“The Exiles” is episode two of season two of Space: 1999.
The episode opens with new credits and much faster-paced music.
Dr Russell is dictating a status report, saying the Moon is travelling through an area where the stars are so close together, they are bathed in a blue light. It’s peaceful. Cue a yellow alert in the command centre. 53 metallic objects have been detected, bearing away from Alpha. Maya is now part of the regular crew, having joined them in the previous (though likely not previously filmed) episode, “The Metamorph”.
Tony thinks the objects are missiles and they’re now turning towards Alpha. Lasers are ordered armed and Eagles launched. There’s too many to shoot them all down, but then Sandra reports they’re changing course and heading into orbit. They still have no idea whether they have weapons.
Alan and Commander Koenig take an Eagle up and the commander orders the others to return to base. He and Maya spacewalk to one of the capsules, which are floating in small groups. They can’t determine more without opening one and Koenig tells Tony they’re bringing one back, to an underground cave as far from the Command Centre as possible.
The Eagle lands at a never-before-seen area, the Research Centre (which would have been useful in other episodes). Dr Russell tells Koenig they’ve safeguarded against obvious dangers; everything else is guesswork. The commander orders every test possible run before opening, but nothing more is discovered. He then orders a laser be used to cut it open. This starts a mechanical sound and he orders the capsule pumped with liquid nitrogen, which somehow causes an explosion. And, inside the capsule, is a humanoid who Koenig says they’ve just killed.
In medical, that turns out to not be true. The doctor tells Koenig he’s barely alive, but he was frozen already which is why the liquid nitrogen didn’t kill him. Koenig orders another capsule be brought down. He tells Dr Russell that the one they have will explain how to open it and they need to know the secrets of cryogenics. The doctor knows one part; the young man is covered in a thin layer of plastic. This is making it hard to revive him. Increasing the voltage works. The man says his name is Cantar and they must save his people. He explains how to open the capsules.
Another is brought down and opened, the pair to Cantar’s. It contains Zoya, his wife. Cantar explains they were in family groups. It appealed to their sadistic sense of humour. They are from Golos, the peace planet, cast out in an internal struggle. The others were few but ruthless. Cantar says the commander will save them all.
Koenig says he can’t. They can’t support 53 more people. Cantar says the capsules will shatter in the Moon’s gravity in 36 hours. Dr Russell tells him they can’t even permit new births; they can barely support the people they have. Cantar says he and Zoya can increase their recycling capacity tenfold. Yes, in 36 hours. They will even share suspended animation. Koenig is insistent he can’t take the chance. Cantar wants to be sent back to die with his people then.
Dr Russell asks Koenig must he always assume the worst. Yes. Frankly, with good reason. He’s guilted into agreeing by her and Tony, though, though with a degree of, likely justifiable, paranoia in his precautions. The question is, is Koenig’s paranoia on the money? Or is Cantar genuine?