Bialar Crais
Encyclopedia : B : BI : BIA : Bialar Crais
| Farscape character | |
 | |
| Sebacean Farming Colony | |
|---|---|
| Race | Sebacean |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Peacekeepers; Independent; Talyn; Ally of Moya's crew |
| Portrayer | Lani Tupu |
Bialar Crais is a fictional character in the television science fiction series Farscape. The series' creator, Rockne O'Bannon, named the character after his friend, contemporary mystery novelist Robert Crais.
Played by Lani Tupu (who also provides the voice for the animatronic puppet character Pilot onboard Moya), Bialar Crais was born in a Sebacean farming community, but while still a boy, he and his younger brother Tauvo were taken from their family and conscripted against their will into the Peacekeeper military. As they were hauled away, Crais' father charged him to look after his younger brother. It was a burden Crais would always remember, one that would later come back to haunt him.
Peacekeeper for Life
Crais and his brother eventually dedicated themselves to their lives as Peacekeepers. Both rose through the ranks until Crais gained command of his own Command Carrier. It was a position rarely achieved by any Peacekeeper not born on a carrier, perhaps even the first such case. Tauvo, who had reached the rank of Lieutenant, served under Crais' direct command as a Prowler pilot.
Crais was able to use his position to pursue several scientific projects, one of which included the breeding of a Leviathan gunship under the supervision of Lt. Velorek. The project took place on the Leviathan Moya and led to the placement of the ship's current Pilot, after her first pilot was executed. The project eventually led to Velorek's execution after it was revealed that he was undermining its progress as well as Crais' first encounter with Officer Aeryn Sun. [link]
Two cycles later, Crais' battle group was transporting Moya to the prison colony Terren Ra, when the prisoners aboard Moya staged an escape. Crais ordered an attack on the Leviathan to stop them, and a number of Prowlers assaulted the overtaken Leviathan. During the fight, a wormhole opened in space and the Farscape One module, piloted by John Crichton, emerged. The module appeared directly in front of Tauvo's Prowler and he was unable to avoid collision. The impact knocked his Prowler out of control and into a nearby asteroid, destroying the ship and killing him. After taking Crichton's ship onboard, the prisoners, whom included Ka D'Argo, Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, and Dominar Rygel XVI, managed to free Moya of her control collar and starburst away. Officer Sun's Prowler was caught in the ship's wake and pulled with it. When Crais learned of the accident, he believed that Crichton had intentionally rammed Tauvo's Prowler and murdered his brother. He pursued Moya to a nearby commerce planet and confronted Crichton and Aeryn on its surface, accusing Crichton of murder and threatening to dissect him for further study. When Aeryn attempted to defend Crichton, Crais declared her "irreversibly contaminated" for spending too much time with the unknown human, a charge that carried the sentence of death. As they were being transferred back to his carrier, John and Aeryn managed to escape back to Moya. Though Crais pursued with his Command Carrier, Crichton was able to use the planet's gravity to sling Moya to a velocity that allowed her to escape. Though he had lost him for now, Crais decided to pursue Moya outside of Peacekeeper space and into the Uncharted Territories in order to recover its prisoners and bring his brother's "killer" to justice. [link]
In the Uncharted Territories
For the next cycle, Crais is the primary antagonist of Crichton and Moya, scouring the Uncharted Territories for them. During that time, he rediscovered the legendary Command Carrier Zelbinion. Not wanting to take time away from his search, Crais left a group of technicians to salvage what they could from the ship then left, planning to return for them later. While he was gone, the techs were attacked by Sheyangs and all but one technician, Gilina Renaez, were killed. The Zelbinion would later be discovered by Moya and boarded by her crew. They aided Gilina in partially repairing the ship and driving off the Sheyangs. Gilina agreed to keep her encounter with Crichton and his companions a secret from Crais when he returned. [link]
Later, Crais was pulled into a confrontation with Crichton by the malevolent entity Maldis. Though Crichton tried to reason with Crais, Maldis' influence drove Crais into a rage and he tried to kill Crichton with his bare hands. When Crichton got the upper hand, Maldis transferred Crais back to his Command Carrier. There, Crais was ordered by Peacekeeper High Command to cease his pursuit of Moya and return to Peacekeeper space. Crais ignored the order and murdered the only other officer who knew about it, his first officer Lt. Teeg. Crais had gone rogue. [link]
Throughout his search, Crais placed a number of wanted-beacons througout the Uncharted Territories in hopes someone would turn them in for a reward. The beacons also contained a message for Aeryn, offering her an honorable discharge if she returned to the Peacekeepers. Despite the beacons, his efforts to find them remained fruitless. [link]
