Dark Matter has become known for its shocking cliffhangers and this episode certainly delivered the most shocking one yet. We all know Two is a survivor and a fighter, but can she survive being spaced? I have a feeling she will, because there is no way that Two’s story is over yet, and when she comes back from the dead her secret will be revealed in the biggest and most shocking way yet. While we all anxiously await the final answer regarding Two’s ultimate fate let us take a look at the journey each character went on this week.
One seems to be going through an identity crisis and in a show revolving around identity crisis there is a fair amount of irony in this statement. I can’t really blame the guy because while most of the crew only have two identities to reconcile with he’s now on his third. We met him as One, then thought he was Jace Corso, and then we learned him to be Derrick Moss. While someone would think Derrick to be the better past life to reconcile it in fact seems to be the one that may be One’s downfall. As a CEO Derrick would have had a lot of responsibility and been in charge of countless people. This week we saw some of that come through as he rallied the guys against Two and that wasn’t the only time he challenged her in this episode. Time and time again he backed her into an impossible corner and ultimately ended up leading the crew into a possibly fatal encounter. I always thought it would be Three who would one day do this to Two, but having it be One is quite a major betrayal. I was happy when Two indicated to him that whatever their relationship is would have to be reevaluated. Which, in woman speak, translates to “we’re done, now go away” and I honestly don’t blame her.
While this episode did One no favors it’s not all that different from the journey Two’s been on since killing those guys to save Five. All of these characters are on journeys of self discovery and in order to do that they must face their pasts. Each character has reacted very differently to the revelations hiding in their pasts. Two turned to sex to cope and regain control while One seems to have turned to trying to assume control as his way of dealing with his past. He seems to be trying to embrace his past while characters like Two and Three are fighting against who they once were. The truly sad part about this is that I believe he does truly care for Two. He’s been infatuated with her from the start, but as the one in charge she was the one standing between him and what he needed to try and stabilize his own life, which is power. It will be interesting to see how he deals with Two’s presumed death given the part he played in getting them to this point.
He showed us one very important thing this episode and that is that he is not fit to lead this crew. Two is their commander and if she doesn’t survive then the crew will actually be better off in the hands of Three or even Six rather than One. I never thought I’d want to see Three take the lead instead of One, but until One can start making better choices no one should be following his lead. Major kudos to Marc Bendavid for his portrayal of this very complicated journey One is on.
From the first moment we met Two, and by virtue Melissa O’Neil, she has owned the screen. In this episode we got to see both the character and the actress excel past anything we have seen yet to date. For such a dynamic character and skilled actress that is saying a lot. This episode saw Two’s hands forced over and over as her crew and the universe conspired to make her life just a little bit harder. While we’re still in the dark regarding her past we did learn some things just based off of her actions. I believe, and this is just a theory, that Portia may have experienced some abuse at some point in her life at the hands of a man. While we know Two as a badass leader she does have a sordid relationship with men. She seemed to use Three for not much more than sexual gratification. She tried to become more serious with One, but something in her subconscious made that relationship go the same direction as the one she had with Three. Even when she was trying to be serious with One she constantly pushed him away when he tried to get to close to her. Granted, in the end One really did deserve to be dumped for going behind her back the way he did, so the breakup isn't her fault in this case. Then the way she reacted to Wexler, while completely justified, seemed quite instinctual in its level of violence. It wasn’t on the same level as her murder of the men in the space station, but the moves she used against Wexler were far more primal and violent then what Two demonstrates when she is in control of her actions. Murder was on her list of offenses so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that her original murder charge stems from the murder of some abusive male figure in her past. Only when she can figure out her past and deal with the things hiding in it will she be able to forge a stable relationship with One, or some other person.
The other big relationship challenge this week came regarding Five. She has fought long and hard to protect her young charge. From the very first time these two came together Two took responsibility for Five. She wouldn’t let her carry a gun and she kept Five at her side. During the first space station excursion, when the crew spilt up, Two made sure to keep Five with her. Now, granted, that did not end well, but it showed an intense and instinctual need to protect Five. This episode started off with Two doing everything in her power to keep Five safe, but before midway she was forced to confront the reality that she won’t be able to protect her forever. She stood against Six in order to bring Five in on the mission and put her in a dangerous position. I do hope that if Two survives this whole ordeal that this could signal time for her to start training Five. What really stood out for me was when Wexler threatened to space Five next and Two held her ground on protecting the password. I believe this was her willingly sacrificing her life with the faith that the others would find a way to protect Five from the same fate. In those final moments she passed Five’s life onto the other crewmembers and showed a significant trust in them. No way she would have held onto that password to her final breath without trusting Five would be protected. Her relationship with Five is the one she has fought the hardest to maintain and I believe in the end she sacrificed herself to buy Five time. She went out protecting her crew and there is no more fitting end for a leader.
