Incubator

Farscape Episode Review

In which Scorpius has flashbacks.

What Happened

Scorpius still hasn't figured out the tissue liquidation issue in wormhole travel. One of his scientists claims that the equations haven't all been deciphered yet, so Scorpius goes back into the chip to see if he can figure it out. The neural clone of John that lives inside the chip is moderately annoyed to see Scorpius, who decides to try persuading John to help him by sharing his life story. It's a tangled mess of childhood abuse at the hands of his Scarran creators, who stole his Sebacian mother and used her as breeding stock, followed by his attempt to ingratiate himself with the Peacekeepers.

Moya picks up Scorpius' scientist Linfer in a Prowler. She claims to have solved the wormhole problem. Convinced that succeed or fail, Scorpius would kill her, she wants to exchange her knowledge for Moya. Linfer's offer is attractive to Pilot and Moya, who yearn for the deep space exploration Linfer would undertake. It doesn't make much difference in the end: Linfer's shields only delay liquification, and she takes the Prowler into space and self-destructs.

Deciding that Sebacians are totally useless, the Scarrans have determined to eradicate them. Scorpius is trying to protect everyone from the Scarrans, he argues. They are a common enemy, and eventually they will find Earth. He shows John the wormhole equations, but John refuses to solve them, remembering what the Ancients told him.

If you're not smart enough to discover for yourself, you're not smart enough to use it wisely.

What We Learned

• John is tired of people clomping around in his head.
• That's a little too much information.
• John is indulging himself.
• Arguing is what they do best around here.
• Truth is never crap.
• Sweet move. Join the army and get them to pay for your pet project.
• John is off the clock.
• If you prevent a tibisk from mating, it gets very disagreeable.
• Who doesn't?

What Did I Think?

The tuxedo tails on Scorpius' outfit crack me up for some reason. While these revelations muddle his motives a little more, it doesn't make me particularly sympathetic to Scorpius' means at all.