Months later, Crais was informed by Scorpius that he had captured Crichton at his Gammak Base. Happy that Crichton was finally theirs, Crais took his carrier to the Gammak Base to retrieve Crichton. There, he aided Scorpius in interrogating Crichton in the Aurora Chair since Scorpius refused to hand Crichton over before he found certain information. The interrogation ended abruptly when they discovered a memory that showed Crichton giving Crais information on wormholes, exactly what Scorpius wanted. The memory was fake, created by Gilina, whom had been transferred to the Gammak Base. Scorpius used the Aurora Chair on Crais but instead of the wormhole information, he found Crais' memory of Teeg's murder. Realizing that the chair had been fooled, he stopped the interrogation. Before Crais was let out of the chair, however, he was found by Aeryn Sun. He ordered her to release him, but she refused. When he vowed to hunt her down and kill her as he had vowed to Crichton, she turned the chair to full power and left him to die. Crais survived, but was a broken man. His quest to find Crichton had become Scorpius' and the half-breed soon took Crais' Command Carrier as well. [link]
Defector
Following Scorpius' takeover, Crais realized that he would soon have to face the consequences of his decisions for the past cycle. When Rygel XVI turned himself in to the Peacekeepers to betray the crew of Moya, he made a deal with the Hynerian. He would help them escape if they granted him asylum from the Peacekeepers. Rygel agreed, taking Crais with him back to Moya. Though reluctant to let him onboard, Crichton and his companions refrained from killing him and imprisoned him instead. It was then he finally faced Crichton on civil terms. He explained to Crichton that he had been wrong, that his pursuit had become more about him than his brother, and he apologized to John. Shortly after, Crais was released from his cell and taken to Talyn, Moya's newborn offspring and the successful outcome of the project he'd started nearly three cycles before. He quickly formed a bond with the young gunship and after Crichton, D'Argo, and Aeryn left to destroy the Gammak Base, he stole Talyn, devastating Moya.
Crais soon discovered he'd grabbed more than he bargained for. Talyn was difficult to control and too young to starburst. After helping save Crichton and D'Argo, he enlisted Aeryn's help to get Talyn to cooperate. After some difficulties, Talyn offered Crais the "hand of friendship" over Aeryn, to her objection. Crais was now neurally linked to Talyn and after forcing Aeryn off of the ship, he and Talyn starbursted away. [link]
With Talyn
For the next cycle, Crais and Talyn wandered the Uncharted Territories. Crais acted as a guide, a mentor, and a father to the developing Leviathan gunship. [link]
A few months after parting with Moya and her crew, Crais and Talyn encountered a Halosian vessel. Though they informed the Halosians that they travelled peacefully, the Halosians attacked. Crais ordered Talyn to fire in self defense, effectively crippling the Halosian vessel. [link]
Months later, Crais and Talyn contacted Moya. It was his intention to help Talyn become less aggressive and threatening to others by replacing his main cannon with non-lethal weapons. He planned to purchase them from Plokavians, but he needed the help of Moya's crew to install the weaponry. When the Plokavians arrived, however, Talyn fired on their ship, destroying it before again fleeing. It was later revealed that Talyn had detected a substance on the Plokavian ship that would have threatened Moya. He had destroyed the ship to protect his mother. [link]
At one point while under Scarran torture, Crichton would encounter a mental image of Crais. This image was cast in the role of an Australian beat cop. [link]
Crais and Talyn would again cross the paths of Moya and her crew after Talyn heard a call of distress from his mother. While Talyn helped Moya recover, Aeryn implored Crais to help them assault a Shadow Depository and save Crichton. Crais refused to allow Talyn to participate as he was hoping to steer the Leviathan away from violence. Talyn decided to return, however, and they destroyed the Shadow Depository with a single strafing run. After Crichton was recovered, Crais and Talyn accompanied Moya to a planet where she could be healed from severe burns and Crichton could have Scorpius' chip removed from his head. Crais and Talyn orbited and kept watch for any Peacekeepers. While they waited, Crais informed Aeryn that Talyn wanted someone else to help guide him along with Crais. Together, they had selected Aeryn. While Aeryn was gratified at the offer, she left to pursue Crichton after he escaped Moya. Aeryn was killed before she could ever give an answer. Her death devastated Crais and he attended her funeral before returning to Talyn. The distraction provided by her death also allowed Scorpius to reach the planet's surface undetected in a Marauder. After recovering Crichton's chip, Scorpius fled in the Marauder. Crais and Talyn pursued and destroyed the Marauder before it could reach Scorpius' Command Carrier, avenging Aeryn's death. Again Crais and Talyn starbursted away, believing both Aeryn and Scorpius to be dead. Both would eventually be false as Scorpius had not been onboard the Marauder and Zhaan would sacrifice herself to bring Aeryn back from the dead. [link] [link] [link]
Shortly after these events, Crais and Talyn were discovered and attacked by a Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad. Talyn managed to fight off part of the squad, but he was severely damaged by a Pantack Class Vigilante armed with an Immobilizer Pulse. Though they managed to escape, both Crais and Talyn were nearly killed and ended up drifting for days before Moya arrived, having received a signal from her son. When he was revived, Crais explained the situation and informed Aeryn that her mother, Xhalax Sun, was in command of the squad. Shortly afterward, a healed Talyn had to separate from Moya. Crais and Talyn were now joined by Aeryn, Rygel, Stark, and one of the twinned Crichtons.
