2.17 - The Ugly Truth

The crew is working with Crais to modify Talyn's weaponry when Talyn suddenly fires his cannon and destroys another ship. Talyn escapes but the others are taken prisoner and interrogated to determine who fired the fatal shot. But, how can they find the culprit when no one can agree on what really happened?

I called for a truce, Crichton. I'm a man of my word. - Bialar Crais
Yeah? When did that start? - John Crichton

Where's Aeryn? - Ka D'Argo
Good question. - John Crichton
Bad answer. - Ka D'Argo

Sooner or later, one of us is going to have to find a bathroom. - John Crichton
I really wish you hadn't said that. - Ka D'Argo

I've become so distrustful of people, even when they're trying to help me. What does that say about what I've become? - Ka D'Argo

Moya and Talyn are floating together in space. A transport pod travels from Moya to Talyn. There, Aeryn exits and confronts Crais. After scanning her for weapons, Crais removes the neural transponder from his neck and tells her that he is no longer connected to Talyn and that he is engaging privacy mode and manual override.

On Moya, Chiana and Rygel watch from Command. They comment that Talyn has grown. Pilot says that Talyn is talking to Moya and that he says Crais has not mistreated him.

Back on Talyn, John, D'Argo, Stark and Zhaan enter. Crais greets them and tells them that he needs their help. Talyn is becoming more aggressive and Crais is finding him harder and harder to control. He asks the others if they will help him disarm Talyn.

Still on Moya, Chiana and Rygel wonder what the others are up to. Pilot announces that another ship is approaching and identifies it as a Plokavian ship; something he identifies as "very bad".

Suddenly, Talyn deploys his main cannon and destroys the Plokavian ship with one shot. Then, a second Plokavian ship appears. The transport pod leaves Talyn and John yells for Pilot to pick them up as Talyn Starbursts away. However, the second Plokavian ship captures the pod and pulls it aboard. Electrical arcs knock everyone on board unconscious.

Zhaan awakens John and he finds that they are on a metal disk suspended in darkness. He tries to contact Pilot but fails and Stark says that they must have been attacked with a Dampening Net; the only Plokavian weapon that is not lethal.

D'Argo suddenly wakes up and attacks Stark, saying it was his fault. John manages to separate them. D'Argo then looks around and asks where Aeryn is.
"Good question." says John.
"Bad answer." replies D'Argo.

Aeryn is elsewhere, strapped into a chair which looks as if it may be alive. A stinger, which is part of the chair, is pointed at her face. She is being questioned by two unseen beings who are asking her who fired the shot that destroyed the first Plokavian ship. Aeryn insists that no one fired the shot and that it must have been an accident. They then ask if Crais, who fled with Talyn, fired and Aeryn says that he was nowhere near the weapons controls. One of the beings suggests that they execute everyone to make sure they get the guilty party but the other stops them.

Both aliens appear and Aeryn looks away, obviously uncomfortable being around them. They ask her to tell them what happened again and she begins to describe what happened.

We see everyone arriving on Talyn again. Crais tells them that Talyn is becoming more aggressive and destructive and that he needs their help. He wants to disarm Talyn and replace his main weaponry with a non-lethal weapon; specifically a Plokavian dampening net. Stark becomes highly agitated at the mention of the Plokavians, saying that they build powerful and dangerous weapons, and D'Argo expresses concern that Crais is trying to get even more lethal weaponry for Talyn. Crais insists that it is for Talyn's benefit and D'Argo counters that killing Crais would be even better for Talyn and John agrees.

Crais tells them that he has been attempting to keep Talyn from using his weapons except as a last resort but that he is becoming harder and harder to control. Zhaan reminds them of the encounter with the Halosians where Talyn only used his weapons in self-defense.

D'Argo and John are still hostile to the idea of helping Crais and even Zhaan is uncertain. Only Aeryn seems to support Crais. Crais suggests that they be allowed to supervise the installation and Aeryn offers to use the neural link to communicate directly with Talyn. They are interrupted by the arrival of the first Plokavian ship. The Plokavians hail Crais and he comments that they are early. They express concern that Talyn is still powered up but Crais assures them that there is no danger.

Aeryn notes that the ship is heavily armed. Stark wants to raise the defense screen but Crais is afraid that doing so would be interpreted as a sign of bad faith. At this point Talyn deploys his main cannon and destroys the Plokavian ship.

Everyone yells to try to determine what happened. John tells Aeryn to not give Crais the transponder back but Crais reveals that he has another and orders them off the ship. The second Plokavian ship arrives and everyone bolts for the transport pod. Aeryn wants to stay on Talyn and try to explain what happened to the Plokavians but John drags her away.

