Critic’s Rating: 4.2 / 5.0
4.2
Holy crap, things have certainly taken a turn since the last episode of The Ark.
As a series that prides itself on keeping the characters at the focal point, the writers are stretching their creative muscles.
There’s been a fair amount of change from episode to episode on The Ark Season 2.
“The Other You” really invigorated the show with laughter and heartfelt moments.
However, it seems like the showrunners are looking to tackle as many genres as possible.
“Museum of Death” was definitely the right title for this episode because it was a horror show!
They left FTL and ended up in an Event Horizon situation.
The Ark Isn’t Afraid To Explore The Creepier Side Of Space
The Ark is a series that likes to test the waters in different ways to keep viewers’ attention. And a lot of the time, those ideas work to keep things fresh.
For the few episodes like “Anomaly,” those ideas don’t exactly pan out to match the more entertaining episodes.
Still, The Ark Season 2 Episode 3 was fun with the electric space tentacle. The dialogue and writing seemed to take a bit of a backseat with that one, though.
However, The Ark proved it is not a one-note wonder with The Ark Season 2 Episode 5 because the story was successfully creepy in the best way.
I have to say that The Ark is not a Syfy series that I would’ve thought to go to for a spooky story, which is why I was wide-eyed and white-knuckling it as the Ark One crew explored Ark Three.
Hats off to the creative team because this episode was a bucket of crazy.
Then there was Eva’s brother, who not only had a few screws loose but had clearly lost some.
My only complaint for this episode is that Brice kept his shirt on the whole time.
Oh, well. Better luck next time.
The Ark One Is A Plucky Crew Where Each Has Their Own Story To Tell
The Ark One crew are starting to break away into their own arcs. Garnet is moving in a more fun and casual direction.
It took a whole season for her to solidify herself as the captain, and now we’re starting to see the calm after the storm.
You’d have to be blind not to see the chemistry between Spencer and Sharon (Christie Burke). Although, Lane might be a little blind to it now that he’s caught up in the “what if” about his father.
As far as character arcs go, that is not the most exciting direction in which to take his story.
Hopefully, the writers will wrap that up because Spencer’s emotional regression will slow down the pace.
If there is one thing a show like The Ark can’t afford to do, it’s let the pace decline. It’s easy to let the momentum slip when a space odyssey focuses on the human characters.
Lane could find something for Angus to do since the Fifteeners have taken over his job.
As we learned from the TV Fanatic exclusive interview with stars Ryan Adams and Stacey Read, the showrunners wanted to take Angus in a new direction.
It started with his eyes healing, and then we saw who he could have been in “The Other You.”
I’m all for Angus gaining confidence in a new role as long as he doesn’t turn into the douchebag he was in the parallel universe.
Kelly Is Done With The Foolishness, The Confusion, And The Mayhem
Speaking of personality changes, the writers are all over the place with Kelly.
First, the character shows signs of remorse for her past actions. Then she has a death wish and tries to throw herself out of the air-lock.
Now, she’s leaning into her “Post-human” status since the other Cat gave her control over her implants.
In my review for the previous episode, I said that, hopefully, Kelly would make the right decisions now that she can make them for herself.
Her first mistake was attacking Dr. Marsh. For one thing, he’s been the most prominent voice in her corner. Granted, he is responsible for the implants in the first place.
But beyond Marsh, played by Jadran Malkovich of Ted Lasso, now everyone knows Kelly has complete control over her implants.
Hopefully, the writers have something incredibly epic planned for her because they’ve already dropped the other shoe.
Whatever happens next, I have a strong feeling Kelly is going to set her sights on her mother.
William Trust may or may not have realized he was poking a bear when he told Kelly the truth about her father.
There are many ways the series could proceed with Kelly’s arc. The crew of Ark One could either decide to help her or decide that she is too dangerous not to be under constant containment.
Either way, it’ll be exciting, especially if Kelly gets her other arm upgraded as well.
There Is Danger In The Water On The Ark, But Not Every Fin Means It’s A Shark
However, Kelly was far from the shining star in “Museum of Death.” Eva made more waves in one episode than she has in the whole series.
As I said above, the writers seem to be working hard to give the main cast their own stories.
This is a great idea, considering the characters are all so different, and utilizing that is how to keep a series progressing.
Still, all of this new information was whip-lash-worthy.
Could Eva be a spy or a sleeper cell? Is it a Dollhouse situation?
Here, I thought all we had to worry about were the Fifteeners.
Although, Kimi might want to try her hand at tact. She was about as subtle as a shotgun asking Griff about Eva’s conversation with her brother in Serbian.
There is definitely danger in the water, but not every fin means it’s a shark.
Once Garnet catches wind of all these conspiracies and conspirators, we can say goodbye to her more casual nature.
As innovative as The Ark’s writers are, I’m confident they’ll find a way to keep things entertaining.
I will gladly take more self-contained episodes like “The Other You” or creep shows like “Museum of Death.”
They’re a plucky group that intrepid crew of The Ark One, but with a new observation deck, things are starting to look clearer with the starry expanse of space before them full of possibilities.
Also, it would be great if they could find a home planet, but then we might not have a series.
What do you think Kimi and the Fifteeners are planning?
Which direction do you think the show will take Kelly in?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join me again when I review the next episode of The Ark!