For All Mankind (SciFi Apple TV+)

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119411026#Comment_119411026

That's what I've presumed this Jimmy subplot is headed but Jimmy has been such a wet oik, his new friends so one note and unsubtle, I could care less about what happens. They're just a group of hicks, I can't see how they pivot into terrorism (cos that's where it's headed, right?)

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119411053#Comment_119411053

That's been my assumption from the start, and I'm fine with them dotting that idea throughout the season, but it doesn't need to be Jimmy focused.

I don't want to seem overly critical of the show, because I still love like 95% of it, but this season sometimes feels like they expected us to care about Jimmy and Danny purely because of who their parents were, so they just pushed them straight into these storylines. At least Danny's is impacting on people we do actually care about.

Sudden Valley

I hope Ed actually has already figured out the Danny and Karen relationship and is just waiting for Danny to be honest with him, and has already forgiven them both. I just dont want half an episode of Ed having a mental breakdown when Danny finally talks to him about it. Also the gay president has very little to do with the space race so i hope she is not in next season, she should just dump the husband and go back to Pam.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The whole Mars program is Ellen's baby, and she's constantly battling Congress to defend their funding of NASA. So she is relevant. However, assuming we jump another decade along to s4, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one of the older cast members are gone, or have a much reduced role.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119412494#Comment_119412494

They should have been gone by now; I certainly hope they recast cos then we're talking people who should be 40 years older - and hitting their 70th birthday by then. To be fair some of ageing has been better than others: I think Margo looks the most convincing, whereas I'm not sure they even tried with Ed. Karen looks like a young woman with dyed hair.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119412724#Comment_119412724

It's funny, I was listening to the official podcast and they had the actress that plays Karen on one week and she was talking about how one of the lowlights for this season was having to spend 2 hours in hair and makeup being made to look old. I was thinking, really?

But yes, I agree, pretty much all of the original cast should be gone by the end of this season, or in the case of Ed/Karen who still have a connection to Kelly, recast. Of the current characters there's really only Danny, Kelly, Aleida, maybe Danielle but not as an active astronaut. I think s4 will lean into the private space travel idea more. If Margo gets caught, and Ellen's out of the white house, maybe NASA won't even exist in S4.

Cina

Apparently Kelly is one of the brightest biodiversity experts in the world yet doesn’t have the cop on to use contraception on a mission where she won’t be back on earth for years. Yep.

I enjoy the show but it’s so contrived at times.

Icyseanfitz

Loving this show except for the Karen/Danny crap, just started s3 and happy to see they've continued on with it 🤦 and to think I actually liked Karen's character before the destroyed her.

Slydice

3.8: Damn that was a step up after the fall-downs in writing over the last few episodes.

I really liked how it seemed like the writer was told to include the no-US-Intelligence services storyline and barely gave it a nod/lip-service.

This episode felt like a really strong Ed storyline. I had to google to see what the difference was. Wiki gives writing credits to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series)

Joe Menosky & Eric Phillips

This Eric Phillips seems to be the difference. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5092124/

He doesn't have much other writing experience with only 1 tv series episode of Umbrella Academy listed

What he does have is "Extra Crew" credits and a lot of it was on Altered Carbon which also has Joel Kinnaman.

I'm guessing he knows how to write to Kinnamans strengths. Maybe like how Christopher McQuarrie knows how to do films for Tom Cruise.

Aside from that.. I did get a kick with Dev and his

Spoiler Warning

line about "These are engineering problems, my friends. And we are engineers"

The story around Kelly seems ominous. I could guess there was something wrong with her fella once the headache was mentioned.

This subterfuge conversation between the soviets.. that could be going in a pretty dark direction.

