Ram endangers the crew and the entire mission, leaving Emma to once again put herself in harm’s way. Back on Earth, Matt is faced with a stark choice on his road to recovery.

Apparently determined to use at least its first five episodes introducing us to each crew member individually with a bit of a peer into their past, as well as putting as many obstacles as possible in their path, Away combines the two in this instalment. Ram is taken desperately ill, and is found feverishly trying to open the airlock and escape into space. Emma of course has to hurl herself into the very path of danger again, continuing to do so as it’s revealed that he’s sick with something highly contagious.

Because the writers of this show apparently don’t believe in things like the laws of averages or how basic chance works, the specific scenario of Ram’s present illness is… not dissimilar to something which happened in his past. This informs both his general dazed state to begin with, as well as his response to the recognition that he’s ill and that his contagiousness represents a threat to the whole crew, trapped as they are in a sealed environment with him in deep space. It also throws up yet another example of the commander of a three-year mission to Mars not knowing fairly basic details about her crew. To say nothing of the people who planned this mission. Ho hum, a wizard did it, I guess?

Back on terra firma, Lex is struggling in a way she can’t even properly define to herself, and Emma and Matt earn awards for Most Suddenly Situationally Dull Because the Plot Demands It Parents 2020 with how they respond, each choosing to focus on a detail which – in the grand scheme of things means nothing – and failing to notice the big flashing warning sign telling them to leave it with an almost wilful recklessness.

This all adds to the difficulty facing Matt as he reckons with the prospect of passing his physical tests and returning home from the hospital. Faced with the reality of limited mobility lingering from his stroke, he needs to evaluate his priorities in terms of his desire to get home and keep a closer eye on his daughter or staying at the hospital to continue benefiting from 24/7 care and physical therapy. Of course, he makes the wrong choice because Situational Dumbness demands it for narrative reasons.

If it sounds like I hate the show, I honestly don’t. It has issues (oh boy, does it) but at risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s the cast who save it in spite of itself. Everyone here is genuinely committed to their role, and playing it absolutely straight in defiance of the ludicrous number of coincidences and inconsistencies in the plot. Swank is reliable as ever, but Ray Panthaki also really delivers a heartstring-tugging performance as Ram, and everyone else is never less than solid too. In spite of its many flaws, I can’t help but be caught up in the human drama of the thing.

Verdict: As the meta plot gets sillier, it’s the close in detail of the interactions of the characters and their various relationships to one another that keep you watching. Oddly compelling, almost in spite of itself. 7/10

Greg D. Smith