[e-drama] [SyFy] Killjoys (2015) - Scifi
The first season ended on quite a cliffhanger. Similar to Cowboy Bebop or Firefly, Killjoys is about a space bounty hunting team full of short episodic exploits that develops major political conflict arcs by the end of the season. It was fun watching the early episodes but they weren’t the best in terms of acting/writing. By the end of the season though, there were a lot of intriguing plot elements that made me hang on.
The story basically drops you into this complex world and you kind of have to figure out how it works. When D’avin, the third member of the trio joins the team, he becomes the viewer’s point of entry as he didn’t understand how society worked in this part of the universe. I liked how the show captured society through recognizing and showing: power, privilege, classes, occupations, living conditions, attitudes but it still could use some general explanations of how everything connected. The politics, relationship and history between the different groups of people were only briefly mentioned. It was difficult to understand the political maneuvering and events in the show and its impacts on the Quad. The official website has some interesting background information that I never got from the show which was disappointing after already watching it.
I took notice of how many white people were in the show. It’s actually not surprising for any show to have predominant white cast but I found it very glaring because there are a few POC characters sprinkled around and there is a big difference in how they are portrayed compared to white characters. The white characters have the important roles and even supporting white characters have backstories while POC characters only serve a function. White Doctor Pawter heals our heroes but is also a discraced privileged Qreshi princess? White informant Alvis gives info to our favourite killjoys but is also a religious/revolution leader? White mentor Khlyen trained dutch but is involved in all of the political intrigue somehow? Who messed with D’avin? a white character. Who fixed that tech thing and decrypted vital info? a white character. Who gets in the way of our heroes? white characters.
We had 4 reoccurring POC characters. Our main girl Dutch, Barkeep Pree, fellow asshole killjoy Fancy and Rich Bitch Elite Delle Serah Kendry. Dutch is the only one that really counts in screen time, dialogue and character development. The other POC characters were interesting and had a lot of potential but still, only used to serve a function. Pree served to entertain, Fancy served as a rival/obstacle and Serah served to push the plot forward. With more seasons, I can only hope that they could get more time but they already have a disadvantage compared to already established white characters.
Racism was mentioned in the show… It perked my interest wondering if it was actually used correctly (I don’t think so). Dutch called someone racist for their hateful attitude/speech towards westerlins. The hateful person, lived on Leith (a moon inhabited by middle class citizens) for many generations and hated the fact that they had to give up their lands to 7th gen westerlyns (lower class/immigrants inhabitants of Westerley, another moon) for political reasons. In this society, each class is completely segregated. It doesn’t have anything to do with race (as everyone is mostley white) but everything to do with class, privilege and oppression. Racism should definitely be included as it always intersects with other issues and relevant to any human society. Think about Dutch and Fancy being the only POC Kill Joys… the difficulties they would have faced to get to where they are now. For them to gain respect from their colleagues who would snipe their targets, make their jobs 10x more difficult, or even talking more loudly/slowly to them because they think they are inferior. The RAC evaluating candidates based on Quad centric standards like language, general knowledge, strategy, values making it more difficult because they come from a different solar system or cultural customs. Local authorities actively stopping them from doing their jobs because they look suspicious and any documented proof can be forged. As the only female Killjoy and earning lv 5 due to her skill and connections, Dutch would have definitely pissed of all of her colleagues. They would dismiss her and on a daily basis, insult her abilities, talk over her, disobey her orders and judge her appearance. Although with time and experience peoples attitudes may change but every mission there new people come into her life that renew those obstacles and people that never change) Think about the possibilities.
The character development in the show was spotty. I love Dutch and John’s platonic relationship that looks really sweet and genuine. You don’t get to see that often in media. I wish there was more screen time to show how it came to be that way. I was expecting a flashback of their past adventures or an origin story but we did not get that! The characters just told us how they met and Dutch just summarized her origins. Flashbacks instead focused on how interesting powerful and mysterious her mentor was.
I really hate D’avin’s character. He is a plot hog and other characters have to prop him up to make him look good. He has a full plot arc unlike John and Dutch. We know throughout the first few episodes something was wrong with him and he was searching for answers. He had two onscreen relationships in the first season, he got a full episode resolving his problems plus related team drama and he has locked in more plot for the next season. It’s like the show revolves around him. The show portrays him as if he is an expert at strategy making other characters seem incompetent (Dutch & Fancy). Dutch is a trained assassin and professional high ranking killjoy. You expect me to believe she does not know how to watch her back or to execute strategic maneuvers? D’avin the Killjoy noob basically overides Dutch’s authority when he joins the missions. The show goes out of its way to illustrate that D’avin’s soldier experience has greater value than a Killjoy’s experience on a Killjoy mission. Everyone is like yeah, D’avin’s the expert, we should see what he thinks. It makes me sick. He was a soldier. A human cock fighter. I would expect him to be able to follow orders, work in a team, be mission oriented, fight well and do things according to protocol but he missed the mark.
This development could have instead illustrated the unconsciously sexist attitudes of a newbie male team member. Thinking he knows more or has more authority than the woman in charge, he dismisses her way of doing things, mansplains to her how to do her job but eventually realizes she IS a pro at what she does and follows her lead as a part of the team. And apologizes for being a douchebag. Think of the missed opportunity!
D’avin also had two on screen romantic relationships in the first season and both were just so hard to watch because he is written to be so flat and awkward. He’s always looking at the girls he’s interested… staring intensely at them. Sometimes he has a heart to heart with them... silence... Stare... touch... Sex. Seriously both of his ships are like that. I kind of find it creepy if someone does that and you are not even interested in them.
Anyway, those were my thoughts on the show!!