In the wake of the shooting on the lunar surface, tensions rise on Earth as the Russians seek to assert their moral and physical authority over the situation, leaving NASA no choice but to respond.

I wasn’t a fan of the way last week’s episode was done, especially the conclusion which relied heavily on highly trained, exhaustively screened people doing very stupid things. That said, this week they manage to salvage some decent drama out of that train wreck, even if there’s an uncomfortable level of jingoism to proceedings.

On the moon, with one cosmonaut dead and the other critically injured, the staff at Jamestown are racing to save his life. A visit from his comrades to see for themselves the state of the casualties is tense, almost resulting in an international incident all of its own. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when the injured Cosmonaut finally wakes up and surprises everyone.

Back on Earth, the Russians take the opportunity to grandstand about American immorality and aggression as might be expected. As the international game of brinkmanship continues, missions are moved up the schedule and all parties are forced to consider the real possibility of open conflict in space. This is where the episode starts to get a little much for me. The narrative of the show has always been about conflict between the Russians and the Americans, of course. But this is the first time the show has really started to get to the point of unambiguously colouring in the Russians as villains and it doesn’t sit well, especially given the setup of how we got to current events in the show. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but it just doesn’t feel quite right.

Despite all of this going on, the Apollo-Soyuz mission continues as planned, but against the backdrop of it all, it’s difficult to see that this will go off without any complications. Margo in particular has plenty to worry about, knowing that she is responsible for the Buran’s issues being resolved – again another example of the angle the show is taking with regards to the Russians here.

While all this is going on, everyone’s personal lives are also getting increasingly complicated. Ed and Karen have some serious issues to work through, but the timetable of events isn’t in their favour. Pam is increasingly aware of just how much Ellen is being pulled away from her by the direction of events. Molly is struggling with the reality of her medical condition and clutching at some very suspect straws. And on the moon, even amidst all the stuff going on, Gordo is still intent on getting his girl back.

The episode elects to end on another explosive cliffhanger, and honestly it’s the kind that will make you want to watch the next episode immediately. One more episode to wrap all of this up? It’s going to be a wild ride.

Verdict: A tense and mostly well-executed penultimate episode which sets up an explosive finale. 7/10

Greg D. Smith