"Space Rabbit" is an episode of the series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the first episode of season 2.
Synopsis[]
Todd and Farah are on the run from the law, heading to small town Bergsberg, Montana in search of Dirk. Mysteriously, Bart’s search for Ken takes her to the same small town, where odd, unexplainable events are starting to take place.
Plot[]
As a strange, mountainous land with a large castle, a smiling crescent moon, (despite it being bright out) and a train in the sky is shown, a boy narrates of "darkness" covering "the land of Wendimoor," the responsibility of an "evil wizard" known as "the Mage," who is advancing with his army on "the valley of Inglenook, where a war between two families rages." Two men chase a pink-haired man, Panto Trost, into a field, all three of them armed with large swords that resemble scissors. He fights them, slicing one's face and cutting off two of the other's fingers, before being confronted by Silas Dengdamor, the prince of the opposing family, and his bodyguard, Wygar Oak. Silas sends the two foot soldiers away and advances on Panto, who promises his family did not take Silas' brother Farson. Silas silences him with a kiss, revealing the two to be secret lovers, and asks Panto to talk to his mother together in hopes of ending the war before the Mage arrives. Panto states that "the prophecy" is their only hope as more Dengdamors converge on the field. They tell each other to stay safe and Silas calls after Panto to "fulfill the prophecy! Find him! Find Dirk Gently!"
Dirk, having spent two months in a Blackwing facility, is awakened on schedule and is made to perform a series of tests involving him predicting something before it happens. After repeated failures, he exasperatedly tells a listening Hugo Friedkin that "this isn't how it works, I'm not psychic." He tries to explain the concept of his holistic abilities, but Friedkin does not understand him. He asks after his friends and Friedkin accidentally reveals that they escaped before Blackwing could catch them, but he reminds Dirk that no one is coming for him and that he needs to "try harder." Dirk reluctantly continues his test, only to fail it. Having failed all his tests for the day, Dirk is escorted back to his barren room. The P.A. announces that he has done a "very bad" job, and he sighs that "I'm never getting out of here."
Todd Brotzman and Farah Black arrive in Bergsberg, Montana to meet with Farah's DHS brother Eddie, the faded town sign reading "ONCE YOU'RE HERE...YOU'RE GONE". Todd promises that they will finally find their lead on Blackwing this time, but Farah reminds him he said that every other time. Todd states that Dirk is waiting for them to find him and he will know how to fix their situation.
Amanda Brotzman forces a Pararibulitis attack and has Vogel drain it, making her have visions of where to go next, which they have been doing since they went on the run. She sees a man with his face horribly scarred, a scissor-sword, a flying red car, a house with the number "18", a motel, and Dirk's stress toy before snapping back into reality. She tells Vogel they need to keep going south if they want to find the rest of the Rowdy 3, promising him that they will find them. A security guard confronts them, as they are trespassing on private property. Amanda warns him that "it's the Rowdy 3" and sends Vogel to beat him up when he points out there are only two of them.
Todd and Farah stop at their meeting place, an old but intact boat in a field. Farah expresses hesitance about seeing Eddie, but Todd tells her not to let him get to her as "we're too close now." She sighs and holds his hand for a moment before she steps out of the car. Eddie is waiting for her on the other side of the boat, labeled the "Infant, Male, Pollock, Francis", which he claims is a Bergsberg landmark that has been there since the 1950s. He expresses shock at her and the Brotzmans being on the FBI's most wanted list, although Farah points out they are only persons of interest and it is part of Blackwing's cover-up. Todd takes his Pararibulitis medication and realizes he is almost out, noticing a police car approaching in the rear-view mirror. Eddie insists that Farah needs to forget about Dirk and come in so he can protect her, giving her a phone to call him on when she decides to give up. She moves to leave until he reveals their father succumbed to his illness the previous month, unable to contact her because she was too well hidden. The squad car tells Todd to step out of his, and he pockets his brass knuckles before doing so. He is met by good-natured Bergsberg sheriff Sherlock Hobbs, who tells Todd he is illegaly parked and offers to give him time to move his car. As he begins to ramble, Todd suffers an attack where he hallucinates flies streaming out of his mouth and cutting off his air. He collapses and Farah runs to him, loading Todd into the car and speeding off as Hobbs offers to call an ambulance. He shouts an apology to them for handling the situation badly as they drive away, then notices Todd's dropped pill bottle and picks it up, finding the situation suspicious.
