Ed makes a big decision. Danielle and Gordo have their own struggles to contend with as they continue their preparations for the mission to Jamestown.

Picking up literally the morning after that massive emotional scene in the Baldwin household in the previous episode, this instalment starts on a surprise that’s more muted in execution but no less seismic for all that, and which proves that Karen Baldwin really is a quite remarkable woman. It’s been clear to several people and the audience that despite his protestations, Ed Baldwin is not happy to sit behind a desk for the rest of his NASA career. Perhaps the only person it remained unclear to was Ed himself, and it’s fitting that it takes Karen to say it to his face in a way that he can’t simply ignore.

Meanwhile, Gordo is starting to have a few issues with his ongoing preparations for the Jamestown mission. For all his bluster, and his excellent performance in all the basic training, getting on with his homework etc, there are certain elements that can’t simply be breezed past. A fitting of his space suit leaves him a little shaken and then later when at the bar an incident with some ants provokes him further. Gordo really nearly lost it completely the last time he was in space – the drinking and the fact that he never went back are testament to this. Perhaps his initial response to Ed’s naming him on the programme was the right one?

And speaking of people living in the shadow of those events nearly a decade previously on the moon, Danielle is having some issues of her own. Though she might not have admitted it to herself to this point, an encounter with her husband’s prickly sister reveals some cruel home truths to her. Thanks to her carrying the can for Gordo all those years ago, despite the people in charge knowing the truth, her career has stalled. She’s clear-eyed enough to know she started as a token inclusion on the programme, but she’s worked hard, she’s been the first African-American woman in space and it’s about time she was more than just someone riding shotgun on a mission to Jamestown. Knowing that and making it happen are two separate things, but perhaps fate will intervene…

Elsewhere in the episode there are some quiet moments and nice surprises, not the least of which is that Tom Paine is not perhaps the cynical political operative he takes great pains to appear to be. Learning his background and the reasons why he chose and continues to choose to be a part of the NASA programme is a welcome bit of background that we didn’t know we needed until it’s right there in front of us.

As the episode heads towards its close, Ed’s pushing of Gordo to get over the limitations his state of mind are imposing on him backfires in an unexpected and dramatic way. A way that leaves us watching the end credits impatient to see exactly what will happen next.

Verdict: A quieter episode than last week, but a powerful one nonetheless. 9/10

Greg D.Smith