To The Stars – As the first episode of Night Sky begins, young Irene (Lily Cardone) goes out with Lee (Brenna DiStasio) to talk to some boys. Tom (Vic Kuligoski) and his friend yell for Franklin (Lowrey Brown) to come take his shot at the pool table. He messes with the jukebox before returning to Tom and Randy (Jared Sheldon) to play pool. Franklin shoots his ball off the table over to Irene so he can chat with her. He asks her whether she likes Elvis songs. When Irene questions whether he is over the hill, Franklin says she’ll come around. In the present, Franklin (J.K. Simmons) leaves the silverware in the microwave and tells Irene York (Sissy Spacek) it might be time to trade him in for a new one. They agree to eat it anyway, but Irene complains about Frank using too much salt after what the doctor said.
Frank admits they told him not to marry an English teacher, but he done it anyways. He checks on her. Irene says she is okay although she isn’t very hungry. He encourages her to eat since she hasn’t had enough to keep a bird alive. Once he fixes something for her later, Irene asks if he wants to go see the stars tonight. He pushes Irene in her wheelchair out to the shed. As he uncovers the steps, he asks Irene to remind him to gas up the car, change the lightbulb, and buy ice cream with malt balls. They slowly make their way to a metal door that they slide open. The door shuts behind them before something happens that seems to teleport them somewhere. Frank gets sick as usual.
As they step forward, it looks like they’re in outer space. They tell each other they love one another. They stay for a while with Irene saying it is always interesting to her. Franklin knows. He asks if she is ready to go back since the game is on. She just wants a few more minutes. Franklin questions whether something is going on with her since she has been wanting to come out here more and more after her fall. She says it is good to get out of the house. Frank believes something is different because she is thinking about this even when they’re not out here. Although he says it is a heck of a view, Irene argues it is more than that. They’ve made this trip 856 times now, yet nothing has happened.
Frank doesn’t think there will ever be anything else. Irene asks about the door. He reminds her that the mice didn’t last a minute when he put them out there. Although Irene says they’ll just have to wait, Franklin thinks these trips are starting to take a toll. He wonders if it is finally time they tell someone else. He recommends telling Denise, but Irene says this is the last thing Denise needs. Irene says there is a reason they found this and it is their riddle to solve. She asks Frank not to take that away from her. Franklin says of course not. Byron (Adam Bartley) watches them go back inside with his dog. Back inside, Franklin says he is going to sleep downstairs because his back is mad at him. He’ll be good in a few days though.
Irene goes up to bed alone while Frank stays downstairs to watch the ball game. In the morning, Frank tells Irene that he has some errands to run while he goes to the doctor. She wonders why he doesn’t do something fun like talk to Randy. Franklin isn’t built for that anymore since he falls asleep after one beer. He asks if she wants to trade pills, but she has enough of her own. As they leave, they see Byron mowing their lawn. Although that upsets Frank, Irene believes he is just trying to be helpful. Irene thanks him while Franklin claims he is trespassing. Frank would mow it himself if he wanted it mowed. Bryon suggests doing a tool swap because he could use Frank’s planer. Frank claims the planer is broken though. When Byron goes inside, Jeanine (Cass Bugge) tells him about a bowling league they can join.
Byron says Franklin is a liar. Although he said his planer was broken, Bryon saw freshly planed wood right by his workshop. He believes they’re hiding something in that shed. Jeanine says she found the granddaughter on Facebook and sent her a message with everything he said. It is their problem. She asks Bryon to leave them alone for her sake since they’ve only been here for six months. He doesn’t have the best history with neighbors and she’d like to keep getting invited to things. Byron asks whether she wanted the Wilpons’ tree to fall on their house. After a car speeds around Franklin’s vehicle, Irene tells him he could be nicer to Byron.
She suggests they could be friends, but Frank says Byron gives him the willies and he lets his dog sleep in bed with him. Irene just thinks it’d be nice if he was social since it keeps you sharp. She doesn’t want to feel like all he does is take care of her. Dr. Mareese (Sandra Marquez) comes out to get Irene and tells Franklin it could be a while. She asks how his back is doing. He tells her he has good and bad days. Before he goes, Irene reminds him to get ice cream. Mareese thought Irene wasn’t coming because she was improving. She doesn’t think Irene is improving since she is still in the wheelchair. Irene insists she only uses the chair when she leaves home to be extra cautious. The doctor asks whether she is eating, exercising, and whether she finished her session with the physical therapist.
She confesses that she is concerned because Irene shouldn’t be in this condition at 73. Irene can’t think of anything in her life that could be contributing to these symptoms. Although the doctor says some of her symptoms are made worse by depression, Irene says she isn’t depressed. Mareese wants to run more tests and increase the benazepril for her blood pressure. She also mentions Levothyroxine. Irene begins thinking about outer space as her doctor asks whether she has thought about in-home care. When Irene suggests Frank can take care of her, the doctor says she doesn’t think he is up for that anymore. While checking out, Franklin gets a call from Denise and tries to find his rewards card. She asks him to meet her at Jelinek’s. He meets with Denise (Kiah McKirnan) moments later.
She learns about Irene being at the doctor for a checkup. Irene gets a voicemail message when she tries to call Franklin. She tells the doctor that he’ll be here soon before she is told not to disappear again since they can’t ignore this. Denise says her mom and Trevor just had their ten-year wedding anniversary. Eventually, she tells him about the message she received on Facebook from one of his neighbors. They said they saw him pushing Irene around in the middle of the night. Franklin says she likes to take in the night air. Denise suggests moving out of the house since the fall could’ve killed Irene, but Frank says they’re going to say where they are. Irene asks the receptionist to let her husband know she went across the street to visit an old friend.
A nurse believes she is another patient and tries to push her back to her room before she is stopped by Chandra (Beth Lacke). She explains that she was in Irene’s class. Irene was hoping to see her friend Sadie Norton (Pat Vern Harris). They discuss George’s passing. Chandra agrees to push Irene to Sadie’s room. After 60 years, George didn’t really even recognize Sadie at the end. Chandra says she was an important teacher for her since she majored in English and thought about teaching too. This is a tough job. Many of the patients don’t know what they need and don’t appreciate what she does for them. Chandra drops her off at Sadie’s room. Sadie shows her the stuffed animal she calls her friend. She goes on to tell her she used to have a bridal shop and sewed all the veils.
Irene remembers since she worked there one summer. Sadie remembers she had the most incredible hair. She loses track and asks Irene if she is there to fix the window. Irene says she came to see how she was doing after hearing about George. Sadie remembers who she was and denies that they were friends. She wasn’t even a good employee. Sadie says she always thought she was smart, but she was silly. She loses track again and says she owned a bridal shop. Irene has something to tell her that she has never told anyone in her whole life. She reveals she has been somewhere far away and it is farther than any human has ever gone. She is special and the most special person she has ever met in her life.
Irene admits she is sick, scared, and not sure anymore. Sadie asks if she is there to fix the window. Frank arrives home with groceries and begins yelling for Irene. He goes out to pick her up in the middle of the night. On their way back home, Irene asks if he wants to talk about it. Franklin says he can take care of himself. She says he has to take care of her too and it isn’t fair. He claims she is twisting it into a burden like Denise. Then, he blames being so distracted today on Denise who wants them to move. Irene mentions how he said last night that they can’t keep doing this forever. The car runs out of gas because Franklin forgot to get some. A guy comes with gas to help later and says he shouldn’t have to report it to anyone.
Irene thinks about space while asking what it wants from her. Jeanine helps someone book a flight from home. Once she finishes, Byron asks how his campaign poster for his town council run looks. She doesn’t like Albermarle and questions whether it should just be Byron. He says he likes it because she always has the best ideas. Jeanine wonders if he even needs signs before suggesting he wait until next year. Byron says he never could’ve done this back in Champaign because people didn’t see him that way. He believes he can be a councilman here though. She runs him off when she gets another call. Byron takes Roxy for a walk so he can spy on the neighbors. He sneaks into their sheds and begins looking around. He drops his phone and breaks a few lightbulbs when he receives a message that scares him.
It is from Jeanine saying Jeopardy is starting. Franklin admits he has thought about moving. He says looking at that other sky scares him sometimes. Although he has thought about it, the answer is no because he knows Irene doesn’t want to leave. She thanks for that before telling Frank about her visit to Sadie today. Irene thinks they need to talk about what he’d do if she died and it has nothing to do with the doctor. He’d died too. Irene wants him to promise that he’ll sell the house if she dies first. As for their secret, she believes it will have been their secret for long enough. Franklin promises and asks what a good age to live to would be. He’d be happy with 100 so he asks her not to think about dying until they’re 100.
Irene promises. They sit around while Franklin rubs her feet. Irene mentions how Michael used to run and hide when they came near him with the nail clippers because he hated it. Frank likes hearing her talk about him. He carries her up to bed where he tells her they’re playing their song. He sings to her. Later, Irene gets up and begins writing a letter to Franklin that starts with her saying she is sorry. She isn’t doing this to hurt him, but she has finished waiting and has waited long enough. Irene says she is ready. She knows what is likely on the other side of the door, but she wants to find out for herself. She wishes to make her own choice while she still can. Irene walks out to the shed. In the letter, she encourages Frank to be strong and asks him to tell Denise how proud she is.
She will give his love to Michael and see him again. Irene leaves the letter in the viewing room. As she prepares to open the door, she hears someone moaning behind her. The man wheezes on the group and pleads for help. Irene asks who he is before the episode ends.
Night Sky Review
Although this was only the first episode of Night Sky, it seems to have the potential to develop into an emotional drama with a sci-fi backdrop. It may take a bit longer to develop a relationship with the characters and truly begin sympathizing with them. Some casting choices are eye-rolling and just ticking boxes for the sake of ticking boxes. The pacing is very tedious since a whole lot of nothing is happening at any given minute.
It is already questionable whether this needed to be eight episodes considering how needlessly slow the story is unfolding. The series was shot in Illinois. If the story is set in the same location, there was no need for the over-the-top southern accents from some of the characters. Not everyone living in rural areas is going to speak with a strong southern accent. Thankfully, JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek are competent and their story is interesting.
Depending on how things play out, Night Sky could be a memorable series about aging, love, death, and maybe even space. The first episode was decent scoring a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Night Sky will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.