Disabled and meek Suzie Boreton awakens to her delinquent son Scott bombing her car with firecrackers for not buying him the concert tickets he wanted. She grounds him and takes his phone, but he warns her that he is not intimidated by her and storms inside, shutting the door and locking Suzie out as she tries to assert her authority. She is forced to climb to her bedroom window with a ladder and knock on it, failing to rouse her sleeping husband Bob but waking their dog Agrajag, who barks incessantly. She drives Bob to his job at the Cardenas Family Motor Inn, where Todd and Farah are parked. She and Todd lock eyes for a moment before she drives to her job as a secretary for quarry manager Dan Samuels, passing what appears to be an exceptionally dirty person in a tutu on a bicycle on the way. She looks through Scott's phone at work but it is taken by Samuels, who accuses her of "getting your attitude back" and claims that the accident that crippled her leg was "the best thing that ever happened to you."
After Todd fully recovers from his attack in their motel room, Farah berates him for his carelessness and almost forces a panic attack until Todd sits with her and takes her hand. He reminds her that Dirk taught him "it all has to be going somewhere" and that Blackwing is their solution to finding him.
Friedkin visits the elderly, comatose Project Moloch, supposedly the most powerful subject ever brought into the program. Friedkin complains to Lieutant Assistent about how little he enjoys supervising Blackwing, as all of the subjects are either uninteresting or uncooperative. Assistent explains that Moloch suffered a stroke when they brought him in and asks after "Project Alpha," revealed to be Ken Adams' taxi with him and Rapunzel the corgi stuck inside, Blackwing believing one or both of them to have supernatural abilites. He awakens Ken with a controlled shock. Having never met Friedkin, Ken insists he does not have powers and begs to talk to whoever is in charge, then tries to reason with Friedkin when he learns he is. Friedkin claims him surviving seven days with "Project Marzana" (Bart Curlish) is proof that he has some sort of ability and shocks him when he steps out of line. He again bemoans his dissatisfaction with Blackwing, the Rowdy 3 not listening to him, not being able to catch Bart, and Dirk being less exciting than he anticipated. Ken claims all the subjects are "connected to the fabric of reality" and that they cannot be locked up, which Friedkin interprets as needing to expose them to each other. He accidentally shocks Ken and thanks him for the idea, leaving as Ken tries to stop him, shouting to be let out.
Dirk awakens to the sound of gunfire. Todd and Farah, dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses, burst into his cell, Todd wielding a Men of the Machine electric crossbow. They assert that they are there to rescue him and that they are "big badasses now," having started a new case involving the "sacred algae." Dirk sighs and asks if he is in a dream, and Farah, now wearing the giraffe mask, and Todd, wearing the gorilla, nod. Dirk wakes up to find two Blackwing guards standing over him. They drag him to Moloch's room and lock him in, where he seemingly recognizes him, asking "what have they done to you?"
Suzie is visited at work by a strange, polite man with his right arm tattooed black. He addresses her by name despite her not knowing him and he picks a photo of herself as a little girl that she keeps on her desk, noting that "you were happy then." He asks to speak to Samuels and she calls him out, Samuels muttering "aw, dangit" upon seeing the man. Samuels tells him that "those guys you've got me dealing with are criminals" and that "I just wanted to make a little bit of money," but he is no longer interested. He tells the man to "get out, or else" and he starts to comply, before turning around and asking "or else...what?" Samuels claims he will call the police, but the man states that they would need an army. He plucks the pen from Susie's hand and jams it through Samuels' skull, gruesomely stabbing him to death. He leans across the table, takes a horrified Susie's hands, and asks "have you noticed an acceleration of strangeness in your life?"
