Season 2, Episode 14 – Beware of Dog
Suspicion of a parasite infestation on Moya leads the crew to bring aboard a creature that hunts those parasites. While a seemingly run of the mill sci-fi plot, the proceeding parasite hunt dramatizes and questions the essentialist notions of personality as singular and uniform. Additionally, the overtly figurative approach of the episode ushers in a run of episodes that rely heavily on multiple layers of narrative play and diegetically mess with perceptions of reality.
Beware of Dog begins with John contemplating a chess move in a game against himself, a popular if not somewhat clichéd dramatization of a character’s confusion, self-reflection, or split personality. As he mulls over something, he tosses a ball between his hands, a subtle cue to the back and forth that is occurring in his mind and also visually separating him into a left and right side. Aeryn asks what he is thinking about and he answers nothing. Yet the cut away to his thoughts portrays Scorpius implanting something in John’s head. John and the viewer alike are unsure whether this is a memory or a reimagining. Whatever Scorpius did is still unclear.
two things
This initial scene sets up the theme of, simply, a thing can be two things. Following the portrayal of the division in John’s psyche, the episode introduces the Vork. We quickly come to realize that the Vork, purchased to seek out the parasites, possess two distinct appearances and personalities: one, a long-necked half E.T. half Goomba looking creature, a lovable scamp through and through, and one a tarnished bronze parasite killer with evil clown teeth. The different personalities and appearances of the Vork symbolizes the possibility a singular entity to be more than that. It also provides a key for which to read the experiences of Chiana, Aeryn, and John throughout the episode.
Throughout the course of Chiana’s time on the ship, she has challenged the crew with her fierce individualism. Complimenting her sense of individuality, is the sense of caring she has for the well-being of the crew. She genuinely cares about them, but she is also a rogue. She will steal, double-deal, and do what is necessary to survive. Maybe more so, she will do what she desires to live her life.
Multiple times in this episode, D’Argo voices his concern about Chiana. Coupling has brought them close and D’Argo is worried about her. Yet, his concern isn’t only for her safety. It is also for her character.. Chiana is still hanging out with Rygel and doing the things that roguish sorts do. D’Argo tells her that she doesn’t need to conspire or skulk around with Rygel anymore. In his words, she is now “one of them.” That is, she is part of the cool kids, whom consist of himself, Zhaan, John, and Aeryn. D’Argo’s moral superiority, rightly so, upsets Chiana. She explains that is not going to change. She will happily continue their relationship but she is not going to stop being who she is. Her proclamation of self-hood doesn’t come without a caveat though: Chiana utters, more to herself than to D’Argo, “We aren’t going to make it.” Framed in terms of a relationship, Chiana sees that the varying aspects that make up her being will be hard for D’Argo to understand. And speaking of someone being two things: as honorable as D’Argo appears to be, he can also be self-righteous jerk.
Like with Chiana, a relationship prompts Aeryn to reveal another facet of her personality. For Aeryn, though, this relationship is maternal not romantic. Aeryn’s arc consists of a journey of self discovery. From Peacekeeper soldier to teammate willing to fulfill different roles, from friend to her current struggles with romantic relationships, Aeryn’s growth propels the show. In this episode, Aeryn develops as a nurturer.
Despite her initial ambivalence towards the Vork, an ambivalence that descends into displeasure due to the Vork’s general sense of mischievousness and a severe case of leg humping, when the Vork is injured, Aeryn shows genuine concern for his well being. Her hardass-ness doesn’t melt. It doesn’t’ go away. This nurturing nature is able to carve out a place in her personality alongside the hardass-ness. Aeryn can be two things at once. She carries the Vork on her back and even scolds John for his treatment of the Vork. It almost seems like the Vork is Aeryn and John’s puppy, a conscious/subconscious chance to test out parenthood. Near the end of the episode, Aeryn sheds tears tears when the selfless Vork tells her that it loves her.
Ultimately, in this episode, Chiana and Aeryn’s experiences illustrate the paradoxical components of personalities. Yet those paradoxes play out differently. Chiana must maintain the paradox to stay true to herself. She knows her roguish nature might cost her her desire for a romance with D’Argo. Yet, to sacrifice one for the other would diminish who she is. For Aeryn, her hardass-ness and cynicism doesn’t disallow the possibility for her to simultaneously act as a caregiver and nurturer. Aeryn grows as she enables herself to be more than one thing.
the discomfort of limbic spaces
While we already know from the chess game that John is out of sorts inside his own head, and that John’s story-line in this episode involves a sense of two things through his own confusion and the presence of Scorpius (somewhere), this episode begins a thematic and plot emphasis on the malleability of reality. What makes John’s flirtation with insanity all the more interesting is that at times it is only response to the situation that works. At other times, though, it is clear that John is sagging under the weight of his inability to establish a coherent perception of reality.
