Constellation
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Its no surprise that Jo is good at compartmentalizing.
This is a fancy therapy term for what Jo calls putting things in boxes.
Depending on the situation, compartmentalizing can be adaptive or maladaptive.
This episode ofConstellationis full of moving pieces as Jo heads off on an anxiety-fueled road trip with Alice.
And we finally get some definitive answers about Henrys brother, Bud.
First up, Bud and Henry.
Henry discovers the CAL is missing (well get to that!
), and as he scrambles to recover it, Bud is creeping into his consciousness.
At first, Henry tries to leave a message via a steamy mirror.
Leave Me Alone, he writes in the fog.
But Bud has no intention of leaving Henry alone.
Either way, Bud Caldera is here to fuck shit up.
Hes stopped taking his pills and started mainlining cheap beer.
Hes drunk-dialing his poor daughter and leaving increasingly menacing messages on her voice-mail.
And when he cant make a connection with her, he starts antagonizing Henry.
I dont know the correct terminology, people.
Irena is concerned about Henry, but she also has her own fish to fry.
Lets open up the Ilya box and see whats inside.
And a beautifully lit library scene.
And a lot of talk about astronauts and pills and mental health.
He trusts his old crewmate, so he heads down to the library to see what he can find.
What is she hiding?
And why is she hiding it?
Poor Magnus is stuffed into the tiniest of boxes this week.
He reels from Jos attack and abduction of their child and desperately wants to call the police.
However, Frederic convinces him not to; an erratic Jo would make for terrible PR.
Frederic isnt wrong, but hes still an asshole.
This definitely makes one wonder if he was abusing his power to coerce other Jo (a.k.a.
dead Jo) into having a relationship with him.
It certainly feels possible.
While Magnus flails at home, Jo and Alice travel all over Europe to find answers.
Even a slightly deranged and confused mom is still her mom.
Or is it?Constellationis definitely asking whether or not the various iterations of these astronauts are still themselves.
Alice has good reason to be skeptical as the brother-and-sister duo at the observatory are intense and committed.
(To be honest, they did hear Jo die!
So hes right to feel a bit confused!)
The woman takes Alice and Jo out on her boat so they can hear the tapes.
Its interesting that the concept of liminality was mentioned in the previous episode in reference to Alices age.
Perhaps thats why shes able to see so much in between worlds?
Perhaps thats why she sees the Valya?
Alice and Jo stop the tapes and demand to return to land.
Soon enough, Jo discovers that the tapes sound loud and clear when played close to the CAL.
The CAL itself seems to be a bridge between the two worlds.
For one, she doesnt mention the CAL at all before the explosion.
And two, its Paul who frantically calls out for Jo as the initial sounds from the collision subside.
Alice hears this tape from her bedroom and comes out to ask questions.
Jo tells her that its her on the recording, a claim Alice vehemently denies.
She doesnt speak Swedish, and she doesnt call her mom mama, she calls her mummy.
And this version is screaming for her mama.
The idea that there is fully another Alice out there in the snow is tripping me out as well.
the Valya, because weve 100 percent heard Henry call her that before) can be dead and alive.
Bud can be a complete psychopath, and his counterpart, Henry, can be a Nobel Prize winner.
It sounds suspiciously like shes from the same timeline as Bud.
The woman at the observatory makes the connection between Alice and Alice in Wonderland.
She invokes the great line about believing six impossible things before breakfast.
Maybe someone let her steal the CAL?
There are a lot ofThe Shiningvibes surrounding the Bud and Henry story line.
I feel like its worth mentioning that there are two conclusions to that story.
Speaking of Henry and Bud, why and how are they both alive?
One version of Jo is dead.
One version of Paul is dead.
One version of Irena is dead.
So why are these two special?