This first season of Star City has been active and explosive at times. The penultimate episode was more pensive, setting up a possible new future until we got a wrinkle.
Could the trio on the mission to Venus actually be alive? Sergei (Josef Davies) seemed to find the proof. The question is what to do from here. That is the thrust of the season finale, “The Wolves.”
Return mission
We open aboard the vessel returning from Venus. We quickly see Sasha (Solly McLeod) and Lakshmi (Priya Kansara) are alive. The craft is returning, having completed a nine-month odyssey during which time most believed they were dead. We quickly see the aftermath of the fire that sparked at the end of episode 6. They are able to kill the fire and keep the craft going, but what happens from there?
In a series of flashbacks, we see the truth. The damage done pushed the craft off course, which threatens to keep them from making a return to Earth. Valya (Adam Nagaitis), who is the reason for the trouble, comes up with a solution. If he uses the craft bound for Venus, he can fix the trajectory. But it’s a one-way trip for him to a hostile planet. Above the objections of his crewmates, he seals himself in and makes the sacrifice.
Valya’s plan works. And he sees the surface of Venus before the end comes. He wasn’t in for anything good back home, anyway, so his sacrifice makes sense. But Sasha still seems frustrated about his former friend. Valya’s lone request is that Sasha find Tanya (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis) and say goodbye.
A dangerous return
Sergei, armed with the knowledge the craft has survived, heads to see the Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans). The news thrills the Chief Designer, who warns the craft cannot land in the Soviet Union. While the government claimed they died in a training mission, the return would reveal the truth, and they would never be allowed to see the light of day. So, the Chief Designer offers to provide calculations, leaving it up to Sergei to find a way to get them to the crew.
Sergei does just that, tapping his contact to make a transmission to Anastasia (Alice Englert) in space. She can send a message to the Venus crew undetected, instructing them to alter their landing location. She does, even speaking to Sasha briefly on the radio. It’s a sweet reunion marred by the thought that if successful, he’ll land in Finland and never see her again. But while the plan is set, they aren’t yet safe.
The ground crew spots the Venus shuttle. Petrovsky (Felix Scott) declares he will personally meet the craft at its landing site and take all the cosmonauts into custody. He’s unaware the landing location has changed until the craft hits the atmosphere and he realizes he’s in the wrong spot. But someone else anticipated it all.
Irina (Agnes O’Casey), realizing what’s happened and wanting to keep helping Roskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), begins to spot an irregular pattern for Sergei. He’s soon arrested and, under intense methods, divulges the real landing location in Finland. For his trouble he’s thrown into a cell—along with the Chief Designer. Roskova, meanwhile, uses a fighter jet to damage the landing craft, forcing it down just shy of the border.
A daring rescue
Watching from high above, Anastasia sees that the landing crew is in trouble. She pleads with her crewmates—members of the KGB—to help her save her husband. They look the other way as she launches the emergency landing vehicle. She hits the ground just shy of the border and just in time to run interference.
She borrows a truck and cuts off Roskova’s pursuit as the survivors—Sasha and Lakshmi—arrive at the border under fire.
Lakshmi has been wounded, but Sasha gets her to the Finnish authorities. She’s safe. He turns to see Anastasia taken into custody.
It turns out his love for her is real. He turns from the safety of the border and walks back toward Roskova, giving himself up alongside his wife. They are together, briefly, in chains.
We got a glimpse of some season 2 directions, seeing Tanya in Paris at the end of the episode. Clearly, her story isn’t done. It’s likely we’re not done with Sergei, Anastasia, Sasha, and the Chief Designer, too.
The finale was thrilling and left a lot hanging in the air for a season 2, should we hopefully get a conclusion.
Star City is now streaming all season 1 episodes on Apple TV. We have recapped the whole season right here.
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