The Ark 1.5-1.6: More than One

I thought I'd review episodes 1.5 (on last week) and 1.6 (on tonight) together, because their stories are closely connected, or, more closely connected than usual.

[Of course, spoilers ahead ... ]

There were two big reveals at the end of 1.5:  Baylor (well played by Miles Barrow, who was also good in The Peripheral,  another excellent, very different new science fiction series) is the killer, and he steps up to save The Ark but actually to protect William Trust.  A good character name, if you think about it.  What's his name?  Will Trust.  Obviously, a pivotal character, but will you trust him to do what's right for The Ark, or in the crew of The Ark's best interests?

Probably not.  And in episode 1.6, we find out, also at the end of the episode, that there's another Ark out there in deep space.  At least, it looks like an Ark.   And we see this after we learn that it was Trust's intention to get out to Proxima B on Ark 5.

So, is that starship Ark 5?  And, if it is, did it somehow go through a black hole or some time loop in space which sent it back in time, which is how first The Ark would encountered it tonight? Starships with humans encountering other starships that have travelled backward or forward in time with humans -- alive or dead, or sometimes starships of human construction but with no humans -- is not a new theme in interstellar starship stories.  Star Trek has had stories like that.  And, come to think of it, so did my 2001 novel, Borrowed Tides.

The Ark has now moved into an excellent science fictional niche of weekly different crises with an underlying foundation of a much bigger, more profound story, being revealed so far in just glimpses and intimations.  Works for me, and I'll see you back here soon.

See also The Ark 1.1: Worth Watching ... 1.2: Why I'M Enjoying It ... 1.3: Asteroid and Comet ... 1.4: Hallucinations

a second ship around Alpha Centauri, too