It might also show up the series again though for having no USA intelligence services

Sudden Valley

Another good episode. The reveal at the end was kind of silly but like how you can never predict where this show is going. The show has been good at keeping Karen and the president somehow relevant. If Ed is not in the next season I dont think I'd watch the show as probably the mad lad Danny would be the centre of the show.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I was genuinely surprised by the end reveal but then again I think that's what they actually showed us at the end of S2, we just assumed it was NASA boots.

pjcb

I had thought Ellen was going to resign and go back to head NASA.

Sudden Valley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433965#Comment_119433965

I think she may not go for re election given the republicans wouldn't vote in a gay candidate but i think NASA will need a new Head sooner than that.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433965#Comment_119433965

I've been wondering where it's going for S4. I thought NASA might be defunfed and Dev & co would step in and buy them out. But then this week it looked more like the opposite was happening. Either way I think some kind of merger might be on the cards.

Agent Coulson

So

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China

Eh!

Slydice

3.9: That ending! 😲😀😁

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They cramped a dude into a soyuz for a whole mars space flight?!?!? He musta been put into some sleep or something.

but like.. also had to be a one way mission.. he can't have supplies to survive!

Ah that's gas. Surely he'll work with em.. either with some preference for working with the USSR or defecting to the USA.

Anyway.. this episode felt like a bit of a series-self-correction:

• FBI now exists
• The report on who to blame for what happened
• The political story had a big moment

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They have a chance here with the FBI if they get crackin pronto. Still a shambles that it took literally decades.

The report blaming Nick.. well yeah.. that dude really did muck it up. What was he thinking wandering off like that after being left in charge. Danny blaming himself.. rightfully kinda.. but looks like he might also get a bit more dependable.. less wierd.

The President moment was done well. Had a real gravitas to it and felt meaningful. I thought it was done well. I liked how Rolan gave Will the 'Your alright kid' moment too.

During this episode.. I .. for a moment..

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missed Molly 😕 She was great for this show. She's not dead.. I hope she's not done with the show.

Eh...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119439024#Comment_119439024

I.. eh.. don't think so..

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That patch on his arm looked North Korea. Back in the aul dayz .. during the cold, their regime was more aligned to the USSR than China if my old school history memory serves me well

iguana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433615#Comment_119433615

I don't know, it's been a fan joke for a while that the North Korean probe to Mars would end up having an astronaut in it who beat everyone else there. I'm still undecided as to whether or not it's a shark jumping moment for me. It seems incredibly unlikely that a person could have survived for the year or so since the probe was launched. On the other hand, if you go back and watch the end scenes of S2, you can see how planned out this was. As the shot of Mars appears, the visuals take you through a major dust storm on Mars and out the other side, to a calmer area further afield and then the boots appear. Suggesting that the Korean probe landed in roughly the same time period as Sojourner but almost certainly first. There is also a bit of a joke in there as the screen fades to black we hear Cobain sing, "And I Swear That I Don't Have A Gun" but one of the first things we learn about him is that he does in fact have a gun.

Sudden Valley

I cant think how any country that was first to mars would keep it a secret even if it was a deliberate one way mission. I swear this show wildly swinhs between emotional drama to soapy melodrama within the same episodes.

is_that_so

Mixed feelings about this season. Agree with others about Danny. Also not a fan of the Margo nonsense nor the silly reveal at the end of the latest one. It feels like there is not a consistent thread of story through it and it's built a lot more around individual changing premises and dramatic scenes. It's still enjoyable enough but there was better before this.

steve_r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119443611#Comment_119443611

I only recently started watching this show after seeing rave reviews, loved season 1 and season 2 but it’s definitely gotten closer to a soap opera as time has gone on

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119443594#Comment_119443594

I assume the North Koreans lost contact with the guy so didn't announce it thinking it crashed and he died

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Some really questionable decision making in that episode but that seems to have been a running theme this season.

I assumed some of the original cast members would be written out after this season so it wasn't that big a shock to see how this ended, but still, it feels like Karen was done dirty since last season, and Molly too.

All in all its still a great show but this season did feel like a step down from the first two.

Agent Coulson

So that was there......

