For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 “Home” focuses on the aftermath of breaking Lee Jung-Gil out of prison. And many people, regardless of their involvement or knowledge, face consequences. If viewers thought Mars was riddled with injustices before, the situation is even worse now—which Miles Dale predicted when he opted out of getting involved in any heroics in the first place. In fact, this hour sees many characters we’ve never even really had a chance to meet in handcuffs, behind bars, and/or demanding to know what they’ve even (allegedly) done wrong.
Younger people aren’t exempt from this treatment either. Although the whole base was celebrating recent graduates in the season premiere, Lily Dale and her classmate Gulsora Akilmatova quickly learn a harsh reality that wasn’t included in their lessons: There are no fundamental rights here, and often, how long you’re in a cage depends on who you know. An additional case in point: Ed Baldwin’s family. There may be guards posted outside Ed’s med bay unit, but Kelly and Alex are mostly left alone. On a basic level, it’s what they deserve so they can spend what precious little time they have left with Ed. But the glaring contrast certainly sends a message.
While the powers that be use Lee’s escape as an excuse to treat ordinary people more and more like criminals and animals, and Celia Boyd faces roadblock after roadblock to conducting a just and fair investigation into Yoon’s murder, For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 delivers a one-two punch of emotional devastation that has very little to do with either the political unrest on Mars or space exploration in general. Yes, Ed is in space. And, yes, his time begins to run out more quickly because of his illegal actions. But what unfolds for him and his family in this hour is simply a man dying on his own terms while his family has to come to grips with that exact reality.
Furthermore, the other kick to the guts may involve Aleida Rosales’ decision to go to space and oversee upgrades and repairs to Sojourner 1 in preparation for a flight to Titan. Yet, the depth of feeling doesn’t come from the possibility of finding life on Titan. Instead, it’s all about saying goodbye, about being reluctant to leave behind someone she loves very much, and may very well never see again. This series has always been at its best when it’s been about people. Nothing more, nothing less. Just people and human experiences. For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 is no different.
For all the broad horizons yet to come, and for all the inhumanity taking place in the background as Polivanov, Palmer, and whoever else continues to try to force Marsies to fall in line, “Home” stays grounded in these individual family moments. And, thanks to the way it stays true to the humanity of characters we’ve journeyed with so long, it is as stunning as it is heartbreaking.
MORE: The For All Mankind Season 4 finale ripped us to shreds.
“You should be the one going up there”
Put Wrenn Schmidt and Coral Peña in a scene together, and something remarkable happens. Every single time. For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 continues that tradition as Margo convinces Aleida to go to Mars. During Aleida’s first visit to see her friend in this hour, she is so unbelievably frustrated, turning a problem over and over in her head with (seemingly) no solution. But Margo talks her through it. The biggest problem—that Helios simply doesn’t have time to build a new ship—requires some creative problem solving from two of the smartest women on any planet.
As Peña sits, simply vibrating with the nervous and annoyed energy of an Aleida who just can’t work the problem, Schmidt takes a calmer approach. Margo’s looking at this with new eyes, and as she filters through her thoughts, it’s like we can see her connecting all the necessary dots and rejecting anything that doesn’t fit. And then, Schmidt’s wry, little grin signals Margo’s lightbulb moment. The answer turns out to be an obvious one—and one laced with all sorts of history. Sojourner 1.
An initially incredulous Aleida doesn’t get an easy out—just a very sure nod from Margo. Here, we take the time to see Aleida struggling to form words, eyes sort of rolling up to the heavens, searching for answers. And, reluctance turns to a sort of friendly back-and-forth, of working the problem together just like so many times before…until Margo hits Aleida with the one answer she very obviously doesn’t want to hear. Just as we see that hesitant, pleased smile, that “maybe it could work” start to form, both characters agree that there’s no margin for error. So, everything the’ve talked about—the heat shields, the plasma engine, the mark 9 infusion reactor—has to be done by Aleida. Her. She has to be the one to go.
Peña plays Aleida’s immediate refusal brilliantly, and as Aleida makes excuse after excuse, there is a very obvious, very painful reason she can’t bring herself to want to go. That reason is sitting right across from her, nudging her along and battling back against every denial. Once Aleida mentions her concerns about her daughter being “in a really tough place right now,” Margo reminds her “she’s gonna do what she’s gonna do. Whether you’re here or not.” And that is where Margo begins to get emotional herself, Schmidt’s voice breaking ever so slightly. As Aleida continues to stubbornly avoid the thought of leaving, saying she can just stay home and fix any problems from here, Peña so beautifully portrays all the things unsaid.
There’s a war inside her. She wants to go, yet can’t; she wants to say why…but doesn’t know how to find the words and wouldn’t be able to be quite that vulnerable anyway. It’s like every bit of her nervous energy is begging, “please don’t make me. Don’t make me go, and don’t make me say why I won’t.” Somewhere, underneath all the years of growth, she’s still trying to protect her scarred and bleeding heart.
