Headscratchers / The Midnight Sky

• Why wasn't there more of an argument about the two astronauts leaving to go back to earth. Technically you could restart a society with one healthy breeding pair, but most scientists would know that such an extreme level of inbreeding would lead to a bunch of birth defects and a lot of people just becoming infertile. At the very least there should have been an awkward scene where she hands the two guys some cups and asks for some donations. Besides preventing and delaying the inevitable horrific birth defects and societal collapse; its a lot easier to build stuff and get things working when you have four working people rather than just two. And if there is going to be a society again one of them is going to have their function diminished half the time as they perform their new duty as a broodmare.
  • Rebuilding the human race was never a realistic option even with all four of them; there just isn't enough genetic diversity left and presumably the Aether isn't outfitted for cloning or major gene editing. Letting the astronauts return to Earth doesn't change humanity's fate; it just gives them a chance to reconcile with loved ones before the end.