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"Putting the Damage On" is the 5th episode of Season Two of Defiance and the 17th episode overall. It aired on July 17th, 2014 on Syfy.

Synopsis[]

Amanda is terrorized by a stalker; the reasons behind her frightening experiences have far reaching ramifications for Pottinger and Doc Yewll as well.

Syfy's Fun Facts[2][]

  • There is a subtle clue in the confrontation between Nolan and Amanda that suggests Amanda was suffering from a hallucination. If you rewind the scene, you'll notice that "vision Nolan" was wearing his costume from season one!
  • Matrons of wealthy Castithan families pick their handmaidens personally from members of lower classes. While it's considered a great honor to be chosen to work as a handmaiden, social climbers be warned - there is zero chance of upward mobility. In fact, there's an old Castithan fairy tale in which a lowly handmaiden aspires to marrying the head of the household. The "happy ending" comes when she's discovered by the man's wife and placed on a shaming rack!
    • Note: This fun fact is slightly contradicted in a fun fact from season 3 episode 12 which states that it is difficult, but not impossible to move up in society for handmaidens (in season 3, Andina moving up in society becomes a plot point):
      • "Historically, intermarriage between the various liros was frowned upon, especially among members of the shanje liro. However, every so often someone of lower class would distinguish themselves through battle or some great contribution to Castithan society and be allowed to marry into a higher liro. Or, the head of a powerful shanje family might fall in love with their handmaiden, elevating them to shanje status. In these cases, no one dared oppose the union out of fear of physical or political retribution. That being said, it was just as common for a member of a higher liro to be reduced in rank as punishment for marrying beneath their family's status."
  • Castithan blood lilies are a particularly dangerous plant whose petals can be dried and crushed to brew a lethal tea, undetectable to even a Castithan sense of smell. Their deadly beauty has made them Stahma's favorite flower.
  • The Irathient night porter, Mahsuvus Gorath, is a spy for the Votanis Collective. The Collective is headquartered in the Sulos Colony of Brazil. The've been expanding northward ever since the end of the Pale Wars. It's rumored the VC has spies everywhere, which makes the Earth Republic nervous.
  • Bailey was a member of the Defiance town council before taking the job as the bartender at the NeedWant. She was one of Amanda's strongest supporters when the latter was mayor, and followed her to the NeedWant after the Earth Republic disbanded the council.
  • Did you catch that Pottinger followed Connor to New York, giving him expensive gifts and stealing hair from his brush? What's that mean and how does that relate to his obsession with Amanda?
  • The Votans were placed in hypersleep for their 5000 year journey to Earth. Sentient computers called "Arkbrains" watched over hem. But as a safeguard, a select few Indogene wer woken up periodically to carry out maintenace and verify everything was running smoothly. Yewll met Lev on one of these shifts.
  • The first case of Wulokot Fibrosis was diagnosed during the Pale Wars. It's a painful and highly debilitating disease, developed as part of the Biodyne Project: a Votan initiative designed to wipe out humanity through biological means. The famous weapons designer Pol Madis first alluded to Doc's involvement in the Biodyne Project back in Episode 6.
  • The Biodyne Project was one of the most infamous - and successful - biological weapons born of the Pale Wars. Thousands of human men, women and children became sick with Wulokot Fibrosis. Lev couldn't bear to live with herself for her role in creating the disease and killed herself.
  • Amanda wasn't hallucinating about shooting Irisa. What she doesn't realize is that Irisa now has mystical healing powers, supposedly granted to her by the Irathient god Irzu.
  • The song that played at the end was "In Spite of Me" by the band Morphine from their 1993 album Cure for Pain.
  • Pottinger halted Stahma from feeding Adreno into Defiance in Episode 14. Now he's dealing directly with Varus Soleptor, a major presence in the video game, to keep the supply flowing to town. Stahma was previously the go-between from Stahma's appearance in the Defiance video game.
  • The associate that Yewll mentions in an Indogene doctor by the name of Erin NiDen. Erin is a character in the video game.
  • At the start of the video game, each player is given an EGO device which tracks their progress, assists with navigation and imbues them with a variety of special powers. The four main EGO powers are Blur (which increases the player's speed), Decoy (which projects a hologram to distract enemies), Cloak (which provides limited invisibility) and Overcharge (which increases the damage dealt by players).
  • The vast majority of Indogenes are atheists. They believe in science above all else. However, this doesn't mean they don't believe in the concepts of sin and forgiveness
  • This is the first time we've heard two Indogenes speaking to each other. Language creator David Peterson crafted their tongue to be pragmatic and economical.
  • As the Votan fleet first approached our planet, Indogenes monitored signals coming from Earth. They learned how to speak English primarily through TV shows, which is why Indogenes pepper their speech with so many human idioms.
  • The white crystals Datak held are known as "atonement gems." They are razor sharp and incredibly painful when crushed.
  • "Playing a drug addict was challenging, especially since it was an alien drug. I spent a lot of time talking with Kevin Murphy (the show's creator) and Michael Nankin (the episode's director) about the physicality of a person addicted to Adreno. Once we were clear on that, I started watching videos of people high on drugs, specifically opiates. All the videos were very graphic, it gave me direction to play Amanda, although it also left me feeling very raw." -Julie Benz (Amanda)
  • "I suppose one of my favorite scenes is the Rafe and Stahma in the tub scene. I was freaked out because I have never done anything like that in my entire creer. Then I thought, 'Who in their right mind is going to be looking at a sixty two year old naked man when they can look at Jaime [Murray, Stahma]. Then I was okay with it. One the day, my wife said 'What are you shooting today?' and I said 'Oh, you know. Same old stuff." -Graham Greene (Rafe)

Votan Translation[]

David J. Peterson, the creator of the Votan languages, has made translations available on his Archive of Our Own page.

Translations for the Votan spoken in this episode can be found at Conlang Dialogue: Defiance, Episode 205.

Highlighted Quote[]

DOC YEWLL (INDOJISNEN)
little fuckers
TRANSLATION
jenyinkek


Season 2
Episodes "The Opposite of Hallelujah" • "In My Secret Life" • "The Cord and the Ax" • "Beasts of Burden" • "Putting the Damage On" • "This Woman's Work" • "If You Could See Her Through My Eyes" • "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" • "Painted From Memory" • "Bottom of the World" • "Doll Parts" • "All Things Must Pass" • "I Almost Prayed"
Stars Grant Bowler as Joshua NolanJulie Benz as Amanda RosewaterTony Curran as Datak TarrJaime Murray as Stahma TarrGraham Greene as Rafe McCawleyJim Murray as Niles Pottinger
Guests Rob Archer as ChurchillLinda Hamilton as Pilar McCawleyMichael Dyson as SkevurKevin Shand as RaigaKatie Douglas as Young Irisa/IrzuMonica Parker as Bailey
Recurring Dewshane Williams as Tommy LasalleJesse Rath as Alak TarrNicole Muñoz as Christie McCawley
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