The First Season 1 Recap

Hulu’s The First takes place in the near future and follows the men and women striving to become the first humans to go to Mars. While it features some sci-fi-like future tech, the show is grounded in character and relationship journeys rather than relying on an action-filled plot. To wrap up everything, we’re presenting The First season 1 Recap, which touches upon all eight episodes.

Tom and Denise Hagerty

When we first met Tom Hagerty, he was the former mission commander of Providence 1. Spared from the explosion that killed his crew, he was back as mission commander of Providence 2. He’d have another chance to be among the first humans to go to Mars.

Tom’s dynamic with his daughter, Denise, was the central relationship of the first season. She was a drug addict and prone to depression. After the death of her mother, Diane, she spiraled, and her relationship with Tom disintegrated. When Providence 1 exploded, she came back home and got sober. Memories of her mother compromised her sobriety, and she moved out. Refusing to go back to rehab, she moved into Laz’s guest house. Both Tom and Denise lived in fear that the other will suddenly die, Tom from the Mars mission and Denise from drugs.

Laz Ingram

The First Season 1 Episode 6 Recap

Laz Ingram was the Elon-Musk-esque head of Vista, the company working with NASA to get humans to Mars. The world had been looking for a “Plan B” if Earth were to become inhabitable, and even without that extreme, the scientific knowledge gained from the Mars mission would be invaluable. However, the failure of Providence 1 hung over the effort to put humans on Mars. Congress was reluctant to grant money and authorize the mission. A technical problem with the MAV made the mission even riskier. But Laz’s belief in her capabilities and her thirst for knowledge drove efforts to keep the mission afloat and made believers out of the skeptics.

The Crew

The First Season 1 Episode 7 Recap

Along with Hagerty, the Providence 2 crew consisted of Kayla Price, Matteo Vega, Aiko Hakari, Nick Fletcher, and Sadie Hewitt. Kayla was the former commander until Laz asked Hagerty to return. With Hagerty’s addition, they would have to cut someone from the crew. Matteo, the crew’s medical doctor, and Aiko, an engineer, were considered essential. Kayla advocated for Sadie’s inclusion since her background kept the mission focused on science. However, Hagerty doubted Sadie’s instincts, and he chose to keep Fletcher, someone with prior experience in space. But when an old injury flared up for Matteo, he was out, and Sadie was back in. The season ended with Providence 2’s successful launch into space.

If you’ve missed a recap or want to revisit the entire season, check out our full list of recaps below.