In the previous episode of For All Mankind, we witnessed Ed Baldwin put up a fight against all odds for one of his closest friends on Mars, Lee. From the moment Lee confirmed that he had nothing to do with Yoon’s death, Ed chose to trust his friend, no questions asked. He wasn’t the only one who believed Lee, there were others from the organization, Sons and Daughters of Mars, who wanted to come up with a plan to keep Lee on Mars. They feared that if he were extradited to North Korea, he would be immediately killed, so the only way to ensure justice was by keeping him on Mars. Lee managed to make it to the ISN compound, but what is the ISN? In episode 3 of season 5, we discover that some of the nations who weren’t part of the M-6 had formed an alliance called the Independent Spacefaring Nations. There was an obvious enmity between ISN and M6 as a result of access to iridium, and now that Lee had chosen to enter their territory, they’d decided not to hand him over to the ‘wolves.’ Lee was safe, at least for the time being. Although Ed’s radical decision had a tremendous effect on the Mars settlement.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Aleida decide to travel to Mars?
Aleida was under pressure to make it to Titan before Kuragin did. Helios had discovered the possibility of life on Titan, and they planned to make it there before their competitor. She was disappointed when she discovered that Kuragin planned on launching for Titan in six weeks, and if there was life there, she figured Kuragin would get to it before they even got the opportunity to launch! She complained about the situation to Margo, who responded by insisting she somehow find a solution. She suspected that Kuragin must have found out about Helios’ discovery, and that was why they were desperate to go up there before Aleida got the chance to send her team. Aleida didn’t really think there was any way out of the mess, but Margo begged to differ. The human transport ship that they were getting ready wasn’t meant to perform aerobrakes, a feature that could be extremely helpful for them if they planned on launching soon. Since they didn’t have time to build a new ship, Margo proposed to her to work on Sojourner 1. It was the first ship built by NASA that was meant to land humans on Mars, and it was designed by a young Aleida. Aleida wasn’t ready to even consider it as an option. It had been twenty years since anyone had set foot in the Sojourner, and she wasn’t sure if she could even make it work again. But after a brief conversation with Margo, she changed her opinion. Although it was a drastic decision, it was the only viable option left for them to make it to Titan before Kuragin. Margo emphasized that it was important for Aleida to go to Mars to ensure Sojourner 1 was ready for the mission. Aleida had no intention of traveling to Mars; her family needed her, and she was convinced that she could get the work done from Earth. But soon, Aleida started to face the challenge of trying to make sense of the condition of the spaceship from video feeds. She realized it would be impossible for her to get the ship ready on time if she didn’t go to Mars to work on it herself. But she feared that her husband and daughter would have a tough time if they didn’t have her around for almost a year. When she discussed her situation with her family, they encouraged her to do whatever was necessary for the success of the Helios mission. Perhaps Aleida had been projecting her own fear onto her family, she perhaps had always expected that this day would come, and she had been consciously trying to delay it. She knew that even if her family managed to live without her for a year, Margo would struggle. Their 2 PM meeting had become a routine that Aleida couldn’t imagine giving up. But Margo strictly asked her to go, she never wanted to hold Aleida back, even though not seeing her pained her deeply. Aleida ultimately realized that she had to take the leap of faith and make it to Mars to be the first one to find life on Titan.
Is Celia onto something crucial?
