Defiance Season One Review

When Defiance first aired on Syfy, it was an ambitious and expensive endeavor, one that oddly seemed to not get that much coverage online from the television and video game news sites. It wasn't just a TV series, it was part of a multimedia platform that also included an MMO video game that directly tied into the events of the game. In fact, it's actually someone's job to help coordinate the shared continuity between events in the game and the show. Whether it worked or not, we don't know but CBS, Syfy and game developer Trion Worlds spent too much money to let it end after one short season so it is coming back next year. For me, that's a good thing. I watched the first few episodes as they aired out of curiosity and because I was playing the game for Game Rant. I dug both but fell out of it due to the obligations of my job and limited time. Defiance season one is now out on Blu-ray so I caught up with the second half of the season and it's really good. The final episode had some weird character things and was a bit too forced to shoe-in major changes for the next season, but it's still enjoyable and the series has loads of potential. What makes the show work, a show about a small independent town built around a valuable mine in the ruins of St. Louis filled with all sorts of different aliens, is its lead characters. There's a strong father-daughter dynamic in the two leads and the antagonist of the first season might be the best asset the show has going for it, and certainly the most entertaining. It's worth checking out.