Death of Empire (2018) Review

 

Death of Empire is an entertaining mess, but a mess nonetheless. 

WRITTEN BY

Steve Lyons, who's always been a bit of a mixed bag. I think Velandra is his best effort, it's certainly the most experimental he ever got. And I enjoyed Devil's Advocate for its political aspect. But the others have been kind of meh. 

PLOT

The Civil War has reached its zenith, with the old President's forces bombarding Servalan's palace on the planet Gedden. Believing that Servalan will outwit him, Avon pledges the crew to her cause and tries to rescue her, only to find the tide turning for the old President's favor. Meanwhile, Tarrant's battle with Mordekain ends up nearly wrecking the Liberator. 

ANALYSIS

I think there's a version of this story that could work, but it would need copious rewrites. We don't really know what Avon hopes to achieve by rescuing Servalan. Galactic peace? Special favors from Servalan's regime? Both are unlikely. If anything, the Liberator should encourage the war in order to deplete the armies of the Federation. 

Zeera Voss has some sort of alliance with the old President, but I genuinely couldn't understand what was going on there. She apparently expects the President to win, but she's also trying to help Servalan escape, or maybe she wanted to make sure she'd end up on the shuttle that gets blown out? But then she was also sneaking her onto the Liberator. But then she also kills the President's clone...? I guess she's playing both sides, but it was very confusing and I have no idea what her actual endgame is. Why does the President even bother sending the clone to discuss terms? He had to know Servalan wouldn't surrender. 

Also, rather than just letting Avon take her away (or trap him somehow), Servalan forces him to go through a battlefield and break into a herculaneum door to get to her. Which just seems like a massive waste of time on everybody's part. 

That all being said, there's a lot of great oneliners and action. I enjoyed Tarrant's battle with Mordekain (it was reminiscent of his conversations and combat with Jarvik in The Harvest of Kairos), the war sequences on Gedden were gripping and the scope of the story impressed me. It felt big and ambitious in scale, with both the crew and the Liberator constantly on the verge of being wiped out by forces far beyond their own. 

Probably my favourite part of the whole thing was the cliffhanger, with the flaming Liberator careening through the galaxy towards a blue star. What a memorable image. It's left me very excited to get to the Restoration box sets, and more enthused for Blake's 7 audios than I've been in a long while. 

CHARACTERS

Tarrant is the standout of this story. I liked that his recent encounter with his brother was not forgotten, and that Dayna offered to give him an ear. Which he refused, because it's "not what we do". It's a kind of tragic foreshadowing of the crew's attitude in Series D, where everyone is dispensable and there's not a scrap of empathy left in them. It's a self-destructive streak that's beginning to set in, and it's incredibly tragic. Tarrant could have let Dayna in and bonded a little, but out of pride or stubbornness, he refused. It's just not what they do. I also liked how his battle with Mordekain tied back to his hero complex in Series C. It goes without saying that Steven Pacey gives another great performance. 

I was pleased to see some of the Old President's bite return. Even if he does let Mordekain yell at him, at least he isn't just whining about Servalan taking his job and actually does some scheming. Hugh Fraser is just impeccable with every line delivery. 

It seems the writers are content to keep Zeera Voss and Mordekain as mere plot devices, which is disappointing. Neither of them have any personal rivalry with the Liberator crew, and no particular reason to be loyal to their leaders. They're just there as recurring tag-alongs. A waste.

NOTES

• This marks Jacqueline Pearce's final performance as Servalan.
• The scene in which Vila has gotten drunk enough to be professional about the mission was great stuff. It's classic Vila. 
• I like Dayna using her weapons knowledge to destroy a tank, but we could have skipped the big cringy song and dance she makes in front of it. Same goes for Tarrant and Mordekain's endless banter over the comms. I know it's an audio, but more shooting, less talking please.
• Why doesn't Avon just take Servalan prisoner instead of wasting time talking about whether to bring her along?
• Zeera seems surprised when Avon refuses to take her along. What did she expect? Whose side is she on?!?
• Why did the President draw his flagship away from the Liberator? The flagship wasn't the one that blew up Servalan's shuttle anyway, so why not keep shooting at the Liberator and let the rest of his ships take care of Servalan? It's a very contrived way to keep the Liberator intact. 
• Servalan pretending to be dead for like ten seconds, apparently just to confuse Avon was a bit rubbish. 
• Alistair Lock's sad line delivery of "confirmed" pulled at the heartstrings. 

INFORMATION!

• Servalan's apparent death on the planet Gedden and her title as Supreme Empress are lifted from Traitor. 
• Servalan has left Earth since it was wrecked by the Armageddon Storm in Punishment. 
• Tarrant is still moody after the events of Kith and Kin.
• Mordekain and Tarrant's previous encounter in The Scapegoat is mentioned. 
• Tarrant mentions how the President pardoned Mordekain, following his desertion during the Andromedan War. 
• The President's clones were previously featured in Caged. 
• Dayna mentions the times that the crew let Servalan go without killing her when they had the chance (Aftermath, Rumours of Death, Death-Watch, Solus, Dissent). 

BEST QUOTE

CALLY: (describing Servalan's hideaway) "It's a jungle world. An apt place to find the galaxy's most venomous predator."

CONCLUSION

It was fun to listen to, so I won't rag on it too much. A mindless action adventure.