Spoilers

[NB We are running this review earlier than normal – please be aware that there is discussion of the key plot points from throughout the episode]

Mars’ latest surprise inhabitant may be a problem for everyone else. Kelly’s complications force some desperate measures to get her back to the Phoenix in time. Jimmy finally starts to see the true nature of his new friends. Ellen deals with the repercussions of her announcement. The net closes in around Margo.

Holy hell, this is how you do a finale episode to a genre show. Specially feature length at just under an hour and a half, this one packs so much into that time that you will feel breathless by the end, and you’ll be literally on the edge of your seat at every new development.

On Mars, Dani and Kuznestov are confronted with the reality of another human being on Mars. One who in fact may have got there before anyone else, and who has been living alone since he landed. The first part of the episode shows his landing, the reasons for his being alone, and his dogged determination to keep reporting back to a mission control who aren’t responding. Small wonder he’s not in the best frame of mind for visitors, and now he’s been discovered, the question becomes what to do with him?

Back at Happy Valley, Kelly’s condition is deteriorating and the need to get her off the surface and back to the Phoenix is more pressing than ever. The problem is that the MSAM is nowhere near being fully fuelled and they can’t make that process go any quicker. Once again it’s down to the boffins at NASA and their Helios and Russian counterparts to work out a solution to an insurmountable problem. Once again they manage it – just – but the idea itself is literal wing and a prayer, and may mean that someone isn’t coming back at all.

At Helios, Karen wrestles with the idea of taking Dev’s job, and a visit to see Wayne for some advice ends up with her opening up to Molly, of all people. Molly’s advice is typically blunt, to the point but also insightful, and reveals something to Karen she may never have been able to admit to herself. Even so, taking Dev’s company away from him won’t be an easy matter.

Speaking of Molly, she’s putting out fires all over the place this week as she gets called back to NASA to help advise on the really dangerous bit of the plan to get Kelly home. It’s a genuine pleasure to see her back where she belongs, and even Margo seems genuinely happy to see her old sparring partner return. But the folks on Mars won’t be the last asses Molly saves before the credits roll.

Having had the beans spilled on her to an FBI agent, Margo is made aware that she is under investigation by the US authorities, who will close in soon. Noticing Aleida’s distraction at exactly the time it isn’t needed, Margo takes her to one side and assures her she’s aware and that they’ll talk about the whys and the wherefores once the current crisis is over. A call from Sergei does nothing to lift her spirits either.

President Wilson, having announced to the world that she’s gay, finds herself in exactly the kind of position she always feared. Her Vice President is not unsympathetic, given who he is and his background, but he’s not exactly comforting either, basically telling her he’ll protect her legacy by ushering her out of the door before she can be impeached, and taking over himself. Sad to see, as I’ve said before, that even in this semi-utopian vision of the future, institutionalised, large-scale homophobia remains the same as ever. Still, at least there’s one, crucial fence she may have mended.

Jimmy is on yet another errand for his new friends, but finally realises exactly what sort of people they are when he sees something they didn’t mean for him to see. Trouble is, he’s in so deep now and not exactly great at lying or indeed much of anything. As he tries to do the right thing for the first time this season, it genuinely hurts as you realise that it may well be too late.

Back on Mars, as Kelly and her pilot get ready for their long shot, Danny chooses exactly the wrong time to come clean about his role in the drill incident. The response is much as you might imagine, and the eventual punishment meted out to him seems fitting.

As I said in the opening, it’s a breathless episode with so much going on and so many shocks that you’ll barely notice the extended run time as it heads into its final twenty minutes. The series of events which unfolds is tectonic, and means that the board is going to be significantly re-set for the next season. Every performance is fantastic, every storyline gripping and every emotion felt as we head inexorably to the final montage presaging what comes next, and there’s irony as well as sorrow and uncertainty as we head forwards to 2003 and a world that’s very, very different.

Verdict: An absolutely stunning finale to what has been possibly the best season of the show to date. 10/10

Greg D. Smith