Well, finished S3 today. That was as good as the other two, as far as I'm concerned. Don't know why so many people didn't like it.
1. The Baldwin family is racking up quite a set of records. Loved the imagery of Kelly holding her newborn under the light of Mars. Her getting back to Pathfinder was lifted right out of The Martian. I'm sorry, but those bitches owe Andy Weir royalties on that one. Glad that Ed survived- I had no spoilers on that, so I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Very 'Right Stuff' there at the end with him walking away from the wreck of Popeye, and the Russian commander coming out to fetch him.
2. At first I thought they took the easy out with Margo, having her perish in the bomb blast. I loved the 2003 tease. Reminded me of the character of Martha in The Americans, who is gradually turned by the Soviets and ends up 'defecting' to the USSR, where she lives a drab, miserable, unhappy life. I have no sympathy for Margo at all. In fact, I think given all possible outcomes for her, this is the one I would choose. Life in the Soviet system as a member of the proletariat, after her life as a free American citizen and Administrator of NASA. Hard for a southern girl to adjust to that weather, too. Good riddance.
3. Hopefully we'll find out how, exactly, Molly died. Smoke inhalation? Last we saw was her making her way back in for more survivors. I love it when the blind, female astronaut picks the pencil neck up off the floor and tells him not to worry-
she's getting
him out of there! Maybe my favorite character on the show, in the end. For all she claimed membership in the 'selfish prick' club, her outcomes always revolved around making pickup on her team mates when the chips were down. Big Damn Hero, indeed.
4. The Stevens brothers are quite a pair. Danny's punishment is fitting for now, until they can get him back to a real prison on Earth. Given the shortage of resources, if Danny had any real courage he'd take a walk out the airlock without a spacesuit like his parents. Of course, as Gandalf once said, even the wise cannot see all ends. He may yet have an heroic part to play before this is over. His brother needs to be sent up the river as soon as they can collar, try, and convict him. Interesting, fitting, and realistic that of course there is a conspiracy theory about what happened on the moon, and NASA lying about it. Another subtle mirror on reality.
5. Didn't love the whole North Korean thing, and it was a helluva swerve to throw in at the very tail end of the season. Whatever.
6. The birth of Kelly's child on this mission is both the most unrealistic and realistic thing portrayed this season. Because the first birth that happens off Earth isn't going to be planned- that much is for damn sure. You send young men and women somewhere remote, have them work and live together in a confined, often boring space, and children are going to happen eventually. It's how we've survived the past umpteen tens of thousands of years- it's the strongest drive in nature, not easily overcome.
7. Glad to see the president show some spine and finally come out of the closet. Maybe she got re-elected in '96 on the power of guts and truth, although I wouldn't bet that way. Since her two possible terms covered real-life Clinton terms 1-2, it'll be interesting to see who the president is in 2003. At this point, I think the show would be smart to diverge from 'known' politicians and go in a totally new direction there.
8. Sad that Karen never knew that Kelly and Ed both made it. Interesting character arc by the time it was said and done. An old hand at the waiting game, she knew what to do for the families at home when the mining disaster went down. That was a nice show of experience based on the past, there. Still not going to miss her. Much.
Eager to see where we go when S4 kicks off in the year 2003. Do we get shown the triumphant return of the first mission, or do we get told? Because if it's the former, our heroes are going to be on Mars a LOT longer than they planned.
Also: is Kelly's child a boy or a girl?
