For All Mankind: All In
June 24, 2022 10:02 AM - Season 3, Episode 3 - Subscribe
As NASA scrambles to prepare for the launch to Mars, Margo is confronted with a harsh personal reality.
Helios continues to disrupt the space race and NASA HR. Danny follows in his father's footsteps. Kelly stays with NASA and Ed takes it uncharacteristically well. Danny goes to Helios to no doubt disrupt Helios HR. Aleida's husband has problems with her work-life balance, but she has a rock. Dani remains the only adult in the room anywhere. People spend way too much time in the Outpost.
To keep it a three-way race between communism, free-enterprise, and government bureaucracy, Sergei loosens his tie and finally gets Margo to open up about nuclear wessels. Ellen Waverley-Wilson beats Bill Clinton for all the jellybeans in the Capitol. The stage is set for Mars.
Helios continues to disrupt the space race and NASA HR. Danny follows in his father's footsteps. Kelly stays with NASA and Ed takes it uncharacteristically well. Danny goes to Helios to no doubt disrupt Helios HR. Aleida's husband has problems with her work-life balance, but she has a rock. Dani remains the only adult in the room anywhere. People spend way too much time in the Outpost.
To keep it a three-way race between communism, free-enterprise, and government bureaucracy, Sergei loosens his tie and finally gets Margo to open up about nuclear wessels. Ellen Waverley-Wilson beats Bill Clinton for all the jellybeans in the Capitol. The stage is set for Mars.
Uggg. I'm glad they made that time jump at the end because I was starting to wonder if this show was still about space.
I was pissed about the Margo plot. I thought she was finally going to get some and then... now it's suddenly a spy thriller show. She's going to wind up dead or in prison OR whatever info she provided will end up saving the day somehow and all will be forgiven.
Just not into the Danny Stevens thing either. Clearly he's going to either kill Ed or save Ed's life or something. Ed has too much respect for Dani that I can't see why he'd put Danny on his crew.
I'm glad Ellen is the president but how did her past not get dug up? Did literally nobody but Larry and her ex-girlfrend know she was gay? Wouldn't a couple of Larry's ex boyfriends have sold out to the National Enquirer by now? Or are gay rights a bit more advanced in the show's universe, the way women's rights seem to be? I supposed it WILL come out and there will be a scandal.
I'm really happy Kelly is flying on Dani's crew. She's going to be a hero somehow, maybe even saving Ed from that Stevens kid.
I think I can see how the show is going to play out this season but I'm hoping I'm wrong. We're three episodes in and everything seems too predictable.
I don't like to be negative here, I really don't. But even though the first two seasons weren't perfect they were still very, very good. So far this season it looks like it's written by different people or they're emphasizing the wrong stories. I dunno. Now that we're actually in space I'm hoping it gets better.
Also, on a journey to Mars how much "flying" is actually needed or even possible? I know Ed is a hot shot behind the stick of a T-38 or a LEM but I don't think having access to the steering wheel on an interplanetary ship is really going to matter much. But at least he has a completely impractical and oversized bridge that looks like it's on the USS Enterprise.
I think I just need to reel back my expectations and enjoy the show for what it is. It's no longer Apollo But Better, now it's a bit more of a space fantasy.
posted by bondcliff at 12:17 PM on June 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
I was pissed about the Margo plot. I thought she was finally going to get some and then... now it's suddenly a spy thriller show. She's going to wind up dead or in prison OR whatever info she provided will end up saving the day somehow and all will be forgiven.
Just not into the Danny Stevens thing either. Clearly he's going to either kill Ed or save Ed's life or something. Ed has too much respect for Dani that I can't see why he'd put Danny on his crew.
I'm glad Ellen is the president but how did her past not get dug up? Did literally nobody but Larry and her ex-girlfrend know she was gay? Wouldn't a couple of Larry's ex boyfriends have sold out to the National Enquirer by now? Or are gay rights a bit more advanced in the show's universe, the way women's rights seem to be? I supposed it WILL come out and there will be a scandal.
I'm really happy Kelly is flying on Dani's crew. She's going to be a hero somehow, maybe even saving Ed from that Stevens kid.
I think I can see how the show is going to play out this season but I'm hoping I'm wrong. We're three episodes in and everything seems too predictable.
I don't like to be negative here, I really don't. But even though the first two seasons weren't perfect they were still very, very good. So far this season it looks like it's written by different people or they're emphasizing the wrong stories. I dunno. Now that we're actually in space I'm hoping it gets better.
Also, on a journey to Mars how much "flying" is actually needed or even possible? I know Ed is a hot shot behind the stick of a T-38 or a LEM but I don't think having access to the steering wheel on an interplanetary ship is really going to matter much. But at least he has a completely impractical and oversized bridge that looks like it's on the USS Enterprise.
