Season 2 Discussion

[jcin617]

So we have two American astronauts in the USSR (which, why were they apparently alone?  There would at least have been a CIA handler or two with them) at the same time the US is planning to retake that mine on the moon.   It seems like things can go sideways pretty quick.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Finally caught up on the last three episodes.

Episode 4
So Ed didn't answer to anyone? I was surprised he was able to put himself on a mission whenever he wanted.

Clayton's sister was pretty bitter. Understandable but still, I thought she was needlessly vicious with Danielle. It seems to have lit a fire under Danielle though.

Danielle gets command of the old tin can while Ed gets the shiny new Pathfinder. Rank has its privileges, huh?

Poor Gordo. Now he thinks he's hallucinating when he's not.

Ed wasn't doing too great with vehicles this episode. First the Vette and then the jet. Hope he doesn't jinx the Pathfinder.

Episode 5
Huh, I didn't think Tracy would get her drinking and partying under enough control to make it to the moon.

How sad that the moment of stepping on the moon becomes so commonplace that it's staged for video.

NASA: Things Happen. 🤗

Nothing like a good ol' can of glop for breakfast. Or was that chopped pineapple?

Guess life on the moonbase was too mundane for live Astronaut Barbie Tracy. I'm thinking they should've hooked her up with Letterman instead of Carson. Dave would've had her doing Stupid Human Tricks up there instead letting her be so full of herself.

Danny has to salute Ed in a non-official capacity? Ed pretty much watched him grow up.

Episode 6
They were confident in Margo's ability to make things not happen. That's pretty much the role of bureaucracy, lol.

I'm not a gun aficionado but I thought the white rifles the Moon Marines had were slick looking. Very chic accessoriesto their white spacesuits.

Tracy has finally found her niche on the moon.

Poor Kelly. Wonder if she's going to end up going back to Vietnam to try to find some of her biological relatives?

Yeah, why would the cosmonauts want to come all the way to the US to get served an approximation of the real Russian food they've been eating all their lives?

TMW you find out you weren't intended to be more than the sidepiece. I'm going to be surprised if Ellen gets her HEA with Pam.

Laika was that bitch. We owe a lot to her.

Aleida FTW!

400-year old wine? Bleh. I don't care what it tastes like, I wouldn't want that in me.

Gordo's going to the moon to get his woman back! Yee-haw!

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I'm not a gun aficionado but I thought the white rifles the Moon Marines had were slick looking. Very chic accessoriesto their white spacesuits.

Another nice touch was that the Marines' spacesuits got the traditional red stripe their dress uniforms have.

[Slider]

On 3/22/2021 at 5:00 AM, marinw said:

I bet Rracy is looking forward to Gordo being the new Linus.

But he won't be because he was one of the original Jamestown residents, meaning he's already been up there and won't be the Linus. 

I couldn't stop staring at the Russian guy meeting Margo at the club because he once played Pope John Paul II in a movie about his life growing up in Poland.  

The Ed family stuff has been so slow and boring for me.  We've had how many episodes and just now we get Kelly's adoption storyline?  I would have been ok with never getting it, and just accepting her as a full fledge member of the family.  But then again, I would have been okay without Kelly at all.  It's almost like the PTB decided "oh no, we killed Shane, but still need a family storyline, so lets magically come up with an adoption..." 

[xaxat]

I was in high school when KAL 007 was shot down. A couple days after the incident, we were discussing it in government class. There really was a sense of disbelief that the Soviets would shoot down a civilian airliner. Then the air raid sirens went off. In the brief moment before we realized it was a regularly scheduled test (tornado alley) I'm sure that everyone in that room thought it was all over. I do not miss the Cold War.

Danny's not too smart. Karen's hot. I understand the attraction. But starting an affair with the wife of an admiral while you are midshipman at Annapolis is mind boggling stupid.

8 hours ago, Slider said:

The Ed family stuff has been so slow and boring for me. 

I feel the same way about the Aleida plot. Her conversation with Margo was strange because every characteristic they ascribed to that engineer applied equally to her.

