Dark Matter: Kill Them All Recap

Synopsis of 2×02: The crew of the Raza find themselves being questioned by a new authority. A plan to escape the prison is formed.

Rating: ★★★★☆

In light of last week’s reeling episode, I was curious as to how Dark Matter would proceed this week. Would our lovable anti-heroes make a quick escape from their moon prison or would their stay be a bit longer than necessary? Thankfully tonight’s episode moves things along quickly and throws our nameless friends back into the fray.

Picking up immediately after last week’s episode, Six confronts Inspector Shaddick,  who has taken over the case, and asks why the trial has been postponed, but she turns the table on him and questions his own allegiances. I can’t seem to place my finger yet on whether the Inspector is good, evil, or just simply has her own priorities? My bet is on the last one, as she questions both Five and Six about the bombing and destruction of the planet, Iriden 3, as she seems to think they were directly responsible for it.

The Inspector isn’t the only one with a bone to pick from the Raza crew. The warden of the prison and his lackeys have other plans in mind though and intend to kill the crew of the Raza. As to why someone clearly wants the crew of the Raza dead is anyone’s guess, but it can’t be good.

Two, Three, and Four are unsurprisingly moved to waste management duty, far worse in my mind than Three’s previous task of folding laundry. Caught in a trap laid by the warden and his goons, the three of them soon find themselves trapped in the garbage incinerator. Fortunately, they are saved in the nick of time by prison boss, Arax Nero, who warned Four last episode about meddling in prison business. He claims it was merely an accident, but clearly the Warden paid some men to set them up.

As unceremoniously as ever, the Android continues to refuse the GA access to her records and insists only the crew of the Raza can give her orders. Later, against her will, the prison tech attempts to forcibly remove the information from her.

Shaddick continues to question the remaining crew of the Raza and promises full immunity and a clean slate in return for collaboration and testimony from the Raza crew. Shaddick presses Four particularly hard and shows him an extradition document, claiming his royal family is in orbit demanding his release and subsequent execution in their custody.

The warden of the prison soon finds himself under pressure after his failed attempt to murder the remaining Raza crew. He bows under pressure and lets the crew receive a visitor. Much to his surprise, Three meets with Commander Delaney Truffault of the Mikkei Combin, a familiar face from last season’s Iriden 3 incident, who pressures him to take Shaddick’s deal.

Three outright refuses and when Three looks into her eyes to tell her no, Delaney’s eye sparks to life with some sort of imbedded tech. In return, this technology copies over to Three’s own eye and Delaney seems pleased with the result.

Back in his cell, Three suffers from a headache and he begins seeing what looks like schematics flash before his eyes. Using lipstick Nyx obtained, Three begins drawing plans beneath the cushion in his bunk and soon discovers that Delaney gave them the layout to the entire prison and hopefully a way to escape.

Arax calls a meeting with Two, Three, and Four and demands that they include him in their escape plan. In return, Arax won’t interfere or rat them out and will also provide them assistance once on the outside. Two agrees, with some slight adjustments, and asks Arax to instruct his men to incite a riot to set off the sonic protocol.

Their plans are stalled when they discover that the supply shuttle has been suspended, shutting down their plans indefinitely. They attempt to find a way around the problem and Four believes he can get a ship… by giving himself over to the royal family for execution.

Six is visited by a fellow solider, who confides in him that the crew of the Raza are dead men, knowing that the Warden has already been paid off to kill One, Two, and Three. He also shares with Six the news of One’s death and claims the same men are responsible.

Six has been struggling with his true loyalties and allegiances both this episode, believing he had been part of a greater system of justice. Fortunately, he realizes his error and that in reality, the system is all a lie. While I’m happy Six is beginning to realize his mistake, his epiphany could have come earlier and in time to save One’s life, if One’s grim fate is to be believed. Six asks for Five’s help in helping the others escape.

Before the Raza crew can begin their plan, Portia/Two is forcibly taken to solitary, despite having done nothing. She initiates the virtually reality program and comes face to face with Six for the first time since the crew were taken into custody. Two isn’t surprised to see him, having figured out his likely identity. Six claims all he wants to do is help them and that he still cares about them and their fate.

Four reveals that the Tetsudo are sending a shuttle to pick him up shortly. With Two still in solitary, Arax, Three, and Four attempt to think of a way to delay the shuttle. Arax impulsively knocks Four out when Four refuses to harm himself to delay his transfer.

Four wakes up in the infirmary to find Misaki Han, a former childhood friend of his, who is there to take him home immediately for judgment. As Four is being moved, Devon, the prison doctor, attempts to stop them, claiming Four is under concussion watch. When Misaki fails to listen to him, Devon races after Four.

As part of the grand escape plan, Five offers to help Shaddick retrieve the data from the Android. After Six pulls some wires, shutting down power to Five’s block, Five orders the Android to kill Shaddick and the guards. The Android obeys perfectly, and she quickly kills the guards and Shaddick.

Two is returned to the general cellblock and the crew, along with Nyx and Arax, start their plan to escape. Arax’s men start the riot, causing a full-scale brawl between prisoners and guards. The Warden initiates a code black throughout the entire prison, forcing everyone but the guards to the ground.

Much to their surprise, Two’s nanos kick in, allowing her to quickly recover and sneak away to the control room. Here, she amplifies the sonic frequency, causing it to impact the guards and render them unconscious as well. Two, Three, Nyx, and Arax quickly escape in the confusion after everyone wakes up.

Four and Devon, having also been knocked out briefly, awake and quickly attempt to regroup with the others. Misaki wakes up a bit later and enraged, goes off in search of Four. When Misaki finds Four, the two engaged in a heated swordfight briefly, before Five arrives with the android and stuns Misaki with a huge charged particle like gun.

Let’s be real, Five is the MVP of this escape. Four, Five, and Devon meet up with Two, Three, Nyx, Arax and Six and begin boarding the shuttle. Before they can escape, Six’s friend Anders shows up and the two are forced to shoot each other when Anders attempts to arrest the others. The crew drags an injured Six on board and they all reunite on the Raza finally.

After they safely leave the vicinity of the prison, the crew speaks with Devon about Six’s condition. Despite his best efforts and the lack of surgical tools and blood on hand, Devon grimly claims Six won’t last that long. In an attempt to save his life, they place Six in a cryo stasis pod until they can find means to save his life. On board the bridge, the crew also learns of One’s reported death through a television broadcast.

As the episode closes, a wealthy, and likely conniving, businesswoman learns of the Raza’s escape. Delighted, she soon discovers that Five is aboard the ship and it appears she has been searching for Five for a while, and not in a good way. She eagerly plans to go after them and retrieve Five at all costs.

Who would’ve thought that the crew could’ve pulled off such a well executed smooth escape from a listless prison on the moon. Of course, they had some help from their new friends, some of which I still don’t trust. Only time will tell…

Don’t miss Dark Matter next week on Syfy as the crew suffers from a dangerous glitch and Five is left to not only save herself, but also everyone on board the Raza.