Farscape — 4x13 — Terra Firma
Synopsis
The crew returns to Moya - in orbit around modern-day Earth - to find Jack and a contingent of Earth dignitaries waiting for them. The aliens are introduced to an amazed and apprehensive public, but soon find life in the public eye difficult. As Crichton tries to readjust to life on Earth, his relationships become strained, especially with Aeryn. Meanwhile, a monstrous assassin sent by Grayza hunts for Crichton, and will stop at nothing to accomplish its mission.
Filler rating: not filler
Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.
Remarkable scenes
- Jack revealing that Sikozu made first contact with Earth, in English, when IASA detected Moya in orbit 42 days ago.
- John being reunited with his friends and family.
- Earth officials examining the technology John brought back.
- Aeryn regarding John's pet cat: "Does he talk?"
- Jack: "Every nation's demanding equal access to the aliens and all the information we get from them." John: "Of course they are. We're gonna give it to them." Jack: "I don't see why. Why should we give them access to technology they can use against us?" John: "Because it's the right thing to do. Wouldn't worry about it, dad. Subcommittee will tie it up for years and load it down with a ton of guidelines." Jack: "Now you're being naive, son. The best and safest thing to do is keep it to ourselves." John: "Space travel was your dream to unite mankind. When did that change?" Jack: "September the 11th."
- Grayza communicating with her agent aboard Moya.
- Aeryn taking Jack on a trip to Saturn in her prowler.
- The alien monster attacking John's friends.
- Scorpius revealing to Sikozu that he is planning to kamikaze the wormhole if Grayza locates it and comes through.
- Jack doing as John asks and inviting all nations to participate in the ongoing Farscape mission.
- The alien monster attacking John's family.
- D'Argo taking out the alien.
- Aeryn: "Merry frelling Christmas."
- Aeryn pressing Noranti on the drugs John's taking.
- John resolving to leave Earth again, to protect it from alien attacks.
Review
The setup pays off perfectly. John returns to Earth and the political consequences are explored with sufficient depth and nuance to make the climax of this arc well worth the buildup. I loved the detail that the September 11th terrorist attacks changed John's dad in a fundamental way, making him less idealistic and more predisposed to hoard any and all information and technology John has brought back with him so as to protect the United States against its enemies.
John, on the other hand, both lacking the experience of having lived through the event and being the only human to have lived through his perhaps worse experiences on the other side of the galaxy possesses a much different perspective. From John's point of view, the enemies of America are the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans. It's obvious to John from the very first moment that what he brings Earth is terrors beyond their imagination and that the best way to protect America, along with the rest of Earth, is to "get the hell out of Dodge" and get Earth off the radar of the Peacekeepers and Scarrans as quickly as possible.
John's decision to leave is a fateful one. John's no longer a man running away from his enemies. He's a man with a greater purpose. The only way he'll ever be able to return home again is if he finds a way to end the conflict between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans, or at least end their lust over wormhole technology. John's immediate feelings over having to leave I'm sure are quite confused. The Peacekeepers killed off his best friend DK and DK's new wife. And his homecoming while not as absurd as A Human Reaction predicted was certainly bittersweet.
Meanwhile John's and Aeryn's confused relationship mirrors John's ambivalence regarding his homecoming. The two even after all this time still can't sort out their feelings for each other. But real progress has been made on both fronts. Aeryn's finally starting to understand why John acts the way he does by discovering his drug use and getting a grip on his cultural contexts first hand. As for John, his decision to leave Earth was the right call, even if it was a hard one. Both characters have begun a journey to regain their focuses on the things that matter to them most. An absolutely fantastic episode.