Rockne S. O'Bannon and his crew did a cruel, cold thing to their viewers at the end of Season 2 of Farscape. They actually split the finale into two episodes, the second of which serves as the Season 3 premiere. This series was always in a troubled position, ratings-wise, so there was the distinct possibility that Farscape as we knew it would have ended with Crichton's brain scooped out of his body and Aeryn dead from a tragic mistake. Given that potential downer, we actually got off pretty easy.

It's around the end of Season 2 when Farscape very quietly shifts its premise. In the beginning the show was about a misfit crew of criminals and social orphans trying to get back to their respective homes. They didn't really like one another and the only worked together grudgingly. Then, as these characters grew ever more isolated from the rest of the universe, they developed a bond with one another. Moya's crew circa Season 1 never would have gone out of their way to, say, rescue Crichton's brain from an insidious microchip. Even more, none of them would have sacrificed their lives for any of the others. At this point in the series, the story is much more about the protagonists recognizing one another as a makeshift family, pursuing their individual goals cooperatively.

I think this plot shift gave Farscape its longevity and it also gave the cast a lot more wiggle room. Though the plot of "Die Me, Dichotomy" and "Season of Death" is ostensibly about saving Crichton's brain and intensifying the antagonism between Scorpius and Moya's crew, it's actually all just one big setup to give Virginia Hey an out. From a storytelling perspective, the death of Zhaan (which doesn't happen in these two episodes, strictly speaking) is well timed. The overall tone of the show darkens in Season 3 and the characters lose a lot of the emotional balance that kept them alive in the first two seasons. It only makes sense that the loss of their spiritual guide would happen at this time.

But I'm afraid that plot flourish was a clever gambit by the writers in response to Virginia Hey's contract renegotiation. There are a lot of supposed reasons why she left the show, the most popular among them being the health concerns about her extensive makeup requirements. To play Zhaan, Hey had to cover herself in heavy blue cosmetics daily. As the rumor goes, this started to adversely affect her health. Of course, her departure from Farscape could have just been a mundane career move. Science fiction is a bit of a trap for actors. Once they get stuck in it, they rarely get out.

So, Pa'u Zota Zhaan gets to go out in style, saving lives. She gives her life energy over to a comatose Aeryn and spends the next few episodes dying for her efforts. It may be the first shake-up of Season 3, but it certainly won't be the last. For now, I'm going to continue covering Farscape on this blog because Season 3 is the best of the series. Next week we'll be starting Season 3 proper.