I think I just need to reel back my expectations and enjoy the show for what it is. It's no longer Apollo But Better, now it's a bit more of a space fantasy.
posted by bondcliff at 12:17 PM on June 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
Ed objecting to a poet on the crew is a failure to stay in his lane, which is safely driving the bus to and from Mars. Much like Dani deciding if Kelly’s scientific expertise is superior to the botanist guy. They should fly on automatic as planned, as orbital mechanics will determine where they go and computer guidance will be far more accurate than any pilot. On the other hand, Ed’s right they need a full to oversized crew to deal with any systems crises that might occur.
posted by cardboard at 1:14 PM on June 24, 2022
posted by cardboard at 1:14 PM on June 24, 2022
The biggest sign, to me, that this season’s not as good as the previous ones is that there are only three comments so far in this thread.
I’m very glad they have pushed ahead two years. But so weird not to address all the issues raised in those two years.
Also, who is Dani’s copilot?
When will Richard Hilliard reappear?
posted by willF at 9:20 PM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I’m very glad they have pushed ahead two years. But so weird not to address all the issues raised in those two years.
Also, who is Dani’s copilot?
When will Richard Hilliard reappear?
posted by willF at 9:20 PM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was kind of proud that Danielle was unwilling to cover for another Stevens boy and eat shit for the effort. I'm still hoping she gets her due recognition for being the true hero of the space program.
I find the Margo twist intriguing. I was wondering if there were ever going to be consequences for that relationship. In this episode, I was expecting her to put a bullet in her head after the Russian offer, and again two years later after watching the Russian launch. Interesting how compromised she is compared to her mentor way back when.
Of all the things I've been able to buy on this show, I think President Ellen is probably the one I have the most trouble with. Maybe she'll get to redeem herself.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:08 PM on June 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I find the Margo twist intriguing. I was wondering if there were ever going to be consequences for that relationship. In this episode, I was expecting her to put a bullet in her head after the Russian offer, and again two years later after watching the Russian launch. Interesting how compromised she is compared to her mentor way back when.
Of all the things I've been able to buy on this show, I think President Ellen is probably the one I have the most trouble with. Maybe she'll get to redeem herself.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:08 PM on June 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Why did they set up the whole creepy stalker Danny thing if they were going to skip forward two years? Has he calmed down now and it was all pointless? I mean, Karen's not on the Helios ship (RIGHT?) so he has nobody to stalk now. Is he just going to cause trouble with Ed sometime? I'm imagining him giving the "I'm going to win her back" speech that Gordo gave to Sam Cleveland last season, but Ed would just laugh at him.
Margo's plot is sad and a bit hard to believe, she's very smart so I would have thought she'd see something like this coming. Especially when Sergei did the "Gosh, I'm so sorry, I totally wanted to make out with you but I'm worried about the cooling system on our nuclear engines" thing.
The further we get the more silly the whole "space race" thing seems. It's such a 60s/70s concept. And making it into a literal race is even sillier. Especially since Dani is on a cramped space shuttle, the Russians are on an older cramped space shuttle, and Ed is on the USS Enterprise.
President Ellen seems quite silly, the show never focused on politics that much so it kind of happened off camera. And having her debating Deepfake Bill Clinton didn't make it more believable.
posted by mmoncur at 10:34 PM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Margo's plot is sad and a bit hard to believe, she's very smart so I would have thought she'd see something like this coming. Especially when Sergei did the "Gosh, I'm so sorry, I totally wanted to make out with you but I'm worried about the cooling system on our nuclear engines" thing.
The further we get the more silly the whole "space race" thing seems. It's such a 60s/70s concept. And making it into a literal race is even sillier. Especially since Dani is on a cramped space shuttle, the Russians are on an older cramped space shuttle, and Ed is on the USS Enterprise.
President Ellen seems quite silly, the show never focused on politics that much so it kind of happened off camera. And having her debating Deepfake Bill Clinton didn't make it more believable.
posted by mmoncur at 10:34 PM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
“And now the pieces are in place…”
Thank god for the time jump and that needle drop
posted by sixswitch at 10:38 PM on June 24, 2022
Thank god for the time jump and that needle drop
posted by sixswitch at 10:38 PM on June 24, 2022
Dani is on a cramped space shuttle, the Russians are on an older cramped space shuttle, and Ed is on the USS Enterprise.
Except that the Enterprise has methane engines, and the two shuttles are nuclear, so the shuttles should win by months.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:35 AM on June 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Except that the Enterprise has methane engines, and the two shuttles are nuclear, so the shuttles should win by months.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:35 AM on June 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don’t know about everyone else here but I’m loving this season – and as far as I can tell from online buzz and r/forallmankindTV, the show is only getting more and more popular. I appreciate it’s becoming less hard SF and more SF + alt history, but I’m still enjoying it a lot, and they’re definitely doing enough to keep it interesting for me.
