Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
It just goes to show you that you shouldn’t sleep on a series as entertaining as “The Ark” regardless of the tranquilizers in the air.
That’s an interesting plot, but what we TV fanatics call what we’re seeing here is Die Hard in space. Vents be damned.
“Ark” Season 2 Episode 8 continues the show’s trend of experimenting with new story ideas and settings.
At this point in the season, it’s fair to say that many of the risks that showrunners, writers, and producers took have been addressed.
Now that we have a clearer idea of where the plot is going, let’s hope that Ark doesn’t lose its bearings and its momentum toward its finale.
We’re halfway through Season 2, and it’s time for the show to decide who or what the Ark One crew will face.
Ark doesn’t need space monsters or ray guns because its characters are so well made
As mentioned in previous reviews, Ark is a special kind of science fiction show. The series makes a real effort to focus on the humanity of the story.
Science fiction tends to lean toward the pageantry and camp of space monsters, aliens, and ray guns. Ark doesn’t need any of that because its characters are so well designed.
However, with so many moving parts at this point in the season, this Syfy series has done a smart thing. They added a sleep plot and in doing so retconned the main characters’ plots.
A show can easily overstretch itself if it tries to monopolize too many viewers’ attention. That’s how we end up with a convoluted series.
When the season begins, the main problem is avoiding Maddox and getting enough spare parts to get the ship to its destination planet.
Since then there have been electric tentacles, parallel universes, post-humans, and now we have the Eastern Federation and a ship of clones to deal with.
Ark will reposition its spotlight.
Captain can’t keep messing around with these clones
Speaking of clones, they’re far more trouble than they’re worth. Granted, they don’t have much value in the first place.
They were just introduced to bring a new type of foil and boy did they foil.
Those second-generation clones wasted no time in springing into action. I’ve said it before, I see a Clone Revolt on the horizon, and here we are. However, this isn’t the only clone prediction I’ve made.
Since the start of Ark’s second season, there have been many subtly sweet moments between Captain Garnett (Christy Burke) and Lieutenant Ryan (Reese Ritchie). Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.
Then there’s Spencer’s clone, who looks just as charming as Ryan. The clone love triangle is the only reason I think the writers let some random second generation clones take over Ark One.
We’ve seen Milos multiple times over the past few episodes, but he hasn’t said a word, so the audience has no reason to pay attention to him.
It really feels like they chose not to make Spencer’s clone Ian the leader of the second generation in order to keep the character redeemable.
But that doesn’t stop Spencer from spiraling out of control again. Have you ever noticed that every time he hears bad news, he goes from zero to sixty? Someone please tell the actors to breathe between the lines.
However, if the people behind Ark needed to focus on something, they could start with the characters’ coincidental good fortune.
I’m talking about the teleportation system that the second generation clones used to destroy the entire ship. This is very convenient as there is an easy to use tube that disperses whatever is poured into it to the rest of the ark.
There wasn’t even a safety mat or anything on the conveyor system. Someone on the security team dropped the ball. Maybe they should recruit Kelly (Samantha Glassner).
Ark has an unlikely but much-needed friend Kelly
Ark is working hard to keep Kelly at the forefront of the plot. Now it seems like they’re forcing a heroic arc onto the character, and I’m not mad about that.
Kelly has long been a deeply misunderstood man. Her story is interesting, though.
Kelly was transformed and promoted into a super soldier by her mother, but she never experienced freedom. As a weapon, Kelly experienced one tragedy after another throughout his life.
So when Ark One revealed that Kelly’s homicidal tendencies were caused by implants that enhanced her, I thought it was Kelly’s chance to prove she wasn’t a killer.
With Captain Garnett’s help, Kelly finally demonstrates redeemable qualities that will make her a more trustworthy ally on the ship.
Trust is in short supply as the number of enemies at the door continues to grow.
Kimi is cool, Letty is locked up, William Trust can’t be trusted, and for some reason Bryce still has his shirt on
As mentioned above, the Clones and the Eastern Federation became problems for Ark around the same time. Their episodes actually aired back-to-back.
One thing led to another, and before we knew it, we had a boat full of people who couldn’t be trusted. Now, it’s hard to remember who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.
If I’m not mistaken, Kimi (Diana Bermudez) is cool as long as she keeps communicating with Sharon. Lati was locked up and couldn’t go anywhere. Eva was also housed in a better place. A William Trust is a William Trust.
Bryce was on Kimi’s hit list, but he just cleared his name. Did anyone else notice the brief moment of what seemed to be going on behind those beautiful blue eyes, though?
I’m not entirely convinced that Bryce (Richard Fleishman) doesn’t have skeletons in his closet. So while Bryce may not be an Eastern Confederate, something is eating away at his past.
Regardless, we’ll soon learn that the Eastern Federation has officially entered the building.
By the way, the crew must have gotten tired of looking out the window and seeing another problem heading their way. Oh well. It makes television interesting.
As usual, things look dire at the Ark, but that’s only part of the show’s charm. Everything might be on fire, but at least we can always count on Angus (Ryan Adams) and Alicia (Stacey Reed) to keep things sweet.
Alicia, get a contraceptive implant!
Do you think Bryce is an Eastern Fed, or does he have a dark secret in his past?
Where do you think Kelly will go after helping save the crew?
Let us know in the comments below, and join me again as I review the next episode of Ark!
