Defiance is threatened not once but twice this season: The Votanis Collective under leadership of General Rahm Tak (Lee Tergesen). He blames the humans for everything since the Votanis Collective arrived on Earth. He wants to kill every human in Defiance as gruesomely as possible. The Omec are the other threat, T’evgin (Conrad Coates) and his daughter Kindzi (Nichole Galicia), come to Defiance, they are feared by everyone, including the Votanis Collective. These Omec are vicious, aggressive cannibals and they have a ship in orbit with tens of thousands more of their race in cryo-sleep. The father however, wants to change things, wants to coexist with the humans and the other races on earth, but his daughter has other plans.

Characters:

These characters are really strong, played by some very strong actors like Tony Curran as Datak Tarr, Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr. This couple steals most of the scenes they are in, these characters are not black or white but grey, you cannot trust them, still, they are capable of doing good as well as bad. There are times when you cheer them on and vice versa. Julie Benz as Amanda Roswater, what she had to endure over the course of the 3 seasons, you wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even at one point standing eye to eye with her rapist from 10 years ago. Trenna Keating as Doc Jewll, well she is perhaps one of my favorite characters, so well played by Trenna Keating who has to wear a mask over her face which is way harder to do. We know so little about her past, we get snippets but for the main part we must wonder. I love her sarcasm, her banter with every character, the way she roles her eyes after a comment, so good!

Anna Hopkins is Berlin, she also made an impression on me, especially in the third season, where her character is developed more. She lost Tommy, she blames Irisa for his death, she has to come to terms with this, that Irisa was not responsible. Irisa’s character, played by Stephanie Leonidas also evolves very much over the course of the 3 seasons. I really liked her development in the 3^rd season where she no longer is capable of killing people. Joshua Nolan, played by Grant Bowler, I liked him, but for the most part I think he does not change much over the course of the first 2 seasons. I think he does grow more in season 3, in part because of Irisa, because of her growth and because what happens in episode “My Name Is Datak Tarr and I Have Come to Kill You” where he feels responsible for many deaths, who die in the tunnel without any chance to flee. He definitely has grown from the man we see in the flashbacks from before his time in Defiance.

Episodes:

Again, like with season two, there isn’t a bad episode among them, and for me episode 8, “My Name Is Datak Tarr and I Have Come to Kill You” is definitely the best episode this season, or perhaps even the series, where Nolan loses many men in that tunnel when they are about to attack General Rahm and his men. The tunnel incident is heartbreaking, Nolan feels very guilty for all those who’ve lost their lives. Very poignant scene. The last episodes of season three are about the Omec, about how Kindzi feels betrayed by her father. She wants to rule the earth, she wants to devour everyone on it who is not an Omec and when she kills her father, she becomes the leader of the Omec which is very concerning of course. It has been a great season overall, I graded one episode a 7.5/10 and the rest an 8/10 or higher, I just enjoyed it immensely. I also especially loved episode 4, “Dead Air”, where Amanda meets her rapist from 10 years ago! Really a strong episode for Julie Benz as Amanda Rosewater, loved her character from the very start.

Blu-ray:

I don’t know if Defiance can be streamed somewhere, I could find out but I am not going too, the best way to watch Defiance is on Blu-ray, I mean, it looks amazing in 1080p, the picture quality is simply amazing, it really enhances your viewing experience. Unfortunately, there are not many special features on all 3 seasons, but still, I think it is worth it to invest in it so you can watch it anytime you want in the best available quality.

Final Word:

I really enjoyed it more than expected, it was 7 years ago since my last rewatch, so, it was a while ago, but is really holds up well. Not one filler episode, strong characters, high quality production values, strong storylines. One thing I would have liked to have been better is the CGI. It is not bad, but after you’ve watched the reimagined Battlestar Galactica from 2003, you don’t want to go back in quality regarding the CGI. The CGI is better than shows like V 2009 and Sanctuary but it could have been much better. But the show was mainly cancelled because of the budget, so, perhaps there is a reason why the CGI was not in the same category as Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse. Recommended? Hell yes!

Screencaps taken from: cap-that.com

Defiance Blogs of Season 1-2