This week on Sci-Fi Friday: Try The Sexers!
Killjoys S04E01: I honestly don't have a ton to say about this episode, and that's because it kind of threw me for a loop. After the cliffhanger that was the season 3 finale, I was expecting the show to hit the ground running here, as it has in past season openers. But instead of focusing on the girls in the green or the space difters, the show instead gave us the story of how Dutch and Johnny first became killjoys.
This is an interesting enough story, and I'm glad they got to it. But it's a bit surprising to get to it here. I would normally have expected this to be a mid-season episode, similar to what they did with the episode that showed up how Dutch and Johnny met in the first place. I get the distinct impression that they did this to help bring newer viewers on-board - this being reinforced by essentially re-introducing the worlds of the Quad - so I can understand why they'd want to do this first. Especially if they're counting on Hannah John-Kamen's surging popularity to bring in said new viewers.
In any case, the episode set out to do something and it did it well. I don't think finding out how the two of them became killjoys was as critical a story, but it's told in a meaningful way. It seems fitting that the two of them would be on the wrong side of the law at least initially. After all, Johnny was a criminal and Dutch borders on amoral (and is an absolute killing machine). And the irony is especially delicious that the whole thing started because they took honest work. Let that be a lesson: no one is honest in the Quad.
Overall the episode is a bit by-the-numbers throughout, but still enjoyable. Dutch and Johnny get stuck with solving the theft and assassination plot they've been made the patsies for, and after a bit of touch-and-go, they succeed. And decide to make a semi-honest living as killjoys. In the middle of all of that, two scenes really stand out. The first is Dutch and Johnny tangoing; it's a perfect example of why their respective character traits work together so well, and reflects the sheer absurdity of the series at times. The other is finding out how Johnny earned the respect of Lucy, which is something I've never even thought about before. He convinced her to ignore her orders and allow him to save her owner (Dutch), but made a point of letting her make the decision instead of overriding her systems to force the matter. Essentially he treated her as a sentient entity, which is an interesting way to win over a computer.
As an added bonus, this means they get to bring Hills back for a single episode. Even though he was only a season 1 character, I'd argue he's among the most impactful of the non-regular cast.
Finally, I'm a bit disappoined in myself for not figuring out how Dutch got her name before it was revealed. Calling the royal queen-to-be "duchess" makes so much sense in hindsight.
Anyhow, now that everyone has been reacquainted, hopefully we can now pick up the story from where it left off in season 3. The girls' hunting of the Lady obvious hasn't gone as planned, and I'd like to know why.