Back in the interrogation chamber, Aeryn tells the Plokavians that she wanted to remove Crais' transponder and force him to stay but the others did not want to risk and and they all fled. She continues to insist that the cannon firing was an accident but the Plokavians do not believe her.

On Moya, Chiana is looking for Rygel. She finds him and asks why he is not negotiating with the Plokavians and Rygel says they will not even respond to him. She then notes that Moya is moving and Pilot says that Moya is beginning to search for Talyn. Chiana is concerned for the others but Pilot says that if they find Talyn they may be able to convince him to come back and help them. Chiana is unconvinced.

On the Plokavian ship, John is searching the disk and trying to find a way off when an elevator carrying Aeryn rises rises out of the floor. Aeryn tells them she was interrogated as all of them will be and the best thing for them to do is to tell the truth.

John grabs her in a hug and loudly declares that he missed her then whispers to her to play along. She, much less convincingly, returns the sentiment and whispers back. John asks what she told them and she said that she told them no one was responsible; it was a malfunction.
"That's not much of a story." John tells her.
"Only one I had." is her reply.

John says that they need to tell the others but while they were talking a voice had called for Zhaan. She has boarded the elevator and it departs before John can react.

Zhaan is in the same interrogation chamber as before and being questioned by the same two Plokavians. She tells them that the weapon firing was an accident and that Talyn had been suffering from various malfunctions. Crais had sought them out for help with the malfunctions. The Plokavians tell her to continue her story.

We see everyone arriving on Talyn again. Crais tells them that Talyn is becoming more aggressive and destructive and that he needs their help. He wants to disarm Talyn and replace his main weaponry with a non-lethal weapon; specifically a Plokavian dampening net. Zhaan identifies the Plokavians as being technologically advanced and devoted to truth and justice. Crais says he plans to trade Talyn's main cannon for a dampening net; something that is in everyone's best interest given Talyn's malfunctions of late.

John says he doesn't trust Crais and Crais responds that he will allow the others to supervise the installation. Zhaan points out that he needs their help anyway and John, sounding somewhat confused and uncertain, says that Talyn may not want to give up his weapon and admits that he had not thought of that. Aeryn reminds him that Talyn is a Peacekeeper ship and that Peacekeepers never give up their weapons.

Zhaan says that it is Talyn's best interest and recommends helping Crais. Both John and Stark agree.

The Plokavians interrupt to ask if no one was opposed to Crais' plan. Zhaan pauses for a moment then says that D'Argo was. She continues.

D'Argo suddenly announces that he will not go along with Crais. John seems surprised and D'Argo says he does not trust Crais and that he may be lying. John, still sounding confused, agrees that D'Argo has a point. Aeryn disagrees.

Crais tells them that he has been attempting to keep Talyn from using his weapons except as a last resort but that he is becoming harder and harder to control. Zhaan reminds them of the encounter with the Halosians where Talyn only used his weapons in self-defense. Crais points to this as an example of his intentions.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the first Plokavian ship. The Plokavians hail Crais and he comments that they are early. They express concern that Talyn is still powered up but Crais assures them that there is no danger.

Stark comments that the ship is beautiful and Zhaan agrees. Aeryn suddenly announces that there is a malfunction in the weapons console. John moves towards the console but Aeryn stops him, saying that he might cause it to fire by accident. At this point Talyn deploys his main cannon and destroys the Plokavian ship.

Everyone yells to try to determine what happened. Crais produces another transponder and orders everyone off the ship. The second Plokavian ship arrives and everyone heads for the transport pod. Zhaan asks Crais to stay and explain what happened but he says that the Plokavians would never believe that it was an accident. She leaves and Talyn Starbursts away.

Zhaan tells the Plokavians that there was nothing they could do so they left and were captured.
"Any more questions?"

Back with the others, John comments that this is the strangest jail he has ever been in, prompting Aeryn to ask how many jails he has been in. Before he can answer Zhaan returns. Everyone asks what she told the Plokavians and she says that she told them the truth. She also says that if they don't believe her, all of them could die. The Plokavians call for Stark and he leaves.

Stark is telling the Plokavians that Crais said he wanted a dampening net but that he didn't believe him because he was an ex-Peacekeeper who had stolen Talyn. He also says that the others didn't believe Crais either. He tells his version of the events.

