In For All Mankind 4×08, everyone is discussing their plans for the “Goldilocks” asteroid — and only viewers know that those plans are at odds with one another. This being “in the know” winds up making the situation that much more compelling, mainly because the acting within the acting is so good. The cast members involved in the heist side of the storyline are so dedicated, their characters’ lies so believable, it’s a good thing we have the inside knowledge that we do. Because otherwise, we’d be just as clueless about Ghost Ops’ true intentions as their fictional rivals are.
The obvious “big” place for this dynamic is, of course, the scene where Dev Ayesa convinces The Danielle Poole and her new sidekick XO to keep Massey on the Ranger crew. In order for Dev to sell his story about not wanting to open himself up to lawsuits, he has to be the perfect picture of a self-interested businessman. More to the point, he can’t have a single “tell” that anything at all is out of the ordinary. But in order for that to be the case, Edi Gathegi has to convince even a clued-in audience of Dev’s story. It’s the only way for us to believe he could possibly fool Dani. And Gathegi does this extremely well…right up until, once everyone else’s back is turned, Dev drops his mask and grins.
Something similar occurs when Miles and the other workers are getting their specially-labeled shipments. In that scene, Toby Kebbell has to wear his character’s poker face in such a way that it…kind of feels like a “tell” to those of us who are aware that it should be there. But let’s put all that aside. Because, a far as the planning phase of these competing asteroid missions goes, the most interesting thing about how “Legacy” tells that story is in the way the different planning sessions are cut and pieced together. The rhythm is so quick, the transitions so seamless in some places, we gain the impression that everyone is on exactly the same page and has the exact same end goal in mind.
But, again, we know that couldn’t be further from the truth…even if the episode finds creative ways to trick us. As many pieces of the puzzle slide into place and the story unfolds as if Aleida is finishing Margo’s sentences, or maybe Dani is, or perhaps Ed is finishing Dani’s sentences, we can even almost believe that the “old” team is completely back together again. But, of course, that’s also galaxies away from what’s actually happening.
Even as we highlight the many places where the rush to capture the asteroid — whether to lock it into Mars’ orbit or Earth’s doesn’t actually matter — evolves with all this nuance, For All Mankind 4×08 still manages to be at its best in the places where this series always shines. Namely, it’s about the people. The human stories, the connections, that grounded reality that remains at once both heartwarming and utterly devastating. (Or, in the case of Ed Baldwin…that second descriptor should be more like utterly irritating.)
Poppy Ed flies backwards
Ed Baldwin is…not winning a Grandfather of the Year award anytime soon. Which is frustrating, for a number of reasons — not the least of which is that he has some truly sweet moments in “Legacy,” yet spoils any goodwill he earns in the (grand)parenting department with…all his other moments. Sure, we can extend him some grace for not really knowing Alex or originally clicking with him. (Even if it is his fault in a lot of ways.) And we absolutely get what the character is going through, in terms of losing so much control and so much of his confidence now that he doesn’t have the same abilities he once did. But that can only go so far when it’s like he insists on just not getting it.
First on the list of “WTF, Ed” moments, we have “grandson? What grandson?” Basically, he’s too busy planning to pull an Ocean’s 11 on Goldilocks to remember he has to watch Alex for a few days while Kelly’s away. She finally has her chance to set up her seekers at Korolev Crater. But why would her dad remember that, much less his commitment to helping take care of her only child, when he can be so wrapped up in his own plans? Worse, even when Ed’s caught in his lie about not forgetting, he’s focused on all the wrong things. He’s trading nervous glances back and forth with Dev, questioning Kelly’s parenting techniques with her own kid, and making nasty comments about Alex being “afraid of his own shadow” when the kid is right there and can hear him.
The banter between Ed and Kelly almost tricks us into thinking we’re watching a light, funny moment. In the first place, Ed’s a hilariously bad liar. Like, you can instantly tell he absolutely forgot about Alex, just as Kelly says he did. And when Kelly practically parents her dad, throwing the “sink or swim” line at him, Joel Kinnaman really leans into Ed’s sense of being called out with the “terrible advice” response. But…again. If we zoom out and really think about the situation, we can’t exactly say there’s a whole lot for us to laugh at.
Ed’s too busy with the next big adventure to remember “small” details like his grandson’s well-being, and he’s trying to claim he knows something about raising a little boy when um. How much was he around with Shane, and how bad was he at certain points with him, way back when? And he immediately hops onto needing to find a babysitter to sub in for him — the person who’s actually supposed to be babysitting — the second he’s left alone with Alex, a kid who barely knows him, doesn’t trust him yet, and is sad about his mom leaving him for a few days.
But ok. It’s not all terrible. For long. When Ed comes to pick Alex up after dumping him on Joanna only to find the boy’s missing, he’s sufficiently worried. Fittingly, Pappy Ed springs right into panic mode. And his relief when he sees Alex again is spot on. He even actually pays enough attention to the little guy’s reaction to change tactics. So, he manages to be softer and more affectionate after initially yelling at him and asking what he was thinking. So, between that and the surprisingly vulnerable, touching moment between Ed and Dev that comes later, we’re like, “ok. Maybe For All Mankind 4×08 is going to be a turning point for this whole Poppy/Alex relationship.”
“So just be yourself. Share your passion. It’s the greatest gift I ever got.”
In some ways, it really is a turning point. The late night scene when Alex admits that his Poppy looks like a bear is brilliant — a favorite, even. And it’s clear it brings them closer to each other, at least in some way. There’s this almost aching sense of heart about the way Ed taps into a much more nurturing side of himself that, often, viewers don’t get to see. Like, he actually takes Dev’s advice and is himself. Not the guy trying to do the next big thing, but the man underneath it all. The one who loves his family, the one who read Kelly bedtime stories when she was little, the one who looks back on a much younger version of himself and wonders where the time has gone.
But. Well. Ed also…takes Dev’s advice. So, Old Man Baldwin is purely Ed with Alex — to a fault.
Just after he’s made us remember why we loved in him the first place, Ed decides to screw it up and put his grandson in deep danger. It’s a natural, if somewhat infuriating, way to tie this family dynamic into the overarching plot about the asteroid, sure. But can Ed be for real for five minutes without doing…this? He ought to know, better than anyone, how quickly things can go wrong on this planet. And he also know, better than anyone, how losing a son so young can destroy someone. But he sends Alex into the vent anyway. Because the thrill of the mission is more important than safety. Always has been, always will be — no matter who gets hurt.
Admittedly, it’s a major positive sign that Ed gives Alex one last chance to back out. Asks him twice if he’s sure, then if he’s “sure, sure,” even. But because Ed has this influence over the kid, because he’s someone who has previously not shown a lot of interest and is now including him in this great, big adventure with Dev — someone Alex definitely already looks up to and flat out adores — even telling Alex he doesn’t have to go along with the plan is…not really giving him a real choice. Of course he’s going to do what the adults want. And, once he manages to get the job done and gets all that praise, that just sets him up to believe that doing foolish, risky things is the way to Poppy’s heart.
Not exactly great role model behavior from Ed or Dev. But hey. All’s well that ends well. And maybe Alex always had a bit of the daredevil in him anyway, given who his parents are. (Yet his sheltered life and usual extreme quiet around strangers…probably says otherwise.)
“You’re the only person who might understand.”
We’re just going to start this section off by saying it: For All Mankind 4×08 continues the time-honored tradition of Coral Peña absolutely destroying us. In some sense, it’s like she has to portray an Aleida who’s now traveling backwards through her grief process. Except that doesn’t quite capture the situation, possibly because there’s really no way to describe what it is to have Margo now back on US soil. And having to just…pretend at a normal that no longer exists without actually fully embracing it.
“When it comes to the work, I will support you when I think you’re right. And I will disagree with you when I think you’re wrong. But you don’t get to ask me about my family or my son again. Understand?”
