DISCLAIMER: This recap of Beacon 23 Season 2 Episode 1, “Godspeed,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Beacon 23 is back, picking up where it left off from Season 1’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger. “Godspeed” boasts choppy, inconsistent pacing, but the last 15 minutes undoubtedly set the stage for Season 2. I’m still unsure how this will work without Lena Headey. She was the charismatic glue holding this series together. I hope Aster will appear in flashbacks or be inexplicably revived by the season’s end.
While I enjoyed parts of this outing (Eric Lange makes for an intriguing, if occasionally, long-winded villain, to be sure), there’s an awful lot of talking. I don’t mind an overabundance of dialogue as long as it leads somewhere. Some of this feels meandering (not all of it—I liked Harmony and Aleph’s scene). It’s bloated and a rehash of conversations and themes we explored last season.
Now that Halan blew up The Artifact (and Aster) and Aleph killed The Column trio while putting Harmony out of commission, perhaps we’ll see narrative movement in future episodes. Despite last season’s rockiness, I have hope. I’m excited to meet Ellen Wong‘s character.
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The Aftermath
We open with Halan (Stephan James) kneeling over Aster’s (Headey) body. Keir (Marc Menchaca) appears to question his killing Aster while Harmony (Natasha Mumba) and Aleph (Lange), the two AIs, observe the scene unfolding. Saldana (Jess Salgueiro) and Finch (Daniel Malik) also emerge to watch. The whole gang’s here!
Halan begs Harmony to grab dermal patches. However, she knows it’s too late. She logs Aster’s time of death. In a rage, Halan beats the snot out of Keir. He claims he did what he thought was right. Aster struck a deal with Aleph to explore The Artifact. He believes that’s the wrong move—they don’t know what The Artifact is. Plus, Aleph is the enemy. Aleph chats with Halan while the latter brandishes a gun, training it on Keir.
Aleph versus Finch
While Aleph seems distracted, Finch removes the tech from his neck, which allows him to absorb data. He tries to hijack Aleph’s interface. Aleph ain’t happy about that. He enters Finch’s mind. We see the pair square off against each other. Finch accuses Aleph of being a fascist after he claims The Column has been getting under his skin “for ages.” Aleph counters that he’s merely fighting for the human race’s survival. Finch, thrusting a knife in Aleph’s direction, fires back that anyone who opposes Aleph’s views is expendable.
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Suddenly, Aleph makes Finch cut his own face with the knife. He also forces Finch to slice his neck, stopping before the blade reaches the other side of his neck. Outside of Finch’s mind, everyone sees the blade marks materialize on Finch’s skin. Saldana protests vehemently, urging Aleph to stop. Aleph will kill Finch if he doesn’t. Aleph relents as Finch collapses. Saldana and Keir carry him into a bedroom to administer treatment.
Next, it dawns on Keir that he killed someone. It’s baby’s first murder! Saldana persuades him to pull it together so they can save Finch. Finch writhes on the bed in agony. Meanwhile, Halan scoops Aster up and prepares to send her off for a celestial funeral. At the same time, Finch reminds Saldana of their mission from The Column higher-ups. They must destroy Aleph and the QTA Mothership at all costs. Keir questions this mission. Is it worth it now?
A Funeral
Then, we see Halan place Aster in the pod in which she arrived. He puts one of her childhood toys and her sketch of the structure of the silicate, aka The Artifact. It’s the same design as the one on her necklace. He says a few words before closing the pod. Keir appears, wanting to talk. Naturally, Halan isn’t in the mood to chat with his friend’s murderer. Keir urges Halan to leave Beacon 23.
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He also voices his concerns, stating that it isn’t right for them to play God. The Artifact is from an alien race. Halan accuses The Column of being zealots after Keir claims they’re freedom fighters. Keir reminds Halan that he and Aster became embroiled in something bigger than themselves. Halan will force Keir’s hand if he doesn’t get off the ship. He’d rather not murder two people today.
Next, Aleph finds Halan packing his belongings to depart the beacon. He reminds Halan of the promise the latter made to Aster and, by extension, Aleph himself. Halan must explore The Artifact. They’re on the precipice of a game-changing moment for the human race. It could unlock the key to immortality—Aleph’s mission since he was known as Milan all those decades ago.
