to save herself.

I did feel badly for poor Berlin who apparently has lost not one but two boyfriends. Of course, it seems that Amanda may have finally fallen for Pottinger, who once again surprised me by telling Amanda even after they’d been rescued that everything he’d told her was true – he is a monster.

Quentin’s (Justin Rain) reasons for joining the Voltanis Collective are revealed. It was beautifully ironic for Quentin to turn Rafe in, declaring he wasn’t a terrorist after telling Rafe he is an assassin. Nolan isn’t stupid enough not to realize that Rafe is covering for Quentin. But as a father he understands why he’s doing it. It is a rather annoying development, however.

     I can’t say I was that impressed by Linda Hamilton’s first appearance as Pilar. However, she does recognize that Quentin is an idiot for thinking he outsmarted Rafe and for not realizing that Rafe was simply putting his children first as he always has done.

Once again, I have to apologize for the lateness of this review. Partly this is due to my being out of the country and part of it is due to the lag time of airing in Canada. Look for a review of “Doll Parts” in the next day or so. The final two episodes – which many of you will have already seen, don’t air in Canada for a couple of weeks yet. I hope you will come back to discuss them! Let me know your thoughts on “Bottom of the World” in the comments below. Did Linda Hamilton live up to your expectations? Which of the couples are you rooting for?