Joining the hunt, John traipses through the corridors looking for signs of the parasitic invader. As John is want to do, he talks to himself. While not unusual, his out-loud inner monologues announce the degree of desperation, physical or mental within him. He is on edge. John’s social or psychological filter that compartmentalizes inside thoughts to outside voices is definitely on the fritz. That fragile distinction between the sane and the insane is breaking down.
Practicing his golf swing, John mimics Bill Murray ‘s character, Carl Spackler, the bat –s crazy groundskeeper, from Caddyshack: “He’s a Cinderella boy, from the outer territories”… When John is in distress, he tends to emit pop culture references. Earlier Aeryn had suggested that prolonged time in space might lead to space madness in humans. Interestingly, instead of a sign of insanity, John’s pop culture references could be an attempt to resist the alien-ness and just plain crazy-making of his situation (fugitive, aboard an alien ship, hunted by a madman, etc, etc…). Perhaps, giving voice to American pop-culture consolidates his Earthiness, his humanity. Alternatively, the Scorpius in his head is a servant of alien-ness and/or insanity. Scorpius pushes for him to accept his circumstances, to give in. Granted, the viewers knows that John has seen Scorpius in his head, but whether that is madness, or actually an implant, or whether John is going mad from the implant remains unexplained.
Investigating a noise, John peers into a vent and comes face to face with some sort of monstrous being that he assumes is the parasite. He announces his discovery to the rest of the crew and they all begin to track that specific being (which of course we find out later is the Vork). As John searches for the parasite, he catches a fleeting glimpse of Scorpius. Whether John really sees him or whether he is imagining him, the shot displays the pervasiveness and elusiveness of Scorpius’ presence in John’s mind. A presence that threatens to completely disrupt John’s connection to reality.
Seeing Scorpius, John draws his gun and pursues. The music becomes more ominous and now John is searching for Scorpius as well as the parasite. This search through the darkened cargo bay parallels the struggle occurring in his mind. Amid the various containers and superfluous machinery, John finds Rygel doing Rygel things in the cargo bay. The exchange between the two reveals how John exists in a space where reality seems to shift almost with every word:
John: Rygel! What the hell are you doing?
Rygel: It’s a cargo bay! I was checking my cargo! I was told we had parasites on board. Now would you care to explain why you were trying to kill me?
John: Look, I-I thought you were that thing that I – saw earlier. Sorry.
The dialogue is deceptively simple. On first blush, Rygel’s statement seems fairly straightforward. However, Rygel is being sarcastic and is likely looking for something to steal. So he is probably lying. John’s response is ambiguous. The “thing” could be the parasite, which is actually the Vork, or it could be Scorpius. John’s reality is a mess, and language acts like quicksand. Even attempts to understand reality pull a flailing John deeper into delirium.
By the end of the episode, John has to admit that he is either hallucinating or seeing visions. While they were hunting the parasite, he almost shot Aeryn, and Aeryn wants to know what he was shooting at. John hesitantly explains that he having flashes of Scorpius in his mind or his vision or his reality. Yet, he jokes that he isn’t going crazy. When asked by Aeryn if he will ask for help if it gets too bad, John sarcastically responds that he will ask for help just like she does. More or less he brushes off Aeryn’s concern. The focus of the scene returns to John playing chess. This time though Scorpius is present and clearly confident that John will, if he has not already, succumb to his control.
In Beware of Dog, the Vork metaphorically expresses the ability of a person to be more than one thing, in other words, to contain multitudes. In fact, the Vork symbolizes the potential of an individual to possess seemingly paradoxical qualities. Chiana and Aeryn in different ways explore the ability to contain paradoxical personality traits, as they either defend that aspect of their personalities, as in Chiana’s case, or they allow new characteristics grow, as Aeryn does. The notion of a person possessing multiple and paradoxical aspects within their personality is more darkly dramatized in John’s plot line. He is haunted by something in his mind. He also has become aware that Scorpius’s influence is shaping his perception of reality, and, therefore, directly influencing his actions. Moving forward, John’s journey becomes increasingly psychological as he must deal with the at least two things inside himself.
Unrealized Realities 