It would be interesting if Dani were to die heroically while Ed goes quietly out to pasture, hanging with his grandkid on Mars. His death of old age is duly reported as a news snippet in the S5 opening montage.
For All Mankind Trailer - Apple TV- SPOILER
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It would be interesting if Dani were to die heroically while Ed goes quietly out to pasture, hanging with his grandkid on Mars. His death of old age is duly reported as a news snippet in the S5 opening montage.
I literally cried. There was definitely blubbering.
I figured it was pretty likely they were "Armstronging" Dani, I've got a good idea of the rhythms of the show, I even spotted the clump of umbrellas around a seated person on the tarmac in the background of the wide shot of the Mars astronauts landing, but it still worked on me so well when we saw she'd made it.
The excesses of the Mars militia running straight into the still-open wounds from the union fight leading to a full-on revolt wasn't something I predicted, but is obvious in hindsight. Speaking of "obvious in hindsight," my take, from the juxtaposition with Margo's statement about justice, is that Irina's superiors immediately put together that her putting a hit out on Sergei just for fun was probably a contributing factor in Margo's betrayal, and the Premier might not be too unhappy with how things worked out, since it gave the USSR's economy a little more runway with their heavy-metal exports before the bottom fell out of the market. I got a weird vibe from Eli with his exact amount of uncomfortableness with Margo losing her shit at Irina that made me wonder if he somehow knew about the hit, but that seems unlikely. Sergei was a defector, and his murder by the KGB would be a serious concern to the American government, so I can't really see him sanctioning that, and it was probably just a weird directorial choice.
I was surprised that they were able to pull off smuggling in Lee's wife, but, oddly, the fact that they also smuggled in a bunch of other people made it seem more plausible. Like, with the amount of work you'd need to do to keep one person alive and undetected on a spaceship for a month, adding a few more wouldn't be a linear relationship, you'd just need some more food. Plus, more people being smuggled, presumably to their loved ones already on Mars, means more people who are interested in helping out.
I think this might've been our most anticlimactic flash-forward yet. The asteroid base was impressive, but it wasn't really surprising the way a boot on Mars in 1995 was, or Margo not being dead in 2003, or even a giant fuck-off rocket shooting up from underwater in 1983. Still, bring on 2012, hopefully there's a renewal announcement waiting in the wings and the strikes didn't set things back too much and they can keep to the same 14-15 month cadence.
The excesses of the Mars militia running straight into the still-open wounds from the union fight leading to a full-on revolt wasn't something I predicted, but is obvious in hindsight. Speaking of "obvious in hindsight," my take, from the juxtaposition with Margo's statement about justice, is that Irina's superiors immediately put together that her putting a hit out on Sergei just for fun was probably a contributing factor in Margo's betrayal, and the Premier might not be too unhappy with how things worked out, since it gave the USSR's economy a little more runway with their heavy-metal exports before the bottom fell out of the market. I got a weird vibe from Eli with his exact amount of uncomfortableness with Margo losing her shit at Irina that made me wonder if he somehow knew about the hit, but that seems unlikely. Sergei was a defector, and his murder by the KGB would be a serious concern to the American government, so I can't really see him sanctioning that, and it was probably just a weird directorial choice.
I was surprised that they were able to pull off smuggling in Lee's wife, but, oddly, the fact that they also smuggled in a bunch of other people made it seem more plausible. Like, with the amount of work you'd need to do to keep one person alive and undetected on a spaceship for a month, adding a few more wouldn't be a linear relationship, you'd just need some more food. Plus, more people being smuggled, presumably to their loved ones already on Mars, means more people who are interested in helping out.
I think this might've been our most anticlimactic flash-forward yet. The asteroid base was impressive, but it wasn't really surprising the way a boot on Mars in 1995 was, or Margo not being dead in 2003, or even a giant fuck-off rocket shooting up from underwater in 1983. Still, bring on 2012, hopefully there's a renewal announcement waiting in the wings and the strikes didn't set things back too much and they can keep to the same 14-15 month cadence.
I, too, leaked a little at the end of this one. And then it really got going when I got to absorb the idea of Kuznetzov Station on a captured asteroid, with humans living and working there in the year of our Lord 2012. Twelve years ago.
Oh, what could have been.
And then they cap it with Midnight City from M83. The music this season hasn't been so great but that was fucking perfect- the perfect closer to a near-perfect season of TV. Jesus God, I can't wait to see where this goes in Season 5.
Although, if they chose to end the series here, there would be closure of a sort. But let's press on, onward and upward!
Whoo! I'm verklempt!
Oh, what could have been.
And then they cap it with Midnight City from M83. The music this season hasn't been so great but that was fucking perfect- the perfect closer to a near-perfect season of TV. Jesus God, I can't wait to see where this goes in Season 5.
