Space Brothers - Episode 46

It's off to Houston we go in this week's Space Brothers, although not before saying goodbye to any friends and family - an opportunity to delve a little deeper into the personalities and families of our two female astronauts to-be, while also turning an eye towards those loved ones left behind in their wake.

From here though, it's back to the astronauts themselves as they meet at the airport and ready themselves to set off for America - a particularly unique experience for Mutta thanks to another of Murasaki's pranks which has left him sporting his blue JAXA jumpsuit, turning him temporarily into some kind of celebrity.

Back in Houston itself, we're given some time to get an early feel for the man who will make or break the fledgling careers of the astronauts in training; a man named Vincent Bold, and a man for whom time simply won't wait.  Thus, Bold has no interest in niceties or padding conversations, leaving him to be a rather brusque individual who has little time for anybody.  Having already singled out Mutta as a probable useless candidate in his mind due to his looks and lack of military experience, it seems that our protagonist could have his work cut out for him here...

I was worried that this week's episode was going to be overly slow on account of its opening scenes, but although it didn't exactly fly by it still had a fair amount to offer in terms of warming us up for the next major story arc - Bold is an interesting but somehow believable character, and with other new astronauts about to be introduced hopefully there will be plenty of character-driven drama for the series to mine for.  Provided it can deliver all of this at a decent clip, we could be in for another treat or two from the series.