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Oklahoma bombing & Timothy McVeigh moment , I guess next season if there is another time jump we might see there 9/11

Sudden Valley

What an unexpected ending. Thought that conspiracy theory group storyline was going nowhere. That actress had been killed off in a few shows but really a time jump would make it difficult for a lot of characters to come back for the next season.

NinjaTruncs

There already was a time jump, it jumped to 2003 in the final scene, by the what was that location though?

I had to rewind to see what happened Molly, as I thought I missed it.

I'd agree with Elmo, some strange decisions, I think ed should have gone at the same time as Karen, but overall I still think it's excellent and look forward to another series.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465169#Comment_119465169

It was somewhere in Russia, I assume. Pretty sure their flag was flying on one of the buildings.

Sudden Valley

yeah definitely defected to Russia, not sure what the point of that is- she is useless to the storyline now she is in Russia. Actually a lot of female characters got a raw deal this season.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465294#Comment_119465294

They really did. I know some of the older characters just didn't have a place in the season but I'm so mad at the fact they reduced Kelly to a womb.

Margo might not be in S4, maybe they just didn't want to kill all the women so they kept her alive but she'll still be gone.

Unless they're all working at a beurocratic level for NASA or Helios next season, Ed, Ellen, even Danielle, shouldn't really still be there either. Which basically leaves Dev, Aleida, Kelly, and Danny as the main characters.

pixelburp

Episodes 8 and 9 and I can't always decide if I love or loathe this show's occasional crazy lunge into melodrama. When it works, it's a hoot. When it doesn't?

Kelly's surprise pregnancy felt a bit arbitrary and was utterly jarring the decision to keep it was made off-screen, everyone else apparently ok with this. Instead, we got a lazy TV news montage, rather than what would have been a potentially gripping bit of character drama and tension: Kelly juggling the crushing moral quandary, varying factions arguing the pros and cons. Nope, she's keeping it and the 3 teams are all smiles and excitement; all presumably for the cheap drama and danger it might mine. Giving birth in Zero G would be utter madness, I couldn't believe nobody would object - especially the doctor.

The President's little speech at the end was a nice moment, even if it might still doom her Presidency. Some small points removed for effectively stealing her husband's thunder, who must now go "...uh, so I'm gay too? If anyone cares?". Wonder will episode 10 even touch the thorny issue of a now deeply confused son.

That episode 9 ending though - that's the big melodramatic swing that works. North Korea on Mars! Love it, that's so insane, it breaks my brain in a fun way. Just one terrified looking astronaut mind you, so I wonder was it a solo mission & death sentence from Dear Leader; presumably, given even Russia thought it was just a probe. Fill it with food, add a seat and shove a "volunteer" inside.

pjcb

Why did they need jimmy? Did they use a pass he got, to get the van into the JSC complex via some gate with no human security?

Blind woman leading people out? How did Cobb die?

Isn't Aleida Rosales suppose to be charge of the mission, not dramatic standing

They killed off karen!

Danny is getting put in space jail.

Not very efficient he is not hooked on drugs anymore

Yerone is very forgiving of the prez, what happens to her husband? didn't many people know of his cheating and lying to the committee.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465730#Comment_119465730

Yeah, that really didn't make sense. I assumed they were going to do something inside the building at some point, but the way it played out they were outside with all the reporters, which didn't require Jimmy's help at all.

knucklehead6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465169#Comment_119465169

What happened to Molly. She led some people in, went back in and that was it?

NinjaTruncs

Yeah that was my understanding, towards the end there was a clip with a newspaper on the ground that said JSC was being renamed after her, I can't recall the exact wording but it suggested she had died.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468511#Comment_119468511

Poor Wayne, losing his wife and his weed bestie.

pjcb

why kill karen at this point?

knucklehead6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469741#Comment_119469741

Cos they couldn’t spend the make up it’d take to make a 37 yr old look like a 73 yr old

pjcb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469991#Comment_119469991

they didn't do much aging on Jodi Balfour, the prez.

somebody on twitter made a good point that its ironic that Karen is the one to get killed rather then the her pilot husband.

