DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Ark Season 1 Episode 3, “Get Out and Push,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, space travelers! The Ark‘s latest outing puts another crisis in the collective lap of the Ark One crew. An oncoming asteroid sends the team into a tizzy as they concoct solutions to move the ship out of its path without using their engines. “Get Out and Push” presents an exciting episodic storyline while furthering the seasonal narrative and playing with character dynamics. The noxious relationship between Garnet and Lane is easily one of the show’s most exciting aspects, and the actors appear to have fun dissecting their tense bond. Of course, that jaw-dropping cliffhanger certainly won’t help bring them together.
The Ark is slowly but surely working through some of its structural speed bumps. I disagree with the vitriolic reviews I’ve seen floating around the internet ether. While far from perfect, this show has a lot of potential. I believe the stylistic choices are intentional, as are the apparent sci-fi tropes and character archetypes. The acting, especially among the younger characters, is a bit over the top for my taste — almost like it would fare better onstage — but the story is intriguing, and the pace never lags. It’s a character-driven drama first, and a sci-fi show second.
Ready to delve into “Get Out and Push”? Let’s get to it.
RELATED: Catch up on the space drama with The Ark recaps!
We open with Lt. Sharon Garnet (Christie Burke) delivering a message to the ship. She tells the crew about the water shortage and how Ark One only has four days left of water. Thus, Garnet reveals each person’s daily water rations will be cut in half. Lt. Spencer Lane (Reece Ritchie) believes they should’ve kept that information to themselves instead of stoking the fires of fear shipwide. However, Garnet asserts transparency is the best route. Lane and Garnet proceed to argue over whether the folks on this ship are now soldiers in this post-hibernation world.
Lt. James Brice (Richard Fleeshman) urges his fellow lieutenants to cease arguing. They need to solve the water crisis. How can they fetch water without utilizing the engines? Lane suggests deploying the solar sails, but Eva (Tiana Upcheva) reveals they must be closer to a star for that to work. Alicia (Stacey Read) states that William Trust’s design is advanced but can’t account for their current situation.
Suddenly, the alarms blare. Brice spots an incoming asteroid that’s in their flight path. They’ll collide with it if they can’t steer clear of it. The asteroid will arrive in six hours. Next, Felix (Pavle Jerinic) waltzes into the bridge to confront Lane. They never finished their conversation re: the murder investigation. Where was Lane during the time Malcolm was murdered? Felix asks Lane how he knew about the location of the murder weapon. Lane claims Angus won’t keep quiet about it. Garnet steps in, defending Lane. She reminds Felix that they have bigger fish to fry. If it’s not one thing, it’s another, am I right?
RELATED: Catch up on the ghostly real estate antics with our SurrealEstate recaps!
Meanwhile, Dr. Sanjivni Kabir (Shalini Peiris) browses sleepily through medical records. She lands on Brice’s files and begins examining them when a loud noise interrupts said examination. Kabir notices her cabinets are bereft of potent medication. Somebody, or somebodies, stole from the med bay. Alicia tries to lend a hand to the engineering team while Eva buzzes around consoles and tinkers with buttons. Garnet wants Eva to jumpstart the engines to speed away from the asteroid. Unfortunately, this endeavor backfires tremendously when the engines refuse to start.
Then, Felix investigates the medication theft in the med bay. Kabir impresses the importance of finding those drugs because they can be deadly. After her chat with Felix, Kabir tracks down Brice to ask if he can stop by the med bay for a physical. She claims his file was destroyed, and she must recreate a new one for her records. He promises to visit her after the current crisis passes.
Next, Baylor (Miles Barrow) comforts Alicia, who begins spiraling about the impending asteroid collision. Now, she’ll never see Proxima B, Ark One’s destination. Baylor encourages Alicia to help find a solution. She’s the chief of life support and a super genius to boot. Emboldened by purpose, Alicia gets to work. The dialogue in this scene is a tad too cheesy/cringy for my liking, but I appreciate the sentiment.
