Brief synopsis:
Chiana finds trouble again when she is given a mystical painting by a space trader. The portrait seems to change, and predict the future with its drawings. After seeing Chiana's necklace, then her leg breaking, the crew are greatly disturbed when the next picture is of Chiana dying. When the crew gradually get picked off, it is up to Zhaan to figure out who is responsible, and try to fight them. However, this time, the enemy has been seen before.

The Main Story:
Visiting a trading ship, the crew meet Kyvan, who tries to sell several items to them. Though Aeryn can see nothing of value, Chiana finds herself greatly attracted to a painting, which shows herself, wearing her favourite necklace, lost half a cycle ago. Rygel also finds something he likes, in the form of fake Tiaras from his home planet, which he trades for a single food cube. When Chiana begins to leave without the painting, Kyvan insists she doesn't go empty handed, and allows Chiana to take the painting for free, telling her that it can predict the future, a "window in time".

Back on Moya, D'Argo and Crichton begin work fixing Moya's defence screen, whilst Chiana bumps into a DRD holding her necklace. Though pleased to see the necklace returned, she is disturbed that the painting then changes to leave a picture of Chiana with a broken leg. Mere seconds later, she trips over the DRD and lands with the specified breakage. Though Crichton is skeptical, he manages to convince Chiana to let Zhaan test a small fragment of the painting for testing. Resting in bed, Chiana and D'Argo discuss the painting, and their futures - could they be together? D'Argo says he doesn't want to know about that or of his son as being told this way would ensure he would lose hope, and never find Jothee.

When Zhaan reports her findings to Crichton, she seems scared, and asks John that he and the other crew cooperate without question, that she needs to be able to rely on him. John agrees, and Zhaan then asks to destroy the painting. Before they can discuss this however, they here Chiana in distress, and run to her. She claims to be burning up, and points at the painting which now shows her burning to death. D'Argo takes her to a sealed airlock with a cooling unit. However, as they watch, flames erupt within, and Chiana begins to scream. The crew are unable to unlock the door for some time, and when they finally do, Chiana is gone. In despair, Zhaan goes to burn the painting, a fitting end she believes.

Aeryn goes to Pilot to question him about what could have happened, determined to find a reason for what happened. John goes to tell her she shouldn't blame herself for having wanted Chiana off the ship, and that it was simply an accident, but Aeryn won't let him get closer to her emotions. Soon after, the picture returns, and has changed again, this time showing D'Argo, with his Qualta blade definitely in the wrong place. He takes the painting to an airlock to dispose of it, and moves his Qualta blade to the opposite end of the ship. However, the painting returns again, and as D'Argo goes through a docking bay, he is impaled, and lost. However, he finds himself inside the painting, and with Chiana apparently nearby.

Back on Moya, Crichton finds himself on the painting, with electric shock apparently responsible. Aeryn decides to go back and find Kyvan aboard the trading ship. Rygel manages to smuggle himself aboard John's module which Aeryn takes to the station (as her Prowler is undergoing repairs), and the pair go to question Kyvan. With a kind of bad cop, good cop routine, they discover Maldis is responsible. On Moya, Zhaan reveals this same news to Crichton via the link of unity which appears to be safe from Maldis's observation. She asks that he follow her plan, and distract Maldis for her. Zhaan then pushes Crichton into a series of electric conductors, sending him into the painting as well.

Predictably, Zhaan is the next inline according to the painting. Meanwhile, inside the portrait, Crichton meets D'Argo, and learns that Chiana is also alive and well, though similarly stuck inside the painting. John begins to shout for Maldis, and the sorcerer soon arrives, telling them how much he disliked being dispersed, and then reveals that it is Zhaan he wants revenge over, not Crichton. The reason for taking all the other crew first was to put Zhaan through torture to weaken her ready for her final ending at Maldis's hands. Maldis intends to use all their spirits to provide him with the energy needed to return to this realm, through the painting, a window between realms. On Moya, Zhaan makes a final plan with Pilot, and then falls to the bottom of Pilot's den, arriving in the portrait to find all the other crew, and Maldis waiting for her.

