Defiance Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: I See Dead People

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Kenya Sees Stahma From Across The Room. Hmmm This May Be An Uncomfortable Meeting.

In "Painted From Memory" Irisa and her cult make a brief appearance. They discuss if "he" will show up. Do we know who "he" is? Meanwhile Nolan and Tommy fight over Berlin and Irisa and anything else they can think of. Quentin is back in town. He confronts his dad Rafe about leaving their mother. Rafe says Pilar tried to kill them so he chose the kids over her. Linda Hamilton will be playing Pilar next week. I cant wait.

And the rest of the episode is dedicated to Kenya. Nolan attempts to interrogate her but many of her memories are gone. She thinks she has been away a few weeks but its actually a year. The last thing Kenya remembers is the night Amanda lost the election. This means she has no recollection of Stahma trying to kill her.

Speaking of Stahma, she cant believe her eyes when Kenya shows up at the NeedWant. Kenya runs into her at the market. Kenya kisses and hugs Stahma. Kenya says when she regains her memory they'll have a proper reunion. Stahma seems genuinely shaken (which is not something that happens often since she's an ice cold Casti drug boss).

Kenya later recalls being in a room where others were killed. The man with goggles said not to shoot Kenya since she is more valuable alive. Nolan determines (by looking at Berlin's tattoos) that the man with the three headed screaming eagle tattoo was in Earth Republic Special Forces.

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I'm Sure She's Buried Around Here Somewhere. Give Me A Break, All These Trees Look The Same

Meanwhile Stahma and Datak search for Kenya's grave. Datak doesnt believe Stahma killed Kenya because she "fancied herself in love". Stahma insists she did kill Kenya and buried her under a bed of lavender. It's fun to see Stahma come completely unglued. After a lot of digging and cussing in Casti, they finally find a skull. Is it really Kenya though? I'm sure there are lots of dead bodies out there. Stahma sniffs the few hairs left on it's head. Yep it's Kenya. But if she's dead, who's the chick at the NeedWant?

Yewll starts a procedure to retrieve Kenya's memories (but actually she's going to give her a lobotomy). Before they can get started, Kenya sees a face and it's Yewll herself.

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I'm Going To Help You Permanently Forget, As I Pretend To Help You Remember

In the biggest surprise of the season we find out that Kenya is not really Kenya at all. Nolan sees that there are no scars on Kenya's back (as you will recall she got them from her abusive ex-husband). FakeKenya is an Indogene that has Kenya's DNA and Amanda's memories implanted into her. FakeKenya is justifiably upset. And it appears that her hair/skin is coming off. She has probably three months to live.

FakeKenya confronts Yewll about the truth. She is a captured Indogene spy. Niles shows up and disarms FakeKenya. His plan was to get into Amanda's pants by rescuing FakeKenya and reuniting the two sisters. OK that's a pretty elaborate plan just to have sex... but whatever. I guess he's desperate. But how was this supposed to work with the New York bombing plot? I am confused.

Amanda finds FakeKenya stealing everything out of the safe. Amanda tries to convince her that she's still Kenya. That doesnt work well. Kenya snaps her arm and says "next time it will be your neck".

Yewll asks for Datak's help. He and Rafe take her to a large abandoned building and say "welcome to your new home". She cant go back to Defiance because Niles, Amanda, and Nola are all after her.

Back in town, Amanda holds a memorial service for Kenya (as we see FakeKenya on a bus looking at photos of the two of them). Will she be back? I hope so.

Stahma goes to visit Kenya's grave. It seems Stahma really did love Kenya after all. This is the most emotion (excluding hate) we've seen her display about anyone.

And in the final scene, the guy with goggles who captured FakeKenya is... wait for it... it's Quentin. Your guess is as good as mine as to how this all works. When did he join the Votanis Collective? I hope we get some answers in later episodes.

Favorite Quotes:

Kenya: "Was there something between us?" Stahma: "You could say that, yes."
"I didnt need her dead. I needed her under control"- Datak to Stahma.
"Dont tell me I killed Kenya for nothing"- Stahma. "She's not dead"- Datak.
Quentin: "You should have just shot her." (referring to his mother). Rafe: I didnt have the guts. Anyway, welcome home"
"Such a tiny human head"- Stahma after Datak digs up her skull.
"You are my only friend."- Yewll to Datak.
"Im not interested in playing house with some human"- FakeKenya to Amanda.

Grade: 4 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). Almost perfection. I must say I REALLY didnt see that twist coming. I thought Stahma could not bring herself to kill Kenya and had instead sold her off somewhere. And I know some people thought this was one of the weakest episodes this season but I dont care. Anything with Kenya and Stahma together gets a thumbs up from me.