Review: Final Space “Descent into Darkness”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

AVA has tracked the fifth key to the planet Rugaro which is slowly being devoured by the dark zone. Gary’s semi-evil mom and that guy Todd are also orbiting the planet with the other four keys hidden in the belly of his ship. And since Gary has amassed such a tried and true team, they decide to kill five birds with a single stone by nabbing all the keys at once.

Gary, Nightfall, and HUE go after Sheryl and the fifth key, while Ash, Little Cato, KVN, Mooncake, and Tribore’s renegade forces take on Todd and his army of fluffy, yet dangerous, little critters. Gary recruited Tribore because the team needed the extra firepower with Fox incapacitated, and also because Tribore hasn’t been around for a few weeks and the show apparently needs to reach an arbitrary quota.

Before they take off, AVA merges her consciousness with HUE to experience what it’s like to have a body. She appears to be some sort of adrenaline junkie, diving directly into danger. This rattles old, cautious HUE, straining their relationship—until things get kinky. With their bodies merged, they share a gross, sexual oneness that extends throughout the episode and gets more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

The scavenge for the four keys goes off without a hitch. Tribore’s people execute most of Todd’s army while Team Crystal Light rushes to the ship’s epicenter. The core is hot to the touch, but KVN—who remains downright insane due to his heroics last week—jumps right in and nabs the keys with only a slight assist from Mooncake. Meanwhile, Tribore squares off with Todd, who (surprise) is not very tough. Using his decadent fighting skills, the many-eyed Resistance leader straps Mr. Todd into one of his own dream chambers and shoots him into space.

The mission for the fifth doesn’t go quite as smoothly. Sheryl proves to be a much more challenging opponent and Gary pulls his punches because of his lingering feelings. But when she takes her non-lightsaber—which is basically a lightsaber—and threatens Nightfall’s life, Gary sticks up for his friend by non-fatally stabbing his mother.

Gary spares her life because she’s the only mom he’ll ever have. That means something to him, even if it means nothing to her. Sheryl, on the contrary, vows to escape, get her revenge, and finish her mission—so long as KVN doesn’t drive her bananas, first.

 

Our Take

Things are getting interesting. After a poignant talk with his mother, Gary now understands and even sympathizes with her true motivation. For months, Gary has been on a mission to save Quinn, and yet he still burns a candle for his old man. With this new information, he might have to ultimately decide between the woman he loves and his father. That would really suck.

Having Fox practically healed by the end of the episode really diminished the stakes of having him incapacitated in the first place. Early on, Ash was beside herself, worried that Fox might not survive, even though KVN thoroughly saved his life last week. Therefore, it seems the only reason for him to be bedridden was to give the writers an excuse to include Tribore. And while it has been well-established that creator, Olan Rogers loves Tribore, his appearances would be much more effective if they occurred organically.

Gary experiences true doubt after his adventure on Rugaro. Until now, he just assumed Bolo was good and that everything he said was truthful. However, one word from mom and one scenario that involved his beloved dad made him question everything. Who is Bolo anyway? Didn’t Quinn vouch for him? If so, what did she know about him beyond what she had been told? Either way, the team is going to confront Bolo, and only time will tell if they’re making a huge mistake.

The AVA and HUE body merging stuff was weird. Was it supposed to be weird? I think so. If so, job well done, because it is super weird. For now, it seems that HUE is more comfortable as a ship and AVA appears more comfortable in a body. Maybe a switch is coming before season’s end.

I’m really starting to like Sheryl. Sure, she’s no good. But that’s what makes her great. She’s a flawed, bitter person who is very authentic. Unlike her son who uses a constant barrage of optimism as a defense mechanism, Sheryl is raw and human to a fault.

Finally, I want to mention how insane it is that the Rugaro aliens call it the “Fifth Key.” Up until now, Gary’s team has been arbitrarily numbering them. They referred to this one was the “fifth” because it’s the last one they heard about. Which begs the question, were those aliens breaking the fourth wall or do the keys actually have specific numbers? Too bad we can’t ask the Rugaro natives because they’re all extremely dead.