Killjoys Review [2×04]: “Schooled”

‘Killjoys’ re-forges some frayed relationships under the subterfuge of a seemingly humorous mission. Also: Delle. Seyah. Kendry.

In the midst of a good-natured fight session between D’Avin (Luke MacFarlane) and Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Turin (Patrick Garrow) interrupts them with a seemingly pointless warrant. To escort a horde of kids to a prestigious school called Prodigy. Frankly, it horrifies Dutch.

To escort students? Like…Small people? – Dutch

Children, Dutch. They’re called children. – D’Avin

Johnny (Aaron Ashmore) brings back a determined Pawter (Sarah Power) who plans on somehow using the Westerley plans she stole from Jelco (Pascal Langdale). But she can’t do this alone, and Johnny convinces her to board Lucy (Tamsen McDonough). The gang find that Prodigy is run by no other than Delle Seyah Kendry (Mayko Nguyen). But oddly, the school’s empty.

As Johnny and Pawter decide to “science this shit”, D’Avin looks after the kids whilst Dutch reluctantly teams up with Delle to find out what happened to the children. It’s a trap they quickly foil, when it turns out Jake’s (Jack Fulton) brother, Olan (Ricardo Hoyos) is hacking Lucy and draining the life-support system from Prodigy.

Dutch and Delle quickly get on that (with a smooch) as Johnny tries to talk Olan from what he’s about to do. Does he really want to appear a monster to his brother? It’s a sweet relationship that pulls Olan’s vengeful mind back, though Dutch and Delle’s relationship remains strictly hate/hate/snog.

Oh, and did we almost forget Fancy Lee (Sean Baek) and Khlyen (Rob Stewart)? Hells no! They’re on a roadtrip to the Jaqobis’ home to find out why D’Avin’s immune to Level Six treatment, and it’s one scary partnership we’re excited to explore…

Delle Seyah Kendry (So rich. So bitch.) swanned in with her swoon-worthy, sassy, smug, arrogant self and it was an absolute joy to watch her and Dutch butt heads.

As soon as Delle’s voice poked through the system (and into our hearts) we knew we were in for a treat-and-a-half. Nguyen’s shamelessly haughty portrayal of Delle has always been a joy to watch. This time, Dutch and Delle reluctantly teamed up. Not only were we gifted a complex side to Delle that was both illegal in the way she treated her students but also caring, we were honoured with some hysterical banter with Dutch.

I missed our hate-flirting. – Dutch

Oh, we missed it too, Dutch. If there’s one person capable of matching Dutch it’s definitely Delle and she knows it. Their teamwork was excellent, and even though the kiss was purely for using Delle’s breath to turn on life-support, Dutch admitted to enjoying it. That one wasn’t a lie, for sure. And we wonder what kind of dynamic they’ll sport if Delle comes back for more.

John-Kamen and Nguyen unquestionably had infinite fun with Delle and Dutch’s avid hate-hate relationship. It was a supreme joy to watch—and hearing of Pawter’s tales about their past at the Nine, we’d kind of enjoy Delle’s presence back on the show (forever…) to explore that. Nguyen was just exquisite. The equality of any repartee with Dutch this season had actually been lacking—until Delle. So we hope she returns, and in Dutch’s words…

Don’t you dare fantasise about this later. – Dutch

Pawter Simms is still stealing our hearts by being an absolute hero. We bow down to Pawter Simms.

We’re not entirely sure whether we’ll ever climb out of the “I Love Pawter Simms” hole, but it’s cosy down here. Pawter’s eternal humanitarianism is so intriguing to watch. She wants to handle saving Westerley alone—without endangering Johnny—but by what means? Pawter can’t do this alone, but it certainly seems like she’d die trying.

