The decision over who will command the NASA mission to Mars causes a power struggle between Molly and Margo. Helios buys the Polaris station from Karen with the intent to use it as the basis of Phoenix, its own Mars bound spaceship. Molly chooses Ed as the Mars mission command but is then overruled by Margo who gives the command to Danielle. Ed is humiliated and lashes out at Danielle. At Karen's suggestion Helios offers Ed the command of its Mars mission and Ed accepts after quitting NASA. Ellen has to decide on a running mate.
Tropes:
- Apple of Discord: The decision of whether Ed or Danielle should command the Mars mission destroys the working relationship between Molly and Margo and puts a massive strain on Ed and Danielle's friendship. The way it all plays out humiliates Ed and he has no problem jumping ship to Helios.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Margo gets told about the Helios press conference, we get a brief glimpse of the mission status board. The rovers Spirit and Opportunity are on Mars, Beagle has arrived at Jamestown, Enterprise has returned from satellite repair, and Pathfinder is on a classified mission.
- Innocent Bigot: "Innocent" may be a bit charitable in this case. While Margo certainly had no ableist intent towards Molly, her overall tone was certainly hostile.
- Local Hangout: Ed and Danielle meet at the Outpost, which by now has become an international chain that sells souvenirs and is a family-friendly dining experience.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Pretty much everyone at NASA has this reaction when Helios announces that they have their own Mars mission planned, it will leave two years earlier than the NASA or Soviet missions and that they recruited Ed to be its commander.
- "Not So Different" Remark: At his keynote speech, Dev remarks how almost every pioneering moment of aviation history was achieved by private individuals rather than governments, and his mission to Mars is no different.
- Refuge in Audacity: Molly announces Ed as the mission commander without consulting Margo first, assuming that Margo will have no choice but to play along. It backfires horribly as Margo decides to overrule Molly even if doing so will humiliate Ed. When Deke Slayton pulled a similar stunt back in the 1970s it worked. But times have changed.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- After losing the command of the Mars mission, Ed feels betrayed and humiliated so he ends up quitting NASA and joining Helios's mission to Mars.
- Danielle leaves Ed when he drunkenly implies that she was chosen because she's black.
- Stalker with a Crush: Danny's feelings for Karen haven't gone away. Near the end of the episode, he is shown parked outside her house.
- Take That!: Ellen mentioning Bragg claiming that Mars has canals and is in the same orbit as Earth is an obvious jab at Dan Quayle's gaffe about Mars.
