Defiance, “The Cord and the Ax,” was written by Allison Miller and directed by Micheal Nankin. Miller previously wrote on Spartacus: War of the Damned. This new episode really starts to ratchet up the stakes and the tension in this new season. Once again, the focus is on character over effects, but there are also some pretty cool effects in this episode too.
I have to give a shout out to Tony Curran (Datak) who delivers a terrific performance in this episode. There is also a great scene between Jaime Murray (Stahma) and Jesse Rath (Alak) in the episode, so lots of Tarr action for the Castithan fans. Alak receives some exciting news which promises to change everything for him.
Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) finds herself in trouble with seemingly no way out even as the mystery surrounding her deepens. Meanwhile, Nolan (Grant Bowler) questions his abilities as a father. In fact, fathers play an important role in this episode.
There are several unexpected reunions in this episode, and new alliances are formed – some of them may surprise you.
I’m very much enjoying seeing where the characters are going this season and how they’ve changed from last season. This is definitely an episode you will not want to miss – especially the last scene! If you aren’t getting enough Graham Greene (Rafe), you can also see him right now playing a bad guy on Longmire.
Defiance airs on SyFy Thursday nights at 8/7C, and in Canada on Showcase at 10ET/PT.