This was a powerful episode for Two and Melissa O’Neil took control of this episode from the first seconds and owned it until the final heart stopping seconds. Whatever comes next, and there had better be more of Two, things will never be the same for her ever again. Even if she survives there is no way she escapes this ordeal without some trauma from being spaced. Thanks to her ability to heal and possible immortality I’m not ready to eulogize her just yet. I still believe that in the end she will make some glorious and miraculous return to save her crew and rid her ship of these villainous invaders. If by some cruel twist of fate she doesn’t survive then this will easily go down as one of the most heartbreaking loses of a character this summer.
Three is a complex character who tries to act like he doesn’t care, but the truth is he cares more than he likes to admit. We saw his compassion with Sarah and in an attempt to save Two he gave up the password protecting their shared livelihood. He hides his good heart behind the persona of a jerk yet whenever someone is in need the good in him prevails. We all started off thinking he was the jerk to One’s good guy, but could it in fact be quite the opposite? Is he actually the good guy to One’s jerk? It would be a great twist of irony if in the end Three ends up being the good guy of this story.
I also need to address his bad luck with androids. Has Three not learned his lesson yet? Waking up sleeping androids is always a very bad thing. Especially given his luck with being beat up by them he should just start steering clear of them. On the bright side it gave Anthony Lemke some great action work this week. In the interest of keeping Three alive for many seasons to come I need him to give sleeping androids and hacked ones some distance.
Three offering up the password to save Two was a powerful scene. We know he’s slept with her, but on both sides it has been made quite obvious that there were no feelings involved. Despite his best efforts I believe Three has developed a friendship with Two and in spite of butting heads with her he also knows how important she is to this crew. He was willing to give up everything to give her a fighting chance. If the promo is any indication he is not going to take her loss very well. We’re witnessing Three’s evolution week by week and he’s becoming the kind of character that a viewer wants to root for.
Four spent the majority of this episode in the background. Given the fight heavy nature of this episode I was disappointed to see him sidelined for most of it because the way Alex wields weapons with such graceful ease is mesmerizing and engaging. At least he got that one fight sequence on the space station. I guess not every episode can be as fight heavy for Four as last week was. Melissa easily carried the ass kicking flag in his absence, but I do hope we’ll get to see Four go full on badass on the next episode in the wake of what happened to Two.
I do like that he was involved in the boys club meeting, but I do wish he had spoken up against the stupidity of the whole idea instead of voting for it. Especially given that last week he gave Two a vow of loyalty. Okay, maybe not his loyalty, but she did risk her life and the life of the crew to save him and he owed her better than this. The least Four could have done was stand up against One and Three being stupid. At least he showed up on the space station to give a helping hand in paving a way to freedom for her and the crew on the station.
Five has been a crucial part of the team since the beginning, but this week she finally joined in on the action. Her dynamic with Two has been up and down ever since the first space station incident. They are mostly on the mend now, and while nothing like they were in the early episodes, Two seems to have earned back her place within Five’s life. They shared some pivotal scenes this week and this evolution of their bond was necessary given how the episode ends. They needed to be back in a good place in order to allow Two’s presumed death to hit Five all the harder. I have a feeling that when we find Five next week she’ll be devastated after the apparent loss of someone she has come to care deeply for. Two has been like a big sister or even motherly figure in Five’s life from the moment they all woke up. She will not let Two’s presumed murder go unanswered and if I were Wexler and his crew I’d be more afraid of her then the guys, because we all know how cunning Five can be.
Melissa O’Neil and Jodelle Ferland have this natural ease when they work together and it comes across in their characters. If this was destined to be the last time they share the screen together then they made the most of it. The banter they shared when Two had to ask Five to help was masterfully played by both actresses. The fact Five felt comfortable teasing Two and messing with her was a great indication of the way their relationship has stabilized these past few episodes. This episode consisted of several great scenes for these two, such as when Five showed Two that she was ready to get in on the action and Two showed her support by standing with Five when Six tried to intervene. These moments were nice ways to show the natural progression of this relationship. It was even more telling when Two did not join the team Five was on and entrusted her safety to One and Three. This was literally a trial by fire as Five became a battle ready active member of the crew and she proved herself when she saved the guys from the android. She may not have the physicality of Four or Six, but she certainly has an invaluable brain that has and will continue to get them out of tight spots. That brain is up for a hell of a challenge in the next episode as she has to find a way to get herself and her crewmates out of the precarious situation they are currently in.
Six may have his differences with Two, but at least he voted against the mission during the boys club meeting. While he didn’t get much to do during this episode I loved the scene he shared with Two and Five. He went into full of paternal protective mode regarding Five. I enjoyed the back and forth tug that Two and Six dealt with while trying to figure out how to best deal with Five’s future on the ship. While I understand Six’s desire to protect Five the time has come for him to let her start to face the world. I guess this is a parent’s worst nightmare as their kid ventures out into the world without them. Two understood that she had to stop sheltering Five, but Six most certainly did not agree that this was the right time.
