Aeryn Sun is a new woman.
The character died a horrible death in "Die Me, Dichotomy," Farscape's second season finale. However, Sun was back in action by the end of year three's opener, "Season Of Death," reluctantly revived by the blue priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey). It was no surprise that Sun was resurrected, though, as she is not only the series' female lead on the show, but one of its most popular characters. More to the point, Claudia Black was on set in Australia filming new episodes even as Sun met her demise on the Sci Fi Channel. "My only concern," says the actress, "was that the character be brought back gracefully and not too conveniently."
Mission accomplished. Sun returned, but did so at the expense of Zhaan. Over the ensuing episodes following Sun's resurrection -that's assuming she was ever really and completely dead- Zhaan quickly faded away and then died.
As Sun came to grips with her second chance at life, she discovered she wasn't quite the same person she had been before. "Aeryn feels the cold a bit more," Black cracks. "No, seriously, I think that where Crichton (Ben Browder) is concerned, she is willing to yield to him a little bit more each episode as the season progresses. You're seeing Aeryn starting to warm to him exponentially. She's beginning to appreciate him in her life, because she now realizes what life would be like without him. At first, she was a little cranky with him, because he was so affected by Scorpius."
The ramifications of Zhaan's sacrifice are still being felt on the show. The characters aboard Moya and Talyn clearly miss the crew's spiritual center, and, actually, Black and her co-stars still feel Hey's absence. "It's really weird because you're forced to continue," notes the Australian actress, whose credits include episodes of Beastmaster, Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, as well as the hit film Pitch Black. "It's just as in real life. When someone dies, it seems cruel and even rude that everything else continues. It was strange going on to the set and realizing the show would keep kicking on, that the momentum of the beast had already been established and we would have to hang on for the ride. And Virginia was a big part of that, of the show having gained such momentum. Even people who really weren't familiar with the show could associate this strange, beautiful blue woman with Farscape, because her face was so out there at the beginning, when they were trying to build awareness for Farscape.
"I was very happy for Virginia. Farscape is a massive show and we work incredibly hard. I was slightly envious. I thought, 'You know, she made the decision to go and I respect her for it.' It's not easy to leave a show like this one, where it's creative and the crew is like a family. You can get into a comfort zone, where you want to stay, and it may not necessarily be the best decision for your career. So I think Virginia is very brave, and we all respect her decision. From what I hear, she's in America now, auditioning and trying to get on with the next phase of her career."
As for the next phase of Farscape, Black would love to reveal things to come, but can't for fear of upsetting the show's executive producers, Rockne O'Bannon and David Kemper. Suffice it to say that audiences will see more episodes featuring some of the crew on Talyn and some of them on Moya, more of newcomer Jool (Tammy McIntosh) and a Sun-heavy outing penned by Justin Monjo and directed by Rowan Woods. And then, of course, there's the ongoing saga that is the burgeoning relationship between Sun and Crichton.
"I don't think the audience will be disappointed," teases Claudia Black, who will next be seen as Pandora opposite Aaliyah and Stuart Townsend in the film version of Anne Rice's The Queen Of The Damned. "Though to say that they won't be disappointed is slightly misleading. Ben and I are certainly happy that Crichton and Aeryn are getting the opportunity to spend some time with one another on screen. Ben's episode ("Green-Eyed Monster," which he scripted) was important in terms of defining the relationship. I think the producers have been trying to avoid putting the characters together for as long as possible. Where can you go from the season-two ending, with both of them actually saying the L-word to each other? You have to do something from there. You have to deliver on that promise. So Crichton and Aeryn are going to get to have some fun, but they run into some troubles along the way as well. And that's all I'm going to tell you."