What just happened?
*Warning: Full spoilers for Constellation ahead.*
As Constellation ends on Apple TV+, the series from Doctor Who writer Peter Harness has brought us an epic cliffhanger moment to see out the show (for now).
The series, starring Noomi Rapace, Jonathan Banks and James D’Arcy, follows astronaut Jo, who returns home from a traumatic space mission to find her life very different to how she left it.
However, life on Earth has proved pretty traumatic for Jo too. As we go into episode 8, we’ve discovered that she’s crossed over into a universe where things are almost the same but not quite, with her daughter Alice (Davina and Rosie Coleman) finding a way to communicate with her other self. Still with us?
As it turns out, one version of Jo is dead and the other is alive, with Alice understanding the situation pretty much better than anyone else in this whole scenario. Listen to the kid!
Elsewhere, it’s made clear that the exact same thing has happened to Henry/Bud Caldera (Banks) with one version of himself making the other one’s life a misery.
However, things get a whole lot more complicated in Constellation episode 8. Here’s everything you need to know.
Constellation ending explained: How is Jo alive?
Throughout the series, and particularly in episode 8, we see Jo grappling with the fact that she is one of two versions of herself – with the other one being dead in space (or so we thought).
Up until now, she has been fighting to find her way back to her other family, and particularly her daughter Alice, as she knows this version is not her daughter.
However, episode 8 shows Jo finally making her peace with the fact that she needs to stay with this version of her family, and making an agreement to Alice that they can be each other’s mother and daughter. No doubt, that decision is also influenced by her love for Magnus and the fact that she’s pregnant.
Once this has been established though, the show has one more twist left in store.
A final scene shows the spacecraft Jo was on, with her last message to Alice playing. As we’re taken through the inside of the spacecraft, we see a gruesome shot of Jo’s corpse with half of her face missing after her death in space. However, a shocking final moment before the series ends shows this version of Jo, apparently no longer dead, looking towards her iPad and grabbing it before looking into the camera at us.
So, how is this version of Jo alive? Of course, we don’t know just yet but we do know from earlier in the series that characters, including Irena/Valya can exist between life and death in a liminal space, making it possible that this version of Jo only appears to be alive temporarily.
But, if this version of Jo is well and truly alive somehow, it has huge implications for the show going forward if it’s greenlit for a season 2. Considering the other version of Jo has finally accepted that she needs to stay with this other version of her family, it seems that newfound peace is about to get massively disrupted.
Who is Valya?
Valya is the other version of Irena (Barbara Sukowa) – and the cosmonaut that Alice drew in her picture.
As we begin episode 8, Jo is in trouble, being wheeled away under Irena’s watch, with everyone convinced she’s going mad.
Alice has basically worked out exactly what’s going on and sits her dad Magnus (D’Arcy) down to tell him her mother is dead and that her body is still in space. Obviously, Magnus is a bit confused, considering he thinks she spent the weekend with her mum. Remember, this Jo is from the other side – so is technically the other Alice’s mother.
Magnus attempts to convince Alice that her mother is still alive – to no avail.
Jo wakes up to find herself locked in her room. Magnus thinks Jo is telling Alice lies and says she can’t see her unless she stops accepting the “lies”.
Irena examines Jo and tells her to play the piano to get back to herself. Jo tries to explain that she’s seen her “real” daughter, but Irena refuses to accept it, telling Jo that she has a condition that’s making her believe these things.
Irena says usually they’d use one particular dose to treat Jo, but she’s in the early stages of pregnancy. She says they have designed an alternative drug therapy to treat her, with Jo distressed at the news – she says she can’t have the child because otherwise she won’t be able to get back to her Alice.
Jo hears noises from another inmate, who Irena describes as “incurable”. However, she’s distracted as she suddenly recognises Irena as the cosmonaut she saw in space – the one everyone tried to convince her wasn’t there.
She recognises Irena’s voice as the one on the recording and starts reciting what she said back to her – “Capsule on fire…the world is the wrong way round.” Irena swiftly leaves, with Jo still shouting out to her.
Ilya tells Jo he believes she’s suffering from “astronaut burnout” and that Irena is hoping he takes over for her. Jo tells Ilya that she knows Irena died in space, trying to tell him that they both came from somewhere else – but Ilya won’t hear it.
Jo sneaks out of her room to find the other inmate she heard – and sees two people looking back at her, confirming her fears.
Alice convinces Magnus she doesn’t think Jo died and asks to go and see her, and he agrees.
Alice also discovers the speaker in a box of things that were recovered from outside the cabin after the fire and attempts to speak to the other her – but she doesn’t receive a response. Alice tells Magnus that she accepts the other Alice got her mother back and she can’t be angry about it, with Magnus clearly thinking it’s a way of coping with her mother’s death.
Jo questions Irena about what’s happening and whether there are two of each of them – one dead and one alive. Irena refuses to talk about it, telling her that she has a child here to be a mother to, and another on the way.
She tells her to accept it and let go. Alice chats to Jo, acknowledging that they both know they’re not each other’s mother and daughter – but they can make the best of it.
She gives Magnus a picture Alice drew of the cosmonaut she saw in space. She says she’s trying to be rational and she’ll start taking the pills and they speak about whether they want to keep the baby.
Irena, meanwhile, sends an email to all of the astronauts she can, suggesting that space travel drives people mad, and inviting them to tell her about their experiences.
As they head home together, Jo asks Magnus if she seems like his Jo. He says no, but Jo says she loves him.
Speaking about that moment and Jo’s decision to stay, Rapace told GQ: “It’s too hard to be alone. You can’t do anything about it. I get goosebumps just talking about it.
“It’s so f**king heartbreaking. With Jo, there’s an internal war inside between her rationality and her gut feeling. Because as a scientist, you look at truth, you look at evidence. But [her] entire existence is saying something else.
“But she doesn’t really have a choice. She surrenders. She’d rather fit in than become a mad woman who goes to war with everyone. And the other Alice needs a mother; she’s as hurt and lost as Jo. So that’s also part of the decision.”
Alice, meanwhile, thanks Irena for looking after her. In a shock moment, Alice asks Irena her name, with Irena telling her: “My friends call me Valya,” harking back to the name Alice gave the cosmonaut in her drawing.
What happened to Bud and Henry?
Unable to deal with the situation any longer and furious at Henry for stealing his life, Bud takes a hammer to the CAL, destroying it.
Henry is brought into custody for Bud’s crimes – namely, shooting Paul Lancaster and throwing Ian Rogers off the side of a ship. His lawyer argues he’s not the person that committed the crimes and requests a polygraph test.
He also asks for a DNA test of Bud Caldera’s apartment to prove they’re not the same person. Understandably, the prosecutors are baffled and very dubious.
Bud is questioned about his relationship with Paul and says that, while he didn’t shoot him, he does believe he caused his death due to the invention of a machine that allowed for a fatal accident in space.
Henry meets up with Irena in a fancy restaurant and she attempts to convince him that Bud doesn’t exist. Little does she know it’s actually Bud sitting across from her, who insists that Henry is “gone”.
After the DNA test, Henry is told that the DNA found at Bud Caldera’s house is the exact same as his. He’s formally charged for the murder of Ian and the attempted murder of Paul.