Constellation Episode 6 Ending Explained: What Happened To Paul?

Warning! Contains major spoilers for Constellation.

Although Constellation‘s episode 6 raises several more questions about how the series will resolve its storyline in its last two episodes, it brings a semblance of resolution to many underlying mysteries. Although Constellation has been cleverly going back and forth between two universes from its opening episode, the show has primarily unfolded from Jo or Alice’s perspective. In episode 6, however, Constellation takes a completely different approach that draws a clearer picture of what is happening to the main characters.

Instead of focusing on Jo’s point of view, Constellation episode 6’s narrative unravels through Paul’s eyes. Nearly everything that happened in the first five episodes of the show repeats itself. However, this time, it is Paul who is experiencing it all instead of Jo. While this may initially seem confusing since Paul was revealed to be dead in the show’s initial episodes, it ingeniously provides answers to several nagging questions.

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Is Paul Dead In Constellation Episode 6’s Ending

Paul’s fate after Constellation’s episode 6 seems uncertain

Constellation‘s episode 6 confirms that after Paul triggered the CAL experiment on the ISS, the experiment fractured the fabric of space and time and caused two alternate universes to converge. To avoid confusion, one universe can be called the “Bud universe,” and the other can be labeled as the “Henry universe” since Bud and Henry are the same people from parallel realities. Henry was the one who sent the CAL experiment with Paul to the ISS. As episode 6 confirms, the Paul, who triggered the experiment, did not die.

Like Jo swapped places with her alternate self, moving from the Bud universe to Henry’s, Paul did the same by moving from the Henry universe to Bud’s. Meanwhile, as confirmed in Constellation‘s episode 6, Paul and Jo’s alternate versions died in space after the ISS accident. After swapping universes with his parallel universe counterpart, Paul, like Jo, gradually becomes aware of how he has landed in the wrong universe. Therefore, to learn more about what is happening to him, he reaches out to a familiar face: Bud Caldera.

However, since he is originally from the Henry Caldera universe, he believes Bud is Henry. As a result, when he shows up at Bud’s doorstep, he keeps insisting that he is Henry, the accomplished astronaut who made his nation proud. Previous episodes of Constellation established that Bud and Henry have found a way to contact one another, and Bud has been growing frustrated about Henry living a better life than him. Owing to this, when Paul incessantly calls him Henry, Bud takes out his gun and shoots him. Although Constellation episode 6 does not confirm Paul’s fate, he could be dead.

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Why Bud Shoots Paul In Constellation Episode 6

Bud’s hate for Henry reaches a tipping point

Many clues in Constellation‘s early episodes suggest that Henry and Bud are not in their original universes. In their original universes, both were a part of the Apollo 18 mission. While Bud’s mission was going well and all his fellow astronauts were set to survive, something went wrong on Henry’s side, and two astronauts died. However, as Bud’s anger and frustration towards Henry suggests, he and Henry somehow swapped universes, leading to Bud facing the dire consequences of Henry’s disastrous space mission. Meanwhile, Henry reaped the benefits of Bud’s Apollo 18 success.

As a result, Henry became a heroic figure, while Bud was gradually forgotten by the rest of the world. Considering how Jo was originally from the Bud universe, this could explain why she does not recognize Henry when she meets him after returning from space. Over time, the universe swap seems to have taken a severe toll on Bud’s mental health. Episode 6 establishes that he cannot help but question whether he actually changed places with Henry or is only losing his mind. Therefore, when Paul keeps calling him Henry, he reaches the end of his wits and fires his gun at him.

Will Jo Ever Return To Her Original Universe

Jo’s Constellation journey is a metaphor

Constellation‘s episode 6 resolves many mysteries surrounding the alternate universes in the overarching storyline. However, one big question still looms large: How will Jo return to her original universe? If Paul is alive after being shot at, will he be able to find a way to return home to his “real” wife and daughter? If characters could switch universes at will, it seems likely that Bud would have tried to do the same. However, considering that only Henry possesses the technology to break space and time, Bud may be incapable of achieving the feat.

Henry also would not want to return to his original universe because he knows he would be a nobody there, and people would blame him for the Apollo 18 deaths. Constellation‘s storyline can be seen as a metaphor for the choices one makes in life and the inescapable impact of destiny on one’s life trajectory. Since Jo, Paul, Henry, and Bud’s choice of going to space ultimately led them to find themselves in alternate realities, the only way they will likely be able to live in peace is by accepting and embracing their new realities instead of craving the old ones.

Why Only Jo, Alice, Paul, & Bud/Henry Are Experiencing The Liminal Universe

Why only some characters experience the CAL’s aftermath is among Constellation’s most baffling mysteries

Apart from portraying two alternate universes, Constellation also features several scenes where the parallel universes converge in what Henry had labeled a “liminal space.” While the show has not yet explained why only Jo, Alice, Paul, and Bud/Henry are experiencing the quantum entanglement in the liminal space, it seems to have something to do with the CAL experiment. Only the characters who directly observed the CAL when Paul triggered it on the ISS seem to be experiencing converging realities, where they can see alternate versions of themselves and others.

This, however, does not explain how Irena and Henry were seemingly aware of their alternate-universe counterparts, Bud and Valya, long before Jo returned from space. The fact that other cosmonauts also had similar experiences in space suggests that liminal space has existed for quite some time. This raises the possibility that Henry first used the CAL experiment during his Apollo 18 mission, which led to him switching places with Bud in Constellation.

Constellation

Constellation is a sci-fi psychological thriller written and created by Peter Harness for Apple TV+. After facing a crisis in space, Astronaut Jo returns to Earth only to discover nothing is quite the same – and that her sanity may be slowly slipping from her grasp.

Cast

Noomi Rapace , Jonathan Banks , James D’Arcy , Lenn Kudrjawizki , William Catlett , barbara sukowa , Carole Weyers

Release Date

February 21, 2024

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Apple TV+

Writers

Peter Harness

Directors

michelle maclaren

Showrunner

Peter Harness

Creator(s)

Peter Harness