01x12 - The Flax

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Farscape". Aired: 19 March 1999 –; 21 March 2003.*
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American astronaut John Crichton finds himself thrown across the universe when an experimental mission goes bad.
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01x12 - The Flax

Post by bunniefuu »

Hey...

Baby, Alex, what's wrong?

I'm taking the Stanford job.

Stanford.

You know, there are other
medical research programs.

Not with full grant
scholarships.

Well, I've got a sh*t at the
space program here.

I know.

We've talked about this, John.
Taking a break.

It's not a break, Alex, if you're
all the way across the continent.

I know it may not seem
like it now, but...

I'll always be there for you.

Well, if we're meant to be
together, we'll be together.

I love you.

I love you.

Pilot!

I have no answers as yet.

A little long for a starburst,
don't you think?

Hail Prince of the Obvious.

About time.

Now explain yourself.

I told you, I did not
initiate starburst,

nor did I terminate it.

Then who did?

Moya.

She thought she heard the distress
cry of another pregnant Leviathan

and was attempting to
locate the source.

I like my wives pregnant and
my ships cold to the touch.

That way, my feet stay warm and
my slumber is uninterrupted.

"Wives," plural?

Big fella.

I was just dreaming about my
final mating session

when our gestating goliath
decided she needed some exercise.

That's my underwear.

What does this say?

Calvin.

Then they're not yours.

This is strange.

I dreamt of my wife last night.

About the last night we spent
together before she was m*rder*d.

That was my dream.

No, no, no.
Not... not your wife.

Someone I cared about.

What about you girls?

Sex dreams?

I sleep soundly.

I am unimpressed by your
masculine reveries.

Pilot, has Moya found the ship
she's looking for?

Yes... and no.

There does not appear to be
another Leviathan,

let alone a pregnant
one in distress.

Then why are we here?

Hmm...

We're receiving a transmission.

Salutations.

I apologize for the deceit but
there was no other way

our signal could reach
across the void.

And we so want to meet you...

Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan.

My name is John Crichton,
an astronaut...

...a radiation wave hit and I
got sh*t through a wormhole...

Now I'm lost in some distant
part of the universe on a ship.

A living ship full of strange
alien life-forms...

Help me...

Listen, please.

Is there anybody out there
who can hear me?

...being hunted by an insane
m*llitary commander...

...doing everything I can...

I'm just looking for
a way home.

Upon landing, our vessel heats
the rock to molten, then settles below ground.

That's your ship?

Must have been one hell
of an impact.

It's a missionary habitat.

It's clever.

Decreases the likelihood of an enemy
being able to spot you from space.

It's always instructive how different
cultures view the same reality.

Where a Peacekeeper sees defense from
att*ck, we see solitude for piety.

Pa'u Tahleen, your use of
deception continues to trouble me.

Perhaps our many cycles of
reclusion contributed to an error in judgment,

but we could think of no other
way of leading you here.

Let us replenish at the
Altar of Essence.

In the sweet air, you'll soon
forget this world's toxic surface.

Toxic. That figures.

Welcome to the New Moon
of Delvia,

our modest temple to the
Goddess of Spiritual Renewal.

You weren't supposed to
bring a w*apon.

That's why D'argo stayed
on the ship.

D'argo is young; I am cautious.

I understand your vessel
is low on supplies.

Lorana will show you
to our food source.

Please be greedy.

The more you pick the more
that grows to replaces it.

It's so perfect, my teeth ache.

Well, that's from all
the sincerity.

Why did you lure us here?

Search yourself, Zhaan.

You know why.

I do not.

What I do know is you invaded
my soul last night

and you left me bitter.

Your friends were happy with
their remembrances, were they not?

So you caused me to remember.

We always remember, Zhaan.

We simply choose to ignore.

Whoa! There you go.

An "untended renewable" that's part
plant, part animal, total nutrition.

What's not to like?

This place.

These people.

Their serenity.

Well, at least you've thought
out your position, Aeryn.

Amazes me how people mistake
theosophy for superiority.

You know, I don't think
anything amazes you.

I mean, look at this.

You ever seen one
of these before?

What would you call this?

I dub thee, trigopod.

And, what, you're just... no!

No... no reaction from you.

Incredible. How special.

They're a food source, John.

No, Aeryn, it's unique.

It's a squid calamari cucumber,
and it is incredible.

Look up.

Look at this.

This is a ship, Aeryn.

And it's incredible.

It's also a little creepy.

Look around, Zhaan.

Okay? Almost everything we see,
almost every day is brand new to both of us.

And it's worthy of a response.

On the other hand,
it is a little creepy.

