For All Mankind season 1 finale recap: A City Upon a Hill

Did you catch For All Mankind’s post-credit scene? If not–go back and watch like yesterday!

For All Mankind has officially aired its first season–and it was quite the ride, wasn’t it? It had its low moments but episodes like the season finale remind us why it’s such a great show. So much is packed in the 76-minute finale that it may take me a moment to process it all.

The episode opens to Ellen and Deke floating in space, aboard Apollo 24. Will they survive? Are they stuck up there…forever? It looks like they’re on their own as their crewmate, Harry passed away as a result of the blast. Things are looking pretty grim for Apollo 24 as fuel is quickly running out, they’ve veered way off course, and the chances of being lost in space are increasing with every passing moment.

For All Mankind does not let us down when it comes to this, however, as a plan to rescue Ellen and Deke is put into play. Of course, they need Ed’s help, and ever since he found out his son died, he has been ignoring all NASA correspondence. Instead, Ed is caught up in questioning the Russian astronaut he’s captured.

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I had a feeling that the animosity between Ed and “Ivan” as Ed calls him, would go away, but it’s an interesting path that For All Mankind takes to get there. What I came to appreciate about “Ivan” was that he pointed something riveting to Ed–the moon belongs to everyone.

It’s a jarring thing to say when the entire world is caught up in the space race, isn’t it? And yet, it makes so much sense, a lot of common sense, if you ask me.

Meanwhile, Deke and Ellen don’t have much else they can do, at least not until Ed responds. The banter between them involves Ellen patching up Deke’s wounds, and then opening up about her sexuality.

For a moment, I thought Deke was going to convey some level of understanding and sympathy towards Ellen, but that was far from the truth. He seemed annoyed and disturbed, and even angry over what this could mean for Ellen and him if anyone found out.

NASA finally gets a hold of Ed by using lights inside the station as an SOS morse code. It’s “Ivan” that first takes notice, and soon enough, Ed is in contact with NASA and filled in as to what needs to be done. It sounds pretty impossible, but For All Mankind makes it work.

Ellen and Deke basically use the fuel they have left to get into the range of the trajectory that will put them near Ed and the station. But Ed will need to provide the additional fuel that Ellen and Deke will need to make the flight home.

In order to get the fuel, Ed will need “Ivan’s” help, which he definitely gets, but we don’t see it take place in the episode. The docking process manages to fail, so Ed does something pretty crazy, even for an Apple tv show. He basically throws the fuel tank through space, but it goes over Apollo 24. That doesn’t Ellen from jumping after it and hooking onto the fuel tank just in time.

Unfortunately, we lose Deke during this process, which carries a bit more weight given the conversation between him and Ellen. This leaves just Ellen and Ed, with Ed making up reasons not to go back to Earth. After all, he has more than anyone should have to face when he gets back.

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In the end, Ellen manages to get him to go back, as she stays back as the only American on the moon. During a televised broadcast, Ellen gives Pam a secret shoutout. I’m not sure what their love story will be going into season 2, but I hope they manage to make it work–somehow. Shoutout to Karen Baldwin for bringing Pam to the NASA screening room. She may not know why Pam would want to be there, but it’s nice to see the kindness in her.

For All Mankind has managed to make things pretty tough for Aleida, whose father is now deported and her host family is gone too. She asks Margo for a place to stay, but when she turns her away, Aleida is pretty much on her own. I just hope she makes it to the Kennedy School–she just has to, right?

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A lot of loose ends are hanging in the balance at the end of the season 1 finale of For All Mankind. But I like it that way. We have no idea what’s happened in the days since Ed returned home, or what progress has been made on the moon–until the post-credit scene. A time jump into the 80s shows the U.S. launching a HUGE rocket into space that contains plutonium. It will help the Jamestown colony on the moon grow, but I think once season 2 releases, we will find that things have progressed exponentially.

I have so many questions for when season 2 of For All Mankind returns–but at least it’s in production, and hopefully *fingers crossed*, the wait won’t be too long.

What did you think of the first season of For All Mankind? Tell us your feelings in the comments below!

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