Part 2 of 2

Moya is still orbiting the Gammak Base but she cannot starburst since she has just entered full labour. In the meantime, Pilot has discovered that the baby may not be quite what the crew were expecting.

On the planet below, Crichton is in deep, deep trouble...

I'm going to point out now, that I may mix up events in reviews of both sides of this 2 parter. I see it as one big story, and as I watched both together, what actually occurs in either episode is a bit blurry ;)

And it gets better. I did not see events surrounding Crais, coming. Okay, obvious to a point that he would make an appearance, but to what extent, wow again.

Chianna has arrived back on Moya with the vial, Aeryn, feeling betterish,( well not dying at this point), decides to go save Crichton, Both Zhaan and D'Argo go along to help.
John in his cell, receives some unexpected help and advice, from Gillina, as she herself, decides to risk all, by communicating with Crichton, underneath the very noses of Scorpius and the rest of the Peacekeepers. (Is he half Peacekeeper?)

The cellmate, not sure of the name, decides to drop the "I'm mental" facade, but to what end. Intriguing character. Reveals a little, but obviously has something he's hiding from all. Back to the Aurora chair, Gillina, assures John to remember their shared kiss. Sounds ominous, knowing that she could be putting herself into the lion's den, Crichton is still very unsure.

Crichton once in the chair, finally relents, and allows the memory to be taken. This is a stroke of genius, on behalf of Gillina, an altered memory, dropping no other but Crais into the picture. I know he's totally innocent with regards to the knowledge, but still, what a card to play. This I must admit, I didn't see coming. Scorpius demands Crais into the chair, somewhere in there, he believes Crais has the wormhole knowledge. Although, i'm still not too sure at what point Gillina knows about the wormhole stuff?

Aeryn stumbling across Crais in the chair, was just one of those moments, where you wish she'd use just a little violence, in his crotch area ;) i'm pretty certain, she's going to regret not shooting him, when she had the chance. Cue big rescue scene, rooftop fighting, and a big shoot em up scene

Moya now chooses this very inopportune moment to go into full scale labour. No Crichton, no Aeryn, Zhaan or D'Argo. Just leaves a very cold Chianna and Rygel to save the day. Chianna manages to help Moya with the birth, and frees the baby, and not a normal baby, a Leviathan with weapons. i'm guessing that's going to be quite pivotal too.

Safe back on Moya, Gillina dies, content in the knowledge that Crichton loved her, although i'm not too sure about that myself


I have to say, truly excellent. Thanks Steve, I'm enjoying it, far more than I thought I would.

The problem that The Hidden Memory was always going to have to deal with was in living up to the benchmark set by the preceding episode. The fact that it matches it at almost every turn is high praise indeed.

For an episode that contains so much action, it is remarkable that its most explosive scenes are those involving the characters. Whether it be John and Scorpius, John and Crais, John and Stark (whose nature is now revealed), Aeryn and Gillina, this episode throws tension filled moments followed by fear and wonder in such quick succession that it is difficult to keep track of them all.

So the story recommences with something of a role reversal as Aeryn, now recovering, decides that she has to go down to the Gammak base to rescue John. With D'Argo and Zhaan in tow she heads down to the surface, still prone to the after effects of her wound.

Meanwhile, Chiana, Rygel and Pilot must deal with the impending birth of Moya's baby, as the leviathan goes into full labour. The scene where Rygel and Chiana are locked in the tank together is a nice moment of light relief in what has been an overwhelmingly intense two hours.

Things are further complicated as Crichton tries to hide Gillina's presence from Scorpius and Crais. In order to help him, Gillina tampers with the Aurora Chair and suddenly Crais becomes the focus of Scorpy's attention.

