Women of Farscape #5 - Sikozu

[nymeria_dw]

SIKOZU

Like Jool, Sikozu appears only in one season, the fourth and final one of Farscape, and in the conclusive mini-series PEACEKEEPER WARS, but her character is explored in far greater depth, so she quickly becomes one of the key roles in the story-line: shrewd and enigmatic, quite intelligent but disdainful toward those she considers inferiors (which means almost everyone), she soon shows herself as a controversial, multi-layered and intriguing figure.

Sikozu is gifted with a superior intellect: able to quickly learn a language only by listening to it; she possesses an encyclopedic knowledge on many subjects; she's brilliant, clever and displays a cutting sense of humor - or better, sarcasm - which she can use without mercy. Her physical abilities are on the same level as her mental gifts: she can shift her center of gravity, therefore walking as easily on the walls or ceiling as she does on floors, and the loss of a limb is for her a mere inconvenience, since she's able to reattach it without appreciable function loss. The young Kalish holds herself in high value and is firmly assured of her own superiority, which brings her to classify everyone else as irredeemably inferior.

And yet she's somehow incomplete: her vast knowledge on Leviathans is just theoretical, not supported by any hands-on experience, and her people skills are almost non-existent.

These contrasting, and puzzling, details are explained once Sikozu's true nature is revealed: she is a bioloid, an artificial construct created by the Kalish resistance as a secret weapon against Scarran domination. Her inorganic nature, and therefore her growth in an artificial and presumably isolated environment, explain the striking contrast between her psychological immaturity and the high cognitive levels. And of course her difficulties in social relationships.

There's a segment, in the mini-series PEACEKEEPER WARS, where all her contradictions come to the fore: in a short but intense dialogue with Aeryn Sun, Sikozu stresses her convictions of intellectual superiority but at the same time admits her surprise in finding her equal in Scorpius. And not just her equal, but someone who can even outsmart her.  This is the key that reveals her "innocence", so to speak, this simple black-and-white view of the world that does not understand its inherent many shades of gray, an innocence - or lack of properly gained experience - that prevents her from understanding Aeryn's reply about the mutual give-and-take at the basis of every relationship.

It's through her allegiance with Scorpius that Sikozu's personality takes on an interesting ambiguity: if on one side she actively contributes to the Moyan's survival, on the other her fascination with John Crichton's nemesis puts her in a suspicious light and prevents her full integration with the crew, always placing her at the outside of the 'circle' and accentuating her differences in a group that has found its inner strength in reciprocal diversity.

The partnership between Sikozu and Scorpius, that for a long time looks only like a meeting of minds, adds a further element of suspense in an already suspenseful story-line and is later played on the subtle edge of a mutual physical attraction reminding us of "Beauty and the Beast": Scorpius is the ultimate villain but is also marked by unappealing looks that are sometimes exasperated by ghastly behavioral patterns. The attraction game played with Sikozu, and the admiration the Kalish expresses toward Scorpius, bring the viewers to hover between fascination and revulsion while they observe, as if hypnotized, the evolution of this "match made in Hell".

The premature end of Farscape has prevented the creators from a deeper exploration of Sikozu's character and unfortunately the final mini-series only managed to worsen the situation, with the introduction of unexplained variables that did little for the development of her personality and could only accentuate the mysterious halo that envelops her.

Comments

[nebari-rebel.livejournal.com]

I have never fallen in love with a fictional character faster than I did Sikozu (by the time her eyes earnestly followed John's 'upstream' hand movement in Crichton Kicks I was smitten, and by the time she spit out 'what was YOUR plan?' I was a goner). I thought the show was perfect until she showed up and showed me there was something missing, even as she fixed that lack. In my opinion she was a seamless addition to the show and I love her interaction with everyone. I only wish she and Stark had had a moment to compare and contrast their experiences.

I often think that she is meant to be the John of S4, his darker, mirror image, thrust into this world, all her purpose stripped away, distrusted and her intellect often dismissed or derided. She is abrasive and condescending, but I also find her almost unfailingly patient and good hearted - she simply does not care or understand how she is perceived by others. It doesn't matter to her, and she is perplexed by their reaction to her, and their focus on what seems unimportant. I've told Em that if Sikozu weren't an alien I'd think she had Asperger's, and as the sister and wife of Aspies, I find that tremendously appealing, and perhaps am more inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, or interpret her words and actions and attitudes in a more charitable light than others.

I have very little clue as to what was going on with her in PKW, and have blocked most of it from my mind. I can read fic based on it, but the actual movie makes me too despondent and the choice to make her a traitor was the wrong one for the character, in my opinion. That said, I really enjoyed reading your take on it, and on her and Scorpius - much food for thought!

[nymeria-55.livejournal.com]

she simply does not care or understand how she is perceived by others. It doesn't matter to her, and she is perplexed by their reaction to her, and their focus on what seems unimportant

Maybe the key to her is in one of her very first scenes, where we learn she can't be injected with translator microbes: of course, we later understand the real reason for that, but this gives the whole matter a peculiar twist. Because she has to *learn* the languages of the peoples she meets, therefore she can get at the core of their beings (language being part of what we are and how we think).
On the other hand, the others "hear" her through the medium of the microbes, so something does get lost in translation. This is - IMHO - one of the great barriers between Sikozu and the rest of the universe, that she can perceive them far better than they can perceive her.

Of course I share your puzzlement (and anger) at the way she way written in PKW, often wondering why her mistery was not let hanging, together with many more, instead of trying to give a sort of closure that left many more than dissatisfied...
That's one of the reasons I love fan-fiction!! :-)


Thank you!!