Steve Wilkie/Syf
“In much of the first season the character were reactive, on their heels, whereas in season two they become proactive,” showrunner Joseph Mallozzi tells THR.
[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Dark Matter two-hour season finale.]
The crew of the Raza just can’t catch a break.
In the first hour of the Dark Matter finale, the mercenary group found themselves held at gunpoint thanks to Alexander Rook (Wil Wheaton), the man responsible for creating Two (Melissa O’Neil).
Rook corroborated that Two is not human, and revealed that Two was “created” in his lab using nanite technology far more advanced than seen anywhere else. Two, whom Rook calls “Rebecca,” had escaped by slaughtering Rook’s team and now that he has her back, he isn’t ready to let her go.
The crew of the Raza had no choice but to hand over Two and leave the planet. After devising a plan, the group returned with a stealth operation, led by the Android (Zoie Palmer), to rescue their lost crew member.
The second hour of the finale centered on a traitor in the midst of the Raza. After Five (Jodelle Ferland) discovered the Android unconscious and missing its chip, the crew went on high alert looking for an intruder. Six (Roger F. Cross)and Four (Alex Mallari Jr.) were incapacitated during the search. As time passed, the remaining mercenaries slowly started to turn on one another as One (Marc Bendavid) tried to turn the remaining group against Three (Anthony Lemke). As tensions escalated to a breaking point, the Raza was shot out of FTL and boarded by the Galactic Authority. In a surprise shock, it is revealed that Six was the traitor working with the GA to capture his shipmates.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with showrunner Joseph Mallozzi to discuss Two’s origin, Six’s betrayal and what lies ahead if Dark Matter receives a second season order.
We are introduced to Alexander Rook and learn that he created Two, whom he calls Rebecca. What was it Rook wanted with Rebecca?
That will remain a mystery until season two. In the case of Rook, however, there’s something very strange going, essentially why he created her. There’s a conversation at the end of episode 12 where he has the chat with the elderly man in the hospital and he asks, “How old is the body?” There’s something up with this guy, clearly. We’ll find out more about that in season two, especially concerning the fact that they’re making a new prototype as well.
Is Two more android or human? Is she something we haven’t seen before?
Two is definitely something we haven’t seen before, but at the same time more human. It’s almost like test-tube designer baby. She’s essentially lab-designed but organic, except for the nanites teeming through her bloodstream that make her stronger, faster, and heal a lot faster. I’ve seen a few people say, “She’s indestructible,” and that’s not true. She’s superior to humans in many ways, but she’s also vulnerable. There’s a line in episode 12 referring to the fact that she’ll age and again, it’s basically why would you create someone who could withstand all of these illnesses and what have you. Presumably she ages because they want her to fit in amongst humanity.
That makes sense, especially because the person lying in the bed at the end of the episode doesn’t seem to be in their first body, does it?
It does not. That is something we will be answering in season two.
How does learning who she is affect Two?
We’re going to see that over time. There’s the shock at first. She talks about it right off the bat with One in episode 12. She has all these thoughts running through her mind. She doesn’t receive any insightful answers, so she’s going to struggle with it, but she’s also going to struggle with how others will view her as the ship’s commander. But she’s also a strong individual and that's something that she’ll come to terms with sooner rather than later, take it for what it is. It’s something that will help her and help the crew in the long run.
When it comes to Two, she ages, but she also has the ability to regenerate. In episode 11 when Wexler (Ennis Esmer) threatens to put a bullet between her eyes, would that actually kill her or would that put her in a stasis-like effect?
Presumably, that would kill her. She can certainly regenerate and no one’s put it to the test, but the emphasis is on the fact that she is human with nanites in her system to repair damage. However, coming back from death feels like a big ask. Whether that’s put to the task remains to be seen.
The Android has been expressing more emotion as the season progresses. The ship’s analysis, the “red” version of the android says that this “change” is a glitch in her software. Is this more than a glitch or is she perhaps closer to what Two actually is?