Once again, the performances are outstanding, but special mention goes to Claudia Black and Wayne Pygram, and to Lani Tupu, who is a revelation as Crais undergoes the same torture as Crichton. Indeed, it is the scene where Aeryn finds Crais strapped in the chair that lingers long after the episode has finished. It is a hugely important moment for Aeryn, as she finally lets go of her life as a Peacekeeper. More than that, it also shows that she can be cold and calculating when the need arises. The look of total concentration on her face as she makes her escape, with Crais's screams of agony echoing in the background, is a chillingly perfect moment.

And then Farscape does what it does better than practically any other sf series: a huge firefight with explosions and guns and death. And all the while this is going on, up in orbit the true nature of Moya's child is revealed, right down to the Peacekeeper colour scheme. And, with that, yet another ongoing storyline begins.

Perhaps the only aspect that lets the story down is the ever-so-slightly predictable death of Gillina. Not only does it allow someone we care about to die in the midst of all the mayhem, but it also neatly moves her out of the way of the John and Aeryn relationship. It would have been good to keep her around a bit longer, but it adds a huge amount of poignancy to the climax.

Farscape has more than its fair share of iconic moments, none more so than the final shot of Scorpius walking through the wreckage of fire and smoke, lost in thought. And we know instinctively what that thought is: Crichton. Scorpius now knows that the key to the super weapon he has been trying to create is locked inside John's head. It is the thought, the obsession, that will consume him.

The Hidden Memory is another stunning episode, providing a fitting conclusion to Nerve whilst simultaneously, and effortlessly, setting in motion several ongoing story arcs. It is indicative of the directions the series will take. It brings together so many little threads that have been laid down in earlier episodes. It is darker and more ominous than anyone who gave up after a handful of episodes would ever believe. And, as has always been one of the series' saving graces, it manages to feel totally different to any series made in Hollywood.

For my money, it is with these two episodes that the saga of Farscape really begins. From here on in the road will be more dangerous than ever.

What Steve said ;)

I'm not very good at seeing the politics yet. I guess it comes with practice. I didn't even notice the baby having peacekeeper colours, doh :lol: :lol:

I think it's best just to say that all will be revealed in time :D

I'm really glad you're enjoying it, Lisa. I wish the others had stuck with it this long - I think they would have enjoyed it as well. ;)

That didn't occur to me on first viewing, either :lol: ;)

Great reviews, btw :D

I'll be honest, I didn't think much of the first season of Buffy till Prophecy Girl.

I trust Melian and yourself. I can't imagine you both raving on about a series, unless it really was good. We all like Buffy, Angel and Firefly, how wrong could you be about Farscape.

Thanks Steve, although reading yours, they do seem like a very poor attempt ;)

Cheers! You wouldn't believe I'd been planning them for ages, would you? :ph43r: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Mine's on the fly, be grateful I managed to correct the spelling mistakes :lol: :lol: :lol:

They're really good reviews Steve. You really should think about taking up writing properly ;)

Again, thank you :D

Again, nothing much to add to what has already been said.

I just wish either John or Aeryn had given Gillina a straight answer to her question about their relationship, though I suppose they spend so much time and effort denying it that they are unsure themselves :P

Great fight at the end of the episode. Guns, explosions, humour, what more can you ask for?

I'd go a step further than that Steve. As good as Nerve was, and it was bloody good !! The Hidden Memory surpasses it, amazingly. The interplay between Crichton, Scorpius and Crais is an absolute delight to watch, and the thought that this is just the beginning of it is quite mouth watering indeed.

With so much set up in the first part, this has a lot of promise to live up to, and where a lot of two-parters fail to continue the quality often displayed in the first part, here there are no such problems.

Everything that made Nerve brilliant is still here with this one, and then some.

If I were being ultra-critical and trying to find something to fault, I wouldn't be able to. I loved this one from start to finish. I think everything else has pretty much been said on this episode already.

Crichton seriously needs some target practice though. Just after Scorpius had shot Gilina, Crichton tries to shoot Scorpius from pretty much point blank range, and misses :rolleyes: :lol:

Great episode, loved it, bring on the rest of the season :thumbsup:

They are two fabulous episodes aren't they, in my top 5 episodes list :thumbsup: