After Apollo 11 makes a safe return from the Moon, Ed is offered his seat back on Apollo 15 if he testifies before congress against Wernher von Braun. Meanwhile, Tracy discovers that Gordo is cheating on her and struggles to cope.
This episode provides examples of:
- Alternate History:
- Von Braun is forced to resign in 1969; in our time line, he retired in 1972.
- As everyone knows, Apollo 11 landed safely on the Moon in our timeline.
- Broken Pedestal: Margo takes the revelation of von Braun's activities during the Nazi era particularly hard as she looked to him as a mentor (and it's implied a Parental Substitute for her distant father).
- Failed a Spot Check: What reveals Gordo's cheating? His fling flushes the toilet while he is on the phone with Tracy.
- Freak Out: Tracy has a well-justified one after discovering Gordo's affair. Karen calms her down and convinces her to stay by reminding her that an astronaut's divorce would be a huge public spectacle that would not spare their two kids.
- Hauled Before A Senate Subcommittee: Ed and von Braun are called to testify about NASA's failure to beat the Soviets to the Moon, with the obvious intent of making von Braun The Scapegoat. When this doesn't work, Representative Sandman instead publicly reveals von Braun's Nazi ties, forcing him to resign in disgrace.
- Implausible Deniability: Sandman finds it hard to believe that von Braun had no idea what was happening in his own rocket factory or the concentration camp less than a mile away.
- It's All My Fault: Rather than criticize von Braun, Ed testifies that while von Braun vetoed Apollo 10 attempting a Moon landing, as mission commander he could've gone for it anyway, and indeed nearly did. He concludes that he shares the blame for not beating the Soviets.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Sandman is obviously working as Nixon's hitman and it's inherently hypocritical for the government to hire an ex-Nazi and then act shocked that he was involved in war crimes. All that aside, however, his final point is salient: there is no way von Braun could have been unaware that his rockets were being built by starving concentration camp victims who were literally worked to death in the factory.
- Mood Whiplash: Von Braun's hearing. He gives an inspirational speech about how the race isn't over, just the first stage. His comments are met with applause and lighthearted laughter from the audience. Then he starts getting confronted about his Nazi past.
- Never My Fault: Von Braun runs through every excuse possible as to why he's not complicit in and responsible for many horrors of WWII, from "I'm just an engineer" to "I didn't know" to "I would have been killed if I spoke up". Only after Margo repeatedly questions him about whether he knew that his rockets were being built using concentration camp slave labor does he even come close to admitting he did anything wrong. Even then, his idea of "admitting" it is saying that important scientific work requires sacrifice.
- Samus Is a Girl: The second cosmonaut on the Moon, moments after stepping out of the lander, turns to the camera and flips up their visor to reveal a female face. Ed and Deke look somewhat unnerved, while Tracy stares at the TV screen with obvious pleasure.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Tom Lehrer's satirical "Wernher Von Braun", a light and pleasant melody paired with cheerfully cynical lyrics, is played over the scene of von Braun being escorted in shock from Congress after being exposed and disgraced before the whole nation.
- Title Drop: Wernher von Braun is the builder in question.