Well, she’s definitely not something close to what Two is. She is still an android. The analysis results point to a flaw in her system. Logically, she should wipe and reboot herself. Five, upon learning that, has the analysis wiped. Sooner or later though people will find out. Is it a flaw? Is it something disguised as a flaw? If we take it at face value, if it’s a flaw, it’s problematic because if it’s limited to only an emotion state that’s one thing but if it’s almost like a virus, affecting other parts of her neural interface, that could create other problems down the line. And really, Five’s the only one who knows that there is an issue and right now Five is happy enough to ignore it. Will that come back to haunt her? Quite possibly, like most things do.
Leading into the finale, Five finds the recorder and hears Two, Four, and Three discussing getting rid of someone after they get out of stasis. Is it correct to assume they were talking about Six, that they had learned his identity before going into stasis?
A possible scenario is that other crew members were conspiring to kill someone on board. Why would they kill someone? Well, obviously if they were gunning for them. Six pieces it together and tells Five to check for hidden files and she has one file she can’t open that was made the day they went into stasis. Six puts it together, realizing that she’s one with the savvy hacking ability and says, “You’re the one that wrote the code.” And she’s like, “Why?” and he says, “to protect someone." If you put together the pieces, that is a very sound theory.
Because he’s the one who saved her from Three from shooting her out of the airlock.
Presumably to return the favor and [that] basically creates that big brother/little sister relationship that is played with throughout season one that presumably pre-existed the mind wipe. It follows that whole characters-falling-back-on-old-ways theme.
Was Six always working with the Galactic Authority?
I set it up with little hints and clues, especially after his episode in episode eight. Your theory that he’s with the GA is a good one. One of the things that was a subtle clue was who he’s flanked by in the corridor. That character is one you’ve seen before. Any case, if we do a season two, it all will be explained.
The only reason why I say he’s with the GA is because I felt he was undercover when he was branded as a terrorist.
That’s an excellent theory and I point to episode eight, after he kills the General and he’s sitting in a chair and a guy comes up and points a gun at him and says, “It was a clone, so shoot, don’t shoot, not going to make much of a difference in the long run.” Then the next time we see Six, he’s alone. What happened in that moment between the break is going to be part of the big reveal in hopefully episode 201.
Does One actually have a connection to his dead wife? He seems to really be holding onto this a vendetta with Three?
He doesn’t have an emotional connection to her, but what he does have is the reality of where he is now, on the ship, on the run, not able to trust anyone. At some point even members of his own crew don’t trust him. He says to Two in episode nine that, “I had a great life but then he put me here,” and her response is, "No, you put yourself here when you assumed that identity for revenge." So there was a point where he really wanted revenge and went to great lengths to achieve that, but now, for him, the revenge is less a personal connection to his wife and more a connection to the life he had that he feels was stolen. And all of this is if Three did kill his wife. More answers to come.
Have you heard anything about a second season renewal for Dark Matter from Syfy?
Still awaiting word!
What lies in wait for season two that you can talk about?
I said very early on that I had mapped out this five-year game plan. The season two finale will be an even bigger “holy shit” than season one. The first season was about peeling the onion on these characters’ backstories, finding out who they are, and it’s very personal. Season two we blow the doors off, do some world building, the past comes back to haunt and at the same time, the characters wrap up their exploration of their respective backstories. There’s going to be a real driving force early on in the season. In much of the first season the characters were reactive, on their heels, whereas in season two they become proactive. Like I said in the backstory, these are very bad people who are capable of very bad things and I think if we do a second season, it’ll blow you away.
In the unfortunate scenario that you don’t get a second season, would you look to Dark Horse to continue the series in comic book form?
To be honest, I always envisioned it as a TV series. I like that in the end of the Stargate Universe, we ended in a way that essentially closed the chapter on a book and season two would be another chapter but season one would also stand alone. Ideally, we would get a season two but Dark Horse could be a possibility. Like I said, I’ve got a season two game plan, I’ve got our 13 stories.
