Aeon Flux: Long Episodes: A Last Time for Everything

The episode opens with the arrival of a bloke, to Trevor’s laboratory, who had donated his DNA for cloning. Trevor had been able to make a number of copies and was in the process of testing some of them. The DNA donor looks on at a copy of himself cowering in the corner as a pair of ladies knickers are wafted in front of him…

“Ah,” says Trevor, “severe inhibition of pleasure responses.“

Yeah Right! What would you do if you were in that laboratory? You probably couldn’t help noticing that there were lots of other geezers who looked just like you having lots of strange looking experiments performed on them. Then suddenly a big stick with a pair of frilly knickers pops out in front of you! Yer hardly gonna say, ‘Ooo goody – time for a bonk!’ are you. Hell, for all Trevor knows, the geezer was cowering because the knickers were a bit smelly!

The donor however is impressed enough with Trevor’s work to ask for a royalty. Trevor becomes annoyed. He calls for two guards (also clones) to take the greedy DNA donor away.

Meanwhile, two very shapely women are limbering up on the Monican side of the Monica/Bregna border. They are just about to make an attempt to cross. Aeon can’t understand why her colleague Scaphandra, insists on using this particular place to cross. Scaphandra continues her limbering and as she does so, we see that she has hands grafted onto the place where she should have feet! “I like the transplants by the way.” Complements Aeon. “Meet me at this point in three days.” She adds.

With that, the two begin their attempt. Scaphandra dodges the guns while Aeon Flux makes it to an interim place of safety. Then Aeon acts as a decoy. The only trouble is that Scaphandra continues and reaches the other side on her own, leaving Aeon in the middle of no-mans-land with only a big gun to keep her company. She screams after Scaphandra and then, realising that she is alone, fires at the sentry gun. She uses her bullets as decoys and manages to reach the other side. Aeon looks around and curses Scaphandra before setting off to accomplish her mission.

She reaches a room (presumably her target) to find Scaphandra being held by Trevor and three ugly looking blokes. She is about to become an unwilling donor of DNA. Trevor uses a syringe gadget in his wristwatch to extract a sample from Scaphandra armpit. The snake like syringe weaves it’s way to her spinal column taking a small measure of spinal fluid. Aeon looks on intrigued. She makes a small tear in the armpit of her costume.

Suddenly, yet rather predictably, we here gunshots as Aeon despatches Trevor’s assistants to their own personal oblivion. She jumps down from her hiding place and, pointing the gun at Trevor, says, “you really make me sick. Untie her!”

Scaphandra, pleased to see Aeon, strangely accuses her of being in on the experiment (?). Trevor laughs and tells Aeon that “she knows you are not.” As he unties Scaphandra, she gives him and elegant yet vicious kick in the face and then, this woman with four hands and no feet, opens her mouth to reveal that the tip of her tongue contains a gadget. Her tongue shoots two projectiles (still attached to her tongue by rope) to a vent high on the opposite wall! Still stunned, we then see this miraculous heroine let loose two similar devices from her feet/hands. They attach themselves to the wall behind her. I’m not quite sure of the science in this, but she is able to launch herself over Aeon, to the wall vent and make her escape. The trailing wires follow obediently on behind. Whew!

Aeon Flux argues with Trevor about his work. She goads him about it and makes herself look very attractive. Trevor takes the bait, especially when he sees the small rip under her armpit. They embrace and kiss and Trevor’s wrist gadget takes a sample of Aeons DNA – Aeon is aware of this.

Aeon, knowing that a sample has been taken, tells Trevor that she is shutting him down, and makes her escape. Trevor rushes off with the sample to his laboratory where he manages to make an exact duplicate of Aeon within minutes. In his customary silky smooth voice he whispers, “Now I have you, in any way anyone could possibly imagine.”   I waited for an evil laugh, but there wasn’t one.

The Aeon duplicate is wheeled into Trevor’s bedroom (wadda geezer!) and she takes a bath in Trevor’s HUGE bathroom. The plughole in this bathroom is equally massive and the Aeon duplicate is able to lift the plug and swim out, through the (sewer?) and into a small room where the real Aeon is waiting.

