Away

How can this be?

Have you ever seen a dandelion grow through a crack in the cement?

There's a Swedish study about children who thrive against all odds.

They call them dandelion kids.

Uh... My mother was a child psychologist.

So you're saying there's no explanation?

Maybe it's a miracle.

Maybe the water rations have addled your brain.

If this one plant makes it all the way to Mars...

would that help you to grow your garden there?

Unquestionably. I'd build my entire garden around it.

Then should we attempt to account for how it has survived?

Are you proposing an experiment, Doctor?

If you are up for it, Doctor.

Meanwhile,

let's hope we're all as resilient as this one here.

Dear Lex, how are you?

Haven't heard from you in a few days.

I wanna hear more about this Isaac.

All you said about him in your...

I told myself I'd miss things.

But it's much harder than I ever imagined.

Earth is so far away now, Lex.

Just a dot, a tiny dot of light in the sky,

which means you're farther away.

I just wanna stay close to you.

You okay? Think it was the 2:00 a.m. tacos?

- - Oh. Ouch.

Guess I can't interest you in that omelet now, huh?

Want me to go get you something? A ginger ale?

I wanna break up.

Okay. I... I didn't know we were dating.

Well, whatever we've been doing for the last...

three months, I think we should stop.

Do you mind if I ask why?

It's interfering with my training.

Well, that's funny since most of our non-dates have involved

some form of running, swimming...

Tequila, sex...

My head's not clear.

I'm off my game, and there's no room for that.

Not if I wanna go to Mars. Not if I wanna be the best.

Whoa, Em. Hey. Hey.

Em, whoa.

You are the best, okay? Hey, what's going on?

Well, you... you don't get it.

You know, you're a man.

You get to do it all.

Uh... Well, since when has being a woman ever slowed you down?

Look, I... I don't...

- - You're pregnant.

I don't know.

I'm late.

I'm vo... vomiting.

So, yeah. Yeah, I'm a little concerned.

I see. All right. Look, I'm... I'm in this with you, okay?

It's easy for you to be in this with me. You have a kid, you're a better astronaut.

They move you up the list. Women move down the list.

Look at Melissa. She was kicking ass, and now they won't even let her fly.

Melissa... That was her choice.

Exactly.

There's no decision.

I'm not giving up flying.

Nice! Always look up.

Look where you're going, not where you are.

That was amazing!

You're amazing.

- -

I wanna go again.

Pro tip: switch to third in the air. That way, the clutch won't slow you down.

Third in the air. Got it.

The backup water system's been running strong

for almost a month now.

We got two months to go, and we all know that's a notoriously fickle system.

There's a thousand things that could go wrong, obviously,

and we've accounted for about half of them. What are we missing?

My dad had triple bypass surgery last year.

Right. Sorry. Uh...

Sometimes I have a thought that's relevant,

but I don't connect the dots.

When my dad's artery got clogged up...

You're saying if the DA goes down

and contaminants get into some of the pipes...

We can shut those systems down and reroute the flow.

Jane, it's your system. What do you think?

Sounds right. I'll draw up a procedure.

Come in.

Hey, Matt.

Uh... Just seeing if you had that recommendation on the CO2 scrubbers.

Oh yeah. It's right here.

Should be a pretty simple procedure.

A weekly vacuum should be fine.

Here you go.

Right. Thanks.

I, um...

I didn't know there was a meeting going on.

It's not really a meeting.

We were just talking about the... game... last night.

Yeah. Uh... Can you guys believe we went into double OT?

Right.

Um... Sorry to interrupt.

- Thanks for the report, Matt. - You got it.

- - Look, that's very kind, but listen to me:

no one needs to cover for me. You understand?

If I get in trouble for overstepping my position, that's on me.

If Ryan knew half the recommendations we're giving him were coming from you...

I don't care. I'm not trying to undermine anyone.

- I just wanna help. - You've done more than help.

Sometimes it seems you have more up-to-date intel than Mission Control.

How's that possible?

- - Dear Matt,

I've received proposed procedure for rerouting of the pipes.

It's an excellent plan.

All the best, Misha.

Delete "All the best, Misha."

I guess us engineers are not as compromised as they say.

Winky-face emoji. Winky-face emoji. Winky-face emoji.

- All the best, Misha. Send. -

- - You ready for this psych eval?

No.

Well, it wasn't really a question, to be honest.

So it's not insult enough

that I have to sit all day in my room like in prison.

Now I'm supposed to talk to you about my feelings?

Everyone has to do one at the three-quarter mark, okay?

Lu and Kwesi have just done theirs.

The reason you're confined to your quarters

is because a gravity-rich environment may slow your decline in vision,

which we're all aware is a pretty big problem now.

Okay, Dr. Mahatma Freud.

Let's talk about my feelings.

Right.

How do I feel?

How do I... Well, I'm frustrated...

Because I'm going blind.

I feel a little bit uncomfortable and very, very thirsty

because my brilliant commander

thinks she knows better than me how to fix the water system.

You can't blame her for a compromised water system.

Well, what a passionate defense of your commander. That's impressive.

What does that mean?

It must be so difficult for you

- to keep objectivity when you... - No, no, no.

What is that supposed to mean?

Oh! I sense some anger. Would you like to lie on the couch?

Tell me what that means.

- I don't mind. I'll listen to you. - Will you two shut up?

My head is pounding from all the screaming.

And will one of you please fix the damn comms?

That should be your first priority.

- I'm sorry? - The comms?

The comms. They're... they're down again.

I just received an email from Ground a few minutes ago.

The comms are working absolutely fine.

No, I wrote to my daughter two hours ago, and I haven't heard back.

Maybe she doesn't want to write back.

That's... that's exactly how it started with my daughter.

They pull away to protect themselves.

The more we push,

the more they pull.

Best is just stop pushing. You know, accept it.

- Wish I could learn this lesson. - Just fix the comms.

I mean it. You're... you're a prodigy.

You're really not just saying that?

I'm really not.

Although, I'd get some gear, prodigy, or your dad's gonna catch on to you.

Yeah.

I can't tell him how good it makes me feel.

He just wouldn't get it.

My mom did all sorts of wild stuff when she was young.

Bungee jumping, diving off quarries...

She flew a crop duster when she was 14.

So, I mean, she really can't talk.

Yeah, but when has that ever stopped parents from talking?

I'm just saying, have an alibi ready.

Dirt fight in math class?

Yeah, okay. Maybe a better alibi than that.

How about a garden gnome attack?

You're a terrible liar.

My dad's gonna be home soon.

Okay.

- Okay. - I'll call you later?

Yeah?

- Bye. - Bye.