I will miss Tom. The show did a good job of fleshing out a character that originally felt like a stereotypical bureaucrat. And he was right about Ellen, she is a natural. I don't see her leaving NASA now.

Nice end run by Margo on the o-rings.

Edited April 2, 2021 by xaxat

[Slider]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

I was in high school when KAL 007 was shot down. A couple days after the incident, we were discussing it in government class. There really was a sense of disbelief that the Soviets would shoot down a civilian airliner. Then the air raid sirens went off. In the brief moment before we realized it was a regularly scheduled test (tornado alley) I'm sure that everyone in that room thought it was all over. I do not miss the Cold War.

I know in the moment those stories are terrifying, but I enjoy hearing about them in this day and age.  I am obsessed with Berlin - the airlift, the wall, the tension, etc. but if I had lived it more closely, I probably would be feeling differently.  Thanks for sharing!

Off topic: Fellow tornado alley-er here - Moore, OK.

[theschnauzers]

IRL, Rep. Lawrence McDonald was on flight KAL007, the NASA administrator was not. The location of the shoot down was accurate, although there was never an indication of a secret Soviet base. And there were multiple failures on both sides that led to the result, but the failure of the Soviet military aircraft or aviation control to contact the civilian aircraft before firing and the failure of the Soviet pilots to properly identify that it was a jumbo passenger jet were seen as the most immediate causes of the attack.

It’ll be interesting to see what the repercussions of the armed Marines being at Jamestown will have following the recapture of the mining site.

And Danny. Per IMDB, the actor is a main cast member for season two, and I suspect he’ll continue to be around. 

[marinw]

I was wondering about the Challenger!

Taking back the mining site seemed a little too easy.

[jcin617]

1 hour ago, marinw said:

Taking back the mining site seemed a little too easy.

There really wasn’t anything the Soviets could do to stop them though.  They wouldn’t even have heard them coming. Once they saw the Americans were armed running away was about the only choice. 
 

How would this not have major repercussions...

Edited April 3, 2021 by jcin617

[paulvdb]

I am concerned about Danielle. Could they not have waited a day until she was home safe before taking that moon base?

[CarpeFelis]

Seriously, Karen?!  Show, did you really have to go there? I know Ed can be a pain sometimes but wow... if I were married to Ed Baldwin I sure as hell wouldn’t even be LOOKING at Gordo’s kid!

Bravo to Margo, finding a way to alert the Soviets about the O ring. They may have been our enemies, but human lives were at stake.

I wonder how long the astronauts will be able to hold that mining site and whether there’ll be an(other) international incident over it. They were there first, but the Soviets would probably claim the entire moon was theirs since they made the first landing.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Wow, quite a twist of fate for Ellen. So much for the divorce I guess.

"Two Leaf," Greenland? Was the Thule base actually referred to that way or did I mishear the actor's pronunciation?

I'd never heard that cover of Don't Be Cruel before. As someone who was not a fan of Elvis, I liked it. Had a bit of a Neil Young vibe. (And as best as I've been able to determine, the version played in this episode wasn't the original one Swan released.)

Heh, Ed really benefited from Karen's guilt over kissing Danny. Danny better hope Ed never finds out what got Karen all hot and bothered that morning or his career will be over before he graduates from the Naval Academy.

So were the Moon Marines humming Ride of the Valkyries in reference to Apocalypse Now? I found it an interesting choice for a battle cry unless the producers were trolling the audience.

[jcin617]

Oh Karen.   While it's a few years after this time period, reminds me of the SNL skit Bad Idea Jeans.    I'm not sure how "Have affair with my husband's best friend's 19 year old son." works out as anything but utter disaster in her head.

Meanwhile, on the Moon - that went downhill fast.  I'm still not sure if it'll lead to "we have to cooperate more to avoid this kind of incident" or just increase the arms race on the Moon since now the Soviets will believe they also need to be armed.   My guess is the later... I don't know how Apollo-Soyuz would still be moving forward now.
 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

I'm not sure how "Have affair with my husband's best friend's 19 year old son." works out as anything but utter disaster in her head.

