There is an ongoing dispute between the people who call Mars home and the powers that be on Earth in the fifth season of For All Mankind. We’ve seen that both sides are entrenched and neither seems inclined to bend. And yet, there is pressure on both to have a resolution.
As we enter season 5 episode 8, “Brave New World,” it’s clear that both sides are willing to step things up.
A no win situation
Things are getting rough on Mars. They are running out of food. They are running out of patience. And now, it appears that Earth is sending a team to take Mars back by force. That leaves some grim options. Top of that list is a complete surrender, which likely means jail time for Miles (Toby Kebbell), and the rest. That also includes Governor Polivanov (Costa Ronin), who has been denounced on Earth by everyone, including his wife.
So, he’s motivated to help find a resolution. But the people of Mars still want to find a way to turn things to their favor. That means taking a drastic step to block this invasion—potentially even using force. So, they settle on disabling the landing pad on the asteroid to prevent the forces of Earth from taking back over the mining operation. They will use some improvised explosives to destroy the platform and force a more favorable resolution.
Mission to Mars
Meanwhile, the troops from Earth are headed to the Red Planet, and the asteroid. We’ve known this is where we were headed since we started following A.J. (Ines Hoysaeter Asserson) in her training for missions to space. Now, she’s on a ship bound for Mars, the place where her father died. She’s tried to bury the past, but as she closes in on Mars, that pressure gets heavy.
When A.J. is assigned to the first raiding mission, it sends her into overdrive. It’s easier to dismiss your family legacy when you’re on Earth. She begins to question her readiness and even asks to be reassigned. But her sergeant gives her some reassurance, so she’s locked into the raid on the mining platform on the asteroid, meaning she’ll be in the middle of the conflict.
Trouble on Titan
Meanwhile, the mission to Titan landed successfully. Kelly (Cynthy Wu) offers a rousing speech from Titan extolling the brave men and women on Mars that made it possible. But now, they have to get to the business of finding life. But after the unexpected shift in flight, Walt (Christopher Denham) has lost his nerve. That leaves him spinning out a bit as he tries to figure out how his calculations went wrong.
Kelly, seeing Walt struggle, is on the verge of a confession. It’s easy to suspect that she is the one that changed the mission parameters to land on Titan, which was her vote. She sees Walt struggling and appears ready to ease the struggle—but before she can, he resigns command and puts her in charge. So, Kelly goes about planning the mission. And in that role, she assigns Walt to the search party, hoping to pull him out of a funk by putting him to work.
But it’s still fair to wonder when the truth will come out. At some point Kelly will admit to what she did—or Walt will figure it out. There is an ideological battle coming at some point.
Bombing raid
The improvised bomb is set, but flying it to the platform is no easy task. Celia (Mirielle Enos) is unwilling to risk anyone else, so she declares she’s going. Surprisingly, Governor Polivanov volunteers as her co-pilot. He was once a Russian astronaut, and he has a lot riding on this. So, the two of them set out. It isn’t easy, but they manage to land the ship with the bomb, arm it, and head toward an escape craft.
At the same time, A.J. and her team are already on the platform—ahead of schedule. They discover the craft with the bomb, but it's too late to change things. Celia has to watch, helpless, as the troops are in harm’s way, too. No one was supposed to get hurt, but as the bomb goes off, two soldiers, including A.J., are thrown free. Into space. We see that A.J. survived, but her sergeant didn’t. The first blood has been shed in what seems to be a looming war for Mars.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a dispute in space turn into a show of force and bloodshed. It’s been a few decades, and the last time it happened was on the Moon. But that incident led to the loss of A.J.’s grandparents. It’s hard not to feel like what’s happened—and what will happen—will weigh heavily on her and the rest.
For All Mankind streams Fridays on Apple TV. Check back next week as we recap all the action of season 5 right here.
Add us as a preferred source on Google