Pawter was on a one-track mission to make us swoon (it worked). First, she overpowered a seriously scary woman in an arm wrestle using her medical knowledge of nerve endings. She tried to set off on her heroic crusade, and ended up on-board Lucy instead. With one-liners delivered gleefully by the always-magnetic Sarah Power such as this:

Chemistry’s a bitch and so am I. – Pawter

I’m both turned on and terrified. – Johnny

Pawter was simply irresistible. The unravelling of her character plus Sarah Power’s incredible acting prowess has been a joy to watch. She isn’t just some “junkie doctor” and we’re getting so much of that this season. Her bond with Johnny has always been special, and whilst there may be romance inkling there, we truly wouldn’t mind if it went one way or another. We just need her to know she isn’t alone in her fight for humanity. She doesn’t need absolution. She just needs to be her.

This episode was important for D’Avin and Johnny to reconnect, through a troubled sibling relationship near-identical to their own.

In a story that could’ve been pure calamity (it sort of was), ‘Killjoys’ dug deeper. Masquerading behind the plot was something that had gone amiss: the relationship between D’Avin and Johnny, two brothers who had never truly reconnected. Even now, it’s still doubtful. But in D’Avin’s handling of Jake and Johnny’s talk-down of Olan, they both revealed sides to their brotherhood we already knew. Perhaps they didn’t—or perhaps they needed to air it out.

Whatever it was, it was a clever plot device to parallel a seemingly harmless warrant with undercurrents of Johnny and D’Avin’s shaky relationship. In managing to save Olan and Jake, is it possible for Johnny and D’Avin to save themselves? Time will tell, but we’ve missed the easy teasing between Luke Macfarlane and Aaron Ashmore—the duo are lovely to watch together—and let’s hope this time, neither brother runs away.

Final Verdict: This was an episode of ‘Killjoys’ I slowly warmed to and grew to love. Without the addition of Delle and Pawter, it would’ve been a dull affair—which worries me about the original trio’s appeal—but it was an enjoyable ride all the same.

There was something missing in this episode, and that was—for the second episode running—the insane fight sequences and addictive head-bopping soundtrack to go with it. But Delle’s return and Pawter’s continued role within the team completely made up for it. It goes without saying that Mayko Nguyen should stay on-board the Lucy forever, and so should Sarah Power’s Pawter. However, that’s both a negative and a positive. While both characters are continually dazzling, it’s been frank for a while now that—perhaps with the exception of Johnny—the original trio have faded into the background a bit.

Ruba Nadda’s direction was excellent—the shots of the haunting, empty Prodigy sent shivers up the spine. And the brief glimpse we caught of Pree (Thom Allison) in his rowdy Royale was pleasing. But as the plot sizzles on, there’s this feeling that it’s mainly being carried by guest or recurring stars bursting in and stealing the show. Which would be an absolute waste of Hannah John-Kamen, Luke Macfarlane and Aaron Ashmore. However, with Pawter’s stolen plans for Westerley, we have yet to see a reaction from Jelco, and just how The Company plans to exact it. It could be getting exciting in Michelle Lovretta’s wonderfully crafted universe.

Questions and Comments:

• Olan’s visions of Arkyn and flashes of Khlyen—that had something to do with the transmission being inside him, right? How on earth did that radio transmission…get inside him?
• ‘Killjoys’ is tackling some really difficult issues here. With the lockdown of Westerley, the tyrannical rule of The Company, and the illegal, abusive use of these kids at Prodigy—they’re some deep and scary themes that darken the backdrop of the ever-fun show. It’s a great contrast, and if pulled off well, could make for a really interesting season.
• Please say Delle comes back for more episodes (read: forever).
  • Can we have some more Delle/Pawter squabbling? Their history sounds hilarious, and so was Pawter’s gleefully shocked face when Dutch shot her.
• Did I say it in another review? I’ll re-iterate again…Johnny Jaqobis is probably one of my favourite male characters at the moment.
  • I love his chemistry with Pawter. “Let’s science this shit.” Oh, kids…
• I adored the scene with Alvis towards the end. Morgan Kelly is always welcome on my TV screen—such a calming presence, and it looks like Alvis is finding his way back to his faith.
• When Johnny was talking Olan down, Aaron Ashmore was entirely engrossing. He really shone in that scene for me.

Catch KILLJOYS on Fridays 9l8c at Space and Syfy!