The Usual Farscape Post-Mortem (WARNING: SPOILERS!)

Except this isn't going to be the usual "here's all the random thoughts I had about this episode" kind of thing, quite. Yes, there are a lot of things I could talk about. I could talk about how the unanswered questions are continuing to pile up to the point where it appears that the true shape of this season is forming in the gaps between what we know, rather than in what we actually see on the screen. I could mention how this episode reflects that fact on many different levels, being all about missing information, about things that people don't know or won't talk about. I could mention how fascinated I am by the changing relationships and shifting alliances we're seeing, by questions like: How much can Scorpius be trusted? How much can Sikozu be trusted? Where do John and Aeryn go from here? And how is Moya's request for an actual captain going to affect the crew dynamics? (Chiana's reassurances to the contray, I can only imagine that that suggestion's going to go over like a lead balloon.) I could do my usual random wibbling about things like how cool the alien spaceship looked and how great it was to see Braca screwing up.

I could go into all that. But, frankly, the main thing that I want to say about this particular episode is simply this: Oh my god, they killed Harvey! You bastards! Damn it, Harvey was my other favorite Downtrodden and Neglected Character, and I liked him immensely. Truly, despite his fixation on self-preservation at all costs and his rather unconvincing diatribes on the desireability of revenge, post-chip Harvey was not at all an evil being. Indeed, he had a certain sweet, childlike quality that I found quite endearing. I'm really very unhappy with Crichton for destroying him.

OK, true, it's easy enough to see Crichton's side of things. If there's anywhere one has a right to privacy, surely it's the inside of one's own head. Harvey was an uninvited guest in John's mind, and, from one point of view, John had the perfect right to evict him with extreme prejudice. It's also understandable if John was feeling something of an impulse towards revenge, himself, if you think back on the things that Harvey did, back when he was still in the chip. Personally, I don't think it's entirely reasonable to take all that out on post-chip Harvey, who seems to me different enough from chip-Harvey to no longer qualify as being the same person, but I do find it understandable.

Still. When Harvey protests that he has been John's friend and ally, I believe he's telling the simple truth. Post-chip Harvey has been nothing but friendly and helpful, and he's saved John's life on a number of occasions. For John to turn on him like that at the first opportunity, however understandable, nevertheless seems to me to constitute a rather ugly kind of betrayal, particularly after the close comrades-in-arms partnership they seemed to form during the assault on the command carrier.

On a practical level, too, I think getting rid of Harvey at this point was a big, big mistake. Say what you will about the neural clone, it's clear to me that he did have John's best interests at heart, if only because their interests inevitably coincided. And John needs all the help he can get. In particular, dealing with Scorpius is going to be very, very difficult. Personally, I tend to believe his stated motives, as far as they go, but Scorpius is a slick and dangerous customer who needs to be handled with extreme care. Harvey, of course, knew Scorpius and Scorpius' thought processes better than anyone... which is doubtless why Scorpius was so eager to assist John in removing him. I've heard it suggested that if Talyn-John hadn't killed his Harvey, he might have been able to call on his assistance in dealing with the radioactive gadget and might not have died. Impossible to say, of course, but it strikes me as an entirely plausible speculation. I only hope this John's decision to follow in his doppelganger's footsteps doesn't come back to bite him in the butt. Or maybe I do, because, irrational as it is, I'd really like an excuse to say "I told you so."

As unhappy as I am about Harvey's demise, I do have to admit that, in dramatic, TV-production terms, it makes perfect sense. If Scorpius really is going to hang around for a while, and if he has taken upon himself the task of preserving John and his precious wormhole information, then Harvey's become pretty much extraneous. Beyond which, it may well be too much to ask that Wayne Pygram play both roles on a regular basis.

Still. Poor, poor, pathetic Harvey. "I'll go back into the dumpster." Sniffle. I feel so bad for him. And I'm really gonna miss him and his goofy smiles and his funny little outfits and his unwanted advice.

I wonder if neural clones do go to heaven?