Dark Matter - Episode 5 - Review: “Immortality”

The driving force behind any good show is a great cast of characters. It is their interactions and relationships that give us a way into their world. No matter how fantastical a series is at the core of every story is human emotion. The internet is full of fans that ship certain couplings and for a lot of them that is there in to that series. It is what they connect with that draws them back week after week. Others tune in to a show to watch characters overcome obstacles and witness awesome fight sequences. Dark Matter has an exceptional grasp of both concepts and as they bond together we get to watch their bonds form and witness them make romantic connections that blossom and grow. From the very first episode the show figured out its core bonds and has allowed us to watch as they grow and evolve. Not only does the show have great character development, but the action sequences never fail to impress. This show has the perfect balance which allows Dark Matter to appeal to a wide spectrum of viewers.

Episode 5 was a great follow-up to last week as we got to watch One and Three continue their hesitant partnership and witness Two struggle to find a way to reconnect with Five. Last week left One and Two in a limbo of sorts as both got the rugs pulled from under their feet. One learned that he wasn’t who he thought he was and Two learned that she may just be the person she was told she was. Both are fighting against those events and this week gives us great insight into the struggles each is facing.

As the episode starts the crew is facing the consequences of what happened on the space station. They weren’t able to resupply, so they are stuck eating the same unappealing grub as before. It is obvious all of this is weighing on them as they try and scheme up ways to get money. Three suggests getting back to their roots and robbing to get the money they need to survive. You know the situation is desperate when even Two is entertaining Three’s idea. One on the other hand hates the idea, but he is forced to agree thanks to Three and his blackmail. Five on the other hand has no such holdups, so she tells everyone about a vault she discovered in hopes of changing their plans. Three tries to act like he knows nothing, but he is very bad at it.

I can’t move on from this scene without commenting on how well Melissa and Jodelle did in portraying the rift still standing between Two and Five. It isn’t mentioned in this scene, but Melissa holds Two rigid and uneasy while Jodelle has her arms crossed and is holding Five at a distance from Two. It always impresses me when actors can convey a situation or circumstance just with the way they expertly control their bodies and movements. These two actresses made excellent acting choices to show the uncertainty between their characters.

Speaking of Five, she takes the crew down to Three’s vault and everyone is impressed by the sheer scope of it. Six sums it up well, “Well if I were a pirate and a smuggler…and apparently I am, this is the kinda place I might just pick to hide my loot.” Whatever is behind that door is massive and probably quite valuable, so it’ll be interesting to see the big reveal in a future episode. Two wants to know as well, but without the code no one is getting inside that room. Three would like to open up Five’s brain and scoop out the knowledge, but he’s practical enough to know that will probably not work all that well. Someone should warn Three what Two does to people who try to hurt Five. For the record it does not end well for the person trying to do the hurting. Five looks appalled at what Three would like to do to her, but the awkwardness of the situation is cut short when The Android calls Two and the rest of the crew to the bridge. They are receiving a very long distance transmission from an acquaintance.

Talbor Calchek (David Hewlett) is a little upset at his ragtag crew of mercenaries since they failed to complete their last mission. The way he addresses Two confirms that Portia was the leader even before the memory wipe. Just like with the mining captain, Two is able to act just enough in the know to be able to keep everyone else out of the loop regarding their memory loss and keep her crew safe. Talbor does not approve of The Android or her attitude. Too bad he doesn’t approve because the rest of us do. The Android seems a bit perturbed by Talbor’s assessment of her and it’s at this point that I hope they meet in person one day so The Android can put him in his place. I think we can all agree that an in person scene between David Hewlett and Zoie Palmer would be comedic gold. David is spot on, as usual, with his comedic timing in this scene and I’m glad he is booked for a few more episodes this season.

Talbor: “Your Android, little testy by the way, might want to get that checked out.”
The Android: “I thought I was nothing but patient.”

He has a mission for the crew to make up for their mining planet blunder and they will be doing it for half their normal rate to make things up to him. This is a way for them to get some money and get back in the good graces of the politicians that have apparently been helping to keep them free of jail despite their criminal backgrounds. This scene did help to solidify the fact that Five was indeed somehow a part of this crew because Talbor did not seem at all surprised by her being there. Now the crew has to decide whether they are going to take this mission or not.

After receiving some specs from The Android, regarding the Far Horizon freighter ship, the crew weighs the situation and decides they have to take the mission. Whether they like it or not they need the money and Talbor is their only real connection to the people they once were.

