As a penultimate episode for the series’ third season, For All Mankind 3×09 “Coming Home” does exactly what you’d expect it to do. It ties up some of this season’s arcs while leaving others time for just one more chapter. And it delivers what this series has become known for, as well — a cliffhanger, at the end of it all, that makes you wish you had the next episode available right away.
There are some surprising choices, too, though. The biggest one is probably the five-month time jump since our last visit with these characters. It’s not that skipping ahead mid-mission has never been done before…
But, aside from the opening voiceover, which catches us up on where the mission now stands, we really don’t have a lot of information here. How did we get from Point A to Point B? And can we even trust the voiceover, considering it’s coming from this season’s absolute worst character — and therefore the most unreliable narrator possible?
For one thing, Kelly Baldwin’s pregnancy is a huge surprise. So, it’s almost equal points fascinating and disappointing that we really don’t know Kelly’s initial reaction, or the majority of the crew’s. Or anyone other than Dr. Mayakovsky’s and Commander Kuznetsov’s, actually. It’s also kind of nice to skip over all of that, though? Let’s discuss.
“America’s favorite baby Martian”
Considering we ended the previous episode with a stark warning about the risk a pregnancy posed to the rest of the crew and mission, we can’t help but wonder how we got to this place where everyone’s just going with the flow and supportive.
Then again, Kelly’s reproductive choices aren’t anybody’s business but her own. So, maybe that’s the point of not making it a debate, a big reaction, or some kind of issue. If this was the intent in skipping over all the pregnancy announcement and any initial concerns, then we’re certainly thankful for that.
Aside from the urgency to get Kelly up to Phoenix, the Kelly we see in For All Mankind 3×09 is just, mostly, your average happy, expectant mom. Sure, Dr. Mayakovsky has concerns about how the circumstances might affect her pregnancy. And yes, there’s the dire situation Kelly’s in by the end. We’re not discounting pre-eclampsia here — far from it.
But…Kelly’s just doing Kelly, making old man jokes at Ed’s expense as he frets over her. Again, we don’t know about getting Ed to this point — it had to be interesting, to say the least, given how generally behaves as a father. But dare we say he’s kind of adorable here? It’s all kind of beautiful, actually. (Again, until the closing moments of the episode.)
It’s one of those situations where we weren’t sure how this was going to work, thought it could only spell trouble in the form of misogyny or some kind of slut-shaming/”how could you be so stupid” situation aimed at Kelly. Based on the reactions on social media, that terrible take certainly exists. The series, thankfully, doesn’t fall into that trap.
So, despite being conflicted over not getting the in-between…we’re relieved. Maybe impressed, even, to see it’s more a matter of teamwork, and family, and science.
I don’t think I’ve talked about Cynthy Wu enough this season. And that’s not ok. But the scene where Kelly hears her baby’s heartbeat is so touching. She’s so calm and self-assured leading up to that moment, shrugging off the doctor’s concerns and all…But there’s the briefest, tiniest sense of it all being bittersweet, and more stressful than she otherwise lets on, just before she closes her eyes to listen. The smile she shares with Ed — the fondness portrayed by both Wu and Joel Kinnaman in that little gesture — is remarkable, as well.
Even on Mars, even after all that loss and devastation and in the middle of a rush against time to get to real medical facilities, there’s hope. It’s a beautiful thing.
Deserves better
Aleida thinks she can confide in Bill Strausser. This young woman, who we’ve watched grow from a little girl with huge dreams, to someone who had her whole life ripped away from her, to that angry girl covering all the pain in Season 2, to who she is today…
…she’s found out the truth about Margo. And I know I keep circling around this point every time I come to this part of the story, but it bears repeating. Margo Madison gave Aleida Rosales a lifeline when she needed it. She is her mentor, the person who made her every dream come true — even sent her, an engineer, to space this season. Aleida was her girl, even when Karen offered her so much more to jump to Helios.
And now, Aleida knows.
