Wonderfalls : Safety Canary

Season 1, Episode 9

Written by Liz W. Garcia and Alexander Woo

Directed by Peter Lauer

Original Airdate: 17 November 2004

In memory of Kellie Waymire

"I'm trying to save him. By avoiding him. So I can be with him. But I can't go near him or I'll destroy him, so if I can just manage to stay away from him maybe we can be together. Please don't repeat that back to me."
Jaye

REGULAR CAST

Caroline Dharvernas as Jaye Tyler
Katie Finneran as Sharon Tyler
Tyron Leitso as Eric Gotts
Lee Pace as Aaron Tyler
Diana Scarwid as Karen Tyler
William Sadler as Dr. Darrin Tyler
Tracie Thoms as Mahandra McGinty

GUEST CAST

Kellie Waymire as Penelope
Kari Matchett as Beth
Gaberiel Hogan as Thomas
Jeff Clarke as Savage
Jewel Staite as Heidi Sockett-Gotts

CO-STARRING

Dov Tiefenbach as Asian Tourist #1
Wynne Pon as Asian Tourist #2
Peter Yip as Asian Tourist #3
Fred Lee as Asian Tourist #4

MUSE VOICES

Ted Dykstra
Jeffrey R. Smith

SYNOPSIS

Jaye and Eric kiss passionately during their date at the Niagara Zoo. A tour guide named Penelope lectures Jaye and Eric's group about two macaws, Lauren and Humphrey. The birds are endangered, and unless they mate soon, their species may become extinct. A canary on a nearby safety sign animates and tells Jaye to take a picture. Jaye grabs a tourist's camera and clicks, causing the flash to go off. One of the macaws beats its wings and attacks Jaye. At Wonderfalls Sharon brings Jaye some topical ointment to help heal the scratches from the bird attack. When Jaye mentions her date, Sharon accuses her of being a man-eater with more discarded boyfriends than she can count. Jaye then notices Thomas, Beth's husband, enter the shop. Thomas asks Sharon if she and Beth are still dating. Sharon confirms that they still are, but also says that Beth's not a lesbian. A short time later a zoo employee, Rufus, enters the shop. Rufus is hopelessly smitten with Penelope. He tells Jaye that because she ignored the "no photography" sign at the aviary and snapped the flash photograph, Penelope has been reassigned to the elephant pen. Rufus is certain that the macaws will die without Penelope watching over them. Jaye then opens a box that Thomas delivered to the store. It turns out to be a Lovesick Ass doll. The ass tells Jaye to "save the lovebirds."

Jaye approaches Penelope at the zoo. Penelope tells her that the bond between the macaws is a delicate one. When the female saw the flash of white, she probably mistook Jaye for a predator, the Snowy Owl. Fearful of attack, the female no longer had an interest in mating. The zoo manager, Savage, discovers Penelope and Jaye conversing. Savage recognizes Jaye as the woman who snapped the flash. He immediately fires Penelope for speaking to her. At the Barrel Mahandra tells Jaye that just because she likes Eric, it doesn't mean the relationship is doomed even before it has begun. Mahandra thinks Jaye can focus her love-killing powers on some other relationship.

That night at the zoo, Jaye tells Eric that they're going to help Penelope steal the macaws and force them to have sex. Penelope places the birds in a garbage bin and prepares to haul them away. Rufus makes an unexpected appearance and asks what's going on. Rufus offers to help them, and ushers them away when security guards approach the area. Jaye, Eric, and Penelope bring the birds to Jaye's parents' house. Her mother and father are out of town, but Aaron is home. Jaye explains to Aaron that they need to make the birds mate. Penelope sets the birds up in the laundry room, where the heat from the dryer will help the birds feel comfortable. Mahandra shows up at the house with a bag full of worms and tree branches, but Penelope explains that the birds don't eat worms. As time passes Penelope begins to fear that the change of environment has confused the macaws and made it less likely that they'll mate. At Beth's loft, Sharon and Beth get into an argument over some peanut butter that Sharon purchased. It's an especially sore subject since Beth's husband is allergic to peanuts. Beth confirms that she's not gay, prompting an angry Sharon to storm out the door.

When the birds continue to act disinterested in each other, Penelope concludes that it's due to the presence of male hormones. She tells Aaron and Eric they'll have to leave. As Aaron protests being thrown out of his own house, Mahandra announces that the birds are mating. Everyone runs to the laundry room to see the birds in action, but suddenly the birds fly off when someone opens the laundry room window. Jaye looks incredibly guilty. Penelope grows convinced that the birds will die in the wild. Mahandra accuses Jaye of using the birds to avoid Eric, and encourages her to end the relationship before Eric ends up getting hurt. Soon after, Penelope says that the macaws' flying range is very limited, giving everyone hope that they can be recaptured quickly. Sharon shows up at the house, and everyone breaks up into pairs. Mahandra makes sure that Jaye is paired with Eric. Mahandra and Aaron stay at the house after Mahandra pretends to lose a contact lens. Things begin to heat up between them, even though Mahandra thinks the thought of dating her best friend's brother is laughable. Aaron challenges her to a kiss, and after a delicate moment, Mahandra turns him away, not taking him seriously.

As Penelope and Sharon search for the missing macaws, Penelope discusses the relationship between Lauren and Humphrey, and how Humphrey has an ex-girlfriend. Since Humphrey and his ex were a bad match, Penelope brought in Lauren. From the start, Humphrey was very eager to be with Lauren, but Lauren, having spent so much time in the wild, had a hard time relating to a domestic animal. Sharon sees a parallel between the birds and her relationship with Beth. Meanwhile Thomas shows up at Beth's house and they end up having sex. As Jaye and Eric walk though the forest, they end up kissing passionately. Then Jaye remembers Mahandra's words and tells Eric to run away, to escape before it's too late. Jaye tells Eric she's only protecting him, but Eric thinks it's not him Jaye's protecting; it's herself.

A short time later Savage and Rufus show up at the Tyler house. Rufus explains that the zoo's surveillance tapes captured Penelope and the others stealing the birds. Moments later Sharon discovers Humphrey and Lauren mating inside her car. She allows Savage to have the car transported to the zoo, where it becomes a part of the macaw exhibit until the birds have finished mating. Later Penelope thanks Rufus for his help. A moment passes between them. Sharon shows up at Beth's house and comes on strong. Before Beth can speak, Sharon is kissing her. They end up having sex. Mahandra shows up at the Tyler house and tells Aaron she's accepted his challenge. Aaron takes her hand and leads her inside. Jaye makes her way to the Barrel, where she discovers Eric making out with another woman. Eric introduces Jaye to his wife, Heidi. Jaye is shocked.

TRIVIA

This episode is dedicated to the memory of guest star Kellie Waymire, who died shortly after this episode was produced. She died on November 13 of cardiac arrhythmia.
Jewel Staite was a series regular on another Tim Minear produced show: she played Kaylee Frye over on Firefly.
Gabriel Hogan is credited under another name in this episode: Gaberiel Hogan.