Thank God I had today off from work because tonight’s episode of Dark Matter is one that you need to re-watch and then take your time writing a review. Hands-down this is my favorite episode of the season thus far. I’ve already watched it twice, and probably will watch it again before the weekend is over. Heck, probably even again before episode 5 airs next week.

The episode begins with the crew of the Raza discussing their upcoming visit to the space station, what to do while on there, what to sell and what to buy with the money. As Two (Melissa O’Neil)  points out, their main objective needs to be selling the crate of weapons and then, refueling the ship and getting the damaged hull fixed. Of course, most of the others are at odds with this decision because they had funner and more exciting plans for the money, especially Three (Anthony Lemke).  Now, folks, knowing what we know about Three, what do you think Three wanted to buy? Uh huh, it’s the same thing I immediately thought of, and I was right on target.

What are you going to buy? — Five

A curvy red-head — Three

Let’s keep it classy — One

Okay, a brunette with a sexy accent — Three

We should consider putting the money to better use, upgrading the ship’s defenses — Four

Okay, knock yourself out with that, but I’m going to buy myself something nice … and limber — Three

LOL! Interesting, I would have pegged Three as a blonde girl type of guy. Either way, that was pretty crude and forward, Three, but then again, that’s one of the main reasons why I love this character so much. Well, in the end, Two wins, and what’s more, she pairs up One (Marc Bendavid) and Three to sell the weapons. With the exception of Four, the rest of the crew are also given some simple tasks. Six is to see a doctor about the burns on his arm he sustained in the last episode. Five is to go with Two to sell any items that they can find on the ship. And, the Android is to stay behind keeping watch. Pretty straightforward plan, right? So, what can possibly go wrong? Trust me, *plenty*.

I’m going to leave the One and Three arc for last because it’s the main focus of the episode, and the ending hinges on what goes down with these 2 on the space station. So, let’s start with Two and Five. This was supposed to be a fun “girls day out,” with Two selling the few items she found on the ship, and perhaps even being able to buy those goggles and work gloves that Five wanted. Upside, the day starts out promising. Two doesn’t get much for what she sold, but Five discovers she has a gift — that she’s a new-age Rainman with an exceptional memory which comes in pretty handy in card games and gambling. Downside, things take a turn and go sideways very quickly. You just don’t waltz into a casino, kick the House’s ass, and expect to just leave like nothing happened. Two and Five quickly attract the attention of the casino’s security (with the head of security played by Daniel Kash,  who just like Roger Cross,  is from The Strain). They are told they’ve been cheating, they are banned from the casino, and oh BTW, they also have to forfeit all their money. Of course, Five is just a kid, is very naive, and insists they weren’t cheating. This prompts the head of security to slap her, which Two was not just going to stand by and watch. Then, instinct kicks in. There was at least 5 guys there, and in under a minute, all 5 are on the floor, bleeding and presumably dead (Melissa O’Neil, you killed this scene! Total bad-ass and my new hero on the show!). As I said, Five is just a kid, and just stands there in shock and completely horrified. Two just killed 5 men without blinking and with very little remorse. That’s a lot for a young girl to take in, and 10 bucks says this is going to create a big wedge between these 2 characters going forward.

Now, move on to Four (Alex Mallari Jr.).  He’s on a pursuit to find the origin of the ring he found, and while most of us probably could have guessed he’d end up having a shady background, what he ultimately finds is pretty extreme. He takes the ring to a pawn shop on the space station, and once the broker realizes it’s not a knock-up, the guy freaks out.

This isn’t something you find. It’s something you kill to acquire. I want no part of this. — Pawn shop dude to Four

Well, that doesn’t sound good. Then, he abruptly closes shop, and Four is left with more questions than ever. Luckily (or maybe not so luckily), all of them have access to the space station’s online information bank. He decides to use it, but may have wished he didn’t because what he finds is that the ring belonged to an Emperor, and that Emperor happened to be his father. So, not only is Four wanted for killing over a hundred people, but one of the victims is his Dad. Ouch. That really stings.

Of everyone that went to the space station, Six seems to have the safest task of them all — see a doctor and get his arm fixed up. Surely no trouble can come out of that. Uh huh. Not only does everything blow to hell, but Six turns out to be somewhat of a goober too. While sitting in the waiting room, he sees an infomercial on something called Transfer Transit. With this new technology, if you want to go on a space adventure or vacation, there’s no need for your actual body to go anywhere. Instead, a “temp clone” is created which is an exact genetic copy of you, and then all of your memories and subconscious is uploaded to the clone. Through the temp clone, it’s as if you are experiencing everything, and once the trip is complete, the memories are transferred back to you, and the temp clone is destroyed. I wanted to jump up out of my chair with excitement, because this is the first real clue as to what could have possibly happened to the crew of the Raza, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Six to make the connection, but the dingbat doesn’t.