I’m not that fussed about the political angle, though I hope they can surprise us there, but I love the public vs. private conflict, and how that plays out with our established cast at NASA being broken up.
posted by adrianhon at 4:17 AM on June 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
I’m not that fussed about the political angle, though I hope they can surprise us there, but I love the public vs. private conflict, and how that plays out with our established cast at NASA being broken up.
posted by adrianhon at 4:17 AM on June 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
So NASA’s mission has jerry-rigged habs. Helios’ mission has fabulous mobile habs but an untested engine on a platform that’s already done blown up once. I predict Ed will need to drive their habs on an adventure to rendezvous.
posted by sixswitch at 7:51 AM on June 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sixswitch at 7:51 AM on June 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Regarding the politics: I think the weakest point has to be Ellen and Larry being a Republican Presidential power couple, which really hasn't been earned within the show. Of course we have lots of real-life cases of closeted gay conservatives but the show has never depicted Ellen as being so power hungry she would give up anything to get where she wants to. I guess they kind of did that a bit in S2 but not nearly enough to convince me.
Specifically, when talking about picking a VP, Larry is like "we need to do this to get into power" and I'm like... to do what?! What's so important you need to get into power? What's your ideology, your politics, your platform?" I think the writers had a destination in mind – wouldn't it be cool if Ellen became the first woman president, and a Republican, and was secretly gay – and had no idea how to get there.
posted by adrianhon at 9:45 AM on June 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
Specifically, when talking about picking a VP, Larry is like "we need to do this to get into power" and I'm like... to do what?! What's so important you need to get into power? What's your ideology, your politics, your platform?" I think the writers had a destination in mind – wouldn't it be cool if Ellen became the first woman president, and a Republican, and was secretly gay – and had no idea how to get there.
posted by adrianhon at 9:45 AM on June 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
Kinda funny that the whole Ellen and Larry thing is enabled by Lee Atwater in the show.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:00 AM on June 26, 2022
posted by lazaruslong at 1:00 AM on June 26, 2022
A bit of an aside, but I got around to watching the "extra" content that shows news clips that connect the seasons and was surprised to see one showing that ARPANET was never opened to the public, so there is no Internet. In their timeline, Tim Berners-Lee is an activist advocating to open network access.
posted by mikepop at 12:35 PM on June 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by mikepop at 12:35 PM on June 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
I appreciate it’s becoming less hard SF and more SF
SF? Hard SF?!? I would characterize its genre as soap opera with a light sciency coating.
posted by fairmettle at 10:56 PM on July 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
SF? Hard SF?!? I would characterize its genre as soap opera with a light sciency coating.
posted by fairmettle at 10:56 PM on July 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Can we not do this SF gatekeeping? I realise you’re joking, but this show is SF, whether or not it involves human relationships.
posted by adrianhon at 2:00 PM on July 3, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by adrianhon at 2:00 PM on July 3, 2022 [7 favorites]
Well, yeah. But part of the appeal for many of us was its semi-realism and they've abandoned that so much that I've started to resent the pretense that it's credible at all. And it's not just the science and tech; it's some other stuff, as well.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:23 AM on July 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:23 AM on July 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
> What's your ideology, your politics, your platform?
Yes, that's bugging me too. To what end?!?
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:49 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yes, that's bugging me too. To what end?!?
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:49 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thanks to the time-skip, I’m going to give this season one more chance, but wow, I’m already well into hate-watching territory after only three episodes. (Have I really only watched three episodes of this? Good god.)
If Margo turns out to be a cylon and Danny develops a sudden interest in Space Law, at this point, it’d be an improvement and represent a significant dialing-back of The Drama..
posted by schmod at 8:32 PM on August 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
If Margo turns out to be a cylon and Danny develops a sudden interest in Space Law, at this point, it’d be an improvement and represent a significant dialing-back of The Drama..
posted by schmod at 8:32 PM on August 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
That looks an awful lot like the Death Star on the top of the Russian shuttle.
Really bummed about the ease with which Ed and Danny end up as head honchos on the Helios ship, and being this bizarro white nuclear family (methane family?) there on the bridge, while we heard there were many (young, diverse) capable astronauts at Helios. And I can't tell if the Frank Sinatra songs that always cue Ed are tongue in cheek or sincere - ugh, ok Boomer.
As a show, it feels like there are waaaay too many characters to handle at this point and we get the broadest brushstrokes for all of them, and these weird scene jumps (like, why would Margo even open the hotel door? and all of a sudden there's another guy there choking Sergei?) that ratchet the tension without character development.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:30 PM on August 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Really bummed about the ease with which Ed and Danny end up as head honchos on the Helios ship, and being this bizarro white nuclear family (methane family?) there on the bridge, while we heard there were many (young, diverse) capable astronauts at Helios. And I can't tell if the Frank Sinatra songs that always cue Ed are tongue in cheek or sincere - ugh, ok Boomer.