Right? Why would Karen want to risk having a slightly dented can of potted meat product when she's got a freshly cooked side of of beef at home? I know there are some issues with Ed but for the most part they have a solid marriage. Plus, Ed could destroy Danny's hope for a career as a naval officer, or probably any kind of military officer period. What's the attraction beyond forbidden fruit?

[CarpeFelis]

Argggh. Somehow I just knew it would turn out the cosmonaut wasn’t reaching for a weapon in the box. Guess this means Margo will have to say goodbye to her Russian friend...

Bill was dumb. I get why he stayed at his station in a crisis even though he needed to go pee. But when they were over China and out of contact FOR AN HOUR, there was plenty of time for a bathroom break!

WTF, Karen!!! Is she having some sort of midlife crisis or something? First she sells the bar on impulse, then she has sex with Gordo’s son. This is going to blow up in her face when Ed finds out and I have no doubt he will find out sooner or later.

The most enjoyable part of this episode was Gordo and Tracy’s talk in the airlock.

[xaxat]

The fact that Danny was willing to risk his career should have told Karen that he had more than a schoolboy crush.

I'm over the Aleida story. Bill should have fired her. And then Margo should have fired her. She may be a brilliant engineer, but NASA has its pick of brilliant engineers. I did like Bill's monologue though.

Now the Marines figure out how to shoot straight? Between KAL 007, the shooting and increasing tensions in Panama, the world really is on the brink of nuclear war. And Apollo Soyuz (assuming it happens) isn't going to change that. And with the arming of Pathfinder, are we headed to a dogfight in space?

The scenes on the lunar surface are my favorites. The suits look great and they do all of the details like mission patches and moon dust dirtying them so well.

A couple of weeks ago, I listened to an interview with the general in charge of the new Space Force. Interesting contrast between this show and how its playing out in our world.

 

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Wonder if Ellen is worried about increased attention on her life once she's the NASA administrator? Or maybe the Senate confirmation process will shine some lights where she'd prefer things to be kept in the dark. She'd definitely have to put the divorce on hold, perhaps indefinitely.

I was actually nervous when Gordo's flight took off.

What the heck, was Molly trying to die in that jet?

TMW you realize you're testing the Star Wars weaponry. Sally was definitely on the "I didn't sign up for this" track. I wasn't sure, did Ed have no idea?

Back in Black was the perfect re-entrance song for Gordo. He looked great.

Oh Gordo. That kind of earnestness is special and rare. At least Tracy didn't laugh in his face.

Margo's burgundy/oxblood Etienne Aigner pumps were a nice touch. Those were quite the rage in the 80s. The wardrobe people for this show are on point.

Bill. Meh. Must be hard to be both an unsung hero in your own mind and an OG neckbeard.

OMG, Karen. We were rooting all for you! 🙄 If she ends up pregnant in a WTD situation between Ed and Danny I am done. (Or is she too old for that now?)

Aw, ya gotta hate when your simple Mrs. Robinson scene suddenly turns into Fatal Attraction. Was Danny a virgin because his reaction was way over-the-top. Now watch that idiot tell Ed to try to bust up Karen's marriage.

Trigger-happy Americans about to start WWIII on the moon.

My favorite comment from reddit re Ed when he finds out about the tryst:

Quote

He's gonna nuke Danny from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure. 😏

[TV Anonymous]

I just realized something. Has Aleida become legal? If she has, how? If she has not, how the hell can someone without legal status pass the security clearance required for NASA? His father being illegal and able to work for NASA as a janitor and to collect classified materials were already a big suspension of disbelief. And now she herself an engineer?

The Aleida storyline was the weakest link in season 1. I was glad that it was terminated. I was unhappy when Margo visited Aleida, I am very unhappy with recent development.

[marinw]

6 hours ago, jcin617 said:

I don't know how Apollo-Soyuz would still be moving forward now.

A handshake on neutral Moon Ground would be a lot simplier, but even that option is off the table now.

I feel badly for Molly's husband. He has been so supportive this whole time.

I think Sally Ride is about to quit in disgust.

The last scene was really chilling. A big contrast to all the talky scenes down on Earth.

