No One Wants an Argument About Reality

*Story by:*
Armando Iannucci

'**No One Wants an Argument About Reality**' is the first episode of Avenue 5's second season.

## Synopsis

After five long months, the passengers of Avenue 5 eagerly await their impending return to Earth­­ while behind the scenes, Ryan and the crew struggle to find a way to reveal the much longer timeline of their journey home. Later, a disgraced Karen comes to blows with a newly famous Frank.

## Plot Summary

Captain Ryan is dating Elena, a single mother of two. It is mentioned her husband, Charles, jumped ship a long time ago (a reference to the mass casualty event from season one). Matt, Rav, and Spike give Ryan an intervention, pressuring him to inform the passengers of the new 8-year travel time and the impending food shortage.

Frank now hosts a on-board cooking show, Frank's Kitchen, and has gained a following of fans. He makes recipes using random objects found around the ship, such as waffles made in an iron, and Jell-O in a shower cap mold.

Judd is hanging out with some passengers, faking naivety about any secrets being kept from everyone. Mads is now his entourage, backing up his nonsensical responses with equally absurd things.

Karen has been hole-d up in her and Frank's cabin for months. She's dishevelled and stir crazy. To prevent her from leaving the cabin, we learn Frank has been lying to her ever since the end of season one. She believes everyone on the ship hates her after she caused the ship to be knocked off-course, adding 8 years of travel time.

Rav presents her Food & Resources Shortage Plan to Ryan, Judd, Billie, Spike, and Matt. Her plan splits the passengers into two groups, the Guaranteed and the Pioneers. The first group, the Guaranteed, will be fed. The second group, the Pioneers, will be sealed below deck, left to fend for themselves or starve, ultimately being in charge of their own destiny.

Back on Earth, the events of Avenue 5 are now being retold and streamed as a television show. It dramatizes the lives of the passengers on board, as well as the crew. In an attempt to raise awareness and money, Iris goes on Upbeat Dawnbeat, an internet show hosted by Dawn Djopi. Due to her stoic persona, she struggles to gain sympathy for the abandoned ship. She ends up doing a silly food challenge to avoid the question of the passengers knowing if they're stuck in space for 8 years.

   Matt and Rav realize that Frank's newfound popularity may be a useful tool in telling the ship's passengers the bad news. They are horrified to learn that Frank has been lying to Karen and essentially holding her hostage for the last five months. Karen has an emotional breakdown after Ryan confirms that the passengers still believe they're going home in a few weeks.

Back at the Judd Galaxy command center, a representative for TOTOPOTUS (The Office of the Other President) takes over. He brings comms back online and fixes the delay using an algorithm generator.

During a tour of the ship lead by Spike, Elena's kids play with the ship controls. They accidentally change the trajectory of the ship to the Sun. This leads Ryan to discover that Elena's husband, Charles, is in fact not dead.

## External links

* No One Wants an Argument About Reality on IMDb