Aleida is so direct, yet quiet and almost overly polite, when she lays down the law with Margo. Clearly, she still has a lot of difficulty with the entire situation and is trying to find a way to keep from getting attached — and therefore hurt — again. So, she says what she has to without being overly mean about it. Perhaps that’s Aleida’s idea of attempting to move on and live in whatever “normal” now is. But it can’t work and, ultimately, fails to last anyway. Because just as she’s created a way to set boundaries with Margo, she finds herself on the receiving end of even more surprises that force her to reconsider everything she thought she knew. And, at every turn, we see just how much all of this is affecting Aleida. Which then leads to it all affecting us.
First, it’s Sergei just…showing up and scaring the everloving shit out of her. Then, it’s hearing the full story. Peña has to play everything from that awful, stilted dynamic between Aleida and Margo back at NASA, to the shock when Sergei shows up and the false anger she uses to cover up her fear, to the war within herself as he begs and pleads with her to please just listen to him. And that’s just the beginning. When Aleida finally does listen to Sergei’s story, it’s like…her entire world is turned upside down again.
“She — she sacrificed everything, along with her honor, to save my life.”
Aleida experiences this awful moment of realization. She has question herself, maybe even admit she’s been way too hard on Margo. Because Margo has had this horrible experience and lived this lie — at her own expense — to save someone else she cared about. This isn’t a traitor who just gleefully handed state secrets over to the Soviets; it’s Margo. Selfless, strong Margo. The Margo who, as Sergei points out, believed in her. But her pain and her anger are too strong.
“For eight years…she let us think she was dead. For eight fucking years, she never tried to reach out to tell us that she was ok — that she was alive.”
The way Peña begins Aleida’s response to Sergei in such a quiet, heartbroken way and then builds it up to that rage is stellar. She’s pleading with him as they argue back and forth about whether or not Margo could have found a way to reach them. Because, maybe, this is the part of Aleida’s grief that she’s bargaining with now — the years of being abandoned when she didn’t have to be alone. And she lets loose here because, as Sergei pointed out when he persuaded her to talk with him in the first place, they have a shared understanding — a shared loss — that no one else can share. And it’s not like she can have this particular part of the conversation, the struggle for reconciliation, with Margo.
Maybe she thinks she already said everything to Margo that Margo needed to hear. Or maybe it’s just that the one protective layer she has left — that wall she put up earlier in For All Mankind 4×08 — is in danger of crumbling, and she’s fighting against herself to keep it in place. But nothing she says here is going to keep her from eventually giving in and doing as Sergei asks. And even as Aleida tries to dig in her heels and fight against the idea of finding peace with what Margo did, we can see what’s going on under the surface.
“I’m just…I don’t know how to forgive her.”
Aleida might not know how to forgive Margo, but she doesn’t really have to understand it. It just has to happen, and it was always destined to happen. Because, really, the effort to even keep Margo at arm’s length was always destined to fail. Sergei’s visit just tipped the scales on that internal battle, the one we saw through Peña’s stellar performance this whole time. It was there from their initial reunion until now, even through all the rocky moments. Through all that wishing Margo was still dead so it would be easier, and even as she tried to keep her from talking about her family, Aleida always had that something reminding her that, no, that’s not what she wanted at all.
More on For All Mankind 4×08
- Loved having Piotr Adamczyk back for this episode. Sergei’s sense of wonder, of total disbelief, the second he hears Margo’s voice — from the TV, in another room, out of nowhere, while he’s using his electric toothbrush no less — cuts right to the heart. Then, it’s like his actual heart finds its way into his eyes when he actually sees her. Totally bewildered, too. Just…wow. Then, there’s the way Adamczyk portrays Sergei’s distraction as he shades in that graph at work, simply by the way he holds his body. It’s a lot.
- And if you don’t find yourself getting swept up by the way the music swells as he makes that decision to turn toward the highway, do you have emotions at all?
- “Sometimes, it’s up to a few enlightened individuals to lead the many.” Ed? Enlightened? In this economy???
- Y’all are, once again, trying to get me to say ACAB includes Commander Poole. I once again refuse.
- “More like they’re afraid us peasant folk will find a place to organize.”
