Sunday, July 10, 2016

The Geekcap: Killjoys "Wild, Wild Westerly"


On the ship, Dutch watches her reflection. As she kneels to pick up something, her reflection stays in place. She watches, haunted, until D’avin comes to ask her what’s wrong. She replies nothing and instead asks him if he’s sure that the girl he saw on Arkyn was her. He answers that he’s sure since he knows her. Fortunately, he reminds her, once they find Alvis, who knows about Scarback history, they can hopefully learn more about what D’avin saw. Dutch simply tells him that it’s good to have the team back together.

Dutch, John, and D’avin travel to the RAC where they anxiously await a meeting for a warrant. John fears that, with the loss of Khlyen and Turin as heads, the place is now run by Sixes who are aware of what they have done on Arkyn. To their surprise, however, Turin approaches the group. The three tackle him, believing him to be another Level 6, but Turin reveals the stitches from Khlyen’s stabbing. He had survived Khlyen’s attack and has taken back control of the RAC in hopes of rebuilding their neutrality. However, he is less trusting of Dutch’s claim that she doesn’t work for Khlyen anymore. Nevertheless, when Dutch asks Turin to add D’avin back to the team, he complies with their request. In addition, the team requests a warrant in Old Town to examine the area. Turin reveals that there is only one warrant for Old Town, something they may not like.

The three along with Pree travel to Westerly where they find a large wall surrounding Old Town. Dutch announces to anyone who hears that they are Reclamation agents there for a warrant, but no one answers. Instead, the wall seems to scan the group where they stand. The scan, however, sounds an alarm upon finding Pree, whose crimes include being an old warlord. Almost immediately, the four are knocked out before returning to Lucy.

John: I love you, Wall.

The group wake up dangling from the ceiling in a new, more peaceful area as they are spoken to by Company guards. One in particular, Liam Jelco, asks what they are doing there, revealing them to be in a Company-built dome known as Spring Hill. Dutch insists that they are Killjoys, but Jelco questions why they have a former felon on their team. Dutch easily breaks free from her restraints, giving Jelco the motivation to release the group for their warrant, provided that Pree be kept in the meantime.

Jelco explains that some time ago a Company had crashed into the “Westhole” prison, releasing eight prisoners from the blue unit of dangerous political prisoners. All eight escapees are their warrant, focusing on one in particular Tarren Tighmon. Tighmon was originally the head of a minors’ union before he decided to rebel against the Company and shoot down their representatives. With their warrant clarified, the group head to what is left of Old Town.

At the center of Old Town, the people live in pain and poverty with body bags littering the streets. In the distance, they hear music coming from the Royale which they check first for Pree’s benefit. There, they find a new man named Gared running the place with most of the citizens gathering for a drink. Dutch orders D’avin to search the upper levels for Pawter or Alvis while John searches the ground for the warrants, believing that an escaped prisoner would want to have a drink or sex. Meanwhile, she distracts the bartender by goading him into a fight. When John locates one of the escapees, Dutch then easily incapacitates the man by knocking him down and breaking his leg. Dutch and John corner the prisoner who understands why they are after him. Threatening himself at gunpoint, he warns the two that the remaining prisoners are held up at Westhole Prison where they are waiting to take on the group. With that said, the prisoner shoots himself before he is taken back. D’avin returns, stating that he didn’t find Pawter or Alvis before he is filled in on the reveal. Pree volunteers to stay behind at the bar to search for Pawter and Alvis while the Killjoys plan to take on the prisoners.

At Westhole Prison, Dutch, John, and D’avin sneak carefully around the corners anticipating an ambush. Instead, they come across a rotting smell, coming from mummified corpses in prison cells. Suddenly, they come across a bright light and order whoever is on the other side to stand down since they are Killjoys. The figure turns out to be a man named Karl wearing a hazmat suit who is extremely grateful at the Killjoys’ arrival. He has been hiding since the prison outbreak and, in the case of that emergency, pushed the red button which caused the mummification through a Company gas. Six of the escaped prisoners were killed on the impact, but Tighmon escaped with most of their weapons as well as a tank of the poisonous gas.

The three report back to Jelco on the news of Tighmon controlling a tank of poisonous gas, but Jelco is less than compassionate. They implore him to help evacuate Old Town for the safety of the citizens, but Jelco refuses to let anyone leave the town and changes his warrant to a kill order to protect the image of the Company. Dutch fires back that they do not work for the Company as John reminds him that they have a lead on Tighmon and can still capture him. Jelco still orders the group to handle the situation if they want to leave Old Town. To help with their lead, they decide to take one of the mummified bodies and consult Pawter, who has been held up in the tenements taking care of ailing citizens.

