The Ark 2×10 Review: “It Should Have Been You”

The crew of Ark-1 attempts to move forward after tragedy in “It Should Have Been You.”

After Spencer’s (Reece Ritchie) surprising death at the end of “Cycle of Violence,” the rest of the crew struggles to move forward in “It Should Have Been You.” With Eastern Federation Captain Avega (Daniel Fathers) fully recovered from his transplant, Sharon (Christie Burke) addresses everyone about the new peace agreement between Ark-1 and the Eastern Federation, with a moment of reflection about how it cost Spencer’s life.

Between Sharon’s eulogy and the main crew toasting to Spencer in a heartwarming scene afterward, the episode thankfully gives some time for the characters to grieve before immediately jumping into the next crisis. Elsewhere, Angus (Ryan Adams) and Alicia (Stacey Read) realize that life is short and have sex for the first time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as well as either had hoped. The awkward, yet realistic subplot adds a bit of levity to the emotionally heavy episode.

As Sharon deals with a power struggle between Trust (Paul Leonard Murray) and a newly reinstated Eva (Tiana Upcheva) in engineering, an electric shock knocks out her, Spencer’s clone Ian, and Dr. Marsh (Jadran Malkovich). The three are thrust into a coma with a shared dream that has them as the only people aboard Ark-1.

When Dr. Marsh wakes up first, Sharon and Ian are left to bond, fall in love, get married, and grow old together as the years alone on Ark-1 pass. Though it doesn’t have the same emotional weight as seeing Sharon and Spencer together, it still provides an interesting and compelling storyline as Sharon continues to struggle with Spencer’s death and the continued presence of Ian.

Upon waking up, Dr. Marsh reveals that he was one of the first people that Maddox experimented on. His dormant augmentations are reactivated as he is pulled out of the coma, and Dr. Kabir (Shalini Peiris) concludes that the only way to save him is to surgically remove his brain implant. Dr. Kabir initially doubts her ability to perform the surgery without Dr. Marsh’s assistance but ultimately succeeds.

The best storyline of the episode involves James (Richard Fleeshman) struggling to fill Spencer’s role as second-in-command. Both Eva and Dr. Kabir become annoyed with his attempts to micromanage, leading to a heartfelt talk with Angus about knowing when to trust others to take the lead. Angus also takes the opportunity to ask for sex advice in the episode’s most humorous moment.

James takes Angus’ advice to heart, talking Trust into assisting Eva in engineering and telling Dr. Kabir that he has full confidence in her abilities to wake up Sharon and Ian. Dr. Kabir’s first attempt to wake up Sharon is unsuccessful, and they soon realize that her and Ian’s comas are linked. They are awoken simultaneously, and a brief handhold shows Sharon and Ian retained their memories.

Despite everything they’ve been through in the coma, Sharon pushes Ian away quickly. Though Sharon still struggles with Spencer’s death at the end of “It Should Have Been You,” the dream memories of living a full life with Ian will be hard to ignore going forward. With two episodes left in the season, it will be interesting to see how the aftermath of Spencer’s death continues to impact the crew of Ark-1.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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