- “Really? You’re going to chime in on parenting techniques at this point?” First, yes. Get him, Kelly. And second, Cynthy Wu delivers that “really” with every ounce of
ourKelly’s total exhaustion and boredom with Ed’s…recent life choices. Love it. - “Hey, Mom. You’ll come back, right?” This poor kid.
- Said it before, will say it again: Ezrah Lin is a superstar with a bright future in this business if he wants it.
- When Margo forgets her situation long enough to be excited and friendly with Nuri, only to get that cold shoulder…we don’t know what else to say, other than something like…ouch. Pain. Wrenn Schmidt, folks.
- Also, if Hobson is going to try to make Margo feel welcome and even make a weak attempt at softening that blow, we’re going to decide to stan.
- “I sincerely hope this isn’t for some fucked up game like the one you played to trash our strike.” Same.
- Love seeing Margo back home, doing her thing. Even with the ouches.
- Dani reacting with disgust to Dev’s “PR nightmare” nonsense and trying to figure out what game he’s playing: Classic. Literally impossible for Krys Marshall to fade into the background. As it should be.
- “Massey’s heart was in the right place. And if anything, it’ll be an olive branch.” That’s my girl. Whoever this Commander Poole is that’s trying to turn the base into a police state, that ain’t Dani.
- Gathegi with the pure delight in that next meeting after securing Massey’s position…
- Margo’s reaction to Aleida’s rules, so to speak, is like a knife to the gut. It’s obvious she hoped that at least Aleida might talk to her after everything. But now, she essentially has nothing left. Again: Wrenn Schmidt, folks.
- Get you someone who loves you as much as Margo relishes that first bite of a real Murrican burger.
- “Madam Mussolini’s new security measures…” Dani would never. Stop this.
- “Billionaire, huh?” Insert some kind of “takes one to know one” comment about Dev completely reading Miles’ greedy AF motivations as a way of recruiting him here.
- I just…Ed and Dev are the dynamic duo of criminal masterminds I never knew I needed.
- …and then, they throw in the emotional stuff that works shockingly well. Rude.
- “Because they want to see where they’ve been, because that’s how they know where they’re going.” Loved the whole story about Dev and his dad overall, but this line, in particular, is everything.
- “What the fuck are you doing here?” Me when there are any people, anywhere.
- “Please. Please, just give me a minute.” So. Much. Pain.
- “…that is when they began to strangle me in front of her.” “Jesus.” “Margo didn’t tell you about this?” …and the guilty way Aleida just shakes her head no…GOD THIS HURTS.
- “A defector to the Soviet Union is a glorified prisoner. A bird in a cage.” Which we saw, 100%, earlier in the season.
- “I know — I know.” Destroyed me.
- Ok but the way the camera sits with Sergei and Aleida’s feelings, individually, in that whole scene…yes.
- Old Man Ed, leaning down toward Alex and looking over his glasses…
- “I look like a bear?” The reflection of him in the frame that comes after is stunning, especially when we watch Ed’s face just melt into sadness.
- The score, along with the transition through space as Ed reads the bedtime story…and that brilliant grin off Wu as Kelly is finally doing her thing!
- Margo on the outside looking in…anyone else suddenly think it was the first season again? Only, instead of her bringing problems for Aleida to work, it’s the other way around?
- Blink and you’ll miss it: That tiny grin after Aleida leaves Margo with her hidden note.
- “I’m guessing it’s supposed to be more than just cornflakes in there.” Old man jokes: 100.
- “You scored big, Little Man.” “Yes you did, yes you did.” So proud…but WTAF.
- That shot of Margo looking out the window into the dark is a work of art.
- “All those years, she was the one who sent me to United States. The one who destroyed both of our lives.” These two together again, him with his hope and awe over seeing her again, her trying desperately to avoid this again…
- And then, it’s all there just to drop this bomb. Cruel.
- The shots of Schmidt as Margo reacts to the news? Also cruel!
- Massey’s “fuck me” is basically my response to the previous scene. And to a lot of things about my “comfort” show, actually. The end!
Thoughts on For All Mankind 4×08 “Legacy”? Leave a comment!
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