Acosta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469991#Comment_119469991

They could just try perhaps writing characters out of the show without killing them off? The Karen ending/bomb plot just felt stupid. Bringing Molly back to kill her..meh.. There was no need for any of it. All the Kelly stuff was silly not helped by her not being a strong character or actor.

Will Ed be back in next season doing the space cowboy thing? Probably

Weirdly despite all my hangups, overall I still enjoyed it. This show manages to get away with a lot of silliness and still be worth watching.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119471385#Comment_119471385

Yeah, it did feel a little like they just knew they had to get rid of a few people in the one episode so put them all in the vicinity of the bomb. Honestly I had just assumed they'd written Molly out weeks ago. We hadn't seen her since she fell out with Margo. It didn't even really make a lot of sense why Ed wanted to talk to her before the launch either, she didn't really offer anything of use in their conversation.

is_that_so

So, that was the end of that one. It was almost predictable as the bunch Jimmy landed with were obviously up to no good at all. Not sure what they do next although IMO it's a pity that Margo made it. Of the implausible storyline that was one of the most ludicrous. One would hope they get a better common theme with a new cast in Season 4.

Cina

So next season 80 year old Ed is going to be hobbling around Mars on his walking stick I guess. At least he’ll still look 40 but with a few more grey hairs!

FortuneChip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119473542#Comment_119473542

By Season 5, I reckon Ed will be captaining the Battlestar Galactica to Kobol.

Joel has his critics, but I think Ed has been a solid member throughout, and did well to keep my interest after we lost Gordo & Tracy last season.

Elsewhere, completely uneccessary reducing of cast members that could have been allowed to age-out without issue.

Can maybe forgive allowing Molly a heroes moment, even if contrived, but Karen's wasn't needed at all.

If anything, it could have been really interesting to see Karen become CEO of Helios in a world where NASA has been decimated, and would have been a nice trajectory for her character.

Hers & Jimmy's decisions in the lead-up to the attack were written quite poorly.

Why on Mars are they sending Danny to "prison"? It's not like we'll get to see how that would have unfolded, and any character development in him by season four could be explained by a few conversations about "that one time on Mars..." It seemed like a really weird thing to focus on.

The Margo epilogue also seems pointless - she can't be involved in much any more?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'd assume Danny in prison was just to show that the rest of the crew found out the truth, but yeah, kind of pointless. Same really goes for the whole everyone sacrificed themselves for Kelly thing. They all had to hang around Mars for an extra year or whatever, but it's all irrelevant to us as viewers.

So there are hints here about season 4 and a bit more info about their thinking relating to Karen and Molly’s deaths. Seems season 4 will explore the Russian space project, and maybe Margot’s part in it.

https://tvline.com/2022/08/13/for-all-mankind-season-4-spoilers-russia-mars/amp/

SimonTemplar

I've started to rewatch the show from the beginning and seeing scenes with a young Danny and Karen knowing what will happen between them is really weird.

Sudden Valley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119476004#Comment_119476004

I'm surprised they are doing this with Margot. She hasnt been an engineer for a while and was only a half decent administrator. It is really character assassination at this stage.

I wouldnt like to predict how bad Ed's makeup will be next season. It seems hollywood/tv is really bad at aging characters but especially female characters. They had to kill off Karen or she would be the most attractive over 70 year old next season.

Slydice

Well that was season 3. Had some decent moments. Had one let-down storyline in having no USA intelligence services. I'd guess it might be made up for in a future season after what happened in this one.

3.10: I didn't see that one coming up to the end, I think the event that came straight to mind was..

Spoiler Warning

the Oklahoma bombing. Maybe that was intentional.

Ed... when he found out about Karen. Felt like the dude just got punched square in the gut.

