That's it.
Breathe.
Just breathe through it.
Go on.
Breathe. Almost there.
That was good!
That was way faster than yesterday.
Yeah, but the real question is:
Did it look good? 'Cause I want it to be graceful.
Okay, quit stalling. You have PT in two minutes.
- Do you want some help? - No, I got it.
So, how you feeling about tomorrow? Excited to see your friends?
Uh, I'm actually not going back to school tomorrow.
- What are you talking about? - It's not a big deal, seriously.
Come on. You gotta get in.
Lex...
Dad, I talked to my teachers,
and they said I could do the work from here.
You've already missed three weeks of school.
And I'll go back next week.
Seriously, it's totally fine.
Hey, Jerry.
Make sure you work his core extra hard today.
- He cheated on a sit-up. - Oh, we can't have that.
And can you have someone change the sheets?
It's been a couple of days.
Will do.
- Pssh! - Pow!
All right.
It's a light morning. Ground has only one update.
Apparently, our CAPCOM, Mei, was needed on a mission back home.
What mission?
I'm sorry?
What mission is she needed?
I'm afraid they didn't say.
Did they say who's taking over her shift?
Jack Willmore.
Oh. That's fantastic.
I thought his service to the mission was over once he landed back on Earth.
I guess he wanted to remain involved.
That's it. That's all I got.
So, Commander, um, during training,
we used to have a weekly poker game with Jack,
but if you'd prefer we didn't continue, then...
No, it's fine.
- Thank you. - Good.
It seems to be...
going well.
Sorry.
Thank you.
It's ridiculous. They're using English as the mission language this time.
Why don't they use Chinese?
There would not be a mission if not for us. Am I right?
You're not used to being bad at something.
Now that you have difficulty,
you can't accept it.
What should I do if I cannot learn this absurd language?
Someone will replace you.
When I came to the United States,
I struggled with English too.
You?
How is this even possible? You speak English fluently.
Thanks.
How did you learn?
I'll show you.
Dr. Wang Lu, good morning.
Hello.
Was there something you needed?
I heard Chen Mei has been transferred.
That's right.
I wanted...
to thank her,
thank her for her excellent services to this mission.
Mmm. That's very thoughtful of you.
I will make sure your message is passed along.
I was hoping to be able to...
talk to her directly.
Is that okay?
I found something in Chen Mei's desk.
A slip of paper. This is your handwriting, is it not?
What?
From the handwriting, I can see...
this note was written by you, right?
Given this, I have determined
that all communication between you two should cease,
and Chen Mei should be reassigned.
Can you tell me where she has been transferred?
Dr. Wang Lu,
your mission is a three-year term.
Now, only three weeks have passed.
Focus on your work.
Make us all proud of you.
Yes?
I'm sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to check in
and see how you're doing after the news about Mei.
You just seemed a little upset.
Once again,
your instincts are incorrect.
I'm just as pleased as everyone that Jack Willmore...
is going to rejoin our team.
Standby for...
All right, copy that.
I hope that this isn't weird for you.
I've developed a certain bond with the crew.
I'm not worried about my crew.
If anything, I wanna make sure this isn't uncomfortable for you.
Not at all. No, I volunteered for the job.
You haven't started any new fires on board, have you?
Uh, just kidding.
Welcome to the team.
But if we give her till Monday, she'll want another week after that.
She was supposed to go back to school last week.
I... I just wish I knew what was holding her back.
I mean, do you think she's scared or...
I'm sure.
But I also think she's gotten a little... comfortable here.
What do you mean?
I mean, you should see her. She's basically directing traffic.
She knows every therapist, doctor, and nurse by name.
She tells them what I need, when I need it. She's...
Me.
She's being me.
This is too much.
What we're putting her through, it's too much.
I know.
We're gonna get her back on track.
She's going back to school tomorrow. She's gonna get back to her life.
Okay. Do you want me to be the one to tell her?
It's probably better to do this in person.
- I'm sorry. I didn't mean... - No, it's okay. You're right.
It should be you.
You know, it's just, um...
It's really hard being this far away sometimes.
What are you talking about?
It's your voice in my head every day pushing me harder at PT.
You're here in more ways than you know.
Okay, so you'll let me know how it goes with Lex?
Of course.