They would travel together for several months, during which Crais would face his growing attraction to Aeryn, Talyn's persistent behavioral problems, and the ever threatening Retrieval Squad. At one point, Xhalax and her squad tracked Talyn to a planet where he was healing. When her squad failed to capture or eliminate Talyn, Crais, and their companions, she found herself at their mercy. Knowing Xhalax was too dangerous to leave alive, Crais offered to kill her so Aeryn didn't have to do so. Though he fired his weapon, making the others believe he had indeed killed Xhalax, he decided to spare her life and instead made a deal with Xhalax. He would allow her to live if Xhalax informed the Peacekeepers that Talyn and Crais were dead. Xhalax agreed, but this would not be the last time they would encounter her. After Crichton was killed on Dam-Ba-Da, Stark discovered Xhalax alive on Valldon. Though they believed that Crais had betrayed them, he eventually convinced them that his intentions were in everyone's best interests. Eventually, Crais killed Xhalax to save Aeryn, unaware that Aeryn had reconciled with her estranged mother.
After Moya and Talyn had reunited, Crais elected to join John and Aeryn in stopping Scorpius' wormhole program. As they enacted Crichton's plan, Talyn became more irrational, going as far as destroying an unarmed medical ship as well as firing on his own mother, Moya. Realizing that Talyn needed extensive repairs and modifications, Crais decided to shut down his companion and friend and bring him to the only people who could help him, the Peacekeepers. On the Scorpius' Command Carrier, Crais realized that the only way to stop Scorpius and destroy his carrier would be to use Talyn. While Crichton provided a distraction, Crais managed to board Talyn and reactivate his higher functions. After convincing Talyn that their sacrifice would save many lives, including Moya's, Crais ordered Talyn to starburst inside of the carrier's hangar. The resulting explosion was devastating, slowly consuming the Command Carrier from within. The sacrifice of himself and Talyn allowed Crais to exact his vengeance on Scorpius, allowed Crichton accomplish his mission and save countless lives, saved Aeryn, whom Crais had come to care for deeply (possibly to the point of love), and allowed Talyn to die nobley and free from Peacekeeper control. Their deaths gave Crais and Talyn the redemption they had long sought.
Afterward
Though he was dead, Crais would appear again in various forms. Less than a cycle after his death, Crichton encountered an image of Crais inside of a mental video game-like device. This image was in the form of an ogre. The ogre-Crais was married to a princess whom greatly resembled Aeryn.
Crichton would again encounter Crais, this time in an Unrealized Reality. In this reality, Crichton was a Peacekeeper and Crais his commanding officer. After the Peacekeeper Crichton accomplished his mission by inadvertently capturing Moya and killing her crew, Crais embraced him and congratulated him on a job well done.
Character Development
Crais begins the series as a typical villain, chasing the show's hero because of a personal need for revenge. Backstory on Crais reveals that he had been forced to be a Peacekeeper and that his father had charged him with protecting his younger brother, a fact that made him slightly more sympathetic. His continued failure to catch Crichton, and the introduction of Scorpius late in the first year leads to a change in Crais. By this time he has realized that his chase for Crichton was to fulfill his personal desire rather than for his brother's memory. He chooses to leave the Peacekeepers and take Talyn, the product of his most successful project. Unexpectedly, Crais is a fairly positive influence on Talyn. He acts as a mentor, teacher, father, and friend to Talyn and tries to teach him peace and discipline. The bond between Crais and Talyn grows strong, stronger even than Talyn's relationship with Aeryn.
In the two cycles following his defection from the Peacekeepers, Crais becomes a valuable ally to Moya's crew. With most of them, however, he does not ever reach the level of friendship. Crais often acts in the interests of Talyn and himself. When he performs an action that he deems necessary, he will go ahead and do it, with or without the consent or even knowledge of his companions. Though he fights beside him on several occasions, Crais doesn't really like Crichton. By the time of the death of Talyn's Crichton, however, he has gained respect for John. With Aeryn, Crais' respect eventually grows into something more. He admires many of her traits and grows to care about her deeply, likely to the point of love. His change leads to his decision with Talyn to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop Scorpius and save them all.
Crais' respect for the Peacekeeper mandates is unclear; at times, he's the flagbearer for military tradition; at other times, he's a renegade. Anything that could be construed as a challenge to his authority terrifies him; he despises Scorpius for almost the same reason he despises Crichton. Like Inspector Javert, Crais simply wants the universe to operate by his rules. And only Crais knows what his rules are.
Because of this, the motives behind his decision to defect from the Peacekeeper military, and his decision to steal Talyn, remain to be fully revealed.
In the penultimate episode of Season 3, Crais uses Talyn to perform a suicidal Starburst inside Scorpius' command carrier. This heroic act of self-sacrifice effectively destroys the Peacekeeper wormhole project, but Talyn and Crais along with it.
External links
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