Starring: Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Jaime Murray, Tony Curran, Jesse Rath, Trenna Keating, Nichole Galicia, Anna Hopkins, Raymond Ablack | Director: Michael Nankin

“The Awakening” opens ironically enough with Yewll injecting a patient with a sedative, another poor soul destined to be breakfast for a few hungry Omec. After being in suspended animation for centuries, I’d be famished too. Datak knows Yewll isn’t acting on her own and tells her to fight back. She replies dejectedly that she can’t, her species is bred to be slaves.

At the lawkeeper’s office, Nolan, Amanda and Irisa are preparing to go on the hunt for Kindzi when Stahma arrives. She informs the group that Datak is missing and fears Kindzi may have attacked him. The three of them aren’t exactly to see her around but tell her the bad news anyhow: T’evgin is dead and Kindzi is the de facto Queen of the Omecs.

They hear a booming noises above town and walk outside to see a number of pods from the Omec ship flying across the sky. Amanda tells Stahma this probably could have been prevented if she could have reigned in her magic chivo. Stahma counters with Amanda’s desperation to sign an accord with T’evgin that gave the Omecs all the resources they needed to revive themselves. Touche, Ms. Tarr.

Yewll awaits Kindzi’s arrival in the woods with an Irathient in chains. The killer Queen lands with two of her brother-lovers, ready to take the planet as their own and seek revenge for their all-father. First things first, she must feed. A few hundred feet away, Nolan and Irisa see Yewll in the forest with Kindzi and the Omecs. Nolan sets up his shot and takes Kindzi down with a headshot… or so he thinks.

No matter how many times he hits her center mass, Kindzi rushes toward Nolan and Irisa. Kindzi races up the incline and the two barely make it out of there alive.

Samir and Datak become better acquainted while in their respective cages. By “acquainted” it’s mainly Samir talking about how great Joshua Nolan is, how he saved his life before and will save all of them eventually. Whether it was the Samir’s praise of Nolan or his annoyingly optimistic deposition is unclear, but when Datak threatens to urinate on you to make you shut up, you’ve definitely hit his limit.

Berlin and Irisa scout the streets and alleyways for any Omecs that have landed in Defiance and Irisa’s pacifistic ways throw Berlin off her game. Still expecting Irisa to be the Amazing Goddess, Berlin expects her to follow Nolan’s orders and shoot to kill.

Kindzi and her kin check out the cages to see what Yewll has trapped the last couple days and she instantly recognizes Datak. Although squeezed in a rusty enclosure, like a proud Castithan Datak continues to talk shit to Kindzi. The room rattles as more Omec pods fly overheads and Kindzi gloats that she’ll soon find Stahma and kill her slow in front of his eyes. Man, her dad would be so proud.

While Nolan and Amanda search around town and in the medlab for Yewll, Rosewater breaks down. Claiming their current calamity is entirely her fault and she’s given up, Nolan attempts to raise her spirits. Joshua says a lot of awfully nice things about Amanda being the pulse of Defiance, the one constant. “This town is gonna need her Mayor. I’M gonna need her.” This guy, I swear.

One of the Omec demands to try earth meat and orders Yewll to find him someone tasty. She enters the pens and chooses a ginger (of course) but Datak suggests he should be taken instead. Yewll doesn’t want to see her friend be eaten in front of her but Tarr mouths off to get under Yewll’s skin (who hasn’t this season?) and it works. Datak claims to be tired of waiting for his eventual death and pleads with Doc to let him face it now.

In a sweet moment, Alak and Luke are seen dancing together, apparently the only two in Defiance to have a relatively carefree life despite what’s going on just outside their home. Their enthusiasm is quickly deflated with the arrival of Stahma (thanks a lot, Andina). Alak instantly pays attention to his mother when she mentions that Datak is missing.

Yewll brings Datak outside to confront the Omecs. They’re clearly displeased to see him but they’re not the pickiest gourmets and will sample anything shoved in their faces. Unfortunately for them, this snack fights back and Datak reveals a blade that was hidden in his robot arm. Tarr stabs the closest Omec through the brain and takes him down before running for dear life. Yewll cracks a small smile while the prisoners cheer that one of them was able to get away.

Stahma continues to talk to Alak, who doesn’t want anything to do with her. She warns her son about Kindzi and how she’s gunning for her and the family. Alak doesn’t care and only gets angrier at Stahma for placing him and Luke in the middle of her mess. In fact, he suspects that was his mother’s intent all along to have him and her grandson back in her life. Paying no mind to his accusations, Stahma orders Andina to prepare Luke’s things so they can all leave town together.

