Dark Matter Review: All The Time In The World (Season 3 Episode 4)
Dark Matter Season 3 Episode 4, “All The Time In The World,” proves that with the right writers and actors, time loop episodes can be a strong storytelling tool.
I have to hand it to Joseph Mallozzi, the co-creator/executive producer, who stepped into the writer’s role and knocked it out of the park with this time loop episode that not many could pull off.
What makes it even better is while the whole cast proves to be a force to be reckoned with, Anthony Lemke and Zoie Palmer hit the nail on the head with their comedic brilliance.
I’m going to take a moment and recognize that time loops a hard to keep the audience’s attention, and this trio makes it a completely legendary piece of work. Having a Groundhog Day episode such as this is a risky move, but I’ll go ahead and say it is one of the best time loop based episodes ever.
Anthony Lemke as Three gives us his strongest performance yet as we watch hilarious moments like singing with the Android in French and heart-filled scenes like reconnecting with Sarah. Three’s humanity really comes through in this episode and it is all thanks for Lemke’s exceptional work.
Three: Deja-do.. Over and over and over again.
The loop itself highlights some of the nuances of daily living on a ship, but also how that affects the different relationships each crew member creates. Solara and Adrian sparring, Three trying to find the right words to say to Five, and even some light-hearted moments for Two, which is a nice change of pace.
While the beginning of the episode focuses on Three’s story line, the latter half focuses on the Android’s time jumping sequence, which dumps a whole bunch of information on us.
Zoie Palmer is superb as her sequence takes us from what could be her origin story, to the future where she and future Five discuss everything that happens to the crew. We know the Android is loyal to her crew, so she destroys the device per future Five’s instructions.
One of the highlights is the dynamic storytelling. Three in a constant state of looping while confronting his past, so he finally visits Sarah. The Android meanwhile has been trying to change her future, yet her time jumping allows us to see what could be part of her past origin story.
The focus is on Three and Android, but the rest of the crew never fail to have an influence on the events that play out.
Two takes a back seat as the story driver, and it’s a nice change of pace to see her support her crew. Her faith in them comes through when she believes Three and comes up with a plan to capture Ryo’s hired assassin, and even more importantly when she states that Five can take care of herself while they start to execute the plan.
It is nice to see Melissa O’Neil portraying a light-hearted version of Two. It showcases the complexities of this character, as she takes her focus off of seeking revenge and more on being a supportive leader for her crew.
Speaking of the crew, looks like Solara and Adrian will come in handy… well Solara more than Adrian. Solara kicks butt as she fights Ash, though she ultimately loses to the assassin. Have no fear because Two comes in with the paralyzing gun again and Ash ends up phased into the wall.
Three: Talk about abs of steel.
The good news is that they get the information they need to hide their location from Ryo tracking them again. The bad news is now they have a man stuck in their walls.
Five meanwhile is sulking, and after multiple attempts Five finally gets her to cheer up. But Jodelle Ferland kills it as Future Five! She spouts off a list of very bad things that happen to the Raza crew to Android and urges her to destroy the device.
Future Five: Not a happy ending for everyone, but a positive result for the rest of the galaxy.
Speaking of not a happy ending, Ryo is dealing with the double blow as Ash failed and the Raza crew found a way to block the Blink Drive’s signal. He is speaking to an older woman in a contraption, but who is she?
Stray Thoughts:
- Natalie Brown and Anthony Lemke’s chemistry in the time loop scenes are both heartbreaking and hopeful. It let Three process his feelings without having to hurt Sarah – something I think many wish we had the opportunity to do
- Adrian surprised me with trying to help save Three which shows he is less selfish than his predecessor
- Future Five’s wardrobe was fleek. Props to Noreen Landry and the wardrobe team!
- Both Palmer and Lemke speak fluent French so it was nice to see this bonding moment utilize their talent.
What did you think of this episode of Dark Matter? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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Dark Matter airs Fridays at [8/7c] on Syfy.
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Hillary Esquina
Hillary is television fanatic and spends most of her free time talking about all things television and pop culture, even if it’s just with baby padawan (her son) and her wife. Her current day job is working within the nonprofit sector, and she is pretty much in love with any show that has strong female characters. Never one to be boxed into any sort of genre, her show preferences range from Wynonna Earp and Dark Matter to One Day At a Time and Modern Family.