DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Ark Season 1 Episode 6, “Two by Two,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, space travelers! We’re now past the halfway point in The Ark‘s freshman season. “Two by Two” dips its toes into the mystery surrounding William Trust’s presence on Ark One. Garnet and Lane develop a deeper bond (and pigs fly) while we get some much-needed character development on the Brice front. He also grows closer to Eva. We play a lot with character dynamics in this one, folks.
Brice’s fatal diagnosis will undoubtedly play a role in the coming episodes as Eva seems hellbent on saving him. I don’t think she’ll remain quiet, especially if they embark on a romantic relationship. Admittedly, I don’t see any chemistry between them, but perhaps that’ll change as we go. I believe there’s more chemistry between Garnet and Lane.
Ready to delve into “Two by Two”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Captain Garnet (Christie Burke) asking her team, including Felix (Pavle Jerinic), Dr. Kabir (Shalini Peiris), Alicia (Stacey Read), Eva (Tiana Upcheva), Lt. Lane (Reece Ritchie) and Lt. Brice (Richard Fleeshman). Felix reveals that everyone on Ark One appears to have settled into a peaceful routine. Garnet asks Kabir if med bay has “seen a similar calm.” However, Kabir seems preoccupied with staring into space. After a beat, Kabir snaps back into reality and agrees with Felix’s assessment — all is quiet on the ship front.
Eva informs the council that the shuttle repairs have been made, and the NEPs are running at 50 percent. Unfortunately, they won’t have enough fuel to get to Proxima B. Brice reassures the council, now in an uproar over Eva’s statement, that he and Alicia are searching for Uranium 238, which Alicia corroborates. Eva believes they’ll run out of fuel if they don’t find it in the coming weeks. It’s one crisis after another on this ship, eh?
Then, Angus (Ryan Adams) presents the first small harvest from the bio-shelter to fervent applause. Mind you, each plate only has two items on it, but it’s a start. Impressive. Brice finishes his meal quickly and exits the mess hall, only to fall unconscious almost immediately in the hallway. What’s more, he knew it was coming. Uh-oh.
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Meanwhile, Felix delivers food to Dr. Kabir from the mess hall. He orders her to eat and rest while he keeps watch. She drags her feet but eventually (and reluctantly) departs with the fruits of Angus’ labor. Eat up, girl! Brice wakes in his quarters post-collapse, wondering how he made it back in one piece. He asks Jelena (Tamara Radovanović) if he was with someone the night before. She counters that she doesn’t care who’s warming his bed these days. That said, she was asleep. The mystery deepens…
Next, Garnet calls Lane into her quarters. She pulls out a bottle of whiskey. They’re not supposed to have alcohol on the ship, but oh well. Rules be damned. They share a drink. Lane and Garnet’s dynamic is one of the best-developed aspects of this show. It’s lovely to see a softer side of their relationship. I still believe we’ll see them together at some point. Garnet thanks Lane for being a stellar number two and forcing her to reveal her secret to everyone onboard. She toasts to “no secrets” between them. Well, about that.
Later, Brice reveals he made a discovery: there’s a nearby planet with Uranium 238 on their exact route to Proxima B. Huzzah! After the team deliberates their next move regarding Brice’s discovery, Eva pulls the latter aside to check up on him. She reveals she found him unconscious outside the mess hall and returned him to his bunk. Eva asks if he was drunk. C’mon, he’s Scottish. He can hold his booze. The conversation erupts into an argument as Brice’s Scottishness unleashes in full force. Eva retaliates in rapid-fire Serbian. He insists he doesn’t have to disclose private matters. I’m inclined to agree. Side note: It still blows my mind that Richard Fleeshman is from Manchester. His Scottish accent is incredible.
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Eventually, Eva vows to keep Brice’s collapse a secret despite not knowing the why of it all. Lane attends his last scheduled therapy session with Cat (Christina Wolfe) but claims he still wants to continue their sessions. He asks our fave therapist/influencer if concealing a secret can have detrimental physical side effects. Cat verifies this, which leads Lane to confide in her his big secret: William Trust is stashed away on Ark One. Cat’s eyes widen like saucers. Cat urges Lane to keep this information quiet. Don’t tell Garnet. Why? Because countless folks want to kill Trust. At least, that’s what she’s heard in her sessions.
Then, Lane sneaks into the hidden room storing William Trust (Paul Leonard Murray) and his wife, Helena (Mercedes De La Cruz). He watches an interview on his tablet featuring the couple. The interviewer asks if it’s true that Trust wanted to travel on Ark Five because he was afraid the earlier Arks wouldn’t reach their destinations. Trust vehemently denies this, leading Helena to respond that Trust constructed the earlier Arks to travel to closer planets. He also plans to stay behind on Earth to perfect his “faster-than-lightspeed engine.” So, why are they on Ark One?
