Killjoys – S4E8 – It Takes a Pillage

Previously on Killjoys: “Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?”

We finally meet the J’acobi brothers’ abusive father, when D’avin and Jaq end up on their home planet Tella. Over the seasons, we’ve heard tales of his lack of fathering skills and, boy, they did not exaggerate. Although he seems to have turned a new leaf, he’s still the worst. The contrast between the reveal of Dutch and Aneela’s mother last week and grandpa J’acobi was well done.

As the show nears the end of its fourth season, continued character growth is key. As everyone has been taking on new roles, whether saving the galaxy or raising a child, they also need to put down some past roles, like rebellious child.

D’avin and Johnny’s relationship with their father is integral to the show because it has shaped the choices they’ve made, from D’avin running off to join the army to Johnny having all the warrants in his name. But Jaq, like a typical teenager, is not impressed by the drama.

Aside from all the emotional elements of the episode, the crew does manage to capture a Hullen who tells them Jaq isn’t a child, but the end of everything. Guys, I laughed so hard! That a kid genetically manufactured by an immortal, supernatural, and hot tactician guy might be more than a kid? Who saw that coming!?

With a kidnapped father and rescue mission in order, the boys are able to chew their dad out and get some resolution to old wounds… kinda. An old friend of Johnny betrays him in the process, but the most important scene, this episode, was when their dad still refused to acknowledge his faults but D’avin doesn’t even care anymore. He vows to be better with his kid, and that moment was amazing.

While this was a dad-heavy episode, not to be left behind, we have Dutch being her best mentor self to Zeph; no torture lessons included. It’s like she honestly didn’t realize it was a bad idea to teach torture tactics to a kid just because her dad did the same to her. Growth is amazing.

But Zeph also provides some great advice, letting Dutch know “No matter what you’ve been through, you can let in the light without setting everything on fire.” So much truth in her words. But aside from truth-giving, Zeph is able to analyze the capsule Dutch brought back with her last week and figure out a way to recreate it. And the only way turns out to be Dutch almost dying around a sun. But she gets it done with Zeph’s help.

By the end of it all, we’ve got D’avin and Dutch having made up, our unit much stronger than ever, and Johnny’s helped Jaq figure out some things. But we’re left on a cliffhanger of Dutch’s back burning with written markings that mean lord knows what. This episode hit home emotionally, but as usual, the plot line kept moving and we have two episodes left to see what happens. The lady being sidelined for the season is pretty interesting; I do hope we get to see her by the end, though.