At first glance, "Into the Black" looks like an awesome episode that leads into an exciting fourth season. The episode ends on two cliffhangers which leave all the characters in difficult situations. But we also have to consider the way in which the writers handle cliffhangers. Every season ends on a cliffhanger, and there was even a cliffhanger in the middle of this season. Always, the cliffhanger suggested that the world was on the brink, and always, everything returned to normal after a while. Will this time be the same?
That said, I'm going to hold judgment on this arc until the fourth season. "Into the Black" ends in a manner that should be sufficiently thrilling for anyone. Worth's machine has destroyed Praxis, and, in turn, abnormals are coming out of Hollow Earth at an alarming rate. As Will and Henry find out at the end of the episode, there are several invasion forces with thousands of abnormals. Meanwhile, Magnus and John head into Hollow Earth to find Worth, kept alive by John for a second time. He's created a rift and is trying to go back in time to the year his daughter died. At the end of the episode, Worth succeeds, but Magnus follows him and ends up in the past.
I have problems with the episode, though, specifically the use of Edge. From the promos, it seemed like Syfy really wanted him to get exposure so more people would watch. It also meant that he had a lot to do in the episode, antagonizing people and almost killing Will. However, his character is badly developed and hardly critical to the episode, other than providing a distraction, that a large part of the episode is wasted on him.
Score: 8.7/10
