The fourth season of For All Mankind has wrapped up. We still don't know if we're getting a fifth, but we can celebrate another 10 episodes of space-exploring, asteroid-stealing, Cold War-ing sci-fi drama. Let's go through the season episode by episode, from its worst to its best, starting with...
10. Episode 403, "The Bear Hug"
For All Mankind is a show that takes its time to get going. This year, the characters were dealing with an asteroid full of a valuable element, the return of an old friend from out of the cold, international incidents, class struggles on the Red Planet, and more. All that takes a while to ramp up, and there were episodes that seemed dedicated mostly to setting up other things. "The Bear Hug" was one of those episodes.
"The Bear Hug" finds our characters in a state of transition. On Earth, Aleida and Kelly try to sell their services to the highest bidder in way ends up feeling like a watered down episode of Succession. On Mars, new character Miles starts up a black market smuggling ring that feels inspired by a Martin Scorsese movie. And in the Soviet Union, Margo Madison endures torture at the hands of a rotating series of menacing Russian guards. For someone who usually sits behind a desk and thinks about math, Marto's story is very different from what we're used to.
In the end, "The Bear Hug" ends up being a memorable episode of For All Mankind, but an odd one.
9. Episode 402, "Have a Nice Sol"
"Have a Nice Sol" revolves around Miles, a blue collar worker who goes to Mars in hopes of making money for his family back home. Only things don't go as planned. Private space company Helios exploits him and his fellow workers to the point where he may actually make less money on the Red Planet than he did back home. This episode introduces an upstairs-downstairs dynamic that runs the rest of the season.
Miles is a likable new character who quickly works himself into the fabric of the show. The class commentary is a little board and the episode is a little slow, but we like him immediately.
8. Episode 401, "Glasnost"
"Glasnost" reintroduces us to the world of For All Mankind with style. Ed is up in space mining an asteroid, doing anything but going home to see his family. NASA is instituting cutbacks, and Margo is living a cold barren life in Soviet Union, having defected from the United States the season prior.
It's good to see everyone again, but like a lot of episodes of For All Mankind, especially in the early going, there are so many plots to set up that nothing really has room to lift off. To make sure we're entertained, "Glasnost" does throw in an action scene aboard Ed's mining ship, which is reminiscent of the space hotel set piece from season 3.
7. Episode 409, "Brazil"
Let's skip to near the end of the season. The penultimate episode, "Brazil," is ramping up to the climax, which involves a plot to "steal" as asteroid full of precious iridium. A select group of conspirators, including Ed and Dev, want to keep the asteroid in orbit around Mars. That way, the governments of Earth will have to fund space exploration. Meanwhile, those governments want to bring the asteroid home to Earth.
Usually, For All Mankind is slow and steady to a fault. In "Brazil," things speed up a bit too fast. Ed and Dev's plan starts to fall apart incredibly quickly, to the point where they have to choke out a guy towards the end to keep their secret from getting out. It's exciting, but it's the writing isn't as careful as it usually is.
Four episodes down, six to go. Click the button below to continue:
6. Episode 404, "House Divided"
In "House Divided," Ed's new Soviet girlfriend becomes the subject of an international incident when she attacks a fellow cosmonaut on Mars. I liked how the geopolitical situation on Earth is reflected on Mars, showing that no matter how far away our characters travel, they can't escape history.
We also see Margo adjust to her new job at Roscosmos, where the company culture is far more toxic than it ever was at NASA. The episode loses a couple points for a long sequence where Miles ventures out onto the surface of Mars searching for rocks to send home. It's well-photographed, but nothing in particular comes of it. So why?
5. Episode 408, "Legacy"
"Legacy" is another episode that's mainly about ramping up to the climax, but this one is more carefully constructed than "Brazil." This is when Ed and Dev hit the gas on their plan to steal the Goldilocks asteroid, recruiting various disgruntled workers and even Ed's own grandson to help. Stuff like that has us asking just how far Ed is willing to go to get what he wants. Is he the visionary hero or a selfish villain willing to sacrifice others to achieve his goals?
That question is properly broached in...
4. Episode 407, "Crossing the Line"
Ed has a very interesting journey this season. He makes some questionable choices and the show resists telling us how to feel about them. Does he want to steal the asteroid because he believes in the future of Mars or just because he's afraid to go home? Does he join the striking workers because he believes in their cause or because he wants to screw with Danielle? He often came across as a dick this season, but it definitely got viewers thinking.
"Crossing the Line" is the episode where this storyline really comes into focus, especially since Dev is now on Mars and enabling Ed's behavior. Also, extra points for the opening scene where Aleida goes on a cable news show, gets frustrated, and cusses out the hosts. Funniest scene of the season right there.
Alright, let's bring this home:
3. Episode 405, "Goldilocks"
"Goldilocks" introduces that asteroid full of iridium, which is the big plot element that drives the back half of the season. It also has some hugely important character moments: namely, Ed and Danielle have a nasty argument and we finally learn the tragic truth about what happened to Danny Stevens in season 3!
This argument was a long time coming, and another thing that pushes Ed further to the edge. For All Mankind is a speculative science fiction show, but the best moments often revolve around these kinds of emotionally cathartic moments.
2. Episode 410, "Perestroika"
The season finale is a tightly plotted hour of television where all of our plot threads come together. Margo, fresh from the devastation of learning that Sergei, the love of her life, has died, decides to help keep the Goldilocks asteroid orbiting around Mars, and Aleida agrees to help her. On the Red Planet, Ed, Dev and their coconspirators manage to pull off their plan despite danger and death at every turn. The whole ends with a meditation on the price of progress and a time jump into a bold new future.
There's not much wrong with "Perestroika," but it didn't move me as much as this episode:
1. Episode 406, "Leningrad”
"Leningrad" is the episode where Margo, whom everything thinks is dead following the events of season 3, reunites with her protégé, who heads to a conference in the Soviet Union as a representative of Helios. Their reunion is the most emotional part of the season. Margo, who is generally the most guarded, inscrutable character on the show, finally lets down her walls. It's a wonderful moment four seasons in the making.
We're all hoping that For All Mankind gets a fifth season. Until then, you can stream the first four on Apple TV+.
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