Killjoys is finally back with a new season. Thank the trees! And the season 3 premiere didn’t disappoint in any way. It was still as bad-ass and cool as I remember Killjoys to be, but with a slightly freer edge to it. Want to know what I mean by this? Then keep on reading this Killjoys season 3 episode 1 recap.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
Killjoys mission of the week
Since the very beginning, this show has had a mission-of-the-week structure to it. And based on Killjoys season 3 episode 1, that won’t change this season either. So this season opener was all about drawing out Hullen that have gone into hiding and using them to make more of the Hullen-killing black liquid.
The episode started with Dutch, D’avin, Fancy, Alvis and Pree storming a known Hullen hive, only to discover that there was only one of them left. Moreover, he told our team that there is more than one Hullen pool and that the surviving Hullen know about Dutch and her Hullen-killing team, and are preparing for war. Which kicked Dutch in high gear wanting to track down all Hullen pools and destroy them. But unfortunately, they didn’t have any more of the black goo that kills Hullen. Luckily, Turin had a plan how they could acquire more.
So D’av and Dutch kidnapped a rich kid turned black market dealer and tricked him into spreading the word about them having a weapon that can kill Hullen. Then our two killjoys, along with Pree, Alvis and Fancy purposefully got caught by border patrol ship, who was full of Hullen, and took them all out, collecting the black goo, so they can use it to kill other Hullen pools. It was an elaborate plan that went off without a hitch. And now our team has enough Hullen-killing liquid to destroy multiple Hullen pools.
I loved how writers made us think that our team is in real trouble when they got caught by the Hullen ship. When in reality, it was a part of their plan all along. It made me re-watch the episode multiple times, and each time I saw something new in the way the actors played their characters.
Johnny’s adventures
While Team Awesome Force and co were on the hunt for some Hullen, Johnny was off on a mission of his own trying to track down Clara, who was missing. And while doing so he met a new friend, became an honorary Hackmod and revealed that, although he is missing Dutch and D’av, he is still not ready to come back.
John’s storyline portion of Killjoys season 3 episode 1 kicked off with him being chased by a guard for being a Hackmod. But just as we thought that Johnny had become more like Clara, we found out, that he was only pretending to be a Hackmod to find Clara. It was revealed by a new character Ollie, another Hackmod who was wearing Clara’s arm, Alice. And after a fight between our killjoy and Ollie, we learned that Ollie also doesn’t know how she got Alice and is trying to find that out herself.
John and Ollie
So the two teamed up to find Clara and figure out why Ollie has her arm. It took the both of them to the infamous Rat City, a place where Hackmods go to hide from The Factory, where Hackmods are made. They met up with one of Clara’s friends Yoki at a Hackmods only bar, who obviously was hiding something from them. But before they could go after Yoki and find out more about Clara’s disappearance John’s fake Hackmod fell off and he was revealed as being a basic.
Luckily, Ollie diffused the situation before it got ugly by making John get a modification of his own. And he, of course, choose to get a laser finger. This whole ordeal was followed by some confessions from both John and Ollie, a set-up and an attempt on Ollie’s life. Fortunately, Johnny swooped in at just the right moment to kill the assailant. But as he was discovering some interesting and slightly disturbing things about Ollie’s attacker, she passed out. And the episode ended with John bringing an unconscious Ollie to what I presume was the Hackmods only bar.
This team up is an unexpected but exciting treat for me, as the two characters complimented each other very well. I thought that John and Clara worked well together, but I have to say that I loved the John-Ollie dynamic more. On top of that, I really liked how Ollie got Johnny to talk about why he left Dutch and D’av and why he wants to find Clara so badly. And in return, she confessed that she hopes that they don’t find Clara. Does this mean that Ollie will eventually join the team? I certainly hope so!
The bigger picture
As awesome as this Killjoys episode was, it also did another great thing. Killjoys season 3 episode 1 fantastically set up the atmosphere in which our main characters are living.
John is still in pain over Pawter’s death and trying to figure out if he is destined to lose every single person that he gets close to. D’avin is still kicking ass and having awesome one-liners. And Pree, Alvis, Fancy, and Turin are all working to help our team get rid of all Hullen.
Meanwhile, Dutch is freer and more bad-ass as ever. As Killjoys creator Michelle Lovretta pointed out in an interview with The TV Junkies: “Dutch seems really centered and confident this year and just different, somehow. Unburdened. She’s fully her own woman, making her own free choices without running from anything..” So we can prepare to see Dutch unapologetically take charge of her team and of the war against Hullen. She already was a strong leader in previous two Killjoys seasons, but this seasons we will see completely another level of Dutch’s badassery.
Now all that’s left is to find out more about the enemy that Dutch and her team are fighting. We still don’t know a lot about Hullen and even less about Aneela. So hopefully the next Killjoys episodes will give us some insight of what Hullen and Aneela are all about.
Last thoughts on Killjoys season 3 episode 1
I absolutely loved how, even though John was off doing his own thing, he and Dutch still communicated via holographic messages. It was a nice way of keeping their friendship and partnership strong, even though they are worlds apart. And it was also a nice affirmation that John is still part of the team and that he will come back to Dutch and D’av, when he is ready. Let’s hope it’s sooner than later because Team Awesome Force isn’t the same without John.
Episode highlights:
• D’av kicking that Hullen-guy’s ass
• Dutch showing off her skills by destroying that drone/robot
• Pree’s comments all episode long
• the Hullen-guy revealing that there are other Hullen pools and that other Hullen hives are preparing to fight Dutch and her team
• Dutch and D’av walking out of that RAC meeting
• John meeting Ollie
• D’av and Dutch’s talk with Turin
• the whole steam bath’s scene
• John and Dutch’s video messages to each other
• Pippin pining after Dutch
• seeing Rat City and diving deeper into the whole Hackmod culture
• Dutch and D’av missing John
• John becoming an honorary Hackmod by getting a laser finger
• Ollie and John’s dark talk
• the border patrol ship’s captain’s interrogation of our team
• Fancy and D’av’s quips to each other
• Dutch trying to calm down Pippin
• Johnny saving Ollie
• Dutch telling the captain a story and that she’s the monster
• seeing D’av, Pree, Alvis, and Fancy fight together seamlessly
• Pippin and Dutch’s talk at the end of the episode
• Turin showing Dutch and D’avin the Hullen ships
• Turin calling Dutch Miss Yardeen
• D’av being able to open the Hullen ships
Episode low points:
• Yoki not helping John track down Clara
• Havigan sending John and Ollie into a set-up
• Ollie falling unconscious at the end of the episode
Quote of the episode:
Pippin: “I’m going to be sick. I’m going to be sick. This is too much stress. I can’t feel my chakras.”
D’avin: “His balls.”
Dutch: “Okay, keep your chakras in your pants. We’re not going to hurt you unless we have to.”