Oh, and you buried the lead by the way.
Jack's a CAPCOM now?
Yeah.
It's gonna be fine.
Oop!
No peeking.
Oh yeah. We're good for 20.
You want me to bet 20?
- Hell, yeah! - With a two and a five?
- Call. - Call.
Jack, I hope you pick your girlfriends better than poker partners.
Don't take this the wrong way, Jack.
I'm glad you're back and all, but, uh, Mei was a lot easier on the eyes.
And fantastic poker player.
Seriously?
No, he's joking. Though I do wonder why Mei was really transferred.
Didn't they say she was needed on a mission back home or something?
A mission more important than Mars?
China is probably building a bomb.
You know something.
- Will you deal the cards? - No, no, no. Hold on.
- Blah, blah. - Jack, what are you not saying?
Well, there, uh...
I mean, there is a rumor floating around, right?
But a gentleman never spreads rumors.
It's a good job you're not a gentleman.
Look, each of you have a public image to uphold, right?
And you're all national heroes.
Well, you are as well, Jack.
I'm a footnote in history at best, but Lu...
Lu has it a hundred times worse than the rest of you, all right?
I mean, she's gonna be the first person to set foot on Mars,
and with China's hero-building...
We're talking about Mei. What's Lu got to...
No way.
You...
You're saying Mei and Lu...
Oh my goodness!
Right? I mean, I trained with her for two years.
I had no idea. Not even an inkling.
I don't think I've ever seen her smile. I... I can't even imagine it.
- Oh, I can imagine it. - That's enough.
I'm not gonna sit here and listen to gossip and lies.
I know Lu better than all of you. I know her husband.
I met her son. She's not the type for this dirty bullshit.
Deal the cards.
Lei Lei, have you been obeying your father?
Of course, Mama.
And your teachers?
Yes, Mama.
What happened to you?
Tell your mother what you got on your math exam.
I scored 98.
Can we get 100 next time?
Have you been drawing your comics?
No, Mama.
Why not?
You can do it.
I thought we agreed that with his exams coming up,
there isn't time for comic books.
Why not?
It makes him happy.
To come to a place like this,
do we need an approval from CNSA?
Do you want to learn English or not?
Come with me.
To learn a new language,
you have to be fearless.
I am not afraid.
Vulnerable, then.
You have to let go...
and risk looking a fool.
And don't forget, he's got an appointment with Dr. Madigan at noon.
And you have to remind him to take his medication
'cause sometimes he forgets.
I'm on it, sweetheart. I promise.
You... you focus on you today, okay?
Are you all right? How you feeling?
I'm good.
I'm excited to see my friends.
I hope today goes so well.
If anything starts to feel weird,
I'm gonna have my phone on me all day, okay?
You call or text anytime.
Okay. I... I gotta go, Mom. We're pulling up.
Okay. Okay. I love you. I'm so proud of you.
And if you need anything, I'm here.
Okay. I love you too. Bye.
Bye.
Okay.
Give me a kiss.
I'll pick you up at 3:00 p.m. Alexis, I'll pick you up after practice.
- Okay. - Okay?
- Sounds good. Thank you, Melissa. - You're welcome.Bye. Have a nice day.
- Okay, I love you. Bye. - Love you too.
Oh my God! We missed you so much!
- Really? - Are you kidding?
We lost the game by six goals on Saturday.
- Oh jeez. - Yeah.
Oh, uh, Annie, this is my friend, Cassie. And, Cassie, this is my friend, Annie.
Hi. How are you today?
- Good. How are you? - Good.
- Let me ask you. Can you keep a secret? - Totally.
Okay. Good. I've got some drama to tell you
- about Chris and Janine. - What happened?
Hello?
Okay, for real, how does she seem?
I think she's okay, Emma.
Listen, um, if I do get a text from her
saying it's too hard to be back at school...
Oh, then I can come pick her up. No problem.
But, honestly... I think she's all right.
Mel, I, um...
I don't know how I can ever thank you for stepping in in this way.
Ah, it's not a big deal.
It's an enormous deal.
No, what I'm saying is...
you can tell a lot about a person by how they act around Cassie, and...
you guys have raised a great kid.
How you holding up, up there?
It gets harder every day, Mel.
I miss them more every day.
Yeah, what was it they told us in training? Uh...