Driving back to her medlab, Yewll is cut off by Nolan and Amanda. Doc does her best to distract the two from the dying Omec in her flatbed, but he continues to growl in pain while she’s being questioned. Nolan pulls back the cover to find the recently skewered Omec and Amanda checks out the new mole on Yewll’s neck. The Mayor yanks out control stem with all the ease and skill of a first-year med student and Yewll is once more free to be her snarky self. She tends to the Omec “patient” bleeding all over her roller by adding a few more holes to the rest of his body.

Stahma attempts to convince Alak that leaving Defiance is best for the entire family but he quickly rebuffs her argument by reminding mom of all the things she forced him to do since he was a child. It is not a life he wants Luke to be experience and in one swift move, Alak appears to have finally stood his ground! Wow. It is a brand new day after all! Just to be sure, let’s wait a bit to see if Alak changes his mind.

Wait.

…I friggin knew it.

Somehow, Stahma gets the better of Alak and he acquiesces to her planned getaway. Despite how badly she’s treated him over the years and forced him to commit horrible acts, and most especially, killed his wife to save herself, Alak still seeks his mother’s love and approval. Sadly, it seems this boy will never learn. Every time Alak lets down his guard, it bites him hard on his pale Casti butt sooner or later.

Stahma departs and Alak asks Andina for her opinion on what she overheard. Surprisingly, she tells him to forget about mom and think of Luke and what’s best for the both of them. One can’t help her advice is a ploy as well, but at least it’s given under the guise of rationality.

Samir is dragged out from his pen and thrown in the middle of the camp, the next course in the all-you-can-eat Omec buffet. As the purple people eaters surround our unlucky vet, he continues to ask God/Buddha/the Universe/Tom Cruise’s witchcraft to save his life. His prayers are conveniently answered with a hail of bullets from Nolan, Rosewater, Irisa, Berlin and Yewll. As anyone would react if they were about to be devoured alive, Samir laughs like a lunatic among the bodies of the fallen.

Outside the holding cells, the gang piles all the dead Omec together while Yewll stares off into oblivion. Clearly what she’s been forced to do for her former masters has affected her resolve and generally plucky attitude. Nolan senses this and keeps his speech short and sweet: “Get over it and move on.” Yes, sir.

Just outside the mines, Kindzi lands with two other Omecs while Dos waits for them along the treeline.

At the McCawley house, Alak and Andina continue to pack for their eventual departure from Defiance. This doesn’t stop Andina from making advances on poor Alak as she’s very compelled to kiss him. Alak restrains himself from going any further, since Christie is still very much on his mind. Andina, ever the patient schemer, assures Alak she isn’t going anywhere and will continue where they left off when he’s ready.

Someone knocks on the door and Andina answers to discover a disheveled and panicked Stahma. Kindzi is right behind her and basically kicks Stahma’s ass inside the house. Andina does her best to defend her favi, but come on now. I assume she didn’t get the memo about the gruesome ritual that turned Kindzi into a Super Saiyan Omec. Sadly, the poor little housemaid learns her mistake a second too late and pays for it with a broken neck. So much for Andak (or Aldina)… if you can’t form a pleasing ‘ship name, it’s truly not meant to be.

Stahma feebly attempts to defend herself and when it seems things are about to end for her, Luke cries out in the distance. Kindzi makes a beeline for the living room - dragging Stahma behind her - and finds Alak holding Luke in one hand and armed with a pistol in the other. Stahma is thrown across the room and Alak pops off a few rounds with no effect. Unless that effect is to somehow piss Kindzi off even more. The two fight for possession of Luke and Alak lands in a bookcase, presumably knocked unconscious. “The Awakening” ends with Kindzi coddling baby Luke while deeply inhaling his scent. After all these years when women say some babies look “good enough to eat”, I’m sure they didn’t have this scene in mind.

With the season finale around the corner, it appears all hell is breaking loose from every direction. With Omec raining down across the globe, how will Defiance and its sister cities, the VC and what’s left of E-Rep respond? Can the group trust each other again? Where the hell did Datak run off to this time? Also, let’s not forget that Nolan and Irisa are fugitives of the Votanis Collective! Whatever happens, I’m certain the writers of Defiance will not disappoint as this season has been one wild rollercoaster of summer viewing.