Although, if they chose to end the series here, there would be closure of a sort. But let's press on, onward and upward!
Whoo! I'm verklempt!
That was a lot more action packed than I expected it to be. We all knew the NK pistol would come into play somehow, surprised it took this long. Ending was… alright, but left a lot of threads dangling. Would’ve have preferred a little bit more closure as to the repercussions to what happened. The Margo storyline definitely had a better than expected ending. Her getting arrested and put in the US federal system is a far better result than the Soviet system which would have been a 9x18 to the back of the head. I assumed that there would be some blowback from the “enhanced interrogation”, I wonder how much of that Dani caught? All in all, a decent but kind of forgettable season. Laying the groundwork for the next but final season.
I actually liked the season final episode. I don't know if the writers intended it or not, For All Mankind could easily be a prequel for The Expanse.
I like how the characters arc ended. Margo taking the blame and becoming a hero in a way for eventual Mars settlement. Dani getting shot which made the riot stop. Thank God she did not die. Ed and Dev mostly likely will spend the remainder of their lives on Mars. The riot scene for some reason reminded me of the riot scenes in Babylon 5.
It is good to see the manipulative head of ROSCOSMOS get a taste of her medicine. She deserve it.
The North Korean guy finally got his wife to Mars. I am glad to see that but i don't understand why in that particular scene, so many people (especially non techies) would want to move to Mars at this early stage of exploration.
I like how the characters arc ended. Margo taking the blame and becoming a hero in a way for eventual Mars settlement. Dani getting shot which made the riot stop. Thank God she did not die. Ed and Dev mostly likely will spend the remainder of their lives on Mars. The riot scene for some reason reminded me of the riot scenes in Babylon 5.
It is good to see the manipulative head of ROSCOSMOS get a taste of her medicine. She deserve it.
The North Korean guy finally got his wife to Mars. I am glad to see that but i don't understand why in that particular scene, so many people (especially non techies) would want to move to Mars at this early stage of exploration.
I just downloaded the season 4 soundtrack (which released at the same time as the season premiere, but I avoided for spoiler reasons), and I've noticed something disturbing.
Season 1: 26 tracks
Season 2: 21 tracks
Season 3: 16 tracks
Season 4: 10 tracks
At this rate, by season 6, there will be no soundtrack album at all, yet it will somehow still be on sale for $10.
(Seriously, though, I do have questions about Jeff Russo's philosophy on soundtrack albums, since both FAM and Discovery's season 1 albums left off the most-used and most-memorable pieces of music from those seasons, and the years to come.)
Season 1: 26 tracks
Season 2: 21 tracks
Season 3: 16 tracks
Season 4: 10 tracks
At this rate, by season 6, there will be no soundtrack album at all, yet it will somehow still be on sale for $10.
(Seriously, though, I do have questions about Jeff Russo's philosophy on soundtrack albums, since both FAM and Discovery's season 1 albums left off the most-used and most-memorable pieces of music from those seasons, and the years to come.)
Not to start a generational war here, but the truth is that the 60's-80's had a LOT of good music that could be tapped for the show, capturing the spirit and flavor of the times. S3-S4, moving into the 2000's, has a lot less of that. Not that there isn't any, but there's not as much and almost nothing that I would call iconic.
This is all about the original score, they've got a streaming playlist for the needle-drops, but they don't sell them all in a bundle. Here are the counts for those:
Season 1: 45 tracks (not counting the opening credits score, included in the playlist)
Season 2: 36 tracks
Season 3: 35 tracks
Kelly Baldwin's Pirate Radio: 34 tracks
Season 4: 25 tracks (at posting time, it doesn't seem to be complete yet)
Well. We all forgot about Chekov's Gun, didn't we? Maybe we talked about it at the beginning of the season and then it slipped our minds until this finale. Thank the gods the consequences weren't fatal.
I'm not sure what I cried over more:
Being completely convinced that Sam had died during her mad spacewalk mission (and perhaps unbelievably survived)...
OR
Being also completely convinced that Dani had been accidentally killed during the uprising...
OR
Aleida believably forgiving Margo for everything she did because Margo fell on her sword for Aleida's sake...
OR
Finding out that the motherfucker writers utterly played on our expectations on Dani's terribly telegraphed doom.
Regardless, I was full of tears in those final ten minutes.
THEN we get our expected time jump (to 2012!) and the fully-established Goldilocks mining operation, Kuznetsov Station (and the implications of it being Soviet!). Just like every For All Mankind season finale, I'm dying to see what's next. I need more of this show. We damn well better get our fifth season, damnit!
I have so much more to process and discuss (like Earth refugees to Mars alongside Lee's wife!), but this is my immediate and joyful response.
I'm not sure what I cried over more:
Being completely convinced that Sam had died during her mad spacewalk mission (and perhaps unbelievably survived)...