Todd and Farah arrive at their last known Blackwing site: an abandoned, fenced off house surrounded by rusted security cameras. Todd is eager to explore but Farah is more hesitant, worried he will work himself up and give himself another attack. He finds the front door bolted but still believes something strange is going on. He runs to the house's barn and finds a giant wet spot on the wall, claiming to Farah that it means they are somehow close to finding Dirk.
Dirk updates Moloch on his adventures, praising Farah as "incredible" and Todd as a "perfect" assistant, regretfully informing Moloch that he has been replaced. An observing Friedkin interrupts, asking how Dirk knows Moloch, and Dirk explains that Scott Riggins had him interact with other Blackwing subjects when he was younger, and that he liked Moloch in particular. Dirk notes Moloch's declining health and asks what happened, disgusted to learn of his stroke due to Blackwing's interference. He again explains that "this isn't how it works" and that "fate and chance are not mutually exclusive," warning Friedkin of bad things ahead if he continues to cage them. Friedkin has Dirk removed from Moloch's room as he insists that "I am not a machine, you can't control it!"
Easygoing Bergsberg deputy Tina Tevetino returns to the office to find Hobbs at his desk, having gotten Todd's name from his pill bottle and run it through the system, finding him, his sister and Farah on the most wanted list, which he shows to Tina.
Now nightfall, Todd is still obsessively searching the property and Farah begs him to stop. He spots a rabbit and somehow connects it to Dirk, wondering if it is "some kind of space rabbit." Farah tries to reason with him, but he ignores her and chases the rabbit as it starts to run off.
A frantic Susie washes Samuels' blood off her hands, only for four mercenaries to break into the office and force her outside. The man had told her he was sending them to dispose the body and she would be fine so long as she did not call the police, but it becomes clear they are there to kill her anyway. Susie asks no one why she protected him, realizing she did it because she wanted to disrupt the monotony of her life. A mercenary reminds his leader that "Mr. Mage" told them to use "that thing" to kill her, handing him a book and a stick topped with a blue crystal. The leader grumbles that he cannot read the language the book is written in and attempts to use the stick on her, repeating the word given to him by the Mage, only for them to not work. He decides to shoot her, only for Bart to ride in on her tricycle and chop off his hand with a meat cleaver. She hurls it into a mercenary's chest and kills the rest with the leader's gun, but does not kill Susie, instead asking if she knows Ken. Despite having a strong feeling that she should kill Susie, Bart states that she is trying to be better and asks if Susie wants to be her best friend. Susie turns her down and begs to go home, causing Bart to start shouting at the sky and addressing the universe, claiming it is not the boss of her. Taking advantage of her distraction, Susie reaches out her hand and the wand flies to her, casting the spell and creating multicolored shapes that knock Bart over. She apologizes and flees the scene, taking the book and wand with her.
Todd chases the rabbit to a tree, having spent the entire night looking for it, and Farah catches up to him and begs him to stop. She again tries to reason with him, having tried everything to keep him grounded, but Todd counters that they have both been through traumatic events and yet Dirk has shown him "incredible things." Farah states that what Dirk showed him is not automatically benevolent and even if all this somehow leads to Dirk, he cannot cure Todd's Pararibulitis. Todd insists that he deserves his disease and wants to find Dirk because he can help him find Amanda, who he is obsessed with saving after her frantic phone call to him. He states that "this has to be real" because it is the only way they can have normal lives again and for him to make things right with Amanda. Farah asks if "we're supposed to keep wandering around, waiting for something weird to happen?" Todd starts to say "well, maybe–" until a red car falls out of the tree behind him. He smiles at Farah, who stares in amazement.