So, when she invites Bill over in For All Mankind 3×09 to show him what she’s discovered and how, it’s a huge leap of faith. It’s trust from someone who barely learned how to trust anyone in the last decade, and whose faith in one of the people she trusts the most has been wrecked. And there is not one infinitesimal portion of a second in Coral Peña’s performance that lets us forget just how vulnerable Aleida is here. She is begging Bill to prove her wrong, even as she’s calmly, matter-of-factly, laying out the damning evidence.
Even when she sticks to her guns and has that equal mixture of ice water in her veins and that kind of…”old” Aleida toughness, if you will…with the FBI Agent, that sense of betrayal is there. It’s in her eyes, in the way her voice catches while telling Bill he’s dead to her. And she’s fighting it every step of the way.
Aleida has always been a fighter, forced to rely on that external toughness even as she was breaking down inside. So, it’s not at all surprising that, once she is by herself, she finally lets it all out. It’s a standout scene, especially when — if I’m being honest here, which I always try to be — it’s so relatable. To not let yourself feel the hurt until no one else can see it. And to need to physically destroy something just as badly as you’ve been destroyed.
It’s heartbreaking, seeing Aleida get this extra layer of hurt on top of knowing what she knows about Margo. Was Bill wrong to go to the FBI? Eh, technically not. But is he kinda dead to us for abusing Aleida’s trust anyway? Hi. Yes.
Even seeing Aleida have to tell her father she’s got it handled, trying to comfort him as she’s been torn apart, is a lot. It’s perfect for who Aleida is, and it’s perfectly acted by Peña. And that last image of her, with nothing left but pure emptiness as her dad suddenly mixes her up with her mom and forgets her — even after he’d definitely known her when he first entered the room! — is bound to stick with so many viewers.
Contrast that with her pure joy when she visited the moon earlier this season. And sob with us. Forever.
Nothing but respect for my first lesbian President!!!
Forget about the real ’90s and that other Ellen. For All Mankind 3×09 is Ellen Wilson’s moment.
A part of me is always going to wonder why it had to be like this. Political scandal, blackmail, NASA’s very ability to continue its remarkable amount of progress at risk…
I’ll always wish Ellen’s decision to speak her truth was 100% from a place of wanting to do it and not, at least partially, because she had to.
Coming out shouldn’t even be a thing because hatred that requires people to hide in the first place shouldn’t be a thing. But, of course, that’s not reality. And I get to go off about what should and shouldn’t be a thing from my privileged place of never having to declare myself as anything because I’m exactly what the world expects and assumes me to be. I wish that were different. As an alternative, I at least wish people could always have the opportunity to decide when and where, to not have the walls closing in as Ellen does here.
But at least it’s not as bad as I feared it would be? When Will Tyler came out, and Congress found out about Larry’s affair, I figured someone would connect the dots to Ellen. And then, someone else would tell Ellen’s story, perverting it in the worst possible way, for her.
For All Mankind, thankfully, doesn’t do that. To the extent that there are any choices left by the time we get to “Coming Home,” it is Ellen’s choice. She could’ve let Larry fall on his sword. Or, she could’ve thrown NASA under the bus to save her own ass. As a last resort, she could’ve even gone for the ol’ high crimes and misdemeanors approach. Lesser people would have. God knows plenty of politicians are willing to do whatever it takes, hurt anyone necessary, to save themselves.
“I’m gay. And I have been since the day I was born.”
Instead, Ellen addresses the press pool — the whole nation — and even makes things right with Will. She speaks her truth from a place of power, with a certain calm assurance and strength. And that smile of relief she shares with Larry once she’s done is one of the best parts, while being so easy to miss.
I hate that Ellen spends so much time apologizing to the American people for lying about who she is, when those very same people and their homophobia are the exact reason why she was ever in this mess in the first place.
But it’s a beautifully written speech, and Jodi Balfour’s performance is incredibly moving. Every moment we spend with Ellen in “Coming Home” is a masterclass. But the moment she addresses the press, with Balfour delivering all that uninterrupted dialogue and building the emotion as she goes, is easily some of her best work on this series.
