When Chiana and Rygel visit a trading post they meet Kyvan, an art dealer. She seems keen to sell Chiana a picture that she claims bares a resemblance to her; she isn't interested but later he shows it again and the resemblance is greater; she even says Chiana can have it for nothing and claims that the picture shows the future. There is clearly something odd about it; it shows her wearing a favourite necklace that she had lost some time ago then one of the DRDs finds it; the next change is more ominous though; is shows her with a broken leg and moments later she trips and breaks her leg. Her understandable distress turns to panic when the picture changes again to show her on fire! Determined not to let the prediction come true she hides in the ship's freezer; this is to no avail though as she burns to nothing! The crew destroy the picture but it reappears; this time it shows D'Argo; nothing they do to get rid of the picture works and the inevitable happens to D'Argo; he isn't dead though; he seems to be trapped in a strange realm within the painting; as is Chiana. Wanting to get an idea what to do before more of the crew disappear Aeryn returns to see Kyvan and learns the shocking truth about the picture; it was made on the orders of an old enemy; the sorcerer Maldis! If they are to defeat him they will have to do exactly what Zhaan orders; without question.
This was a rather creepy episode due to the apparently unstoppable way the picture predicted the crew's demise. Gigi Edgely did a particularly good job showing the increasingly scared Chiana as did Virginia Hey who plays Zhaan. The story was well written; the first time I saw the episode I thought Chiana might indeed be dead when she appeared to burn; it was good that we weren't told the truth for a little while to keep the sense of danger high. The place they went after 'dying' was suitably surreal if a little basic, the only weak point being at the end where the crew escaped and Maldis' giant hand reaches through to Moya; somehow that didn't look right to me... still overall it was a great episode so I won't complain too much about one detail.
This was a rather creepy episode due to the apparently unstoppable way the picture predicted the crew's demise. Gigi Edgely did a particularly good job showing the increasingly scared Chiana as did Virginia Hey who plays Zhaan. The story was well written; the first time I saw the episode I thought Chiana might indeed be dead when she appeared to burn; it was good that we weren't told the truth for a little while to keep the sense of danger high. The place they went after 'dying' was suitably surreal if a little basic, the only weak point being at the end where the crew escaped and Maldis' giant hand reaches through to Moya; somehow that didn't look right to me... still overall it was a great episode so I won't complain too much about one detail.
