Away Season 1, Episode 1 recap: Go
By Mads Lennon
Away Season 1, Episode 1 recap: The crew arrives at the lunar base.
On the moon, Emma and the Atlas crew are at a moon gas station of sorts where other astronauts help them prep for their eventual trip to Mars. We meet the commander of the base, Jack (Martin Cummins), as the crew members get settled. Kwesi is having a hard time adjusting to his first time in space with the gravity changes. He spends most of his time retching in the bathroom.
Each crew member will have an individual debriefing session with Darlene Cole (Gabrielle Rose), head of Mission Control. She wants to get the full story of the incident. On Earth, Matt tries to seem nonchalant.
“Every mission has a screw-up; they just got theirs done early.”
What we know so far is that a fire broke out, but little else. Ram is the first to be debriefed, and he remains loyal to Emma. He is confident that she would never do anything to endanger her crew.
Emma then calls home to speak with Lex and her crew support, Melissa (Monique Gabriela Curnen), who will help take care of her family while she’s away. She only manages to show them a view of the moon and asks about Lex’s game before losing the signal.
Away Season 1, Episode 1 recap: What was the “incident?”
The “incident” in question that has hovered over the episode and trip like a black cloud was a fire. Misha lays into Emma during his debriefing. Through a flashback, we learn she removed a panel that resulted in an acidic chemical called pre-treat being released, almost blinding Kwesi — although he told Darlene that Emma saved his life — the pre-treat combined with oxygen caused a fire.
The alert triggered Misha and Lu, and Misha claimed he came up with the idea to quickly get a fire bag and water to suffocate the flames. However, as the fire rose, he said Emma froze and did nothing. Misha is not impressed with her leadership skills, and he relays as much to Darlene.
Lu’s story contradicts Misha’s in several ways. According to her, she was the one who came up with the idea to get the fire bag. It makes sense, as she is a chemist. As for her take on Emma, Lu says the commander caused the fire by trying to smother the pre-treat with a cloth. But whatever was on it acted as an accelerant and caused the fire. Rather than freezing, Lu claims Emma’s actions were hysterical and reckless.
At Mission Control, Darlene isn’t sure what to believe, and it’s not made any easier by learning both Misha and Lu spoke with their directors. They want Emma replaced. Jack Willmore could feasibly take over, but Darlene doesn’t like his selfish nature, nor does she think it’s smart to replace the commander 24 hours before launch. Matt happens to overhear the chance when he brings an update on patching the leak in the ship and argues that this is Emma’s mission.
We get to see a continuation of Emma’s original session with her therapist. She knows there is dissension among the crew, particularly with Misha and Lu, that they don’t think she’s fit to lead. Dr. Putney asks her if she is, Emma doesn’t respond.
When he returns home that evening, he collapses while making dinner, and a frantic Lex calls emergency services.