Dark Matter - The Dwarf Star Conspiracy - Review: “Gateway” + POLL

Everything is starting to come together this season and the big picture is becoming a beautifully complex kaleidoscope of images. This episode revealed some major things and also marked the first official introduction of aliens. Though to be fair, we did meet one nefarious member of this vile race last season, but at the time we had no idea what it was. Truthfully, we’re still not that much closer to knowing exactly what they are. One thing is for darn sure, they do not have good intentions. They want to feed off of this Universe and that in and of itself just sounds sinister. This episode successfully tied together the big mystery from Season One regarding the mystery man in Episode Twelve and Three’s possession from Going Out Fighting (2x9). It also made it abundantly clear what Two’s original creation was for. What isn’t certain is how Rook managed to get himself aligned with this alien race in the first place. We know they gave him the technology that made him rich, but how did he encounter them in the first place? What shouldn’t surprise anyone is that Dwarf Star is behind a conspiracy to invade the universe with alien beings. It is definitely something Rook would do just because he could.

What would be interesting to know is if Shaw knew that her creations were destined to become the living vessels for these aliens. If so, it’s perhaps something she should have warned Two about. At least she gave Two a way around Dwarf Star security, but a heads up of what they were heading into would have been good to pass along if she does indeed know the truth. Dwarf Star seems like they like to keep people in the dark about stuff that is going on, so perhaps she didn’t know, but it would be very interesting to see that topic addressed at some point. Another interesting thing to contemplate is if Two really is who she thinks she is? The people behind this show were also big players in the Stargate franchise which was known for their Tok’ra which were worm like symbiotic beings who took over living hosts. There was one prominent one, Jolinar who took over the body of Captain Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) and proved to be a rebel amongst her people and not the villain everyone initially thought she was. Could something similar be going down here? We’ve always thought that Rebecca came out an empty shell and naturally evolved a personality. And perhaps that is still the case, but now there is the extra added possibility that they put one of these alien beings in the shell that we’d come to know as Rebecca and she developed in an unexpected way.

We saw last season that these alien beings aren’t super skilled at operating a human body at first and they certainly don’t have much of a personality. It could be that if Rebecca was, in fact, an alien that she was being used as a guinea pig perhaps against her own will. She could have rebelled against her original intentions thanks to the kindness she experienced from Shaw and Eric. It would be an intriguing twist and not out of the realm of possibility given everything that has been revealed this season. Though, to be fair, the best story is still the one where Rebecca managed to go from empty shell to this fierce woman full of life thanks to her own internal strength to survive and become her own person.

However, what may debunk the alien possibility is that Two didn’t seem to have the same bad reaction that Three did to being near the alien portal. Though, as a bit of Devil’s Advocate, Nora Sajen, who was an active vessel for an alien, didn’t have a bad reaction to it either. It could simply be because the being left behind some sort of neural connection to the portal in him, but without an actual alien in him, his body was unable to process the overload of information. The interaction he had with the aliens while unconscious was a fascinating insight into how they think. These beings seem very determined to overtake the universe and they’ve got nothing left to lose since they’ve destroyed their own galaxy. Any enemy with nothing to lose is the most dangerous type of enemy. This whole thing gave Anthony Lemke some tremendous scenes to play and he nailed them all. He pulled off one masterful performance after another in this episode. It was troubling to watch Three go through so much suffering and it was clear that he was in trouble. Then when the seizures hit there was a legitimate concern for his survival. Lemke went all in and really delivered. He also had some really amazing scenes onboard the ship as Three was getting more and more fearful the closer they got to the gateway. Watching him take Three down that pathway of fear was fascinating. This was all around a terrific episode for him.