Everyone is on Talyn and Crais explains that Talyn will not allow the modifications and that he needs their help. Everyone is hostile to Crais and D'Argo suggests killing Crais, with support from John and Aeryn. Zhaan points out that he attacked the Halosians and Crais protests that he did so only in self-defense. The others say they still will not help.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the first Plokavian ship. The Plokavians hail Crais and express concern that Talyn is still powered up. Crais tells them that he is canceling their deal and hits the console, causing the cannon to fire and destroy the ship.

The Plokavians immediately point out that Stark's story does not match the others and ask if they are lying to protect Crais. Stark says that they are lying to protect Talyn, as the Plokavians would have to destroy him to get Crais. He also says that he is more concerned with the others than he is with Talyn.

Elsewhere, Moya continues to search for Talyn. Chiana says they are flying in circles and is worried that they may not be able to find their way back to the others but Pilot insists they are following a search pattern. She tries to argue with him but he cuts off the clamshell display.

Back on the floating disk, D'Argo is pacing angrily and arguing with John. Stark returns and the Plokavian voice says that their stories do not match and that if they do not tell the truth all of them will be killed. D'Argo accuses Stark of lying and hits him, causing his mask to fly off.

Immediately, intense light starts shining from Stark's face and Stark falls to the ground, screaming. The others watch stunned as Zhaan grabs the mask and puts it back into place. Stark says that the mask holds his energies in check and that he was caught unprepared for its removal.

Aeryn tells D'Argo that hitting Stark didn't help and D'Argo responds that Stark's lies don't help either. The Plokavians call for D'Argo and he says he will tell them the truth.

Once again on Talyn, Crais is explaining his plan. Stark hears that he is dealing with the Plokavians and gets extremely agitated, calling them murderers and savages who deal in horrific weapons and death.

One of the Plokavians interrupts to ask D'Argo if Stark really called them savages. D'Argo says he did and continues.

Aeryn points out that Crais is only asking for a dampening net but D'Argo and John don't trust him and suggest killing him. Crais insists that it is in Talyn's best interests and tells them that they can supervise the installation to make sure he doesn't add more advanced weaponry. Zhaan reminds them of the encounter with the Halosians and Crais points out that he prevented Talyn from destroying them but that he is becoming harder and harder to control. Stark continues to protest any dealings with the Plokavians.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the first Plokavian ship. The Plokavians hail Crais and he comments that they are early. They express concern that Talyn is still powered up but Crais assures them that there is no danger.

The others are examining a display of the Plokavian ship and comment that it is heavily armed and carrying Novatron gas. Stark suddenly goes berserk and, saying that they cannot deal with the Plokavians, hits the weapons console. The cannon fires and destroys the Plokavian ship. Debris and the body of a Plokavian bounce off the main display.

Crais is angry but D'Argo and John seem amused by the failure of his plan. Aeryn refuses to give the transponder back to him but Crais reveals that he has another and orders them off the ship.

The Plokavians ask if Stark fired the cannon and D'Argo says he did, but that he is not upset at the death of someone who dealt in Novatron gas. They then ask why, in that case, he is turning Stark in and he replies that the rest of them should not suffer for what Stark did on his own.

On the disk, Stark expresses concern that D'Argo's testimony will get him executed. He insists that he didn't fire the cannon and Zhaan says that she knows he didn't.

Elsewhere, on Moya, Chiana enters Pilot's den. She apologizes to Pilot then asks why Moya is searching for Talyn even though there is little chance they will find him. When Pilot says that Moya feels responsible for Talyn, she asks him if Moya also feels responsible for the others. Pilot says that Moya reluctantly agrees and stops the search.

It is now John's turn in the inquisition chair. (Note: John refers to them as "Plakavoids" through the entire segment.) The Plokavians ask who fired the cannon and John says it must have been an accident. They display the part of D'Argo's testimony where D'Argo says that Stark fired the cannon and John says that D'Argo was confused; Stark had never been on board Talyn before and so wouldn't know where the weapons console was.

They then show him part of Aeryn's testimony where she says that Stark started to raise the defense screen and Aeryn stopped him. John says that this makes sense; Stark was the closest to the console when the cannon fired so D'Argo assumed he fired it.

The Plokavians now show the segment from Zhaan's interrogation where she says that John started towards the console and Aeryn told him not to touch it. They say this means that John was the closest to the console.

John interrupts them to say that no one ever sees things the exact same way; stories are always going to be a bit different. The Plokavians disagree and tell him that their people always do. They then show a part of Stark's interrogation where he tells them that Crais fired the cannon and ask him to explain it.

John says that Stark hates the Peacekeepers and would like for them to go after Crais even if he was innocent. The Plokavians get angry and say that all of them are lying and that they will execute everyone, starting with John, if he doesn't tell them what really happened. John says he will.

