The episode begins with Khlyen telling a story to a young
Dutch about a man and his daughter who lived in a castle. In reality, he
describes the story of him and his daughter Aneela who lived in a large
laboratory structure on Arkyn. There, he discovered the green plasma and used
it to develop the planet’s crops. However, when citizens ate the fruit from the
tree, they suffered from the transition of the plasma. Even worse, Khlyen
discovers something deeper in his study of the plasma. He advises Dutch to
remember this story as the past story ends with Aneela running in the snowy
fields of Arkyn as green plasma drips from her eyes.
In present day, Dutch and D’avin wake up John, who
immediately orders them to go back for Pawter. D’avin is forced to admit to
John that there was no saving Pawter after her stabbing, otherwise they would
be in Old Town now. In the meantime, Fancy interrupts the group to inform them
that they are approaching Khlyen. Dutch tries to comfort John as he watches
Delle Seyah give a eulogy for Pawter to the Quad. John admits that he thought
his relationship with Pawter was a time where he could be happy like a normal
person, but Dutch reminds him that she will be with him whether they continue
the mission or just leave. She then offers to leave the Quad with him, but John
reminds her that they haven’t won yet. Lucy then interrupts the two to report
D’avin fighting Fancy.
D'avin nearly forces Fancy’s head to explode when the two
face off invading members of the Black Root. They demand to know where Khlyen is,
knowing that they were after him as well. Suddenly, Khlyen himself boards the
ship and shoots the Black Root members point blank. At first, they are
unaffected as they are Level 6, but, slowly, the plasma in their systems leak
out and turn a murky black color. Khlyen reveals that he developed a toxin to
counteract the green plasma with the knowledge of D’avin’s immunity. With the
new toxin, he suggests that they could, in fact, save the Quad in a suicide
mission together.
Khlyen: Indeed. And what if I told you we could use this to save The Quad? All of us. Together. One glorious suicide mission. Who's in?
John orders Lucy to analyze the toxin from the Black Root
members while Dutch demands answers from Khlyen. He admits that Aneela is his
daughter, though he did not intend for Dutch to receive the red box until
later. Since Aneela was still young when she came in contact with the plasma,
she could not handle the transition, and the process eventually drove her
insane. Why Dutch looks like her, however, he doesn’t know. Still, what he does
know is critical.
Khlyen also reveals to the group that the green plasma also
contains a parasite known as the Hullan. Once inside a host, it compromises the
subject. In other words, none of the Level 6 subjects are completely human
anymore. In his lengthy life, he confirms that his people compromised with the
ancestors of the Nine. If they could provide them with the green plasma
available in the Quad by drying up their planets, like what happened to Old
Town, they would be spared in the upcoming invasion. Fortunately, with the
toxin, they can effectively kill the armies at the source. Unfortunately, the Black
Root appears to have surrounded Arkyn. In spite of this, Khlyen reveal there is
another source of the green plasma, and that is one of the original plants that
grow from it. He explains that this was the purpose of the Scarbacks’ mission
200 years ago as well as why Aneela tried to kill them. If they find the tree
that was taken from Arkyn, they can stop the source.
Dutch travels to Leith to learn more about the tree from
Alvis. Although Alvis is surprised to learn of the existence of such a tree, he
takes her to an old record of the Scarback mission. The records reveal that
though the Scarbacks took something from “the devil” Aneela, the devil may have
taken it back. However, they have no direct answer as to where she could have
taken it since the rest of the record contains only art and poetry. Then, Dutch
notices a pattern in an art work and discovers its true design is a star map of
the location.
John scans the star map through Lucy, but the location seems
to yield nowhere. Despite the map, Khlyen reveals that the location is actually
a spot known as Archive, a ship that serves as a vault for the extremely
wealthy. Although Khlyen begins to form a plan for Archive, Dutch shoots down
his authority, reminding him that the mission is meant for a Killjoy.
Back at Old Town, Delle Seyah surveys the area after
Pawter’s death when she is suddenly contacted by Khlyen. With the plan at Old
Town falling through, Khlyen acknowledges how she had to move to the backup
plan. He warns her of the upcoming invasion and believes that the Killjoys have
indeed become a threat. With that, Khlyen charges Delle Seyah to eliminate the
group in order to achieve what she wants.
On Archive, Dutch goes undercover using her previous royal
status as Yalena. Although her family has been through rough times, the
official at Archive allows her in, providing that her guards (Fancy and D’avin)
stay behind and wait. Dutch accepts this agreement, leaving she and Khlyen to
meet with the man as the men wait for her to access Aneela’s vault. In an
office, Dutch allows her prints to be scanned for security.
However, the guard on the scene quickly turn on Fancy and
D’avin, forcing the two to fight their way around them. In this distraction,
D’avin manages to fire off John’s tech to allow Lucy to develop a floor plan of
the ship. With this knowledge, he guides D’avin and Fancy to the service
tunnels where they can interfere with the ship’s technology. After this, John
is able to override the computers to allow Dutch to access Aneela’s vault.
