Dark Matter Season 3

[JD]

That's one thing that bugged me. Establishing real aliens in what's been a strictly humans-only universe to this point is a total game changer. It should be as shocking a revelation to the characters as it would be if aliens showed up in a present-day Earthbound series. Really, even more so, because they've had 600 more years to explore the galaxy without finding any aliens. But the characters seemed to take the existence of aliens pretty much in stride -- seeing them as a threat, of course, but not as something that upended their whole view of reality. And that just didn't seem to fit this show's universe.

Yeah, it was a strange how casually the characters treated the whole thing, although I guess after running into parallel universe versions of themselves and time traveling, it would probably be pretty hard to shock them at this point.

Wow, that would be unfortunate, because it would totally rip the guts out of the social commentary angle. Shows that portray corporate greed and rapacity as the source of oppression and suffering in society have considerable relevance these days, and we see a lot of them as a result -- this, Killjoys, Incorporated, Mr. Robot, etc. Having the corporate evils be just a front for a more conventional Lovecraftian evil would rather cheapen things, I think.

I enjoy DM, but I honestly never really saw it as being that deep, it's pretty much just semi-intelligent popcorn entertainment.

Then again, I guess Killjoys already sort of did that, since the Company belonged to the Nine, and the Nine were enacting a deal they'd made with the Hullen. Although it was at a greater remove, I guess, so there was still plenty of legitimate corporate exploitation and one-percenter greed involved. In any case, that's all the more reason for DM not to do a similar plot beat.

This one is a good point against it though, I forgot about the fact that Killjoys just had their big reveal about the Hullen working with the Nine.

 

[Christopher]

They also writing for the medium of tv and the next to produce X number of episodes each year with very tight production schedule.

The "tight schedule" argument doesn't really wash with a show that does only 13 episodes a year. The reason that season length is so popular these days is because it does give a show's writing staff enough time to devote to giving each episode the care it needs, while also making them part of a taut, efficient seasonal arc. There are many shows that have 13-episode seasons these days, and many of them handle their pacing better than Dark Matter's staff does.

Yeah, it was a strange how casually the characters treated the whole thing, although I guess after running into parallel universe versions of themselves and time traveling, it would probably be pretty hard to shock them at this point.

That's kinda my problem. As I've said, it feels like they're just tossing in every sci-fi cliche and gimmick they can think of at this point, and it makes the narrative feel unfocused and the worldbuilding feel sloppy.

 

[JD]

My only real issue is that we got the Blink drive malfunctioning as the reason for both the universe jumping and the time travel. It wasn't to bad with those two things, but it could get really annoying if that starts happening constantly.

 

[Christopher]

My only real issue is that we got the Blink drive malfunctioning as the reason for both the universe jumping and the time travel. It wasn't to bad with those two things, but it could get really annoying if that starts happening constantly.

Granted, it is a wormhole-based technology, and those are both possible outcomes of wormhole travel alongside FTL. So it isn't as random as it seems. If the next blink drive malfunction, say, shrinks the Raza to toy size or makes the crew devolve into Neanderthals, then it'll start getting silly.

 

[Marc]

My only real issue is that we got the Blink drive malfunctioning as the reason for both the universe jumping and the time travel. It wasn't to bad with those two things, but it could get really annoying if that starts happening constantly.

Doubt it will.

The writers seem fairly good at avoiding what they've done before and even if they revisit something - some it thing will go in a different direction. For example it initially seemed the trip back in time was an malfunction of the blink drive until they found out it was a deliberate act but at the end things changed so it couldn't happen again.

 

[Wouter]

I hope the show gets renewed. Syfy is late with the announcement, last year it was confirmed by ep9. The ratings are reasonably good compared to its peers (about same as Killjoys), but if the decision was borderline last year it may be a problem.

Unless we're really optimistic and they're contemplating to greenlight both final seasons at once

 

[Marc]

Any bets on whether Two puts a bullet in Ryo?

Portia Lin would have without a second thought, Two I'm not so sure about.

The events on Ziron will also have an impact on the corporate war and leave the league of independent worlds that signed on with Ryo at the mercy of their former corporate masters.

 

[Christopher]

Any bets on whether Two puts a bullet in Ryo?

The preview for next week already spoiled the answer for me, so no bets.


I'm a little disappointed that Misaki was the one behind the rebellion. It's too simplistic. I figured it would turn out to be Teku, that he'd tried to turn Ryo to the right path but realized that he'd failed, that Ryo had become a tyrant and had to be eliminated for the good of the people of Zairon. I mean, it's inconsistent to show Misaki overthrowing Ryo for not being ruthless enough when they've spent the whole season showing Ryo being too ruthless and rejecting Teku's advice in favor of Misaki's. It doesn't really make sense, and it feels like backpedaling to make Ryo redeemable so they can keep him as a regular. At least, if this was where they planned to go all along, then they shouldn't have spent all season writing Ryo as such a caricature of a ruthless, murdering tyrant.

Still, I do like this more nuanced Ryo better than the caricature.

 

[auntiehill]

OK, what is the point of ending on a cliffhanger and immediately following it with a preview that totally RUINS the cliffhanger?

The whole take-over of the place was done rather poorly, I thought. Misaki is such a cartoony-villain. All she needs is a mustache to twirl. Her leading the coup doesn't make any particular sense but because she's "the baddy;" of course it has to be her. *yawn*

Hubby loves this show but I can't say I have any particular investment in it. The only character I'm mildly interested in is the android. I feel like characters do things or events unfold simply because it says so in the script; it's not terribly involving. This season in particular feels very scattered. It's too bad, because I think the premise had real potential. Unfortunately, I'm just feeling very "meh" about the whole thing now.

