We're in the back end of Constellation, with the fifth episode of this eight-episode show landing on Wednesday, March 6, and this Apple TV Plus sci-fi thriller has been throwing us twists left, right and center so far.
For the first half of the season, we've watched Jo (Noomi Rapace) escape a failed science experiment in space, only to come back to a planet that's subtly different from the one she left. In episode five, entitled "Five Miles Out, the Sound Is Clearest", she takes matters into her own hands by hunting for answers to whatever's going on.
After a surprising turn at the end of episode four, Jo is rapidly burning bridges, and other characters are also facing some bizarre events. So let's see how they deal with them.
Spoilers ensue, of course, so you've been warned.
Fleeing from Germany
We begin where the previous episode left off: Jo has accidentally knocked Magnus (James D'Arcy) out, though he's clearly still alive and his phone is still dialing through to Frederic (Julian Looman). Jo hangs up that call but does phone for an ambulance to look after Magnus.
Then Jo retrieves Alice (Rosie/Davina Coleman) from the cupboard she's hiding in, gets her to pack a bag and quickly hurries her into a car.
Jo stops by the European Space Agency lab and downloads evidence from the inquiry, particularly the audio recordings from space, which she listens to. On her way out, she also steals the CAL machine.
Over to Henry (Jonathan Banks): while sleeping he loudly says his own name, which wakes him up, and he repeats it a few times. That's until he shouts at himself to shut up. He goes to take a bath, but hears a knocking on his door... though there's nobody there. Irene (Barbara Sukowa) calls him, telling him about the new Nobel Prize-winning experiment, and it's all about quantum mechanics.
Haunted by the Valya
Jo drives Alice to Denmark. As they wait for the ferry she calls fellow astronaut Ilya, telling him about the vitamins and medications, and asks him to investigate too. As this happens she hides the CAL in the footwell of her car, to avoid customs from seeing it.
At the ESA, Henry discovers that the CAL has been stolen. He goes to the bathroom, runs hot taps and writes something in the mirror. We also catch up with Bud (also Banks), who's drinking and calling various family members about their plans for Thanksgiving. That is, until he sees in his own mirror... the message Henry wrote!
At a restaurant, Jo asks Alice why she hides in wardrobes. We find out about the Valya, a figure Alice keeps seeing in dreams, and Jo asks Alice to draw Valya for her. Jo also calls someone at the observatory they're heading to, though the person on the line hangs up quickly. Jo does an online search about them and finds out they've sent fake tapes to people in the past. This causes Jo do doubt what she's doing.
Jo calls Magnus (who's with Frederic) who asks her to come back, though Jo is only calling to reassure him that they're alright. As they're on the call, Alice shows Jo the picture she drew of Valya... and it looks identical to the body she saw in episode 1! This is despite Alice not being privy to the investigation where this was discussed.
At Star City, Ilya does his own test on his vitamins, and finds out they're just vitamins. He tries to find some medical records but is told they're no longer available. Irene talks to him, telling him that Jo has run away with Alice, but Ilya pretends he hasn't spoken to her.
The marine observatory
Jo takes Alice to the observatory in Denmark, which is run by siblings Laurenz and Walborg. The former is unhappy to see them, calling Jo a "crisis actor" but the latter is hospitable enough. They tell Jo and Alice about their marine observatory and how they record 'ghost tapes' of the weird things happening in space. However to hear them fully, they have to take a boat five miles away from shore (hence the title of the episode).
Walborg takes Jo and Alice on the boat and plays a tape of a woman in space dying. Even though she gives Jo a transcript, neither Jo nor Alice can make out anything. It just sounds like noise, and Walborg sounds a bit crazy. The older lady also says that there's a tape that suggests Paul Lancaster survived the accident and Jo died, but Jo just wants to leave.
On the return boat journey, Alice steals Walborg's phone and calls Magnus. She lets him know that they're safe and will be headed to the cabin in Sweden next. As Jo and Alice leave the observatory, Walborg gives them the ghost tapes of Jo's trip.
At the ESA, people are preparing to head to Sweden to retrieve the CAL. Henry goes to Frederic's office to ask to come along, but when he's there, he begins to wet himself... and laughs maniacally as he does!
Later, Henry goes to a bathroom and talks into a mirror to address Bud... who appears in the mirror to talk to him! Henry wants to know the state of the CAL or Jo in his world but Bud doesn't reply, instead saying that he's coming for Henry.
On their drive to Sweden, Alice plays one of the ghost tapes, of the woman dying in space... and recognizes it as the Valya's voice! As they get near the cabin, Jo becomes confused because there's an extra road than she remembers. Alice seems to know the way but Jo ignores her and drives straight across a lake instead.
At the cabin, Jo is listening to a tape that was recorded directly before the accident in space, which is notably completely different from the one she heard earlier at ESA. Alice is listening in, as she's in the recording, but she points out that this isn't actually her in the recording — she doesn't even speak Swedish (as she does in the file)! So who is this?
The last thing we see of the episode is Alice again, but this time lost in the snow-torn wilds of Sweden, shouting for her mother.
