Farscape — 4x15 — Mental as Anything
Synopsis
Scorpius takes Crichton, D'Argo and Rygel into an advanced training camp where students learn mental discipline. D'Argo is confronted with the arrival of Macton, the Peacekeeper who murdered D'Argo's wife, Lo'Laan, then framed him for the crime. When Scorpius forces Crichton into torturous anti-Scarran training, D'Argo must face the demons from his past... alone.
Filler rating: not filler
This episode wraps up a lot of loose threads with D'Argo, John's mental training is also interesting in the context of the final arc of season four, and episode is also referenced in a few places as setup for the plot of the next episode.
Remarkable scenes
- D'Argo encountering Macton at the training camp.
- Macton contending that D'Argo may really have killed his wife but simply may not remember doing it because Luxan hyper rage causes blackouts.
- John referring to the instructor as "Master Jedi."
- John in the heat hole.
- Macton taking out the instructor.
- Macton insinuating that Lo'Laan killed herself rather than be beaten by D'Argo over and over.
- Macton finally revealing the truth: that he accidentally killed his sister during an argument with her over D'Argo, then used the accident as a means to get D'Argo incarcerated.
Review
D'Argo finally confronts Macton and John undergoes anti-Scarran training. This episode was a bit slow and a little too hokey for my tastes at times. Despite the many endorsements from main characters, the tactics employed by the "Master Jedi" as John called him seem questionably effective at achieving their stated goals. Much of this episode felt too much like mystic voodoo to me. However, this theme was toned down just enough that there's plenty of worthwhile story to extract from these events.
D'Argo's confrontation with Macton is the centerpiece of the episode. It was executed such that it was wholly true to his character in every way, which is saying a lot for a character as well developed as D'Argo. John's training was less interesting, though amusing. Obviously it remains to be seen whether or not there will be any kind of payoff from John learning how to resist heat in this fashion, as the inevitable Scarran confrontation Scorpius expects has yet to come to pass. Overall though a decent story.