I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but throughout the early part of the episode the show does a nice job of silently handling the tension between One and Three as well as Two and Five. One does everything in his power to keep away from Three, but they keep crossing paths thanks to Three. He tries to keep One close at hand to try and keep him under his control. While the Two and Five dynamic is even more complicated, even with this huge rift standing between them they can’t seem to keep apart. In the mess hall scene Five could have sat somewhere else, but she stays in her spot next to Two. In the briefing scene they are standing right next to each other. Even though they are on the outs they still have this draw that they can’t shake. These two must have had some powerful bond before the memory wipe for them to keep being drawn together despite everything.

One seems is drawn to people he really can’t catch a break with. He goes to talk to Two and finds her in her room with Three. It’s obvious they were hooking up and One seems as confused as I’m sure most of the audience was. What made Two seek out the least trustworthy member of the crew? That’s a question for later as One tries hard to cover up his shock by suggesting they go over the plans for the salvage. One looks as confused and heartbroken as us fans are, but he handles the whole situation well.

On the salvage ship the guys want to search for any contraband that they can obtain and use to make a little money. Two caves and lets the guys go off on their search mission while she looks for the engine room so she can rig a connection with the Raza and allow The Android to program it for a jump home. They all split up and begin to search the, supposedly, abandoned ship.

Back on the Raza, Five seeks out The Android for some help identifying something she found with the dead boy. I’ve come to really enjoy the interactions these two have because they are by far the most innocent of the crew and that brings a nice light element to their scenes. The way Zoie delivered “so far so good” with that little hand gesture made the moment endearingly human like for The Android. She took to heart what Talbor said and she’s trying something different. But at her core she is still an android and that makes for a fun awkwardness when it comes to certain things.

Five: “Do you think I could drag you away for a sec?”
The Android: “I highly doubt that, despite your low center of gravity, you possess neither the strength nor the stamina to pull my body weight over any significant distance. “
Five: “No, I mean, could you help me with something?”
The Android: “Of course, I on the other hand possess the strength and the stamina to convey you with great ease. No dragging required.”

In the infirmary The Android analyses the object Five found. It is apparently a piece of a device that can be used to access interdimensional space. For me this was a very important discovery as it sets up some interesting mythology for the show and it gives us yet another possible theory for whom or what the crew are. Could they be from an alternate dimension? Is One really an alternate Jace, but just from another reality? It is a very intriguing discovery and I look forward to seeing how that plays into the bigger overall story.

Five: “Do me a favor, don’t tell any of the others about this. Okay? ”
The Android: “I thought you had resolved to trust them. Well, some of them anyway.”
Five: “Yeah, so did I.”

Five was quite obviously speaking of Two when asking The Android to keep this discovery a secret. The pain on her face was visible as she accepted that she really has lost her trust in Two. It was nice to have that verbal confirmation of the rift still hanging between them before the scenes to come.

Two finally finds the engine room of the salvage ship and sets to work. While exploring Four and Six locate four recently killed crew members and realize the attack happened fairly recently. It would appear that the ship they thought was deserted has more life left on it then they thought for. Two orders all the guys to fall back to her, but she’s lost communication with One and Three. This is becoming a very unfortunate trend. She would be better off just having The Android implant them with tracking devices so she can find One and Three more easily since they always get themselves into trouble.

Elsewhere on the ship One can’t convince Three to head back to the others, so he reluctantly joins Three to continue pushing further into the bowls of the ship. Two should really stop letting these two wander off together because eventually one of them is going to go off on the other. It really is only a matter of time.

Two is trying to rapidly conclude this mission when she hears a noise. She thinks it is Four and Six joining her, but instead she is ambushed by a not so dead, or very dead, depending on your definition of space zombies, member of the crew. She goes at him with her best moves and lands some good blows before he bites into her neck. Before he can turn Two into his dinner Four and Six finally show up and Six unloads his gun on the man. Six examines Two and reveals a big nasty bite on her neck. Two gets The Android a link to the ship and orders her to scan the logs for more information on what the ships mission really was.

In another part of the ship One and Three are still looking for contraband. With time to waste they have a conversation regarding Three’s involvement with Two. One is pissed and thinks Three got her drunk and took advantage of her. While Three admits he would have totally done that it was actually Two who was the aggressor. Three even admits that Two basically ordered him to sleep with her. It is also Three’s opinion that One is to nice and sensitive for Two, but I choose to disagree with him as I think One is exactly the kind of person Two wants to be with. She wants to live a different life then she believes Portia did, so being with the good guy would be just the thing for her to do.

