DISCLAIMER: This recap of Constellation Season 1 Episode 2, “Live and Let Die,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Listen, sh*t is hitting the genre-bending fan ” Live and Let Die.” We get a nice blend of sci-fi, horror, thriller and mystery, with a supercharged, masterful performance from Noomi Rapace. Jonathan Banks also kills it. He plays identical twins, which is exciting.
“Live and Let Die” deepens the mystery around what is making Jo and Alice “jump” around time (my assumption). The tagline for Constellation is “Reality is a conspiracy,” so we’re sure to get more timey-wimey antics down the line.
This outing is action-packed and tense, with an immersive narrative and a gorgeously simple, piano-driven score. I’m intrigued. Here’s hoping we don’t spend too much time being confused, though. Let’s not turn this into a Westworld situation.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Constellation episode, “The Wounded Angel”
Finding Alice
We open with Jo (Rapace) carrying Alice (Rosie and Davina Coleman) through the windswept, snowy tundra to the cabin. As it turns out, Jo found her in another cabin in the previous episode? I was 100 percent certain that that was a dream sequence/Jo’s hallucination. Anyway, once inside the cabin, Jo runs the bath to warm Alice up. Unfortunately, they run out of hot water, so Jo leaves to boil more. Upon trying to light a match, though, she notices something strange. Jo sees Alice sleeping in her bed in one room while another Alice washes herself in the bathtub.
CONSTELLATION Season 1 Episode 2, “Live and Let Die.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Next, Bedroom Alice emerges to ask Jo what’s wrong. Behind her, we see the painting of the two men carrying a stretcher. The wounded angel is on it again (we don’t have time for demons). A bewildered Jo rushes back to the bathroom to discover an empty tub. So, it is a weird dream/hallucination. Unless… we’ll get to that later.
Hours Later
Jo finds herself back on the International Space Station (ISS) after taking a hit from an oxygen mask. She’s taken aback to learn that she only has six hours and 45 minutes left of life support. Hours have passed. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, Henry (Banks) touches down in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, at Roscosmos Mission Control. Irena (Barbara Sukowa) welcomes him (although not that warmly). She informs him that there’s no sign of life on the ISS.
RELATED: GGA’s 10 Most Anticipated Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Shows of 2024
Then, we see Jo hard at work repairing Soyuz 1 for departure. She realizes it took her nearly an hour to switch over one battery, and she’s only done two. She has four left to transfer to Soyuz 1 and then 90 minutes for the undocking procedure. While working, she notices a bag floating behind her. It was the one concealing Commander Lancaster’s head. His body is currently in Soyuz 1. Before placing it back on his head, Jo closes his eyes.
Later, at Roscosmos Mission Control, Magnus (James D’Arcy) chats with Frederic (Julian Looman), the Head of the European Space Agency, about Jo’s chances of survival. Alice plays in the background. Frederic states that Jo only has a few hours left to finish the repairs and conduct the undocking procedure before she runs out of oxygen/life support. There’s a significant possibility she won’t make it. Magnus can’t accept this. He reminds Frederic that the latter trained Jo for four years. When Frederic starts tearing up, Magnus tells him off. Oh, these two have got beef.
Stop Breathing
While Jo works, she leaves a recorded message for her family. She still has no connection to Mission Control. Suddenly, she hears a strange, distorted hissing/resonant noise beneath her recording. That’s not terrifying at all. The hissing transforms into Lancaster’s (Will Catlett) voice, telling her not to breathe. “You stay in Destiny,” he adds. Jo decides to investigate, which is why it always ends horribly for most horror movie characters. She discovers Lancaster’s severed arm floating in space. Fun.
RELATED: GGA’s 12 Most Anticipated Science Fiction Books of 2024
But don’t worry — that arm follows her inside, too. When she grabs its hand, a fully formed Commander Lancaster materializes before her. However, when Jo blinks, Lancaster vanishes. A little bit later, Jo is ecstatic when the sun rises, affording her light and power to keep working. Jo tries to contact Mission Control. She asks if she can speak to her family. Unfortunately, she’s met with a recorded message from Sergei (Lenn Kudrjawizki), who informs her that they’re experiencing S-band failure and cannot hear her.
Sergei asks her to retrieve the CAL data core on behalf of RPL while they work to upload her deorbit parameters for undocking. Sergei also asks her to open all bands for transmission. At Mission Control, Henry continues to impress upon Michaela (Chipo Chung) and the others the importance of getting the CAL data. He changes the subject, asking if Irena has heard from her sister. Irena reminds him that her sister is dead. She inquires about Henry’s brother. Henry claims he hasn’t talked to his brother in years.
CONSTELLATION Season 1 Episode 2, “Live and Let Die.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
SS Bernice
Next, we zoom in on the SS Bernice, 12 nautical miles off California. Bud Caldera (Banks), Henry’s twin brother, gives an interview regarding Jo’s situation from his quarters. The interviewer rubs him the wrong way, and he chews her out. She cuts the interview short, but not before calling him “Henry.” He yells out that he’s Bud, not his brother.
RELATED: 8 Star Trek Predictions for 2024
Meanwhile, Jo gets all the batteries transferred over to Soyuz 1. Hell yeah. Jo climbs into the capsule and powers it up. She contacts Sergei again, only to hear the recorded message … again. Jo tries to input the previous day’s deorbit parameters since Roscosmos couldn’t send the updated ones to her. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. So, she writes out the math to determine said parameters on her own.
