Defiance, S2 Ep11 – Doll Parts

In “Doll Parts, the second part of Syfy’s back-to-back airing of Defiance, Deirdre Lamb is murdered and its up to a newly deputized Amanda Rosewater to find out who did it. Meanwhile, Nolan and Tommy attempt to stop Irisa from continuing her recent activities involving “Ark Rise.”

Deputy Rosewater is on the case.

What was probably the most entertaining aspect of “Doll Parts” was seeing Amanda embrace her role as deputy while Nolan was off dealing with his Irisa dilemma. Amanda really takes charge and is a natural detective. She remember conversations she had with Deirdre before her murder while interrogating Datak which helps her come to the conclusion that Alak killed Dierdre. Of course the video surveillance footage in the radio station, which showed Alak and Dierdre’s affair and showed Alak speak some incriminating dialogue, helped as well.

The murder of Dierdre is shot in a smart way where we don’t actually see who killed her. We see blood splatter on the record player in the radio station and then Dierdre falling from the top of the arc. Immediately I knew it wasn’t Datak or Stahma who killed Dierdre, who are prime suspects to the audience considering the conversation they had in “Bottom of the World.” I feel like they would do a better job planning out a murder and would leave no trace of them or their family left behind. Alak would make sense to be the killer to the characters on the show, but not to the audience. We all saw how much he struggled with the idea of killing people in the past. I was definitely surprised to find out who actually committed the crime.

The big shocker in “Doll Parts” is that Christie killed Dierdre. It was a crime of passion, of course. She didn’t go to the radio station with the intention of killing Dierdre, but because Dierdre tried to kill her first, Christie did what she had to do. Thanks to Stahma coercing a fellow Casthitan to take the blame for the murder, Alak is released from prison and hears Christie’s entire story. By this point in the show we see how much Christie has developed and changed this season. The way she behaves in the family bathtub towards Alak is extremely reminiscent of Stahma’s behavior. Christie truly embraces her role as a woman in a Castithan family. Its almost scary seeing how much she’s changed, but it makes her character that much more interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing where this behavior takes her and the rest of Tarr family.

Nolan confronts Irisa

The other subplot in “Doll Parts” dealt with Nolan trying to stop Irisa. Thanks to Tommy, whose body rejected Irzu, he lets us know that Irzu, or the ancient machines that represent Irzu, are trying to terraform Earth and start anew with a select group of people. This is why certain people were placed in storage pods in the previous episode. Tommy and Nolan spend the majority of the episode trying to get Irisa away from the rest of her Irzu-infected friends. They succeed, but not without serious repercussions.

The first thing to take away from this whole situation was the argument between Nolan and Irisa. Both parties let a lot of bottled up anger and resentment out on each other, and the actors, Grant Bowler (Nolan) and Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), did a great job conveying all those emotions. It was a compelling watch. By this part in the show it seems Irzu has completely taken control of Irisa’s actions to the point that even Nolan has to yell at her asking where his daughter is? Any trace of Irisa’s former self is now gone which becomes even more evident when she stabs Tommy in the stomach. The episode ends with Irisa escaping Nolan and Tommy’s clutches and Nolan having to drag a badly wounded Tommy back to Defiance. Hopefully, he makes it.

Overall, “Doll Parts” was a great episode. Since this was the second part of Syfy’s back-to-back airing of Defiance, I would have to say this one was superior to “Bottom of the World.” As usual, anything revolving around the Tarr family always comes off as compelling and interesting. Christie’s transformation this season seems a little sudden despite the slow build-up of her cosplaying as a Castithan in recent episodes, but I’m enjoying it. She’s just become more intriguing. The conflict between Nolan and Irisa has come to a head and while I’m worried about the dilemma the entire planet faces, I’m more concerned with the relationship between them two. Will their relationship ever go back to normal? Will we ever see the two of them singing country music in the car together again? I really hope so.

Next week, Syfy will air another two episodes of Defiance. They will be entitled “All Things Must Pass” and “I Almost Prayed.” These episodes serve as a two-part season finale. Excited? Check out the preview for “All Things Must Pass” below and feel free to let us know what you thought about “Doll Parts” and/or this entire season of Defiance in the comments below.