Synopsis[]
Nolan and Irisa are rescued from their underground confinement by a mysterious force, just in time to discover that enemy forces are marching on the town of Defiance. The town itself has fallen on hard times following the collapse of the gulanite mines, leaving it defenseless. Meanwhile, Datak, Stahma and Rafe run into deadly complications on their quest to reunite their family. And as Alak and Pilar journey through the woods with the baby, Alak comes to realize just how unstable his mother-in-law truly is. Nolan and Irisa must aid a mysterious alien race known as the Omec to prevent a diplomatic crisis from tearing the town apart. Guest starring Linda Hamilton as "Pilar."
Syfy's Fun Facts[1][]
- The Omec's spaceship was an extensive development starting with a design fueled by a Network-accepted submission of the exterior hull. My Art Department moved on from that point to develop interior sets, some of which were built and others turned into CG environments." - Steve Geaghan, Production Designer
- "I've never had as much trouble with a language as the Omec language, Kinuk'aaz. Kevin wanted something that sounded really different. I said I could do it, but the result would be difficult for the actors. And it was." - David Peterson, Language Creator
- It was really great to dive back in after having so much time away from it. It was a little bit like Season One for me, in that I felt like I had Season One nerves again ... like "Ahhh, do I still know how to do this? I haven't been Doc in a year!" But I think our entire cast and crew brought their A-game this year and I think it shows." - Trenna Keating, "Doc Yewll"
- "Green screen is challenging. The amazing world you see when Kindzi and T'evgin discover the pods was just a humungous green curtain." - Nichole Galicia, "Kindzi"
- "The biggest challenge this year was introducing a brand new alien race. A lot of time was taken to discuss what they look like, what does their ship look like, what is their backstory, etc. We went down a lot of roads to distinguish them from all the other Votans fans have seen on the show." - Anupam Nigam, Writer
- "I'm very excited about coming back for Defiance Season Three after Season Two ended with such a cliffhanger. The Tarrs got some unfinished business to take care of!" - Tony Curran, "Datak Tarr"
- "I was so excited to join the cast mainly because of the women of Defiance (I love you guys!). The women are all badass, so I was thrilled to join the ranks. Getting to work with Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Jamie Murray, Trenna Keating and Anna Hopkins every day has been wonderful." - Nichole Galicia, "Kindzi"
- "The funniest thing that happened to me was on my first day. I saw the first two seasons in five days before I started work and I had no idea that in real-life so many cast members had dialects. Grant (Nolan) is from New Zealand. Steph (Irisa) is English. Tony (Datak) is Scottish. Jaime (Stahma) is English. My mind was blown." - Billy MacLellan, "Bebe"
- [Regarding the evolution of the show's visual design]: "Season One saw the town thriving, bright and hopeful. All this was reflected in the color range and minimal level of age. Season Two Defiance was enmeshed in conflict with the E-Rep and eventually on a war footing. The town became less cheerful and more monochromatic; a little more run down. Season Three has Defiance in a depression-following-conflict resulting in an extensive physical degradation and population decline that it will barely survive." - Steve Geaghan, Production Designer
- Every woman on Defiance is strong, fearlessly sexy and smart enough to be dangerous. It's amazing to be a part of a show that is all about making its women as powerful as, if not more powerful than, its guys. I am officially a Woman of Defiance, hear me roar!" - Nichole Galicia, "Kindzi"
- "I grew up watching Graham Greene. When I got the part, I was so excited that I might have a scene with him. I get the script and yes! Then I read it and I find out that my character shoots him in the back in his final episode. Bittersweet realization. But on set, it was a treat to meet him. At one point Graham and I were standing out in that friggin' cold by one of the fires, trying to keep warm. Graham asked where I was from, I told him "Cape Breton" and he started singing the Sea Shanty, "Barrett's Privateers," so I joined in. For a Canadian kid, standing by a campfire, singing "Barrett's Privateers" with Graham Greene … well, it doesn't get better than that." - Billy MacLellan, "Bebe
- "One thing I really wanted to do with the Omec language is separate it from the other languages. The Omec think of themselves as superior to all other Votans, and they spent a lot of their history isolated from them. This is why, for example, I went with an alphabetic script for Kinuk'aaz, whereas the rest of the Votans use syllabic scripts. I also gave them a base-10 number system, despite the fact that the Votan standard is base-20. There are few if any borrows into or out of Kinuk'aaz. In fact, words in the other Votan languages for Omec tend to become words meaning 'devil' or something worse." - David Peterson, Language Creator
- "I found it helpful watching Season Two to see how the characters developed and how far we can push the envelope with these individuals and these relationships in the future. It was certainly pushed to the limit in Season Three." - Tony Curran, "Datak Tarr"
- [Joining Defiance was] nothing short of a thrill!! It's always a tricky adventure as an actor to join a successful and well established show, as Defiance is. Many expectations; a new character trying to fit into a well-oiled machine, cast chemistry, character chemistry, believability of an alien character portrayal. Yeahhh ... it's been fun." - Conrad Coates, "T'evgin"
- "The only real difference [in the writing process] this year is that we had to devote more of our energy to servicing new characters. Berlin is now a major character and we did an episode this year about an important relationship from her past. We're also introducing a fundamentalist Votan leader named Rahm Tak. We spent a lot of time writing about his backstory and his family." - Anupam Nigam, Writer
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 301.
Highlighted Quote[]
KINDZI
I like his weapon.
TRANSLATION
T'ep inguledots k'ats'oves.
Trivia[]
- This is Anna Hopkins first episode as a series regular after guest staring in season 2
- This is Graham Greene's final episode as a series regular
Gallery[]
