‘The Ark’ Recap: ‘We Weren’t Supposed to Be Awake’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE ARK -- "We Weren’t Supposed to Be Awake" Episode 104 -- Pictured: (l-r) Ryan Adams as Angus Medford, Richard Fleeshman as Lt. James Brice, Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet, Reece Ritchie as Lt. Spencer Lane -- (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘The Ark’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
It is definitely safe so say, that the ending to last week’s episode of the SYFY series, The Ark, left the fans in quite the hopeful place. Because after several weeks of squabbling and infighting and all around not working together… the crew of Ark One finally figured out that they were stronger united. Which allowed for them to solve the water crisis aboard the ship and move the ship out of harm’s way when a comet came barreling down upon them. A finale that more or less made it seem as though brighter days were finally ahead for this crew and that this unity might last and well, the next episode in this storied saga informed the crew and its loyal audience… that might not be the case. 
​
Which took us by surprise since ‘We Weren’t Supposed to Be Awake’ reinforced the positive we experienced last week, early on. Because everyone had plenty of water to drink and bathe with at last and there was enough to re-fire the engines and get this ship moving toward its destination once again. Plus, the garden was growing, and it just seemed as though peace was settling over the ship. But alas, what Lieutenant Lane discovered at the end of last week, wherein there was video footage of Sharon violently murdering a person… broke the calm when she was placed under arrest and subjected to interrogation and that led to quite the surprise for the audience.

In that, at long last… we finally received some answers regarding her mysterious past. Because Sharon needed to exonerate herself and the truth was the only way to make that happen, and it turned out that Sharon wasn’t a murderer as we and Lane were led to believe. Instead, she was… a science experiment. A clone, in fact, and she was created to study the impact of long-term space travel on the human body and whether or not… mankind could be upgraded for the long voyages ahead. Which is why she was given Tardigrade DNA and while she did fine with that integration, her twin did not do well with what science subjected her to, and that made her violent and impulsive, and she was the one that committed that murder while Sharon was halfway around the world and sadly, she eventually ended up dead. Which was enough truth and proof, for Felix to let her go and her release could not have come at a better time.

Simply because, a strange affliction washed over the crew. For everyone was suddenly having wild hallucinations about family members left behind and coworkers and lovers gone, and that… led to serious trouble. For the crew wasn’t able to perform their duties and the mental degradation that came with that, led to bursts of violence and seizures, even. Not to mention, the crops were starting to die and well… Angus figured out along the way, that the water was the problem. And science confirmed that microbes were indeed present in the water and impacting the mental and physical health of the crew and oddly enough, Sharon was the key to saving the day. Since her Tardigrade DNA was resistant to those microbes and with a little bit of her blood being made into an serum… the madness ended, the water could still be consumed, and life seemingly went on… for the time being.

Because this is a story that knows how to close one chapter of mysteries and open a new one in its stead. As evidenced by the fact that Baylor’s hallucinations involved some kind of secret and uncomfortable mission given to him from the late Commander Susan Ingram and of course… what Angus discovered about the frozen goop that nearly ended Brice’s life… was stunning to say the least. Since it implies that perhaps, this crew and humanity are not alone in the void and are being warned by extraterrestrial life to stay on their side of the galaxy. Which is a game changing revelation if legit, and all of these elements are what hint greatly at trouble ahead and more struggles to test this crew, and well… all this magnificent and engaging episode does, is leave us eager for more of this incredible journey and the amazing revelations that await us in the depths of space. Until next time.

---

Powered by JustWatch