SDCC 2024: Dean Devlin & Christie Burke Break Down The Ark Season 2

Warning: SPOILERS for The Ark Season 2.

Since returning to SYFY on July 17, The Ark Season 2 has been full of close calls and unexpected twists. Ark One was severely damaged in the season 1 finale, and viewers were left pondering whether their favorite characters survived Proxima B’s explosion. While none of the main crew members died on impact, Cat, Sanji, and Angus were all badly wounded from the blast. Cat eventually succumbs to her injuries with Trust at her side, making her the first major casualty of the season.

The episode leads viewers to believe that Angus might meet the same fate until Kelly steps up and offers a blood transfusion. Much to everyone’s surprise, Angus heals at an impossibly fast rate and displays signs of superhuman abilities. It’s eventually revealed that Maddox experimented on her daughter, even going as far as to implant a fail-safe inside of her. Because of this, Kelly cannot remember many of the crimes she committed, and Garnet opts to keep her imprisoned rather than sentence her to death.

Screen Rant sats down with star Christie Burke and executive producer Dean Devlin at San Diego Comic-Con to chat about The Ark’s shocking loss, Kelly’s internal struggle, and what’s next for Garnet and Lane in season 2.

How The Ark Season 2 Goes Beyond Cat’s Death & Garnet’s DNA

Screen Rant: Cat’s death in the season 2 premiere came as a huge shock. Why was her parting the right choice?

Dean Devlin: Well, we knew that we couldn’t have everyone survive. It was just way too big of a disaster at the end of the season, and we thought it would be a huge cheat if everybody survived. We knew we had to take a few characters out, but it was probably the toughest decision we’ve ever had because Christina Wolfe is a fantastic actor and a terrific person. We loved having her with us.

But in the writer’s room, as they were discussing where to go with the character, it kind of had run its course. We were worried about [her story] becoming a joke; each week, the same joke. When making the decision, that was the character we had the least ideas for, and so we made that decision. It was a tough decision, but I think it had real emotional resonance for the start of the season and for several of the characters because it sends them in different directions.

Christine, Garnet’s tardigrade DNA played a major role in season 1. Have we learned the full extent of her abilities, or is that something the show’s going to continue to explore?

Christine Burke: I hope the show continues to explore it. I think there’s so much that we just don’t know about that whole scientific aspect of her. I know that Jonathan Glasner took that from a random thesis essay that he had read and was like, “Potentially this could come true.” And then literally two years later, it is coming true, which is just wild. I’m pretty sure that he’s a psychic, and I want him to give me some lotto numbers.

But I hope that we get to learn more about her strength and that aspect of her. I guess you’ll have to tune in and find out. There are a lot of secrets and surprises that happen that I think people are going to be really shocked by.

Dean, Kelly’s done a lot of horrible things, but the last few episodes show that there’s more to her than meets the eye. What can you tease about where her character is headed?

Dean Devlin: We’re going to learn a lot about her backstory that we didn’t know before. And while I don’t think it will ever excuse her behavior, it will inform us about her behavior and how she got to be who she is. She’s going to have some big choices to make over the course of this season, and the choices may not be the ones you expect.

I think having her on board creates a moral dilemma for Christie’s character. We talked about this early in the season, but at this point in the show, they don’t know how many humans are alive in the universe. So, despite the terrible behavior, Garnet doesn’t want to lose any more humans simply because there are so few. That whole character creates a lot of dilemmas about dealing with crime and punishment, and about dealing with empathy, so it’s a great character to have.

Christine Burke: I also think there’s something really beautiful about Kelly and Garnet’s relationship, which is Kelly really reminds Garnet of her sister. She was a clone who was bred to be as violent as possible, and I think we get to really see Garnet be the sister that we never got to see her be.

I think that’s something so genius that Dean and Jonathan Glasner created with that relationship, and I’m excited for audiences to see that journey of the two of them potentially fighting together instead of fighting opposite of each other.

What Awaits Trust & Lane Throughout The Ark Season 2

Screen Rant: Trust was introduced as a man of power and privilege, and he spent season 1 displaying a sense of entitlement. How will losing both his wife and Cat affect him?

Christine Burke: Not well. Not well. [Laughs] He’s kind of an unhinged character who I hope does the right thing. He and Kelly have very similar storylines, and I’m really excited for audiences to see a potential duo there, but I don’t think he handles it well.

He’s kind of like a petulant little child, and Garnet’s always like, “Sit in the corner and be quiet. When you’re needed, we will come to you, okay?” He has a lot to make up for. He blew up an entire planet!

In a recent episode, Lane and Gardner had a conversation about their past relationship. Given the implications of that scene, what can you tease about where we’re going next for their relationship?

Christine Burke: Ooh, I don’t know… I think that’s the tease. Let’s just say they have a beautiful friendship that could potentially become something else.

Do you guys have a favorite episode from this season that you’re looking forward to most?

Christine Burke: It’s hard. I had an answer right before you finished that, and then as soon as you finished, I was like, “Oh, but this episode’s also really good. But this one’s also really good.”

I think what I’ve been loving is what Dean’s been saying about this season. It’s really entrenched in the old sci-fi that everyone loves. There are major sci-fi storylines that we have this season that I think audiences are going to be so excited for. It’s really surprising.

For Garnet, my favorite episodes are probably 9 and 10. But I love episode 4, and then I’d say episodes 5 and 6, then 7 and 8… Just watch the whole season!

Has there been a wild fan theory that’s caught your eye? What’s the wildest fan theory you’ve read about the show?

Dean Devlin: I don’t really retain them, but I will tell you this: when you make a show, you put a lot of energy out. And it’s very hard for the energy to come back in. But I get an enormous amount of joy being on social media while the shows are airing and seeing what everyone is guessing. Sometimes they guess it right, and sometimes they guess it wrong – and sometimes when they guess it wrong, you’re like, “Maybe we should have done it. That’s kind of cool.”

But it’s just so rewarding, and the energy comes back to you, when you see how engaged the fans are and how much ownership over the show they take. Honestly, that’s kind of what Comic-Con is all about.

Dean Devlin Offers A Leverage: Redemption Tease

Dean, I do have one last question for you. What can you tease about the new season of Leverage: Redemption?

Dean Devlin: Bigger, wilder, crazier. And I will just tease this – the finale is unlike any Leverage episode we’ve ever done before, and it opens the door for brand new kinds of Leverage episodes that we’ve never explored.

About The Ark Season 2

“The Ark” takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. In season two, after the brave crew of Ark One reaches their destination and finds it uninhabitable, they must survive long enough to locate a new home for themselves and all the ships that follow.

Check out our other interviews with The Ark Season 2 cast:

Source: Screen Rant Plus

The Ark

The Ark is a sci-fi mystery series that follows the crew members of Ark One, a spacecraft seeking to find new places to colonize for humanity’s continued survival. When Ark One finds itself in the middle of a catastrophic event that results in a significant loss of life, the crew members must now survive with minimal supplies as they head to their destination and learn to fend for themselves as a team.

Cast

Christie Burke , Reece Ritchie , Richard Fleeshman , Stacey Michelle Read , Bryan Adams , Pavle Jerinić , Shalini Peiris , Christina Wolfe , Tiana Upcheva

Release Date

February 1, 2023

Seasons

1

Writers

Dean Devlin , Kendall Lampkin , Rebecca Rosenberg

Showrunner

Dean Devlin , Jonathan Glassner

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