The Dark Matter season two opener; “Welcome to Your New Home,” starts with Two, Four and Three being told to strip down to their skivvies. After being handed their all purpose prison outfits they move into the general population of the prison.
One and Five are in a separate room and Six comes in to reveal his true identity (Lieutenant Kal Varrick, Galactic Authority, Special Investigations Unit) and to explain what happened. Five feels betrayed and angry. She slaps Six and tells him to shut up. As the three argue, One’s attorney shows up and stops everything. He is to be released.
Six recommends that Portia (Two) be kept in isolation but lies about the reason. He neglects to mention the nanites. One is placed in a hotel room and his lawyer suggests he get his old face back. He refuses and asks for the police files on his wife’s murder.
Three meets some old colleagues from his past and just as things get interesting, a female inmate shows up. Her name is Nyx and she stops things from getting out of hand. Nyx takes over bullying Three and Two arrives to intervene. The two women fight and Nyx seems an even match for the enhanced Two.
The women are shot (stunned) and Three wakes in the infirmary. Another inmate tells him that getting injured is the way to get special treatment. Two regains consciousness in solitary confinement.
The Android refuses to cooperate with the data technician and he threatens to take the information by force. The robot then explains that her security measures will destroy everything. (The Android still has that glitch. When told her personality matrix will also be destroyed she states that will be “regrettable.”)
One meets the temporary CEO of his dad’s (now his) company. Darius, who was a personal friend of One’s father, is anxious to get the new owner back in the driver’s seat. One is not keen to start yet. He wants to investigate his wife’s murder. He seems intent on clearing Marcus Boone and finding the real culprit. Derrick (One) tells Darius that he wants to question the only witness to his wife’s murder.
Three thugs attempt to force Four to meet with their boss. He refuses and begins fighting. A riot ensues and the prison shuts it down with a sonic disabling device.
Lt. Anders (Jeff Teravainen) fixes the faulty weapon from the Raza. He tells Six that the trial that was being pushed for the other crew members has been postponed. Anders suggests that Six back off as it appears to be a big corporate battle. “Justice,” says Anders, “left the building a long time ago.”
Two and Nyx meet in the “holo” yard. The two talk. Six goes back on board the Raza and finds part of his personnel file has a blocked portion on it. He visits Five, whom he has been plying with gifts, and asks her to hack the classified part of his file.
He also tells Five her real name Emily Kolburn. She is 16 and both her parents are dead. Five ran away from an orphanage at age 12 and she is a survivor.
One learns that the witness he wanted to speak with was killed in bar fight.
Four goes to see prison gang leader Arax Nero. Nero explains to Ryo that the warden wants the instigator of the riot handed over for punishment. Arax reveals that there are two gangs in the prison and he tells Four about the sonic disabler and how the guards are made immune to the device.
Nero warns Four about trying to escape and threatens the diminished Raza crew.
Three is assigned to the prison laundry.
Six stops by to see One and tells him that Five will be okay; the charges are being dropped. The two men talk and Derrick reveals that something does not feel right. He believes that Darius wants him out of the way. Six says he is being paranoid after spending too much time on the Raza.
Back in the laundry, Three decides to injure himself. Five hacks the blocked portion of Six’s file and Three ends up in the infirmary. The gorgeous nurse is gone and the old “clever” inmate is also missing. He has been moved to the psych ward for self harming. “Shock treatment,” the intern tells Three.
In solitary confinement, Nyx tells Two that the rushed trial is not normal procedure. Six confronts Anders about the GA decision to bomb Hyadium-12 and learns that the Lt. told him before he lost his memory. Six is angry that the GA murdered innocent people and it is a game changer for the undercover agent.
Again.
Four reveals the news about sonic disabler to his two shipmates. They believe that Two’s nanites will help her with the riot control device. Three is upset that Two has made nice with Nyx. “Please tell me that you did not make friends with her. She’s mean.” (Perhaps the best line in the episode.)
Five is told she will be sent to a “group” home as they escort her to be transported, a woman arrives and stops the proceedings. She is Commander Shaddick (played by the brilliant Franka Potente) who informs Six that she is taking over the Raza case.
The youngest crew member is now not going to a group home and the promise of no criminal charges has been taken off the table.
Back at the motel room, One; Derrick Moss, answers his door to find Jace there. “Long time no see,” the criminal says as he draws a silenced pistol and shoots Derrick repeatedly. He appears to finish off the murder with a single shot to the head.
Cue audience shock.
Season two of Dark Matter continues to peel back layers and reveal more behind each character and the storyline. Six is still a man upset by mass murder though. The Android is still delightfully irascible and unmoving in her loyalty to the Raza crew and her personality matrix.
Five is still the unknown factor here. Despite the new information revealed by Six there is a lot more here than meets the eye. This show continues to surprise and mystify. So much is going on here with the characters alone that even watching carefully does not reveal all the clues on offer.
(Prepare for another shocker next week. A real “We told you so” moment for one of the characters…)
Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie are pulling no punches this season. Although…harking back to season one; at one point it seemed that Portia (Two) was murdered. (Shoved outside the ship while in space.) Could One’s murder be a ruse, something that the richer than rich magnate paid Jace to help him pull off? Only time and more episodes will tell.
Kudos to Anthony Lemke for continuing to make Three the most interesting and amusing character on the show. Also hats off the Jodelle for bringing it as the “Artful Dodger” of the Raza.
Dark Matter airs Fridays on SyFy and the Canadian science fiction network Space. Tune in and do not miss an episode.
CAST:
- Marc Bendavid – One
- Melissa O’Neil – Two
- Anthony Lemke – Three
- Alex Mallari Jr. – Four
- Jodelle Ferland – Five
- Roger Cross – Six
- Zoie Palmer – The Android
Guest Stars: Melanie Liburd – Nyx and Mike Dopud – Arax Nero.
Thanks for the link by the way! 🙂