Once again we see the scene on Talyn where Crais is explaining his plan. Stark hears that he is dealing with the Plakavoids (yes, everyone in John's version calls them Plakavoids too) and gets extremely agitated. Zhaan asks who they are and Stark tells her they are a dangerous race who build horrible weapons.

Crais points out that he is only asking for a dampening net but D'Argo and John don't trust him and. Crais insists that it is in Talyn's best interests and tells them that they can supervise the installation to make sure he doesn't add more advanced weaponry. Zhaan reminds them of the encounter with the Halosians and Crais points out that he prevented Talyn from destroying them but that he is becoming harder and harder to control. Stark continues to protest any dealings with the Plakavoids and John expresses misgivings.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the first Plakavoid ship. The Plakavoids hail Crais and he comments that they are early. They express concern that Talyn is still powered up but Crais assures them that there is no danger.

Stark starts pressing controls on the weapons console and John pushes him away then turns to it himself. Stark lunges past him and slams down a control. Talyn's cannon deploys and the Plakavoid ship is destroyed.

John says that Crais then forced them from Talyn. The Plokavians say that it was Stark who fired since he pressed something on the console but John tells them that he did so only after he had disabled manual control. Stark had no effect.
"He did not fire the weapon." John tells them. "Nobody did. And that's how I saw it. Cross my heart and hope to die; stick a needle in my eye."

On the disk, Stark is speculating on how the Plokavians will execute them and Aeryn says they mentioned dispersion. Stark gets excited and says that his body is mostly energy and that he may be able to survive dispersion, then calms down and says it probably wouldn't work. Zhaan points out that they have met beings such as Maldis who have returned after being dispersed.

John is returned to the disk and the Plokavians announce that since no one seems to be telling the truth then all of them will be put to death. Aeryn and John start to protest but Stark leaps forward and yells that he is the one responsible.

John tries to stop him but everyone but Stark is knocked to the ground. The Plokavians ask if he confesses and he says he does. They say they are not surprised as he was their prime suspect all along.

Stark removes his mask and gives it to Zhaan then enters the cell. He tells the others that he appreciates that all of them were attempting to defend him and thanks them for their friendship. He is dispersed and his body blows away on the wind.

Some time later, everyone is in the transport pod. Pilot, on the comms, tells them that the Plokavian ship has left and that they will Starburst as soon as the pod is back on board. D'Argo says that he was wrong about Stark; he wasn't trying to save himself, he was trying to save everyone else. He says he should not have died for his crime.
"What crime?" asks John.
"Stark committed no crime." says Aeryn.

Both D'Argo and Zhaan protest that they saw Stark press the fire button but John says that he did so only after the console had been shut down. He couldn't fire. Aeryn looks at John then asks if he knew what else would happen when the console was shut down.
John nods. "Yeah. I knew that shutting down the weapons console would kill the manual override." he says. Aeryn grunts in surprise.

Zhaan says that John returned control of the weapons to Talyn and D'Argo asks why he would have fired. Pilot interrupts to say that when Talyn scanned the Plokavians' cargo he asked Moya what it was and she told him about Novatron gas; one of the six cargoes no Leviathan is allowed to carry.
"Moya clued him in." says John, understanding.
Pilot nods. "And Talyn destroyed the ship." He pauses, then continues. "He thought he was protecting Moya."

Later, D'Argo sits in his cabin. Chiana enters and examines the picture of Jothee that Stark had brought. She tells D'Argo that he will find Jothee and D'Argo says he will only because of Stark. He asks why Stark brought him the information and Chiana says it was probably because he felt he owed them for the help they had given him.
D'Argo shakes his head. "I've become so distrustful of people, even when they're trying to help me. What does that say about what I've become?"

Aeryn and John are in the maintenance bay. John asks Aeryn why she didn't try to blame Crais for what happened. She replies that she was trying to protect Talyn and that there was no other reason. She then asks John if he thinks Stark survived. There is a long pause.
"Since I got here I've seen a lot of impossible things." he says finally.
"Zhaan thinks it's possible." she says.
"Yeah." says John. "She says she does. But I don't think she believes it."

In her cabin, Zhaan looks at Stark's mask then holds it to herself. Tears roll down her face.

The encounter between Talyn and the Halosian ship, mentioned several times here, occurred in Out of Their Minds.

Maldis, mentioned by Zhaan, was dispersed in That Old Black Magic. He returned (and was dispersed again) in Picture if You Will.

