Yeah, the marketing did the show a bit of a disservice! But on the other hand, I thought the show would have a lot more of what we saw in ep 2, action thriller in space but it really pulled on that going forward. Maybe it was trying to draw in the emotional drama crowd that loves This Is Us so much or something. A lot of it was hopeful and, as you said, people coming together.
I actually was thinking something similar about Lu’s character originally except from the opposite perspective, wondering if she was going to be an American’s version of a cold, Honor Above All Chinese stereotype, but mannnn, the way they humanized her and let her grow too.
The WLW PINING WAS THE BEST. God. I really cannot praise it enough in the writing and acting. The only thing I’d change was Mei’s disappearing completely, at the LEAST show a couple of seconds of her reacting to the Mars landing in ep 10? But the two actors sold this true, abiding love story so well. So romantic and beautiful and all about the other person’s wishes. It was just the one ep (for the most part) and I’m still thinking about them.