Time to address what is going on with Two. I think that in the wake of the events on the space station Two has been spiraling out of control. When Five was slapped Two completely lost control and acted in such a primal way that I think it terrified her. Five is shutting her out and she seems to care about One, so she turned to someone she knew would happily comply with her request and a person she would feel no guilt about using. Three was the one thing she felt she could control and she was willing to use him to be able to regain some semblance of control over her life. I don’t believe she has any feelings for him, not in the least, but he is serving a purpose for her and for that reason she needs him. He is giving her an outlet to deal with her control issue. I believe this insecurity is some residual left over from Portia and her brief reflexive reemergence last week.

For the moment Two has other more pressing issues to deal with as The Android is able to dig up an audio recording made by the ships First Officer. They knew something was spreading onboard and it was believed to be spread by bodily fluids. Four and Six both know what that means as they eye Two. Unfortunately Two knows what it means as well. Four suggests leaving Two behind to avoid spreading the contagion to the Raza, but Six has bonded with Two as a friend and he’s not prepared to leave her, or anyone for that matter, behind. As the noble leader Two is ready and willing to stay behind to protect her crew. Luckily, The Android has a better plan that involves bringing Two home and placing her in a isolation chamber where they can scan her. I like how Six and The Android refuse to just give up on Two. She’s fought for them time and time again and it was their turn to return the favor to her.

Six takes Two and Four home with a promise to come back for One and Three. On the marauder they discuss what may have happened to One and Three. While Four thinks they could already be incapacitated Two is convinced they’ll attack each other before being attacked. I’d say that is a very likely scenario, especially if things keep going like they are with the guys. If anything the undead crewmembers of the Far Horizon should be worried about getting caught between these two and their issues with each other.

Two: “Those two can handle themselves. I’d be more worried about them attacking each other.”

One and Three are walking in circles despite Three’s “keen sense of direction”, which is doing them no good right now. Three calls One out in terms of him thinking he is better than the others. It’s weird to say this, but Three does seem to be onto something. Even before One knew about Jace he did seem to think he was slightly better than the others. He was never blatantly obvious about it, but it was always there in the background. In the middle of One trying to explain himself Three hears a noise and they follow it down the hall. They find an undead infected woman eating a human arm which, rightfully, freaks them out. Right about now One should be happy Three thought to bring bullets along.

On the Raza, Two is being examined by The Android when Five comes racing in. She has heard the news and wants to make sure Two is okay. Two keeps her at a distance and heads into the chamber. Two has these massive walls in place around her emotions that up until now Five has been able to nestle past, but the rift sitting between them even left her shut out for a brief moment. The look of concern Five has for Two during the scan shows that even after what happened she still can’t help but care for Two. This incarnation of them were friends and who knows what they were before, and seeing someone you care about in trouble has this way of making everything else not matter. The scan will take some time for The Android to run, but if Two starts to turn Four makes it clear he is ready and willing to take her out. Credit to Two for being able to keep her reaction to that in check. Five, however, was not quite as able to hide her shock. I don’t think Four will find himself on Five’s trustworthy list anytime soon after that.

Fully aware of the crew members trying to eat them, One and Three try to find a way to safety. One has luckily been watching Five work her magic on wires and tries to get a door open. He manages to do it, but not before Three causes an explosion which results in a massive hull breach that almost gets him pulled out into space. One puts aside his issues with Three and risks his own life to grab Three and pull him to safety. In his mind they are even now and when they get back he doesn’t care what Three tells the others. Three tries to get in his head and make him think the others will condemn him, but even with One’s hesitation I think he’s over all of Three’s games. This is the moment where One decides to take back control of his life. It’s a rather heroic moment for a guy who seems to have minimal skills.

Six is holding true to his promise to go back for the others. He has left Two in the care of Five and The Android with Four as her guard. In the infirmary the scan has finished and Two is indeed infected with the virus. Four calls The Android to join them as Two and Five possess very similar looks of concern. Once The Android joins them she informs them that the ship went to a planet it did not belong. This planet has trees that are tens of thousands of years old and a pharmaceutical company tried to find a way to use the properties of those trees to effectively make humans immortal. I think it is safe to say that the plan failed miserably and it appears that whatever they were making has turned humans into the living dead. With the planet quarantined Two realizes that the ship was hired to smuggle out whatever remaining research they could and the Raza crew were hired to complete this high risk mission. Given the information they now have about the virus The Android deduces that Two has less than three hours before the change begins.

The Android promises to keep searching for a way to cure Two. When she leaves the room she has this very somber way about her. Two is more than her captain, she is a friend, and much like Two fought to save her The Android will keep fighting for her. The shock is obvious on Five’s face as she realizes that time is running out for Two. In the isolation chamber Two can’t completely contain her reaction to the news. With Five’s eyes on her Two has to turn away to try and recompose herself.

