This was an awe-inspiring episode that embodied all that is unique and special about
Dark Matter. Sometimes an episode can be heavily hyped and be unable to live up to the expectations of the fans. Not only did this episode live up to expectations but it exceeded them by leaps and bounds.
Dark Matter asks their characters, and audience, to question the meaning of identity. What makes a person a person? Is it our pasts? Is it that we’re flesh and blood? Is it our free will? Is it the ability to think independently? These are all questions asked this week as the Android explores her existence with the android upgrade that she acquired in the prior episode. Each character has had to address the topic of identity as they struggle to define these versions of themselves from who they were before the memory wipe. The interesting thing about the Android is that even without the upgrade she was already on a fascinating journey of self-discovery even more pronounced and defined than her crewmates due to her lack of the elements we would normally use to define humanity.
It has been evident from the beginning that the Android was different from other androids. In her mind, that makes her “flawed”, but in truth, it makes her unique and special. Still, even with other upgraded androids in existence, they seem to be the minority within their own kind. That means that she is still an anomaly, and just like early humans, she may very well be the first step in an evolutionary track for her kind. Just because she is mechanical, and was constructed versus being born, does not exclude her from the potential to evolve. Even today the science exists for AI’s, but the fear is that should humans give them an avenue to exist in mass quantity we’ll be participating in a self-fulfilling prophecy given to us by the likes of
Battlestar Galactica,
Terminator, and most recently shows like
Person of Interest and
Humans have also tackled this topic. Apple has Siri and other tech companies seem poised to roll out competing systems, so a future with artificial beings doesn’t seem far off from being a reality. If our future selves treat them like slaves then a revolution wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility, but if we were to treat them as the crew of the Raza treats the Android it could be a marvelously symbiotic relationship. The science behind the Android and her evolutionary tendencies are not that far removed from what may one day happen. Thankfully the Android is benevolent and not malicious, but now that we know there is an android revolution of sorts taking place in
Dark Matter I’m sure we’ll eventually meet a maliciously evolved android.
Something interesting to think about is the fact that we don’t know how the androids came into possession of the illegal tech that permits them this human-like upgrade. Did the other upgraded androids take it of their own free will, because they were already evolving like the Android, or was it forced on them as part of an experiment? I’m curious to find out where this upgrade started and if the other androids were as far into their own evolutionary treks as the Android. In multiple interviews, I’ve heard Melissa O’Neil mention how accurate
Dark Matter is with its science, and the show has proven her point time and time again. They have done a brilliant job of taking already existing science and predicting what it may evolve into. The idea of AI’s is fascinating and I don’t think shows like
Dark Matter are far off on how the future may one day look.
All of that made this episode all the more intriguing and the work Zoie Palmer did was magical. She had to juggle playing all three versions of her character in a single episode from the Android we know to her upgraded self to her uptight Red Android self and she never once missed a beat. In the hands of a lesser actress, it’s likely the different versions of the character could have seeped into the other incarnations, but even if they weren’t aesthetically differentiated it would have been easy to tell them apart thanks to her well-crafted performance. What I also found very interesting about Palmer’s approach to the upgraded Android was how she blended the naivety of a child with the brilliance of her android intelligence. When she was trying to get arrested there was this innocence in her performance that made her very endearing and made it very believable that the cop wouldn’t arrest her. Then, when she wasn’t getting what she wanted, she started to act like a defiant teenager. There were all these little moments in her performance that when you compile them together make her flawless performance all that more spectacular.
She wasn’t the only one to shine in this episode. The entire cast, and I do mean every single one of them, upped their game to unprecedented levels and delivered an episode without a single thing to fault. Melissa O’Neil delivered an intensely emotional performance as Two faced down Jace Corso and got revenge for the loss of the man she loved. Anthony Lemke, coming off of an extraordinary performance in the prior episode, expertly guided Three through a complicated array of emotions regarding Six and dealing with his trepidations with Nyx. Alex Mallari Jr. fiercely showed Four’s stoicism in the face of capture and gave a commanding look into the strength within Four. Jodelle Ferland brilliantly showed Five’s desperate attempts to reconcile her feelings for Six and showed her strength as she chased into the face of danger to help save the rest of the crew. Roger Cross commanded his scenes as he took Six through a journey of self-anger and an attempt to redeem his troubled character. Melanie Liburd expertly handled the cryptic nature of Nyx as she delivered an insightful peek into her mysterious character while also showing her strong need to belong. Shaun Sipos delivered an illuminating performance that shone more light on Devon as he had to guide his character through a complicated journey of surviving while trying to hide a deeply troubling secret. Every single one of these performers deserves praise for the work they do on a weekly basis, but they deserve an extra dose of praise for this episode in particular.