Pawter greets the group less enthusiastically as she reveals that she is running low on medical supplies. With the Company refusing to assist, their problems will most certainly get worse. Quickly, John requests Pawter examine the mummified body to ascertain what happened. She reveals that the body was generally drained of its water through the gas with the only real solution being forcing the body, on contact, to drink a lake’s worth to replenish it. Fortunately, she can take them to a Company officer who would know more than her.

Pawter: Last week, a guy came in carrying his own intestines, but if it makes you feel better "ooh, a mummy. So messed up."

In a back room, Pawter takes them to Hills Oonan, the Company officer who warned them about the bombing. With his connection to the Company, all of Old Town is out for his blood. Pawter has been keeping him hidden from sight. Hills, however, does recognizes the gas as a development of the Company as well as Liam Jelco, who is not above extraction and torture to get the Company’s way. With the citizens of Old Town at stake, John advises Pawter to contact her mother on Qresh for help. One of the members of the Nine can surely convince the Company to act. Pawter ignores that idea, believing her estranged family connections would not help. Fortunately, Hills reveals that Alvis and Tighmon have a connection, one that can hopefully convince the prisoner to speak with them. Unfortunately, the Company has been spreading stories claiming that Alvis was responsible for the bombing, hoping the citizens can take of him from inspiring an uprising. Because of that, Alvis has also been hiding and likely taking a darker path.

The group find Alvis in an alleyway as he is being attacked by another citizen. Dutch drives the man away before confronting Alvis, who reveals he has purposefully been getting into fights to procure meds for Pawter. While Dutch berates him for being so reckless, she replies that it’s good to see him again. More importantly, she needs a favor.

Meanwhile, back at the tenements, Gared approaches Pawter for some painkillers following his injured leg. Pawter attempts to give him some, but the man then threatens her with a knife for the whole bottle. Fighting back, Pawter stomps on his broken leg, crumpling him to the ground.
The group plus Alvis approach a building where Alvis asks to speak with Tighmon. Another man opens the door and agrees to pass the message. Alvis explains that Tighmon has gathered the older members of the minors’ unions to help him in the town. With a bomb that could threaten the town, however, he could be a threat. Suddenly, Tighmon appears above the group, stating that he will meet with Alvis and Dutch but not the Jaqobis brothers. D’avin objects at first, but Dutch states that she will keep her comm on for them to hear the conversation.


Once inside, Tighmon then divulges his negotiation with the Company. If he turns in the tank with the poisonous gas, the Company must allow him, his family, and his workers’ families outside the wall. Dutch responds as she did for Jelco, claiming that she doesn’t work for the Company, but he fires back that someone has to represent them. He also admonishes Alvis for being a Scarback but doing nothing to improve the lives of the people in Old Town. Nevertheless, they also remind Tighmon that there are plenty of other people in Old Town who need help besides the minors and their families. Tighmon sticks to his terms, believing that this can be a way to force out the Company. Before they can act, however, a Company drone shoots Tighmon from a window, killing the man. Dutch and Alvis escape in the chaos with the tank to meet with John and D’avin. D’avin wonders how a Company drone could have found them, but Dutch notices that the three of them have been marked with tracking devices, allowing Jelco to find Tighmon himself.

Meanwhile, Pawter confronts Hills on the situation in the tenements. With things getting worse, Pawter reveals John’s suggestion of contacting her mother for help from one of the Nine. Hills suggests she follow John’s advice, though Pawter is uncertain what could happen. He then reminds her how they have put their faith in each other, despite landing them in Westhole. She needs to put her faith in family name for the sake of Old Town since one doctor cannot take care of everyone.

Dutch confronts Jelco on sending the drone to take out Tighmon, but Jelco replies that he was just doing their job for them. Now, all he needs is the tank. Dutch refuses to give into his demands, leading Jelco to send out a new warrant to the town. He sends out a broadcast with a reward for safe passage out of Old Town for the price of turning in both the canister of poisonous gas and Dutch in custody. With the town turned against them, the group runs.

They return to the Royale where Dutch removes their trackers to avoid the Company. With the Company controlling the wall around the city, however, they have no place to go. Alvis then remarks that instead of trying to go through the wall, they could try going under it through the tunnels. Pree leads them back to the escape route under the Royale to help the group. However, he refuses to leave the bar a second time.

