Killjoys - S1E9 - Enemy Khlyen
Perviously on Killjoys, ‘Come the Rain’
D’avin’s having a tough time of it this episode. I guess when you get into the Killjoy game by rescuing a pregnant nun, fulfilling Level One local warrants just doesn’t have the same pizzazz. He does stumble across a fun piece of intel when he runs into Alvin the Monk, though, who is apparently smuggling weapons around the city in his monk-cart. Some stirrings of unrest in Old Town, looks like.
Dutch shows up and takes a nap in D’avin’s rented hovel (which is weird. Stop napping in other peoples beds, Dutch. It’s off-putting). They manage to pass painfully awkward small talk (“HAHA, no I’m TOTES ok and not at all unfulfilled living in this bar!”) and stare at each other in forlorn sort of way before she says “Kthanksforthevisitbye” and bolts.
She heads back to the ship, where Johnny has a tech buddy of his setting up a machine she just happens to have lying around. Carleen, the tech buddy, stresses that the method is experimental, but should be able to use the neural link to find out where Khlyen is lurking. Once hooked in Dutch finds the experience less than pleasant, but also figures out where Khlyen is. He’s not even hiding. He’s in the upper levels of the RAC.
Johnny and Dutch go to the bar to hash things out, where D’avin invites himself to their table, asking after their current job. Johnny doesn’t want to give him anything, still cranky, as one would be, after being stabbed in the chest. Dutch talks him down, and they explain the Khlyen in the RAC mystery. Getting into the RAC isn’t a problem with their killjoy badges, but getting up to the top levels is going to be an almighty pain.
Back on the ship, Dutch finds herself dreaming/remembering one of her first encounters with Khlyen. It’s sweet, in its way, but it’s tainted by what we know of him and just reads as creepy. She tells Johnny about the memory, which, can I say, is so refreshing. Normally you see protagonists skulking around, keeping secrets, and Dutch just doesn’t play that with Johnny. Their relationship is so trusting and loving without being romantic, and guys, it’s just THE BEST. Toward the end of the hug-fest, D’avin shows up and reports that he can absolutely get Dutch to Level 71.
Getting into the RAC is pretty simple. Dutch lies, saying that they have come to dissolve the team, and the only minor hiccup getting past security is when Johnny’s titanium stitches set off the alarms. You half expect a TSA agent to break out the hand-swabs.
Everything is chugging along perfectly when Turin shows up, the asshat. Apparently he has some suspicions, and isn’t buying the team break-up story. Sensing that the whole thing could go south, D’avin admits to having beat Dutch and stabbed Johnny. It’s a pretty big sacrifice, but it’s enough to get Turin to leave, buying our guys a few minutes. They use them well. D’avin manages to freeze the power to the RAC, letting Dutch and Johnny get past security to the upper levels.
Turin is busy interrogating D’avin with a cattle prod, but he’s not super-interested in D’avin. He wants to know about Dutch. Someone’s been protecting her, but now she’s marked for Red 17, which, if you remember Episode 5, is bad news bears.
Dutch does find Khlyen and demands answers, which he, of course, refuses to give. He’d rather have a sword fight with sticks and monologue about how disappointed he is in her. I can’t decide if it’s the best or worst parental lecture ever. Sensing this guy isn’t going to give her anything, Dutch injects herself with poison, having successfully figured out that if Khlyen has a weakness, it’s Dutch.
Johnny accidentally sets off an alarm, cutting most of Dutch’s time, which is, on the one hand, the worst, because she came all this way for answers, and all Khlyen’s done is shoot one of his own security guards and smile at her all cryptic. On the other hand, it’s fine because the poison she took isn’t actually poison, so even though she has to run, she isn’t going to drop dead before the episode ends.
Johnny and D’avin manage to get to Lucy, but she can’t leave while the RAC is in lockdown. Dutch sends the boys off with a quick system override, staying behind to try and get those answers she needs so badly. Turin thanks her for this by shooting her in the leg, for which Khlyen stabs Turin in the chest. It’s like Game of Thrones up in this place. Khlyen carries off a bleeding Dutch and secures her in an escape pod before revealing, as the door closes, that he is a Level Six RAC agent, giving us just enough mystery to lead us into the finale next week.