OR
Being also completely convinced that Dani had been accidentally killed during the uprising...
OR
Aleida believably forgiving Margo for everything she did because Margo fell on her sword for Aleida's sake...
OR
Finding out that the motherfucker writers utterly played on our expectations on Dani's terribly telegraphed doom.
Regardless, I was full of tears in those final ten minutes.
THEN we get our expected time jump (to 2012!) and the fully-established Goldilocks mining operation, Kuznetsov Station (and the implications of it being Soviet!). Just like every For All Mankind season finale, I'm dying to see what's next. I need more of this show. We damn well better get our fifth season, damnit!
I have so much more to process and discuss (like Earth refugees to Mars alongside Lee's wife!), but this is my immediate and joyful response.
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I thought the mining operation was being conducted by the civilian contractor Helios under the authority of the Mars 7, and the station was named in honor of the first cosmonaut to die on the asteriod.
I agree, Kuznetsov would likely be regarded as a hero of Mars just as much as a hero of the USSR, and given that he died during the first attempt at capturing an asteroid, it seems appropriate the successful attempt would commemorate him. Hopefully there's something named after Tom Parker on the asteroid, too, but maybe the more things change...
For those wondering which three Star Trek shows Dani was referring to, Ron Moore has an answer:
"I think [...] the last I counted, I thought we were saying it was Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Phase II, which was the show that never happened in the '70s, and Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Oh, right, duh. I forgot Grigory's last name. I tried looking up that name via Google but didn't even think to look at the cast list. Duh.
I still think TNG is redundant in a world where Phase II happened, at least TNG as we know it. It feels like it'd be really shameless to recycle Decker/Riker and Ilia/Troi in a world where they'd already been around for several seasons instead of just one movie.
Maybe it's a different version of TNG? Maybe it's the version where Denise Crosby is a different kind of Troi and William Campbell is a different kind of Riker?
If I remember correctly, Jeffrey Combs was under consideration to be Riker at one point during the casting of TNG. If you wanted to do a totally different version of Riker, I could see him in that role.
It would be interesting to know how many of the movies exist in the For All Mankind universe, since I think in our timeline TNG was spurred along by the success of The Voyage Home. So I would guess that all 3 movies of the "Genesis Trilogy" exist. Although, I would think Wrath of Khan gets to the same place in a different way, given that Xon, Ilia and Decker, if they survived as characters coming out of Phase II, are part of the movie too.
It would be interesting to know how many of the movies exist in the For All Mankind universe, since I think in our timeline TNG was spurred along by the success of The Voyage Home. So I would guess that all 3 movies of the "Genesis Trilogy" exist. Although, I would think Wrath of Khan gets to the same place in a different way, given that Xon, Ilia and Decker, if they survived as characters coming out of Phase II, are part of the movie too.
Let's go Republic of Mars!!!
Never in a million years could i have guessed how this seasons' storyline would play play out and it was awesome. It was certainly a vast improvement over the last season just by ommiting soap opera drama, so let's never talk about that again. Ever since Dev turned the season upside down with his reveal i was even more impatient to see the next episode part because i love a good heist but also because they managed to write it so engaging with Earth being the villain and the emergence of the first independent nation/planet outside of Earth.
Up until this season it was all about the technology and people drama, this season introduced a whole new level and the next step in humanity's development - the creation of non-earth bound societies and to me that's a giant leap on the same level as Armstrong's first step on the moon.
Margo finally stood up for herself and for what's right and stopped being a tool of the powerful. Sadly it took the death of a loved one to push her over the edge but she got revenge in the best possible way even if the takedown of the russian bitch ( as i wll call her now) was not intended but greatly appreciated.
Aleida fully forgiving her and giving her a hug made my eyes misty.
Dale rallying the troops was another great moment and just another reminder what happens when you mistreat people long enough.
I'm glad Dani made id, it would have been a bad end for her to die like that even though she was a contributing factor to the negative development on Happy Valley but she's a good person and certainly didn't want any harm come to anybody.
Ed speaking the truth - he has cut ties with Earth and is a Martian now, so awesome to ( likely) end his storyline there.
I loved to see the first steps of a martian society forming with existing people bringing in those close to them while everybody who wants leaves. Dev came up with an amazing plan and even though he's an asshole this was just brilliant strategic thinking. He knows by capturing Goldilocks he will have a stable economic base with high value ressources to trade with what Mars can't provide yet ( food, spare parts and general machinery). Give them a couple of decades and with the advances in science and the trillions of dollars from Goldilocks and for whatever else they can start up to broaden the economic base Mars might become self sufficient - this could really be a prequel series to the Expanse
I really hope they will announce a 5th season soon and personally retire Ed, Dani and everybody save Aleida from the start of the show. They made sure to establish a good pool of new characters so they don't need the "old" crew anymore to carry forward because if they can write storylines like this season i can't wait to see what happens in season 5.