 

[Marc]

OK, what is the point of ending on a cliffhanger and immediately following it with a preview that totally RUINS the cliffhanger?

might depend on where you are

We don't seem to get the previews in Canada and don't ever recall seeing meany previews on Australian tv either.

 

[Wouter]

Any bets on whether Two puts a bullet in Ryo?

Portia Lin would have without a second thought, Two I'm not so sure about.

The events on Ziron will also have an impact on the corporate war and leave the league of independent worlds that signed on with Ryo at the mercy of their former corporate masters.

I'm quite dissapointed that Three, Android and Two would even consider doing that (the reason for the hostility is over and they should be the last ones to refuse forgiveness), but luckily Two didn't proceed.

It was a very good episode with a lot of things going on; I genuinely feared Ryo would have been killed ("my final gift to you", "the fall of the house of Ishida") and this version of Ryo I didn't want killed. And cliché or not, I didn't want Teku to be the one to betray him, not in the way Misaki did, at least.

Five's sister is Alicia Reynaud, I suppose.

Ferrous corp thinks it has nearly won the corporate war, but I suppose Mikkei hasn't been closely involved yet. And the simulants haven't made a move since the Dwarf Star facility was destroyed, but they have yet to come into play.

The Android liberation front stuff is also heating up. Dr.Shaw kept her mouth shut about Rebecca's secret, another sign she isn't trustworthy.

Loved it that Three wanted to know what Ryo knew about him, then had his clone killed so he could unlearn it. So him. With Ryo again on board, he may learn this again later on.

 

[Marc]

I'm quite dissapointed that Three, Android and Two would even consider doing that (the reason for the hostility is over and they should be the last ones to refuse forgiveness), but luckily Two didn't proceed.

Given her first duty is the safety of the crew, I can see where Andriod's decision came from after she looked at both sides of the argument (and I think that she was asked and the way the crew generally treats her is probably going to be factor when the andriod war heats up).

Two and Three are rightfully pissed but possible emotion has clouded their judgement.

Five and Six possible had the benefit of their memory uploads from the transit clones though I'm not sure the former would have been any more in favour of killing Ryo even without it. Its just not her nature.

 

[Wouter]

Given her first duty is the safety of the crew, I can see where Andriod's decision came from after she looked at both sides of the argument (and I think that she was asked and the way the crew generally treats her is probably going to be factor when the andriod war heats up).

Two and Three are rightfully pissed but possible emotion has clouded their judgement.

Five and Six possible had the benefit of their memory uploads from the transit clones though I'm not sure the former would have been any more in favour of killing Ryo even without it. Its just not her nature.

I think the Android was against mostly for a meta-reason: otherwise Two wouldn't have needed to make the decisive vote and we wouldn't have had the confrontation at the end. I don't think Ryo is a serious danger for the safety of the crew now, and he could even be an asset again.

I agree that it was very good timing from Two to explicitly give Android a vote. Seems that it may now be her turn for temptation.

Two admittedly does have the excuse that Ryo was threatening to execute her, only a little before.

Both Five and Six would probably not have wanted execution. Six also got a second chance on board.

 

[Christopher]

I'm wondering where Portia and Boone were through all of this. Last week we saw Boone abduct Two to deliver her to Ryo, and we know he and Portia are working for/with Ryo now. So why did they suddenly disappear for this episode? You'd think Portia would've wanted to be there to confront Two, or just to see her in chains, or something. It seems like a missed opportunity.

And, heck, one thing about doppelgangers is, you never have to worry about whether the actors are available.

 

[Wouter]

Apparently, Boone delivered Two to Zairon on behalf of Ferrous. Ferrous wanted Ryo's support within the league of independent worlds as price, even though the episode shows he hadn't yet agreed to that.

One would expect Portia to be there to gloat a bit, but they may be busy elsewhere and they may not feel particularly safe on Zairon either. They seemed to have a limited agreement with Ryo while Niemann probably pays them big money to do dirty jobs, much like before.

 

[Marc]

One would expect Portia to be there to gloat a bit, but they may be busy elsewhere and they may not feel particularly safe on Zairon either. They seemed to have a limited agreement with Ryo while Niemann probably pays them big money to do dirty jobs, much like before.

might get a bit confusing for people if you had both both Two and Portia in pretty much the same place at the same time.

 

[Christopher]

might get a bit confusing for people if you had both both Two and Portia in pretty much the same place at the same time.

Not really, since it's easy to distinguish them by personality and wardrobe, as well as by context (only one of them was a prisoner). It's not like they haven't done it before, back in the episode that introduced the doppelgangers. Heck, Orphan Black had the same actress playing as many as 5-6 different clones per episode and audiences were able to keep them straight.

 

[Velocity]

What did Ryo tell Three that was so horrible that the clone decided to let himself be killed rather than let that memory survive? Was it about One's wife or something even worse?

 

[Christopher]

What did Ryo tell Three that was so horrible that the clone decided to let himself be killed rather than let that memory survive? Was it about One's wife or something even worse?

Did you miss that scene? Ryo told Three that his smuggling of sirillium (sp?) was what killed Sarah, because he stored it in their cabin while he was away and the radiation poisoned her.

 

[Anwar]

Apropos of nothing (or little), I happened to watch an episode of The Queen of Swords on YouTube, just 'cause I remember the show as being fun and featuring a beautiful and talented swordswoman in the lead. I was pleased to see Anthony Lemke was a featured player in the series! Not to accuse him of being a one-note actor, but he was pretty much the same "amiable bad guy" as Three.

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He played Alex Murphy's grown up son in "Robocop: Prime Directives" about 16 years ago. Very much not an "amiable bad guy" there.