Defiance Reporter Episode 026 – Reminiscing Season 1

Season 1 of Defiance ended 5 months  ago and there are nearly 7 months to go before we get Season 2, so Chris and Ben had a rewatch week and discuss some of their favorite moments in the season with special guest Michelle of Women of Defiance. Also, ARKBREAKER!

Listen now:

DRAMA IN DEFIANCE

So Chris and I both bought Season 1 of Defiance on Bluray and had a rewatch marathon to re-live what we felt while watching it live back in April. Its been nearly 5 MONTHS since we last watched Defiance and its time to revisit old thoughts with what we know.

Favorite moments in the show

Michelle

• Last scene with Kenya and Amanda (sidenote: vibro scene, because reasons)
• Scene with McClintock, Rafe, Nolan and Amanda – reminiscing and shooting the shtako about how life used to be – great exposition here, and fun to watch (also, the chemistry between Nolan and Amanda is just so easy)

Chris

• When Nolan shoots Pol Madis
• When Doc Yewll helps Irisa escape in the final episode.

Ben

• The face-off between Nikki and Rafe after Quentin kills Birch. Really anything with Nicki Riordan resulted in shock and surprise for me, whether it be her willingness to blow the town, her relationship with Rafe and knowledge of Pilar, to being an indogene and dying by Doc Yewll’s hand.
• And because I’m a typical guy who likes things to be resolved in a guy way, the street fight between Nolan and Datak was a long time coming. I REALLY hope we get a rematch in Season 2.

Best scene in all of Defiance Season 1

Ben

• Even after watching the whole season. I always go back to the Pilot opening with Nolan and Irisa singing along with Johnny Cash and June Carter. The season (or the series in a few years for that matter) can and should end with that very scene. It really embodies the complex relationship between Nolan and Irisa. The quiet anger and gradual acceptance out of love and the idiotic, yet charming persistence of a father looking for acceptance of an apology. It says to me that the firm bond between father and daughter will never be broken, no matter the circumstance.

Michelle

• Stahma and Datak in the voting booth – all season long, we’ve seen Stahma exercise a quiet form of power, and this is the first moment that we see her completely unravel

Chris

• Kenya and Stahma at the end.

Best Episode of Season 1, according to our listeners:

@defiancepodcast @DefianceWorld Serpent’s Egg, because we saw Irisa’s past and Tommy and Irisa became a thing and I almost died of squee

— Syfy Fangirl (@Lonely_Nerdette) November 18, 2013

@defiancepodcast @DefianceWorld I like the one where sukar saved #Defiance , that was an emotionally charged episode

— Ron Sullenger (@rsull02_ron) November 18, 2013

@defiancepodcast @DefianceWorld Bride Wore Black. #Defiance had spun on minor cliches before, but this one turned everything on it’s head :D

— Daz Watford (@ThatsWhatUGets) November 18, 2013

@defiancepodcast @DefianceWorld “Brothers in Arms” for capturing the honor of self-sacrifice and reminiscence of my military days #SemperFi

— Vyshun (@Vyshun) November 18, 2013

All of them, because aliens. MT @defiancepodcast: #Defiance poll: Which episode of season 1 was THE best episode and why?

— Defiance World (@DefianceWorld) November 19, 2013

Most confusing plot point

Chris

• Is Stahma taking advantage of the situations around her, or causing them. Both one of my favourite and most frustrating parts of the show (in the best way possible).

Michelle

• Sukar and Irzu plot line – should be revealed as we go along, but right now not sure what to make of it (for instance, the razor rain episode was the first moment I was genuinely confused – nanites…)
• Character point: Amanda generally does what is smart, even when it isn’t right (Kevin Murphy’s words), but in Past Is Prologue she totally stood by Nolan even when she had to know that it just may cost her the election (“chup the election”). What was that about? Looooove? Loyalty?

Ben

• Agree with WoD, its hard not to be a little lost about Irzu and what’s expected of Irisa. The events of Goodbye Blue Sky didn’t help the confusion any either.  How much of Irzu is real?  The Kaziri gave Irisa visions of Sukar and Irzu/Little Irisa, Nanites infecting Sukar used Irzu to communicate instructions and reason that Sukar himself had no knowledge of, how much of Irzu is real and how much of Irisa’s path is Irzu’s will?

