Brief synopsis:
When visiting a commerce planet, D'Argo hears of another Luxan living nearby, and decides to visit. She turns out to be a spiritual being of great power, but one that is near death. When D'Argo agrees to help perform a ritual to send her to the next realm, something happens, allowing the female Luxan to live, but it seems to cost Moya dearly as the consequences begin to play their part.

The Main Story:
Having heard rumours of a Luxan living on a nearby planet, during a visit to a commerce planet, Zhaan, Crichton and D'Argo go to find her. Put into a waiting room upon arrival, D'Argo recognises an Obek lamp, an object found only in Luxan culture, and knows he is in the right place. When they meet the Luxan, she turns out to be a Holy woman, and Oracan. She calls D'Argo a general, and asks him to approach for a test of worthiness. He proves himself strong, resisting the pain resulting from the woman's hand being placed through his chest, but he is apparently not worthy.

Worried for D'Argo, Crichton tries to help, but finds no mark left by the intruding hand, and D'Argo seems fine. However, Zhaan points out that he has been humiliated, and D'Argo would like to leave. Explaining that he is not a General, but that the markings on him were put there for a higher cause, D'Argo goes back to the Oracan, pointing out that she should seek truth, not just the scrape the surface. She accepts him, and reveals she was merely testing to see if he had fire.

Aboard Moya, things are getting tricky between Aeryn and Chiana, as the Peacekeeper requests that Chiana clean her clothes. A very out of character move for Aeryn, this serves only to demonstrate how close Chiana and D'Argo have become, as Chiana cleans the Luxan's clothes, but not Aeryn's. On the planet surface, the holy woman says her name is Nilaam, and that she is near death. D'Argo's arrival could mean she can perform a Luxan ritual to aid her passing to the next realm. It is dangerous, and Crichton is worried, but D'Argo seems confident, and determined.

D'Argo and Zhaan return to Moya to collect items they may need for the ritual, whilst John stays to question Nilaam. The Oracan claims that she will protect D'Argo, and that after 9 cycles without seeing another Luxan, that the experience will be worth it, aiding her passage tremendously. On Moya, Chiana is concerned for D'Argo, knowing that despite what the Luxan says, the ritual he is about to perform is dangerous. Even Rygel seems concerned, but is more interesting in trying to trade items with the Oracan, to gain a profit to use on commerce planets.

D'Argo returns to Nilaam, and the pair begin the ritual. Hoping that his strength is enough, he opens himself to Nilaam, and, whilst chanting, they begin to let Nilaam pass on. However, when the ritual is finished, Nilaam is still there, but changed - she is far younger now. Having found D'Argo's strength to be massive, she decided to attempt the ritual of renewal to bring her life back. Now she says to D'Argo, they can do anything together. They can travel, and find D'Argo's son, find their way home, visit friends, the possibilities are endless...

On Moya however, things aren't going so well. Amnexus fluid all over Moya begins to solidify, a major problem for Chiana as she was stood in it doing the washing. She becomes stuck, and all over the ship, Moya's systems begin to fail, and her skin begins to deteriorate, all with unknown cause. Just as the crew agree that hull breaches on Leviathans are practically unheard of, one occurs on Moya. Thankfully Rygel is flown through the air, landing nicely in the hole, plugging it, and protecting the crew for now. However, the problems are swiftly worsening.

D'Argo and Nilaam come aboard, and the Oracan, a healer, tries to help. However, as she draws on her own powers, Moya begins to shake even more, and the problems worsen, confirming the crews suspicions that somehow Nilaam has drained the life force she now has from Moya. Nilaam tells D'Argo that it must have been Moya that was the powerful being she sensed, but that also Moya should be recovering. Pilot though is swiftly aging, and Aeryn finds him barely able to operate the ship. As Nilaam prepares to leave Moya, Aeryn comes after her, with Crichton in tow.

Aeryn shoots at Nilaam, bad news for D'Argo who puts himself in front of the blast to protect Nilaam. However, the Oracan collects the laser blast and bends it around them, and then encases Aeryn and Crichton in icicle covering to stall them for a quarter arn. They then leave in a pod, where D'Argo tells Nilaam how much he disapproves, and says that she is not acting as an Oracan should. When Crichton catches up, he talks with D'Argo, and tells the Luxan that what the Oracan is doing is murder. D'Argo agrees, and sadly, knows what must be done. He asks Nilaam again, and this time, she agrees.

Knowing that this is now her time, Nilaam and D'Argo perform the ritual of passing properly this time, relying on D'Argo's strength to move on, and returning Moya's life force to its rightful place. Finally, Aeryn talks with Pilot about the ordeal, and learns that Leviathans live only 300 cycles, or a little over, meaning that bonding with a Leviathan has a major price as Pilot's live much longer whilst seperate, but die with their Leviathan. Pilot insists that he would have it no other way.

Trivia Quiz:

References and continuity:

John calls the markings on D'Argo's face a barcode, almost certainly because they resemble the blacks stripes seen on barcodes for so many products we buy on Earth.

Some of D'Argo's history is mentioned during the episode when talking to Nilaam. Much of this is covered in season one's They've Got A Secret, where we learn why D'Argo was imprisoned, and of his son, Jothee. This time we also learn that during his time as a solider, he impersonated his superior officer in order to save that General's life, which explains the markings on his face.

The actual meaning of "Vitas Mortis" I haven't been able to find out. The usual web translators rarely handle Latin. The obvious guess is that its something to do with the life after death, or life given before death, or something, obviously relating to the ritual performed during the episode.

Funny or interesting quotes:

Crichton: "The hell it ain't. This party's over..."

When John tries to stop the ritual, we see that he is certainly more prepared for action this season, and is willing to go in, guns ready firing if necessary. Scorpius must have had a serious effect!

Aeryn: "I wonder if I've got any grenades left..."

Aeryn? Humour? Yep, she has a great sense of humour. With Chiana apparently stuck, Aeryn offers different ways to break her free. Crichton: "We got lucky, Sparky's got a big ass." Rygel plugs the whole in Moya's skin, his rear end providing a surprisingly good seal.

Rygel: "I want out!"
Crichton: "Y... No, no! You want *in*!"

Rygel picking the wrong direction to escape from the hole? John cares enough to point out the mistake though.

Director:

The director of this episode was Tony Tilse who also directed:

New Aliens:

Luxan Oracan

Technically not a new species as we have already met the Luxans, but this is the first female Luxan we see, and on top of that, an Oracan, a heavily gifted spiritual Luxan, with the power to heal.

Farewell to:

Nilaam

She eventually accepts her fate, and passes away to the next realm.

Guest Stars: Melissa Jaffer as Nilaam (older version), who returns as regular crew member Noranti in season 4. Anna Lise Philips as Nilaam (younger version).

Personal Opinion:

I have to admit that this is probably my least favourite episode of the season, and possibly of the entire series. It has some nice special effects (for example the laser blast curving round D'Argo) and some admittedly funny lines (mostly when Rygel gets stuck in the hull breach), but other than that, the story seems a little flat. All the way through, each new turn is easily predicted, which is very unlike Farscape which often keeps the audience guessing in several areas.

Interesting points can be found though, for example, Crichton's new look. In the long black coat, the additional leather, the gelled hair, he is clearly fitting in to the new environment. In season 1 he would have stood out for many reasons, one in particular being his clothing. With this altered, he looks like he belongs in the uncharted territories, and could easily be mistaken for a Peacekeeper. Anyway, this episode is worth watching if you're a fan, but doesn't really move the story along.

	Funny in places, but nothing spectacular.		4/10