Brief synopsis:
Rygel, posing as the Dominar he once was, uses a crystal vital to Moya's survival to impress traders in a negotiation. However, Rygel is kidnapped by this group, the Tavleks, and held for ransom. During the encounter, the crew capture a gauntlet, equipment placed on wrists, used by the Tavleks to boost strength and speed using drugs. Whilst Aeryn and Crichton go to help Rygel, Zhaan stays to help Kyr, the former owner of the gauntlet, as he fights his addiction. Chrichton is forced to wear the gauntlet himself in order to save the hynerian.

The Main Story:
The crew of Moya are in need of currency to buy more suplies as all they have for now is stale food cubes purchased by Rygel at the last planet they visited. They have discovered an opportunity to transport cargo for a little known group called Tavleks. In an attempt to impress the Tavleks, Rygel pretends to be the rich Dominar he once was, but this gets him kidnapped when the Tavleks arrive.

During the fight though, one Tavlek, Kyr, is captured, and his gauntlet removed. The Gauntlet turns out to be what gives the Tavleks their power, a drug induced boost of strength and speed applied via needles sticking in to the users wrist. D'Argo puts on the gauntlet, and is soon in a more aggressive mode, taking over the ship, and battling Crichton and Aeryn.

Bekhesh, leader of the Tavleks demands a large amount of currinium, purity 9, for the release of Rygel. With 600 billion subjects, this wouldn't be hard, but for escaped prisoners, it will be a problem. Meanwhile, John comes up with a plan to knock out D'Argo. Moya needs to open vents before breaking orbit, so Crichton asks Pilot to let it build, and then release, creating a jolt to knock D'Argo off his feet. It works, but D'Argo is asleep for a long time afterwards.

Down on the planet, Rygel is being held captive next to the leader of the Consortium of Trall, a being with more power than even Rygel had once had. Rygel also knows that the crew of Moya will be coming to help. He had removed a crystal from Moya's controls to use in his sceptre and impress the visitors. This stops Pilot from taking Moya away. As a result, John and Aeryn are then forced to go down to the planet to make a rescue attempt.

Aeryn is next to try the gauntlet, and uses it to "ask" a hunting party where she can find Bekhesh. John meanwhile blows up their only gun by accident. Aeryn is then ready to go in and take out all the Tavleks, but D'Argo, now recovered, turns up and takes away the gauntlet again. Back on the ship, Zhaan helps the awakend Kyr deal with his addiction, and tries to offer him a choice as to what he will do next.

With the leader of the Consortium of Trall reviving Rygel after an attack from Bekhesh, and the following confusion as Rygel reveals he is no longer Dominar, the consortium offers to pay Rygel's ransom, then takes it back as they discover the truth, so John is forced to use the gauntlet to rescue the Hynerian and convinces Bekhesh that he isn't worth anything to anyone. This means that after Rygel excretes the crystal he has swallowed, Moya can leave orbit. Kyr is released, but he chooses the path of the gauntlet once more. Zhaan is disappointed, but she only laid out the choice, she didn't tell him which path to take.

References and continuity:

John asks Pilot to use a tractor beam to pull back the Tavleks, the term used in sci-fi shows like Star Trek, and also the Star Wars movies and more. Pilot points out that it is a "docking web", the thing that was used to pull John aboard when he first arrived.

When the Tavleks are about to board, Crichton mentions the famous american actor, John Wayne. He regularly played cowboys in big western adventures like Chisum, True Grit, and many more. He always had a way of dealing with people, and it often ended with violence.

Funny or interesting quotes: Crichton: "Wile E. Coyote could come up with a better plan than that!" Crichton complains about Aeryn's plan as she prepares to head down to the planet, apparently willing to take on a whole group of heavily armed Tavleks all by herself.

Crichton: "Checkout the critter..."

Crichton is still very new to all this alien stuff, and upon seeing the leader of the Consortium of Trall, he is very surprised, and thinks that perhaps D'Argo will be equally interested. The Luxan isn't though, obviously.

Rygel: "Unwanted, unpopular...unconscious"

Rygel tries to demonstrate how worthless he is, but midway through his speech, he gets kicked in the head by Bekhesh. Funnier when you see it.

Episode Trivia:

The weapon that D'Argo wields is called a Qualta blade, which can be used as a rifle, not just a sword. It was last charged eight cycles ago.

When D'Argo gets wounded by Tavlek weapons fire, his wound bleeds with a thick, dark red, almost black blood. Aeryn begins to hit the wound, making D'Argo bleed more. This is necessary to make the blood run clear, and allow the wound to cleanse.

Humans are apparently very susceptible to pantak jabs. Aeryn knocks John out completely using this technique.

Writer:

Richard Manning wrote this episode, and later went on to write:

Director:

The director of this episode was Pino Amenta who also directed:

Episode Aliens:
Crichton meets the Tavleks, a species that use drug filled gauntlets to increase their abilities. This group kidnaps royalty and earns money from the ransom. He also meets Joceb, leader of the Consortium of Trall, a large tentacled creature with miraculous powers of revival, saving Rygel's life.

Farewell to:

There are no major casualties during the episode, though it is likely several Tavleks my have been serious injured or killed. However, it is likely any remaining trust for Rygel has now evaporated after he put the crew in such danger.

Guest Stars:

• John Adam as Bekhesh, who later returns in Liars, Guns and Money. Part II.
• Jeremiah Tickell as Kyr.
• Api Bavadra as Nonk.
• Zoe Dimakis as Hontovek.

This was a really good episode to bring members of the crew together, showing the warriors understanding between Aeryn and D'Argo, a kind of mutual respect, and also the ability of John and Aeryn to work together. It also introduced some of Zhaan's beliefs and teachings from her past as a priestess.

The fact that Rygel let the crew down here for personal gain is just an indication of what's to come, but shows how quickly the personalities of each character are beginning to surface. It will be good to see more of Pilot later as well, though mostly that comes out in Season 2, particularly in The Way We Weren't.

	A fun episode, but not a big step forward.		5/10