The Right Stuff Review: Single Combat Warrior (Season 1 Episode 3)

As The Right Stuff enters its second act in Season 1 Episode 3, “Single Combat Warrior,” the Mercury 7 have adapted to the daily toil of training. Their work to bond as a team may be more of an uphill battle.

This holds true not only for the astronauts, but also for the scientists working behind the scenes. The combination of high stakes and strong personalities means nearly every interaction is simmering, if not actively boiling over.

Between crude insults, petty fights, and the tensions instigated by those not taking their work seriously enough, these scenes can feel more tiring than dramatic to viewers. These men don’t yet seem to truly realize the stakes before them that we know too well.

Still, there’s purpose in this depiction that comes in the moment those stakes are made undeniably clear. Perhaps the best thing to come from these somewhat tedious spats is how they heighten the emotional climax of the test launch’s failure.

Keeping the shock value of moments seared into history is difficult. We know the rocket will explode, so everything hinges on the reactions of those on screen. There’s only time for a glimpse of them, but they seem to represent the turning point this episode cries out for.

It matters too that we see so much of this through the eyes of the scientists. The astronauts whose names are now highlighted in history books only exist there because of the minds that brought NASA to life in the first place.

Though their lives aren’t the ones on the line, their reputations are certainly at great risk. This helps to give more weight to the arguments in their scenes as opposed to the ones over women and competition that see grown men throwing each other in the hotel pool.

The women of the show themselves see mixed depictions. The wives get a bit less to do in this episode and are compared to the prettiest among them. Other female characters are used mostly to highlight Shepard’s infidelity and Glenn’s loyalty in resisting an attractive admirer.

The rest of the moments we get with Annie, Trudy, and others are nice and reflective, especially when Annie and John reunite. I’m hopeful we’ll see more of their personal perspectives as the weight of what their husbands will face sinks in the wake of the explosion.

The most welcome new face is that of Dee O’Hara (Kaley Ronayne,) who tends to Shepard after he pushes himself beyond his limits in a motion simulator. She’s smart, intuitive, and refreshingly unwilling to let strong attitudes sway her.

These interactions go far to soften Alan, who has so far had few scenes where he hasn’t either been goading his fellow astronauts or sleeping with women who aren’t his wife. The first signs of the Ménière’s disease that plagued Shepard in real life make him more human and relatable.

It can feel at times that The Right Stuff is almost working too hard to highlight the flaws of these astronauts in light of their heightened reputations. It’s likely, though, that we’ll see more balance with their celebrated qualities in later episodes.

If there’s one historical lesson to take from “Single Combat Warrior” and its final seconds, it’s that everyone involved with NASA is truly in uncharted territory. Confidence and determination have veiled the potential for tragedy. Now the veil has been ripped away.

The Mercury 7 do, theoretically, know just what they face. Shepard even quotes the percentage of test pilots who die on the job. Yet as with Gordon witnessing his friend’s brutal death, there’s a big difference between knowing odds and seeing them play out in a burst of fire.

What did you think of this episode of The Right Stuff? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Right Stuff streams Fridays on Disney+.

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