This first season is 2 episodes of what you came to see, and 6 of something else. I should say I feel like it could have been 3 episodes shorter, but overall even though it was a bit slow at times, it's still a show I would recommend...

If you didn't see too much of the marketing material and aren't hyped about seeing "a series about going to mars", but rather just see it as a story about human struggle (in multiple ways), then this is a pretty good show.

[spoiler]The first and last episodes are good. I mean "crying from excitement/dreading a future without this/wanting this for humanity/loss" good. Maybe I'm just a sucker for tales about human exploration, especially with the space part in it, but I really liked them. I feel like you could maybe make a 3-episode edit with E01, E08 and some cuts about the MAV fuckups/various political stuff and it would make a great tale about a possible future for humanity. The family relationship drama doesn't ruin it _per se_, but it definitely disappoints expectations you might have going into it. [/spoiler]