[Header Image: Syfy/Space]
I wish I could put into words how unbelievably excited I am that this show is back for its fourth season. Based on this incredible first episode, it looks like season 4 is going to be just as entertaining as the previous three. Honestly, I don’t think Killjoys has ever let me down and this episode really cemented some of the great things that about this show.
[Syfy/Space]
I love how this entire episode (pretty much) is a flashback to the early days of Dutch and Johnny (7 years prior to current events to be exact). It gave me so much joy to hear Khlyen refer to her as a warrior and Johnny as a thief, later: her thief. Something that has always stuck out to me as a positive in Killjoys is the friendship between Dutch and Johnny. It’s been shown as platonic from day one and they’ve kept it that way. There has never once been an indication that it could go somewhere else or that one of them is harbouring romantic feelings for the other.
It’s so rare to see a man and a woman just be friends on TV and if they are, there tends to be an elaborate reason as to why they’re just friends and nothing more. However, in Killjoys Dutch and Johnny are simply friends, like brother and sister even, that’s it. They were thrown together, they went through a lot, and they became close. There were moments in this episode where it seemed like they could have kissed and if this was a romantic pairing, they probably would have. But moments like that work because we’ve had 3 full seasons to establish that there is never going to be something romantic or sexual between these two characters. In fact, having an entire episode based on the early days of Dutch and Johnny works better here in season 4 as opposed to the first season.
That was one of the fantastic things about this episode. Khlyen put so much emphasis on how important Johnny is to Dutch. He even says: “When you are lost, when you are breaking, when you have no strength left to fight her, find John Jaqobis. He is your true North, your only way home.” This acknowledgment is so powerful because it puts a lot of stake on a platonic relationship and really highlights how important Dutch and Johnny are to each other.
Their dynamic doesn’t seem to have changed much either, just strengthened over the years. Things are a little rusty at first, they clearly don’t see eye to eye on much. Regardless, we can still see the start of what they become. Dutch handles most of the fighting and undercover work while Johnny deals with the tech and anything similar. They seem to care about each other pretty early on (even if they’re reluctant to admit it) and they show how protective they can be of each other too. The most telling moments, despite all the previous bickering and teasing, are when Dutch plans to go undercover so Johnny can potentially go free and then later when she locks him on the ship and he does everything he can to get out so he can help her. By the end of the episode, Dutch is willing to do anything to save Johnny’s life and he shows that he’ll do anything to make sure she doesn’t have to.
Speaking of the ship, Lucy is such a fantastic character and it was great to see the early days of her relationship with Johnny and Dutch. I found it interesting that the latter refers to her as Lucy while Johnny, who is known to be Lucy’s favourite, calls her “ship”. When we start Killjoys Johnny, Dutch, and Lucy are all friends and completely comfortable with each other so it was a fun twist to see them at a time where they’re only just starting to feel that comfort.
Another little aspect I loved was seeing characters we know really well like Pree. I really don’t think all of those little moments would have been as good if it happened earlier in the show before we really got to know each character and their relationships with each other. Having so much focus on Dutch and Johnny and how much better they are together, really made for a typical Killjoys episode and a comfortable but badass introduction to season 4, I can’t wait to see where the rest of the season takes us!
wonderoes 