The Nietzscheans leave the Commonwealth and Tyr leaves Andromeda.
Hunt learns about the Nietzschean rebellion
Episode Summary
Some time after the last episode (Tyr is back on Andromeda), Hunt receives word from the Commonwealth that the Nietzscheans are seceding from the union and have started attacking random planets and drifts.
Another day on Andromeda
But wait, whats this? Andromeda gets a special delivery: two very large boxes. Gee, I wonder whats inside…oh crap, a Nietzschean boarding party. They pulled a Trojan horse!
The Nietzschean boarding party takes Billy from Battlestar Galactica hostage
Nietzschean Surprise
They storm the ship, grab Drago Musevni’s bones from Tyr’s quarters, then steal the Eureka Maru. But oh-oh, these Nietzscheans, as we soon discover, are working under Tyr’s orders.
Tyr’s the real leader of the boarding party?!
Andromeda follows the Maru into Nietzschean space to the Drago-Kazov homeworld. Ataturk arrives and outs Tyr as the new leader of the Nietzscheans, then starts towing Andromeda as a trophy.
Ataturk returns
Tyr wants to use Andromeda to destroy the Drago-Kazovs because he hates them and thinks they suck, but Hunt doesn’t like this idea.
Hunt and Tyr have a confrontation
Fleet Battles
A bunch of Commonwealth ships arrive and get in a fight with a bunch of Nietzschean ships. Then a bunch of B-grade alien ships (the Kalderans, Ogami, etc.) arrive and also fight the Nietzcheans before turning on the Commonwealth and destroying them as well.
A fleet arrives
While this is going on, Tyr decides to leave the Andromeda crew: “Any dubious obligation I might have had to you, I have fulfilled.” He heads out in a slipfighter. “Live well, Tyr Anasazi,” says Captain Hunt.
Bye Tyr!
Thoughts
There were a lot of twists and turns in this episode, but it’s a little hard to keep up with all the betrayals and not-betrayals. And the fleet battle at the end felt a little tacked on, especially with the arrival of all the other alien races who seemed to have nothing to do with the preceding events. Still, for what it’s worth, it’s one of Andromeda‘s better season finales.
Tyr says goodbye to Harper
Sadly, this is really it for Tyr’s actor, Keith Hamilton Cobb – he’s no longer a part of the cast, but he will show up in a two-parter next season (after a haircut!) to give the character closure. It’s too bad, considering, as a stage actor, he brought a lot of gravitas to the show. But from what I’ve heard, it seems he only signed on for three years anyway, so at least the writers had time to prepare for his exit.
Rating
Season 3 Overview
This season continues the downward spiral of quality we witnessed in the second half of season 2. More mindless action, more focus on Captain Hunt at the expense of others (did Harper even get a spotlight episode this season?), and more bad dialogue that’s meant to be funny but really isn’t – what more can one say?
Fight! Action! Pow!
My biggest problem is with the space battles: I still can’t gauge Andromeda’s offensive and defensive capabilities, so it’s hard to tell whether I should feel tension during a fight. No matter the opponent, Andromeda seems to always suffer critical damage (with sparks flying everywhere on the bridge) after only one or two hits. So much for it being an advanced warship!
How can I root for you if I don’t know what you can do?
Unlike seasons 1 and 2, season 3 is almost entirely episodic. Sure, there’s the Tyr subplot weaved into the last few episodes of the season, and a couple follow ups to earlier episodes, but that’s it. Makes the whole season feel a bit unimportant and disposable.
Hooray for Tony Todd
Best Episodes
Cui Bono, The Lone and Level Sands, The Risk-All Point, Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath, and maybe even Twilight of the Idols. The Unconquerable Man, probably the best episode of the season (a clip show!), gives us a glimpse of a more interesting show, but uses nostalgia for Andromeda‘s better days as a crutch.
Captain Rhade from the alternate timeline
It’s worth noting that nearly all these episodes were written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who have been a part of the show since the beginning (and also worked on the script for X-Men: First Class).
We still don’t know what was up with the cat!
Worst Episodes
Where to start? The incomprehensible mess that is If the Wheel is Fixed, the ego trip that is Vault of the Heavens, the horrible attempt at comedy that is The Illusion of Majesty? How about the pointless exercise of The Shards of the Rimni and its tonal twin, The Leper’s Kiss?
Season 3 Graph
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