The Ark season 2 premiere wasted no time in showing us the aftermath of that season 1 explosion. There were deaths, fights for survival, and major betrayal. Finding a new planet on which to settle the remnants of humanity is even harder than it sounds.
Speaking exclusively with WinterIsComing, stars Ryan Adams (Angus) and Stacey Read (Alicia) break down the premiere episode, "Failed Experiment," where Adams just got to just lay there while everyone else saved people and tried to repair the ship. They also tease some of the twists to come.
Ryan Adams talks feeling bad for Reece Ritchie (Lieutenant Spencer Lane) in The Ark season 2
I was so happy to find out that Angus would survive the series. He is such a valuable character, even if Maddox doesn’t think so. This is the guy who figured out how to grow new food when everything was destroyed in the initial hit that woke everyone up from cryosleep.
Adams started off by telling us what it was like just pretending to die while everyone else ran around to save him, others, and the ship: "I felt really bad for Rees , because there’s that one bit where I’m in his arms and he runs into Med Bay and has that bit with Strickland…I would be continuously slipping out of his hands as the scene went on. I’m clearly heavier than I look!"
"I think, from where we find him in episode 1, 2, and then obviously 3, he has a lot of panic attacks and nightmares…We find him in a really really really bad place, physically and mentally, because he has no idea what’s going on. He has no idea why he’s waking up in Med Bay or why Kelly’s standing right there when just before she was killing him…He’s got so many questions."
Alicia is an optimist turned pessimist this season on The Ark
Read talked about where Alicia is right now. Throughout the first season, she’s maintained a realistic view of the world because of her scientific mind. At the same time, she’s tried to remain optimistic. There must be a way to survive.
That seems to be changing in the season 2 premiere. Alicia points out that there is no way to change things to allow the whole of the Ark-1 crew on board Maddox's ship so everyone can survive. Of course, that is solved later, but Alicia can’t see a way past the data:
"You will start to se a bit more, I guess, pessimism from Alicia this season. She’s been through a lot/ The person she’s got really strong feelings for almost died, and everything from season 1 that’s happened. It’s a lot to take on. So I think going forward, you’ll see a lot of growth from her."
Alicia has certainly grown throughout the first season, and there’s more to come. This is a young woman who has been given an environment to speak out and show everyone how smart she is. She’s been supported by the leaders around her:
"She’s gonna stand her ground a lot more, speak her mind a lot more. But she has to find a balance with how she does that…She was this very timid, meek little girl coming into it, but she’s the smartest person there."
Read and Adams were some of the youngest actors on the series. Their characters are also the babies of the show. Like so many of the other actors, especially Christie Burke, the trajectory of the characters has mirrored their real lives:
"We kind of paralleled our character’s journeys, starting off as brand new, not knowing what to do, and then finding their fotting. Coming into season 2, we know what to do, but how can we grow even more? They’re still young characters; they don’t fully know themselves as people. They still have so many experiences, science fiction or just normal real life."
Get ready for new characters in The Ark season 2
Ark-1 will bring on some of the Ark-15 crew. This could threaten the fragile dynamic of the ship, but the new team members are needed to get Ark-1 back up and running. What has it been like for Adams and Read having these new people come in? “Everyone is super nice, super friendly, so talented. Being able to watch them act is really cool.”
Read focused on what it is like for Alicia: “I think Alicia takes a very practical stance towards it, you know.”
Take a look at the full interview below:
Now the crew is on Ark-1. Maddox not happy about the perceived betrayal of her crew, especially her daughter. We also need to find out more about Kelly, who could be the end of Ark-1 if Maddox just pushes one button. Is anybody safe?
The Ark season 2 continues to air on Wednesdays at 10/9c on Syfy.
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