Away

You're halfway there.

Second half of the journey will get harder.

The physical toll, the emotional toll...

Well, you're just a barrel of laughs today, aren't you?

Visual and voice contact is nearing an end.

MCC's best estimate is 48 hours from now.

You'll still be able to communicate through text, emails,

but the further out you get, the longer the delays will be.

Eventually, a text could take an hour or more to...

I know all this.

I know there's been tension between you and Alexis.

It's a lot of time.

The next time you see your daughter, she'll be a senior.

It might be helpful to think about...

what you need to say to her.

Oh, and, uh...

merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

- Ready? - Yeah.

- -

Oh my God.

C... F...

uh...

P...

Um...

If you don't know, we can move on to the right eye.

Oh, shut up. I know it.

V.

U... uh, U. Yeah, U. U.

Shall we move on to the right eye?

No, screw this. I am done with the endless testing.

I'm not some NASA guinea pig, okay?

Misha, can I remind you this is mandatory?

Ram, tell them my vision is fine.

If they wanted someone with better eyesight,

they could have chosen someone who didn't log more hours in space

than any other man, woman, or monkey in the history of the planet.

Okay? Hi, Lu.

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. I have real work to do.

Get the pic?

Mm-hmm.

How is it being home?

Weird.

Weird how?

You don't wanna hear about it.

I do.

It's just not what I thought it would be like.

Like what?

There are ramps everywhere.

It smells like the inside of a hospital.

I won't be able to talk to my mom again for, like, two years, but...

my dad's decorating the tree, smoking the brisket...

They're both trying so hard to make everything seem normal.

But the more they try and do that, the more clear it is that it's...

it's not normal.

It'll never be normal.

That... blows.

Why do I talk so much around you?

So, there's this thing I was thinking I wanna show you.

What thing?

It's a surprise.

What kind of surprise?

Well, it's not a surprise if I tell you.

I can bring you there.

Maybe pick you up around ten?

Big breath through your mouth.

Perfect.

How's Matt adjusting to being home?

He's fine.

And what about losing contact? How are the family handling that?

We're all good.

Look, Emma, when I was, um...

When I was sick a couple of weeks back,

I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable

when I spoke about my brother.

No. No, you didn't.

Because I shared something with you that I do not talk about, and you've...

you've pretty much shut me out since, and it doesn't feel great.

Can we just...

Look, I, um... I'm glad you opened up about your brother.

I just don't want you to get the wrong idea. That's all.

- What do you mean? - It's...

difficult enough being a mom, a wife, and, you know, leading this crew

without any, uh...

Without any what?

The complications.

Complication?

We had one conversation...

By the way, if I looked at you the wrong way or something, I'm sorry.

I mean, I was having a fever dream and sliced open my back.

Come on, Emma, give me some slack.

I just... I keep my work life and my personal life separate. That's all.

Okay?

I've got it.

Well, I think we're done here. I'll let you get dressed.

Oh, and by the way, Misha's eyesight

has been severely compromised since the launch from the Moon.

Significantly?

His left eye has gone from a 20/40 to a 20/70,

and that is not a normal decline.

What about his right eye?

Of course, he started screaming and cursing

and left before I could complete the exam.

Why does that not surprise me?

Look, science still has no explanation for what actually causes space blindness.

All we know is that it's very real.

And while it seems vision typically restores itself on returning to Earth,

some astronauts have had their eyesight severely impaired in space.

I mean, has anyone ever gone blind?

Not yet, but, uh...

Well, no one's been to Mars yet, right, either?

I'm scared. I've never been to space before.

No one has ever been to space.

Ah, right, um...

You were able to scavenge and survive the streets of Kirov.

We need dogs like you in space...

- Kwesi. - Yes. What?

No dog with self-respect will say yes to this kind of proposal.

Please, do it again.

This time, more like a man, less like a schoolgirl, okay?

Okay, fine. Misha.

Then find someone else.

Ram is quite charming. I'm sure he can act.

And, Lu, what about you? You have a child.

I'm sure you know how to do this sort of thing.

My son is not interested in puppet show. Neither am I.

It's too late. You said yes. You committed. Okay? Let's do it.

You... Misha, you haven't even told me what this is for.

Trust me, this is the most important thing you've ever done in your life, plant man.

I am a world-renowned botanist. I'm sorry, I'm not a "plant man."

Remember what I told you?

You have to use your... How you call it? Diafragma?

- Diaphragm. - Diaphragm, yeah.

You must speak from here, not from here. From here.

- Misha, please. I... - "Misha, please."

Please, keep your voice down. I'm trying to do some real work here.

And Misha's right. Try to project.

All right.

I had to go to, like, 1,000 houses

before I finally got it from the Caldwells,

so this better be worth it.

Ah, coriander.

This is what gives it that complexity, you know?

All right.

- That looks good. - Yeah.

Smell that.

- Mmm. - What do you think?

Good. Complex.

So... I was thinking.

Annie and Aditi are throwing this friends' Christmas Eve's party.

The whole team's gonna be there.

I already told them I probably couldn't go.

Honey.

Yeah, I know.

It's just we don't know when your mom's gonna connect,

when the last call will be.

Yeah, I get it.

Can you FaceTime with the team?

Yeah, sure.

Lexi! Lexi! Lexi!

Hi, Cassie!

- Lexi! - Cass.

- Cass, let her breathe! - No, I love it.

- Hey, baby. - Hi, it's so good to see you.

Good to see you too.

- Matt, welcome home. - Thanks.

You remember my grandma's famous pastelón?

Yes. Delicious.

Why are you in a wheelchair?

Cass...

Will you always be in a wheelchair, or are you gonna get better?

- She doesn't mean to put you on the spot. - Nah, that's okay.

You know, it's, uh... It's not for sure, Cass,

but if you ask me, my plan is to get better.

Can you come to our Christmas party tomorrow?

You guys are probably busy, but we do our Christmas party every year

for some NASA folk who can't get home for the holidays.

Basically a nerd fest! But we have fun.

No pressure. You guys can stop by anytime.

No, not anytime. It starts at 3:30, 3:30 sharp.

- - We're making pigs in a blanket.

Pigs in a blanket? I mean, that's pretty hard to pass up.

That's really sweet, Cass,

but I think we're gonna celebrate Christmas together as a family.