You know our cause is just.

I sympathize, but I cannot
help you.

Then give us the powers
to help ourselves.

When did the madness begin?

Only recently but already,
Pa'u Tuzak is beyond redemption.

You went too fast, didn't you?

That is why we must have
your secret,

before we are all consumed.

I have no secret, Tahleen.

I am just me.

All that hatred and anger.

You should be insane.

I was insane.

I don't know how I survived
those early cycles.

But you did.

So how does the pious Zhaan
coexist with all that rage?

Share with me.

Save me.

And in return,

I will show you paths to abilities
beyond your comprehension.

Mom! Mom! Look at the
water snakes!

They're huge!

John, come away from there
before you fall in!

Mom! Help me!

Mom! Mom!

Help! Help!

What? Geez!

What is it?

There's um...

stuff in the water.

I mean, uh...

Miracles of the mind.

You altered his memory.

Help me to understand
your powers

and I'll help you to
understand mine.

Put him back and make
him as he was.

You are the most bizarre
creature I have ever met.

Any word?

Aeryn and Crichton
have close to

a 40-day supply of fresh food
on the transporter already.

Excellent. What's the matter?

Is there food I won't like?

Something Crichton said
is disturbing me.

Finally.

I've been saying that
since he arrived.

It's what he said about us all
having the same dream.

It wasn't the same.

Mine was better than yours.

I sense Delvian trickery
here, Rygel.

We must leave this place.

Get the food first.

Do not touch.

The Sanctity Root.

Poison to your hand.

Death.

Oh... right.

Um... well, thanks.

And you're, um...?

Teacher-Leader- Holy
Reaper-Seeker of the Flame.

I am here because of you...

Peacekeeper.

I'm not a Peacekeeper.

Yes, you are.

I am insane.

Yeah. That would have been
my next guess.

Insane because of you.

Because I touched inside what I
needed to touch you outside.

Right.

One you travel with
is in peril.

Aeryn? No, Aeryn's not
a Peacekeeper.

Not yours, mine!

Zhaan.

Vigilance, Peacekeeper.

Confusing times.

Do not touch the root.

You are forbidden in
this sanctuary.

I was just looking for the
meditation room.

You also carry a
prohibited w*apon.

I appreciate your rules,
but I was allowed to...

A Peacekeeper lie.

I have been driven from my
homeland by your kind.

I will not be driven
from here also.

It is you who must go.

This is wrong, Lorana.

We're far outside our vows.

What choice do we have, Hasko?

That is Tahleen talking,
not you.

Don't be blinded by
her madness.

I pity you, your jealousy.

Tahleen and I share Unity now,
not you and I.

Accept that and move on.

Zhaan, I just heard that Aeryn
got booted out of the temple.

Yes. She's already taken a
transport pod. She's gone.

What? Wait a minute.
No, no, she left without us?

No. I wanted her to.

I need you to help me
make a decision.

Look, if you want to stay
here, that's fine.

We can take these people
on Moya.

We have no star charts or
reference points home to Delvia.

We prefer not to wander.

Oh, that makes sense.

Hell, everybody's lost in this
corner of the universe anyway.

John, John.

You asked if I dreamt
the other night.

I did.

I, too, was reminded of the
last person I ever loved.

Open your mind.

John, you must keep
an open mind.

Are you sure, Zhaan?

His capacity is well below
even a level one.

He will understand.

You must.

Show him.

Show him.

In the fires of Tadesh,

I search for Unity with you,
my companion.

Oh magnificent Zhaan,

Ease the burdens of my flesh
with your soul.

Envelop me.

Release your mind, Bitaal.

Surrender your demons,

for I have others to
replace them.

What are you doing?

Avenging the lives you
have ruined

and the world you put at risk.

No, Zhaan!

Zhaan!

What the hell was that?

The crime I was imprisoned for.

You... you...

you k*lled a guy you were
having sex with.

I admit I have not revealed
all parts of myself to you.

No. No, you haven't!

You k*lled the guy you were
having sex with, Zhaan!

I need you, John. I need you.

For what? Target practice?!

I am adrift.

As the past is sweeping over me

I must rely on the judgment
of someone I trust.

Please understand. Please.

You want me to understand?

Then tell me, why the hell
did you show me that?

Because they want me
to do it again.

Bitaar was our spiritual
counselor, John.

He was a very powerful man.

I was studying with him at the time
and things just took their course.

Why did you k*ll him, Zhaan?

His tenure was up.

Instead of yielding control,

he and the other conservative Pa'us hired
the Peacekeepers for external security.

Our world changed forever.

Delvian coup d'etat.

