After continuing our journey with John Crichton last week with “Mental as Anything” and “Bringing Home the Beacon,” our Farscape re-watch continues this week with the seventeenth and eighteenth episodes of Season 4. Just one important note: if you are new to Farscape, you may NOT want to partake of these posts, as I plan on including potentially major spoilers for later events. They are written not for the Farscape virgin but more for the viewer who–if not as obsessive about the show as I am–has at least seen it once through and can appreciate the bits of foreshadowing and long-term arc progression that the show sets up often far in advance. 4.17: “A Constellation of Doubt” Original airdate: 10 February 2003 And now we come to another one of my all-time favorite episodes, “A Constellation of Doubt,” an innovative, formula-defying hour that addresses the Farscape saga in a way that had never been done before, explores the crew’s time on Earth from a different angle, and manages to push the seasonal arc forwards in surprising ways, particularly given that it easily could have been a standalone designed to stall until the big finish, when in fact it proves crucial, in terms of plot, character development, and worldbuilding. Its premise is that Pilot has intercepted a signal from Earth that is actually the first episode of a new documentary series called “Alien Visitation,” whose purpose is ostensibly to examine Earth’s recent visit by aliens but whose paranoid fears and biases against the outsiders are only thinly veiled, thus reasserting all of John’s worst thoughts about humanity during his time back home. Aeryn had bought him a TV for Christmas, and he spends days obsessively rewatching the show. Upon hearing that Grayza–and therefore Aeryn, as well–was to be brought to Katratzi, which he assumes is a heavily fortified Scarran military base, John had found the word extremely familiar, but can’t remember why, particularly given that no one they contact has any information on this place. How could John have heard this word in the past when no Scarran contact they make seems to have heard of it? (Incidentally, this is another case of Farscape not drawing all connections for its audience. The reason Moya’s crew can make these inquiries and expect honest answers is because they are using the device procured in the previous episode that masks Moya’s actual signature and makes it read as a Scarran ship, and furthermore, Sikozou is posing as a Scarran over the comms, since she can speak the language. For all these Scarrans know, they’re communicating with other Scarrans. But the show offers no expository recap dialogue to explain this to newcomers or people who didn’t pay enough attention to the previous episode.) And for some reason, his instincts tell him that the answer lies somewhere in this footage, but each time he watches it through, he can’t quite put his finger on where or why. At the same time, his unstated reason for watching and rewinding it over and over again is that it is both comforting and painful for him to see Aeryn on the screen, conflicting impulses that are drawing him in like a moth to the flame. The episode is so conceptually strong and beautifully produced that it’s easy to suspend disbelief in the moment regarding Pilot’s acquisition of the footage. On a first viewing, one might find it curious but quickly find oneself absorbed by the emotions of the episode, which are always of greater importance on Farscape than plot mechanics. However, later on, it actually makes even more sense. It’s been established in “Kansas” and “Terra Firma” that radio communications can be sent through the Earth wormhole, which, don’t forget, is always there,...