The genuine Aeon Flux helps the counterfeit Aeon onto a dry ledge where she inspects her….
Counterfeit Aeon: “He did a good job.”
Genuine Aeon: “Yes, you’re me……. Lovely“

Looking at the two of them sat there, one clothed and one naked, I had to agree. Ok, ok I know they are fictitious stringy looking cartoon characters, but I’m a sadgeezer – OK!

They exchange clothes. As they do so, Counterfeit Aeon tells the genuine one, “Crush his sole, impale him on his own ego.”  Then, they kiss tenderly and erm… tenderly… erm and the counterfeit Aeon asks, “Are you ready to do this?”
Genuine Aeon, “I am, you’d better be….. when I’m done…..”
Counterfeit Aeon: “Kill you.” (???!!!)

What, WHAT! Aeon has Trevor make a copy of herself and then gets the copy to kill her! Why would this be? Possibly because the whole exercise is one of rejuvenation, a freshly grown body etc. or more likely, a new Aeon Flux will be more controllable. Anyway the genuine Aeon swims off to take her place in the swimming pool sized bathtub at Trevor’s place.

Aeon Flux (the real one masquerading as the counterfeit) is resting elegantly on the sofa in Trevor’s quarters when he enters,
Trevor: “… I copied you, but you know that, you may as well enjoy the luxury of letting go. You can afford to, you’re extraneous and in the end disposable. Am I behaving atrociously? Perhaps, but no one need ever know….. Aeon, I want you!” Go for it buddy!

Aeon looks at him silently and then pulls him to her, saying, “I know what you want.” To my embarrassment, I found myself wishing that I were Trevor. But this is all to easy for Trevor, he wimps out telling her, “this is all wrong!” He leaves despite Aeon begging him, “Take me  Trevor… DO it!” (Go on buddy, what ya waitin’ for!!??) Trevor leaves (??!!!) and Aeon takes a sip of wine laced with a sleeping. This scene had soooo much potential and yet was ultimately impotent!

Trevor contemplates the reasons why his Aeon is not exactly how he wants her. He refuses to believe that there is something wrong with the process. He enters another bedroom with a huge bed littered with lots and lots of sleeping Aeons all in a state of near undress!!! What paradise, what genius, wadda lucky geezer!…. erm….

He lies down on the bed and is snuggled by an Aeon Flux in very brief briefs. The real Aeon however, awakes alone on her bed and wonders off to search for Trevor. She finds him in his voluminous bedroom with all the other Aeons. The genuine article walks over to Trevor and gently brushes one of the counterfeits. They all wake up and leave obediently (all except one that is, who gently whispers to another, “what is SHE doing here?”) Nice touch that.

I received this cool comment from Chris: “When Trevor enters the room with all of the Aeons, if you look closely (use the pause) you can see that they are not really Aeons (their faces are a little different). I think they are just Breen women that look (and have their hair done) somewhat like Aeon. Trevor probably gathered them as a harem before he developed his cloning process.  In this episode I think only one Aeon is ever cloned.“

Aeon crawls provocatively over Trevor’s bed, she is determined to have her wicked way with the Trevor and you can’t help but notice, how much more alluring the real Aeon seems. Her legs are certainly more erm… rounded and she seems to take on a more voluptuous figure than the stringy more knobbly physique we are used to. It got me going anyway!

Trevor looks at the advancing Aeon and her ‘come to bed’ eyes and says, “you don’t know what I want.” (Yeah right!) What is it with this bloke? Is he, GAY or what!? Aeon simply replies, “That makes two of us.” She picks up Trevor’s cigarette lighter which also doubles as a gun and points it at him, “It’s good not to be scared isn’t it?“

Trevor seems slightly angry by Aeons novel attempt at foreplay and pulls the funniest ‘angry face’ that I’ve ever seen. “I wouldn’t want you any other way!” Aeon doesn’t take no for an answer (even if it was offered), and the two of them settle down for a passionate session of lovemaking.

