Killjoys – Run, Yala, Run – Episode Review
Killjoys is back for its final season sobs and boy did they hit the ground running. Buckle up and let’s review the season 5 premiere – Run, Yala, Run.
Picking up after THAT cliffhanger at the end of season four, Johnny (Aaron Ashmore) and Yala (Hannah John-Kamen) are married and running the Royale, D’Avin (Luke MacFarlane) is a Killjoy and The Lady got out and is inhabiting a creepy ass kid. Pree (Thom Allison) is a Killjoy (AND HAS HAIR!) and Jaq (Jaeden Noel) has “run away from boarding school”.
This season premiere episode spends most of its length trying to break our heroes out of whatever brainwashing has them acting so unlike themselves. Yala/Dutch is clearly fighting hardest against these false memories, as she gets flashes even before she properly wakes up. She’s clearly attracted to D’Avin, despite her ‘marriage’ to Johnny and acts on that attraction, which seems to jump start her memory reboot.
I see your true colours
Despite all the weirdness of this alternate reality that our characters are living in, I think my favourite thing about this episode is how we still get glimpses of our favourites real personalities. Be it Zeph’s (Kelly McCormack) wicked smarts or the fact Johnny and D’Av still bicker like brothers. Even Lucy (Tamsen McDonough) recognises her favourite boy Johnny when he comes on board the ship and tries to help him. My favourite though has to be that Pree and Gared (Gavin Fox) are still a thing in this crazy ass world (although I’m less than fond of all the cheating going on in various relationships).
Who put that there?
One thing had me scratching my head this episode. Who left the red box for Dutch and locked her in to ensure she woke up? She confirms it wasn’t Zeph, and no-one else on Westerly has any clue what’s going on? The only thing I can think of is that it was something to do with Jaq. When we see him with Delle Seyah Kendry (Mayko Nguyen) on Arkyn later in the episode he is convinced that Dutch and his dad will turn up. He must be sure that something has broken The Lady’s hold over at least one of them.
SIDEBAR: Kendry has got herself a badass new look this episode and I am 100% here for it!
Favourite moment
There was one exchange during this episode that had me laughing so hard I had to pause because I couldn’t hear what was going on. It was when Johnny and Yala/Dutch went to D’Av’s ship and he returned after being dosed by Yala.
Johnny – How? That amount should knock out a horse.
D’Avin – Because only parts of me are like a horse?
*Dutch giggles*
Johnny – ohhh hahaha your dick is massive, well so is my gun.
D’Avin – MY gun. Are you sure you know how to use that?
*Johnny pulls the trigger several times*
Dutch – Johnny what the HELLS?
D’Avin – Did you just try and SHOOT ME?
Seriously, how the writers actually managed to carry on with the rest of the episode after that exchange is beyond me!
Hold on to your feels
The ending of this episode was an absolute sucker punch. Zeph figures out that the decon bracelets everyone wears are actually monitoring their stress levels. Stress will break the illusion so the bracelets bleep which sends them to a decon shower. The decon showers are, as Zeph puts it, “literal brainwashing”. That’s where they will be reprogrammed and forget again.
Dutch summons the boys and Pree to the Royale to wake them up and boy howdy. For Pree she brings a holo of him singing in the Royale and just that beautiful voice had me welling up. Then she presents Johnny with his wedding ring from when he married Pawter (Sarah Power) before she was murdered. Seriously? I’m crying here. D’Avin’s wake up call comes in the form of his dog tags, and Dutch telling him that he killed his own squad.
It’s a One-Two-Three punch carefully targeted at the collective feels.
And just when it seems like Dutch’s plan has worked, all three panic and run for a decon shower… right out into the rain, which Zeph realises works the same way as the showers.
Run, Yala, Run.
On the Armada ship, creepy kid Lady (seriously, anyone else getting Alia from Dune vibes right now?) asks Khlyen (Rob Stewart) how Yala/Dutch is awake. She says it doesn’t matter as she’s alone without help. Khlyen cuts back with “then why are you so scared?”. The Lady storms off in a huff as Khlyen whispers “Run, Yala, Run”.
Summary
This episode is full on. Once it starts it doesn’t let up. There was such a lot going on, so many emotions to feel, that the episode absolutely flew past, leaving me desperate for the next. I really hope that Dutch and Zeph manage to wake some of the others up soon, because it hurts seeing Johnny pining for this woman he thinks he knows. Seeing D’Avin so lost and confused. And Dutch so isolated (apart from the awesomeness of Zeph).