Karen and Molly dead... damn.. two big losses to the show. Was glad to see Molly back for the episode and liked how she stepped up after the bombing... and her message to Ed for his mission.

The Stevens brothers... jeez. This show just doesn't like that family.

Margo.. I totally thought was dead... but I must've forgotten the lack of USA intelligence services... wow they sucked this whole season. Like.. didn't have a clue about Margo for decades.. were infiltrated by USSR intelligence services.. let Margo get away to Moscow while under investigation.. yeah.. major suck.

Kellys story was ok.. glad she survived.. had a minor sweaty palms moment with her mission as I was guessing the show might sacrifice either her or Ed.. but I guess the show went with the bombing instead. Didn't feel she was in danger all too much though.. just didn't feel right for the show.

My coolest moment in this episode had to be..

Spoiler Warning

Ed walking away from the crashed MSAM with the smoke and Mars and all in the background. The face on Joel Kinnaman (Ed) for those few seconds was legit!

Oh... and petition for any future mission to Mars to call the people who go there: The Mars Dumplings! 😁

Future: Well then..

Spoiler Warning

a jump of at least a decade I'd be guessing since Margos scene was 2003.. I was half expecting to see flying cars when she pulled the curtains.

I'd say Mars can't have been the end of exploration and the bombing might have pushed for further exploration. Maybe there will be asteroid belt mining... maybe then a mission to Jupiter or beyond... that'd be mad!

Dev breaking away from Helios.. so I'm guessing is going to lead to multiple space companies.

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465730#Comment_119465730

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465838#Comment_119465838

They were going to do a TV Broadcast.. probably to wax lyrical about their Plan (TM)

they wanted (I think the 80s film words would be) to "Jack In" to the official NASA signal to get more audience..

but they were interrupted..

so they went ahead with their plan without the TV Broadcast

_Kaiser_

Rewatched the season ender this morning as there was a lot in it and I was tired the other night.

I don't get the dislike for Ed to be honest. For me he's one of the highlights of the season. Glad he makes it through, but I suppose there had to be some toll for he, Kelly and the baby surviving - though as said above, Karen in charge of Helios would have been interesting.

Nice to see Molly back one more time and a great exit for her saving not just Ed, Kelly and the baby but the staff after the bombing. Nice touch renaming JSC after her.

Margo defecting to the Soviet Union was telegraphed through the episode with her goodbyes, but does that mean that the Soviets used the terrorists to stage the bombing as cover to get her out? And no one copped it? As I and others have said, I think the writers don't realise just how paranoid East and West were in the Cold War - the complete absence of US security or intelligence services from this show takes me out of it every time it rears its head.

Hard to know if she'll be back. Spending her remaining days as a "guest" of the Soviet Union would be a fitting penance and way to write her out as well.

The Stevens brothers.. where to begin!! The two most annoying, whiny and ultimately destructive characters in the show.

Danny was bad enough with his constant pining for a woman he had a one night stand with years ago, but then the mining disaster he caused. Exiling him to the North Korean capsule was probably the best idea, though I think the gun that was buried - complete with convenient marker - will come into play, although that said unless it's through a flashback it's a bit pointless as we've now jumped at least 8 years ahead per the last scene.

Jimmy was pretty much pointless throughout. All he ultimately did was get captured by terrorists and gave them access to NASA IDs (presumably how they got the van through the gates and in place with the press). The fact that he (and his brother) survived is a major annoyance.

Overall though a very good season with some great moments/episodes and a strong finale. Will be interesting to see where they go in 2003.

PhiloCypher

The issue for me is they've left so many things up in the air that we'll never likely see played out onscreen as there will be a 8 year time Jump. How did the multinational crew get on , how did the North Korean integrate with the others, how did they manage to survive till sojourner 2, how does Danny cope in isolation , what's the fallout for Larry's part in the bombing, are they dragging out Danny confessing to Ed about Karen into a whole new Decade. I know they'll likely cover some of this in news clippings and dialogue, but it's just not the same .