Scorpius, growing more desperate by the minute, hopes to force John's hand by threatening Earth. Unable to lead the Peacekeeper scientists' research astray, John rallies the crew to help him destroy the Carrier itself -- and discovers that Crais' allegiances are not at all what he expected...

Stunning. From start to finish Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing is a tour de force. It throws scene after scene of dramatic and emotional intensity at the viewer and then, to top it all off, some of the most spectacular effects w**k I have seen in one of the most explosive finales ever to grace a screen, big or small.

It’s the end of the line for Scorpius, with the threat of Grayza’s return hanging over his head, and the loss of his command along with it. He is the victim of plot and counter plot, and gets his first journey through a wormhole thrown into the bargain. And, finally, he stands on the steps, amidst a cascade of water, as his command carrier implodes around him in what is one of the most memorable shots of any series.

Perhaps the only criticism I can aim at this episode is the way in which it casts most of the characters to one side. It is a rare occasion when Farscape doesn’t play as an ensemble, choosing to focus almost entirely on John, Aeryn, Scorpius and Crais.

Ah, Crais. One of my favourite characters in his final hour, and a magnificent hour too. The writers manipulate us brilliantly, leading us to once again believe that he has betrayed our friends when, in fact, he has put into motion the only plan that could possibly get Crichton what he wants.

The scene where he tells Aeryn and a livid Crichton what he intends to do is one of my favourites of the entire series, and Lani Tupu acts his little socks off. He’s magnificent in this episode and particularly that scene, a mass of barely contained emotion, in stark (no pun intended) contrast to Crichton’s rage and Aeryn’s quiet self-control.

He even finds time to save Lorel, casting her aside, aware of her duplicity but unwilling to let her follow him to death.

Having parted with Aeryn, his final scenes with Talyn are extremely sad, doom-laden and emotional, as he convinces the neutered leviathan that their only course of action, in order to save the others and Moya, is to starburst within the confines of the Command Carrier’s hangar.

And they do so, and it is the loss of two of my favourite characters in the series.

As such, John gets exactly what he wants, but he doesn’t do it without regret. Ben Browder is superb throughout even if, imo, Lani Tupu steals the acting honours this time around. Crichton’s constant battle of wits with Scorpius allows Crais the leeway to slip his plan past the unsuspecting half-breed. The slowly dawning realisation on Scorpy’s face as Crais makes his final ship-wide announcement is superb, as is the way in which Crichton calmly watches the unfolding events from atop Farscape 1, observing that Scorpius might want to hang on to something.

For Crichton there is a realisation that he can harness the wormhole knowledge, but he is prepared to sacrifice this in order to stop the Peacekeepers getting their hands on wormhole weapons. Scorpius observes that this as good as hands victory to the Scarrans. That remains to be seen.

Even then, Strappa tells Crichton that there is another who may be able to release the knowledge he has gained, and willingly submits himself to the Aurora Chair to prevent this from happening.

Aeryn, meanwhile, has to deal with Henta. I thought this part was underplayed in this episode, given the set up in the previous one. There’s never really enough time, with all the other goings on, to give this sub plot a satisfactory conclusion, and although char-grilled Henta is a quite shocking moment she was a character who never really got a chance to shine.

During all this, after Crais’s apparent betrayal, the other characters are locked up in the brig. It is a sad moment, as D’Argo and Rygel contemplate their return to captivity and ponder on how long it took them to escape previously, but beyond that they get very little to do.

Two of the saddest scenes in the episode involve Pilot, as always. How they wring such emotion out of this wonderful creation is quite beyond me, but they do it time and time again. His scenes here with first Crichton, as John explains what is going to happen to Talyn, and then at the end with Jool are very moving.

After such an epic, explosive storyline, it is fitting that the conclusion to the episode is so downbeat. D’Argo, Chiana, Rygel and Jool are all thinking about leaving Moya and heading their separate ways. John and Aeryn sit in Command with the stars at their backs, Aeryn’s face full of regret and perhaps guilt, while the wormhole equations continue to flood from John’s mind.

This would have made for an amazing series finale. But it isn’t the end.

Moya and her crew have one final duty to perform.

Excellent review :thumbsup:

I think you have pretty much covered it so I'll just make a couple of comments :)

What a bizarre relationship John now has with Scorpius, the alien who has messed with his brain, tortured him, killed the woman he loves and yet at the end, John is willing to take Scorpy off the ship :blink:

They switch between vehement fighting and almost friend like respect for each other.

Despite the huge plot regarding the wormhole knowledge this episode belongs to Crais and Tayln, as you say wonderfully acted by Lani Tupu as both Crais and Pilot.

I was devestated when they died particularly Tayln. We had seen his birth, his teenage like years and the bond grow between he and Moya and the crew :tear:

It was so final that we know there is no way they can be brought back they are gone :tear:

What also made Crais' death even more poignant was the fact that Crichton believed he had betrayed him and was totally shocked by Crais' willing sacrifice, stunned and at a total loss for words.

Yes, I was actually angry with John in that scene. But then when he turns around outside in the corridor, is that guilt on his face?

Maybe because they vowed never to leave any member of the crew to die and yet they let Crais and Tayln make such a sacrifice

Possibly. I was thinking - or maybe hoping - that there was a tinge of guilt there because he realised, in the end, that he may have misjudged Crais.

definitely although it is a major turn around for Crais, he never seemed that bothered before and was basically w**king to his own agenda most of the time.

I think John was right to remain sceptical

Absolutely. Once he realised and understood what Crais was saying it got to him a bit though, I think.

I always thought John's line "I'll get you one. " to Crais about causing a distraction was his way of saying thankyou. Just the way he said it, and the look on his face.

Just my opinion :D

Yes I think he is, its a hard thing to do to let him make such a sacrifice, I think he is trying to say thanks :)

And considering their history, I think that is probably as close as John could go to saying it. Quite sweet really :D

Fantastic episode this one, even by 2-parter standards.

Too tired to review this one right now, so I'll just leave you with one of my favourite images from the episode for now;



:thumbsup:

Nice one James. Possibly my favourite shot of the whole series :thumbsup:

It's pretty much at the top of my list too :thumbsup:

:thumbsup: Thanks its a great shot :)

:tear: btw what about Talyn :tear:

Made the episode for me. It tipped the balance between this being a damned good 2-parter to a f*cking brilliant 2-parter.

I'll miss Talyn. I think as a character I'd come to accept and appreciate him, even more than Moya :(

A fitting finale for 2 great characters.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

:lmao: :thumbsup:

I still can't believe that a show made me care about ships, it did though and I was really upset when Tayln sacrificed himself, he did become an important character in the show :tear: