Summary
The good just about outweighs the bad in episode seven, with spy thriller clichés drowned out by some hard-hitting, emotional sequences from the York family.
This recap of the Amazon Prime Video series Night Sky season 1, episode 7, “Lake Diving,” contains spoilers.
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Mankind has always strived to push the envelope, especially with space travel, determined to explore the unexplored, it is human nature after all. So of course when faced with a teleportation device that transports you to an alien world, the next logical step would be to journey outside of that viewing platform into the unknown. Myself, I wouldn’t have even made it to that unforgettable view, never mind contemplated walking on an alien planet’s surface. But Byron decides to take the plunge in episode seven and prepares to boldly go where no man has gone before, stepping out into new territory.
Night Sky season 1, episode 7 recap
“Lake Diving” opens with new besties Franklin and Byron shopping for some diving gear, in the hopes of putting this daring plan into action. Franklin bought most of the clothing and equipment a long time ago, yet never found the courage to use any of it. Byron gives him that final push. It’s great to explore this secondary character in more detail, as the writers fill in some of his back story with Byron finally coming into his own. The unemployed neighbor received a rather large cash settlement from his old job, where he was an engineer and more importantly an ousted whistle-blower. The penultimate episode adds further depths to Byron’s character, addressing his marriage and his personal flaws.
As with all instalments of Night Sky, the narrative darts between multiple storylines. Franklin and Byron prep for a dangerous journey into the unknown, whilst other subplots take shape. Irene, Denise and Jude continue to search for Jude’s father. Then in the Argentinian plot, Stella and Toni draw ever closer to confronting the estranged drifter. Stella’s segment has always felt poorly crafted and painfully clichéd, with episode seven continuing the trend. The teleporting duo make their way to Farnsworth and follow a precarious trail that leads them to Chandra (remember the kleptomaniac carer?). The soap opera bad guy returns too, as they force Chandra into revealing Jude’s whereabouts.
More silly espionage takes place with Irene’s section as well. The trio stop off at a B&B, owned by the shifty Hannah, played by Lost’s Sonya Walger, providing another Lost connection for you there. The host knew Jude’s father personally and recounts many vague tales about the handyman, who went by the name Gabe. It’s an over-the-top sequence involving CCTV surveillance and cryptic dialogue, only adding to the melodrama.
The ending
Fortunately the show mostly escapes these pitfalls and delivers some truly hard-hitting moments. There’s tough, emotional scenes scattered throughout “Lake Diving”, with Sissy Spacek providing a stunning, guilt-ridden exchange with granddaughter Denise and flashbacks address her son Michael’s suicide. Irene blames herself for her son’s death, which caused her to then become distant with Denise too. The teleporting alien portal revealed itself to the aging couple days after Michael’s suicide and she frantically attempts to find some meaningful connection between the two events.
The episode meanders through these vastly differing genres and shifting tones towards its climactic scene. A sense of real dread is created when Byron readies himself for a possible first and final spacewalk. The nosey neighbor may be an annoyance at times, yet here we root for the man’s safe passage, having grown accustomed to the character over the season’s span. Again, there’s a real rollercoaster of emotions on display, with Night Sky harnessing guilt, regret, elation and adversity all in one hour’s worth of TV. It can be maddening at time, but I’m all in for the finale, hoping the creators can supply us with an outstanding conclusion to a rather strange show.
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