These alien beings know no mercy and are ferocious killing machines especially with their manufactured vessels. We’ve all seen what Two can do, so a whole army like her loose on the universe with aliens possessing them is terrifying. They managed to take down the heavily armed guard that was with the Raza crew and did it with relative ease. When even Two is on the run for her life it’s pretty evident that things are bad. As a matter of fact, the only reason she survived is because of Boone and his purpose for her seems as though it will be quite nefarious in and of itself. However, just once, the bad guys need to find a new way to take down Two. The whole getting knocked unconscious thing is becoming a bit old in regards to Two and the Android. They seriously need to find a way to upgrade them both to make them less susceptible to electrocution. At least, this is one time that it’s okay that Two was captured because it means she’s alive to fight another day. The odds were very highly stacked against her to make it to any sort of transport and escape the planet before the nuke hit it. She may be in the custody of Boone right now, but at least she is still alive which is more than anyone could hope for. The problem is that her crew believes they saw her get nuked. Hopefully, they won’t give up on her, after all, Two has survived a deadly virus, being blown out of an airlock, and actually dying, so despite what they saw they can’t give up hope for her survival. There is also no way that Two is going to make things easy on her captor, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

A lot of chaotic and intense stuff went down this week, but there is one scene in particular that needs to be talked about and that’s the one between Two and the Android. They had a nice real honest conversation in the hallway together. It’s something that they both desperately needed after last week. Perhaps the Android even more than Two did, but they both needed this moment alone together to decompress and acknowledge everything that they’ve learned. Something very important that the Android learned is just how hard Portia worked to protect her and nurture her development even before the mind wipe. These two have known each other for a very long time and Two has been with the Android from the very beginning. All along they have meant more to each other than either realized.

This episode also drew another startling parallel between the two. They were both originally designed to be vessels for other beings. While it’s possible that there is still more going on with Two than meets the eye, the bottom line is her origins and the Android’s are the same. They were both created by the same woman with the same purpose. In both cases Shaw effectively set them free, Rebecca by helping her escape and the Android by not claiming her body as her own. These two have been through hell together before and after the memory wipe. They’ve been each other’s constant for who knows how long. There is a bond and friendship between them that no other characters that we know of share. The hug that they shared spoke volumes as well. They both seemed to need the hug and each of them relaxed into the embrace. Even the Android seemed at ease hugging Two. Now, to be very clear, some may read more into this, but it seems pretty clear that Two and the Android are only two very close friends. It does not seem like these two would ever couple up, at least not anytime soon. Again, with this show, it’s not something that should ever be fully ruled out, but it does seem like their story is destined to play out as just friends. And the friendship they have is beautiful and hopefully, that is how it will remain.

A lot went down this week including another check mark on the list of things Future Five warned about. We know that there are more infiltrators in the corporate armies than just Sajen. It then calls into question everyone they’ve encountered and will encounter in the future. While the newborns are very robotic like it does seem like they rapidly develop. It doesn’t appear to take the aliens long to lay full claim to their host body allowing them to easily infiltrate humanity. These aliens appear to be able to claim any human body, but it’s the nanites of the synthetics that make them the ideal hosts. As we saw back in Season One, it appears like the aliens have to jump between bodies periodically as they deteriorate. This is a rather genius way for the show to handle the topic of aliens. They get to have aliens on the show, but not have to do some crazy wild makeup to make someone look alien like. Since these aliens inhabit human bodies it makes everything just a little bit easier for the show. These aliens are serious foes. They have Rook under their control since they are the ones who effectively made him rich and he doesn’t seem keen to give up his riches anytime soon. He’s sure to keep cranking out new bodies for the aliens until there is an unstoppable army. While this particular facility was destroyed there are sure to be more with other gateways ready to launch a full on invasion from. Major things are coming in the wake of this new revelation and the intense ending.

Next week is the penultimate episode of the season and it’s a big one with huge reveals. Don’t miss it when it airs next Friday, August 18th at 9/8c on SyFy in the US and Space in Canada.

Hit the comments with your thoughts about the episode. What did you think of the new alien reveal? Do you think Two is who we think she is or could she be harboring a rogue alien? Did Shaw know what her creations would be used for?