‘Killjoys’ Review: Apocalypse Hugs Are The Best

In the series finale of Syfy’s Killjoys, it’s armageddon time! Jaq is in the clutches of The Lady, Dutch uses Khlyen as bait, D’av and Johnny go monster hunting, and Aneela and Delle Seyah take their thrones.

The Bait is Set

As a part of Team Awesome Force’s plans, Dutch takes Khlyen to Arkyn to make her last stand against The Lady. As alien queen bait, he is injected with a poison that will take effect in two hours. The former assassin uses a holo projection to communicate (Gared left a receiver when he visited last) with the armada and taunts The Lady that she’s sure Khlyen didn’t tell her everything, like how to use Jaq to make certain that the transplant sticks or how to splice human parts for her children. If she doesn’t come alone within the time span indicated, Dutch will dose the older man again with another round of poison. After ending the communication, he asks Yala if it really is a deadly substance coursing through his veins. She confirms it is because The Lady may have put a bio feedback chip in him and she couldn’t risk it. If everything works out according to plans however, he’ll get the antidote. If she fails then it doesn’t matter what happens to any of them. Khlyen is impressed with his second daughter but asks how she plans on surviving this. Dutch instead says who says she’s planning to? The two wait for The Lady within the Arkyn cube.

Inside the cube, Dutch angrily tells Khlyen that the only one she’s ever needed saving from is him and she would like for him to stop making her feel small so that he can feel big. Soon though The Lady arrives with her goons and manages to put control collars on both Dutch and Khlyen. But the Killjoy has a contingency plan. A shield was set up around Arkyn that was activated as soon as the alien queen landed. The only way is out requires a particular piece of technology that the antagonist doesn’t have. Dutch adds that she and Khlyen are also now trapped inside with her. The Lady then realizes that the other members of Team Awesome Force are after her real body but decides that if these are to be her last memories of Yala then they should make this time fun. The Hullen leader then proceeds to have Khlyen battle his daughter to the death. Dutch asks the elder man if he thinks that The Lady is still worth saving.

At first the father and daughter are made to dance, with the alien leader waxing on about how she loved the memory of Yala being taught by Khlyen because they seemed happy. But soon she has them engaging in a fight club and the former Hullen tells the Killjoy that she needs to win this battle.

The Queens Take Their Thrones

Meanwhile on Qresh, Aneela makes her debut as the lost and last heir to Land Kin Rit with Delle Seyah by her side. They ask to get the military launch codes of each family within the Nine but the current head of Land Kendry, Liam, scoffs at the two women thinking they had no real power behind them to make such demands. He even tells his cousin that his soldiers have their guards outflanked outside, but Delle Seyah merely explains to her younger kin that he is terrible at warfare and that what matters is the proximity of a weapon. Then she reveals that Aneela is Hullen which terrifies all the Qreshi nobles. They were all apparently taught to fear the Hullen and rightfully so as Aneela could really kill them all without batting an eyelash. Delle Seyah then instructs them to kneel before their queens and it’s glorious! Once all present provide their codes, Delle Seyah tells Johnny and D’av that it’s done and they start attacking the Hullen armada.

The Jaqobis Go Hunting

Using new cloaking technology installed on Lucy, D’av and Johnny sneak onto the Hullen ship to look for The Lady’s real body. With info from Zeph, their plan is to lower the temperature around the alien so that the it goes dormant which will allow them to kill it. The missiles from Qresh attacking the armada provides a perfect cover to slip in unnoticed. Bombers get sent out while The Lady herself gets on another ship and heads to Arkyn. The boys then make their way towards the big bad alien body but come across some guards. As Johnny is asking Zeph for another route, Lucy informs her that there is an anomaly in the Hullen records as one of her patients is being held onboard. The scientist prepares to go into the armada herself to investigate.

Meanwhile, Jaq manages to slip out of his bindings (he had been taken to a lab for sample collection) and goes to find his dad and uncle. He manages to stab one of the Hullen soldiers that would have shot D’av, but in turn he gets shot himself (which Aneela feels on Qresh, prompting her to come for her son). Thankfully due to his part Hullen physiology, Jaq is able to heal, albeit slower than his mom. When his dad asks how The Lady found him, the younger man explains that he started having visions again of D’av getting shot and so he led The Lady to his location his order to save his father. The Killjoy wants to protect his kid but Jaq says that he doesn’t get to do that by putting everyone else’s family at risk.