I didn't think you people
had it in you.

Peacekeepers rounded up all the
liberal thinkers and voices of protest.

My own father was sent to an
asteroid camp.

He may still be there
for all I know.

Was that before or after
you k*lled Bitaar?

I loved Bitaar, John.

And these people...

Tahleen and the others, they
want you to k*ll again?

Not by my own hand.

They want me to help them
regain power.

And so-so... so what are
you supposed to do?

Serve as poster child for
the revolution?

As we train for purity,

Delvians often become vulnerable
to their own dark impulses.

Should it surface, they succumb
as if to an infection.

Is that what happened to
Grandpa Loony Tunes?

And now madness is threatening
his followers, too.

But not you.

No, you're as...

twisted as they come...

but you're still sane.

Exactly.

I can help these people, John.

How?

Through Unity.

The sacred surrender of two
minds together.

Two spirits, two souls.

Wait, w... no, just back up.

You're telling me you're going
to give a piece of your mind,

a piece of your soul to
one of these people?

Am I just being stupid here or does that
sound a little crazy in its own right, Zhaan?

It is crazy, John.

But where there is risk,
there is also hope.

Look, couldn't it wait until
we've loaded more supplies?

This trigopod is mythic.

Oh! You say it's part vegetable!

Anymore from Crichton?

He says they want Zhaan to participate
in some sort of ceremonial mating.

This is such a bad combination.
I never should have left them.

Zhaan distracted,
Crichton confused.

Crichton is always confused.

Pilot, prepare the transport pod.
We're heading back to the planet.

Very well.

Oh, wait for me!

If we spent another thousand
cycles here,

we couldn't find the strength that
that woman can give us in an instant.

The Peacekeeper has signaled her
intention to return with the Luxan.

Stop them.

Let nothing distract Zhaan from
what I want her focused on.

The one Crichton is challenging
her with questions.

I can send him back
to his ship.

No, she wants him here.

Their minds are weak.

Preoccupy them all as you
would children.

att*ck them with their
own hopes and fears.

Is that how you would treat
your children, Lorana?

So, what's the story?

When do we go?

Who the hell are you?

You don't recognize me?

Oh, I recognize who you're
supposed to be, Alex.

What's wrong with you?

What's wrong with this picture?

Why aren't you in your
lab at Stanford?

I never went to Stanford, John.

I joined the space program
with you. Remember?

Yeah, I...

but, Alex...

how did you get here?

The same way as you.

Or doesn't being your
co-pilot count?

Smile, baby, this is
for my Mom.

Remember now?

Took you long enough.

I had to get up the nerve.

I know who you are.

I do respect your teachings,
Pa'u Tuzak.

And I respect your choice
of m*rder victims.

What are you doing here?

The young refuse to
tend the orchard.

Sanctity Roots don't grow
on trees, my dear.

I need your advice.

Uh-uh...

I have tasted of my darker
impulse, so I'm... I'm insane.

What I am contemplating is
also a little insane.

Ah.

Pa'u. Ninth Level?

When the darkness rises up from
inside, that is normal.

It's when you reach down
to pull it up...

that the noxious
warnings sound.

Should I give Tahleen
what she wants?

Oh, she would like that.

Will she use the ability I
give her to hurt people?

Certainly.

But she may also free a
planet from tyranny.

If you hear nothing from us,
come down immediately.

Yes, of course,
my thought exactly.

Aeryn, are you ready?

Ready.

Are you ready?

My pulse r*fle just fell apart.

What are you talking about?
Just pick it up.

It's in pieces, D'argo.

I don't know what happened.

What happened is, you...

are wasting... my time.

I don't have any training
to use this bit.

Pilot, are there any Delvian
transmissions coming to Moya?

Daddy! Daddy!

Jothee...

Jothee.

Daddy! Help me!

Peacekeepers! Pilot!
Seal all the exits!

There are Peacekeepers
on board!

Rygel, can you help me
with this?

What made you decide to
share Unity with me?

The potential.

If you have even the
slightest doubt,

we must refrain.

I will give you what you wish.

What do you need?

The smallest seed.

Point me to the knowledge,

and I will spend my life
mastering it.

I am yours.

Your spirit is raging.

You strive for so much.

And yours is so calm.

I will show you...

what you want...

so you might...

ease your soul.

What are you doing, Tahleen?

I'm sorry, Zhaan,

but what you have achieved will
take me too long to master on my own.

No!

Forgive me, Pa'u, but I must
have all of what I need.

You betrayed me.

What's up? What happened?

I made a mistake.

Why-why are your eyes red?

It's tissue bile migrating
to my brain.

