Soooooo I totally forgot I hadn’t written this recap until 6pm last night. And given that none of you asked me where it was, I am beginning to suspect this show is not long for the fugcaps. (I also say that every week. I’m like Dread Pirate Roberts over here. “Good night, Astronauts’ Wives’ Clubs. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”)
Topline information about this episode: Everyone’s accents leap all over the place; Yvonne Strahovski’s wig is TERRIBLE; the outfits (on the other hand) are excellent; Hot Neighbor Wade lives through his flight despite a brief moment where he went missing, and then he takes his shirt off; this show has A LOT of exposition that, in the long run, is not really even that important.
As far as the rest of the wives go: Trudy and Gordo have a series of conversations that clarify stuff we ALREADY KNEW (that he still loves her, and he’s not cheating on her) and ends with her telling him that maybe they’ll get back together, via the good line, “we’re all moving to Houston to put a man on the moon. Anything is possible.” That said, Odette Annable’s acting choices in this role are very weird. She really enunciates every line in a way that makes her performance feel a bit like it’s a bravura turn from the most talented kid in a decent high school play.
Annie and John continue to be Holy Saintlike Creatures With No Flaws. He also continues to be very hot.
Other than the above, Rene and Scott have issues with the press because she tells a bunch of them that she isn’t going to be praying for Scott while he’s in space. It comes out that she doesn’t believe in prayer (she may not believe in God at all; for a show that loves exposition, it also forces the audience to fill in certain holes in weird ways, generally emotional ones) because they had a baby who died of SIDS. She ends up writing her own story for Life (freeing up Max Caplan: Reporter to moon over Louise, no pun intended) that does talk movingly about faith in general and I guess fixes their PR problem to boot. Good for you, Rene! I like you, even if you had a whole new speaking voice this episode.
Betty Grissom makes a cheese ball with pretzels stuck in it, like a porcupine.
Alan Shepard is a horndog and even the local hookers know it; Louise secretly wants to bang Max Caplan: Reporter, which would be interesting and therefore will never happen.
Marge and Deke are in a tizzy because he got grounded (and replaced with Scott). HE thinks it’s because NASA is mad that he backed up John Glenn telling Annie she didn’t need to let LBJ in their house; Marge says it’s because of his irregular heartbeat. WE have NO IDEA what the real reason is, and whether or not it has anything do with Marge’s Scandalous Past in Japan, because the show has forgotten that happened maybe. Then Deke decides to stop drinking (was he an alcoholic? WHO KNOWS?!?!) and everything is great.
Lavinia Swire and that dude she’s married to (not Cousin Matthew) are really excited because Not Cousin Matthew is going up next. (In real life, Jo Schirra just died two months ago at 91.)
TO THE OUTFITS! Since I’ve kind of given you the plot already, let’s just look at the noteworthy stuff people wore in this episode and get on with our lives.