Zeph dressed as a Hullen soldier makes her own way to another part of the ship where she comes across four cocoon like structures inside a research lab. She then moves to the one farthest from the door and slices the membrane open to reveal Pip!! But is this the real Pip and how did he survive the R.A.C. explosion last season? Does he still have a spider in his brain? His eyes suddenly opens and he removes an apparatus that was in his mouth. Zeph freaks out and points her gun at him screaming is it him and how does she really know that he’s himself. He tells her to stay back because it’s cold and he’s not at his best. She instantly knows it’s really the man she loves. The scientist then tells the brothers over their communications line that she found Pip and Johnny understands that she needs to get the man back to Lucy and they’ll handle the rest.

The three Jaqobis men are right outside room containing The Lady’s body and they enter with guns raised. The containment unit is however being guarded by almost a dozen Hullen who are all being controlled. Just as they seem out manned, Aneela shows up and evens the odds as they collectively take out all but two guards. She also calls Jaq little bear and asks if he missed her. Awwww. Mother bears will fiercely protect their cubs! John is about to cut some wires that are connected to the alien body’s containment unit when Jaq highly advises against it. So he decides that they need to find a way to The Lady’s ventilation source while Aneela will remain there to keep it occupied.

Back on Lucy, Pip is tripping balls imagining that Zeph knows he loves her and that she wants twelve babies. She tries to stabilize him but he passes out again before she is able to. The three Jaqobis in the meantime are in a shaft trying to locate the correct source and assuming their plan works, Zeph prefers that they kill the alien queen with fire. Meanwhile The Lady talks to Aneela psychically using her Hullen minions and recalls how her favorite memory was when Yala was born inside the cube. It seemed fitting that she kill Dutch in there as well which triggers Aneela to choke hold one of the soldiers telling The Lady to let her sister go.

Endings and New Beginnings

Inside the cube, Khlyen tells Dutch to remember her tenth birthday and we get a flashback of him giving her a small handmade knife instead of a doll. Young Yala wasn’t thrilled about it but he said that knives are for little warriors because the world was unkind to little girls. He tells her to always keep this blade hidden where they’ll never find it until it’s too late. Dutch uses the gift on Khlyen and then utilizes it to destroy the psychic collar. She is no longer under The Lady’s control. On the armada, Jaq chooses a tube to send the hibernation device in and they rush back to the containment unit where D’av then lights up the alien body with fire. As it burns, The Lady screams in pain in Arkyn and Dutch stuns her out cold. She then tries to staunch her father’s wound and he laughs asking isn’t she glad he got her that birthday knife.

Team Awesome Force reunites inside the supermax and a huge party is thrown. Even Fancy is head bobbing to the music! On a different part of the prison, Zeph is still running tests on Pip. She sees that the spider in his brain is shrinking and she asks how he survived the explosion. He doesn’t know of course but he asks if she could chill on the science stuff and just celebrate with him. Zeph though doesn’t want to get her hopes up only to lose him again. Pip dispenses some uncharacteristic wisdom telling his ladylove that no one is safe forever and not to look a gift Pippin in the mouth (or his new scars because that would make him feel insecure). She puts down her tablet, takes a deep breathe, says the scars are cool before proceeding to kiss him.

On Qresh, the two queens are in their chamber with Delle Seyah sighing about how Jaq better not miss his curfew. She notices that Aneela is looking at some very specific medical equipment when the other woman explains that she isn’t owed anything. If Delle Seyah wants to remain human, Aneela will hold her hand when she turns grey, bury her with honor, burn worlds in her name, and make certain she is not forgotten. The head of Land Kendry asks if the other woman even has enough green to share and Aneela answers that she wants to find out if Delle Seyah does.

In the aftermath though, Turin wakes everyone up at the supermax and brings some bad news. Back when they thought The Lady sent out her bombers to attack Qresh, it turns out that she sent half her fleet outside the Quad and the ships were full of hatchlings. Bad part is that they don’t know how many ships or how long she’s been sending them out. However, Dutch can find out because she didn’t kill The Lady after all. She’s still trapped inside the cube in Arkyn. Heading there, Dutch tells the now human girl that she has a choice to cooperate and help them because otherwise the former assassin will kill her. Yala suggests she think about it and gives her a red box. When the former alien queen asks if he’s from Khlyen, the Killjoy pauses and says no. When The Lady opens it, inside is a small doll.

