‘The Ark’ Recap: ‘It Will Be Over Soon’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE ARK -- "It Will Be Over Soon" Episode 211 -- Pictured: Pavle Jerinic as Felix Strickland -- (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 211 of ‘The Ark’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that the vast majority of science fiction stories where humanity starts over in space, are quite positive and hopeful in nature. As though everyone involved in the story understands the gift they’ve been given via a second chance and knows they must be better than before and forge a future that is free from the trappings of the past. Which does make for lovely storytelling, the kind that does showcase what we could be as a species, and how we could resolve our conflicts. In fact, this is so engrained in sci-fi that we’ve never taken the time to ponder upon, whether or not the freedom and the power of the second chance could corrupt some individuals and push them to take part in dark acts that would forge a potentially different kind of tomorrow.

Which isn’t impossible given our difficulties as a species to forge a flawless path forward and well, that dark musing is what makes the next episode of The Ark on SYFY of note. Simply because ‘It Will Be Over Soon’ explored what could happen if someone thought that perhaps they could influence others to do out of the ordinary things with mankind flailing in the cosmos, to fulfill their agenda. But at first, it seemed like we were in store for standard fare. Because this story opened up with the crew of Ark 1 arriving at the Trappist star system, and they even managed to contact more people. Giving rise to the possibility that at last, they could rest, and enjoy a better tomorrow, and well… that’s when things took quite the dark turn.

Because just like that, there was a strange radiation accident on the ship. One where Alicia was hurt while filling in for a lazy William Trust, and that put her out of commission for a moment and finally forced Trust to do some work on the ship, and as he began to fulfill his duties, a strange message arrived for Mister Strickland. One that informed him, that his daughter was alive and well on Trappist-1. But that if he did not do the bidding of the voice on the other end of the communication line, she would die. Of course, Strickland agreed to do as he was asked, because of the deep-rooted love in his heart for his daughter. But that embroiled him in what was in essence, an assassination plot against William Trust and it seemed there was no escaping this plan.

In fact, it was made clear that Strickland was expected to die in the attempt as well. Because this individual wanted a no witnesses type situation. Which left Strickland terrified, and alone, and he was even under light investigation from Brice and Ian because of his strange behavior, and it seemed as though there was no hope for a future for him or his daughter, since the sinister mastermind of this plan was watching his every move and monitoring every system on the ship. But thankfully, he was able to communicate with the captain about his distressing situation, and she figured out a way to get everyone on the same page to prevent outright murder on her ship. Which in turn, allowed for a plan to come to life that saved everyone involved from an ugly fate, and freed the ship from being watched, but left a dark cloud hanging over their journey.

Mainly because, the person that orchestrated this nightmare, was on Trappist-1. Which indicated that this someone no longer cared about the rules that governed humanity on Earth. Since they saw a chance to eliminate someone they despised and went for it. Which hints that a new world that does not resemble the one our Arkers left behind, awaits, and that’s scary. Because any world where children are used as bargaining chips and assassination attempts are the norm, is a sick place, and well, all of these elements made for one incredible tale. One that truly did explore a different kind of future and set the stage for what should be a fascinating season finale, one that likely will put the good nature of the crew to the test, like never before. Until next time.

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