So what's your prediction for season 5?
We will certainly see the fallout from the heist, i.e. a new political structure in our solar system. I could well see Mars declaring itself a sovereign nation and opening official diplomatic channels. I doubt there will be a military conflict as the sneak peak to 2012 has shown no combat but that could be misleading. Given the style of the show i doub't they'd turn it into space military porn.
Could the story take focus on Mars now and how they grow their nation? On Earth there's only Aleida left and she can easily transfer, especially if they close that technological and story hole that had Aleida use her console to upload the code and not Margo, who was several feet away ( what an awesome scene though and the balls to do it right in the centre with everybody standing around her
), logs would easily show who entered and uploaded the code but we already know that the writers occasionally ignore basic realism when it runs counter to the story they want to tell.
Never in a million years could i have guessed how this seasons' storyline would play play out and it was awesome. It was certainly a vast improvement over the last season just by ommiting soap opera drama, so let's never talk about that again. Ever since Dev turned the season upside down with his reveal i was even more impatient to see the next episode part because i love a good heist but also because they managed to write it so engaging with Earth being the villain and the emergence of the first independent nation/planet outside of Earth.
Up until this season it was all about the technology and people drama, this season introduced a whole new level and the next step in humanity's development - the creation of non-earth bound societies and to me that's a giant leap on the same level as Armstrong's first step on the moon.
Margo finally stood up for herself and for what's right and stopped being a tool of the powerful. Sadly it took the death of a loved one to push her over the edge but she got revenge in the best possible way even if the takedown of the russian bitch ( as i wll call her now) was not intended but greatly appreciated.
Aleida fully forgiving her and giving her a hug made my eyes misty.
Dale rallying the troops was another great moment and just another reminder what happens when you mistreat people long enough.
I'm glad Dani made id, it would have been a bad end for her to die like that even though she was a contributing factor to the negative development on Happy Valley but she's a good person and certainly didn't want any harm come to anybody.
Ed speaking the truth - he has cut ties with Earth and is a Martian now, so awesome to ( likely) end his storyline there.
I loved to see the first steps of a martian society forming with existing people bringing in those close to them while everybody who wants leaves. Dev came up with an amazing plan and even though he's an asshole this was just brilliant strategic thinking. He knows by capturing Goldilocks he will have a stable economic base with high value ressources to trade with what Mars can't provide yet ( food, spare parts and general machinery). Give them a couple of decades and with the advances in science and the trillions of dollars from Goldilocks and for whatever else they can start up to broaden the economic base Mars might become self sufficient - this could really be a prequel series to the Expanse
I really hope they will announce a 5th season soon and personally retire Ed, Dani and everybody save Aleida from the start of the show. They made sure to establish a good pool of new characters so they don't need the "old" crew anymore to carry forward because if they can write storylines like this season i can't wait to see what happens in season 5.
So what's your prediction for season 5?
We will certainly see the fallout from the heist, i.e. a new political structure in our solar system. I could well see Mars declaring itself a sovereign nation and opening official diplomatic channels. I doubt there will be a military conflict as the sneak peak to 2012 has shown no combat but that could be misleading. Given the style of the show i doub't they'd turn it into space military porn.
Could the story take focus on Mars now and how they grow their nation? On Earth there's only Aleida left and she can easily transfer, especially if they close that technological and story hole that had Aleida use her console to upload the code and not Margo, who was several feet away ( what an awesome scene though and the balls to do it right in the centre with everybody standing around her
), logs would easily show who entered and uploaded the code but we already know that the writers occasionally ignore basic realism when it runs counter to the story they want to tell.
It would be interesting in S5 to see the following things:
1. Massive immigration to Mars.
2. The start of a serious effort to terraform Mars.
With the above two we might begin borrowing a page from Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars.'
3. The advent of even more, better, faster space propulsion. (Constant acceleration, like in the Expanse)
4. First manned trip to the Jovian System.
5. Having found life on Mars, Kelly Baldwin or her son begins the search for life in the seas of Europa.
1. Massive immigration to Mars.
2. The start of a serious effort to terraform Mars.
With the above two we might begin borrowing a page from Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars.'
3. The advent of even more, better, faster space propulsion. (Constant acceleration, like in the Expanse)
4. First manned trip to the Jovian System.
5. Having found life on Mars, Kelly Baldwin or her son begins the search for life in the seas of Europa.
Amen to all of the talk about a Martian society, especially the allusions to Robinson's Mars Trilogy. I'm beginning to accept we may never get a proper adaptation of it and this show covering similar territory will go a long way in me helping with that acceptance.
Make it happen, Apple!
Make it happen, Apple!
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