The Mage returns to the abandoned house and walks through the now destroyed door, a bloodstained Susie returns home and hurries to the bathroom, examining the book and wand in awe, Amanda and Vogel drive in silence, Ken scratches another day marker into the taxi's dashboard, and Friedkin watches Dirk laying in his bed before leaving the room. Dirk's stress toy, which Friedkin has kept, falls off the table, its eyes now green. It begins taking on various forms to move through the facility undetected, entering Dirk's room through the vents. It turns into a woman with harsh green eyes, who Dirk seems to recognize, asking "what are you doing here?" She tells him to "find the boy" and splashes him with a cup of water on his nightstand, making him sink through the bed and vanish. She vanishes as well, and the cup of water drops to the floor.
Behind the scenes[]
- The episode title comes from dialogue spoken by Todd, wondering whether the rabbit he then chased was "some kind of space rabbit!"
- The FBI Most Wanted profiles shown on Hobbs' screen read:
TODD BROTZMAN
DATE OF BIRTH: Nov 15, 1981
SEX: M HAIR: Brown
EYES: Blue HEIGHT: 5' 6"
REMARKS
T. Brotzman is wanted in connection with vandalism and fleeing authorities, may be armed. Suspect in a recent arson as well as kidnapping.
AMANDA BROTZMAN
DATE OF BIRTH: Oct 23, 1993
SEX: F HAIR: Brown
EYES: Brown HEIGHT: 5' 3"
REMARKS
A. Brotzman is sister of Todd Brotzman, also a wanted felon. May have a connection to missing person Jacob Vogle.
FARAH BLACK
DATE OF BIRTH: May 30, 1995
SEX: F HAIR: Black
EYES: Brown HEIGHT: 5' 6"
REMARKS
Wanted in connection with unresolved case B781-82. May be an associate of Todd Brotzman (See file B832-41).
Cast[]
Starring
- Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently
- Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman
- Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman
- Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish
- Jade Eshete as Farah Black
- Mpho Koaho as Ken Adams
- Dustin Milligan as Hugo Friedkin
- Osric Chau as Vogel
Guest Starring
- Tyler Labine as Sherlock Hobbs
- Amanda Walsh as Suzie Boreton
- Christopher Russell as Panto Trost
- Izzie Steele as Tina Tevetino
- Roger Cross as as Eddie Black
- Lee Majdoub as Silas Dengdamor
- Aleks Paunovic as Wygar Oak
- Alexia Fast as Mona Wilder
- and John Hannah as The Mage
Co-Starring
- Amitai Marmorstein as Lieutenant Assistent
- Jared Ager-Foster as Scott Boreton
- John Stewart as Bob Boreton
- Sean Campbell as Dan Samuels
- Byron Bertram as Cavatos Leader
- Fraser Corbett, Darcy Hinds as Dengamor Thugs
- Daniel Boileau as Security Guard
- Nathan Dashwood as Cavatos Thug
- Robert Corness as Project Moloch
Uncredited
- Bentley as Rapunzel the Corgi
- Titan as Agrajag
Crew[]
- Directed by: Douglas Mackinnon
- Written by: Max Landis
- Executive Producers: Max Landis, Robert C. Cooper, Arvind Ethan David, Zainir Aminullah, Ted Adams, David Ozer, David Alpert, Rick Jacobs
- Co-Executive Producer: Matt Goldman
- Consulting Producers: Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner
- Produced by: Chris Foss
- Director of Photography: Samy Inayeh
- Production Designer: Tom Hallbauer
- Original Score Produced by: Jeff Russo
- Music by: The Newton Brothers
- Editor: Allan Lee
- Casting by: Barbara Fiorentino, CSA; Karina Walters, CSA
- Co-Producer: Ben Brafman, Justin Lillehei
- Executive Story Editor: Sinead Daly
- Story Editor: Molly Nussbaum
- Original Casting by: Mary Vernieu, CSA; Venus Kanani, CSA
- Production Manager: Brian Dick
- First Assistant Director: Richard Worden
- Second Assistant Director: Annabelle Wilczur
- Costume Designer: Julie Carnahan
- Canadian Casting by: Tiffany Mak, CSA