Edited April 10, 2021 by marinw

[Slider]

Not a science person, but why was the Russian cosmonaut on fire? Is it something to do with the bullet and his oxygen tank? What a horrible way to die. I knew it wouldn’t be weapons they were reaching for. The Marines were way to trigger happy.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Slider

[marinw]

11 hours ago, Slider said:

What a horrible way to die.

This is not going to help Gordo's Helmet-Related Claustraphobia, which he has finally gotton a handle on.

I saw season one of The Morning Show. All the computers on that show are Macs because product placement. On FAM I wonder if all the computers we see are era-appropriate  Macs. I am old enough to remember having a Mac simelar to Kelly's.

Edited April 11, 2021 by marinw

[Joimiaroxeu]

That's interesting about the Macs being due to product placement. In Houston around that time I would've thought they'd be using Compaqs or Dells. Maybe Apple had more historical stuff the show could use versus the other vendors.

[marinw]

On 4/11/2021 at 11:17 AM, Joimiaroxeu said:

Maybe Apple had more historical stuff the show could use versus the other vendors.

I remember hearing an interview with Ronald Moore, who spoke about how the prop people could not find any 1970's-1980's TVs anywhere, and had to reverse engineer some old computers.

Edited April 12, 2021 by marinw

[jcin617]

16 hours ago, Slider said:

Not a science person, but why was the Russian cosmonaut on fire? Is it something to do with the bullet and his oxygen tank? 

Yeah, my assumption was the bullet probably struck the metal of his O2 tank, and set the oxygen on fire.

[theschnauzers]

By 1984, Apple was selling their first PCs. I remember where there was an Apple store, one of my.uncles had one in his realty management company for bookkeeping. And that was the year of Apple’s iconic “1984” Super Bowl commercial. So the green droid monitor were accurate, color monitors weren’t more than a year or two away.

[TV Anonymous]

19 hours ago, Slider said:

Not a science person, but why was the Russian cosmonaut on fire?

The suit may be fed with pure oxygen. The bullet came in may have caused sparks if it contacted a metal part of the suit. Sparks and pure oxygen resulted in combustion.

[crazymadness]

Jeez, Karen.  I didn't like her most of season one but she grew on me.  Now I have to wonder what the hell is even going on in her head.  She says, "We need counseling".  No, dear, you need counseling.  Ed wasn't going on any missions till you pushed him to resume.  Now that he is, you are self destructing left and right.

Turns out, I was right after all.  I hate Karen. 

[marinw]

Well that escalated! War on the Moon sounds cool, but I'm sure it would be awful. That poor, chatty astronaut (blanking on the name) who I thought was way too young to be on the Moon. I hope Margo and her Soviet BFF can somehow salavge things.

The Soviets set things in motion when they put a woman on the Moon. But ALL the cosmonauts we have seen since have been male. Interesting.

Danielle quoting classic Star Trek gave me all the feels. 

So glad Harvey called Molly on her BS. There are many treatments for Glaucoma in our era, not sure how far the science was along in the FAM 1980's Universe.

One of the things I like about FAM is that I don't know who's side I'm on. The Soviets provoked the Americans by taking over thier mining site, but the Americans did not even attempt to negotiate.

Edited April 17, 2021 by marinw

[jcin617]

ETA, I was going to say that so far all the provocation has come from the Soviets - planting the spying device in the first American mine, planting the spying device inside Jamestown, seizing the American mining site...  but then I recalled Ed stealing the Soviet rover and kidnapping the Soviet cosmonaut.

I'm assuming the Soviet attack is an attempt to rescue the cosmonaut they think is being held against his will.   Margo wasn't kidding that wars have been started for less than the initial shooting.  A direct attack on a US base?   I'm not sure how this is going to be de-escalated.   Maybe Apollo-Soyuz will have something to do with that; Poole seems to really believe in the mission.

Edited April 17, 2021 by jcin617

[marinw]

1 hour ago, jcin617 said:

I'm assuming the Soviet attack is an attempt to rescue the cosmonaut they think is being held against his will

That's a great point! Who would want to defect the the people who shot him? Of cource Regan would grant the guy asylum, he would have a lot of knowledge about the Soviet base and other technology.