Roger Cross demands attention when he is on screen and it is rare when he is in a scene where he isn’t in control, but Melissa O’Neil is a force to be reckoned with as well. When they shared the scene where they fought over Five I fully expected them to battle for control of the scene, but instead they found this beautifully organic equality of power on screen. However, by the end of the scene Jodelle actually managed to wrestle the scene away from both of them, that was no small feat, as Five took a stand for her own future and declared control over her choice to participate in the mission. The way Roger chose to portray Six’s primal need to protect Five allowed the viewers to see a whole new side to Six. Here is a man who has all this darkness in his past, but still has a heart capable of selflessly caring for someone else.
The Android has experienced an exponential evolution over the past several episodes. She is not like any other android around and she’s finally come to accept this flaw within herself. Yet, she still deems it a flaw and as such is still trying to troubleshoot the problem. I’m not sure whose idea the diagnostic holographic android was, but I would like to formally declare that person a genius for allowing us to have two Zoie Palmers’ on our screens at once. Not many actors can perform off of themselves as well as they can other actors, but Zoie joined a very small club of being able to pull it off. If Orphan Black ever needs another clone playing actress then I nominate Zoie, but only if it doesn’t interfere with her filming Dark Matter.
I must address the fact that The Android, yet again, got taken down without ever being given the chance to fight back. This trend must end and The Android must be allowed to start kicking the butts of those who keep damaging her. I do worry about who she’ll be when she comes around this time. She built this rogue program within her own mind, so what’s to say that the alternate version of her won’t take over while the mind of the true Android is incapacitated? I learned very early on in this series to never doubt what this show is willing to do to torture us and the characters. Whether she wakes up as The Android we all know and love or the other version of her subconscious, I think Wexler is in for it.
I can’t do a review on this episode and not comment on the amazing guest cast they got to play the rival crew. Ennis Esmer (Wexler), Jessica Sipos (Tash), Jon Cor (Vons), and Conrad Pla (Cain) nailed their parts as the foils to our heroes. While I loved to hate the dastardly persona of Wexler I ended up enjoying Tash the most. Jessica fit in perfectly with the actors playing her crewmates, but I think her dynamic with the main cast was even more impressive. In a show where redemption is the greatest hope of all our characters what’s to say they can’t add an outsider who dreams of the same thing? While redemption is not even on her mind yet, I’m hoping there is some good in Tash that would give the show an angle to keep her around. The show could use another kick ass female so I would not be opposed to seeing Tash stick around. After what Wexler did to Two I look forward to watching the crew, or even Two herself, deliver some much deserved payback on him. If it turns out that Two’s death sticks, and I’m crossing my fingers it does not, then Wexler may have earned himself the title of most hated man on SyFy, and given the number of evil characters on the network that would be quite the feat. I hope Vos and Cain find themselves in a yet to be discovered brig on the ship for future appearances. While I hate what the rival crew did I really enjoyed the performances of the entire guest cast, so outside of the next episode I hope we get to spend some more time with them in the future. Except Wexler, as much as I enjoyed the performance Ennis gave I hope Wexler meets a very timely end in the next episode for what he did to Two.
Speaking of the guest cast, Torri Higginson made her return appearance as Commander Truffault in this episode. I had a feeling Two made a deal with the devil back during their first mission and this encounter proved that she did. Truffault is going to use and exploit the crew of the Raza at every opportunity. I get that the guys thought Truffault could ensue their protection, but that quite obviously comes at a steep price. I enjoy Torri’s work, but I hope the next time the crew encounters Truffault they give her the same treatment I hope the majority of the rival crew gets during the next episode.
Now let us all join in hoping Two’s mysterious ability to heal also protects her from the vacuum of space. What the next episode will bring is anyone’s guess at this point. We do know from previews and the episode synopsis that Five finds herself in a position to help the others. The crew will have to not only deal with the hijackers, but also the debilitating loss of Two. One thing I can guarantee is that missing the next episode is not an option.
Prepare for an emotional and action packed episode as the crew fight to survive and mourn their lost leader. Tune into SyFy at 10/9C on Friday to see who will survive and find out if Two will make a miraculous return to reclaim her ship and her crew.
To help pass the time be sure to vote in the best scene poll below then hit the comments. Leave your thoughts and theories about what the next episode holds. Do you think Two will survive being spaced? Does Three actually care for Two? Is One becoming the new Three?
Pick your top 5 favorite scenes from the episode. If your favorite scene isn't listed select Other and leave a comment about what your favorite scene 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, especially ""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 operating under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to.
