One thing I really like about John Crichton is that he is 100% willing to kill anyone that tries to kill him, his ex-fascist lady love, his not-a-Klingon platonic life partner, his blue mom, his blue stepdaughter, his aristocratic Muppet frenemy, his blue tentacled Muppet pal or the giant whale starship they all travel in, especially if that person is Captain Ahab in space or a half-lizard leather fetishist space Nazi.
Screencapped the Hidden Memory moment between Aeryn and Crais:
I love how Aeryn is rubbing this moment in Crais's face, he was the reason why she's no longer a Peacekeeper and the turn tables. Now he's in the horrific Aurora Chair.
This. Moment.
"Your oath means nothing to me! You made sure of that. You destroyed everything. I lost everything because of you! Do you know what I learned when I was away from you? Everything I lost isn't worth a damn. And I don't want to go back to your past."
Claudia Black is so good. (I wish Jeri Ryan and Claudia Black were in a show or movie together).
But also I'm so glad Aeryn got to say this to Crais, I love how Aeryn realized how everything she held up on a pedestal wasn't worth anything, that it was only worth dust.
(What if, what if Seven and Aeryn met? What if???)
And then Aeryn leaves Crais on the chair after putting the Aurora Chair on full blast. And I love that.
I've been thinking about this moment a lot today. It's the scene where Aeryn offers herself to Crais, to try to convince him to help her rescue John from the shadow depository.
The way the scene is edited is intentionally ambiguous. Crais could be read as considering accepting, and there is a cutaway and then it's never exactly resolved what happened, though the rest of the episode implies that Talyn agrees to help because of Moya, not at Crais's request. Later in Green Eyed Monster, Talyn does some deceptive editing of this scene himself, and Aeryn eventually tells John that nothing happened.
So how did Crais turn her down? Gently, scornfully, reluctantly, with insults? Was he offended or titillated by her lack of genuine interest in him?
Aeryn clearly had a notion already that he was interested enough in her that she thought he might take the bribe. We never see why, though. Peacekeepers have a very pragmatic and functional view of sex, with consent being at least occasionally optional. Claudia Black mentions in audio commentary that Aeryn's relationship with Velorek began as an assigned recreational partner.
So the undertones of sex work and non-consent are a bit muddy for me. Aeryn's offer doesn't have quite the same emotional meaning as it would for a non-Peacekeeper, but it is a painful offer, you can see that in her face and her words "you can take what you want and I won't stop you".
It feels like such fertile ground for missing scene fanfiction. If anyone knows of any that address this specific dynamic, hook me up!
Does Aeryn realize that Crais has a thing for her? Like, she can’t be that dense but she also doesn’t have much of a reaction to it. She recognizes the competition between Crais and John regarding her in the episode “Green Eyed Monster”, but like, dudes are just like that sometimes. John 100% recognizes that Crais has a thing for her, but either she’s dense or she’s really good at ignoring it and not letting it affect her at all. Like, he’s such a non-threat she just really doesn’t care 😂
One of the FUNNIEST Crais moments is in s3 in “Thanks For Sharing”, when John comes aboard Talyn with Aeryn, and Crais stops mid-sentence when he sees him, and gives him the death stare. Aeryn sees it and turns to look at John and then has zero reaction and starts talking to Crais. Bro thought he was going to have her to himself but oops, here comes love of her life John Crichton right behind her 😂
Edit: I just remembered a scene in The Choice where it is revealed that Aeryn is very much aware of Crais’ feelings for her 😬
Farscape using the death of John Crichton to further the arc of his foil, Bialar Crais, is one of the most ingenious pieces of writing I've ever seen.
Crais's hatred of Crichton was his defining relationship in the first season of Farscape, and while it's clear that he really does come to forgive Crichton, Crichton never really trusts Crais. Then, as the series progresses, he sees that Crichton is a Good Man, brave and clever and self-sacrificing, one Crais comes to respect despite their differences.
But Crais never gains that trust or friendship from Crichton. Crais has lost the trust and respect of one of the best men he's ever known. He'll never be John's friend or confidant, merely an ally of necessity, someone John keeps around because he's needed.
Then, as Crichton dies, he tells Crais that he knows that there's goodness, maybe even greatness, in Crais, and that Crais needs to find it to protect everyone else. He has the respect of a man he hunted for a year, a great man, but only in the last minutes of that man's life.
And it's the perfect example of everything Farscape can be. Heartfelt and moving and full of emotion and one of the best-written pieces of television ever made.
I hope the show does something amazing with this moment.