RELATED: Read about the Slushy Shack gang with our Reginald the Vampire recaps!
Later, Angus (Ryan Adams) gives the team an idea worth implementing. Brice can fly the shuttle and literally push the ship off its current course. It’s the “Get Out and Push” method (Title of the episode!). Brice sits inside said shuttle and attempts to start it, but no dice. We learn Angus and Eva’s team stole parts from the shuttle to keep other aspects of Ark One in tip-top shape. Garnet orders they return those parts to get the shuttle running.
While Brice runs repairs on his baby, Garnet, Lane and the others brainstorm another plan. Lane wonders what would transpire if they blew a hole in the hull via the men’s bathroom. The air pressure might give them the push they need to change course. Angus knows how to make explosives, too. He’s got fertilizer and human remains. That’s hot.
Then, Brice tries multiple times to jumpstart the shuttle. He gets angry and shouts Scottishly when it fails to run. I could listen to Brice shout Scottishly all day. Richard Fleeshman has solid comedic timing. Meanwhile, Garnet, Lane and Eva find the rapscallions who absconded with the med bay drugs. Garnet orders the group, who’s currently hard at work partying, to hand over the meds and clean up their mess. One of the partiers claims he won’t listen to her and questions her authority—wrong move.
RELATED: Catch up on the Purgatory madness with our Wynonna Earp recaps!
Thus, Garnet slams him against the lockers and delivers a not-so-subtle threat. She threatens to toss everyone present out of the airlock if they don’t do as they’re bid. Naturally, the group hightails it out of there. Lane applauds Garnet for doing the right thing. For once, they’re in agreement. Next, Angus sticks his fertilizer/dead body explosive on the wall of the men’s bathroom. Lane detonates it, and while the hull maintains its integrity, there’s no telling whether the explosive helped shift their course.
Oh wait, there is. Angus reveals the explosive brought them off their current course. Asteroid crisis averted! Brice excitedly barges into the bridge, declaring he has finally fixed the shuttle. However, Angus’s idea already saved the day, so Brice repaired the shuttle for nothing. Sorry, hotshot.
Later, Alicia watches the asteroid pass the ship alongside Baylor and the crew. A lightbulb switches on in her head when she spots an inexplicable tail on said asteroid. She informs Brice that the asteroid is a comet, and comets can be mined for water. Eva suggests they attach a hose to the comet that can suck up the water they’ll need to replenish their stores. Brice heads back to the shuttle, but Eva stops him in the corridor. She rattles off a list of tasks Brice should have accomplished before embarking on this mission. Brice confirms he did everything correctly despite not being an engineer. He playfully asks if Eva’s worried about him. Something tells me The Ark is setting these two up for a romance…
RELATED: 7 Deep Quotes From The Expanse Women
Then, Agnus walks in on Alicia and Baylor holding hands. Alicia opts not to stay on the bridge while Brice takes the shuttle onto the comet. Baylor asks her how Brice can park himself onto a moving comet. He also informs Alicia and Angus about Brice’s reputation in the GSA. Fun fact: his talent shot him through the GSA ranks to become a gifted pilot. The trio wonders why he’s now a navigator instead of a pilot. Can he still fly?
The crew tethers the shuttle to the ship before Brice lands it on the comet. It’s a shaky, turbulent-riddled drop, but Brice eventually hits the comet’s surface. He deploys a drill that burrows into the comet, and Eva monitors how much water flows from the comet and into the ship’s tanks. Suddenly, Garnet and Lane notice the tether keeping the shuttle attached to Ark One begin to snap. When Brice landed on the comet, he shifted the main vessel’s course ever so slightly, but it was enough to apply immense pressure on the tether as Ark One tries to veer away from it.
