Critics Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
There’s no denying that the brave crew of Ark One has been through a lot, and we’re not just talking about their incredible journey through space.
As a series set in space with lots of futuristic gadgets, The Ark stands out among sci-fi series because it focuses on the humanity of its characters.
According to creator and executive producer Dean Devlin, “The Ark is not a show about laser battles with weird aliens.”
After such an intense first season, it’s clear that the strength of this series lies in the many lovable and relatable members of the Ark One crew.
When it comes to premieres, The Ark wasted no time getting straight to the details, and neither will we!
A good captain sinks with the ship, but a great captain can bring the ship back to life.
Oh captain, my captain Garnet. Sharon has certainly grown and evolved since she first took command of Arc One after the disastrous showing we saw in the first episode of the first season of the Arc.
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Now, with a crew ready to accompany her to the ends of the earth, the former lieutenant turned commander and captain has a family she never expected.
What’s clear from the first episode of The Ark season 1 is that Garnet will have a lot on her plate as we move forward, but the writers are unlikely to want a similar start to season 2.
As you may or may not remember, The Ark One suffered a major breach that damaged the ship and killed many of its crew members. Does this sound familiar?
Fortunately, Captain Garnett, played by Christy Burke in Billy the Kid, excels at handling crisis situations, delegating and directing relief efforts efficiently.
She is also adept at de-escalating situations, particularly as she was able to convince Maddox to back down despite influencing members of Maddox’s crew to jump ship.
At this point, it’s fair to say that despite inheriting a broken ship and a limited crew, Charon has been exceptionally successful and was likely always destined for captaincy.
However, after facing one disaster after another, it would be nice for a good leader to take a break and laugh a little more.
She definitely deserves more reasons to smile.
Evelyn angers Maddox over her crew’s mutiny.
If we can go back to Maddox for a moment, because even though we always knew she was mentally unstable, “The Failed Experiment” really shed light on her insanity.
There was probably a sigh of relief that Garnet didn’t immediately jump into becoming best friends with Captain Ark Fifteen.
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On the surface, Evelyn Maddox appears cold, calculating, and cruel, but she does her best to make sure everyone knows she’s much worse.
She put a bomb in her daughter’s neck! This is the style of parenting that depends on exaggerating the dominance of others.
For a network that typically focuses on fantasy and the unusual, Syfy has done a good job of creating a series that delves into what it means to be human.
As for Maddox’s daughter, Kelly Fowler, the first episode of season two seems to force the character to take a path of redemption aboard Ark One.
With all that blood on her hands, it would be a miracle that anyone would ever forgive her, but as it turns out in this episode, Kelly has some screws, but those screws were placed inside her body without her knowledge.
Between Maddox referring to her as a “failed experiment” and her blood somehow helping to quickly heal Angus, Kelly might be the classic Winter Soldier in space.
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If you want Angus, you have to go through Alicia.
Speaking of Angus, without Kelly’s super blood, he wouldn’t have survived those massive glass wounds that covered most of his torso.
But even though Kelly saved his life, we can’t blame him for reacting to the news the way he did, along with seeing his attacker’s face again.
Angus has a lot of trauma to deal with, and we don’t just mean psychological or emotional, because regardless of Kelly’s blood, he has a long way to go before he’s jumping into the halls with Alicia.
With the number of attractive actors and the way the characters were written to be drawn to each other, it’s a wonder this series didn’t end on The CW.
Regardless, Angus and Alicia will be the most adorable and intelligent duo on the team, but we have a feeling the head of life support might have bigger priorities.
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He wasn’t seen in this episode, but as many fans will remember from just a month ago, the trailer for The Ark season 2 featured an electrical probe attacking the sweet Alicia.
However, if she treated the alien the way she treated Kelly to protect Angus, the former waste management engineer would be more than safe.
Whatever happens between Angus and Alicia, we’ll still be rooting for these crazy kids who seem to have found love in the dark, empty, cold void of space.
It wasn’t curiosity that killed Kat, it was the ship’s many survivors, one of whom would miss her.
However, not all characters were as lucky as Angus, as the audience saw with the loss of Dr. Kat, who did not survive her injuries.
With her last breath, Kat found comfort in trust, and after a few sweet words, she disappeared from the crew and the show as a whole.
Although many people will miss this character, the character’s departure is likely related to the long wait between The Ark Season 1 Episode 12 and any renewal announcements.
With so much up in the air between April and November due to the Writers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild and SAG strikes, most actors were trying to secure as much work as possible.
Fans of Christina Wolf can see her in the role of Special Agent Amanda Tate, as the actress has joined FBI: International as a series regular.
This appears to have been the team’s biggest loss as a large majority of the crew appears to have survived pieces of a broken planet crashing into the Ark One.
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The most notable survivor was Dr. Sanjeevni Kabir, who didn’t let her serious injuries slow her down or prevent her from adding some much-needed quick jokes to lighten the tension.
Wherever Ark One is headed, it’s in safe hands with a crew that’s more like family than anything else, and they’ll likely need to stick together to face whatever new dangers they may encounter in Season 2 of The Ark!
What did you think of the season 2 premiere of The Ark?
Were you as surprised as we were that Angus survived the disastrous end of The Ark season 1?
Leave a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we review the next episode of The Ark!
