“The Ark” has our attention after the very fast episode, and we are waiting to find out the answers that it has raised. Everything is topsy-turvy on the ship “Ark 1,” and the chances of the people’s survival are reduced. It was difficult to learn that there are people with fake identities. Along with it, the first episode showed us highlights of almost every possibility of things going wrong before (or after) they reach the final destination. To be honest, the horrors, both mentally and physically, have left people exhausted. Furthermore, during the second system breach, due to a depletion in oxygen levels, the group lost six more people, bringing the total down to 134. The question started spinning: what awaits the fate of the people? In the meantime, we see the fake Malcolm murdered. The ending of episode 1 raises a million questions in our minds. Thus, we eagerly awaited episode 2. Here is what episode two has in store for you:
Spoilers Ahead
Death Follows
The episode begins with three people going to outer space to examine what were the reasons that caused such an “incident” while Lt. Sharon monitors them. They find no trace of ice or rock hitting them, but the entire cryo pod seems to go missing leaving behind twisted and burnt remains. As they investigate further and move closer to the wheels, chunks of plates from the ship appear, and one piece hits Lt. Lane, while the other pierces Scholnick’s stomach and carries him further away from the ship. “Ark 1” lost another man from their team. Lt. Lane is brought back to the airlock and receives much-needed medical support; he, fortunately, survives with a cut on his forehead. The situation in the medical center of the ship begins to get worse. Arguments break out between Alicia Nevins (the waste management engineer who got promoted to life support for her coding skills) and another boarder. It is here where we see how rumors have been flying around about the death of the fake Malcolm. Everyone is upset about the heat as energy has been channelized to bio-shelter for producing food. As Nevins (well, she is a bit of an oversharer and know-it-all) keeps talking to doctor Kabir, she shouts at her, making her leave. The situation becomes clear: Dr. Kabir is single-handedly responsible for the health of all the other members on the ship and has not slept since she woke up from her cryosleep. Tired, exhausted, thirsty, and sleep-deprived people are now taking their best chances at survival.
Emotional Outbreaks
At the same time, we see people wondering how their families are back on earth. At the same time, we approach the funeral ceremony of the six dead people, including Harris, the love interest of Eva (the acting head of maintenance, engineering, and construction), and the fake Malcolm. Losing Harris was a blow to her as her lover died due to an oxygen shortage. The pain deeply penetrated her, more so when the true identity of fake Malcolm was revealed. Thus, while walking away from the bodies, she spits on the face of the fake Malcolm. Later, during a crisis, when everyone was looking for Eva, she was found on her bunk, in a miserable condition, weeping her woes away. The pain of living on a god-forsaken ship, where each passing day seems like a challenge, struck Eva with the most violent form of pain: losing a loved one. However, as we have seen earlier, whenever one door closes, another opens.
We met Cat Brandice (a social media star and TV relationship specialist) in the first episode, where she tried to seduce the man in charge to let her have a quick shower as the shower was off-limits. In this episode, we see her consoling the depressed Eva and motivating her to go back to work. Cat was instructed by Sharon to be the psychologist on the ship so that she could take care of the mental health of the people. Although Cat tried to reject the position, saying she did not have the proper degree and she just faked it for Eva, Sharon was persistent. She said if she could fake it once, she could do it again, and finally, Cat requested her own chamber and became the psychologist.
More Secrets Unfold
The differences between Lt. Lane and Lt. Sharon are not new. But this time, we see Lane questioning the identity of Sharon, saying she never trained with the rest of them. Also, in another scene, we saw the details missing from the chamber where the fake Malcolm was chained, and unfortunately, Sharon was the one to go back and check the entry. We already knew in the first episode that unauthorized soil was in the cargo; in the current episode, we find that a special kind of soil was also in the ship. The knife was assumed to be the murder weapon, which was discovered when it got stuck in the water pipes in the bio-shelter lab. So, now we have an unidentified murderer roaming freely.
Furthermore, Lt. Brice and Lt. Lane, ignoring the order of Lt. Sharon, went ahead secretly to find out what caused the “incident.” Lt. Brice reached the target area and said it didn’t look different from an impact pattern but looked like it had crossed paths with the sun, for it was burnt with diamond-like elements. He picks up one small piece that looks like a diamond, and as soon as it crashes, it begins to melt his gloves and reach his skin.
Final Tragedy And More Questions
The moment the knife (the suspected murder weapon) blocked the water pipes, a lot of water got wasted. Eva was asked to restore the water supply. Thus, she took off the cooling channels of the ship’s engine along with everything else. However, she could save water for two more days. This means the only drinking water left on the ship was just enough for four days.
As if this tragedy were not enough, Lt. Lane utters in frustration that it is unimaginable for such a small knife to cause such a devastating issue. However, the officer in charge raises the poignant question that he hadn’t disclosed anything about the knife, so how would Lt. Lane know? Secrets and mystery magnify each second on the ship.
“The Ark” is getting more complex and mysterious with each passing episode. Will the people survive with just four days of water? Who is murdered? How did Lane know about the knife? Will the ship reach Proxima B with no resources to cool the engine? A million such questions will pop up once you finish watching the episode. All we need to do is wait for the answers and expect to have several other questions before the first season comes to an end.