I think the most interesting part about alternative history is imagining in what ways that the trajectory of history would differ from our own. Asking if it would be plausible for women in this timeline to fly and be astronaut is a wrong question; the better question to ask is how.
This episode takes "Soviet launching women on Mars" as its turning point among others - and it leaves more to be desired, as I wondered how the political climate that Gordo mentioned in passing (civil rights movement), the USA at the state of decline, and the "race for the base" would've factored in this decision. Since this show so far has not been a political thriller/drama, the questions remain unanswered and left as an exercise for the viewers, and that's fine I think. The episode instead focused on character relationships: between the Nixen Vixens (as one commenter put it) and between the other already established characters.
Although some parts of it are rather tacked on (the fanmail scene especially), it was interesting to see how Tracy was downplayed as "astro wife" due to the tokenistic demand by "the upstairs", her struggle overcoming it, and her conflict with Gordo. The bait and switch at the end is also nice with Tracy struggling with the exercises and the reveal at the end.
The best part however comes from the very 70-ish naming ("Moon Maiden" and "Meteor Maid"? Fancy) and the discovery of ice on the surface of the moon. Seems like it's getting scifi-ish from here.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2022-07-10T12:54:11Z
I think the most interesting part about alternative history is imagining in what ways that the trajectory of history would differ from our own. Asking if it would be plausible for women in this timeline to fly and be astronaut is a wrong question; the better question to ask is how.
This episode takes "Soviet launching women on Mars" as its turning point among others - and it leaves more to be desired, as I wondered how the political climate that Gordo mentioned in passing (civil rights movement), the USA at the state of decline, and the "race for the base" would've factored in this decision. Since this show so far has not been a political thriller/drama, the questions remain unanswered and left as an exercise for the viewers, and that's fine I think. The episode instead focused on character relationships: between the Nixen Vixens (as one commenter put it) and between the other already established characters.
Although some parts of it are rather tacked on (the fanmail scene especially), it was interesting to see how Tracy was downplayed as "astro wife" due to the tokenistic demand by "the upstairs", her struggle overcoming it, and her conflict with Gordo. The bait and switch at the end is also nice with Tracy struggling with the exercises and the reveal at the end.
The best part however comes from the very 70-ish naming ("Moon Maiden" and "Meteor Maid"? Fancy) and the discovery of ice on the surface of the moon. Seems like it's getting scifi-ish from here.