Killjoys - S3E3 - The Hullen Have Eyes

Previously on Killjoys, “A Skinner, Darkley”

In “The Hullen Have Eyes” we are finally blessed with having our Killjoys back together. It was a delight to my senses, as I know when these three actors are on screen together it’s magic. The actors consistently do a great job of emoting a sense of genuine friendship to the audience, and it continues to make it easy to relate to them season after season.

Back from his self-imposed exile, Johnny tries to acclimate to the new changes that have been implemented since he’s been gone; mainly Zeph, the recruit Dutch brought on the last episode. Why Zeph was selected to work with our main crew isn’t explained, other than Dutch most likely having the final say on new hires, which I am completely fine with. Also, the alternative would have been the addition of another man being thrown into a cast that is already largely male and not able to hold their own against the male cast members we have now.

Now reinstated into the RAC and chewed out by their new boss, Johnny and our gang continue their fact finding mission which leads to a radiation filled planet with hillbilly like folks who have been used and abandoned by the Hullen, who used their planet as a training ground. But that has now turned their very existence into a religious existential crisis.

Between the action and spying, there’s a heart-to-heart moment between the J’acobi brothers, talking through the fact that Johnny abandoned the team and that has consequences — something D’avin’s been on the other side of many a time.

While on this mission they save a young girl from a radiated group of folks who sew shut the eyes of their children upon birth. She’s to be handed off to the Monks, whose temple is growing by the minute with all the orphans the Killjoys keep bringing them.

The surprise of this episode is the reveal that D’avin is in control of the fleet of ships discovered in episode one, connecting his disappearance at the end of this season’s opener to Khlyen’s telepathic link giving him one last mission — an experience Johnny explains is one in a long line of weird he should be used to.

On the other side of the galaxy, Delle Seyah Kendry, in all her resurrected ego and glory, makes a couple of missteps; mistakes that Aneela’s right hand man, Gander, takes pleasure in pointing out to her. She looks to prove herself to Aneela, whose instability she does not fully comprehend yet, but realizes when she delivers the news that Khlyen is dead.

A couple of slaughtered bodies later, she understands, much to the delight of Gander, who gets off on showing her the new hierarchy of the Hullen aboard Aneela’s fleet of ships. The scenes with Aneela showing her rage/emotion at her father’s death can be seen as love or hate, but Delle finally recognizes that while Aneela looks like Dutch, she definitely is not Dutch.

Mayko Nguyen is delightful to watch in her portrayal of Delle, a ruler with no one to rule trying to attach herself to Aneela, who has all the power now. Her facial reactions to Aneela ranged from frightened to harrowed, and I am looking forward to seeing how she handles her new position aboard the ship. All in all this was a great episode of Killjoys that lays a lot of groundwork for the rest of the season.

There were many funny moments, but I enjoyed the serious ones as well. With Zeph abandoning the crew, Johnny gives her a great speech on the actual life and death role of being the nerd on the team. She might be smart, but she needs to learn how to work with people as a team.

With three seasons of character development and the coming war with Aneela, I’m enjoying envisioning what our characters roles might look like further down the line: D’avin the captain, Dutch the leader, and Johnny our resident risk tactician.

Honorable mention

Quin, the young lady D’avin saves — her personality, being inquisitive in the face of an oppressive community, and her funny quips with D’avin and Johnny were delightful.