Unanswered questions

Michelle

• Will Amanda work for the Earth Republic? Will she find out who is responsible for Kenya’s disappearance?
• Did Kenya love Stahma more than Nolan? Is that whole plot line really over between the her and Nolan? (the show doesn’t place a ton of value on sex in and of itself, which is awesome, so this could forever be unanswered – and more than likely so, since Kenya ain’t coming back)

Chris

• WE WANT KENYA! WE WANT KENYA! Yeah, Kenya probably shouldn’t come back. FUUUUUUUU…….

Ben

• What happens to Doc Yewll now? Did she get captured by E-Rep? Did she die in Irisa’s crazy tentacle killing spree? (I don’t think this is likely as we’ve already seen set pics from Trenna Keating via twitter)
• Is Irisa alive?
• How does resurrection affect Nolan?

Predictions?

Ben

• If Alak and Christi are having a baby in S2, I think we should be surprised with a Tommy/Irisa baby, too.
• No matter how “done” with Defiance Nolan is, all paths will eventually lead to Defiance.

Michelle

• Amanda is “working” for the Earth Republic – she appears to have jumped ship because it’s the smart thing to do (but, she’s still kind of running the NeedWant – we all agree on that, right?)
• Stahma and Datak will come to blows at some point this season, once she gets a taste of her own empowerment (and once she gets a taste of all those Castithan females that have been floating around the S2 set)
• How will the game be incorporated in S2?
• Will S2 move at the same quick pace, or will we settle in a little? Think about it – new characters were introduced and disposed of so quickly in S1. In the same episode that we learn Nicky is actually not human, she’s also killed.

Chris

• Baby Tarr has super powers. No joke. He/she will “save them all”! It’s going to be said in at least one episode this season.
• Amanda will “work” the Need/Want. It’s going to be awkward though..

Defiance Webisodes!?!?!?

https://twitter.com/GrantBowler/status/400803864318062592

What kind of quickies do you think we’ll see and when?

Michelle

• Doc Yewll warming up an individual frozen dinner and eating alone :(
• Amanda attempting to find batteries for her vibro
• Will these be substantive or are they merely a marketing tool to keep us interested, but not to give anything away?

Ben

• Its kind of hard to imagine webisodes bringing anything meaningful to the show. What can we learn in 6 5-min episodes? Will these be in video diary form? Does that break immersion since there’s no real video tech right now? Im excited to see what they do with this, I just hope they aren’t confessionals or an Alak daddy cam. These need to happen VERY soon. Like January soon.

Chris

• Worked well for Doctor Who? What’s happened to the 7th Irzu? We must know!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

@WomenofDefiance and @HellbugsinLove will be starting up another Defiance Twitter rewatch party beginning in January – Monday nights at 9pm. Follow them on twitter to join them as they live tweet the episodes.

NEWS FROM THE BAY AREA

[What we did in game]

Ben

• All I have to say is, public test server.

Chris

• Stupid. Fucking. Arenas.

ARKBREAKER DLC LANDS DEC 10!

http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/11/21/arkbreaker-dlc-lands-dec-10/

• So the second DLC pack for Defiance is scheduled for release Tuesday December 10, just a couple short weeks,for both consoles and PC.

• The DLC will bring a new content update free for all Arkhunters that include Stims, Spikes, new Co-op missions, and more.

• Purchaser of the DLC will also enjoy an all-new mission line, cold fire weapons, and interior arkfall instances, which including the 20-player Volge Warmaster boss.

• So what do i get when I purchase this DLC?

  • A New Storyline involving you, Dark Matter, and an ark-brain interface that will allow its user to rain down arkfalls.

  • The ability to call down an arkfall and battle your way INSIDE to grab some new loot.

  • NEW GUNS! Cold fire sniper rifles, pistols, and assault rifles can be had in a summoned arkfall and now there are 20 new “advanced tech weapons” that Dahanese was kind enough to list on the forums here: http://forums.defiance.com/showthread.php?140943-Arkbreaker-(DLC2)-is-coming-December-10&p=1331426&viewfull=1#post1331426

  • A Volge Engineer Outfit that makes you look like a mechanic with sharp edged shoulderpads and a helmet (http://forums.defiance.com/showthread.php?141514-Volge-engineer-outfit-Arkbreaker-DLC-2)

• And whats free?

