Brief synopsis:
Rygel tries to strike a deal with Scorpius, and is prepared to hand over the crew of Moya, but as that plan goes wrong, another forms, resulting in Crais arriving aboard Moya. The crew plan their escape from the asteroid field, and Crichton suggests blowing up the Gammak base as a distraction. Scorpius shows impressive tactical thinking, but which party will come out on top?

The Main Story:
Still stuck in the asteroid belt, pursued by Scorpius, disaster strikes when Rygel takes one of Moya's pods, and heads for the command carrier. All the crew try to stop him, but can't risk taking another pod to get him. When Rygel arrives at the carrier, he says he is willing to trade all those aboard Moya in exchange for his own freedom. Meanwhile, John suggests a trojan horse plan involving a pod heavily laden with explosives.

Scorpius talks with Rygel, but appears to be able to see through Rygel's lies. Scorpius can see that Rygel is lying about making a deal, but one thing Rygel does say truthfully is that John Crichton will die before getting captured again. Crichton's plan - a pod full of explosives aimed directly towards the command carrier, taking out their probem in a single stroke is something the crew agree on.

Aboard Moya, the crew start making preparations for their plan. D'Argo would like Chiana to pretend she was forced into doing the things she's done, but she says she is in too deep, and will stick with her friends. Zhaan prepares the explosives, whilst Aeryn says goodbye to Pilot. John creates his last "note in a bottle" for his father, expecting never to be able to make another recording again.

Back on the carrier, Crais realises the desperate situation he is in thanks to Scorpius, and begins to make alternative arrangements. Speaking secretly with Rygel the renegade captain tries to make a deal, giving a reasonable case for his usefulness, thanks to his inside knowledge. The odd pair head back to Moya, and once their are treated with understandable suspicion. D'Argo immediately attacks Crais and forces the Peacekeeper to admit that he knew of D'Argo's innocence.

They do eventually agree to take Crais into protective custody (for what its worth on Moya), and put him in one of the Moya's prison cells. Loading Kronite shavings into containers to make the explosives, D'Argo and Aeryn say their own farewells, wishing eachother luck for the coming battle, warrior to warrior. At the same time, Crichton goes to Crais, seeking man to man conversation, human contact, and the two are both curious why their species are so similar. When asked to help, Crais points out that the plan will not work, the Carrier is too well defended and would shoot the pod down well before it reached its target.

D'Argo then suggests that instead of hitting the carrier, they could go for the Gammak base, igniting the oil seas around it, and destroying the entire area. This move would force Scorpius to protect the base, letting Moya escape through the newly open window. However, Crais also points out that Scorpius wants Crichton more than anything, forcing Crichton to volunteer to fly the bomb mission. D'Argo agrees to go with him, to the annoyance of Aeryn, but Aeryn is asked to stay by Pilot so that she can help look after Moya's baby.

Crais goes with Aeryn aboard Moya's baby, and is instantly impressed by the gunships prowess. He is also impressed at Aeryn's skill and understanding when operating the controls. Upon returning to Moya, they find that Chiana has made everybody their favourite dishes, a dinner for all as it may be their last together. They then begin their final goodbyes, Zhaan blessing John and D'Argo, and even Crais giving John advice - fly straight as the enemy is trained to expect evasive manoeuvers. Aeryn and John however are unwilling to say goodbye, they are so close now that they want to see eachother again so badly that they are unwilling to say goodbye.

On the command carrier, Scorpius detects the pod making its way towards the base, and Scorpius instantly sees what a threat it poses, given that it will ignite the lectra oil and start a chain reaction blowing up the whole base. He alerts his staff on the base, and detecting Crichton aboard the pod, decides to try and intercept. Aeryn goes aboard her prowler, and once inside, contacts Pilot to tell him she has thought of a name for Moya's baby, as Pilot had requested. She calls him Talyn, after he father.

On the pod, Crichton and D'Argo eject, leaving the pod on a collision course. Crichton has a space suit, but D'Argo will have to rely on Aeryn's piloting skills to pick them up within the quarter of an arn that D'Argo can survive in vacuum. Lost in space, the pair get a great view of the Gammak base exploding behind them. Crichton's value had won the day as the carrier could have taken down the pod, but with the base destroyed, the carrier is in the area, waiting to pickup those responsible. As a result, Aeryn can't reach John and D'Argo, and is forced to leave them for a while longer.