I can’t leave out Marc Bendavid who graced our screens as Jace and delivered a dynamically sinister performance. With the heartbreaking loss of One, and now the demise of Jace at Two’s hands, the odds of him making a return are slim. This is sci-fi, so nothing is ever entirely impossible, but in this case, Bendavid returning to the series seems unlikely. Even though Jace was as a miserable excuse for a man, Bendavid made him a very three-dimensional character. He found great ways to differentiate Jace from One and played sinister with as much ferocious strength as he did One’s kindness. I’m sure that if the show runs long enough they’ll find a way to bring Bendavid back in some capacity, but I believe this episode is his last for quite some time and it is sad. At least this appearance allowed the crew to get a much-needed sense of closure.
While One’s death was painful, seeing Two kill Jace was cathartic and something that had to happen in order for Two to be able to move forward. I’m glad that it was Two who enacted this moment of revenge. Though I do wish she had forced some more information out of him before pulling the trigger. But I guess it would have been too easy for them to just have the answers of who their enemies are simply handed to them. Part of the magic of this show is the crew figuring out things on their own, without help and they will too prevail over whomever these enemies are that took One from them.
Even though it was great to see Jace pay for the senseless murder of One this scene really was all about Two. When Jace hit the ground and the levity of the moment slammed into Two, O’Neil allowed the audience to see that Jace’s observation of Two’s newfound vulnerability was an accurate assessment. When Two stood over Jace with her gun trained on him for the briefest of moments you could see Two seeing One. As Two depressed that trigger and took Jace’s life it was done with the strength of a stoic leader, but it was also extremely emotionally driven. No sooner did Jace hit the ground than O’Neil’s eyes grew glassy with tears that she refused to allow Two to shed. She opened herself up to allow the audience to have a quiet and intimate moment with Two as the stoic leader was forced to confront emotions Portia Lin had skillfully learned to suppress. This was a beautifully raw acting moment where O’Neil fully embodied every painful thought running through Two’s head in that moment.
As Two was dealing with all of this the rest of her crew was scattered and divided all around. Four was trapped with Chief Inspector Kierkan (guest star Kris Holden-Ried) and was desperately trying to get out of the literal rock and hard place he was stuck in. Lucky for him the Raza crew is very loyal and they never leave one of their own behind. They were either going to be the ones to mercy kill Four or they were going to gain his freedom. Either way, they weren’t going to allow their friend to fall into the hands of the G.A. again. The entire crew united as a team and through their unity they were able to obtain Four’s freedom. It was great to see Holden-Ried on the show and since his character survived the episode I hope we’ll see him back again. With the G.A. playing such a big part in this season I would wager a guess that we may see him again at some point. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the next time he reappears he’ll have a fully healed and very much alive Anders (Jeff Teravainen) with him. Four seemed to be getting through to him about the corruption just as Six was starting to get through to Anders, so it would be interesting for them to both reappear a little more receptive to the corruption of the organization they work for.
This episode was filled to the brim with intriguing moments including just about everything to do with Nyx. I found it curious that Nyx was so eager to go with them on the search for Jace, but I think she saw an opportunity to really prove herself. She knew she had to get on the ground with the crew and show them her true worth and that’s exactly what she did. It was rather ingenious to team her up with Three when the crew got split apart because they definitely had some issues to hash out. After beating him up at their first meeting it was a solid olive branch she extended to him by saving his life this time around. I’ve seen arguments that the crew has been too quick to trust Nyx and Devon, but what have they done to not deserve the crew to start trusting them? Devon stepped up and saved Six despite knowing he was a G.A. officer. Nyx has fought side-by-side with the crew several times now. She has been loyal to Two since the moment they hashed out their differences in the sim-yard. In this episode alone she saved both Two and Three plus she helped rescue Four. Yes, Nyx is keeping secrets, but they all are, and I believe that she is keeping her secrets for the same reason that Two is.
Whatever makes Nyx special is likely to have originated from highly illegal tech and she’s as hesitant to trust people with her secret as Two is. I think when her secret is revealed, hopefully, in the next episode, it will help the crew and the viewers better understand her. There is also a chance that she doesn’t entirely know what it is that gives her these enhanced senses and intuition. Nyx is an enigma wrapped in a galactic sized mystery, so I can’t wait to get some of her backstory in the next episode. So, to summarize, we know Nyx has an instinctual ability to predict her opponents moves, she has heightened hearing, and a healthy knowledge of just about every weapon placed in her hands. Sound somewhat similar to someone we already know and love? I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she has some dark history with Dwarf Star Technologies since they appear to have a thing for creating illegal genetically special beings. I’m very curious to see her episode next week to see what sort of answers we get regarding all this.
