Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union reach critical levels, as events on the moon, in space and on Earth all spiral out of control.

Last week’s dramatic final shot promised much for this week’s finale and boy, does this one deliver in spades. Specially extended to rough an hour and fifteen minutes, this final episode doesn’t pull any punches, ratcheting up the emotional stakes mercilessly in scene after scene until tragedy seems not just likely, but inevitable.

On the moon, the Russians have infiltrated Jamestown and taken its commander hostage, but they don’t have the rest of the base yet and they also don’t know that Gordo and Tracy are trapped where they had sneaked out together for a cigarette. As events continue to escalate, Gordo and Tracy are forced to watch helpless, with no way of intervening in what’s happening the other side of the airlock door.

On Earth, NASA remain blissfully unaware of what’s going on on the lunar surface, which means they’re increasingly baffled and frustrated as the Soyuz side of the Handshake in Space mission keep delaying the actual dock. Up in orbit, Danielle and her colleague are getting increasingly frustrated themselves, watching the clock tick down while they sit twiddling their thumbs.

And over on Pathfinder, Ed is not necessarily completely present for what could be the most decisive mission of his life, still in mental turmoil at the news Karen delivered to him before he left. With Buran lurking on the dark side of the moon ready to enforce the Soviet blockade against Sea Dragon, can Ed put aside his personal feelings and overcome the objections of his crewmates to do what must be done at the critical moment?

Back on Earth, there’s further drama for all concerned as events start to escalate. Karen and Kelly have some frank conversations, Margo learns the hard way that even Ellen won’t necessarily tell her everything all the time, and Aleida finds herself the unlikely centre of attention after a very fortunate snack break.

As the episode unfolds, it feels like every time there can’t possibly be anything else which could go wrong, something does. On the moon, this manifests as an additional problem for Jamestown which may render its loss to Soviet forces irrelevant if it isn’t handled, but the only people in a position to do so simply don’t have the tools for the job. Back on Earth, sirens sound and people head to underground shelters as it seems inevitable that war could break out between two nuclear superpowers at any moment – though I note that the standpoint of the entire rest of the globe merits not a single mention in all this.

It’s an adrenaline-soaked episode, full of emotional highs and devastating lows. It’s not afraid to kill its darlings along the way, and by the time we get to the final, gut-punching reveal before the credits roll, it’s almost too much to bear. The final shot during the closing credits gives us the time frame and destination of season 3 and honestly, I can’t wait.

Verdict: An explosive finish to what’s been a mostly very strong second season. Barring a few hiccups, this has been a hell of a ride and season 3 promises all sorts of excitement going forward. 9/10

Greg D. Smith