Madness?

Maybe.

My dark impulses are released.

She ripped from me my ability
to control them.

Then go take them back.

It doesn't work like that.

I'd have to start over.

Zhaan, you're in a temple
surrounded by the Goddess.

If you can do it in a
Peacekeeper cell, you can do it...

I spent nearly 17 cycles
tortured by my own dark impulses.

Feeling insanity's grip
ebb and flow.

I don't have the strength
to start again!

No, just... just stay put.

Stay put.

We're not done yet.

Tahleen!

Tahleen!

Tahleen!

Alex, where's Tahleen?

Lotus position somewhere.

John, sit down.

She screwed over Zhaan.

That was Zhaan's choice.

Let it go.

No, but you should see her.

And you should see me.

John, we made a promise to
always be there for each other.

Wait, wait, wait. When have I
not been there for you?

Whenever anybody else
needs you.

Alex...

Zhaan is our friend.

Who made a choice to stay
with her own kind.

Accept it.

Do you remember the night that we made
love in the reflecting pool at Canaveral?

Crichton, are you there?

Yo, Pilot, what's up?

I'm afraid everyone up here is
behaving rather strangely.

Jothee!

Jothee, where are you, boy?

Jothee, where are you?

Pilot, I demand that you
help me find my son.

Now!

I'm sure you heard that.

How's Aeryn?

Just as bad.

I am not as bad as that.

I just, um...

I... I can't figure out how
these controls work.

And Rygel is faring no better.

He somehow thinks he has shrunk
to even smaller dimensions.

I'm on it, Pilot.

This is a pretty sacred place,
isn't it?

You think you still
belong here?

There are over a billion
Delvians living in fear on our home world.

And you're going to
save them, right?

Not alone.

It will take many dedicated
to freedom.

But it serves no end if I
go insane before...

This isn't about freedom.

It's about power.

You know, your friend really
is a remarkable woman.

Whatever you've done to my
friend, you put it right.

Incapacitate him, Lorana.

Even if you have to destroy
his mind.

Why not just let them go?
You already have what you want.

Because I have not.

Zhaan held too tightly
to her secret.

I didn't get enough to
quell the madness.

She will forge another Unity with Zhaan
and most likely k*ll her in the process.

Hey!

Where have you been?

Oh! Dealing with Zhaan
and the blue people.

How are we going to get
back on Moya?

I don't know. Look, Alex,
let me ask you a question.

Have you noticed anything
unusual that might indicate

that they've been messing
with our minds?

The only person messing with
my mind, John, is you.

I don't have time for this
right now, okay? I am serious.

And you don't think I am?

When am I going to become more
important to you than Zhaan?

I never gave you that.

Hi.

Baby, what's wrong?

I'm scared.

Yeah, right, you're scared.

What?

Well, when I agreed to pass on
Stanford and go with you...

What if things don't work out between
us and I'm stuck in Florida, alone?

You will never, ever be stuck
alone, I promise.

Now how am I going to
hold you to that one?

Alexandra Kimberly O'connor,

marry me.

You never gave me this?

No, I mean, I remember
giving you the ring.

I just don't remember...

And I promise never to place another
before me, till death do us part.

You don't remember what, John?

Marrying me?

Yeah, of course.

I'm...

Do you want it back?

No! No, no.

Never.

Then honor your vow,

or choose Zhaan over me
and take the ring.

If you return to Delvia,

many may be tempted to seek your
word, barely coherent, over mine.

Oh, they wouldn't listen to me,
my daughter. You didn't.

On the contrary, all those
cycles growing up...

I listened.

When I brought you all here to
accelerate your teaching,

it was to create a new class
of Pa'u, a better class.

And in your legacy,
we will shine on.

You go too fast.

Pillaging knowledge without
the wisdom to control it.

I mean, learn from my
error, Tahleen.

I have.

Even now, insanity creeps
upon me.

But rather than sit idly by
tending trees that will not grow,

I take action for myself,
and for my homeland.

What you do is worse than the
insanity you seek to stave off!

You're quite lucid
today, father.

No!

Zhaan.

Come back to Moya with us.

No, Tahleen needs me.

I will be a Pa'u, dedicated
to helping others.

After all she's done?

Yes. I will join in Unity with
her one more time.

You know, you're full of it.

You're going to k*ll her, aren't
you? Just like you did your lover.

You were always the most clever one
on Moya, but I will not miss you.

Zhaan, just stop.
Stop thinking about Tahleen.

I want you to think about
yourself for a little while.

The urge to give retribution
is intoxicating.

I have missed it.

You know, Alex said that you
were going to do this.

