The Ark: Twists, Turns and the Same Old Evelyn – Review S2, E1

It seems like an eternity since we saw the command crew of Ark 1 stare at their uncertain fate through the darkness of space toward Ark 15 and the devious mind of Evelyn Maddox. Season 1 of The Ark ended on a note of uncertainty. Thankfully, Season 2 is back on SYFY (and a day later on Peacock) after a long wait, and we got much of what we came to expect, as well as a few very interesting surprises.

In short, The Ark opened its second season (“Failed Experiment”) with a nice “wow” factor by making room for a number of alternatives that probably didn’t seem likely as the opening minutes of the first episode unfolded. Ark 1 is damaged and has suffered many casualties in the Season 1 finale. As it floats in space, seemingly helpless, it seemed highly likely that a combination of Ark 1 and Ark 15 would be forced to join forces.

SPOILER ALERT: I’ll be talking mostly in generalities about the season opener, but there will be some specifics as well. So if you haven’t seen the episode yet, here’s your warning.

THE ARK — “Failed Experiment” Episode 201 — Pictured: Yelena Stuplyanin as Evelyn Maddox — (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

Let me just say this first: I love Evelyn Maddox. She is a cold, heartless, empathy-deprived queen of her little Ark 15 domain, and when you see those cold, uncaring eyes staring back at you, it is a thing of malevolent beauty. Whenever I see her (and Yelena Stupljanin is so good in this role), I am reminded of a line in a Star Trek episode about Romulan: “So predictably treacherous.” And that is what she is. For every word of “friendship” and “I owe you one,” there is an equal amount of cold calculation and manipulation.

Episode 1 of Season 2 is no different, as she repeatedly demonstrates. She’s willing to take Garnet, Nevins, Brice, and Lane aboard Ark 15, but due to oxygen restrictions, she’s perfectly content to let the rest of the survivors, and she knows there are survivors, die in the freezing cold of space. And she does it so nonchalantly that you wonder if the seed of humanity is inside her somewhere.

In the first episode she betrays the rest of the Ark 1 crew, complains that her daughter is a “failed experiment”, keeps her doctor away from the blood bank to save Angus, sees some of her crew willing to defect to the crippled Ark 1 to get out from under her thumb, “activates” her daughter (who happens to be a human bomb) and a few other small items of spicy belligerence. She’s a piece of work and every time she’s on screen, reading between the lines of what she’s saying is almost a game in itself. And I’m all for it.

THE ARK — “Failed Experiment” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Yelena Stuplyanin as Evelyn Maddox, Jadran Malkovich as Dr. Marsh — (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

The Ark is one of those shows that has found a niche that us sci-fi/fantasy/thriller nerds wish would come around more often. It’s an interesting look at the struggle for life, the desire to exist in some sort of family, and how those bonds create loyalty and passion for one another. Garnet says this just before the Ark 15 shuttle picks them up from their damaged bridge. When all of your leadership is taken away in a disaster, and people who never expected to be in real command positions are suddenly thrust into them, there’s an interesting dynamic at play as they grow into their jobs, make mistakes, celebrate small victories, and generally learn as much about themselves as they do their jobs.

The Ark has done a fantastic job of growing its characters. Lane, Brice, Garnet, Nevins, Angus, Felix, and the others have spent Season 1 trying to figure out not only what their roles were in helping Ark 1 survive, but also the depths of their ability to adapt to a new reality. It’s been a fun ride. Unfortunately, it’s one that Cat apparently won’t finish, as she died of her injuries. What that does to William Trust, who was lying next to her in the sickbay when she passed away, should be interesting to see.

THE ARK — “Failed Experiment” Episode 201 — Pictured: Diana Bermudez as Kimi — (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

So while Ark 1 lies lifeless in space like a sperm whale on a beach, the disgruntled crew of Ark 15 devises a plan to get Garnet, Nevins, and themselves to Ark 1 and away from Evelyn Maddox, who is described by one crew member as “a monster.” You think?

They escape successfully (nice job on the doors, Alicia), head to Ark 1 in hopes of repairing everything, including the FTL drive, when Evelyn “activates” her daughter. She taps out, our new doctor (Dr. Marsh played by Jadran Malkovich) from Ark 15 tries to deactivate it, Evelyn counts the extra oxygen her ship will have, and Garnet pulls the ol’ “You owe me one” card. I find it interesting that Evelyn Maddox, for all her ruthless coldness, seems to have an aversion to owing anyone. But if you go back to Season 1, you realize that is absolutely a trait she has. She pays her debts. I find that fascinating, although you have to be very clear about what is owed and to whom. She has a very focused sense of what is owed and how much.

This is all a segue into a new mission: get to the Trappist system. It’s about eight months away from FTL, and it looks like Ark 1’s FTL is repairable. So while Ark 15 powers up and takes off, Ark 1 has to drift through space, hopefully completing repairs and integrating some new resources into its world. And if they’re successful, they’ll no doubt meet up with Evelyn Maddox again. Considering Kelly swore to kill her mother after being declared “dead to me” by her dearest mother, that should be interesting.

THE ARK — “Failed Experiment” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Jadran Malkovich as Dr. Marsh, Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet, Stacey Read as Alicia Nevins — (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

CHAT AT THE COMET WATER TANK

All about Kelly

Speaking of Kelly, it’s clear that a small explosive inside her that her mother can activate isn’t the only thing she’s carrying around in that tiny, but deadly body. Kelly has clearly been developed using who-knows-what technology. Her blood transfusion that saved Angus certainly came with some interesting developments. The doctor certainly noted it, adding that while they were trying to disarm the bomb inside Kelly, they couldn’t just separate her because she had a very diverse skill set that would be valuable. Kelly is starting to feel like much more than a murderous, lovesick young lady. We’ll see what happens to her in the future.

I love you

Garnet calls Brice, Lane, and Nevins together for a kumbaya moment before the people of Ark 15 arrive. She tells them about the family she believes was created during their time together, and we end with a big hug. I get the feeling she knows Evelyn Maddox can’t be trusted, but as the good leader she’s become, she’s playing for time and chance to survive. That’s what a leader does, keep handing out rope in the hopes of finding something to grab onto. And that’s what she did with the mini-mutiny aboard Ark 15. It was a touching moment, but also one that reminded us that family is often where you develop it.

New dynamics coming

I’m curious to see how newcomers Dr. Marsh and Kimi will mesh and interact with Dr. Kabir and Felix respectively. As we know, Dr. Kabir has struggled with insecurity and drug addiction since being forced into her role as chief physician aboard Ark 1. Now that Dr. Marsh is on board and clearly an experienced physician, what impact will this have on her? I can’t believe there hasn’t been some unrest brewing in the dark confines of the writers’ room about these two. It seems wasteful to have two doctors performing mundane doctor duties. We’ll see. As for Kimi, she seems like a pretty strong security presence, so I wonder how she’ll mesh with Felix? I’m curious to see what their dynamic will be like as well.

As I’ve been walking the halls of social media over the past few months, I’ve been pretty blown away by how excited people have been for the return of The Ark. It’s a show that definitely has a place in the pantheon of this genre and I have to commend the writers for an interesting and engaging story in season 1, and a season 2 opener that picked up right where season 1 left off. Yes, I had missed The Ark and seeing its return and jumping back into the issues and relationships of the show made me realize just how much. Glad to have you back, folks (PS: I love it when Felix gets to pull out the katana).

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