I watched the season 2 finale of Syfy’s space opera ‘Dark Matter’ over the weekend and I was satisfyingly blown away, especially after the jaw dropping penultimate episode.
I was considering doing a finale review but after three days that would be stale like three day old bread (you were expecting a more clever analogy?). So I instead decided to review the entire season in one fell swoop.
With a gargantuan SPOILER ALERT for everything up to and including the season 2 finale here is my review in seven easy to chew slices:
#7 Nyx and the new guys
Season 2 opened with half of our motley crew in a galactic super prison and there they made new “friends” – the sneaky Arax Nero, disgraced Doctor Devon and the mysterious Nyx. Nero did not do much other than betray the crew and get left behind; we’ll likely see more of him Season 3. Devon was a decent addition helping to save Six’s life and having his struggles with substance abuse. He is currently missing and possibly dead after receiving some unsanctioned knife surgery, so his fate remains up in the air.
The biggest and longest serving of the new crew was Nyx. I must admit I was not blown away by the character though I enjoyed her relationship with Four, her Seer subplot and her action capabilities. She did seem a bit superfluous at times though. We last saw her getting poisoned by Four’s jealous evil ex after a surprising marriage proposal by the new Emperor. Her predictive skills may have saved her or she could be as dead as she looked in the finale.
#6 The redemption of Six
Naughty, naughty Six. After betraying the team to the Galactic Authority he had some ‘splaining to do. But after realising that the GA are no saints and are actually worse than his criminal buddies he decides to pull a triple cross. Nothing says forgive me like literally taking a bullet for the team, an injury which kept him on ice for a few episodes.
We did not get a lot of Six this season but we still saw his close relationship with Five and regaining the trust of Three which made for some good viewing.
#5 Three’s still a badass
In a show of superb characters the sarcastic and gun happy Three is one of my favorites. This season we saw him get the crap beat out of him on a number of occasions, including the finale, but he did give as good as he got.
We learned more of his past when he met up with his old gang and his evil surrogate father – all of whom he put down like rabid dogs. But the best of Three had to be the 11th episode “Wish I’d Spaced You When I Had to Chance”. Not only did we get some suh-weet gunplay that would put a smile on Quentin Tarantino’s face but the rescuing of Five and bonding moments with her were simply beautiful. We all knew he had a big heart under all his talk but we were still not prepared for all the feels that came when it was fully revealed.
Why you giving me feels Dark Matter?
#4 Two grows as leader
I must say I really enjoyed Two this season. The character has grown in strength and confidence as a leader and could still kick butt and take names when required. She was a man down following the shocking murder of One in the season premiere, the first twist in a season of great twists. And as I am talking about One I will say that the character was a bit meh so I was not sad to see him go. Two showed how much she had grown to care for the team by tracking down One’s murderer, the slippery Jace Corso, and executing that sucker. She also showed her qualities by forgiving Six, putting faith in the Android during her problems, doing some diplomacy and extending her vision beyond just the team’s needs to saving the galaxy from war.
RTwo’s best episode is “Going Out Fighting” when we learn more about her creation and see her at her most vulnerable. We also got to see Wil Wheaton as the wonderfully despicable Rook and an awesome fight scene with a new model synthetic. In that episode we were left with some mystery about that strange parasite they infected Three with and will hopefully get some answers on that next season. But returning to Two all in all a very good showing from the leader of the Raza.
#3 All about Android
The Android character was thoroughly enjoyable in the first season but in the second they went next level. Android went all Data and got a behavioural upgrade from a renegade society of androids who I am sure we have not seen the last of. So in addition to regular Android we got undercover emotional Android and also the cold and calculating holographic version as well.
Seeing the Android grow as a character was sweet, funny and touching and I loved the little moments like her and Five with the hot chocolate. In the episode “Take the shot”, where we had a cool dream like setting, the crew accepts her an individual with a personality and not just a machine, even if that means that she is capable of making mistakes.
#2 Five’s greatest hits
Is there anything Five can’t do? She was so amazing this season and had so many great moments. In one second she could be solving some computer problem, in the other shooting some fools and in the next stabbing a guy in the ear with a spoon #truestory. In the finale we saw her getting her blonde on and going all covert, showing that she is willing to risk it all for her crew which has become a surrogate family.
If the Raza crew had any doubts about her abilities or place on the team this season she convincingly put them all to rest. More of Five is always a good thing.