Garnet and Lane order Brice to return to the ship. It’s not worth risking his life. However, Brice refuses to budge, claiming the tether will hold even though we see it straining under pressure. Eva notices the stores are at 97 percent; however, Brice insists it’s not good enough. When their water storage is at 100 percent, Brice finally departs.
When Brice returns to the ship, the crew greets him with glasses of ice-cold comet water. Garnet and Lane embrace him. Brice gratefully guzzles the water. Lane announces the water restrictions are lifted, so showers are on the table. Yay, cleanliness! Eva’s face falls, and she flees the celebrations. Meanwhile, Cat (Christina Wolfe) gleefully hits the showers in the women’s bathroom along with a few other ladies. Brice barges in despite knowing it’s the wrong restroom. He informs those present that the men’s bathroom is out of order (the explosives situation). Cat sneaks a peek at Brice as he takes the shower stall next to her. Oooh, naked hijinks!
Cat hears crying and realizes it’s Eva. She finishes her shower and pulls Eva aside for a quick therapy session. Felix returns most of the drugs to the med bay and offers his assistance to Dr. Kabir so that she can rest. She gladly accepts his offer. After he departs, Kabir slips a pill in her mouth. Uh-oh. That’s not good.
Next, Cat chats with Eva in the former’s quarters. Cat shows Eva a revealing facet of her physical appearance: her head. She’s primarily bald, save for a few tufts of hair. Cat discloses her experience with a UV storm resulting in her hair loss. Eva shares that she lost her brother in a UV storm. After Cat puts on her wig, she tells Eva that she’s suffering from survivor’s guilt. A part of Eva feels she shouldn’t celebrate when Harris and the others are dead.
RELATED: What I Learned From the Women of The Expanse
The pair dives into Eva and Harris’s relationship. We learn there was a rule about couples not being allowed to board the same Ark together. Cat surmises it was because of genetic diversity regarding procreation when they arrive on Proxima B. Eva delves into her feelings about Malcolm and why she spat on his corpse. She blames Malcolm for Harris’s death. According to her, Malcolm deserved to have his throat slit. Felix might need to add another suspect to his investigation list.
Meanwhile, Garnet apologizes to Lane and vows to listen to him more. She wants to work together as a team. Lane is taken aback but glad they’re on the same page now. Could this be the start of a new chapter? After they part ways temporarily, Lane receives a confidential notification from an unknown person on his watch. They claim Jasper, a.k.a. Malcolm, hid valuables in Bulkhead J-22 that Lane should see.
Lane ventures to Malcolm’s bunk and plays the video footage from the Florida pub. He sees what appears to be Garnet in a bar fight. She slits someone’s throat with a blade that’s awfully similar to what killed Malcolm. Well, it looks like that mended fence between Garnet and Lane is broken again.
RELATED: Browse our recap archives for The Expanse!
The mystery of who murdered Malcolm deepens, as does the intrigue surrounding Garnet’s past. It’s looking more and more like she might’ve killed Malcolm, but I think she’s a red herring. Eva could also be a suspect, considering her comments to Cat regarding his murder. We still don’t know what struck the ship that jolted everyone out of cryosleep and killed their superiors. Who sent that message to Lane? Is the show setting up Brice and Eva as a potential romance? That last query is significantly less important, but a query nonetheless.
Admittedly, I’m a sucker for mysteries and any series that leaves me with more questions than answers. It keeps me tuned in week after week. Here’s hoping The Ark picks up steam, solidifies its storytelling and gives us answers we don’t see coming. There’s room for growth, so I’m willing to stick around.
The Ark drops new episodes every Wednesday at 10/9c on Syfy.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/doctor-beverly-crusher-star-trek-the-next-generation/
[email protected]
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
- WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Recap: (S06E10) The Promotion - December 9, 2024
- THE WHEEL OF TIME: Prime Video Sets Premiere Date and Releases Teaser Trailer for Season 3 - December 7, 2024
- OUTLANDER Recap: (S07E11) A Hundredweight of Stones - December 6, 2024