Jo logs in her calculations, hoping they pan out. In the meantime, she leaves a recording for Magnus and Alice on her iPad in case she does not survive. Rapace delivers a beautifully tender, heartstring-tugging monologue during her message to Alice. After that, she sends the iPad into the station before locking herself in Soyuz 1. I suppose that’s for the next crew who travels to ISS to find.
Strap In
Then, realizing she only has 11 minutes left of oxygen and life support, Jo dons her suit and straps in. With docking initiated, Jo waits for the capsule to separate from the space station. However, she runs into yet another snag: the bolts are malfunctioning. Jo looks up how to remedy the issue in her manual. Unfortunately, the solution requires two astronauts to pull off.
RELATED: Read our For All Mankind recaps here!
Later, we hear the countdown at Mission Control to when Jo’s oxygen/life support is officially depleted. Alice sits in another room while beading a necklace but looks alert. Magnus watches the proceedings from afar. When the clock hits “zero,” the room goes silent. They think they’ve lost Jo. They assume she died. Irena delivers a moving commemoration in Russian. Poor Alice looks rightfully heartbroken. Sergei quietly sends another message to Jo in the hopes she’ll respond.
Then, we see Henry looking at Jo’s drawing of the dead female cosmonaut she saw in the truss. The one potentially responsible for the collision. Irena joins him. They drink to Jo and Lancaster. Meanwhile, Jo narrowly manages to undock from the ISS. Her calculations for the deorbit parameters were accepted. Now, she has three hours until landing. She launches the capsule into ballistic mode once she nears the Earth’s atmosphere.
CONSTELLATION Season 1 Episode 2, “Live and Let Die.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Withdrawal
Irena reveals Roscosmos plans to withdraw from the program, citing that the ISS was only meant to be operational for 20 years. Henry accuses her of abandoning ship because someone died. He asks her if she’s not curious about this mysterious illness of which she’s an expert. Irena notes that what transpired on the ISS was “a fatal accident after years of warning about debris.” She believes this will happen again. Henry counters there are countless questions to which they’ll never get answers.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Danielle Poole
Earlier, he remarked the CAL data will not only help cure whatever illness they have, but it’ll be a boon for life on Earth in general. Curioser and curioser. Irena’s content to designate the ISS as an international grave and to “leave space to the people with money.”
Suddenly, alarms blare in the building. They discover that Soyuz 1 is hurtling toward Earth. Sergei tries to contact Jo. He urges her to open all VHF bands. Jo stretches out, trying to push the button that’ll do just that. After some struggling, she’s successful. The room erupts into cheers when they hear her voice. Magnus races toward Mission Control. He finally says “hi” to Jo. Aw.
She’s Alive
Next, Magnus informs Alice that her mother is alive. Henry sends the crew to locate her. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, but they can do it. Everyone boards various helicopters, vehicles, etc., to search for Jo.
RELATED: 9 Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Predictions
We see the parachute on Jo’s capsule open as she nears landing. Soyuz 1 crash lands on Earth, rolling a bit before being dragged by the parachute. Once it stops, Jo, who had briefly lost consciousness, wakes up. She slowly removes her gloves and helmet while disoriented. Jo opens the door to find the desert in Kazakhstan before her. Then, a wolf springs into view. My guess is the little guy smelled Commander Lancaster’s corpse, which is now bleeding from the landing.
Thankfully, the arrival of the rescue crew scares the wolf away. The team carries her out of the capsule while Henry fetches the CAL data core. He runs tests on his iPad with it. “How do you say ‘eureka’ in Russian?” he wonders. Jo reunites with Alice. It’s emotional and sweet. She also pulls Magnus in for a hug, who’s rather awkward about it. Their relationship is on the rocks, but you think he’d be happier to see her alive.
CONSTELLATION Season 1 Episode 2, “Live and Let Die.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Disappearing
Frederic approaches, also awkward. He and Jo exchange “hi’s” before she’s carted away for departure. Hmm. I think she had a fling with Frederic. It’s giving “past lovers.”
RELATED: The Cast of Resident Alien on the Season 3 Premiere and What’s to Come
Later, Jo, Alice and Magnus board a helicopter. Jo smiles, grabbing her daughter’s hand. Suddenly, Alice notices she’s the only one in the helicopter. We see she’s the only person in the desert. Alice calls out for her mom. Simultaneously, Jo notices she, too, is alone. She calls out for Alice. Weird. Finally, they’re reunited, along with Magnus and the others.
My theory: Jo and Alice possess a gift for time travel. They can hop forward and backward in time. Or they can seamlessly switch between different dimensions. Like, they can travel to parallel or alternate timelines before zipping back to their timeline.
Live and Let Die
Finally, we return to the cabin in Northern Sweden. Jo asks Alice where her daughter is. Alice doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Jo is convinced the girl standing before her isn’t her daughter, even though they look identical. Maybe Alice has a clone? Jo realizes her true daughter is out there in the snowy expanse, probably close to freezing to death. She urges Alice to join her in searching for, well, Alice. Jo hears “Mummy!” before grabbing the NASA container with the blue stuff and making a beeline for the desolate landscape before her.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Molly Cobb
What’s your theory regarding Jo and Alice’s capabilities? Is there another version of Alice? Perhaps the Jo we saw in the final moments is also from another timeline? What discovery did the CAL data core make? What illness do Henry and Irena have? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Constellation drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
FOR ALL MANKIND: 8 Predictions for Season 5
Melody.McCune@geekgirlauthority.com
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
- DOCTOR WHO Recap: (S01E03) Boom - May 17, 2024
- 15 Song Covers We Want to Hear on BRIDGERTON - May 17, 2024
- BRIDGERTON Season 3 Part 1 Finale Recap: (S03E04) Old Friends - May 16, 2024
