What a rollercoaster ride “Going Out Fighting” was. Four and Nyx having sex, Three knowing about it, Rook returning, Two dying, Six saving Three’s life again and that scary-arsed thing inside of Three. Dark Matter managed to provide enough adrenaline fueled terror inside that stasis pod to last the whole season. But what about The Android? Was that a dream there at the end?

After last week’s collapse of Two, it was a foregone conclusion that Rook was going to make another appearance. (Of course it was signposted back in episode 204 “We Were Family” when the Dwarf Star Technologies station was sketched.) The smarmy villain that we love to loathe proved to be just as horrible as the first time he appeared.

The main story line was of Portia’s attempt to replace the nanites in her system. There is an underlying thread of Ryo/Four becoming fixated with returning to his home The Principality of Zairon. After learning of his parallel self ruling Zairon, Four has been watching reports of what transpires there.

He knows that without his previous memories he cannot return to rule. This may cause further problems for the skilled fighter.

Portia has a “tune up” performed by The Android so she can ascend the elevator to Dwarf Star Labs. It is temporary and if she does not get “fixed” properly she will die. Six and Three team up to help infiltrate the lab. Using retinal scan tech, the two men accompany lab technician Eric Waver (Jonas Chernick) to retrieve new nanites.

Sadly, Eric is dispatched after Rook catches the three men stealing the nanites. Three and Six are taken prisoner and Three has some tentacled thing put into him…

Two meets “Portia 2.0” who is, interestingly enough a male this time around, stronger better and more silent than she is. He matter-of-factly kicks Two’s butt and when Nyx joins the fray, defeats her quickly as well. He is about to kill her when Four intercedes with some well placed bullets and a thorough skewering with his samurai sword.

Portia dies.

Three is acting strangely since being introduced the the boxed thing while Rook was questioning him and does not react to Two’s death. Six takes blood from Portia 2.0 and injects into the dead woman. It brings her back to life. The new and improved nanites start work immediately repairing and replacing the old ones.

Back on the Raza, Three is tampering with the ship when Six confronts him. Three goes for his gun but is shot by Two. They put him in a holding cell and when Three wakes up, he begins an alien sounding roar until he is shot by Two, again.

The crew put him in a stasis pod and the thing inside Three starts pouring out of him and gathering on the transparent lid of the device. They move the pod near an air lock and after pulling Three free, space the creature left inside the pod.

Three is “cured” but The Android has an odd look on her face. She tells the crew she will be charging. Shortly after, The Android is shown waking up on a bed, wearing a nightgown, and there is a snowy wooded vista behind her. Is she dreaming?

First of all, “Dark Matter” reached new heights of fear in this episode. The black liquid escaping from Three, while making that unearthly scream, was damn near terrifying. (For some reason, it brought to mind The Thing, and that made it even scarier.)

In retrospect, it is unclear what was more frightening: The idea of the tentacle, the possession of Three by the intelligent, and screaming, thing that came streaming out of Boone in the pod or the fact that it turned the man into a ren sleep puppet.

Secondly, the odd behavior of The Android brings up a lot of questions. Is the scene at the end prompted by her new “upgrade?” Was it related to whatever the possessed Three was doing? Or was it triggered by using the blink drive after tinkering with it again.

The last theory seems a good fit. Could there be an Android in another parallel universe that is a nightgown wearing gal who has a dynamite bedroom? Or is this a world where The Android is a “real girl?” (Sorry could not resist the Pinocchio reference.)

While the blink theory is a favorite it does seem more probable that the upgrade is the real culprit here. The Android has been slightly “off” since the software was installed. Her stealing Five’s hot chocolate, while funny, was another sign that things are not quite right here.

Lastly: Do androids dream? If they do in this verse, it is not of electric sheep but king sized beds in a lavish bedroom…

Dark Matter continues to flow smoothly into new territory, with the odd jolt of characters dying or changing dramatically. While Six seems more like his “old self,” The Android is entering a new phase. This evolution of the quirky character should be more than a little interesting.

The series airs Fridays on SyFy and Space. Do not miss this brilliant show as it offers more in one episode than other shows provide in an entire season.

CAST:

Guest Starring Wil Wheaton as Rook

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