The right stuff isn't about ego or swagger anymore.
Uh-huh. It's about resilience.
It's not about conquering space,
it's about enduring it.
This is disgusting.
Is it bad that I would genuinely give half my life savings
for a warm masala dosa?
Oh, is it possible you miss food more than women now?
Hey, I'm a man of many appetites.
Besides, I didn't say it's what I'd miss most, all right?
Are you and Emma okay, by the way?
- That's an interesting transition. - Well, it's...
Ever since the spacewalk, you've been a bit, uh, well...
What?
I don't know.
When you're playing cards, you're Ram, making jokes, and...
now with Emma, you're suddenly...
formal.
I think I'm just trying to respect my superiors.
Oh. And since when do you call her "Commander"?
Look, we should be... we should be talking about the real gossip,
which is Lu and Mei.
No. Misha was right. That is an inappropriate conversation.
- Good morning. - Hello.
How are you two?
Oh, well, Ram is lamenting his breakfast.
Yeah. You know who has the best food?
- Lu. - It's definitely Lu.
Can you believe they figured out how to freeze-dry dim sum?
Well, maybe she'll trade with you.
I'm not exactly Lu's favorite.
Well, you never know when Lu's gonna surprise you.
Ah, speak of the devil.
- Good morning. - Morning.
You okay?
Okay, what's going on?
Nothing.
Hey.
Misha, I need you to help me with something.
Sure.
How much do you know about comms channel?
What?
Every call I make is monitored.
I was wondering if my channel could be reengineered so...
so it's private.
Why do you need that?
There's someone...
I need to speak with.
You know why I always admired you, Lu?
Before you, I never met my equal in space.
But, uh...
Where I failed as husband and father,
you were better.
At least that's what I thought.
No.
I will not help you cheat your husband.
I know exactly who you wish to speak to privately.
How?
"How?" That is your question?
Everyone knows.
It was you, wasn't it?
- I'm sorry? - You acted like you care.
Then you go behind my back and tell everyone?
- No, Lu... - You know nothing about me and Mei.
- I have no idea what you're talking about. - Nothing!
Lu, it wasn't...
Okay, tell me what the hell's going on.
I am so sorry, Emma. We were playing cards last night.
Jack let it slip that Lu and Mei had an intimate relationship.
I'll go tell her you had nothing to do with it.
Stand down!
I think you've done quite enough.
So, Janine posted this super cute photo of her dog,
and Chris liked it, which... Obviously.
But then when Chris posted a photo of his dinner, Janine wrote, "Yummy."
- But Chris didn't even like her comment. - Oh my God!
- Yeah, I know. - Poor Janine.
Then when Aditi asked him about it, Chris is all like,
"I don't even know who Janine is," of course.
- Wow. - Yeah. Average.
How's she doing?
Oh my gosh. She's a mess.
- I don't know. It's crazy. - Who's that?
- I don't know. - He's cute.
Um, he's, like, a junior and he's sitting by himself,
scoping out freshmen.
- Can you say alarm bells? - He's still cute.
Uh... Lex?
Hmm?
Sorry. What...
- Are you okay? - Yeah. Yeah, I'm...
Yeah. I'm...
What were we talking about?
Um, cute boys and Chris and Janine.
Right.
Let's move to the right bicep.
All right. Give me a bicep curl with everything you got.
Okay? Here we go.
Three... two... one.
Come on, Matt. Come on.
Good, and relax. Four and a half out of five.
We can just probably round that up to five, right?
Uh, left bicep, please.
Here you go. Three... two... one.
Come on, Matt.
Good. Relax. Four out of five.
So, where's Alexis today?
Gets kinda quiet and boring around here without her.
It's her first day back at school, so I'm eager to get back to where I was.
Right tricep is next.
- Okay. I need you to... - Hold on one second.
Look, Doc, I... I know...
you can't tell me exactly when I'm gonna be able to go home.
I... I get it's a process, and you said it could take months
before I return to normal, but...
Matt, I said that you'd be in hospital for months,
but your recovery is likely to play out over years.
And... I never said you'd return to normal.
But you said...
You said my brain could engineer new pathways to my body,
that I could get my mobility back, right?
Yeah, and we've already seen that.
Yeah, your upper body scores are very encouraging.