Afterwards we see the two of them in a strangely different mood. I think this is important. It seems that Trevor, quite understandably feels a great deal closer to Aeon. As far as he was concerned they didn’t have sex, they made love. Aeon too seems to be unsure of herself. It’s as if she has an air of remorse or possibly guilt. Clearly they both enjoyed the encounter, but it has apparently changed them both. Trevor guesses, “You are the real Aeon aren’t you?… Why did you make the switch?” Aeon seems unconcerned by Trevor’s accusation, “Trevor, it’s over.” He takes the ampoule of Aeons DNA and throws it out of the window.

The counterfeit Aeon meanwhile was busy at work, she manages to destroy Trevor’s laboratory and all the DNA samples of his erm.. victims.

Scaphandra, still after revenge, breaks into Trevor’s bedroom and attempts to retrieve the sample of her DNA. Aeon foils her attempt and lets her escape. She follows her and catches up. Aeon tells the wiry Scaphandra that she is jeopardising her mission and Scaphandra agrees to help out. They agree to work together. Aeon passes Trevor’s cigarette lighter with a message to Scaphandra and asks her to meet at the border.

Later that night, the counterfeit Aeon is surprised to see Scaphandra. She grabs hold of the surprised double agent and attempts to strangle her. Scaphandra tells Aeon Flux that she was meant to meet her there and gives her the cigarette lighter. The counterfeit Aeon finds the one which reads, “These things take time, cross with border with Es, then kill her.“

As the two cross the border ‘no-mans land’, Aeon leaves Scaphandra alone in the middle of a group of border gun-turrets. She is killed and Aeon, instead of crossing to Monica, returns to Bregna to find out why her counterfeit is taking so long to accomplish her mission.

The real Aeon is walking around Trevor’s rose garden when two guards open fire on her. Trevor stops them but the guards mention that they were following orders. This upsets Aeon. She realises that Trevor has ordered the death of the counterfeit Aeon because he feels that she is a threat to their relationship. She argues that the Counterfeit Aeon is what is keeping them together. He takes her back to the bedroom then leaves to continue his search for the counterfeit Aeon.

In a security room, a camera operator has the counterfeit Aeon in view, Trevor looks on over his shoulder. Then we see the real Aeon watching through a door that has been left ajar. Aeon resolves to save her double before Trevor catches up with her.

They meet at the border. By now, the two are strikingly different in appearance. The real Aeon looks a little frumpy, vulnerable, warmer and possibly a little lovesick. The counterfeit looks more like the Aeon we all know and love. “The stars in your eyes, they’re stolen” she says. Aeon tells her double that things are changed.

“You were supposed to mess with HIS head.” The counterfeit accuses.
“His desire is not his alone.” Aeon replies meekly.
“If you wont cross, I’ll kill you here”
“Maybe it’s better that way.” Aeon replies.

She hangs her head sadly.

The counterfeit implores, “Take a stand!” But Aeons head remains bowed. “Ok pretty one,…. Goodbye” The counterfeit kisses Aeon Flux and jumps off to cross the border alone. Aeon looks on and feels wretched.

Then she notices Trevor. She looks at him standing there, his eyes pleading with her not to go.

I suppose that Aeons resolve is galvanised by this and she decides to make the crossing with her double after all. “Nooooo” she shouts, then follows her double across the border.

Trevor frantically tries to have the gun turrets shut down, but his actions are too late. Aeon stands in the middle of no-mans-land, unwilling to continue and, in a final act of defiance in front of Trevor, her mission is concluded as the guns open fire, killing her.

Then the guns are turned off and this final scene shows Trevor holding his the body of his loved one, tears in his eyes, watching the counterfeit Aeon Flux run off into Monica.

And another terrific episode ends. Probably one of my favourites. I’d rate this a whopping 44,228 out of 10.  What did you think?

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The “A Last Time for Everything” episode review is © 1999, 2000 Tony Fawl.
Not for reproduction without the authors express permission.

The Aeon Flux names, characters, pictures and everything else associated with the series are the property of Peter Chung, Chung, MTV Networks, Colossal Pictures and Liquid Television. All rights reserved.