‘The Ark’ Recap: ‘The Other You’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE ARK -- "The Other You" Episode 204 -- Pictured: (l-r) Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet, Reece Ritchie as Lt. Spencer Lane, Stacey Read as Alicia Nevins, Tiana Upcheva as Eva Markovic -- (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘The Ark’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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If there is one particular question that has been haunting fans of the hit SYFY series, The Ark, over the past week… it would have to be, what happened to Lieutenant James Brice? For in the closing moments of last week’s story, ‘Anomaly’, the man just straight up disappeared in the literal blink of an eye, shortly after Ark 1 emerged from warp. Leaving all of us worried and nervous that the show might be taking another big swing here regarding the fate of a character, since we already lost Cat. Not to mention, the lack of stars and the lack of Ark 3 only added to that worry. Since it seemed as though the crew had gone from one rough situation to a worst-case scenario.

Thankfully though, this week’s episode wasted little time in answering those question and assuaging our worries, courtesy of a bevy of surprise moments. One of which involved the return of Cat. For while the crew was trying to figure out why the stars were gone and where Brice went in ‘The Other You’, Cat emerged from a cyro chamber with a new accent and outright confusion. Because she did not recognize the corridors of the ship and she firmly believed that William Trust was her husband, and well… that led Trust and Alicia to ponder upon the possibility that there two Ark 1’s sharing space via quantum entanglement and since Cat died in the universe we know, and Brice died in the other one (as Cat informed us) they filled the void in either universe, and the question was… how best to bring them home.

Which was the same question that Brice was asking aboard the alternate Ark 1, where he ran into a great deal of trouble. Because this iteration of the ship featured darker crewmates, and pure disbelief he even existed since he died a hero in this universe and left behind a love named Sharon Garnet. But thankfully, it featured a far kinder William Trust, who also figured out the entanglement issue and in doing so… figured out how best to reset the two universes, courtesy of a surprise attempt from Ark 1-Prime. For they tried to move their ship away, and alternate Trust came to realize that moving the ships in opposite directions would restore spacetime to its standard form and well, that idea worked and brought our heroes to their destination and returned Brice home and… let’s just get it out there now, this was a brilliant episode through and through.

In large part because of the alternate universe that it presented us and Brice with. Since it allowed for the cast to have a little fun and show off their acting range. All by introducing us to a vastly different Angus and Alicia, who never came to understand their potential. Plus, it was wild to see a kind William Trust, and a very energetic and science loving Lieutenant Lane. Not to mention, Christie Burke really shined here as the alternate Sharon. Since the alternate was truly a sight to behold. For this Garnet had no confidence and was filled with a grief so great it was incredible she was even able to function. And this is just something we don’t see in science fiction outside of Star Trek, and it was welcome here and handled in a magnificent manner.

As was the science for that matter. Since there were indeed some sound theories used to create this upside-down alternate universe, something this show is known for, but this… this was some next level science fiction writing for certain. The kind that really did offer up a supremely unique episode of this show. One that was able to have fun, keep us engaged and offer up some amazing concepts and of course… set the stage for potential conflict. After all, Kelly was gifted with control over her augmentations thanks to the alternate Cat and we are all now quite curious as to who exactly is docked over at Ark 3. But while we wait to see where that takes us, we can revel in one amazing tale. One that reminded us that this show can and will surprise us at its leisure, and it will be interesting to see what else this show has up its sleeve as season two continues along. Until next time.

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