Defiance Season 3 Premiere

Home is where the danger is...

            I kind of have mixed feelings about the Defiance Season 3 premiere. I feel like we've cut half the cast but at the same time added some interesting new ones. Since good news is better received after bad news I'm going to start with what I didn't like about the premiere:

     
    What I Didn't Like:

Don't go all Shakespeare on my now...

          1. They basically wiped out the entire MaCauly family (except for crazy Pelar which is also what I didn't like). Though I understand why they had to kill off Quinton and Christie. Kind of felt like they were weighing the story down and their stories were finished but they couldn't spare the family Patriarch? Just when he and the Tarrs were getting along! Which leads us to number 2...

What year is it???

         2. The time jump to seven months basically skipped all the best parts. Datak and Rafe started out as enemies in season 1 then slowly into reluctant allies through season 2 and by the end they bonded accepting each other as being a part of their screwed up family. We missed them bonding over the course of those 7 months while they tracked down psycho Pelar. Come on!

What no Letter Opener?

         3. Another thing, Pottinger wasn't there to brighten things up with his charisma. All we got was "He's gone." Feels like a cheat given all the effort and planning E-Rep Mayor put into seducing Amanda and trying to get into her pants only to leave shortly afterwards. Plus the E-Rep didn't really live up to the totalitarian regime they let us believe themselves to be. More like they provided a better infrastructure for the town. The only problems were that a few citizens didn't like being occupied by them. That's it. Although them leaving as soon as the gulonite was no longer accessible was characteristic of them. New York was destroyed and without the gulonite the Earth Republic is scrambling to get itself together that plus quite a few desertions in their military. Just hope Niles returns because he and Amanda are definitely unfinished. She still hasn't found that footage he has of when he was a peeping Tom! She needs to kick his ass for that (anything goes except the face though).

If he's a unicorn then I'm a fairy

      4. The Omecs want to conquer the world. Boring! Would have been better if there were just a few of them looking for a new home, fitting into the theme of the show where all these different races have to share a planet and given all the Votans hate the Omecs (probably even over the Volge) it would have made for a better story. 

Where's that evil smile we love to fear?

      5. This is a minor detail that I won't fuss over: In season 2 Christie eluded to the idea that her baby was going to be a girl. Everyone kept saying it would be a boy or just automatically calling it a "he" but Christie seemed to have this secret knowledge that it was a "she". If she can smell poison despite the mask of fruit juice then why not know the sex of her baby? Just feels like I was cheated over this one. 

I think that guy has a skin condition

      6. Another small detail: The Votan Collective's plan to destroy the human race to claim the planet. Like the Omecs' plan so boring! Be creative though I'll contradict myself later about this...


    What I Liked About It:

They Red Wedding-ed it 

        1. Strangely what I didn't like about it is what I also liked. Killing off the MaCauly clan was depressing but the impact of their deaths made for dramatic effect so we got some form of closure. Rafe hung on just long enough to see his grandson for the first and last time and no joke my eyes were watering as my chest tightened as Rafe breathed his last before he could even finish his nostalgic sentence. Even Christie's death was satisfying in the sense that she got to curse Rahm Tak in Casti and seeing her give the okay for Stahma to kill her to save little Lucas was emotionally powerful. The Tarrs and MaCaulys really came together in the end. It fits with the show's common theme: what are you willing to do to protect your family? 

She's foaming at the mouth! no wait that's blood

     2. The Omec's desire to conquer the planet may be unimaginative but introducing this dirty secret that the Votans have been hiding is very creative. It expands the Votan mythology in an inventive way. The Omecs were the first Votan race to evolve and they spent most of their time making the other Votans suffer using them as slaves for hard labor and sex and some Votans elude to the idea that Omecs would eat their servants when they tired of them. 

You like my "head" ornaments? Get it? Because they're heads?

      3. While the V.C.'s motivation is not unexpected it fits with the show's environment. The V.C. and E-Rep were two evil powers holding grudges against each other both wanting dominance over the other. We also get to see the Votan Collective in full force or as much force as they can be at this point. The E-Rep and V.C. had their head quarters destroyed by Kiziri so both are crippled but the V.C. is using this to try out their own manifest destiny on the planet. And Rahm Tak? Starting to love that psycho. Like Niles Pottinger, Tak's got charisma and a presence on screen. We're supposed to hate him but I feel he's not so black and white. (Seriously though bring Pottinger back!)

She may be little but she is fierce!

      4. Irisa is an ever evolving character with real depth. She's tough but underneath Irisa has a compassionate heart. After killing so many people, Irisa has a real self-loathing and a reluctant trigger finger. We may see her try to resort to reason more than violence though it's clear Nolan is still the shoot first kind of guy which will lead to conflict between them.

Chill bro!

      5. I liked Nolan's sort of bromance with T'evgin. Both of them are fathers with difficult volatile daughters that the world is ready to attack. I felt immediately that Nolan was going to identify with the Omec more than with any one else in town. He and Kindza (is that her name?) seem to have a curious chemistry. Nolan loves going after the kind of girl that can kick his ass. Anything with a weapon attached to her thigh, eh Nolan? But this too is rich in conflict that will drive a wedge between Nolan and Irisa. The Votans talked about how the Omec are cannibals but the producer mentioned that the Omec used the other Votan races as sex slaves so maybe Kindza's interest in Nolan is more of physical attraction. I'm guessing Omec females are like female spiders who eat their mates after copulation. Again Nolan attracts the most dangerous type of female. 

We're about to open a can of crazy on this town... again

         I feel like Defiance is a show that likes to change it's environment constantly which is great because it makes for good drama as you keep your characters (and your audience) on their toes (as with those Nolan death scares every season which is turning into a pattern) but at the same time it feels awkward. I'm reserving judgement for the rest of the season but as far as I can tell I think the season is going to be one of the most tense and electrifying season yet.