With dwindling life support One and Three come to after passing out. They are running out of oxygen and realize the bad spot they are in. Six comes into communication range and is able to inform the guys about what is going on. He also has to deliver the bad news about Two. Six isn’t about to lose anyone without a fight, so he starts searching the ship for a way to retrieve the guys.

In the infirmary Two is pacing in the isolation chamber when Four approaches her. He offers her a swift and honorable death at his hand, but Five is appalled by that and the reaction isn’t missed by Two. In an attempt to assess the situation Two steals a glance at Five and seems to make up her mind to not give up. If Five hadn’t spoken up I can’t help but wonder if Two would have allowed Four to do it. Seeing Five faithfully staying with her seems to motivate Two to not just give up. She has a crew that needs her and she’s not going to go down without a fight. Two feels fine, but Four reminds her that the virus was detected in her system. She shuts down Four’s plan and turns to face Five. No words are spoken between them, but the look in Two’s eyes has a silent message begging Five to talk to her. Two was so hard faced towards Four and the second she looks at Five her face softens drastically. Five has some choices to make as she has to decide if she can face Two after everything that happened. With a timer on Two’s life she doesn’t have much time to make these decisions.

Six is still valiantly trying to find a way to rescue One and Three, but he can’t get them to respond. The Android assists him while he keeps making passes over the ship looking for a viable airlock.

Five watches Two in the isolation bay and seems to have made up her mind. She’s not going to let Two die without talking to her. As she approached the chamber you could see this look of determination on her face. She’s not entirely ready to forgive just yet, but she’s also not ready to lose Two. When Five tells Two that she doesn’t want her to die the look on Two’s face is one of pure relief. She forces a slight smile at that statement as she realizes that things between her and Five may not be completely destroyed. Seeing that Five is finally receptive to a conversation Two apologizes for what happened on the space station. She explains that it was a reflex and that she lost control. That there is the core of Two’s trouble right now, she lost control and that scares her because she thought she could be better than the person she once was.

Two: “I thought I could make things different, you know…take a different path. Now it looks like I might not get the chance.”

At hearing that even Two doesn’t think she’ll survive Five takes a deep breath as she tries to fight back her emotions. Here is this woman she’s come to care about and respect and she may lose her which is a lot for any teenager to take in. To someone like Five, with no memory of her past, Two really is the closest thing she has to a big sister or a mom. Sure, she has Six and they have a brother and sister relationship, but she has had the strongest connection with Two.

Two: “Do me a favor…don’t give up on the others.”

While Two may think Five gave up on her I don’t think Five is capable of really giving up on her or any of them. Sure, she is dealing with a bit of trauma after what she saw, but at her core she’s still not willing to write off Two. I think she sees the good that is Two even if Two can’t see it within herself. Whomever Portia was is not who Two is.

One and Three are trying to find their way to meet up with Six when they encounter an obstacle of the undead. They are having trouble with the lack of oxygen and Three thinks it is safe to try and make their way through. Unfortunately for them The Android is very good at her job, and very proud of her accomplishment, and was able to restore life support. Three is attacked and has to blast his way out of trouble while One watches on from above. Managing to blast them all Three calls One down and they finally make it to Six and get off the ship.

At hearing this news The Android and Five, who finally left Two’s side, both look relieved. I think it is safe to say at this point that The Android has become very attached to her crew. Her emotions are becoming every bit as real and human as her crew. In this moment she just seems happy that no other crewmembers are in danger.

With everyone back on the Raza the guys are both scanned. They are virus free and now everyone’s attention turns back to Two. One approaches her and looks genuinely worried for her. He cares for her and to lose her would be a massive loss to them all. Even thinking she is nearing the end of her life One still values her leadership and consults her for what may be her last chance to lead them. Together they decide to destroy the ship to make sure no one else is infected by what is onboard.

After everything One has gone through he seems to have grown stronger and found his backbone. He steps up and takes charge in Two’s absence and no one really seems to challenge him. Three does make a brief attempt and fails to get him back under his control. One is done playing Three’s game and it is nice to see him stand up for himself. Now we all wait alongside One to see how long it takes Three to vindictively spill the news about Jace.

The crew watches Two from a screen in the mess hall. Since she isn’t changing One advocates for her and says they need to scan her again. When they do the results reveal that she is now virus free. The look on Five’s face was beautifully played by Jodelle as she allowed Five to show her true feelings for Two. There is nothing lost between them and she does still care. Is everything perfect and fixed between them? No, I don’t think so, but there relationship is definitely on the mend. Two knew she wasn’t changing and demands to be let go.