That you'd quit.

Alex?

Who is Alex?

Alex.

My wife.

I should not have brought
you here.

Let's face it.

We have both lost.

Why do you care for
Zhaan so much?

Huh? What kind of
question is...?

Why is Zhaan so important
to you?

Honey, think of all the times she's
put herself on the line for us.

Not for me, John.

You know what?

This is stupid. She likes you.

She can't like me,

because she doesn't
even know me.

What the hell are you
talking about?

I'm not here, John.

I've never been.

Baby, they are messing
with your mind.

You flew with me.

We share quarters on Moya.

Forced memories to
distract you.

You're real.

No.

I love you.

I release you from what
is not true.

How in God's name do you
call yourself a priest?

I have no excuse.

So what now?

k*ll me? Cage me?
Teach me tricks?

Your feelings for Zhaan,
I share them, too...

and for you and the others.

We have fallen off the path.

The Sanctity Root around which
our temple revolves

represents purity of thought
and intent.

Your tree...

it's twisted on itself.

Whilst in your mind, you have
showed me the ember of my own virtue.

Next time, ask.

If you are willing to
take the risk,

you may be able to accomplish
the same result with Zhaan.

I am sorry but you must
focus on this moment.

Your friends' lives hang
in the balance.

I get a vote.

I say we go down and
sh**t them all.

Oh!

Look, D'argo almost
stepped on me.

Your eminence you were never
any smaller than your current stature.

You must not inv*de our temple.

The balance is very delicate.

Please, I have restored
your memories.

Now, allow us to do it our way.

You have two arns.

That's all.

Why do you disturb me as I
prepare for Unity with Zhaan?

Because what you are
doing is wrong.

Such simple analysis from a
vessel I poured much effort into.

How disappointing.

If you thought so little why
choose Unity with me in the past?

Because you were too foolish to
look deeper and question me.

You were easy and pleasurable.

Pardon the intrusion, Pa'u,
but I think you should know...

Zhaan and Crichton have fled to the
surface in an attempt to reach their ship.

Then I must stop them.

Where is she?

The part of Tahleen in tonight's
Unity will be played by John Crichton.

You wish to share
Unity with me?

Well you guys are always going
on about how hot it is.

I thought I'd give it a go.

This is not sex.

The fusion of our two minds
will surely k*ll you.

Not if you're careful.

I hear you can protect me...

if you want to.

I see no purpose to this union.

Your translator microbes
handle that one?

Although I must admit,

I have always wondered what
could possibly go in there.

Not a lot.

I'm a guy.

Come on, Zhaan.

What are you afraid of?

Take my head.

Our two spirits will pass
into each other

until we inhabit a single
consciousness.

Too late to be afraid.

Move into me.

Oh, my.

What is that?

Unity.

It's like Disney on acid.

Ten years of really great sex
all at the same moment.

My God, what is that?

What is...

The core of my soul.

The part of me that is
capable of m*rder.

Wh-what... what's happening?

What... what's happening to me?

Focus on something else, John.

Do not absorb any of my rage.

All right. All right.

I'm all right.

We must separate now, John.

I don't know how long
I can protect you.

No. There's something in me
that you need to see.

Look at yourself...

as I see you.

Gentle,

giving.

That's you, Zhaan.

Tahleen can't take that,
and she didn't.

You're still that Pa'u.

Follow me, Zhaan.

See what I see.

Build on that peace.

Be her again.

Zhaan?

Zhaan!

Fight it.

Fight all the things that
betray you.

Zhaan.

Thank you, John.

How come...

I can't remember?

The details of another's mind
fade after Unity.

But the essence of
bonding remains.

Stop!

How dare you!

This tree is the center of
your existence, right?

The source of your goodness?

Spiritual flame?

Well, burn down the
temple sister,

just 'cause you're a bastard
sect in any religion.

I will destroy your
useless mind!

How did you block him from me?

Unity also gifted me with
a part of you, Tahleen.

I am now a Pa'u of the Tenth
Level, able to protect.

We want the same things, Zhaan.

No, we don't.

You reach for the dark impulses
I leave behind.

We all visit the precipice.

Each one of us must find
our own way down.

With your father gone, he will
need you to tend to his orchard.

John?

It's okay.

What are you doing?

The vestments of a Pa'u.

Feels like a shroud.
I'm no longer worthy.

You do that and she wins.

It's not about winning, John.

Each day infuses us with a
knowledge we carry into tomorrow.

I...

I will be a Pa'u again,

but I'm not today.

Seems a shame.

Waste all those years of
training.

Hardly wasted.

They were the best cycles
of my life.
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