Scorpius is one of the most prominent Farscape villains, but the fact that there are two versions of him can make matters confusing. Scorpius continued to appear in all four seasons of the Syfy space opera after making his debut at the end of season 1, and quickly became one of Farscape‘s best characters. Because Farscape was one of the most underappreciated sci-fi shows of its era, Scorpius is often left off the list of the best villains of all time within the genre. I’ve always thought it was deeply unfair, as he is an incredible bad guy.

Farscape‘s cancellation in 2003 could easily have been the last time Scorpius appeared onscreen. Thankfully, Syfy greenlit a two-part miniseries in 2004 called Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, So, showrunner Rockne S. O’Bannon was able to wrap up any loose ends – and in doing so, he allowed both versions of Scorpius to return for one last ride. Both iterations of the villain had a lot in common, but they weren’t without some pretty drastic differences either.

Wayne Pygram Plays Both Versions Of Scorpius In Farscape

Scorpius only has one actor, regardless of which iteration is onscreen

Even though there was more than one version of Scorpius in the Farscape universe, they were both played by the same actor. Wayne Pygram first stepped into the character’s shoes in 2000, when Scorpius debuted in Farscape season 1, episode 19, “Nerve.” He then saw out the show’s inaugural run, appearing in the next three episodes – including the finale. Although Farscape season 2 took time away from Scorpius’ storyline, Wygram remained a semi-permanent member of the cast, appearing in 13 of the 22 installments. Then, he was a mainstay for seasons 3 and 4, and The Peacekeeper Wars.

It was during Farscape season 2 that Wygram’s presence among the cast started to get complicated. In Farscape season 3, episode 19, “Liars, Guns and Money, Part 1: A Not So Simple Plan,” Wygram’s workload permanently doubled. He started to play a new version of Scorpius, and quite often in the same episodes as the original iteration of the villain. There is a very good reason why the new Scorpius wasn’t recast, and the character’s introduction resulted in some of Farscape‘s most fascinating scenes.

The Real Scorpius Is A Sebacean/Scarran Hybrid

Being a combination of 2 barely compatible species causes Scorpius huge problems

Before the appearance of his counterpart, the original Scorpius was Farscape‘s only version. He was a senior figure within the Peacekeeper organization, but he had a surprising journey to the top. The xenophobic group was comprised almost entirely of pureblooded Sebaceans – an alien race who look identical to humans. Scorpius was an outlier in this respect, as he was half Sebacean and half Scarran. The fact that Pygram’s character has DNA from the reptilian race coursing through his veins is what accounts for his distinct physical appearance and immense physical strength – plus, sometimes, his animal-like outbursts when enraged.

Although Scorpius’ divergent lineage did afford him certain advantages, he required constant treatment and monitoring because of the medical issues that arose as a Sebacean/Scarran hybrid. While Scarrans crave warm environments, being too warm for too long can have irreversible effects on Sebaceans, leading to a condition known as Heat Delirium. As such, Scorpius’ very physiology was always at war with itself. He had a device implanted in his head that helped regulate his body temperature, and the suit he wore served a similar purpose.

As Scorpius’ backstory wasn’t painful enough already, Farscape included an additional dark twist in the villain’s origin. He was the only successful attempt out of almost 100 to breed a Sebacean with a Scarran, with the latter race responsible for the experiments. Scorpius’ mother was Sebacean, and his father was Scarran. Their act of procreation was not consensual, and Scorpius’ mother died giving birth to him.

He was put under strenuous and painful tests throughout his early years in an attempt by the Scarrans to see what benefits such a hybrid could offer. Eventually, Scorpius managed to escape the Scarrans and was taken in by the Peacekeepers, who saw an opportunity to gain information on their enemy. With Scorpius’ help, Peacekeeper Command was able to land a sizable blow to the Scarrans, and an exception was made for Pygram’s character to join their ranks, despite not being a pure-blooded Sebacean.

Scorpius Implants A Neural Clone Of Himself In Crichton’s Head (That Only Crichton Can See Or Hear)

Crichton refers to the other Scorpius as “Harvey”

After failing to extract the wormhole technology buried in Crichton’s subconscious, the real Scorpius took a new approach while Browder’s character was still in the Aurora Chair. Pygram’s character implanted a chip in Crichton’s brain that contained a neural clone of Scorpius. The intention was for the clone, referred to as “Harvey” by Crichton, to gradually chip away at Crichton’s conscious thoughts and reveal the information left there by the Ancients.

Harvey is pretty much only ever in scenes with Crichton, and very rarely anyone else. Most of their exchanges take place within Crichton’s mind, so the scenes they share are quite often incredibly trippy and endlessly creative. Harvey would sometimes appear in Crichton’s immediate surroundings, but no one could see or hear the neural clone. However, this didn’t mean he wasn’t “real.” This twist allowed Farscape to more commonly access tones and atmospheres that had previously been difficult to achieve due to the space opera’s gritty tone.

“Harvey” Is Only Identical To Scorpius Before A Specific Event

Pygram’s 2 Farscape characters grew to be very different

When Harvey is initially implanted into Crichton’s mind, he’s a perfect replication of Scorpius. As time goes by and the two versions of Pygram’s character experience different things, they start to diverge. Eventually, it becomes very easy to differentiate between the two characters. While Scorpius evolves into a bigger and bigger threat as Farscape progresses, Harvey slowly becomes what is essentially a comic relief character.

Pygram could probably have just replicated his acting choices as Scorpius whenever he played Harvey, but he didn’t. Sure, there had to be a consistent bedrock for both versions of the Farscape villain, but Pygram found ways both impressively subtle and startingly obvious to make each of his two characters stand apart. Without this level of commitment, I’m not sure the existence of two versions of Scorpius would have worked all that well.

It’s Harvey’s exposure to Crichton’s memories and Earth’s popular culture that causes him to become a more lighthearted and humorous version of Scorpius. Meanwhile, the original version of the character is still off doing villainous things and not being corrupted by Crichton’s obsession with various forms of media from his home world. Harvey’s development is one of the funniest and most intriguing parts of Farscape lore, more so because underneath it all, he’s still essentially Scorpius.