I love Star City, and its conclusion next week will almost certainly leave me feeling nostalgic. Episode 7 made it clear why: few recent series understand so well that a great twist should not end a story. It should blow it wide open.

After the devastating ending of the previous episode — when everything seemed to indicate that Raskova had ordered the execution of Valya, Sasha, and Lakshmi after discovering that Valya had been spying for the Americans — I was, like I imagine many viewers were, left breathless. And not only because of the apparent deaths of the three astronauts, but because the series deliberately refused to answer what had happened to Tanya, the Chief Engineer, and the mysterious American agent.

Then came the jump to 1971, forcing us to pause and reconsider how we got here.

What has happened in Star City so far

Star City began as a story about the Soviet victory in the Space Race, but quickly revealed itself to be a series about the human cost of that victory. The show follows cosmonauts, engineers, and KGB agents living under constant surveillance in a system where friendship, love, and patriotism are often incompatible.

Throughout the season, we have watched Irina Morozova’s rise within the Soviet apparatus; the complex relationship between young cosmonaut Anastasia Belikova and the legacy of Soviet space heroes; the marriage of Tanya and Valya Markelov; Sasha’s impulsive and deeply emotional journey; and the arrival of Lakshmi, whose presence exposes the contradictions of Soviet diplomacy. Meanwhile, security chief Lyudmilla Raskova consolidates her power through surveillance, manipulation, and fear.

In the final episodes, we learn that Valya was blackmailed and had been spying for the Americans in order to protect Tanya. When he is exposed, Sasha and Lakshmi decide to help him, prompting Raskova to order the depressurization of the spacecraft carrying the three of them. The Chief Engineer attempts to stop the execution and is arrested. The episode ends with an explosion aboard the spacecraft, strongly suggesting the deaths of all three astronauts.

What happens in Episode 7

Episode 7, “Plow Deep,” jumps directly to 1971 and spends nearly an entire hour convincing viewers that Valya, Sasha, and Lakshmi really died. The Soviet space program has rewritten the tragedy as a heroic accident; Belikova lives in mourning; Raskova has lost some of her influence; and a new KGB-backed Chief Engineer has taken control of the space program.

But the episode is actually a trap.

After years of being kept on Earth, Anastasia Belikova — now widowed after Sasha’s apparent death and still grieving him — is sent back into space to help restore the Soviet program’s image and participate in a mission to spy on the Americans. Then, in the final moments, we discover that Valya, Sasha, and Lakshmi survived the explosion and are on their way back to Earth.

And that is where Star City does something brilliant: the revelation does not answer the central question. It creates several new ones.

The first is the most obvious: how did the crew survive the fire? Or, perhaps more importantly, did all three of them actually survive?

Then there is the question of what Raskova will do once she finds out. If Valya is alive, how could he possibly escape once he returns to Star City?

Did Sasha tell Valya that he had betrayed him by sleeping with Tanya? After all, once so many truths came out so dramatically, and they managed to survive, it’s not as though they lacked time for difficult conversations.

And what will happen when Sasha and Belikova see each other again?

Then there are all the questions surrounding Tanya. Where is she? The episode virtually erases her from the narrative, but her absence is so conspicuous that it feels impossible to believe it is accidental. Did she escape? Was she protected? Or was she sacrificed? Irina’s calmness terrifies me.

There is also the question of the American agent. After playing such a crucial role in exposing Valya’s espionage, she simply disappears from the story. And in Star City, characters do not disappear by accident, especially when Irina is involved.

Another mystery may be the most politically intriguing of all. If Tanya escaped and so many events spiraled beyond Raskova’s control, why does Irina still retain her trust? What happened between the two women during the years the series deliberately chose not to show us? What did Irina do — or fail to do — to remain at the side of the most powerful woman in Star City?

The episode also attempts to humanize Raskova through the revelation that her son died in the war. This does not excuse any of her actions, but it forces us to ask: Who was Raskova before that tragedy? How much of the woman we know was shaped by grief? And how much of her was always there?

And finally, there is perhaps the greatest mystery of all: what exactly is Irina’s secret? We already know, from For All Mankind, the powerful — and almost monstrous — figure she will become. However, Star City continues to suggest that there is a trauma, a choice, or a betrayal in her past that we have yet to see.

That may ultimately be Episode 7’s greatest achievement: it convinced us that we were watching a story about the deaths of three astronauts. In reality, we were watching the origin story of all the secrets that will shape Irina and, perhaps, the entire history of the Soviet space program itself.

And honestly? I don’t trust Raskova, but I trust Irina even less. After this episode, I’m not sure I should trust anyone in Star City anymore.

Still, I will certainly hope for a second season.