*Episode premise spoilers.*
Every genre show eventually needs a good “forced to work with the enemy for a shared goal,” right? That’s what we get here, and the circumstances of the threat this time around mean it’s an excellent showcase for Krel/Diego Luna.
Slight issue: a massive asteroid is heading towards Earth, and it’s on track to hit Arcadia Oaks. Toby insists, “Ah, please, this is Aja and Krel! They can handle a flying space pebble, right?” The problem is, Mother’s systems are too damaged to deal with the asteroid. Meanwhile, Arena 49B has the necessary technology to build something that would do the job, but they don’t know how to use their stolen alien tech. Needs must when the devil drives, so our heroes agree to (temporarily) work with Area 49B in order to save the planet.
The uneasy alliance here is well done. Area 49B’s ignorance of their own scavenged technology reminds me of the Ninth Doctor examining the “weapons” in Van Statten’s collection in the new Who episode “Dalek.”: “Broken…broken…hairdryer….” Col. Kubritz is way out of her bigoted depth here, but to put one teeny shred of a point in her favor, at least she’s not too proud to admit that and reach out to the Akiridions for help.
Krel is at the center of this episode, but we get some good material from the other characters too. Aja has a really strong scene where she attempts to appeal to Tronos; the bounty hunter has made his own uneasy alliance with Area 49B, but the Tronos’s hatred of the Tarron family runs deep and he’s not eager to cooperate with them. And Toby and Eli tag along as Krel’s “team,” naturally bringing along the camera to keep shooting their movie. “Think about the production value!” Toby exclaims, before adding, “You know, if we survive.”
Briefly, our character of the day is Luug, voiced by Frank Welker. Luug is Aja and Krel’s pet. They call him a dog, and in his Earth disguise he looks like a Corgi, but he’s in fact an animal with glowing green eyes, a mouth that splits open like a Demogorgon, and laser farts. While he’s rarely instrumental to the plot, he’s a regular presence on the show and is always good for a bit of fun.
Since Area 49B needs help using their own advanced tech, Krel is the one they really want to ally with—everyone else is just part of the package deal. While Krel agrees with Varvatos and Aja that an alliance feels dicey, he points out, “But we’re out of good options here, and if the colonel has the resources we need, she may be our best bad choice.”
Krel is so much fun in this episode. I especially love his annoyance at Area 49B’s ineptitude. He interrupts an agent proposing an Armageddon-style solution with, “Please, stop! You’re embarrassing your entire species.” And as the agents offer tools for him to work with, he calls a wrench “an engineering abomination!” There’s also a really delightful montage of him working his technological magic, and we get appearances from Superior Krel and Stressed Out Krel, which is fun.
At this point, Luna’s vocal delivery is just so utterly Krel. He can take neutral or unremarkable lines and make them zing, and he never fails to entertain. I genuinely love his work on this show.
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