Karen and Ed both struggle to cope in the wake of Shane’s death. The relief mission for Ed runs into problems which only escalate. Octavio is interrogated by the FBI. The Russians become more daring in their investigation of the US mining site on the moon.

In two perfectly contrasting scenes, this episode demonstrates the limitations of man in space, as one simple attempt at a basic piece of maintenance ends in high drama and one face-to-face, man-to-man confrontation ends a lot more quietly than one might expect.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Apollo 24 is en route to the moon to finally relieve Ed and bring him back home from Jamestown but wouldn’t you know it, there’s a small issue that gets in their way. Lucky for them that the Apollo 25 crew are good to go to come to their assistance and sort that problem out, ably commanded by Molly Cobb. What then unfolds is honestly some of the most emotional, gripping drama that I’ve seen in any recent TV show. There were tears, there was laughter, there was joy and despair. I challenge anyone to watch this sequence and not be put through an emotional wringer by it all.

Contrasting with all this adventurous derring- do, there is the awfully mundane matter of the FBI’s continuing investigations to find some sort of security leak at NASA, which bring them inevitably to Octavio, who unfortunately doesn’t look great as an illegal immigrant with a false social security number and a penchant for sneaking home discarded technical drawings for his daughter. It’s a terribly depressing scene to contrast with the amazing leaps into the unknown being made by brave men and women, as we watch this small-minded bureaucrat hound an innocent man on the basis of his race, but it’s a timely reminder that no matter how far forward humanity pushes, there are still baser instincts lurking in the background.

There’s also grief, which has consumed both Ed and Karen in the wake of their son’s death. For Karen, the total emotional collapse drives her to seek understanding and comfort with the last person she might have expected before. For Ed, it causes him to shut off from the whole world outside his own tiny universe up there on the moon. Things aren’t improved when he is confronted face to face with one of his Russian counterparts, and his not thinking clearly explains a lot of what unfolds next.

As the shortest episode in the series, it nevertheless packs an emotional heft and dramatic tension which somehow manages to outdo previous instalments. I imagine it would be easy to give into temptation on a project like this and make it sexier for the sake of it or utopianise an alternative future where the space race didn’t just peter out once the moon was reached. That the show does neither, dealing in gritty, realistic issues both in space and on the ground, is a testament to its writing. That I felt so many emotions so keenly while I watched it doubly so.

Verdict: The most stunning fifty minutes of TV I recall watching in some time. Emotionally draining in the best possible ways. 10/10

Greg D. Smith