Well-deserved recognition
Not to mention, we get justice for Will. No. Not just justice — honor, as well. And that outpouring of emotion when Ellen mentions him by name and, which he quickly tries to hide probably out of fear of Rolan’s reaction, is damned fine work from Robert Bailey Jr. in its own right.
Then, there’s Rolan saying how proud he is to call Will his friend…and, yeah. Lots to love here, even if there’s also a fair amount we wish had gone very differently.
If anyone should be saying they’re sorry, by the way, it’s Rolan. Not Ellen. Pretty sure he never actually mentioned an apology, though. “Honored to be your friend” is moving and all, but why can’t he just say he’s sorry?
So, as we grapple with the discomfort, there’s still quite a lot to appreciate. And we must ask ourselves, as we watch Ellen take the podium and undo the damage of her version of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” what the actual fuck we’re doing here in the real world. How is it we’re letting ourselves slide backwards, when we’re decades in the future and should be making progress?
More on For All Mankind 3×09
- Am I the only one who immediately thought of the miscommunication at the end of last season, and the shitshow it caused, at the end of “Coming Home” or.
- Me, earlier this season: “Ed’s such an ass. Ugh.” Me, seeing Ed steal those rations and boast about seniority: “Aw, he’s such an ass. Love that guy!” Growth?
- “You’re going to need a lot of homeopathic remedies in your old age.”
- OMC’s “How Bizarre” takes me back. The youths don’t know.
- “This is like the lair of a Batman villain.” I’ll let the chance to make a Homeland reference slide, considering it’s the ’90s here. Aleida Rosales walked so that Carrie Mathison could run, though.
- “Yeah, it’s like they’re trying to fuck with me.” Me at this series, forever leaving me stressed at the end of an episode.
- The way Aleida pushes that beer away when the FBI shows up. Same.
- “And I’m guessing it’s just a coincidence that they had you talk to me? Of all the Agents?” Agent Rodriguez, even. SMDH at the FBI and cheering on my girl for pointing this bullshit out.
- “That’s rich coming from a woman who had Karl Rove and Lee Atwater to do her dirty work so her image could remain as pure as driven snow.” I mean. Sadly, true.
- Also: A reminder that “Karl Rove” immediately makes me think of Colbert’s “Ham Rove,” so I win.
- Dev Ayesa’s whole speech about the original Jamestown: Moving? Inspiring?
- …or “why is this man spouting colonizer rhetoric?”
- “The man’s been swallowed alive by his own myth.” A word.
- But also, he saved everyone’s asses last episode…And five months later, it’s “fuck him. Get him out of here. The company’s failures are all his fault”? Like. How did we get here???
- Also. The failures are all Danny Stevens’ fault. For the record.
- Some of the performances in For All Mankind 3×09 just have great physicality. And that doesn’t always mean “action” or stunt work. Case in point: The scene where Ellen and Larry listen to the White House tapes. Look at the tension Balfour holds in her body, particularly when she stands up and faces away from him. Just that conveys so much. Masterclass.
- This show is too much. Those reaction shots during Ellen’s speech…so many feelings. Margo perking up and paying attention? Pam’s pride? Help.
- “Sounds like fun. Sign me up.” Old man, stay away from danger.
- The awkwardness when Dani and Kuznetsov both realize it has to be them, together, to go hunting down that North Korean probe. A comedy.
- No, but really. “I have failed you.” Including that sentence, Ellen’s speech had “failed” in it eight times. (Yes, I counted. And?)
- It’s Dani’s “what…the…hell” at that footprint for me.
- If For All Mankind could stop with the “let’s make Shana stress about Dani at the end of every other episode this season” nonsense…
- Also, just as a warning without giving anything away? Y’all aren’t ready for the finale. See ya then!
Thoughts on For All Mankind 3×09? Leave us a comment!
For All Mankind Season 3 is now streaming on Apple TV+. The finale is scheduled to release on Friday, August 12.
