Summary
What in the world were the writers thinking? The good grace earned from an “okay” Episode 5 was lost in a messy and ludicrous Episode 6.
An alternate reality of what happened on board the ISS is the focus of Constellation Episode 6. The roles are reversed, with us seeing Paul as the one who made it out alive on the spacecraft instead of Jo. Magnus and Alice struggle to adapt to the reality that Jo might’ve been killed in space. What follows is the worst episode of Season 1 thus far, a confoundingly bad installment that erases any goodwill gleaned from an average Episode 5.
Who dies in “Paul is Dead”?
The show replays the events that unfolded on the spaceship in the first episode. However, when things go awry on the spacecraft this time, Jo is thrown against the glass and dies. Back home, we see Magnus breaking the news to Alice, who is silent. Magnus and Alice get on board an aircraft, and the roles are reversed, with Paul’s wife and Wendy, his daughter, comforting Alice.
On board, Paul (like Jo did) stayed back because of the lack of room, and he told the others to tell Henry that his Data Core was gone. The other astronauts were confused about what he was talking about, but he told them to rely on the news and tell his family he would be home soon.
Why does Paul leave Jo’s body in space?
Paul can get what is needed done, but not before having issues with Jo’s body, which causes some problems with still breathing. He asks the Houston team what he should do, and they advise him to leave Jo’s body behind.
Finally, Paul begins the debarking process and safely returns home. Upon returning, he embraces his wife and calls her Frida, but her real name is Erica.
When Paul brings up Henry’s project during his questioning by the ISS board, they inform him that the project has been dead for 12 years. Frederick pushes Paul to answer why he left Jo up in space, and Paul says it was Houston’s decision, but they push back, stating he was up there and it was his choice.
Paul heads to the office to talk to Michaela about Henry Caldera and where he is. She explains that Apollo 18 was NASA’s greatest fuck up, and they have no clue where Caldera is located. Michaela pleads with him to let things go.
Back home, Paul asks his daughter, Wendy, how she is doing in school. Like Alice in the previous episodes, where she struggled to communicate with her mom, Wendy has the same problem with her father. He gets overly aggressive about her not checking in on Alice, but Erica attempts to shut him down.
They are having a funeral for Jo, and Paul shows up but struggles to walk inside because he feels like he has failed everyone. Wendy confronts Alice inside as her father tells her to say she might be alive. This freaks Alice out, leading to her seeing her mother comforting her, and she begins to scream. Magnus comforts her, and Alice asks him to take her to Jo’s cabin to escape.
Paul tracks down Henry Caldera to get answers about what happened on the spacecraft. The two share a back-and-forth exchange that gets heated, leading to Henry pulling out his gun and shooting Paul. Magnus takes Alice to the cabin, where the two settle in. A car pulls up at night, and Alice sees it is her mother.
What did you think of Constellation Season 1 Episode 6? Comment below.
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