Maldis knows exactly how to scare each of them, threatening Earth to get at Crichton, Jothee to get at D'Argo, and a return ticket to the Nebari homeworld for Chiana. Maldis opens a portal to Moya which will cause the current realm to dissolve leaving only the crew's spirits for Maldis to consume. On Moya, Pilot registers the opening, and begins to implement Zhaan's plan, contacting Aeryn and asking her to shoot Kyvan, a job the Peacekeeper does instantly with deadly accuracy. Aeryn and Rygel then leave aboard John's module, the space station exploding behind them. This disturbance is enough to weaken Maldis, as Kyvan was merely an extension of the sorcerer into this realm. Zhaan takes the opportunity to attack Maldis, buying them time to escape.

D'Argo and Chiana make it through first, and then Crichton helps Zhaan through the portal and back to Moya. Maldis tries to reach through the portal, but using laser fire from DRDs, the crew deflect the attack and by firing Aeryn's Prowler guns, are able to close the portal. Afterwards, Chiana is confused that her leg still needed to heal, but that no other injuries were sustained during the experience. Rygel admits its best not to ponder the things they just can't understand. Later, John asks Zhaan if they have seen the last of Maldis, but Zhaan admits to two things. Firstly that Maldis could return, and secondly, that despite her plan, her fear throughout the episode was genuine.

Trivia Quiz:

References and continuity:

John recognises Maldis as being a stereotypical villain, and asks him about his "super villain handbook" where he should twist his moustache and gloat like so many villains seen in movies on Earth.

• What defence screen? They got that in PK Tech girl, scavenged from the wreck of the Zelbinion. Its currently fried thanks to Talyn's escape attempt in Mind The Baby.
• Crichton complains about alien critters, shape shifting bugs and other things he's encountered in the uncharted territories. In particular he mentions the mind altering virus the crew were infected by in A Bug's Life.
• Chiana doesn't recognise Maldis because Maldis was last seen in That Old Black Magic which was before Chiana's arrival in Durka Returns

Aeryn: "There isn't a single flying junk dealer in the uncharted territories that they'd pass up."

Aeryn points out that Rygel and Chiana will always visit the traders, no matter where they are.

Crichton: "Take my module!"
Aeryn: "Bucket of dren..."

Aeryn then shows her low opinion of Crichton's module, an antique in the uncharted territories. Rygel: "Don't shoot! Its me!" Aeryn: "Reason enough to pull the trigger" Aeryn seems really irritable this episode, annoyed with all the other crew, especially Rygel and Chiana.

D'Argo: "John. You've been a good friend. Whatever happens, its been a pleasure knowing you."
Crichton: "D'Argo. Shut. Up!"

Crichton tries to stop D'Argo's newly found negative attitude in its tracks.

Maldis: "Your mind is an open book to me."
Crichton: "Then read this... Kiss... My..."

Defiant as always, Crichton distracts Maldis with a few nasty images.

New Aliens:

Kyvan

We meet an alien called Kyvan aboard a trading ship. The alien could be male or female, its hard to tell, but we later discover that this was merely an extension of Maldis.

Farewell to:

Moya's crew		At first we think the crew are all dying.
Maldis		Perhaps this time Maldis is gone for good.

Guest Stars: Chris Haywood as Maldis (also played Maldis in That Old Black Magic). Chris Haywood as Kyvan.

Personal Opinion:

Its always nice when a decent bad guy makes a return. Maldis might not be as impressive or threatening as Scorpius, but he does have all the traits a sinister bad guy needs. A few special powers, an evil laugh, and a reason to hate the heroes, little else is needed. The painting idea was excellent, I really did like that, pointing out a kind of inevitability (ask Agent Smith from the Matrix), its just a shame it wasn't used more. It did exactly what it needed to do for the story, but nothing more. There could have been some extra comedy involved if a few, less important moments, had been predicted.

The way that Zhaan got round Maldis by speaking to John via the bond of unity seemed plausible enough, but her fight with Maldis at the end was a real let down. What she did looked as if it could have been done by any of the crew really, and didn't seem to require her expertise. A bigger showdown with more fireworks would have been nice, but it was a reasonable episode overall.

	Good ideas, but a weak ending.		5/10