Take Three: Defiance

Defiance: Season 1, Episode 3 “The Devil in the Dark” (C+)

I’ll admit that this episode lost me somewhat, relying too much on the spiritual, mystical side of the alien races and not quite enough on general happenings in Defiance. In a sense, this was more of a standalone episode with a “freak of the week” responsible for a handful of untimely deaths around the city. That’s not what I expected from this show, and I don’t find it particularly appealing. What’s much richer is the bond that now connects the Tarr and McCawley families, best exemplified by the presence of an immediate threat and the swift bravery and take-charge attitude exhibited by Datak. Rafe seems to have opened himself considerably up to the possibility of the union, and after Datak’s unfortunately understood comment, I think he’s coming around to his future daughter-in-law as well. Mia Kirshner’s Kenya appeared again after an absence last week, though she was relegated to indulging a man in his food-oriented fantasies and being present during what can best be described as his implosion. It would be good to find her something more concrete to do, especially since she seems capable of displaying just as much resolute and powerful decisiveness as her sister, who once again had to deal with constituents who didn’t have faith in her. The giant bugs gave the episode a campy horror movie feel, which solidifies the show as a less serious and goofier series, once which I’m not sure I’m going to be compelled to follow on a long-term basis based on what I’ve seen thus far.