Defiance: The Cord and the Ax

July 4, 2014 6:54 AM - Season 2, Episode 3

Irisa continues to experience blackouts at a terrifying and increasing rate, but she tries to keep a worried Nolan in the dark about her situation; and under Stahma's self-appointed leadership, the Tarr family business prospers, while an increasingly suspicious Datak remains locked up behind bars.
posted by Catblack (2 comments total)

Here's AV Club's take on it. I liked this episode, loved that we got a bit of a resolution to what's happening with Irisa. Great use of Portishead at the end.
posted by Catblack at 8:44 AM on July 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I finally had the chance to watch this episode night before last. I don't know how I feel about the vomit spider zombies thing. One part of me is, meh, and the other part is actually intrigued (where is it all leading?!). I'm getting the whole Tess of the D'Urbevilles vibe for Amanda, one bad thing leads to another bad thing. I expect we won't see the Mayor successfully completely bend her to his will through her addiction, but it might get a little squirmy on the path to the end of that storyline.

I was getting prepared to see Irisa stick in a knife in Berlin as the video footage was being queued. As much as I kind of hated her introduction, I want to see her hang around. Especially after the awkward conversation regarding our other deputy.

The end was pretty rough. The symbolism couldn't get any more in your face of Datak stepping into the bath, the very heart of the Castithan household, and literally reasserting his dominance over his wife and son who had turned against him. The power relationship between Datak and Stahma is crazy, as it's hard to fathom how much they love each other and how much they're together to further their own ends. And poor Alak, can't the kid have his record store?
posted by Atreides at 6:52 AM on July 11, 2014 [1 favorite]