Intergalactic – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Skeleton Crew

Episode 3 of Intergalactic Season 1 begins with the group confused over who Emma Greaves is – and why she’s aboard. Will we find out?

Well, the group are interrupted by Tula arriving with big news. There’s something wrong with the Hemlock, including power fluctuations and the fuel levels registering as severely low. With the ship running out of juice, Verona informs them all that they have around 10-12 hours left before they’re in serious trouble.

Ash decides to seek sanctuary in a place called NAR-59. While they head down to get a couple of fuel rods, Tula calls on Emma to help show the location to Arcadia. When Emma finds out about Ash, she demands the girl be aboard when they head there, remaining tight-lipped around why.

Down on the planet, Echo, Verona and Ash head out (without any spaceport again) and sneak their way inside the base. Evading the drones, the trio don new uniforms (well, Verona refuses) and thank their luck that there’s only a skeleton crew operating inside.

They head inside a security room and hold a guard there up at gunpoint. With him indisposed, Verona and Echo both head off to put their plan into action. Ash meanwhile, takes the opportunity to speak to this guard privately. She asks him to play ball until an opportune moment and then phone HQ to let them know their location. Ash tells him she’s working undercover. Unfortunately Verona sees him move to the console and shoots the man in the head.

Unfortunately, more bad news comes in. A distraught Drew breaks the news that he’s been trying to fix the ship but has made things worse. They have very little time left.

Echo decides to leave, but Ash stops him, telling the man ironically “You may be able to let everyone die but I can’t.” Just another friendly reminder here, Ash killed two ships full of people in episode 1 and hasn’t bat an eyelid since.

Back on Earth, an explosion rocks the building as Rebecca and the others scramble to find out what’s happened. In the midst of all this, Wendell breaks free and escapes. It looks like it could well be an inside job.

Rebecca scans the area and eventually finds Wendell outside, heading North. They hold off actually apprehending him though, as Rebecca watches him on the monitors to find out what he plans to do. He’s due to meet his son Max, as it turns out, but Rebecca intercepts that family reunion. They’re both captured, leading to a pretty tense few minutes.

This is enough to loosen Wendell’s lips. It turns out he’s part of Operation Angel, a mission to make sure Ash is aboard the Hemlock. Wendell hands over a strange chip from his neck, giving it to Rebecca which seems to hint toward who his handler is. When Wendell runs back to be with his son, Rebecca gives the orders to shoot on sight.

Back on the ship, Emma confronts Tula about her attitude and reminds her that the more she pulls the leash on Genevieve, the more she’ll push away. While they talk, Echo, Ash and Verona head back to their ship with the crucial supplies needed after a tense few minutes underwater.

When they finally head back on the move again, Ash learns more about the Commonworld she’s come to believe are so saintly. It’s pretty obvious by now that the authorities – and her Mother – aren’t who they say they are.

Verona sits with Ash and reveals the harrowing truth about her past, including how soldiers marched down her road and hurt her family. Quite why is another matter, something I’m sure we’ll find out across the season.

On Earth, Rebecca contacts Wendell’s handler. Using a hologram, she comes into contact with a man called Yann. It turns out he’s actually Ash’s Father. He promises to keep Ash safe and that Rebecca will never seen her again once he does.

The Episode Review

It seems clear by now that the Commonworld are anything but saintly. It seems likely that it’s going to be built up that actually the Commonworld are the bad guys in all this. If that comes to pass, the show hasn’t exactly been subtle in demonstrating that. It also doesn’t excuse Ash from blowing up two ships and killing thousands of people either. This is something that still hasn’t been addressed here.

Tula and Verona both get some good moments though, with more of their past slowly starting to be revealed across this chapter. It’s not perfect of course, and the exposition is a little heavy-handed, but it’s at least an improvement over the very bumpy ride we’ve had across the first two episodes.

The mission on NAR-59 is a nice distraction too, allowing our characters to split up. However, the three planets we’ve covered so far look very bland and not alien-like at all. The acting is still a bit wooden and Ash’s character writing is beyond abysmal; she’s a really difficult character to empathize with.

Still, as we approach the halfway point of this one, the mission for Arcadia looks like it’s in full swing.