Killjoys - S2E9 - Johnny Be Good

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Previously on Killjoys, “Full Metal Monk”

Killjoys S2E9: Johnny Be Good | Director: Stefan Pleszczynski | Writers: Sean Reycraft | Starring: Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, Luke Macfarlane, Sarah Power, Mayko Nguyen

“Girl for me, with skin like snow. What brought me here she will let you know.”

The penultimate episode of Killjoys is one for the books in terms of its pacing, emotional punches, and misdirection. But they’ve also trotted out ideas like planetary rights in a world where power is controlled by the few, while using the intimate relationships of the Killjoys as the overarching idea the the power of one is a great influence in the grand scheme of destiny.

We are thrown into a tension filled flash forward that focuses on the face of a dead adolescent boy, stacked on top of other dead citizens of Old Town. Not too far away Dutch is being tortured in the Royale by Herin, one of Old Towns citizens, for the location of scumbag extraordinaire Liam Jelco. Dutch is uncooperative so Herin resorts to using micro-leeches that feed off enzymes in the human body when a person lies, causing Dutch to violently throw up blood in order to buy D’av enough time to get Jelco to Big Borna.

Jelco and D’av on a road trip to Big Borna is not something I saw coming, but it does provide a few moments of comedic relief with a dose of murderous intent on the part of D’av if Jelco refuses to cooperate.

24 Hours Prior

The one thing I love about this show is that the hardest questions are the ones the show always answers first. D’av and Dutch are able to easily rescue Johnny and Pawter from Old Town, tasering them as they enjoy wedded life at the Royale. How Dutch and D’av are able to bypass the wall each time remains a mystery to me; wouldn’t the Company have blocked their access for entry as Killjoys?

Back on Lucy, everyone is finally able to compare notes and makes plans on taking down the wall, which we’ve confirmed controls the whole gamut of people’s emotions. As Pawter and Dutch gear up they have a conversation about the asinine way she and Johnny have been behaving. Have they proven that Pawter is capable? Of course, that’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed the most this season. Pawter has become a fully fleshed character so it sucks that they decide to kill her. I’m not sure why shows never take the chance of having two female leads; we’re seeing it’s possible on Dark Matter, but the show decided to use the strength of this character more as a plot device even though they were all working toward the same goals.

“Hate the wall, fight the wall.”

Arriving at Spring Hill, they find it evacuated and split off to cover more ground. Johnny needs to hack into the Spring Hill system and faces off with an incredibly cheeky administration matrix by the name of Julian, but with Lucy’s help he is successful in gaining access. I love the use of the AI’s throughout this show. On the one hand they might be nothing but 0s and 1s, but depending on their programming they show as much depth as any corporeal character in the show. Johnny’s access allows Pawter to neutralize the wall and deliver a warning to the people of Old Town regarding the rations and the danger of the wall.

Ultimately, with no way to bring down the wall even with Jelco’s access, Pawter makes the decision to use the wall to enrage the people of Old Town, and like insects to a bug zapper they each fall, one after the other. But they are successful in overloading the circuitry of the wall and we come full circle with our flash forward. The young boy we zoom in on in the beginning is just one of the many who pay the unnecessary price for the freedom of the people of Westerly.

Weighed down with such a horrendous event, Killjoys still remembers to provide levity and humor throughout. From D’av’s banter with Johnny, to efficiently killing a squad of company guards, to Johnny’s choice of soundtrack, he’s a reminder that a ton of horrible shit can happen to you but that doesn’t mean you can’t be funny.

Jelco barters for his life using the remaining plasma locations and Dutch has been using her time with Herin to buy D’av enough time with Big Borna to complete the transaction using Jelco’s own money and codes. We return to the present with Herin torturing Dutch, and learn of his connection to an earlier character, Tighmon (S2E2), killed by the Company through the Killjoys. With Johnny’s arrival at Royale we get the full gist of Dutch’s plan: use Jelco’s money to buy a missile launcher capable of destroying Spring Hill, the source of power to the wall. Despite this new information, Herin still needs a body to hang for the crowd outside, which leads to one of the biggest shockers this episode: the arrival of Delle Seyah to negotiate a peace agreement with Westerly.

“I just want to live in a world where I can eat my Pawter and have my Dutch too.”

At Delle Seyah’s arrival the episode takes a nightmarish turn. What starts out as a peace accord turns into a bloodbath. Delle Seyah stabs Pawter without blinking and as Johnny runs to her side it’s obvious it is too late to save her. This, coupled with the discovery that the peaceful monks who arrived with Delle Seyah are Level Six agents, leaves them with only one option: retreat. D’av ends up knocking Johnny unconscious in order to leave as he’s unwilling to believe Pawter is dead. This shows Delle Seyah knew exactly where to hit in order to affect the most damage. I’m not sure what her endgame is at this point.

As our Killjoys arrive back on Lucy they are confronted by Fancy, who has been taxed to bring them to Khlyen. At the same time, Delle Seyah delivers a speech to the people of Old Town, presenting a modified peace agreement marked in Pawter’s blood.

Side Note: Pree is badass when he tries to save Dutch from Herin.