Every character was put through a whole array of obstacles and, despite his healing injuries, Six wasn’t immune to that. As the title of the episode references, Six was spared from being spaced, but that doesn’t mean all is forgiven. If it were up to Three they’d ditch him at the nearest outpost and bid him goodbye forever. Lucky for Six he has both Two and Five on his side. They both have their issues with him, but they also understand how the complicated lives they each are living could lead one of their own to the decision Six made. I do like that Six was willing to go after the crew, to aid them, despite his still freshly mended wounds hindering him. He’s desperate to make right his wrongs even if it costs him his own life. It was really nice to see Six back behind the helm of the Marauder. Roger Cross has a huge personality and a stage presence that demands awe, so it is great to see him back in action on the show.
This episode was jam-packed with epic sequences, but the decent of the Raza to the planet’s surface was one of the coolest looking ones. The way the Android was allowed to guide the ship with Devon and Five nervously watching on was a fun change of pace and the graphics of the entry were very well done. I’m curious if Devon would have questioned the Android if she was her pre-upgrade self or if her more human appearance made him nervous and less confident in her abilities. Five has always had infallible faith in the Android and it was wonderful to see her extend that same trust to this new version of her friend. My favorite line from this episode was when the Android was explaining that Devon didn’t want to know the exact probability of their success but she most certainly did. This whole scene played perfectly to the tone of the episode and aided in further ramping up the stakes.
As if this episode didn’t have enough going on it ended at an interesting point as the Android was confronted by Red Android. Even though she acknowledged that she made a minor miscalculation during the landing it was still hard for the Android to hear Red Android point out her inability to properly manage all the components of the ship during the risky maneuver. Based off of images that have been released showing the Android in a new white uniform it’s safe to say she doesn’t keep her upgrade but is left greatly affected by her time living in a human-like way. I’m torn on this because I love seeing Zoie Palmer be able to deliver a more free performance, but I also love the story of the Android evolving on her own without the aid of tech. She was special just the way she was and her crew loved her that way, so it would be nice to see her go back and be allowed to evolve naturally. On the bright side, now that the upgrade has been established there is nothing stopping the show from pulling it out from time to time for undercover missions. If by some very odd chance, she does keep the upgrade I would be happy about that as well, but I don’t believe that’ll be the case. She cares for her crew with all of her being and if she thinks, for even a second, that the upgrade could cause her to endanger her crew she’d have it removed immediately. I’m interested to see how she starts off the next episode. Will she still have the upgrade and struggle with giving it up or will her confrontation with the Red Android lead her to remove the upgrade off screen? What does everyone hope will happen? What version of the Android do you prefer? How will the experience change her? Even if she downgrades back to normal it would be fun to see her on occasion slap Three on the butt just for fun. I can only imagine how much fun Palmer and Lemke had filming that moment. It was one of the lighter moments in this intense episode and it still fit in perfectly with the whole tone. It was also really fun to see the Android walk into that bar all sexy than on a dime turn full on badass in one of the most epic Android fight sequences yet. Speaking of that, I loved that the Android turned him over to the other women on the crew to interrogate him. The Raza men are amazing, but you have to admit that all the Raza women in one room can be very intimidating.
The best way I can describe this episode is a magical masterpiece. This episode covered a ton of ground and nothing ever seemed forced or rushed. The flow was perfect and the cast was absolutely flawless. This show has had some extraordinary episodes, but there is just something extra special about this one that makes it stand out amongst a whole array of spectacular episodes. It shines just a tiny bit brighter than those that came before it. There really is something just magical in how this entire episode came together.
Don’t miss the next episode where we’ll finally get some answers about Nyx. Tune into the next episode on
Friday, August 5th at 10/9C on Syfy in the US and Space in Canada.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode. What did you think about it? Were you as impressed by it as I was? Did you enjoy watching Zoie Palmer play a different version of the Android? Do you think Two will be seen as weak by others? Can Six regain his place within the crew?
In the preview I asked you what character Joseph Mallozzi described as a dog specifically a mutt. Here is his answer:
JM: I think of Three as maybe a dog. Kind of one of those mutts, those loveable mutts that usually get a little bit cranky but dopey as well in kind of an endearing way. Tongue hanging out, kind of a medium to large sized mutt.
About the Author - Aimee Hicks
Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina 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. If the show is sci-fi, fantasy, comic book based, drama, or action the odds are good she watches it or has at least watched a few episodes of it. She also has a love for comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mom. 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.
You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com.
