So I’m in the middle of rewatching s4 of Killjoys and I still wondering what was the point of turning Johnny Hullen. It felt like it was going to be this big storyline where we’re suppose to question if The Lady was going to turn Johnny or if his connection with Dutch was key to defeating The Lady. There was this build up in the first half of S4 and then that all wrapped up quickly. Do you having any thoughts and what the writers were trying to accomplish with this storyline.
Hmm, ohhh, right, right, the vision she gave Dutch about Johnny killing them all and about to kill her. At first when reading your post I was like, well, it was just a little dramatic arc with heavy but temporary repercussions and eventually led them to figure out how to instantly de-Hullenize somebody, so they could use it to help Delle Seyah give birth, so it served its purpose. But the vision. That and things like Pip and the spider, I think they were meant to create this sense of menace over everything where we weren’t sure how the Lady would manifest when she escaped, who to trust, whether or not it’d come back in Johnny. But you’re right, they never did revisit that. Instead, the Johnny-Dutch connection was used for Khlyen’s story and tracking down Yalena. Thinking back, I was surprised it was dealt with so quickly but pleased. I didn’t want evil Johnny for even longer. 😛
My favorite thing about Killjoys (other than Aneela/Delle Seyah ofc) is how every female character(small role or otherwise)thinks Dutch is hot. And what’s better is HOW the show executes it. Dutch is often treated like a male lead would in a sci-fi, which is so refreshing. She has women swooning over her good looks and badass attitude but they don’t make it weird! She goes w it, even smirking/laughing along or flirting back. There’s no queerbait-y vibe about any of it, yknow? It feels so normal!
Yes! Yes, exactly. While season 5 was airing my friend and were discussing why (one of the reasons) it wasn’t as big a hit as other campy, fun, smart scifi shows among certain people was that it had such a female gaze. Like you said, Dutch is treated like how male leads are treated, everyone wants her, everyone wants to be with her, everyone wants to be around her. But at the same time, she doesn’t abandon compassion or treat people the way many male leads do.
And all the men around her, all the good guys, have such a baseline of decency. No matter how grumpy and surly they may actually be, whether it’s Turin or literal Fancy “Asshole” Lee, they start from a place where you can absolutely trust them around Dutch or any woman. Johnny and D’av are like, fantasy versions of guys, just filled with devotion and respect and love for Dutch. She is the center of the show in a way we so rarely see. Even in many female-led series, you have writers using those women to prop up male characters. But this show loves Dutch. It is about her and it treats her so well.
With other female characters, who are all very much their own person, there isn’t that frisson of rivalry or jealousy because that love for Dutch carries over. She’s just that cool and smart and pretty, of course women are going to love her too. Of course Zeph’s going to have a major crush on her. When literal villain Delle Seyah was introduced, it ended with her being IMPRESSED by Dutch and flirting with her, as suspicious and selfish a person as Delle Seyah was. And because they’ve had this seasons-long soulmate true love arc with Delle Seyah and Aneela, they’re able to play around with it for Dutch without any kind of sourness because it’s only ever teased.
bit of a killjoys newbie here; im a little ways into the show now but i still feel like i dont understand how the green plasma/Hullen work?? i know there’s different kinds of plasma as mentioned by Aneela when she told Kendry she gave her the good stuff instead of that lower-tier servant goo. Aneela and Khlyen have a special bond with the green as the exception to the rule, but how come Kendry still fell in love that intensely? Shouldnt her emotions just be an “echo” (Khlyen) and not form bonds?
Heh, yeah, it is a bit convenient for the plot, but I think we’re meant to believe that they did just fall for each other that strongly. We can take the servant goo out of the equation, but even putting that aside, they do tell us that with the free will plasma, people don’t feel the same. My theory is that Kendry was already such a ruthless terrible person without it that becoming Hullen wasn’t much of a difference. s1 and s2 Kendry meeting Aneela would pretty much be the same as s3 Kendry, right. Even though she’s new to it and has to be trained away from her “human” thinking, as Gander and Aneela both point out, like, what human thinking, the scale of her thoughts may be too small for the Hullen, but this was a murderer who casually used children as tools.
