That was a very thrilling finale. While I didn't like the show that much when it began, it did get better in the back half. I was on the edge of my seat watching Sasha and Lakshimi were trying to reach the finland border. I didn't really understand the Sergi and Chief Designer scene in the car. Who was the guy being tortured? Also, I didn't really understand the ending. That was Irina in France, right? Who was the black women who looked like she was tracking her? Also, they didn't say how far they advanced so it looked like at least 10 years, if that was Irina.
Sergey and Chief Designer were taken away to be punished even more, by focusing on CD's wedding ring i think it was to show that maybe even his wife will be punished and that he'll likely never see her again. The stand in for CD was either an actor or knowing Raskova some poor sap, a prisoner likely, chosen to have the "honor" of serving the Soviet Nation by being forced to play a part in the ruse.
That was Tanya in France, being shadowed by some intelligence operative. It's likely they monitor her in case she's either a mole or maybe contacted by somene from the USSR.
I'm torn on the finale, it was as intense as expected but also had huge plot holes by breaking its own internal rules very liberally.
We are shown how the crew survived the fire and decompression, ok - i'll willingly suspend my disbelief there but it took some doing. Valya sacrificing himself to put Venera 7 back onto the trajectory was a boss move and perhaps the best outcome he could hope for considering he had no plan how to really end this with him coming out alive or not being tortured for eternity before execution. I liked the cross cuts to Lakshmi/Sasha and him descending, i was confused at first but it was well done. Valya ending up on the surface of Venus was a sight to see but the end was brutal as expected. I forget if it was mentioned but what was the point of that capsule in the first place, were they planning to send down instruments or an actual live person in which case it was always a one way mission for the cosmonaut chosen to go down there as the capsule has no way of ascending anymire. Was the Chief Designer always willing to sacrifice one of his Eagles?
So apart from the excting action parts the episode fell apart for me because they broke their own internal consistency and rules.
Everywhere you look people wer emaking choices that would end their careers, possibly even their lives just like you would go to the store picking up milk. Nikulov, CD and that other guy at ground control hatching a plan to get data to V7 - extremely risky and it blew up in their faces in the end ( i figure that guy from ground control will also be found out once they go over the logs).
Salyut crew, one of them an outright KGB man, killing their careers by launching Anstasia on their one and only escape craft just so she can rescue her husband? Come on, never gonna happen, especially not with a KGB guy onboad.
Anastasia perfectly hitting almost the right spot where everythng happens in the end? Yeah right.
Chief Designer once again defying the Soviet Union and still iiving? The USSR must have split personality disorder, being evil but also lenient at the same time.
For me the writing fell apart in this finale because they cornered themselves by wanting to put key figures in danger but have them all surive and even give them supposedly sweet moments but in the process disregarding everything they built in the season and what we know from actual history. They wanted to have one last personal and emotional scene between Sasha and Anastasia but in order to do so they come up with this bullshit Anastasis to the rescue plan from orbit event.
They can't kill Nikulov and CD because they still have a big role to play in FAM ( at least Nikulov) but write them into positions for which people who have done far less have been executed for.
The series started out rough for me but by the mid point got actually good but this finale killed the season for me, maybe even the show if it gets a second season at all, by taking the easy way out of corners they were responsible for themselves.
A D rating for me, maybe a C on a good day with a ton of suspension of disbelief.
