At the midway point Dark Matter is still as fierce as it was in the premiere. Last week gave us a lot of information and I thought that when we got Three’s story this week it would be quick snippets, but this show loves to surprise me and they dedicate a fair amount of screen time to his backstory. Speaking of surprises, this episode is full of them. The surprises aren’t quite as universe changing as the reveal of Jace or Two’s rapid ability to heal, but they are still surprising. Here is a brief glimpse into what each character will face this week.
One, like most fans, is still struggling to accept things between Two and Three. This week he confronts Two to mixed results. That confrontation leads him to make a very poor decision that puts the entire crew in danger.
Two has to juggle some personal issues while some major life and death events are happening around her. At least one of her complicated relationships will be challenged this week in a way it hasn’t been before. What will come of it? Wish I could tell you, but I’m anxiously waiting to find out myself. The great thing about Dark Matter is every episode builds on the story and this week is no exception, so there are no easy answers on this show.
Three provides the biggest past life surprise so far. Not because of shock value, his story has nothing to do with shock and awe, which was kind of surprising, but instead it focuses on who he was as a man. We knew Four was a prince, many guessed Five was a stowaway and thief, and while Six’s story was surprising his past life still held elements of the man we’ve come to know. Three on the other hand will surprise you in a way none of the others have. Anthony Lemke delivers a standout performance this week and it is powerful stuff. You will leave this episode knowing more about Three, but despite his lengthy flashback we only learn about a very small, but very important, time frame of his life. Even after his story is told you will still have as many, if not more, questions about him then you did when the episode started. Sarah (Natalie Brown), the woman shown in the sneak peek for this episode, plays a big role in Three's past, and it's both what you are thinking and surprising at the same time.
Four has some great fight scenes and an awkward interaction with Wendy. Other than that…well that is about it for him this week. Shows tend to sideline a character either right after an intense episode or just before that character is about to take the forefront. Based off of
upcoming episode summaries I’m betting it’s the latter happening here. We don’t get much Four this week, but I get the impression he’s about to get a lot more screen time in the coming weeks.
Five gets them into the vault! What? That wasn’t enough of a spoiler for you? Am I supposed to tell you what is inside? Sorry, that would ruin the fun. You’ll just have to wait and see, but I will tell you this, there is some really good stuff inside. As usual, Five is Two’s go to person when things go horrifically wrong with Wendy. And trust me, when I say things go wrong, I am not exaggerating. She shares a nice moment with Two as they both stand vigil for a fallen friend. When the crew becomes separated she will find herself in an awkward partnership with Three.
Six joins Four in the secondary character department this week. He has a funny encounter with two of the other crew and a fun fight scene. And…yeah, that’s it. I suspect we’ll see more of him very soon, much the way Four’s turn in the spotlight is coming around.
The Android will experience jealousy towards Wendy (Ruby Rose), the entertainment android, and it highlights just how humanlike she is as she tries to secure her place amongst the crew. Zoie also gets a chance to show off her accent skills and the show would be missing out on a massive opportunity if they don't let her go into accent mode again in the future. While the story revolving around these two androids is fun and full of awesome interactions, I will warn this: one thing fans were hoping to witness does not happen. In the context of this episode it just wouldn’t have fit. But don’t fret; our favorite android has some amazing scenes this week. Some of the best moments of this episode come from The Android and Wendy trying to be better than the other. There will never be anyone who can top Zoie's android, but Ruby Rose does a decent job.
The normal shock ending we’ve all come to expect does not happen this week, at least not in the same way we’ve come to expect. However, with that said, the ending is important to the evolution of one previously setup storyline. It will certainly be interesting to see where things go from here.
This episode has a small body count and ends with one of the main characters in medical dealing with substantial injuries. Will they survive? How badly will they be injured? You’ll have to make sure to tune in on Friday night at 10/9C on SyFy to find out. Then be sure to come back to SpoilerTV for my detailed review of this episode.
My schedule this week will only allow me to administer one round of the quote game, so I’m including not one, not two, but three bonus quotes for those who may not want to tackle the big list. For anyone new to the game, guessing all the speakers right is worth a character specific spoiler and same goes for guessing all the recipients right. On the bonus quotes you must get both the speaker and the recipient right to earn an extra spoiler. In total four extra character spoilers are up for grabs. Who wants to earn all the other fans more spoilers?
“The factory default is set to something called Aussie.”
“I don’t eat for pleasure.”
“Look, against all imaginable odds, it turns out that somebody in this galaxy doesn’t think you’re a total jerk.”
“Find a way to work around whatever it is she’s done. I’ll distract her.”
“I don’t think we could get by without you.”
Bonus Quote 1:
“Depends on how extensive the damage is. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Bonus Quote 2:
“Why are you talking like that?”
Bonus Quote 3:
“It’s obvious there is something between the two of you…or at least there was.”
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.