Update: I’m halfway thru s5 and I’m really really dreading the end Bc I’m not ready for the show to be over! Tbh s4 & start of 5 are bleeding together Bc I watched too many in a row & then took a break. I think s3 was most interesting altogether, I’ve found myself losing focus in parts of 4&5. Some of the stuff seems more disjointed/unnecessary than I’d expect from a show that needs to wrap up. But there are so many moments that have given me ALL the feels. S4 was so much angsty pining!! (1/?)
Delle seyah and aneela love each other so much and s4 was so painful even tho aneela hardly appeared. Gotta say those eps without Dutch dragged a bit tho, but the Delle seyah kept me going during them lol. Omfggg all the feels from Delle seyah’s priority of finding aneela above all else, followed by protecting Jaq & searching for aneela above all else. I love them. Side note: HJK’s smile and face and eyes are so GOOD I’m so gay send help. She’s a delight. Also I got feels from Lucy dying (2/3)
I haven’t had so many feels about an AI since s4 of poi. Also ALL the family feels for Delle seyah/Jaq when she says “never claim what you may lose” and when she told Jaq that she wouldn’t be ok if she lost him and she’s his mother and all her speeches in that ep. Then the ENDING WHEN ANEELA STEPS OUT AND SHE FALLS TO HER KNEES AND ANEELA CANT TAKE HER EYES OFF DELLE SEYAH. OOOF. So good. You’re totally right that watching characters learn to care makes them so appealing, like Root, who’s a fave
Yeah, I think this is really a show that shouldn’t be binged. Not even one season at a time, you know? How some shows thrive by being released on a weekly basis? This one needed that wait. But yes, absolutely, looking back, s3 was probably the highlight, and then personally, even without Dutch, I loved the first eps of s4 and the last. s5 was where it lost the most focus for me, for me s3 and s4 went well together, but s5 was very stop-start.
The s4 pining was AMAZING. It made it so worth the watch even with Aneela barely in it. I’ve said it again and again, KJ was a masterclass in how to make you care for a really terrible person while barely showing her. And I’m just still so impressed how they were never changed or punished in the way we usually see, their growth got to be on their terms, they cared about just a few more people than before and it turned out to be enough. Although, although, Delle Seyah has always been an actual leader. She’s power hungry and ambitious but she has an actual idea of what to do while in charge.
That s5 ep was so good! Delle Seyah and Jaq and their odd little relationship, I was actually super happy to see him being a brat to her. It gave them something to work through and made them both…just a normal parent-child relationship. When characters are given that kind of conflict, it’s to develop them and their dynamic. Which it did, in her way, we got Delle Seyah’s speech to show how much he mattered to her. BUT THEN YES THE ENDING OF THAT EP. Like, we waited that long for them to meet again and it absoLUTELY paid off. I could never have imagined that’s how they’d do it, but like, how else would they actually have, but it was the execution, how like, utterly romantic they made it, and the way, as you said, they couldn’t stop looking at each other and Delle Seyah just falling to her knees! Miss Queens Rise Never Gonna Bow My Head It Messes with the Crown Royalty just sinking to her knees. And the fact that it was out of emotion? *chef’s kiss* Yes, yes, watching Root’s journey with Shaw was kinda similar, yeah, that’s a great point. And Regina and Henry. Seeing people care about others, that is the most effective way to have them appeal to your audience.
Aw, yes, Lucy! She was such a presence, honestly, the third member of Team Awesome Force, before D’av. She was there from the very start, calling Johnny out for being a thief. The series cheated a bit, killing her off for the emotional payoff and then bringing her back, but I will 100% take it.
HJK did so well, Aneela was consistently so different from Dutch, so appealing and intelligent in an entirely different way. Dutch was warmth and humor and compassion, Aneela was just this cold volatile intelligence and then softening for just her chosen people, but never did the two ever overlap. And she’s hot as hell, lol, I can’t deny that, lol. I’m just really grateful that we got this series with her, the perfect writing and timing and tone, and now hopefully she’ll move on to huge things.