To compound the problem, Crais leaves Moya and goes aboard Talyn, and runs away with the gunship, hiding deeper amongst the asteroids. Moya's only chance to escape is now, but she doesn't want to do so without Talyn. Even Rygel gives up selfishness temporarily, but Crichon convinces Moya to take the chance, saying that to save Talyn, Moya must first save herself, and return better prepared. Moya starbursts away, leaving Aeryn, John and D'Argo stranded. As the episode ends, D'Argo goes unconscious, releasing his grip on Crichton's charm.

References and continuity:

Scorpius asks after a missing security officer, sent to watch over the girl M'Lee, a bone eating plant the crew met in Bone To Be Wild.

Crichton: "Jerry Springer kinda family."
When Zhaan calls the crew a family, Crichton points out the strange relationships they all have by referring to the American talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, where families come on and frequently argue, and fight over their differences.

Aeryn talks to Pilot about their past, sharing DNA in DNA Mad Scientist, and learning science techniques from Pilot in Thank God Its Friday Again.

Aeryn mentions that her mother visited her once to tell her that she and Aeryn's father chose to have Aeryn, that it wasn't an arranged, controlled birth. We learn more about this in season 3's Relativity.

Crais says that the baby can support a Pilot, but that it doesn't need to. We see a good demonstration of this in season 3's Meltdown.

John's idea was similar to the trojan horse, a huge hollow wooden horse, a gift that allowed soldiers to hide within, until inside the enemy base where they can then make their attack.

John mentions his father's words from Premiere when he says "Your own kinda hero". This is John's turn to be the hero, in his own kind of way.

D'Argo can survive in vacuum for about a quarter of an arn, which we learned back in the episode They've Got A Secret.

Funny or interesting quotes:

Chiana: "Don't tell me how to lie, its one of the *best* things I do."

D'Argo would like Chiana to lie to the Peacekeepers and say she was forced to stay aboard Moya, thus allowing her to escape unharmed.

Aeryn: "I'm sure he's very much like you."
D'Argo: "Hopefully his mother's nose."

D'Argo and Aeryn talk about D'Argo's son, Jothee, who D'Argo hasn't seen for years. D'Argo still manages to joke, despite the desperate situation.

Chiana: "You saved my life."
Crichton: "Pass it on. When someone else needs it, return the favour."

Chiana doesn't know how to thank John, and at first offers herself to him, but John steers her on the right path, so perhaps Chiana will be out there risking it all for her friends one day.

Episode Trivia:

• Scorpius seems to have some kind of telepathic abilities.
• Pilot and Moya ask Aeryn to name Moya's baby. She does so, calling the baby Talyn.
• We learn that Scorpius is part Scarren, thanks to Crais.

The writers of this episode were David Kemper and Rockne S. O'Bannon. Other Farscape episodes written by David Kemper are:

Co-writer Rockne S. O'Bannon was also responsible for:

Director:

The director of this episode was Tony Tilse. He also directed many other Farscape episodes:

New Aliens:

There were actually no new aliens in this episode, though we do get to see some more alien behaviour, for example, Chiana offering herself to Crichton for the sacrifice he is about to make, and Rygel defecting after all this time with the crew of Moya.

Farewell to:

Gammak Base		Blown up by Crichton and D'Argo.
Eachother (for a while)		Some leave on Moya, some are stranded in space, and others are in ships still in the asteroid field.
Security Officer		Presumably eaten by M'Lee, taken abaord at the end of Bone To Be Wild.

Guest Stars:

• David Franklin as Captain Braca.

Personal Opinion:

Though I admit that Rygel's defection is a clear demonstration of how Farscape doesn't obey the old and boring sci-fi rules, this was one move I didn't much like. I would have thought that by now, even Rygel would care for his crew, but still, it moved the story along. Another negative in my view were the length of the goodbyes. It was totally necessary, but it did slow the episode down in comparison to episodes such as Nerve.

However, it became a much better episode with Crais moving to Moya, and the attack on the Gammak base, and of course, the massive cliffhanger that leaves the crew scattered around the Uncharted Territories. If some of the slower parts had been covered in Bone To Be Wild then this could have been a cracker, but though it is still good, there are better episodes out there.

	An excellent cliffhanger		8/10