Celia Boyd suspected that Kuragin was involved in Yoon’s murder. She feared that Yoon had discovered something that he wasn’t supposed to and that got him killed. Kuragin didn’t have permission for nighttime surface work, but Celia had discovered that they were breaking the rules without facing any consequences. Celia tried talking to the sheriff, she tried to make him realize that they were focusing their energy on the wrong people, and instead, they should investigate Kuragin. The sheriff wasn’t impressed with Celia’s proposal. After what Ed Baldwin had pulled, M6 was determined to curb any opposing voices, and they were desperately trying to track down all members of the Sons and Daughters of Mars. Things had already escalated way beyond anyone’s control, so now if the sheriff announced that Lee wasn’t even the actual culprit (and that they had no idea who it really was), everything would fall apart. He didn’t think there was any need to investigate Yoon’s murder anymore. He also emphasized that if Celia wanted to keep her job, she must obediently follow orders. The sheriff reminded Celia that her hunches and due diligence had previously not only gotten her in trouble, but also those associated with her. In one of her previous cases, she’d convinced her superior officers to let her go undercover, and a cop got shot in the process. The sheriff warned her not to be reckless anymore, and instead focus on arresting those causing unrest and attacking her colleagues. Celia had no choice but to agree. She had decided to travel to Mars, hoping that things would be different and she would get a fresh start, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
Celia couldn’t just give up on her hunch, she knew that Kuragin was up to something, and she was determined to find the truth. She decided to find Mahmoud Hesar, the Crater who’d last seen Yoon and Lee get into a disagreement. When she mentioned Lee, Mahmoud showed interest in talking to her, but he stated that he’d only seen them, he hadn’t heard their conversation. He remembered that Lee and Yoon were both upset after the conversation, and he added that Yoon didn’t speak throughout the entire shift that night. As it turned out, Mahmoud worked with Yoon in Kuragin. When Celia asked him about the mysterious cargo containers, he was hesitant, and as soon as he noticed a man staring at him from afar, he begged Celia to leave. Celia attempted to follow the man, but she was knocked out, and when she woke up, she was in a hospital bed. Her colleague, Fred, came to comfort her. He couldn’t quite understand why Celia had chosen to put herself in such a risky position, although he sympathized with her. He informed her that Sheriff Palmer had granted her six weeks of medical leave with full pay. While Fred thought it was reason enough to celebrate, Celia wasn’t happy about it. She didn’t know what to do beyond her job. Perhaps this will give Celia enough time to work on her own investigation to prove her theory that Kuragin was involved in Yoon’s death. But clearly, the system didn’t want the truth to surface. There was pressure to declare Lee as the prime suspect soon after Yoon’s body was found, and clearly they wanted the trial to begin so that no other angle could be explored. Kuragin is a Soviet energy space conglomerate run by Russian entrepreneurs, and they had the support of the government. They were under pressure to be better than Helios, and perhaps that had to do with their secret operations. Considering Polivanov is the governor of Mars, it is likely that he already knows about it, and perhaps he’d specifically instructed some of his trusted Mars peacekeepers to ensure that Lee was framed for the murder. Should Celia trust Fred or Palmer? Absolutely not, but then again, she will have to find someone among the higher-ups who would believe her theory. Maybe Dev Ayesa?
How Did Ed Die?
Ed had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer, and his doctor had warned him not to fly since the stress would have a damaging effect on his lungs. But Ed didn’t listen, he had to protect his friend, even if he died in the process. Ed was hospitalized after he was found unconscious in the previous episode. During this time, he remembered his tough days in the Korean War, where he lost his friend who was shot dead when he tried to fetch water for a wounded Ed. He had felt personally responsible for it, and clearly, he never really got over the trauma. Kelly tried to convince her father to try experimental therapy, but Ed didn’t want to do any of that. He chose not to take chemotherapy because he knew the radiation would do him more harm than good, and even though his days were numbered, he figured accepting his fate was a better option than dying miserably. He advised his daughter to focus on her own career, and find life on Titan instead of obsessing over keeping her father alive for a couple more years. Kelly struggled to accept her father’s decision, but she eventually realized that she didn’t really get to have a say in how her father chose to die. At the end of the day, it was his life, and he’d decided to be around his family and friends, have a couple of drinks, and die peacefully.
During the ending of For All Mankind season 5, episode 3, Ed died with his grandson, Alex, by his side. Alex always thought that he’d been a disappointment to his grandpa, but Dev helped him realize that the least he could do now was be around Ed in his final moments. And that was what Alex chose to do. He was there with Ed, offering him the last sip of water, before he went to sleep forever. In his final moments, Ed dreamt of his first space mission, the excitement, the pride, and the thrill of seeing the world from afar. His dream suggests that he’d finally become one with the universe.
Courtesy of DMTalkies
