Defiance: The Last Unicorns

"The Last Unicorns" is the second episode season three of the science fiction television series Defiance and the twenty-eighth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Michael Nankin with a script written by Kari Drake. The episode first aired on Syfy on Friday, June 12th, 2015 at 9:00 pm.

Synopsis
Alak Tarr goes into the cabin and finds the bodies of Christie and Rafe. Rafe is barely hanging on, laments that he could not have been a better father and then dies. Pilar takes Rafe's shoes and then Alak and she trudge across the Oklahoma snow in search of food for young Luke.

Joshua Nolan and Irisa Nyira bring the injured Kindzi back to Defiance. Along with Amanda Rosewater, they try convince Doc Yewll to help her. Yewll recognizes Kindzi as an Omec and refuses to help. Nolan and Amanda give her no choice however, and it appears as if Doc's plans to jaunt off to Vegas have been suspended. Nolan tries to keep Kindzi calm and even begins to bond with her.

Datak Tarr and Stahma Tarr are brought before Rahm Tak. Rahm's plan is to utterly destroy Defiance, and assimilate all human property and culture - even their skin (or so he asserts). He wants Datak to act as a spy and saboteur for him. To insure his loyalty, he tells him that Stahma will remain with him. Should he fail or displease him in any way, he will begin cutting off Stahma's body parts one by one, turning her into a "real ugly bitch". T'evgin comes to the NeedWant in search of his daughter. Nolan and Amanda meet with him and try to keep the angry Omec calm by telling him that his daughter is being cared for. They learn that he is looking for the remaining Gulanite in the collapsed McCawley Mines, which is of great value to Defiance as well. Amanda proposes a deal: They will split the Gulanite with T'evgin 50/50 in exchange for his equipment to help them mine it. T'evgin is the sort who is used to getting what he wants, and bristles at the idea of bartering, but also realizes that he has little choice.

Back in Oklahoma, Pilar and Alak continue trudging through the snow until they find an RV in a clearing. She hands the baby to Alak and tells him that she is going to ask the occupants for aid. Alak is horrified as he watches Pilar take up a shotgun and ruthlessly guns down the couple in the RV. However, her actions do provide food and temporary shelter. Later that evening however, when Alak awakens, he finds that Pilar has left and has taken the baby. Frantically, he runs out into the night only to be picked up by a traveling vehicle.

In Defiance, and Irathient boy and a Castithan named Monguno begin poking around the back of the building where Kindzi is being kept. Mongun takes up a metal rod and shoves it through the window to taunt her. Kindzi breaks free of her bonds, grabs the shaft and stabs it through the window, impaling Monguno through the eye. She then bursts out of the cell and runs off.

When Munguno's father, Ksaruko hears the news, he leads a lynch party to find Kindzi. He catches up to her and begins beating her until Nolan arrives and orders him to stand down. The bloody Kindzi is taken back to Doc Yewll's place. Irisa approaches Ksaruko from behind and convinces him to lower his weapon. Nolan, who has a bead on him from across the way, only sees Ksaruko advance on Irisa. Not realizing that the man was actually surrendering, Nolan shoots him in the head.

Back in Oklahoma, General Rahm Tak has another sit-down with Datak and Stahma. He decides that he will actually send both of them to Defiance. This makes them nervous as they know he has something else up his sleeve. Rahm Tak wheels out his insurance policy, which is their captured son, Alak.

At Doc Yewll's place, they again force Doc to help out with Kindzi's injuries. It is not Yewll's medical expertise they need this time, but rather, a 6x3 sample of her protoform, which has properties that are advantageous to the Omec. Doc resists, but Nolan and Amanda hold her down and cut off a swatch of her skin. They apply the protoform to Kindzi's wounds and they begin to heal. T'evgin shows his gratitude in his own stern way and tells them that he will agree to Amanda's proposition.

Later, when Kindzi has recuperated enough, T'evgin tells her that they will have to be complacent with the luxuries afforded them by the people of Defiance. When the time comes however, they will make their move.

Somewhere in the forests of Oklahoma, Pilar rests against a tree holding baby Luke. She sings a lullaby to the child.

In outer space, just outside of Earth's orbit stands T'evgin's ship. Inside are hundreds upon hundreds of stasis pods containing the bodies of Omec who are in suspended animation. The belief that the Omec are practically extinct is hardly a truism any longer.

Crew

 * Rockne S. O'Bannon - Creator
 * Michael Taylor - Creator
 * Kevin Murphy - Creator; Executive producer
 * Michael D. Gibson - Producer
 * Bryan Q. Miller - Producer
 * Paula Yoo - Supervising producer
 * Paul Leonard - Co-executive producer
 * Anupam Nigam - Co-executive producer


 * Michael Nankin - Co-executive producer; Director
 * Mark Winemaker - Executive producer
 * Todd Slavkin - Executive producer
 * Darren Swimmer - Executive producer
 * Amanda Alpert Muscat - Associate producer
 * Michael Freeman - Associate producer
 * Bear McCreary - Composer
 * Kari Drake - Writer

Notes & Trivia

 * Defiance was created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, Kevin Murphy and Michael Taylor.


 * This episode is the second-part of a two-hour special that aired on the same night as "The World We Seize"


 * Producer Paul M. Leonard is credited as Paul Leonard in this episode.


 * This is the eleventh episode of Defiance directed by Michael Nankin. It is his second episode from season three.


 * This is Kari Drake's first work on Defiance as a writer. It is Kari's second television work and her first work in the science fiction genre.


 * This is the second appearance of General Rahm Tak. He appeared last in "The World We Seize".


 * This is the second appearance of T'evgin. He appeared last in "The World We Seize".


 * This is the second appearance of Kindzi. He appeared last in "The World We Seize".


 * This is the first appearance of members of the Omec race outside of T'evgin and Kindzi.


 * This is the second appearance of Luke Tarr. "The World We Seize"


 * Final appearance of Rafe McCawley; dies in this episode.


 * Final appearance of Ksaruko; shot in the head and killed by Joshua Nolan.


 * Final appearance of Monguno; stabbed through the eye by Kindzi.

Allusions

 * Datak Tarr makes reference to Johnny Cash in this episode. Johnny Cash was a country-western singer who gained notable popularity in the 1960s. He was often referred to as "the Man in Black" due to his trademark black ensemble, which he wore at nearly every appearance. The Johnny Cash song, "Jackson", was played in the very opening scene of the entire series, with some vocal accompaniment by Grant Bowler and Stephanie Leonidas. Johnny Cash is referenced again by Joshua Nolan in "History Rhymes".


 * Meh Yewll makes reference to Elvis Presley in this episode. Elvis Aaron Presley is an American musician and singer as well as a rock and roll icon; quite possibly the most famous musical figure of all time. He is known for songs such as "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Viva Las Vegas".

Quotes

 * Meh Yewll: Fine, chain her up.
 * Joshua Nolan: Doc, she's half dead.
 * Meh Yewll: An optimist would say she's half alive. Chain her up.

....
 * Meh Yewll: Conquer, kill, devour. Put it on a t-shirt so you don't forget.

....
 * Pilar McCawley: You know, I tried to poison my three children. Christie was just a baby.
 * Alak Tarr: It's come up in conversation, yeah.

....
 * Meh Yewll: Is it inconsiderate to say I told you so? I never know the rules for that. Raised by wolves...
 * T'evgin: You're not funny.
 * Meh Yewll: Fifty million Elvis fans can't be wrong.