Monday, August 31, 2015

What I’m Watching: Dark Matter (Season Finale)

Dark Matter: Season 1, Episode 12 and 13 “Episode Twelve” and “Episode Thirteen” (B+)

It’s agonizing to me that this show hasn’t yet been renewed for a second season, especially considering the last great Syfy show I watched ended on a similar cliffhanger and didn’t return for year three despite being terrific. These two episodes aired together but were very much separate installments, each focusing on a different thread. Learning that Two is something far more than human presented the almost immediate arrival of a threat looking to capture and reprogram her, but fortunately our friends weren’t willing to let her be taken and decommissioned. I love some good robot science that reminds me of “Battlestar Galactica,” namely the Android falling prey to the same dampening systems that were incapacitating Two. There’s also nothing like the threat of getting a new brain to really help you kick into overdrive and escape from that kind of facility. It’s obvious that Alex and his mysterious master in the hospital bed are going to be threats for this crew, but, interestingly, the final episode presented a much more internal sense of paranoia. The Android got tased for the umpteenth time, and I like that her copy self showed up to talk to Five and promptly found herself ordered to shut up and delete her programming. It was so intriguing to see how the members of the crew turned on each other, with Five suspecting Two, One and Three suspecting each other, and then the bombshell revelation at the end of the hour that the other five crew members were being dragged off the ship unconscious while Six walked behind them. I’m sure there has to be an explanation, and I’m so eager to find out. This show is very cool, and I like its style a lot. Syfy, please renew this one right away!

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Melissa O’Neil as Two

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