An international incident throws the whole Russia-US space mission into jeopardy, leaving Ellen in an unexpected new position and leaving Danielle and her colleague stranded in Star City.

This is one of those episodes where the show decides to intersect its narrative with actual historical events – in this case a particularly tragic event from the 80s which occurred at the height of the Cold War. By threading a prominent character into the centre of those events, the writers shake up the whole show, and the aftermath of this takes up most of the episode’s running time.

For Ellen, already dealing with personal worries and a family issue, it thrusts her into an even more demanding role at NASA which might cause her to have to re-evaluate everything she had thought herself so clear about. It’s clear from small glances by Pam and a stern pep talk from Larry that Ellen’s life might be about to change even more significantly than she had planned, though not in the way she’d intended.

For Margo, it means reaching out to her new friend Sergey to see if he can be of assistance in reaching Danielle and her colleague, suddenly radio silent in an inhospitable Russia. At the same time, Margo must balance her loyalty to her country and to the program with her instincts as a human being. This is a particularly interesting sub-plot, drawing to mind the facts of her mentor Von Braun’s own circumstances, and the choices he was found to have made.

For Danielle, it means staring at four walls, trapped in her apartment in Star City with no clue what’s happening, and nobody in a rush to tell her either. She also gets a knockout scene with a Russian engineer sent to speak to her. It’s here that we see who Danielle is and what she’s made of (and importantly, why she absolutely deserves that spot leading this mission, if there was ever any doubt).

For the marines on the Moon, it means stepping up their timetable to re-take the site taken over by the Russians, and that means that Tracy is going to have to step up and pilot them in. Open hostilities might be about to begin on the lunar surface.

Meanwhile in the background of all this, Karen finds herself the subject of attention on a professional and personal level, leading her to make some bold, and rash choices. On the personal level, this is one that has been bubbling under for a few weeks, and I am surprised at the specific direction it all ended up taking – it’ll be one to watch for sure.

Other stuff gets little screen time – Aleida pops up for a quick exchange with Margo on the nature of people and getting along with them, and Kelly gets some news about her real parents. Mostly, the big inciting incident, which literally happens before the opening credits, overshadows everything, and makes me think the ending to this season will be much less idealistic in many ways than the last.

Verdict: A bold episode threading real and major historical tragedy in with the characters and events of the show. 8/10

Greg D. Smith