Unfortunately, the ship official grows wise to Dutch’s
trick, stating that no one would allow their guards to stay behind on Archive. With
security arriving on the scene, Dutch is forced to fight them off with the help
of Khlyen. Since the manager has a bomb rigged in his systems to explode if
they attack him, Dutch and Khlyen leave him as they escape for the vault.
Fancy Lee: Accept it Jaqobis, I am physiologically superior now.
D'avin: You're a Six, not a ten. Simmer down.
Down in the tunnels, D’avin and Fancy become swamped with
security guards while John also faces enemy ships. In order to fight back, John
is forced to move out of Archive to evade the ships, leaving the rest of the
team effectively stranded.
Fortunately, Dutch and Khlyen reach the vault where they
discover the Scarback tree. With the supply of plasma, it has grown to an
immense size. Before Dutch can do anything, she triggers the security feature,
revealing the true location of the vault. Instead of being on Archive, this
vault was sent in an orbit around a nearby sun, gradually incinerating anything
near the tree. John deduces that the vault contained a kind of portal to
transport the two, but he has no way of helping them. Meanwhile, D’avin and
Fancy fight back against the guards with D’avin using Fancy as a human shield.
Khlyen attempts to disrupt the system of the vault to save
their lives. Handing Dutch his supply of toxin, he effectively destroys the
console, healing from his status as a Level 6. The destruction forces the windows
to close, giving them some protection from the sun, giving Dutch an opening to
poison the tree. However, the toxin doesn’t appear to affect the plasma
surrounding the tree. Meanwhile, John effectively avoids the attacking ships,
leading them to be destroyed by Archive, and D’avin and Fancy overtake the
manager’s office.
John later ascertains through Lucy’s scanning that the
plasma around the tree requires the additional catalyst of the black plasma acquired
from a Level 6. In other words, they need to sacrifice a Level 6 to destroy the
tree. Moving quickly, Khlyen takes the toxin to stab himself with the cure.
Dutch argues against his sacrifice, but Khlyen remains dedicated to his cause, revealing
that Aneela is already after Dutch and her team. He ultimately states that,
though the earlier subjects of the plasma maintained their senses, Aneela and
the others created the Red 17 experiments to create slaves and armies. He
originally helped them until he came across Dutch who resembled his daughter.
With this in mind, he sought to train her for the transition so she wouldn’t be
lost like his daughter. When D’avin arrived with his immunity, he discovered a
new way to fight against the Black Root. However, he warns that there are other
sources for the plasma beyond the tree. He cuts himself, setting free the black
plasma, and bleeds into the tree. Dutch hold him as he slowly dies. The plasma
finally corrupts, affecting the supplies on Arkyn as well as Fancy. D’avin also
arrives to rescue Dutch.
Back on Lucy, Dutch once again dreams about Aneela before
John comes to see her. Though he knows that Dutch despised Khlyen for what he
did, he tells her that she does not have to forgive him in order to feel his
loss. Now openly honest, Dutch cries with John despite remembering his own
pain. John assures her that he prefers being the shoulder she cries on for
comfort.
The three then travel to Old Town where they toast to their
victory at the Royale. Though John remembers Pawter’s death, he insists that he’s
fine enough to stay at the bar. He then moves to speak to Pree and asks whether
or not the bartender should stay in Old Town. Pree remarks that sometimes
people need to leave to fight and sometimes, they need to leave. He can never
be sure until it happens. The two then toast to Pawter before John goes out for
some air.
Khlyen: When the nights were long, and the days were deep...
Outside, however, he confronts Delle Seyah, who believed to
be in contact with Khlyen. John reveals that he tricked Delle Seyah into
meeting with him alone. Cornered, John takes his revenge for Pawter’s death by
shooting Delle Seyah and leaving her to die in an alley.
With that act, John decides to leave Lucy and plans to
venture outside the Quad. Although Lucy does not want John to leave, she
obliges him by contacting Clara as a partner. Together, they apprehend Khlyen’s
old ship and begin their journey away from the authorities.
Meanwhile, at the Royale, Fancy meets with D’avin and Dutch,
revealing that he has been cured of the Level 6 treatment. Though D’avin believes
that means Aneela could be cured as well, Fancy reminds him that this only
includes the Level 6 subjects created by Arkyn experiments. Aneela would likely
be creating plasma from other sources. With this in mind, Dutch vows to take
the battle to her in an effort to win the war.
Level 6 Notes
- Clara from "Dutch and the Real Girl" returns in this episode.
- Delle Seyah was shot, but her expression suggests she seems pleased by something.
- Killjoys was officially renewed for a third season, so it looks like we will see the war!
Photo Credit: Syfy
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