[marinw]

Pathfinder launching from a 747 (or a simelar aircraft) was cool. Does anyone here know why this wasn't done during our own Space Shuttle Era?

[crazymadness]

22 minutes ago, marinw said:

Pathfinder launching from a 747 (or a simelar aircraft) was cool. Does anyone here know why this wasn't done during our own Space Shuttle Era?

Not enough fuel.  Pathfinder is nuclear powered rockets (NERVA) instead of chemical propellant.  Our shuttle could never reach orbit off the back of an aircraft.

On the plus side though, our shuttle doesn't spread radioactive fuel into our atmosphere.

Edited April 17, 2021 by crazymadness

[TV Anonymous]

4 hours ago, marinw said:

Pathfinder launching from a 747 (or a simelar aircraft) was cool. Does anyone here know why this wasn't done during our own Space Shuttle Era?

It is not B-747. It is the C-5 Galaxy, the largest aircraft ever in the U.S. arsenal - civilian or military.

That kind of launch is never done, except for X-15s, because NERVA, or any other nuclear  thermal rockets has never been proved successful. Outside of nuclear thermal rockets, there is no other propulsion known to yield enough velocity.

3 hours ago, crazymadness said:

Not enough fuel.  Pathfinder is nuclear powered rockets (NERVA) instead of chemical propellant.  Our shuttle could never reach orbit off the back of an aircraft.

On the plus side though, our shuttle doesn't spread radioactive fuel into our atmosphere.

No, not because of the quantity of fuel, but because nuclear thermal rockets - which the NERVA is - yields much higher exhaust velocity than solid- or liquid-propellant rockets.

As for radioactivity, the nuclear reactor in NERVA is closed loop, it does not propel any fuel out. The reactor is to provide heat, which in turn is used to heat propellant, possibly hydrogen. The hydrogen itself is inert in this case.

Edited April 17, 2021 by TV Anonymous

[xaxat]

Lee Atwater. Didn't see that real life character coming.

Where the hell were the Marines? They should have established some kind of perimeter defense based on the situation.

Molly and Wayne is by far the best relationship on the show. Their scenes are so compelling.

I'll be interested in seeing if Ellen's "husband" tells her the truth as to why Pam left. Or will he go with ambition.

Were Gordo and Tracy boinking when the Soviets attacked?

The United States is now at war with the Soviet Union. You can kind of handwave about  the mining site, but Jamestown is seen as sovereign territory of the US.  This is no different than the Soviets taking over a military outpost in the Aleutian Islands. I really don't see a  path to de-escalation. Especially since Panama is getting hotter.

 

6 hours ago, jcin617 said:

I'm assuming the Soviet attack is an attempt to rescue the cosmonaut they think is being held against his will. 

Or kill him. He knows a lot.

[CarpeFelis]

Even though I’m a science fiction fan from way, way back (my favorite shows as a little girl in the ‘60s were Fireball XL/5 and Lost in Space), I mostly enjoy this show for the characters and their relationships. So, putting all the war stuff aside for a moment—I feel really, really bad for Ellen. She’s not even running her own life at this point. First Larry and Atwater have their little confab WITHOUT HER, and then Pam decides to get out of the way of this hypothetical political career WITHOUT EVEN TALKING TO HER. WTF, people?! Ellen is a person, not a damn chess piece! Does she even have any real interest in politics?

I feel bad for Ed, too. Karen completely blindsided him right before a mission. Why did she take him outside to talk in the first place when she knew perfectly well that it was a bad idea to tell him something that upsetting at that time? I get that he felt the need to try to get even, and was not really surprised that he couldn’t bring himself to follow through. He has a lot more integrity than Karen does. Still wondering WTF is wrong with her.

Then we have Molly and Wayne. I’m glad she decided not to go to Guadalajara and they reconciled, but damn, the things she said to Wayne before she walked out were vicious! She was really lucky he was willing to forgive that, and equally lucky he hadn’t left yet when she returned.

Gordo, you really could have resisted the double entendre while walking into the airlock, but I could see it coming a mile off (sorry, couldn’t resist). It’s looking to me like he might actually succeed in getting Tracy back. And presumably the two of them are safe in there during the Russian attack.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Ed's going to feel bad when he finds out Molly is actually dying.

