Holy hells that was quite the revelatory episode. Last week in 'Necropolis Now' we saw D'Avin take small steps towards a more leadership role through his pep talk to Dutch, followed by his impromptu speech during the RAC funeral. 'The Wolf You Feed' built on those small steps as we saw D'Avin rally the remaining allies, keeping morale high while Dutch continued her downward spiral.
One of the nagging questions since Aneela was revealed was who Dutch is and her relation to her look alike. Now, past the halfway point, Killjoys finally answered that question.
Dutch being born from the green liquid out of the good memories of Aneela, before Khylen abandoned her, was not only an interesting reveal, but an emotional one.
Aneela has serious daddy issues, and his lack of presence in her early life led her to grow into a misguided, lonely, and unstable woman. These flashbacks helped give a lot of depth to this season's antagonist. The reveals in 'The Wolf You Feed,' on top of losing her love last week, has slowly turned Aneela into more of a sympathetic villain, which makes for great television.
More importantly, the flashbacks this week has serious implications for Dutch. How she is just a memory pulled out of Aneela, must be an overwhelming truth to take in. Actress Hannah John-Kamen did an absolutely wonderful job conveying that shock and distraught over finding out who she really is.
While Dutch was off on her own truth-seeking mission, D'Avin had to assume leadership in 'The Wolf You Feed.' We see that morale is low among the allies, and no one is united due to Dutch being absent. As whatever his name says, the cause is only as strong as its leader.
However, over the course of the episode we see D'Avin earning the respect of his allies and doing what a leader needs to do to bring others together - inspiring trust. We also see D'Avin making the hard choice by defying orders and going against Turin who wanted the cleansed detained. In D'Avin's words, the cleansed were victims who are now no longer under the control of the Hullen. To see him put past differences aside to bring them back into the fold showed the beginning of a true leader.
It is great to see more screen time for Fancy too. The episode did a fabulous job in progressing the love-hate relationship between the former Hullen and D'avin. The scene near the end when they both declare their loyalty for each other was an inspiring moment and it was a side of D'Avin we don't normally see - testament to his progression as a leader.
Another secondary character who has quickly become very likeable is Zeph. It has been entertaining to see her and Johnny in their attempts to one-up one another. There is a clear respect the two nerds have for each other that was especially felt in the scene when Johnny helped patch up her wounds.
The younger Jaqobi brother was also involved in a couple scenes with Dutch. The interplay between past and present Johnny, as Dutch explored when they met to when he tries to snap her out of her trauma was really moving. The black and white view seeping into her present day view was a subtle, but powerful technique that expressed the confusion Dutch was feeling at the moment. The scene as a whole also reminded viewers how far Dutch and Johnny have come, and just how important his friendship is to her.
The strength of Killjoys over the past two and a half seasons has been its world building and story - this show just keeps piling on the holy hells, one advantage it has over its Syfy counterpart, Dark Matter. Though Dutch, D'avin, and Johnny aren't as rich and complex as the team on Dark Matter, they are still great characters; however, these past few episodes have really narrowed the gap in terms of characterizations. Hannah John-Kamen in particular has been doing a superb job as both Dutch and Aneela, and both Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane have developed tremendous chemistry with John-Kamen as her crewmates. 'The Wolf You Feed' really took things a step forward on both a story and character standpoint.
Overall,'The Wolf You Feed,' with all its reveals and progression in D'Avin's and Dutch' character, was an important episode for Killjoys taking things to a whole other level as we head into the last few episodes of the season.
9/10
Hilarious Quotes of 'The Wolf You Feed':
Scene 1
Johnny: "Now, you find a way to get all the ships operational. Calm everyone's tits bfore this whole army falls apart at the seams.
D'Avin: How? I'm not the tit whisperer.
Scene 2
D'Avin: It's War O'clock, everyone has their own coping mechanisms, I guess
Gared: Puppies. I like puppies. I really get in there for some hardcore cuddles you know. I like to knit them little sweaters
Man: I see what Pree likes about you, Gared, you are an interesting man.
Scene 3
Johnny: Lucy, if you had a body right now I would kiss it
Lucy: If I had a body right now, I would let you.
Johnny: Still creepy, Lucy.