I anticipate a full recovery for your right arm.
Quite possibly for your left as well.
And my legs?
It's too soon to say definitively,
but your lower body scores, particularly your left leg,
have only shown marginal improvement.
I guess we're just gonna have to work it twice as hard, huh, Jerry?
The rehab will help, but your left leg scored two out of five.
You just said it's too soon to say anything definitive.
Matt, the likelihood that you will ever...
I am walking out of this hospital. Do you understand?
I appreciate you're friends with the crew.
And if you wanna play cards with them, that's fine.
But you can't do something that undermines my command.
Well, thank you for your approval on the card front.
Jack...
Look, I'm sorry that you're experiencing some crew relation problems up there.
Crew relations?
But "undermine your command"?
You... you're way out of line.
- I'm out of line? - It's not a big deal, all right?
It was just a little bit of harmless gossip.
You outed her.
Do you get that?
Look, I know you wanted to be the one leading this mission.
But a commander has one job.
To take care of the crew.
And Lu just had a meltdown.
And now she's trapped in a tin can
with four people that know her deepest secret.
Not 'cause she wanted it. Not because she asked for it.
Because you wanted to feel important
and score some points with the boys.
Look, I can't talk anymore.
I've got some crew relations to manage.
Lu?
Lu.
There's no excuse for what happened to you out there,
and it happened on my watch.
But I can promise you this:
you will never receive an unwanted look or word from the crew again.
Look, I don't know what to say here.
Except I'm so sorry about Mei.
I don't... I don't know the first thing about your relationship,
and it's none of my business.
But I do know what it feels like
to be apart from the people you care about.
How you live and die with every phone call.
And if...
suddenly, those calls were taken away...
Lu, I can't even imagine.
I didn't know Mei terribly well,
but she was the best CAPCOM I ever worked with.
And it may sound silly, but...
I was always so impressed with her English.
She speaks it better than most Americans.
You speak it well too.
Whoo!
Please come in.
Wow, your place is so neat.
Not at all.
Personally, I think you sing very well.
No, not at all.
It's really good. Great.
I don't understand. Am I singing to my heart?
No, not really.
- Oh, I can't believe it. - Please have a seat.
Wow.
I didn't know young people still did brush calligraphy.
Ohh...
If you're just going to mock me...
I'm not.
My grandmother used to write my name with a brush.
- Oh? - It's a nice memory.
Ohh.
Will you do it?
Yes. It's actually quite simple.
Mmm... Mei...
Mei, the plum flowers.
Eleven strokes.
Look...
Will you show me how?
I'm giving you lessons. It's only fair.
Ah! Oh no.
Not like that. Relax your wrist. Don't grip it so tightly.
Like this, vertical.
Hold it like this.
Then your wrist needs to relax.
Relax.
Like this?
Mmm.
Keep the brush straight.
I am sorry.
I thought you wanted...
I do.
We will be careful. No one will know.
But I'll know.
I'll know.
My husband and I...
There is no...
love...
and passion, but...
there is respect.
I cannot...
dishonor him.
I cannot let my son down...
or my country.
We can have our lessons.
Nothing more.
Thanks.
Now, there she is.
How was practice? How was your first day back?
Practice was fine. How was your checkup with Dr. Madigan?
Nice try. All right, sit down and tell me everything.
Start at the beginning. Set the scene. It's 8:00 a.m.
You pull up to Johnson High and...
What's wrong?
Hey.
What is it?
You can tell me.
Was it hard being back?
It was weird.
Weird how? Did something happen? Someone say something?
No. Everyone was super nice.
Then what is it?
I don't know. I...
I feel like I need to be here.
In the hospital?
- Yeah. - Why?
- I don't know. - Lex.
Uh...
I'm just afraid something's gonna happen to you if I'm not.
Oh, come here. Come here. Come here.
I love you, okay?
I love you so much.
Look. Come here. Look at me.
Whatever's gonna happen to me is gonna happen.
You being here is not gonna change that, okay? You understand?
And when I'm feeling down in here,
thinking about how brave you're being gives me strength.
And you going back to school...
getting back to your life,
you have no idea how much that helped me today.
Okay? No idea.
Can we just tell Mom I had a really great first day?
She sounded pretty nervous for me on the phone.
Of course.