Karen, if ever there was a time you should have kept your mouth shut, or having failed that, lied. MG. Ed is supposed to be averting WWIII, not feeling like "why not since my marriage might be over."

Holy crap, Joel Kinnaman is a hot piece. What do you want, Karen, an actual Greek god? 😏

Brutal seeing your comrade burnt to a literal crisp.

Yep, Wayne's a good guy. I'm glad Molly reconsidered.

Ditto comments upthread, Pam should've talked to Ellen before making such a unilateral decision. There seemed to be a lot of that going around. Meanwhile, I'm finding the spumors of Larry being a mole for the KGB still interesting.

Dang, Gordo was looking rather buff too. So much for Tracy's marriage because Gordo has his phaser set on destroy. 😉

Oh. Tracy's marriage is the least of her worries now. I actually gasped when that Russian's hand appeared on window.

[CarpeFelis]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Holy crap, Joel Kinnaman is a hot piece. What do you want, Karen, an actual Greek god?

EXACTLY. There’s no comparison between Ed and Danny. So I keep wondering just what the hell she was thinking! Ego boost, maybe?

[crazymadness]

Quote

As for radioactivity, the nuclear reactor in NERVA is closed loop, it does not propel any fuel out. The reactor is to provide heat, which in turn is used to heat propellant, possibly hydrogen. The hydrogen itself is inert in this case.

Sure, in theory, but in practice NERVA spewed radiation all over the place.  There's a reason they were only planned to be used in the upper stages of rockets out of the atmosphere.

[whiporee]

There's a suggestion on the Reddit board that says the moon-based Soviets acted on their own accord attacking Jamestown. I think that makes sense -- way too aggressive a move for the age of mutually assured destruction for the Soviet government to endorse.  Anything else leads to even more of a shooting war than we already have. I think the tensions can be walked down to a "you killed one of ours in an unprovoked attack, we killed one of your sin an unprovoked attack." Not exactly a proportional response, but one that could be sold. 

I get Karen. 

I think Apollo Soyuz is going to have a malfunction like Gemini 8, and it's going to take a lot of collaboration to save the ships. I wouldn't be surprised if both sides end up in the others' craft as they have to fix things, and that will leave to resuming detente. 

To respond to someone up top -- the Soviets were also the instigators for Ed wrecking the rover. They were doing something at the mining site when Ed confronted him as he came out of the crater. 

 

[CarpeFelis]

I had an uneasy feeling as Danielle took off for the Apollo/Soyuz mission that there wouldn’t be any handshake in space but rather, they’d be greeted by Soviets with guns. I hope I’m wrong.

[marinw]

21 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Does she even have any real interest in politics?

Ellen is more interested in going to Mars (or getting other Astronauts there) than in Politics. And Larry should consider how Ellen being a congresswoman or POTUS might effect his "Marriage." The FAM alternate reality has not yet progressed to the point that Ellen and/or Larry coming out would not be a big deal. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by marinw

[theschnauzers]

Lee Atwater was an shameless political hack in our timeline. The nature of GOP political attacks trace back to Atwater, even 40 years later.

Would Ellen rather run for Congress than be NASA Administrator?  Her immediate personal issue has cleared up, so it’s unlikely to rear itself in a Senate confirmation. A political campaign would be different. 

[Slider]

I think the whole setup of Ellen being a Congresswoman or potentially President is just for the talking points; a storyline to get rid of Pam so she can focus on Mars as NASA Administrator.  I don't really see them going there, but I could be wrong.

I did not see the defection coming, but I am worried that Apollo Soyuz is a trap...

[TV Anonymous]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:12 PM, crazymadness said:

Sure, in theory, but in practice NERVA spewed radiation all over the place.  There's a reason they were only planned to be used in the upper stages of rockets out of the atmosphere.

In practice, in real life, NERVA is never put in use. In the original design of NERVA, which we presume is what being portrayed in the show, the reactor is fully contained with no discharge of radioactive materials.

