Star City Explores A Part Of Soviet History We Haven't Seen Before In Film [Exclusive]

T-minus 10 seconds until liftoff — of spoilers, that is — for Episode 4 of "Star City."

"Star City" is a welcome surprise. The prequel spin-off of "For All Mankind" takes the best elements of that show and combines them with thrilling political intrigue straight out of "The Americans." The result is a political thriller with space as a backdrop, rather than just a sci-fi series that includes some espionage. This is why the best scenes in "Star City" have nothing to do with space, yet remain very much connected to the Soviet space program.

As fantastical as "Star City" gets as it delves deeper into its alternate timeline, it still incorporates many historical facts, such as the introduction of Lakshmi Chadha (Priya Kansara) in Episode 4. Lakshmi arrives in this week's episode as the newest hire for the Soviet space program, brought in by Rhys Ifans' unnamed Chief Designer. We don't normally see stories set in the Soviet Union showcase foreigners in Hollywood, let alone skilled workers arriving for such an important project as this. Like most of "Star City," however, this storyline is based on real history.

When /Film spoke with the creators of "Star City" before the season premiere, Ben Nedivi explained how the character of Lakshmi came to be. "It came from our research into the Soviet Union. Something that surprised us was how much of that was happening, actually," Nedivi said, referring to immigration into the U.S.S.R. "The influence the Soviet Union had on the world at that time was enormous [...] They loved bringing you into their country and both taking advantage of your knowledge and intellect, in the case of Lakshmi, but also another way to show the power of the government and the system, the Soviet system."

Lakshmi Chadha's story in "Star City" is familiar: that of an underestimated immigrant who is ignored by everyone around her until she finally meets the big boss and her skills are recognized. What makes it stand out is the particular framing of Lakshmi's story within the show's political thriller set during the space race. You see, it's not just that Lakshmi was hired to join the Soviet space program; it's not just that someone (in this case, the Chief Designer) specifically asked her to join because she's good at her job. Lakshmi is here to join the Chief Designer's mission to Venus, which he is keeping absolutely secret from the KGB and the government.

Bringing in Lakshmi also allows "Star City" to give us an outsider's perspective on the Soviet experience. A highlight of the episode is Lakshmi coming home to find her husband absolutely freaking out about the level of surveillance on their private home, even in their bedroom. Considering how important the KGB storyline is to the show, including making "Star City" an origin story for Irina Morozova, it's surprisingly funny to finally see someone who is not at all used to being listened to at all times.

For the "Star City" creators, the opportunity of telling at least one immigrant story in this context was too good to pass up."There were stories that we wish we could have told as well, but Lakshmi in a way represents that to us. She had a particular skillset that was also very valuable to the Chief Designer," Ben Nedivi said. "Bringing her in through the system that encouraged this kind of immigration was almost like a win-win for the show and for the Chief Designer."

"Star City" streams on Apple TV with new episodes on Fridays.