I’ll be honest: I’ve struggled with what to write in this particular review. I’m not sure if I’m holding For All Mankind to a higher standard than I would another drama, considering the near perfection of its second season, or if the elements I’m taking issue with would have caused the same reaction if this wasn’t a series I love and respect. Because, having seen eight of the ten episodes in season three, I can say the series remains strong on the whole – I found myself engrossed in several of the key season arcs and there are multiple edge-of-your-seat moments strung throughout the season (amazing how tension can build once you know the series is more than willing to kill off characters who would be buried under plot armor in other shows) – but there are several characters – and arcs – that just feel muddled and like something more in-line with a soap opera than with a series of this pedigree.
A bit about where we find ourselves in season three: The season kicks off in 1992, but quickly jumps forward to 1994, centering around the new space race for Mars. As you likely determined from the season trailer, there are three horses in this particular race: NASA (still headed by Margot – played beautifully by Wrenn Schmidt, who has her own personal issues to deal with throughout the season in addition to spearheading this mission), the Soviets, and Helios, a private company headed by one of the season’s few new characters, Dev Ayesa (played with great reserve by Edi Gathegi – think someone with Elon Musk’s innovative skills and Jeff Bezos’ temperament). Naturally, NASA and Helios end up splitting some of our old (and new) astronaut friends (those taking the journey to Mars include Joel Kinnaman’s Ed Baldwin, Krys Marshall’s Danielle Poole, Cynthy Wu’s Kelly Baldwin, and Casey W. Johnson’s Danny Stevens – although I’ll refrain from revealing who is flying with whom), and there’s plenty of tension throughout the first half of the season as the teams jockey for position – and execute potentially dangerous maneuvers to ensure they make it to the red planet first.
Now, you might have noticed that I haven’t mentioned a couple of the show’s returning cast*, but rest assured, there’s a story for Karen (Shantel VanSanten, who really comes into her own this season now that Karen isn’t stuck in the thankless role of “wife at home while everyone else is doing amazing things”) and Ellen (Jodi Balfour, who doesn’t have nearly as much to do now that Ellen has entered the realm of politics, but who gets a really lovely showcase near the end of the season). But the bulk of the season hinges on the Mars mission – and on the characters who are on the red planet. Which means, for fans who – like me – were hoping that the series would acknowledge the error of its way with that idiotic Danny-Karen one night stand, you’re bound to be disappointed.
*The series has made the choice that none of the main characters have visibly aged all that much, despite some now being in their 60s. Sure, there’s some old age make-up and wigs employed (poor Nate Corddry gets the worst of it with his look), but I think we should all just pretend they came up with some amazing anti-aging techniques with the new technological advances within the series.
The deaths of Tracy and Gordo Stevens weight heavily on the series throughout the season – from characters repeatedly mentioning their sacrifice to conspiracy theorists getting into the head of one supporting character and convincing him that NASA lied about what really went down (which, in a way, they did, as the real reason the reactor was going to blow wasn’t released to the public). And we see the impact of their loss the most in what’s happened to their sons, Danny and Jimmy. Danny, a recovering alcoholic at this point, hasn’t been able to let go of his feelings for Karen – can you guess where this is going? It’s an exhausting storyline that really doesn’t feel all that grounded in the reality of the series. Perhaps the final two episodes will offer some clarity as to why he continues to carry a torch for her after a single night – it’s made clear that Karen views it as a mistake on her part – but ugh. I hated everything about this arc – and how Danny’s obsession impacts more than just him and his wife and child – which turns what could be a really interesting character into just a walking cliché. And then there’s Jimmy, a young man desperate for something to believe in and someone to believe in him. While his arc feels a bit out of place in the grand scheme of the season (again, with so much focus on the Mars mission, taking side trips into Jimmy’s life pulls the focus in a way that can be jarring), it feels much more true to a character in his situation. He lost both of his parents, who are lauded as heroes, his big brother has been gone, living his own life and living up to their memory, and he’s been left behind. I wish we’d spent more time with Jimmy in season two to get a better understanding of who he was before he lost his parents, but I found this arc much more convincing than Danny’s.
Which brings me to my main complaint about this season: The show is still too stuck in the past. Depending on where a potential season four picks up, the old guard isn’t going to be able to be in the series much longer. If they’re pushing retirement this time around, will they be pushing walkers and still going into space in season four? That means the series needs to create characters this time around that we can care about and follow into season four. Kelly Baldwin is certainly one such character – Wu really does a great job imbuing her with just enough youthful optimism and focused poise to make Kelly much more fun than I thought she would be back in season two. And there’s a new, young astronaut on the NASA team who has great potential to become an interesting character further down the line. But the series really lacks anything in the way of a core for a season four.
Season three is all-in on the Mars of it all – the potential dangers, the international conflicts and potential for cooperation, and the interpersonal drama both on the ground and in space. But it doesn’t all gel nearly as well as season two. By episode eight in season two, you could feel the threads of the story starting to tie up into the brilliant final stretch of episodes. This time around, it still feels unfocused and like it’s missing that special something. Characters make decisions with consequences you can see coming a mile away (and, if you’re like me, are likely to yell the end result out loud a full two or three episodes before they recognize what they did). I’m all for a series leading us down a path to an inevitable conclusion (hell, that’s why the season two finale was so damn great – the stones were neatly laid out throughout the season and we walked the path willingly to that painful ending), but season three of For All Mankind feels earthbound where it could be soaring in the cosmos.
This is a completely competent, well-made season of television with some stellar performances and good story arcs. But it’s just not up to the high level I was hoping the series would maintain moving forward. I’ve enjoyed watching it thus far – and I’m intrigued to see if it will pull things together into a more connected final push (and I will happily eat my words here if it does) – but I didn’t love it the way I loved season two. Is it fair to hold a series to a higher level than others based on past performance? I think so – and this one just isn’t quite at the high bar it set for itself.
For All Mankind debuts its third season on June 10 on AppleTV+. Subsequent episodes will be released on a weekly schedule. Eight of the season’s ten episodes were provided for review.
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