[xaxat]

On 4/17/2021 at 5:00 PM, CarpeFelis said:

So, putting all the war stuff aside for a moment—I feel really, really bad for Ellen. She’s not even running her own life at this point. First Larry and Atwater have their little confab WITHOUT HER, and then Pam decides to get out of the way of this hypothetical political career WITHOUT EVEN TALKING TO HER. WTF, people?! Ellen is a person, not a damn chess piece! Does she even have any real interest in politics?

Thought about it some more and it's even worse than that. Even after Tom Paine's death, it appeared that Ellen was seriously thinking about leaving NASA so she could live a public life with Pam.

They took that option away from her. Setting her on a career path where she would have no choice but to stay in the closet.

[TV Anonymous]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

They took that option away from her. 

Ellen could have declined the permanent appointment and she is free to resign anytime.

[CarpeFelis]

1 hour ago, TV Anonymous said:

Ellen could have declined the permanent appointment and she is free to resign anytime.

True, but the option of living openly with Pam is gone, since Pam led her to believe she’s still in love with her other girlfriend. Unless, of course, Larry fesses up that he has a pretty good idea why Pam did this...

ETA: I think it’s highly doubtful that Larry will tell her, since he had no problem discussing her career options without her agreement, which IMO was pretty underhanded. Even if Larry does tell her, in Ellen’s shoes I’d be absolutely livid with both him for the Atwater discussion and Pam for playing god with my life and not even discussing it with me.

Edited April 19, 2021 by CarpeFelis
Additional thoughts

[Joimiaroxeu]

Surprised to see Karen go to the meeting to sell her company without an attorney. Did Ed even know?

"Who is this and why is she speaking to me?" Good ol' Molly. All bark and bite too.

Was Sergei lying to Margo? Did he really know what was going on on the moon?

Gordo FTW. His old, institutional knowledge of the moonbase paid off in a critical way.

Wow, what are the odds that ancient video comm box would still be plugged in in Houston?

Gordo and Tracy wrapping each other in duct tape was oddly kinky. But OMG, what a horrible way to  die. At least they reunited in death.

So are the Russians sending Sergei in to honeytrap Margo? She's going to be a tough cookie to crack.

Great use of that Nirvana song at the end.

So next season is moving to the 90s and Mars. Let's go! (On reddit they're already referencing connections to The Expanse, lol.)

[theschnauzers]

Apple News had an interview with RDM and he’s explained each season will take about a decade jump from the previous season, and if it feels right they might go a bit into the future.

Well we now can definitely understand why Danny Stevens was cast in season two, and left little doubt both Stevens boys will be around next season at a minimum. Admiral Ed will most likely be the head of the military side of the space program; have no idea if Ellen ends up running NASA or goes into politics. Mars? After what we saw IRL, the first helicopter flight on the surface of Mars, the ability to make water, and the presence of an atmosphere, etc., it will be interesting to see what the writer’s room comes up with.

[xaxat]

I thought the finale was the best episode of the series. 

They really managed to crank up the brinksmanship to an almost unbearable point and yet managed to find a (relatively) believable de-escalation. Women saved the world. Tracy insisting she go with Gordo, Sally confronting Ed and Danielle starting a mutiny with Ellen giving it the go. 

So many great shots. Apollo and Soyuz in orbit. The empty living rooms during the handshake, and Tracy and Gordo on the moon. And the editing cutting between those scenes was top notch.

And even though Armageddon is avoided, we see that life goes back to normal. Ed and Karen are separated. The Stevens kids are orphans and Margo (unfortunately) thinks she has been asked out on a date.

We learned that Sam is really rich. Like hedge fund manager rich. Are they setting him up to be the Elon Musk of their reality?

I laughed when we got a Battlestar Galactica style shaky cam on the dark side of the moon. I could almost hear the drums.

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

So are the Russians sending Sergei in to honeytrap Margo? She's going to be a tough cookie to crack.

They don't have to crack her. As the military officer noted, it's a process. And her alerting Sergei to the o-ring problem showed that she is willing to work outside of American interests to help him.

In an interesting coincidence, this morning Spacex launched a new crew to the ISS. Among the astronauts is Megan McArthur, one half of a real life husband/wife astronaut family.