This episode is all about the awesomeness that is Ms.
Quill and happens at the same time as the events of detention last episode
I am definitely here for an episode all about Quill
because Quill is awesome and anyone who disagrees is just wrong and should be
ashamed.
Headmistress Dorothea is delivering on her promise to
remove the Arn- the enslaving creature in Quill’s brain that stops her doing
violence, touching weapons and making sure she serves and protects Charlie,
despite him being the last remnant of her sworn enemy – from Quill’s skull. It’s
risky, but if the choice is between freedom and death then Quill will stab
death in the face and grab that freedom with both hands
This being Class
the pathway to getting there is bizarre. The Governors has a special little
transporter device. They also have another prisoner who is integral to the
process – Ballon. He’s a shapeshifter, fixed in one place and is also along in
the hope of the freedom he will be given if they succeed.
The transporter takes them to… the afterlives of various
people. Or not the afterlives so much as the dimension/world/thought construct
created by the collective beliefs of everyone who believes in that afterlife.
Yes it’s a but weird but Quill is there to snark
Quill is there through this whole episode being either
perfectly snarky (warning them of the menace of the kitten’s online cultists)
or epic (“I will be war itself!”). Really this whole episode is worth it for
Quill’s every last word.
They collect an Arn from the Arn afterlife (with a brief
brain squeal moment when Quill points out they’re genetically modified beings
yet still have an afterlife) before dropping in on the shapeshifter Hell with
Ballon to get some god blood to free his shapeshifting so he can do the surgery
followed by a spot to Quill heaven to get a Quill brain
While this is a pretty simple object quest, along the way
we get some really nice exploration of the cultures of these beings. Like the
shapeshifter’s idea of hell is being reduced to statues, be unable to move or
change, being silent: basically hell for the constantly moving/changing
shifters is stasis. Which equally informs why Ballon is so eager to be freed
since being unable to shift is literally hell
We have nice little looks at the Quill as a species and
some exceptional moments from Quill herself. Her little description of how
Quill eat their mothers is a really interesting little snippet because it
clearly encompasses something Quill considers important to their culture while
also being rather unnecessary in the modern world: she talks about is in an embarrassed
way in that she expects outsiders to shame her for it and she’s slightly
embarrassed but still defending it because it matters. There’s a nice amount of
layers in that one statement.
We also have Quill confronting her deity (or the copy of
her deity anyway) with utter, seething rage: the deity that was silent when her
people we persecuted, slaughtered, destroyed and reduced to near extinction:
her rage is absolutely epic. Yet she still is horrified when Ballon denies her
the chance to talk to that deity by killing her – but, because this episode is
just full of these moments, we have a layer added on that. Before meeting this
deity Quill had made a point of her identity – her people’s identity – of having
left this deity behind o it no longer being a part of hem. Their identity has
been defined by them saving themselves, relying on themselves, protecting
themselves, knowing no-one else had their backs: did Quill want to change this
fundamental element of her people by listening to this copied deity, by
worshipping?
See, layers – lots of these little scenes where we just
have a lot of layers building and development and thought
Through all this we also have Quill and Ballon bonding
epicly. Normally shows which try to throw a romance at me after half an
episodes introduction fail to sell it to me – this? This was sold. I really
invested in this. They were excellent together, their scenes had a lot of
really good connections with some awesome bonding over their experiences, their
shared imprisonment, the injustices they faced and their experiences as
soldiers
They were really good together
Which makes it all galling when he finally reach the last
place, the Reliquary of Souls where all of the Rhodian souls go and the surgery
is completed successfully. Quill and Ballon celebrate with some surprisingly
tender and gentle sex
And then we hear that there’s only enough energy for one
of them to leave and they have to fight to the death to see how gets to escape
and live. Nooooooooo…. They fight, because family and vengeance are so
important to them, even while the respect and love they have for each other is
so very clear, until Ballon fires Quill’s gun and dies when it backfires. This
leaves Quill to mourn his death.
Noooo, there was no need for this?! You wanted Ballon not
to be a regular character? Then have him escape as well and go and find his
family and leave Quill to her vengeance. There’s the story – there’s the same
message. You wanted to say how important family/vengeance are to each other? Than
have them separate – make it clear these things matter more to them than
actually staying together and pursuing their relationship. There was no need
for the Black man to be killed off for the greater development of the white
woman. There was zero need for this.
Quill confronts the Rhodian souls with yet another epic
speech and pulls herself out of the reliquary in time to save the others and
head towards the epic finale.
Quill oh how I loved Quill. And I would have loved Quill
and a living Ballon way more.