On the armada, Turin deputizes a number of former inmates into new R.A.C. agents with their first mission to hunt down and destroy the hatchlings. Included as well are Pip and Jaq! Both Delle Seyah and Pree are also present and the former bartender follows the Qreshi, demanding that the Westerland refugees need a place to live. Somewhat reluctantly, she agrees to provide land on Leith until Old Town can be rebuilt. In addition she makes Pree into the new Lord Governor of Westerley. She even has her assistant give the man a box with an official emblem of position. Delle Seyah adds that she’s never going to be nice but she’s going to try to be good.

Inside Lucy, Johnny is sitting on the couch with his bags packed ready to say goodbye for now to Dutch. He tells her that it looks like she has all the help she needs and if he doesn’t leave now he never will. She says good because they aren’t done yet with hatchlings to kill and he says there will always be something, another warrant, another apocalypse. However he won’t leave unless she says she’s ok with it and Dutch quickly says good then no. This is what’s so great about their friendship because he immediately calls her a dick and she tearfully knows that if this is what he needs then that’s what they do. While they’re at it she tells him to take Lucy too. The ship teases for them not to fight over her because she would pick John (obviously). Dutch asks her to promise to take Johnny back in exactly one year and she agrees. Lucy then interrupts that she’s located one of The Lady’s bombers and asks if she should engage. The thief looks at the assassin and asks one for the road? The two then race downstairs with D’av to gear up for a fight. The elder Jaqobis asks how she wants to play this and she gives preliminary instructions then turns around, kisses him and finally says, “I love you too.” Team Awesome Force, giving alien babies hell and not feeling bad about it.

We end the series with Aneela and Delle Seyah sharing green, Khlyen heading to his wife, and the three Killjoys kicking ass.

Final Thoughts

It’s been an amazing five seasons of Killjoys to see the journey of Dutch, Johnny and D’avin from reclamation agents out to get a job done to heroes who saved the entire Quad. Along the way we met so many interesting and complex characters like Pree, Fancy, Zeph, Alvis, Aneela, Khlyen, and even The Lady. Each has had a compelling backstory, strengths, and weaknesses that make for gripping narratives and great television. I laughed and cried, felt sad, elated, shocked, and numerous other feelings were elicited. That is something not easily achieved in the ocean of content that people find themselves swimming in these days.

When I first started watching the show, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Space bounty hunters with a lot of action and drama packed in seemed promising after watching the pilot. With each subsequent season, the story arc expanded as well as the world building, bringing in unforgettable characters and interwoven narratives that built on each other along the way. It was diverse, inclusive, funny, intense, suspenseful, and surprising.

As we say goodbye to Killjoys, parting thoughts on some of my favorite moments throughout the series.

D’avin and Fancy head to Level 6 – shocking to discover that the missing Killjoys were being made into Hullen soldiers! Of course back in season one we didn’t know that.

Pawter’s Death – back in season two I gasped out loud when Delle Seyah stabbed Pawter as she was signing the document for Westerley’s independence. Poor Johnny was devastated. The doctor was one of my favorite characters, first having a thing with D’avin and eventually marrying the younger Jaqobis.

Delle Seyah’s Hullenization + Relationship with Aneela – after John kills her in Old Town, Delle Seyah was rescued and was given the green to become Hullen. She was naturally attracted to Aneela who was Dutch’s doppelgänger. The two womens’ relationship was unexpected but became one of my favorite things about the show. The two were just meant for each other and are equals in ruthlessness and passion.

Zeph and Pip – firstly, thank goodness Pip is back from the grave! His death was another one that really hit the heartstrings because of how much he had grown since we first met him in season three. These two characters were both quirky and socially awkward in their own way, one would have never expected them to pair up. But it just worked!

Johnny and Lucy – the true first lady of John Jaqobis’ heart is Lucy! When she took over one of the androids in order to kiss Johnny I squealed out loud.

Prima Dezz, Warlord – when we found out that our favorite bartender was once the notorious leader of the Ferrans it just made this character all the more amazing.

 

Thank you to the whole cast and crew of Killjoys for five unbelievable seasons!

 

Catch up on Killjoys HERE.

Nicole C
Nicole Chttps://theworkprint.com
Nicole is the Features Editor for The Workprint. She may or may not be addicted to coffee, audiobooks, and sci-fi.

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