Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Serpent's Egg left me in awe of the world-building on Defiance

I watched the Defiance episode "The Serpent's Egg" on Monday and am in awe of their world-building. As a fan of world-building myself, one of the things that struck me in the episode is how they are peeling the layers back from the mystery that is Irisa, and in doing so, revealing a lot about the world after the invasion. How do they do this? It's a perfect expose of "Show" and don't tell. Writers, you should be listening.
This is the leader of the snake cult that tortured and probably sexually molested Irisa as a child
when her awful parents gave her to him for such experiments. The introduction of this character
hints at a very dark religion that not only sounds villainous, but may have true power because of
Irisa's burgeoning supernatural abilities. I wonder if she'll get manipulated into serving them in the future.
Irisa spots a sharply-dressed Irathient that spawns quick flashes of snakes and some kind of ritual that could make your blood go cold if you walked in on it accidentally. Obviously, the Irathient man is no stranger and is somehow connected to Irisa's past but we don't quite know yet how all the pieces fit together. When they do come together...it's almost Manson-esque weird. She kidnaps this guy and forces a snake to bite him while he's tied to a chair. Only after that does he finally admit to belonging to a snake cult and we are treated to a tale of how her parents sold her as a child to him to basically be tortured and probably sexually abused. We also find out that he's done this same thing to a number of girls, and Irisa is the only one that survived. Yikes! But that's not all. Irisa is some kind of prophet or messiah and only needs to cap one sacrifice to make "something big" happen.

The whole reveal is done with great skill.  First, the episode does a great job of convincing you that Irisa might have lost her mind. She continuously beats up and tortures her prisoner in a dark dungeon somewhere in Defiance. And he keeps denying that he is who she thinks he is. But later, you realize that this is just a vehicle for her to jog her memory, and once she knows everything she actually chooses to let him go.

Simultaneously with this storyline, there's also one that follows Nolan and the Mayor out of Defiance with a suitcase of cash. Nolan is escorting a dangerous criminal to a prison in Las Vegas and on the ride we are introduced to Ambassador Tennety who turns out to be evil AND a polygamist. When was the last time you got treated to a woman keeping multiple men around? And the polygamy bit is not related to her evil (which is simply nature vs. views on marriage).

I also learned that the St. Louis arch is now a deejay studio. I suppose that works. I'm really pleased with how much I understand of Defiance just a few episodes in. Plus it's a reminder that rather than employing an info dump, it's much better to create your world through the experiences of your protagonist.

Are you watching Defiance yet? Do you think it's brilliant science fiction? What method do you employ to build worlds in your novels?

Have a great Wednesday.

22 comments:

  1. Haven't got around to watching it yet but will now. Thanks for sharing and World Building is so important in enhancing your writing.

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  2. I don't think we get that show here in the UK! Wish we did though :(

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  3. So many shows on the syfy channel have been flops that I didn't really try to watch this, but if you say it's good I'll try and check it out.

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  4. I haven't heard of this show. It sounds like a good one. I've just now noticed your sidebar lists all your show tags. Cool.

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  5. That episode was good. So far Defiance has surprised me. The ending was a little frustrating (they should've capped her in the desert) but my wife actually cheered when Irisa jumped the deputy.

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  6. Gee-whiz. I must be living under a rock. Never heard of this before. Plus, that dude is way creepy-looking. Yuck!

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  7. Hadn't heard of this show, but after Googling it, I'm going to see if I can get it here in Mexico.

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  8. I've seen some of the series and its exceeded my expectations.

    I'll watch the series in its entirety once season one is released.

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  9. We don't have TV stations, so I haven't seen it. Perhaps Netflix? I love watching movies and shows that demonstrate how to show, not tell. I've actually learned a lot about writing through film watching. Glad you came away with entertainment and information.

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  10. Here's some sci-fi for you: I swear I didn't see this post this morning when I checked my reader and now it says this was posted 10 hours ago! WTF? It must be something quantum at work.

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  11. Films can teach us so much. (Save The Cat) Watching scenes on the tube enhances my writing just as much as reading a great book. I didn't think I would like Defiance. But it is fun to watch!

    Michael, you are spot-on with how info dumps just don't work! Period! To show your world just show the protag in the world. Make it real!

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  12. I just skipped your post because I haven't watched it yet. Hope to catch up tomorrow and then I'll come back and read your analysis.

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  13. It's like channeling the past which is an excellent way to bring in the paranormal elements. Snakes however would not exactly make me want to see the show. LOL Might just be me. -Eve

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  14. Another interesting program I wasn't aware of.

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  15. I've been watching and I'm not sure it's brilliant yet. But I did think the episode you talk about here was the best so far. It has a lot of potential and I would love to see this show realize it. I'll keep watching. It took SG Universe awhile to get really good.

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  16. I've caught just enough snippets of Defiance to know I should try catching up because I might like it.

    I really am impressed with the growing number of TV shows that have complex backstories and characters that are allowed to develop and grow more complex. For me, this is where TV has an advantage over movies.

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  17. Hey Michael,

    As of now, we don't get that show in Britain. From what you wrote, I look forward to it eventually arriving here.

    Hey we sent you "Doctor Who". You might of even got "Torchwood", which is an anagram of Doctor Who.

    Cheers, dude.

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  18. I love Defiance. I like how everything is filtered through the here and now. The world is presenting itself throught the experiences of the initial characters Nolan and Irisa.

    World building is super important to me. I don't have to know every detail; I just need to know how it works through the MC eyes to be totally immersed.

    ......dhole

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  19. I watched the episode and didn't get all these messages. I'm currently deliberating whether to stop watching, since it looks cheap and has outdated plot.

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  20. I have to say that when I have a visual of what I'm supposed to do in my writing, I get it much better. Maybe that's why I loved Hooked by Les Edgerton and Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. I may have to watch this episode just to see how it shows "show." Thanks!

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  21. I didn't think Irisa was crazy. I was sure she was right.

    Okay, I think I'm caught up now. For the moment.

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  22. I haven't been watching Defiance but I've seen some trailers. I'm reluctant because between my Game of Thrones and Dexter obsessions, I'm trying not to become addicted to anything else! I'll probably watch it when Dexter ends for good.

    Jai

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