One keeps fighting for Two and does his best to convince the others that Two isn’t a threat. When the decision is made it is One that The Android turns to for the final okay. With a nod of approval from One, Two is finally set free and she just wants to forget about everything that happened. The looks on her crews face indicate that isn’t likely to happen. She may be on her way to fixing things with Five, but the events of the day have done nothing to help right her downward spiral. She is still desperately trying to get and maintain control over everything and that is no easy task for anyone even if they have all their memories.

As things settle down and everyone settles back in to their routines Two finds her way to Three’s room. She apologizes to him for losing the ship, but he’s surprisingly okay with it. He was just hoping to get some money to have some fun with. Two points out to him that there are other ways to have fun. She comes on to him and for reasons I don’t understand he shuts her down. I don’t know if it was because of One saving his life or if he genuinely has a heart under his jerky exterior. After all she’s been through this would have been nothing more than her using him as a release. This is definitely not a healthy path for Two to be on, but it’s going to take time for her to deal with things and I hope Three continues to be respectful towards her. This actually made me respect Three just a bit as he went against his own nature to be a decent guy for once.

Cliffhanger reveals in the final seconds has become a defining quality of Dark Matter and this episode does not disappoint. After being shut down by Three, Two finds her way back to her room. She goes to a mirror and removes the bandage from her neck. The bandage is bloody which indicates she was truly injured, but the gash is completely gone now. Two rubs her neck in shocked astonishment and confusion. The episode fades out on Two’s confusion and we are left with another piece of the mystery.

This reveal was a big one for Two and dare I think it was right up there with the reveal of Jace. This opens up a million other questions about Two and the entire crew. Does Two have a unique biology that allowed her body to fight off the virus and maybe develop some level of immortality? Was she always immune because of some sort of past exposure? Is she a clone that may have a certain resistance to viruses? Is she, and her crew, from another dimension? We saw Six get hurt and not heal up, so is she different from her crew? What allowed Two to heal so rapidly? This sequence left many questions to anxiously await answers for.

Dark Matter downloaded a lot of information to us this week. We now have the possibility of interdimensional travel and we have the big mystery surrounding Two. This episode did a lot to grow One into a stronger member of the crew and it showed us a more human side to Three. The beginnings of a reconciliation between Two and Five was set in motion as they fought to fix the rift between them. We witnessed The Android refuse to give up on her crew and we saw Six risk his own safety to go back for One and Three. This episode did a great job of showing how this crew is learning to work together. It also set into motion several new potential storylines. It will be interesting to see where the crew goes from here.

Next week the show delves into Five’s memories and I have a feeling we’ll get to learn a bit more about all the crew. Maybe we’ll finally get some answers about the bonds the crew so naturally share. Be sure to tune into SyFy next Friday at 10pm EST for this episode then return to SpoilerTV for a detailed review.

If SyFy releases a screener I’ll be back later in the week to preview the next episode and Lindsey will be taking you through the review of that episode. I’ll return with a review of the following episode. Be sure to give Lindsey a big welcome back next week. I for one am very excited to read her thoughts on the next episode.

What did everyone think about this episode? Are you enjoying the bond between Two and Five? Do you like the oddball duo of One and Three? Did The Android’s humanity surprise you? Hit the comments and let’s help each other pass the time until the next episode.

About the Author - Aimee Hicks

Aimee works for a local newspaper and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was. She has a long list of shows that she loves to watch and can be found on twitter (@ahicks83) live tweeting about each new episode whenever she can. A list of her favorite shows includes (but is not limited to) the following: 12 Monkeys, Orphan Black, Outlander, Chasing Life, Scorpion, The 100, The Night Shift, Bitten, Black Sails, 2 Broke Girls, Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Continuum, Lost Girl, Faking It, Falling Skies, Finding Carter, Once Upon A Time, Orange Is The New Black, Switched At Birth, The Fosters, The Flash, The Originals, Teen Wolf, Under The Dome, & Z Nation. The upcoming shows she is most excited about are: Supergirl, Dark Matter, UnReal, Blindspot, Lucifer, Legends of Tomorrow, Stitchers, Recovery Road, Shadowhunters, Quantico, Code Black, Heartbreaker, and Chicago Med. She has a large and passionate dislike of ""reality"" TV, espeically ""reality"" dating shows, but has a weakness for Americas Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance. But those two don't really count as ""reality"" shows, at least that's how she justifies those guilty pleasures. She was the original creator and co-founder of LOST Video Island (lostvideo.net) which is still operting under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to.

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