  • All missions in Defiance are now co-op-able (is that even a word?) and there are now co-op versions of all the single player instances. There’s even a nice little blog post from Trick Dempsey about how “silly” it was NOT to have co-op persistent throughout the game. http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/11/27/the-evolution-of-co-op-in-defiance/

  • Spikes, which radiate a bonus effect of ammo, increased damage, and protection, are available as drops, rewards, and purchasable from vendors.

  • Stims, which provide healing, speed, and strength boosts or an EGO cooldown refresh, are also available as drops, rewards, and purchasable through vendors.

  • All players can participate on Arkbreaks. If a Major Arkfall is called down, then be prepared to battle THE WARMASTER! A 20 player 7 minute fight inside the arkfall that can scale balance for as few as 17 players.

  • Now there are Daily and Weekly Ark Hunter Rewards

    • Daily Reward provided me with Scrip, Resources, Keycodes and Ark Spike Batteries

    • Unfortunately the Weekly Reward provided me with the same, just in larger quantity.

• Other changes not mentioned in detail

  • New Arkbreaker Pursuits

    • Spike Driver

      • Deploy a blue Ammo Spike

      • Deploy a blue Protection Spike

      • Deploy a ble Damage Spike

    • Stim Connoisseur

      • Use a blue Power Stim

      • Use a blue Brawler Stim

      • Use a blue Heal Stim

    • Miracle of Science

      • Complete the main mission ‘New Discoveries”

      • Complete the main mission “Nowhere To Go But Up”

      • Call down a minor arkfall

      • Help call down a major arkfall

      • Complete the main mission “Combat Tech, Part 1”

      • Complete the main mission “Combat Tech, Part 2”

  • Tweaks to the UI

    • most notably in the lower left corner of your HUD

    • Maps now indicate where current contracts are located

    • Inventory has a Favorites system for weapons you want to keep

    • Players now have indicators over their heads to easily see where your party and friends are without having to look at the minimap.

    • All menus over gameplay are now somewhat transparent

    • The Ctrl quick menu now looks like the new chat window

    • The character loadout screen has been changed, with locked slots now showing what EGO rating will unlock them, Spikes, Stims and Grenades are now nestled between the Shield and Vehicle slots, and the EGO ability and perk are moved below that. The way we change titles and appearances has now been put under one handy button with a nice treed menu system for ordering your outfits.

    • The Defiance store now tells you how many items you have yet to claim right on the button

    • The Store now has a new layout for items, making me think there will be much more added later. Theres now a way to sort by name, price, top seller, etc, as well as two featured items windows off to the left and a top sellers window below that, maximizing your exposure to goods in the store.

    • Also a new category was added, Bundles.

  • CLAN CHANGES!!

    • Now clans can participate in Activities like Arkfalls, Sieges, Co-op Maps, basically everything you do now, to contribute to an overall Clan rating, which in turns unlock Global Bonuses for clan members.

JOIN THE DEFIANCE PUBLIC TEST SERVER NOW!

http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/11/26/join-the-defiance-public-test-server-now/

• The Public Test server went live on the 26th and many PC arkhunters have already met THE VOLGE WARMASTER!

• If you haven’t previewed the Arkbreaker DLC and would like to, head to http://defiance.trionworlds.com, select “Manage Games” and pick “Defiance Alpha Test” from the drop down menu. You must own a copy of Defiance on PC.

AWESOME WEAPON SALE THROUGH DECEMBER 1ST!

http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/11/23/awesome-weapon-sale-through-december-1st/

• From Nov 23rd until December 1st, Full Synergy Mod Hoards and Weapon Kits are available in the Defiance Store.

• Full Synergy Mod Hoards will provide you with a full random synergy for a random weapon type.

• Weapon Kits will provide you with a random weapon with a full set of uncommon or better mods.

LAST MINUTE ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Join our PC clan IGNI FERROQUE! <defiancereporter.guildlaunch.com>
  No registration required, just look for one of these officers in-game, Corso Vanlocke, Jack Thundersteele, or Almazar to get an invite!

CONTACT US!

Email: defiance@mmoreporter.com

Twitter: twitter.com/defiancepodcast or @defiancepodcast

Website: defiancereporter.com

Voicemail: 616-666-6778 (and our new widget on the ride hand side of the page)

Facebook: facebook.com/defiancereporter

Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Ben: twitter.com/nebsinsane

Chris: twitter.com/almazar

Michelle: twitter.com/womenofdefiance