In the cryptically-titled “The Cord and The Ax,†we saw the various ways in which the denizens of “Defiance†wrestled with power and sex and drugs and everything in between- including murder. Or was it? If you kill someone in the woods and they come back, does it make a sound? Or count in the first place? Or if you try and kill yourself, and it doesn’t quite take, for that matter? Hard to say, but one thing is for sure: Irzu works in mysterious ways.
I don’t even claim to know what the hell is going on with Irisa. As best as I can tell, she sacrificed herself to save Nolan’s life in last season’s finale. Upon coming back, she was different, to say the least, hallucinating herself as a child and being encouraged (by herself, or herself speaking as Irzu, I suppose) to kill various people seemingly on a whim, as they couldn’t possibly be more random.
But just when you thought it couldn’t get more crazier, all of said victims started coming back, from the punk rock chick she killed in the premiere, to the returning Sukar- to whom she confessed what was really going on, at least as best as she could figure out, right before killing him- to even the completely inauspicious Bertie, the nanny-type that works for Rafe.
Actually, killing might be a bit strong. What it looks to be is that Irisa is imbuing them with a certain life force or something like that, which one assumes is Irzu’s. So, this means that those who are inflicted with this, are at least partially, if not fully, under the control of Irzu from there on out, as evidenced by the punk rock girl attacking a child towards the end of the episode. I guess, once one is imbued with the essence of Irzu of whatever, the goal is to recruit as many others as possible.
The question is, now that Irisa knows that the people she’s “killing†aren’t dead, but maybe in limbo or something akin to being possessed, will she keep doing it or continue to fight it and resist? Can she even really resist? After all, she put a bullet in her head, only to be resurrected and painfully healed by Irzu- again, if you count her free fall in the finale. I can’t imagine Irzu is up to anything good with all this, right? What, if anything, can Irisa actually do to combat it? Only time will tell, I guess.
Speaking of combative actions, Datak at long last got out of prison, only to come home and lay down the law to Stahma and Alak in decidedly violent terms. Not in the bath! As if weird stuff already isn’t already happening there, as it is. Oh well, I guess that will teach his wife and child to try and take over his business in his wake. It’s probably just as well in Alak’s case: I don’t really think he has the stomach for it, and with a baby on the way, he should probably take the out while he can. Stahma, on the other hand, was all too happy and genuinely qualified to take over in Datak’s stead. Guess that won’t be happening anymore, either.
What is apparently happening is some weird and shady deal between Doc Yewll and the Mayor to work on some project he had in mind that happens to be in Yewll’s wheelhouse, and which requires expensive funding and an assistant, which is where Datak came in. No idea what that’s about, either. However, the Mayor’s situation with Amanda is readily apparent: he wants to control her completely and is using drugs to do it, because he “fancies†her.
Despite Nolan’s hilarious comparison of this declaration as being awfully “high school,†it was actually more akin to something more directly in Amanda’s purview, which is to say, in the vicinity of the relationship between a John and a prostitute. No wonder she flipped out on a guy for beating up on one of her girls- she’s practically in the same situation with the Mayor, even if she doesn’t quite realize it yet. Awkward!
That was about it, save Stahma being Stahma, and her gifting Alak with a weapon. How much do you want to bet Alak will end up trying to kill his father with it? There was also some wild stuff going on in Irisa’s flashbacks/hallucination. Something about seizing a ship and someone named Kazmi, plus some guy she appeared to have been in cahoots with somehow, who warned her of the potential threats they would have to contend with on Earth. Once again, completely lost as to what’s going on here, but it is fascinating, so hopefully, there will be some nifty reveal about it later on in the season.
What did you think about “Defiance†this week? Any theories on what was going on with Irisa? What is Irzu’s master plan- if there is an actual Irzu, that is? Will Nolan figure it out in time to save her? What will Datak’s next move be? Will Alak attempt to attack him? How will Stahma deal with her husband being back? Will Amanda be able to fulfill her position, now that she’s certifiably addicted to drugs? Will Nolan and the Mayor end up having a showdown/throwdown? Sound off below with your crazy theories, and have a great Fourth of July!