How cool is that?! — Six

DOH!! Oh, Six, you are so big and strong and I love you to death, but dude, you are one big lugnut. Then, to top it off, once Six finally sees the doctor, they take a DNA sample to create a graft for his burns, which causes all these red flags to be thrown because of his criminal history. He manages to make it out, but this is turning out to be the day from hell. Definitely should’ve stayed at home.

Okay, finally, let’s talk about One and Three. These 2 guys are a mess — but in a good way. Once they are on the space station, they end up in the same bar we saw Jace Corso in last week. One is focused on the task at hand, while Three is, well, concentrated on that curvy red-head and brunette with a sexy accent that he wanted to buy. We learn that Three isn’t as smooth of a talker with women that he thinks he is, and the only thing he accomplishes is getting his face slapped.

Are you always this charming? — One

You know what your problem is? — Three

That I’m stuck with a selfish, self-centered, know-it-all for a ship mate? — One

She’s not that bad — Three

I’m not talking about her — One

The bartender finally approaches them and says that he’s found someone interested in the weapons. Sounds like great news, but we, the audience, already know who that potential “buyer” probably is. They are lead into an empty room, where the door closes and locks and then, boom, a gas bomb goes off and down they go. When they finally awaken, they are both tied to chairs, and One is staring face-to-face to what appears to be a clone or copy of himself. What’s more, every indication says this Jace Corso is the real deal because he’s, in fact, a mercenary who had joined the mission to take out the miners. But, he didn’t make it because the authorities had gotten an anonymous tip and raided his safe house. By the time the air cleared, the Raza was long gone, but when he got a look at security cameras, what did he see? He saw himself boarding the Raza, and he’s been looking for the ship and his impostor ever since.

Jace wants answers, and it is clear that regardless of the outcome, he’s going to kill both One and Three. So, Three in his typical selfish fashion, decides to make a deal — Jace can just have the last crate of weapons if he lets *him*, and only him, go. Oh, Three, you are such a nice fellow! Of course, One is royally pissed, but Jace decides to take the deal anyways. Now, dumbass Three doesn’t realize it, but when Jace gets back from collecting the weapons from the Raza, he’s going to kill them both anyways. Nice work, Einstein. So, the only solution, assuming One and Three want to stay alive, is that they have to work together. Isn’t that what Two was trying to make them do in the first place?

One actually does have a good idea, and suggests that they shift their chairs (and NOT tilt, not tilt dammit, unlike what Three had done earlier which caused them both to topple and fall to the floor) to get to Jace’s electric shock stick. If they can do that, One thinks he can use the electric rod to cut through the wires that they are bound with. Painful as freakin’ hell (yet hilarious to watch happen!), but it does work. They make it back to the Raza just in the nick of time, and they all get the hell out of dodge. Now, that was a bad day.

But, there is a catch — One doesn’t exactly get off scot-free. They had lost the crate of weapons, and when asked what happened, Three could have thrown One under the bus, and he probably would have been exiled since he is definitely an impostor and that would put him at the top of the list for the person who wiped all of their memories. But, Three doesn’t and instead, tells a bullsh*t story about their being jumped by a group of thugs. What just happened here? Did Three actually grow a conscience? Nope, and so, you can bet he’s got an ulterior motive.

One later asks Three about it, while Three is just sitting there with a sh*t grin on his face and actually almost laughing. Oh, boy, here it comes.

What do you want? — One

I just want your support moving forward. Crew votes, debates, lunch decisions, you follow my lead. From here on end, we agree to agree — Three

Yep, things are about to get interesting. I don’t know about One, but this crap would get old and start to stick in my craw pretty damn fast.

All in all, I thought this was an excellent episode. In less than an hour, the writers managed to shine more light on our beloved characters and their pasts than we have seen in the first 3 episodes combined. And, they threw out there the very first plausible explanation of how everyone lost their memories on the ship. Is One just a temp clone with the real Jace Corso the mercenary we were introduced to last week? They said the clones can only survive 2-3 days, so is it even possible? Hmmmm… And, if he is a clone, why in the hell was he using Transfer Transit (and how without his knowing)? Better yet, what about the rest of the crew? If One is a clone, it stands to reason that everyone else (minus the Android) are clones too — it’s just they haven’t found the other original copies yet. There’s got to be a fantastic story behind all of this, and I absolutely can’t wait to find out what that story is.

Dark Matter  airs on Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.

Also, Dark Matter will be at San Diego Comic-Con next week, and I will be onsite covering the event, including interviewing the cast and Executive Producer Joe Mallozzi. If you love the show as much as I do and plan on attending SDCC, check out my article to get all the deets on the panel as well as the scheduled autograph sessions on Thursday and Friday.

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