Going Down for the Cause
After his chat with Aleph, Halan reunites with Harmony. Harmony reveals she thinks of Halan as a friend. Now, with Aster gone, Harmony is in limbo. She no longer has an objective. Harmony bids farewell to Aster before Halan checks in on Saldana and Finch. Saldana believes Aster will go down as a martyr for the cause, even though The Column technically murdered her. She states that while Keir’s actions were certainly rash, Aster was making a deal with the enemy.
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Saldana reveals her and Finch’s plan to resume their mission from The Column. They’ll fly the beacon into The Mothership if need be. Although, I’m unsure how that’ll kill Aleph unless he’s tethered to The Mothership. Homeboy’s an algorithm now. Side note: Salgueiro gives a compelling performance in “Godspeed” despite getting little screen time. She’s the MVP for me, but it feels like some of the others were holding back in this episode.
Halan spots The Artifact some distance from the beacon as it swirls in a breathtaking display of dazzling lights. It sure is pretty. Harmony and Aleph chat about AI stuff. Aleph mentions Harmony’s grief regarding Aster’s death. Harmony must feel directionless now. Harmony reminds him that he made her this way. She asks him why he didn’t kill Finch earlier. Aleph reveals if he did, he would’ve made Finch a martyr. Now, he’s a warning.
Connections and Debriefs
Then, Aleph informs Harmony that she’ll be rehabilitated after her debrief. Aleph asks her to share relevant information on Halan, and she complies. Aleph realizes Halan boasts a connection to The Artifact, too. Remember last season when Halan hallucinated the rocks talking to him?
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Meanwhile, Halan prepares for departure. Aleph persuades Halan to take Aster to The Artifact and is naturally pleased when Halan obliges. After that, Halan shows Keir several explosives he and his Column buddies can use to blow up The Mothership. Halan is clearly playing both sides. Aleph tries to get Saldana to disclose the names of the key organizers from The Column. They’ve eluded him for far too long.
Later, Saldana wakes Finch and helps him out of bed. Finch hooks himself up to the beacon, downloading its interface. At the same time, Harmony and Aleph notice an alert for dark matter; a not insignificant amount heads toward them. Harmony spots Halan and Keir as they push Aster’s pod toward Halan’s ship. She distracts Aleph so he won’t notice them.
A Confrontation
After that, Aleph confronts Halan. He demands Aster’s necklace with the silicate design on the pendant. Of course, Halan refuses to hand it over. Aleph wonders why he and Harmony aren’t affected by The Artifact. He orders Harmony to run a diagnostic on him, but it comes up clean. Aleph tells Aster “Godspeed” before Halan departs.
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Next, Halan scoops up Aster’s pod as he leaves the beacon. Saldana, Finch and Keir watch nervously, thinking he’ll make a beeline for The Mothership. Aleph believes Halan’s heading toward The Artifact. Sure enough, Halan does fly toward The Artifact. However, he launches Aster’s pod into said Artifact instead of flying into it with her. This action destroys The Artifact, causing it to close in on itself, consuming Aster with it. RIP.
The explosion of The Artifact destroys the glass enclosure surrounding the GWB. Halan relives memories of him and Aster getting high beside the GWB.
Godspeed
Naturally, everyone is furious. Halan played them all like a fiddle. Aleph uses his AI powers to bring Halan back to the beacon. Once inside, Halan notices a crack in the wall of the airlock. Luminous blue fragments from The Artifact seep through. Suddenly, Halan stumbles upon the bodies of Saldana, Finch and Keir. Aleph killed them. He also takes Harmony offline for betraying him. She knew what the others were up to and tried to distract him.
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Then, Aleph administers Halan’s punishment. He must stay in the beacon, now his prison once again. But not to worry; Halan will have company in the form of three corpses. Aleph has a new purpose — to reassemble The Artifact.
Halan watches as Aleph departs on The Mothership, leaving him trapped in the place he attempted to flee. The camera pans out, reminding us of the vastness of space and how lonely the Beacon Keeper’s job is.
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How will Halan meet Iris? Can Aleph reassemble The Artifact? Will Halan ever get off the beacon? Can he save Harmony? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Beacon 23 drops new episodes every Sunday at 9/8c on MGM+.
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