#1 The Rise of Four and the Red Coronation
Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for what happened with Four this season. He always has been dark and brutal, like the time he executed the unarmed guy from his home planet of Zairon. But when he restored his memories he went from twilight dark to pitch black.
I expected, like most shows, that ‘Dark Matter’ would have spun its wheels on the Zairon storyline. The writers were like “hell no” and went straight for the jugular. Was anyone expecting Four, sorry Emperor Ryo Tetsuda, to go all Red Wedding? Shocked does not even cover it. But, as we saw in the finale, he had his reasons and it makes sense though in a cold, sociopathic way. He has certainly driven the point home that he will do anything for the good of his people, including swiping the Raza’s blink drive. And he does still care for the crew as shown by him warning them of the impending explosion at the station. I am sad that his transformation could mean we have lost such an awesome character on the crew but I must admit I am loving what they are doing with Emperor Ryo.
In the first season show creators Jospeh Mallozi and Paul Mullie introduced us to these fantastic characters and did some world building. In the second season they deepened the characters and expanded the world. I thoroughly enjoyed this Sophmore season, give kudos to the wonderful cast and crew and I am most excited for Season 3.
Rating: ‘Dark Matter’ Season 2 gets 3.5/4 space explosions.
So are you a fan of ‘Dark Matter’? Who’s your favorite character? Feel free to comment below and if you enjoyed this post you can share with your peeps. Sharing is caring.
For my ‘Dark Matter’ season 2 premiere review you can click here and for my Top 5 reasons you need to be caught up on the show you can click here. And for more awesome TV reviews you can check redmangoreviews for new posts Monday to Saturday and follow me on Twitter @suprememango012 for updates and other cool stuff.
Julien is outie like a navel. l8rs
NB – All photos courtesy of Syfy Channel
Your opinions mirror mine. Very well written article.
One question: do you think it is a production issue to keep the show at only 10 episodes?
Thank you Corey. They had 13 episodes for both seasons (doubles checks on Wikipedia), but companion show Killjoys had 10 per season so you may be thinking of that. But the number of episodes could be budget considerations, what the creators feel is best for the show or a mixture of both. I prefer shorter seasons rather than 22/23 episodes if it means we get a lot of filler or the overall production quality is sacrificed. And for DM in particular I think the 13 episodes work for it.
I liked the last few episodes better than the rest of the season. I wasn’t fond of the new guys, and honestly One’s death really threw me off. Not because I necessarily miss the character, but because they started to develop his past and a new story for him with his dad’s business and another possible suspect in the murder of his wife. And then Corso randomly shows up and One is dead. And then within one other episode they find Corso and kill him.
The whole thing just felt sloppy, random, and didn’t make sense. It threw me off like half the season thinking he wasn’t really dead.
Hey Rachel. The new guys did not do much for me either. I actually liked the killing off of One at the start as I thought it was a nice shocking twist to start the season. But I agree that the resolution did feel a bit rushed. I fully expected them to track down Corso and kill him but the lingering conspiracy over One’s wife’s murder remained dangling like jellyfish tentacles. I presume/hope next season we will get a satisfying resolution and the true perpetrators defeated.
Great review! Spot on! Four going from twilight dark to Ryo’s pitch black sums up the end of the season for me. Absolutely stunned at the end of “Sometimes In Life” with the execution/slaughter of the a Royal Court – Red Palace indeed. Then Ryo goes all “got to get that Blink Drive” and though he does warn Android to warn the crew, blows up the station. Ryo, Ryo, Ryo, where do you go from here?
I really enjoyed the growth of all the main characters this season sans Six, who I felt was left on the bench too much and brought in as a relief pitcher when needed, though he did have some great re-bonding moments with Five & Three (I think the season ended with them on even ground). The many adventures of Android are some of my favorite. “Don’t forget shit talking a GA guard.” I agree “Going Out Fighting” was a standout episode for Two and allowed Wil Wheaton to bring his villianery to a whole new level. Infecting Three with some black, tarry parasite, seriously? I think the new recruits were underused and just as easily discarded. Though there is hope that Arax might return, I have read that both Devon & Nyx are “done”. That’s just plain sad. I do miss One, if for nothing else than his stuck moral compass which has now been given to Six.
I’m very interested to see where Season 3 takes us! It better have more “feeling” Three in it!
Thanks Maggie. Great overview yourself. You’re right about One being the moral compass in Season 1 though I think that Six and Five rotate that roll. And yes Six was definitely under used. Need more of him in Season 3.