As a show, it feels like there are waaaay too many characters to handle at this point and we get the broadest brushstrokes for all of them, and these weird scene jumps (like, why would Margo even open the hotel door? and all of a sudden there's another guy there choking Sergei?) that ratchet the tension without character development.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:30 PM on August 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ed has too much respect for Dani that I can't see why he'd put Danny on his crew.Because as much as he respects Dani, he thinks of her as the diversity hire. He wants Danny to be just like him, so he ignores how much he's actually like Gordo. And even if he realised the similarities with Gordo, that wouldn't change anything because he was the one to put Gordo back on the moon and now Gordo is a hero.
posted by harriet vane at 9:19 AM on August 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
Ed may have some points on "um, if this ship is automated and you have poets on here and an 8 minute time lag, um....." I gotta respect that Dev actually listened.
DANNY, STOP ACTING LIKE THAT. I didn't need Gordo 2 BS. BLEEEECH. "Every cop's got a story about Gordo Stevens" is horrifying. Also, Karen's "OH SHIT" face.
I'm enjoying the Kelly/Dani snark. And Kelly has a good argument for looking for life on Mars.
Amber, bringing back the 60's housewife vibe.
Margo....oh man. I'm so glad she said no, but oh man, the kissing...aww.... awww.... sigh...Oh man...
Go Kelly! Not being a nepo baby!
Interesting who gets poached and who doesn't by Helios. Poor Bill. "I want to be the new shoe." Aww, Bill's gonna cry!
AW SHIT THEY JUST JUMPED TO 1994. LITERAL THREE WAY RACE ALL AT ONCE FUCKADOONIE. AND WE GOT ELLEN AS A PRESIDENT.
I'm glad Ellen is the president but how did her past not get dug up? Did literally nobody but Larry and her ex-girlfrend know she was gay? Wouldn't a couple of Larry's ex boyfriends have sold out to the National Enquirer by now?
Possibly with there being no Internet (?!?!), oppo research hasn't turned up much. Ellen had the one girlfriend, Larry had the various boyfriends, all of them have something to lose and I presume Ellen/Larry didn't piss any of those people off to make them squeal.
Specifically, when talking about picking a VP, Larry is like "we need to do this to get into power" and I'm like... to do what?! What's so important you need to get into power?
Get to Mars.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:36 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
DANNY, STOP ACTING LIKE THAT. I didn't need Gordo 2 BS. BLEEEECH. "Every cop's got a story about Gordo Stevens" is horrifying. Also, Karen's "OH SHIT" face.
I'm enjoying the Kelly/Dani snark. And Kelly has a good argument for looking for life on Mars.
Amber, bringing back the 60's housewife vibe.
Margo....oh man. I'm so glad she said no, but oh man, the kissing...aww.... awww.... sigh...Oh man...
Go Kelly! Not being a nepo baby!
Interesting who gets poached and who doesn't by Helios. Poor Bill. "I want to be the new shoe." Aww, Bill's gonna cry!
AW SHIT THEY JUST JUMPED TO 1994. LITERAL THREE WAY RACE ALL AT ONCE FUCKADOONIE. AND WE GOT ELLEN AS A PRESIDENT.
I'm glad Ellen is the president but how did her past not get dug up? Did literally nobody but Larry and her ex-girlfrend know she was gay? Wouldn't a couple of Larry's ex boyfriends have sold out to the National Enquirer by now?
Possibly with there being no Internet (?!?!), oppo research hasn't turned up much. Ellen had the one girlfriend, Larry had the various boyfriends, all of them have something to lose and I presume Ellen/Larry didn't piss any of those people off to make them squeal.
Specifically, when talking about picking a VP, Larry is like "we need to do this to get into power" and I'm like... to do what?! What's so important you need to get into power?
Get to Mars.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:36 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Okay, so what happened with Margo? I assume she didn't give them the engine info, given her wincing as she watched the television, and also she's still in her office so she didn't quit or take a bullet or go to jail or anything....????
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:37 PM on March 19, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:37 PM on March 19, 2023
Needs more Sally Ride.
They did Gordo and Tracy wrong by memorializing them in their goofy tape outfits.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:19 PM on November 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
They did Gordo and Tracy wrong by memorializing them in their goofy tape outfits.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:19 PM on November 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hah, I just finished reading a Sally Ride biography.
Kinda agree with the tape outfits.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:09 PM on November 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Kinda agree with the tape outfits.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:09 PM on November 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Danny is still the worst. I hope Ed overhears a conversation and then sends him outside again.
posted by emelenjr at 11:05 AM on June 24, 2022 [4 favorites]