When I tuned into the first Season of DEFIANCE back in 2013, I found a show which felt very much in search of itself: a series which fell back onto a somewhat pedestrian ‘crisis of the week’ formula, instead of fully exploiting its rich tapestry of characters, and the interesting backstory/mythology to which they often alluded.
From its opening moments, Season 2 reflected quite a bit of tweaking, as if The Powers That Be had caught their breath, stepped back, and seriously surveyed the landscape of potential that was spread before them. While still a tad meandering at times, S2’s focus on stronger characterizations and more impactful stories (intermixed with sometimes dark and amusing SF soap-opera hijinks) rendered an edgier, more eye opening, more considered and aware show which outpaced its progenitor Season in nearly every regard.
The third Season of DEFIANCE returns this week with a two hour premiere which continues this upward trend, launching sleekly and with no small portion of shake-up.
Jumping forward in narrative 7 months from S2’s finale, the early moments of Season 3 immediately revisit a number of plot threads launched by the show’s previous batch of episodes, while concurrently setting up what appears to be a fresh through line for S3: the coming of a new, volatile, and wicked alien species known as the Omec. Vampirically cranky and sporting nifty glowing armor suits (evidently a practical effect)…
[Omec images - David Lee/Syfy]
...these folks are clearly gonna be a problem.
As alluded above: when compared to the series’ inaugural episodes, DEFIANCE S2 felt far more assured. Clearer in character and performance. Bolder in editing, more cinematic in style and photography. Aesthetically richer.
A similar shift looks to be occurring again in Season 3. DP Thomas Burstyn here replaces the darker, more atmospheric gravity he brought to bear in S2 with a slicker, more icy vibe and aesthetic, matching several newly introduced subject matters quite nicely. To a degree, at least, DEFIANCE’s overall ‘style’ and presentation seems to be informed by the tone of its Seasonal subject matter. This is a refreshingly holistic, and rather smart, approach one doesn’t see to often on television these days (DOCTOR WHO being the only other example which springs to mind at the moment, although I certainly may be missing a few). It’s also a fantastic way to keep the macro of the series feeling dynamic and fresh.
However, at the end of the day, such qualities can only support the concepts and scripts being realized on screen. And it is in this arena that DEFIANCE Season 3 will likely take many longtime viewers very much by surprise. The opening two installments of S3 (its ‘two hour premiere’ is actually two episodes stitched together) don’t hesitate to go for the gut. They do so in a visceral, bitchy, GAME OF THRONESian manner which profoundly reshapes our interpretation of ‘jeopardy’ in this series - while also illustrating how far this newly re-jiggered DEFIANCE is willing to go to illustrate the capabilities of its characters. DEFIANCE is no longer as ‘easy’ thematically as it used to be. It’s more complex, more uncompromising, more morally challenging. A potent approach which bravely resets the stage for a series whose identity seems to be under constant exploration and refinement.
I don't mean my previous sentence in a negative way - rather the reverse, actually. The worst thing any series can do, for my money, is settle. To rest on its laurels. To maintain a status quo. While doing so may be comforting and reassuring to many viewers, at the end of the day it’s a narrative kiss of death - a trap in which we’ve seen countless shows ensnared time and time again. And, often, it’s a storytelling quagmire from which it’s damn near impossible for storytellers to escape. DEFIANCE should continue to explore and define itself, like a restless teenager whose journey in life seems not to be about settling down, but about the amassment of experience. About a search for self-definition…and fuller self-understanding. Adaptation. Evolution. This openness to possibility seems to be serving the show well so far…here’s to its future.
While many expected and familiar faces from previous Seasons return here, star Grant Bowler...
[image - Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy]
...(who, for my money, wins the award for ‘Television’s Most Under- Appreciated-But-Lovable Badass With a Rusty Moral Compass’) firmly asserts a new level of grit, gravity, and charm this time around. DEFIANCE feels like more his show than ever before, despite the series’ admittedly ensemble nature.
Trenna Keating’s Doc Yewll...
[image - Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy]
...instills new depth and emotion into her character in the premiere’s second hour - bringing hitherto undiscovered weight and sympathy to her often snarky role.
Incoming ‘General Rahm Tak’ (Lee Tergesen) is an unnerving blast on-screen, and seems to be very much enjoying his stint as S3’s charismatic heavy. Although, these early episodes suggest this larger-than-life character could end up being a tad one-dimensional over the long haul. Hopefully this concern won’t be borne out. We’ll see…
The oily but attractive charm of Jim Murray’s Niles Pottinger (the interim mayor of Defiance in S2) is very much missed in S3’s first two hours (his character is nowhere to be seen and only cursorily referenced here), but the new narrative appears to leave open the possibility of a return appearance.
Showrunner Kevin Murphy deserves kudos for being open enough, and self-assured enough, to view DEFIANCE not only as a dynamic universe, but a perpetual work in progress. To date, his efforts have resulted in an under appreciated series which has never remained ‘one thing’ long enough to grow stale, and has improved exponentially in both physical and narrative quality over the years.
Now a very different feeling show from when it first began, DEFIANCE Season 3 begins Friday June 12 at 8/7c.
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Glen Oliver
“Merrick”