At the Spring Hill Compound, Hills and Pawter approach Jelco for Pawter’s request. Jelco, however, remarks that Hills did not follow orders regarding the bombing. While he warmly regards Pawter’s background, he refuses her request to speak with her mother to leave for Qresh, stating that Hills should have simply informed her to leave before the bombing. Instead, Hills used the opportunity to warn the people for a chance of survival. Hills fires back that he chose to save others which in turn saved himself. In response, Jelco shoots Hills. As Pawter kneels at Hills’ body, Jelco reassures her that she will be protected, just as Pawter notices the cameras catching her move.

Hills: I saved people. And in saving them, I saved myself.

The group move through the tunnels where Alvis believes he can find a way to the Spring Hill Compounds through the air filtration system. However, he acknowledges that after leaving Old Town, there would be no place for him. Dutch remarks that he can go to Arkyn as a Scarback, but Alvis reveals that Scarbacks have not been present on Arkyn for 200 years. Before they can press further, Alvis locks them out of the air filtration room as he begins to tamper with it himself. Taking Tighmon’s words to heart, Alvis wants to finally strike out against the Company, using the gas to kill everyone in the Spring Hill Compound. Once he nearly sets the machine, John reminds Alvis that Pawter and Hills are still at the compound, putting them in danger. Alvis attempts to reverse the machine but comes into contact with the gas in the process, slowly draining him.

John manage to unlock the door, leading D’avin and Dutch to grab hold of Alvis and try to save him. Remembering Pawter’s comment about water, D’avin and Dutch dunk Alvis into a nearby tank of water to replenish his fluids. After a few moments submerged, the two pull Alvis out, hoping to save him from drowning. Alvis remains unresponsive, so Dutch and D’avin each attempt to resuscitate him. Finally, Alvis breathes and coughs up water. Dutch slaps him across the face, but he is otherwise fine.

The Killjoys then return the tank to Jelco, finally completing their warrant for the Company. With nothing left to do with him, they finally question why Jelco continues to hold Old Town hostage behind a wall. Jelco reveals that since the rebels attacked Qresh, the Nine have looked significantly weaker. With Old Town, he can demonstrate to the Quad what happens to traitors as the whole event is televised. Once the people of Old Town sees the company as a force for good to provide them with food, water, and work, he states the Wall will come down. The group nevertheless states that they refuse to leave without Hills or Pawter. Jelco claims that Hills has come down with a headache, but he permits the group to say their goodbyes to Pawter, who has agreed to stay with the Company to benefit the public. Before they leave, John responds by kissing her to the surprise of Dutch and D’avin. As they truly leave, however, he reveals that he left a comms device on Pawter, giving her a chance to signal them if she needs their help.

Back at the Royale, Pree keeps up the morale of the people in Old Town. Gared comes over to request a drink and questions how Pree can keep up the place. Pree remarks that the Royale is the heart of the town with the people as its lifeblood. Not avoiding revenge, however, Pree stabs Gared in the hand before declaring happy hour to go on through the night.

On Lucy, Dutch speaks to Alvis about what he almost did. He admits that after what happened to Old Town, he was seeking revenge and wandering lost. Returning to this team, Dutch gives him the chance to revive himself by helping them with their mystery on Arkyn. With him, they can hopefully find the truth. Before they try, Lucy is overridden as the ship changes course for Westerly. With the sudden powerful overtake of their systems, they fear Khlyen has found them.


The ship lands on Westerly where Dutch, D’avin, and John leave to scout the area. Instead of finding Khlyen, however, they are surprised to see Turin utilizing a beacon. He reveals that the RAC is indeed compromised from the inside. He no longer knows who to trust since the Level 6 has taken over with no clear goal. The three initially don’t believe him, but he reveals that he knows about Red 17 and admits that the place has been bombed following their escape. With that angle gone, Turin offers them another deal. He will give them leads and warrants to explore that he cannot in exchange for them learning more about Level 6. With Turin being watched, they have no choice but to listen to his deal.

Level 6 Notes

  • The episode title is a reference to Wild Wild West.
  • Pree's full name is revealed to be Prima Dezz. According to the report, he previously had blond hair and is approximately 38 years old. He is reported to have committed crimes including being a warlord.
  • The tunnel "Team Awesome Force" and Alvis take to Spring Hill is the same tunnel used by the citizens of Old Town to survive the bombing. 
  • Pawter's full name Seyah Pawter Sims is referenced in this episode. 

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