Meanwhile, Lane finds yet another room holding DNA samples for various animal species to ensure their survival on Proxima B. On the bridge, Eva and Brice bicker over the former’s work while presenting a strategy for extracting Uranium 238 from the nearby planet by utilizing a star to activate their solar sails. Garnet and Lane give the go-ahead to implement said strategy.
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Next, Felix finds Kabir in a state while she searches feverishly for her pills. Felix reveals he hid them from her because he recognizes the signs of substance addiction. Kabir claims she can handle it — she knows what amphetamines can do to a person. Felix encourages her to acknowledge her dependence and face it. He vows to help her watch the med bay so she can work through any withdrawal symptoms. Kabir collapses in tears while Felix comforts her. Forgive me, but something about this moment doesn’t land. It feels hollow. I appreciate the sentiment and the effort at character development, but the emotion feels forced and fake.
Later, Garnet and the crew prepare to embark on their mission. After initializing sun protection, they brace for acceleration while whipping around the star. The team opens the ship’s solar sails. Suddenly, the star throws off a massive solar flare, tearing one of the sails. If they don’t pull out of the star’s gravity without the sails, they’ll be shot back into it. Burn, baby, burn!
Garnet volunteers to travel outside to repair the sail manually. As a clone, she can withstand the most solar radiation. Well, probably. She dons a suit and ventures out into space, much to her crew’s dismay. Even Lane’s not happy about it. After all, Dr. Hall never tested Garnet in that regard. Garnet successfully fixes the solar sail; however, she loses consciousness once the team brings her back inside. Welts, little radioactive kisses, cover her face. Lane and Jelena take her to the med bay.
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Thankfully, they have enough power with the solar sails to make it to the planet. Unfortunately, this planet is chock full of the substance that impacted the ship, as is evidenced by the tracker Angus and Alicia crafted. Lane leaves Garnet in Felix’s care in the med bay and assumes duty as acting captain. Brice believes they should change course, but Eva counters that they’ll need the uranium; otherwise, they’re dead in space. Lane struggles to make a decision. However, he eventually allows Brice to venture ahead on the shuttle to survey the planet and determine whether it’s safe to approach.
Lane reluctantly lets Eva accompany Brice on the shuttle after she claims there are still repairs to be made. She issues a thinly-veiled threat to divulge “everything” about Brice if he doesn’t let her go with him. Girl, you don’t even know why he passed out. Chill.
While in the shuttle, Brice loses consciousness again. Lane calls and asks Brice a question, to which Eva fibs that our fave Scottish navigator is using the facilities. After splashing water on his face, Eva places a hand on his cheek. Brice wakes and pokes fun at her, claiming she “loves” him. It would explain her unwavering interest in his situation.
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Eva incessantly prods Brice until he succumbs to the pressure. He discloses he has a terminal illness called Klamkins (sp?) Disease. He contracted it from all “that crap” William Trust launched into the atmosphere to save Earth. Brice doesn’t know how much time he has left, claiming the fainting spells arrive in clusters but are no indication of the severity of the disease. It explains Brice’s reckless behavior and constant volunteering to be the hero. Eva vows to keep Brice’s secret. I’ve said it once, but it bears repeating: Richard Fleeshman is the best actor in The Ark. It’s a subtle and understated performance, but nuances and complexities bubble beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, Garnet wakes in the med bay after her feat of radioactive derring-do. Felix and Kabir are there to support her. Since she survived, Dr. Hall’s alterations to her DNA, the Tardigrade strand, worked. Kabir leaves to vomit, clearly in the withdrawal stage. Felix puts Garnet in a wheelchair and takes her to the bridge, to the delight of everyone there.
Lane fills Garnet in on what’s transpired since she fell ill. Eva checks in with the team to reveal the shuttle’s scans aren’t detecting anything — no harmful substance that damaged their ship or the Uranium 238. Alicia muses about whether the elements are on the other side of the planet. Brice and Eva swing around to the other side to find something shocking. They find another Ark. Uh-oh.
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Another Ark! That certainly spices things up narratively. This Ark’s position behind the planet implies it might’ve been launched before Ark One. Now that we’ve moved past the Malcolm Perry/Garnet mystery, it’s time to sink our teeth into something new.
“Two by Two” is a step up from last week’s fare despite a few rocky and stiff performances. Not Fleeshman’s, though. We all know how I feel about him. The kid’s a natural (he’s my age). Plot-wise, The Ark wastes no time deepening a few mysteries while developing our core characters. It’s not a perfect episode. There are still narrative speed bumps. Side note: six episodes in, and I still can’t get behind the theme song. It’s so jarring in comparison to the show’s overall tone. That said, we’re on the road to improvement. As long as there’s at least a shred of intrigue, I’m on board.
Do you think there are people alive on the second Ark? Why do they have Uranium 238 and the substance that impacted Ark One? Will the show pair together Brice and Eva? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
The Ark drops new episodes every Wednesday at 10/9c on Syfy.
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