A curiously un-suspenseful episode... It all seemed very downbeat and resigned. A brave (some would say foolhardy) attempt to destroy Mantrid does finally succeed, by taunting him to his own destruction...

       And then Xev steps on him.

       Well, I suppose in one way it's appropriate. Love Slaves were designed to be the ultimate human doormat, so seeing the Lizard turn was satisfying. In another way it was bathetic. The destroyer of universes ground underfoot, while screaming like a frustrated child throwing a tantrum? Anti-climactic, I'd have said. And how did he get there in the first place (or did I miss something)?

       The tiny scene with the butterfly was delightful, if strange. On Earth, traditionally, and on an almost global scale, butterflies represent the soul. They're also short-lived, summer creatures, mostly unable to endure cold temperatures. Of course, they also represent metamorphosis, the change of something slow, earthbound and frequently ugly into a winged jewel. Does this link to Xev's action in smashing Mantrid's cube (her final revenge on the Divine Order which will allow her to realise her full potential - whatever that might be...?) Does it prefigure changes to the crew, or the Lexx itself, which will be explored in Series Three? Or does it mean that the Lexx' interior is becoming more organic, capable of supporting life in a more holistic way? Are we going to see a garden in its guts? And where did the butterfly - or, more likely, the caterpillar - come from in the first place? One of the worlds visited? Did Paw or one of his family bring it aboard? Is it actually all that's left of Lyekka (either her soul, or a small remnant of her physical body - an attractive idea, that. After all, she was a plant, and butterflies pollinate plants...)? Was it there all along? (I find the idea of the Cluster supporting something as useless as a butterfly hard to swallow...) Was it simply used as a symbol of rebirth? Does anyone else have any suggestions?

       The special effects were quite impressive, managing to suggest the vastness of the overall plot fairly effectively (not an easy thing to do on the small screen) - though I have to say I found the mallet-wielding 790-drone mass just silly. The image of the Mantrid drones siphoning matter from the star was particularly good - and frightening.

       And so they find themselves back in the Dark Zone. Is it ready for them? Probably not. Do we really care? Well, that depends entirely on the overall shape of the next series. If it's just a drawn-out odyssey from planet to planet, having 'adventures'/blowing things up/never finding anywhere quite right to settle, then I for one do not. That's what Star Trek does, and frankly I lost interest in Star Trek early in TNG (although I have enjoyed some of the DS9 episodes. Strong, funny, attractive characters and some very poignant human - and alien - dilemmas...) However, there's plenty of scope for a dynamic, exciting Series Three. It'll be interesting to see what the Beans do with the opportunities it offers!

       So... A cycle of time is 14 billion years (I'll assume Terran years in the absence of any other acknowledged time measurement). I thought the lifespan of the universe was a little longer than that, but not much, so I assume one cycle of time is (more or less) the space between Big Bang and Big Crunch... And Mantrid has just engineered the Big Crunch in the Light Universe, and the Lexx crew survived (did the DJ also survive?), making them - probably - the only sentients (apart, perhaps, from the Time Prophet?) ever to live out the end of one cycle of time...

       I thought that the opposite of the Big Bang was the Big Crunch (no, not the Gnab Gib - unless you've done your six impossible things and are enjoying a pleasant breakfast's apocalypse at Milliways....). Not that it's really important. I just find the euphony and resonance of crunch more effective than that of collapse...

       Just an idle thought, but does anyone have any suggestions as to what effect the premature Big Crunch of the Light Universe might have on the Dark Zone (or any other continua in the multiverse, come to that)?

       If the Lexx and its crew were able to make it into the Dark Zone, were any of the Mantrid drones able to do so, as well? I sincerely hope not. I find series' with a single recurring 'baddie' tedious in the extreme.

       And why the hell didn't you kill off 790 and keep Lyekka?...

Brief Overview

       ... So that was Lexx, Series Two. So how well did it work?...

       Well, for me, it didn't deliver everything the hype said it would. Yes, there were arcs and mini-arcs within the series - but a number of them were under-utilised. Lyekka was the prime example. To create such a wonderful character and then only bring her out of her pod to kill villains was positively criminal. I only hope that her 'dream-ghost' appearance to Stan means that she hasn't quite gone for good...

       We never did find out the significance of Kai's liking balloons and fishing. In fact, we found out precious little about Kai that we didn't already know. As you all know, I'm not a Kai fan, but even I felt a little cheated. OK, we discovered a fair bit about the Brunnen-G as a whole, but on the subject of all those thousands of years worth of memories... bugger all. Disappointing or what?

       On the subject of Mantrid himself, I could be wrong (because I could never bestir myself sufficiently to be bothered to watch the series), but I felt vaguely definite and definitely vague echoes of the Borg. Weren't they human-machine hybrids intent on wiping out humanity (everything non-Borg, in fact)? OK - Mantrid isn't quite as un-human as those Borg I have seen, but the principle is the same...

       And yet... and yet... The good episodes are really good: thoroughly enjoyable, thought-provoking and intelligent; well acted, and beautifully directed and produced. It's just such a pity that they aren't all of such a high quality...

       And will I watch the next series? Good question... On balance, I think so. Of the 20 episodes, I'd rate 3 as very good, 5 as good, 8 as OK-to-indifferent, 2 as poor and 1 as unforgivable. Uneven and erratic, but with just enough of a positive swing to persuade me to tune in. Whether I actually write about them is another matter...