Beacon 23 – Season 2 Episode 1 “Godspeed” Recap & Review

Godspeed

Episode 1 of Beacon 23 Season 2 begins with the confirmation of Aster’s death. Despite the hope that Halan would be able to save her, Aster is no more. Harmony announces her time of death, forcing Halan to jump at Kier. He has indeed lost a true friend with whom he grew so close over the course of Season 1.

Halan mercilessly beats Kier until he starts bleeding. Harmony compels Aleph to intervene and distract Halan. While he is doing so, the evil mastermind is challenged by Finch, who uses the machine in his neck to attack Aleph’s interface.

However, after bearing some damage, Aleph lets it become known who is the boss. He threatens Finch to stop as he starts torturing him. Finch collapses to the ground as Saldana and Kier bring him to bed. Somehow, they manage to stabilize him but Finch’s condition is deteriorating.

Kier suddenly starts feeling the repercussions of having taken a life. Aster is his first-ever kill and Kier gets a panic attack where he regrets what he did. Saldana tries to snap him out of this state by telling him this is in line with The Column’s big plans.

They still want to kill Aleph for what it would mean to the organization. Halan takes Aster’s body and puts it back in her sleeping pod. He is still recovering from the shock of her loss as Kier tries to apologize to him. Kier tries to reason with him about why killing Aster, although tragic, will save lives. If she had given Aleph access to the Artefact, he could have done unimaginable things with it.

Despite Kier’s warnings, Halan has made his decision. He will take the Amboyna and release Aster’s body to the nearest star to honour her memory. Aleph needs to find leverage against Halan since he is the key to unlocking the Artefact’s cryptic message. Before he leaves, Harmony suggests Halan align himself with Aleph. It might not be what he wants but it is the right decision.

Aleph breaks the news to Harmony that her assignment is now concluded. She was to act as Aster’s personal AI assistant and be her companion. Now, however, Harmony will have her debrief and soon be placed somewhere else.

Seeing her records, Aleph gains vital insights into Halan’s past to use it against him. When he brings up Commander Nielsen, Halan’s father, the former warrior turns against him. Aleph knows about the mission at the T6 Colony. He uses it against Halan, who agrees to go into the Artefact for Aleph. But he also has a secret plan…one that Aster made. He goes to Kier and brings up the issue of blowing up the QTA Mothership. He is playing both sides, which is a smart move.

Kier and Saldana are emboldened in their plans. Aleph is also pulling them up using his own algorithms to keep a check on everyone. He tries to get Saldana to disclose the names of the key organizers from The Column but to no avail. While Finch hooks himself to the beacon, Harmony distracts Aleph. They spot a sizeable dark matter heading their way, giving Halan and Kier enough time to load the explosives in Aster’s pod on the Amboyna. 

Going against Aleph’s plan, Halan decides to use the Amboyna to throw Aster into the Artefact and momentarily close it down. The Colmun’s terrorists watch nervously in anticipation of their mission becoming a success. As Halan tries to turn away from the Beacon, Aleph brings his ship back. He has gone berserk after his only chance at studying the Artefact being laid to waste by Halan. The terrorists also decide to “hit Aleph as hard as they can” before he kills them.

Their prophecy turns out to be true as Halan discovers their bodies. Aleph cut off their oxygen and declares that he had made a slight correction to his programming. He was earlier blindsided by Milan’s human instincts…but not anymore. Since Finch plugged into the Beacon, Aleph now has all the info he needs about Column and hunt the last member down across systems.

Aleph imprisons Halan at the Beacon for his betrayal and apparently kills Harmony for creating a distraction. 

The Episode Review

The season opener of Beacon 23’s new season works at an inconsistent pace. There is hardly any momentum in the first few minutes where we’re jolted by Aster’s death. However, we do expect her to be revived in some way or the other. Lena Headey’s star billing is too big of an asset to let go.

The rest of the episode doesn’t get better as once again, Aleph’s presence fails to spark life. I am very confused about why the characters tolerate each other to such an extent despite harbouring such opposing sentiments.

Harmony and Halan are the only likeable characters. You simply do not want to root for anyone else. The terrorists and Aleph are in the same boat when it comes to importance in the storytelling. 

Episode 1 of the new season labours to a promising conclusion. It might be good overall for the story in this season but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.