Defiance, “The Awakening,” was written by the team of Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer and directed by Michael Nankin. While the episode suffers from some rather glaring logical problems, I will never tire of the antics of the Tarr family or Doc Yewll (Trenna Keating). Tony Curran (Datak), Jaime Murray (Stahma), and Jesse Rath (Alak) all deliver terrific performances in this episode. According to Twitter, Datak imploring Yewll not to “take the ginger” was at the insistence of Rath – after all, under all that white, Datak make up, Curran is a ginger!
As the episode opens, Yewll is continuing the dread harvest to feed the arriving Omec. Datak tries to get through to her, telling her “this isn’t you” and to fight it, but she can’t break free from the stem. Samir (Ray Ablack) confirms that she’s being controlled. Yewll is clearly bothered by what she’s being forced to do. She tells Datak that she was “engineered for slavery.” It’s amazing how much Keating is able to infuse non-verbally in a scene given the limitations of her make-up.
I loved Yewll’s arc in this episode. It’s clear that she is not happy about having to stake out the Irathient – or anyone else – for the Omecs to eat. Yewll tries to protect both Datak and Samir from Kindzi (Nichole Glicia) by standing in front of their cages and trying to direct the Omec’s attention to others. Unfortunately, Kindzi both sees and recognizes Datak and torments him about what she is going to do to Stahma.
Datak talks a good game even from within the cage. He tells her that the Earth won’t give up without a fight – and the Omec have already retreated from the Voltans “like scared little bitchs.” He also warms Kindzi to stay away from Stahma and tells her that he’s the last person Kindzi will see before she dies. There’s a gorgeous shot of Datak’s eye as he watches the Omecs feed, and it’s easy to tell that he’s not as confident as he sounds talking to Kindzi.
In fact, Datak is desperate enough that he wants Yewll to take him instead of the ginger. Yewll won’t do it at first because she can’t bear to see him eaten. It’s clear how much what she’s being forced to do is bothering her. Datak, however, goads her, telling her she has no soul and is no more than a Gollum. While that pisses Yewll off, what really gets her is when Datak says he just can’t stand the waiting and begs her to end it. Datak, who chose ritual stoning over a quick death by hanging… It’s clearly a ruse.
I loved the scene with Datak taking on the entire group of Omecs, and of course, especially the moment when we see that his new arm comes with a Wolverine attachment! I loved Samir going crazy and providing the play by play for the other prisoners. In the end, Datak must run for his life, but at the end of the episode, he is still on the loose – which is likely very good news for the rest of his family.
Yewll must take the injured Omec to her office to take care of his injuries. Really? How does a spike through the head not kill them? Regardless, it is finally the thing that gets Yewll the helps she needs as Nolan (Grant Bowler) and Amanda (Julie Benz) pull her over. I loved her cranking the tunes to drown out the moaning from the Omec. Somebody finally notices the damn thing in Yewll’s neck, and Amanda yanks it out, refusing Doc’s lame explanation of it being a mole. Finally freed, Yewll takes care of the Omec in her trunk. Hopefully, now she can help them find a way to defeat the Omecs.
Amanda and Nolan know about the Omec plans from Stahma. I liked the scene in which Stahma comes to Nolan for help looking for Datak. She comes completely clean and tells them of the thousands of sleep pods and T’evgin’s plans for peaceful coexistence. Amanda is angry with Stahma for not telling them sooner and wants to blame her for the entire invasion. Stahma rightly points out that if anyone is at fault, it’s Amanda for letting the Omecs in in the first place.Nolan and Irisa find the Omecs in the forest feeding on the Irathient – I’m assuming Kindzi had to have her close to where they landed? Nolan manages to shoot Kindzi many times, but the bullets don’t seem to harm her as they used to. Kindzi has told the rest of the Omecs that T’evgin was actually killed by Stahma poisoning him.
Berlin (Anna Hopkins) has also noticed people missing, and once again, she teams up with Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) while Nolan and Amanda have to team up. I loved the scene in which Berlin is prepared to start killing and Irisa insists they should talk to the Omec. I loved the look of surprise on Berlin’s face when she realizes that Irisa is sincere. Perhaps there is a chance for Berlin and Irisa to settle their differences and for Berlin to finally realize that Irisa wasn’t in control when she killed Tommy.
Nolan must pull both Amanda and Yewll off the ledge in this episode. Amanda once to just give up when they don’t find Yewll in her office. Amanda and Nolan share a moment. Nolan also has to get Yewll to get over her feelings of guilt – but with her, he uses tough love. I also loved that Samir was all about putting his faith in Nolan saving him… and then Nolan does save Samir just as he is about to be eaten!
Perhaps the strongest scene of the entire episode was the scene between Alak and Stahma. Alak is dancing with Luke when Andina (Amy Forsyth) arrives. She insists it’s time for Alak to talk to his mother. Alak is adamant that he doesn’t want to – and definitely not in Christie’s house after Stahma killed her. Alak accuses Stahma of playing right into Kindzi’s hands after Stahma tells him Kindzi is trying to kill her. And he’s right! Stahma is stupid for leading Kindzi right to Alak and Luke.
Alak doesn’t trust Stahma at all, and it is unfair for him not to realize how much family means to Stahma. She keeps repeating that she wasn’t thinking. Alak tells her, “No. You’re always thinking. That’s what makes you so exhausting to deal with.” Stahma wants them all to leave together for safety. And then Alak accuses her of exploiting a crisis to turn it to her advantage.
Alak insists that their family is a sham, but Stahma reminds him of all they gave him. Alak reminds her of them forcing him to hurt a friend simply to protect his “liro” – his standing in society. Alak accuses her of laughing at him, but Stahma insists that only Datak laughed at him. We’ve seen Stahma be brutal to Alak – and after all, the original intent was for them to use Christie to gain control of the mine through her marriage to Alak. Alak accuses Stahma of always being in control, but she admits that she hasn’t been in control of her life since he and Christie were kidnapped. In the end, Stahma leaves.
Andina uses the opportunity to make her own move. Alak thanks her for her help and tells her to call him by his first name. After all, he doesn’t believe in the class system. She moves in to kiss him, but he can’t continue – it’s still too soon for him. Andina insists she can be patient. Sadly, it doesn’t look like we’ll get to see her really grow into a thorn in Stahma’s side as Kindzi kills her upon arriving at the house with a battered Stahma in tow.
The final scenes are horrific as Kindzi goes after Alak and Luke – especially Luke. It was especially horrible watching Alak and Kindzi play tug of war with the baby! While Kindzi has Stahma in the kitchen, we see Stahma push the doll behind the box of supplies. It’s at least the second time in the episode that the shot has focused on this doll. What is its significance? Is it some kind of hidden weapon?
This was another reasonably solid episode. A lot of the information about the Omecs doesn’t seem to add up. What does kill them? Are they all strengthened by eating meat? How are they going to get back up to their ship? Shouldn’t they have more sophisticate weapons? I could go on… However, some really great performances here from Keating. Curran, Murray, and Rath. And what about that bitch Kindzi threatening to eat a baby?!?!?!?! Let me know your thoughts about the episode in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
