Dark Matter Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Welcome to Your New Home
Kathleen Wiedel
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Welcome, fans of Dark Matter!
It is my pleasure to serve as reviewer this season; I confess that I only got into this series when I spotted it on Netflix during its hiatus, but it really appealed to the Firefly fan in me. So let's get this show on the road and turn our attention to the season premiere!
Dark Matter Season 2 Episode 1 picked up not too long after the Dark Matter Season 1 finale left off, with Six revealed as an undercover cop for the Galactic Authority and subsequently betraying the crew of the Raza. The hits did not stop there with that revelation, however.
I do want to point out the silliness of the opening with Two, Three, Four, and the others standing in the doorway in their underwear, gazing out into the common area of the prison. Fan service aside, it looked pretty absurd as they all stood there frozen, as if totally shocked to find themselves in, you know, a prison.
This episode introduced the two new regulars: Shaun Sipos as Devon and Melanie Liburd as Nyx. In this episode, at least, we barely got to see very much of Devon, though Nyx got quite the introduction.
On a side note, I didn't really feel sorry for Three during that scene, as I was too busy being amused that he spent the entire fight between Nyx and Three completely unconscious on the cot.
To learn more about the newcomers, be sure to check out our article on the conference call with the Dark Matter cast members!
I have to say that Dark Matter really nails the fight choreography. Each character has his or her own style, and it's just so much fun to watch.
Dark Matter isn't all about the action, either. Several of the characters faced some serious introspection in this episode. Most especially Six.
Six (true name Kal Varrik!) was clearly conflicted; yes, he was an undercover cop for the Galactic Authority; yes, he did his duty by betraying the crew of the Raza and turning them in. But was that necessarily the right thing to do?
My place was on that ship. But you made sure that would never happen again, didn't you?
Five [to Six]
Both Five and One called Six on his behavior. Five, especially was hurt by the betrayal due to their close relationship. That, plus his own doubts, left Six in a definite conflict that will probably only grow.
Of course, said conflict was not helped at all by the general unsavoriness of the GA personnel:
Six [about Two]: She's... unstable. She could cause you some trouble.
Warden: That's an accurate description of just about everyone in the place, including some of the guards, so, what?
That's not even bringing into account the minor little revelation that the GA was aware of the 10,000 innocent people who lost their lives on that space station while Six was undercover with the Procyon Rebellion. Nice folks Six works for, no?
Six also said something truly interesting in his conversation with One in the latter part of the episode:
When you came out of stasis, you had no memory. But you knew the right thing to do. Because you are who you are.
Six [to One]
When what is lawful is at odds with what is good, it sets the stage for some serious moral dilemmas. What will Six do? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, Roger Cross is doing a great job of expressing Six's inner tug-of-war between his duty as a cop and his friendship with the Raza crew.
I'd also like to call out Zoie Palmer, whose breakout performance as The Android was a major highlight of Dark Matter Season 1. She didn't get much to do in this episode, but she still managed to deliver my favorite line:
GA Tech: If I don't get those files, it'll be my head on a platter.
Android: That seems unlikely. [beat] But, okay.
Seriously, if you haven't seen Season 1 yet, go check it out on Netflix. The Android is hilarious, awesome, and heartwarming, sometimes all at the same time.
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about Jace Corso. Who totally just blew away One. Surprise! That was quite the twist for this first episode of the season to end on, I have to say.
Long time, no see. [shoots him]
Jace Corso [to One]
With many lingering questions about the murder of Derrick Moss's wife, including the very convenient death of the only person to identify Marcus Boone as the perpetrator, it seems more likely than ever that this will play into the massive conspiracy hinted at by the cast during the conference call last week.
Did they actually just kill One?! Despite the multiple gunshot wounds (including a headshot, yikes!), something just tells me that One will make some sort of miraculous return.
Here are a few miscellaneous thoughts before I turn the discussion over to you:
- Franka Potente's character, Chief Inspector Shaddick? She just screams "Bad News," doesn't she?
- How did Jace Corso get to One? And what motivated him to kill One there and then? Is this another part of the conspiracy at play?
- First objective of a prisoner: escape. Two, Three, and Four seemed to be hard at work at putting that into practice.
- Five's real name was revealed to be Emily Kolburn; she has a record for truancy, trespassing, larceny, vandalism, and fraud.
- Did anyone else notice what appeared to be child's drawing hanging up in the warden's office?
- Three's Big Gun (the one that couldn't keep a charge) has now been fixed! With any luck, he'll get the chance to appreciate this.
Don't forget to watch Dark Matter online! Meanwhile, Dark Matter Season 2 Episode 2, "Kill Them All" is slated to air on Friday, July 8 at 10/9c on Syfy.
So, what did you think of "Welcome to Your New Home"? Are you excited for a jailbreak? Are you shocked that Jace Corso shot One? Is One gone for good? Let us know in the comments section below!