Thanks.
Atlas, this is Houston.
Do you copy, Emma?
Houston, Atlas, I copy.
Could you switch over to a private line?
There's something that you and I need to discuss.
Go ahead.
I have a suggestion regarding the Lu situation,
but I didn't wanna overstep my boundaries or...
undermine your command.
Go ahead.
I've spoken to some engineers, and it may be possible
to facilitate a private phone call between Lu and Mei.
I assume what you're proposing isn't, strictly speaking, NASA approved.
Well, they tend to frown upon clandestine operations
that could provoke an international incident, yes.
But I am more of a... ask forgiveness than permission kinda guy.
Seriously, though, this could provoke an international incident
if they found out.
Can you do it discreetly?
Yes, I think so.
I know that may be hard for you to believe right now, but...
yes.
Then do it.
Can I say something?
Regardless of what provoked it,
my behavior earlier was unacceptable.
It was wrong for me to lose my composure, so my apology.
You are not the one who needs to. I'm... I'm sorry for the way I acted.
I also wish to apologize.
So we'll speak no more of it.
May I have a word, Mission Specialist Wang?
I just wanted to update you
that the phone line in the command module will be undergoing repairs.
To anyone listening in, the line will be down
and not, for example, rerouted on untraceable back channels.
We can do this only once,
and you have exactly one hour before the channel is back online.
Is that understood?
That is all.
Commander... thank you
for your update.
"Atlas One,
confirming...
the checklist is complete and all systems are go."
Great! You're practically fluent.
My English has improved so quickly in the last two years,
and it's thanks to you.
Your calligraphy has become...
quite skilled.
Thanks to you.
Hmm.
"Women hold up half the sky."
Very good.
Next...
"Women hold up
half the sky."
Lu Lu, you leave tomorrow.
Let me stay tonight.
I am not asking you to break your vows.
We don't have to do anything.
We won't even touch each other.
Just lie in bed.
Please.
Only one night.
Let's have one night together.
Okay.
Hello.
It's me.
Lu.
No one's listening.
We can talk.
How are you? Huh?
I'm fine.
Did they do anything to you?
Do anything to me?
I don't know...
They...
gave me a desk job.
Lu Lu.
That's the way they handle things here.
No one will speak of it.
This will get swept under the rug.
They...
They won't do anything to me.
If something happened to me, people would ask why.
This mission was taken from you,
and they reassigned you somewhere else. Something definitely has happened.
It's my fault.
I'm so sorry.
It's because I love you...
that the mission was taken from me,
and I will never be sorry for that.
Don't cry.
So, according to the tests,
and I'm not trying to brag here, I promise,
but I think I might've set some records with my upper body scores.
- Really? - Yeah.
They're expecting a full recovery there.
I may even be playing the piano pretty soon.
Oh my God. That's...
I want a recording of the first song you play.
You got it.
That's incredible news, Matt.
Yeah.
So, uh...
the thing is, um...
What?
What is it?
Matt?
They, um...
They think I may never walk again.
What?
Well...
That's a little premature, don't you think?
I mean, it's just a preliminary test.
- Em... - Wait.
I'm gonna speak to Madigan in the morning.
I'm sure that there are other tests you can take.
- Other specialists we can talk to. - Em, please, just...
- Don't give up on this, Matt. - I'm not giving up.
I... I just...
I don't need you to try to fix this.
Okay?
I just need my wife.
Okay.
I'm looking right at you.
But our...
our spacecraft is far too small to be seen by telescope,
even if the sky were clear...
and you had my coordinates.
Mmm.
Well, that's very literal of you.
But...
that I cannot see you doesn't change the simple fact
I'm looking right at you.
Why?
What are you doing?
Memorizing your voice.
Your voice.
Time to say goodbye.
I know it's overplayed, but I don't care.
I like the way you play it better.
It was like a magic trick.
She'd be in that crib,
crying her eyes out,
and you'd sit down at that piano,
and then in seconds, she was out.
Mei, listen.
Seven months from now,
we will touch down on Mars.
Two years later, we will come back to Earth.
And after the parades are over,
and after my son has grown up,
I will find you.
I LOVE YOU
And I'm just...
supposed to sit around and wait?
Yes.
Okay.
Well...
Until then...
goodbye.
Until then...