- Art Directors: Jasmine Garnet, Gregory Clarke
- Set Decorator: Sam Higgins
- Property Master: Jonathan Drover
- Construction Supervisor: Chris Thompson
- Assistant Costume Designer: Bren Moore
- Key Make-Up Artist: Joyce Tu
- Key Hairstylist: Connie Agawin
- US Casting Associate: Terese Classen
- Extras Casting: Lisa Ratke
- Camera Operators: Timothy Muir Spencer, Martin Udo Hass
- Chief Lighting Technician: Paul Slatter
- Key Grip: Steve Sherlock
- Production Sound Mixer: Eric Lamontagne
- Script Supervisor: Tahnee Curtis
- Production Accountant: Scotch JD Crisostomo
- Production Coordinator: Melyssa Rose
- Script Coordinator: Karen Murphy
- Producers' Assistants: Neil Champagne, Zoë Neary
- Location Manager: Shawn Flynn
- Transportation Coordinator: Jim Perenseff
- Special Effects Coordinator: Bill Ryan
- Stunt Coordinator: Jodi Stecyk
- Post Production Supervisor: Kerry McDowall
- Post Production Coordinator: Meredith Murgatroyd
- Assistant Editors: Cody McDonald, Justin Li
- Music Supervisor: Matt Biffa
- Music Editor: Paul Shatto
- Additional Music: Cristobal Tapia de Veer
- Audio Post-Production: dbc sound inc.
- Sound Design: Pat Haskill
- Dialogue Editor: Gord Hillier
- Foley Artist: Maureen Murphy
- Mix Technician: Gord Sproule
- Re-Recording Mixers: Bill Sheppard, Dean Giammarco
- Video Post Production: Encore Vancouver
- Online Editor: Fred W. Richters
- Colorist: Thor Roos
- Main Title: Prologue
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Lawren Bancroft-Wilson
- Visual Effects Producer: Kerrington Harper
- Visual Effects: CVD VFX, Darkroom Digital Effects Inc., The Suburbs VFX
- Production Services Provided: Stalwart Films, LLC
- Tax Incentive Consulting Services: Canada Film Capital
- Clearances: Entertainment Clearances, Inc.
- Crossbow Design: Adam Savage
Crew[]
Notes[]
- Suzie Boreton's experiences during the episode heavily mirror Todd Brotzman's in his first episode: Being rudely awoken by their car outside being damaged by their landlord/son screaming at them for rent/tickets ("Are you a historian/nutritionist?"), being locked out of their home (accompanied by the same music), going to work at an unliked job, meeting a strange man (Dirk/Mage: "Have you noticed an acceleration of strangeness in your life?"), witnessing the death of their landlord/boss and another scene of carnage (penthouse/Cavatos), obtaining an object of great worth (winning lottery ticket/magic wand).
Deaths[]
- Dan Samuels
- Four Cavatos members
Holistic Connections[]
- Dirk Gently is put through several trials to prove/disprove whether he is psychic or not. He fails many of his test but in Very Erectus he was shown to have predicted what Todd Brotzman's drawing was before he saw it.
- Hugo Friedkin can be seen squeezing the toy that Martin from the Rowdy 3 was often seen squeezing in Season 1. In the end of the episode it is revealed to be the shapeshifter from Project Blackwing that Friedkin had mentioned wanting to find. Friedkin also mentions being upset that they don't have the subject who can turn invisible in custody. This subject is theorized by some fans to be the Mage who also appears in the episode.
- Farah Black's brother Eddie mentions that Farah always had "problems". Farah's mental issues were brought up by Agent Weedle in Watkin
- During a dream Farah mentions that Thor helped them break Dirk out. Dirk mentioned having a case dealing with Thor in Horizons. He also sees Todd and Farah wearing the Gorilla and Giraffe masks from the previous season.
- Ken spends the entire episode in the drivers seat of a yellow cab. In episode 1 of season 1 Dirk Gently tells Todd that he might be a cab driver.
References[]
External links[]
- "Space Rabbit" at BBC America
- "Space Rabbit" on IMDb