John seems to like the -oid suffix for alien names. Here he calls the Plokavians "Plakavoids" and in Throne For a Loss referred to the Tavleks as "Tavloids".

Clorium, another of the six cargoes a Leviathan is never allowed to carry, was mentioned in I, ET.

John and the others helped Stark escape from the Gammak base in The Hidden Memory. He returned in The Locket with information on D'Argo's son.

This episode is obviously an homage to the film Rashomon in which multiple witnesses give varying descriptions of a crime.

Will Stark return?

Was Crais sincere in his desire to replace Talyn's main cannon with something less dangerous? Is he really having as much trouble controlling Talyn as he implied? And, if so, how much longer will he be able to maintain control?

How much of the crew's differing testimonies were due to different viewpoints (as in Rashomon) and how much was due to an attempt to protect Stark? For example, Zhaan told the Plokavians that no one was near the weapons console but at the end tells John she saw Stark press the fire button.

Beyond Clorium and Novatron gas, what are the other four cargoes a Leviathan is not allowed to carry?

Just how many jails has John been in anyway?

As episodes go, The Ugly Truth stands somewhere in the middle. It really isn't a bad episode, but there really isn't anything here that makes it stand out.

It seems clear that the intent was to model the episode after the movie Rashomon in which a murder is described from the point of view of several different characters. However, in The Ugly Truth things are also skewed by the fact that several of the characters are lying about what happened. This makes it more difficult to determine what really did happen but also weakens the basic premise that everyone sees everything a bit differently. Obviously everyone's stories would have matched more closely if they had told the real truth instead of trying to protect Stark and/or Talyn.

The episode opens with everyone coming aboard Talyn to meet with Crais. We haven't seen anything of Crais or Talyn since Mind the Baby except for a very brief mention in Out of Their Minds (and that was only a recording). Crais claims that he has been being peaceful and not misusing Talyn's power but that he is now having trouble controlling Talyn and that he needs the help of the others in replacing Talyn's main cannon with something less lethal.

D'Argo, John and Stark don't believe Crais but Aeryn and apparently Zhaan do. The question then becomes one of what Crais can do to convince the others. Talyn then provides some proof of how unstable he is becoming by destroying the Plokavian ship but Crais demonstrates that he is still somewhat untrustworthy by revealing his second transponder.

The tables are quickly turned on John and the others when they are captured by the Plokavians. Now they are the ones who are not trusted and they must convince someone else that they are telling the truth.

Crais seems to be telling the truth. He wants a non-lethal weapon and offers to let the others supervise the installation to assure themselves that he is not equipping Talyn with something more deadly. He also claims that he is trying to use force only as a last resort and his encounter with the Halosians seems to support that statement. But John and D'Argo still don't believe him and both suggest killing Crais several times.

On the other hand, when the Plokavians are interrogating him, John is surprised and upset when the Plokavians don't believe him even though a ship has obviously been destroyed in an unprovoked attack. He is even more upset when they start discussing plans to execute him.

I think this is the point of this episode, moreso than the Rashomon parallel. John still doesn't trust Crais, even though it seems as if Crais has changed. As I have said before, one of the ongoing themes of Farscape has always been "You can be more". Crais has become more. He may still not be the nicest person around but he is no longer the homicidal Peacekeeper captain he once was. But it seems as if John is not willing to accept that or give Crais the chance to prove himself.

This is why it is important to have John in a position where he is the one who is not trusted. Maybe the next time he and Crais meet he may be a bit more willing to give Crais the benefit of the doubt.

A few other minor notes of interest. It was interesting to see things from the different character's points of view, which gives us some insight into how the characters see each other. We also learn a bit more about Stark and who or what he is and of his relationships with the rest of the crew. Of particular note here is what seems to be a developing interest between Stark and Zhaan. If Stark returns it will be interesting to see how this develops.

One final note regards the ongoing relationship between John and Aeryn. At the end, John asks why Aeryn defended Crais and she said it was to protect Talyn. John then asks if there was any other reason and she says there was not.

Does John suspect that Aeryn has feelings for Crais? Is part of his animosity towards Crais because he feels jealousy over Aeryn? Does Aeryn have any feelings for Crais? It will also be interesting to see what happens the next time Crais shows up.

There were a few sour points this time around too. Getting the same story from different points of view is interesting but it began to get repetitive by the end of the episode. (Just how many times did we need to be reminded of the encounter with the Halosians anyway?) Also, the revelation that Stark was mostly energy and so could survive disruption seemed just a bit too convenient. Still, it is an interesting episode with an unusual format and probably worth watching when it comes around.