Before the two part ways, Margo makes sure Aleida hears her out. She leans in, makes sure she has Aleida’s attention, and forces her to meet her gaze before reminding her, “I didn’t want to delegate to you at first. But it was one of the best things that I ever did.” Schmidt’s line reading on this is about as sincere, as loving, and as proud as it gets. But it’s no grand gesture, just a quiet, simple, direct truth. Anything else wouldn’t be Margo. And it certainly wouldn’t earn that tiniest of smiles from Aleida, seemingly totally in spite of herself.
But there is that utter sadness about Margo, as well. She’s doing this to force Aleida to make the right choice, to say goodbye to her. It breaks me for her to do it as much as she knows it’s the right thing, and just as much as it makes her happy to send someone she loves off to do great things. Soon after she says her piece, Margo switches things up. The mood is too heavy, so she lightens it up by going for a self-deprecating joke, making a grand show of looking around her before landing on “…and I’ve only ever made good decisions.” It’s such a them moment, so very Margo, with that absolute delight from Aleida also so incredibly her.
But they aren’t back at Houston. They can’t lead this thing together—only one person is walking out of here. As if viewers needed a reminder, the camera zooms out of their/our own, special world and shows all the other inmates meeting with their loved ones.
If Aleida and Margo’s first visit in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 pulls at viewers’ heartstrings, their final one will probably leave them ugly crying. (Can confirm at least one viewer had a rough time with it.) By this point, we know Victor and Graciana have already given Aleida the extra support and nudge she needs to go. Now, that means she has to tell Margo she’s leaving her behind. So, instead of the usual nervous excitement, maybe even that irritation over needing to solve a problem, Aleida approaches the gate that leads to the prison’s visiting area with a sense of dread. She needs to brace herself, even, before she beings her much slower than usual walk.
It doesn’t take long for Margo to notice something’s off, and when Aleida finally tells her that she took her advice, there’s a sad acceptance to it all. This hurts, but it can’t be changed. It is what it is. She’s been alone plenty of times before.
So, we sit with Aleida’s discomfort, the evasive ways she answers all of Margo’s oh-so-wary questions about when she’s leaving and for how long. (Soon. Too soon. Never would be too soon. Months, years—who cares—it’s all too long.) As the scene unfolds, Aleida battles back all those emotions. And there’s something in that forced, agonized smile of Peña’s that just perfectly embodies what it is to actually ache at even the thought of letting go. I don’t know how else to describe it, other than to say I’ve been there. Goodbyes are hard, and showing anyone how much they’re tearing you up inside is even harder. So you try, and you try, and you try to cover it, to not let it get to you…and the harder you try, the more it hurts.
This particular goodbye is made that much more difficult by the one thing that finally gets Aleida to simply crumple—she believes Margo should get to go. But Margo can’t go anywhere. And without Aleida, she’ll be well and truly alone all over again. That, too, results in just an incredible outpouring of grief from Peña, all while Schmidt sits opposite her, playing someone who’s fidgeting, fidgeting to stay in control of her own sense of loss. Margo has to seem fine with it. Otherwise, Aleida won’t tear herself away. But Schmidt plays those cracks in her character’s sense of calm, and the way she breaks inside underneath that show of strength so painfully well. (Emphasis on pain.)
Before Aleida leaves, she makes sure to let Margo know how much she means to her, how grateful she is for everything. Thanks to (fictional) decades with her, we know what it takes for her to do that. And, as if that isn’t painful enough to watch, given the struggle—the way she has to force the words out after looking down, the tears just spilling from her eyes—these two get to continue destroying us. Back and forth they go, Schmidt with one of Margo’s reassuring lines as the grief plays out under the surface, then throwing it to Peña to show how absolutely wrecked, and how much she has to keep fighting not to show it, Aleida is. Then, we end with the most awful thought of: “And now what? I’m just going to leave you here?” “That is exactly what you’re gonna do.” Yes. Exactly.
The camera follows Margo’s hand as it reaches out for Aleida’s, Aleida covering it with her own…and the tears keep flowing. (Mine? Aleida’s? Both? Who can say?) But the moment is all too brief. A quick cut to Aleida looking over her shoulder, lingering as she watches Margo shuffle back to her cell. A quick walk out.
Eventually, Aleida gets to say her farewells to Graci and Victor. That tight hug is everything, first of all. But…they’ll have each other when Aleida is gone. There’s also a reasonable expectation that they can send each other vidmail to keep in touch, as well as that they’ll be there when Aleida comes home. So, it’s not a matter of minimizing that family bond to say this—at least, it’s not my intention at all—but the most difficult part of all of this remains no longer having those 2:00 meetings.
That last image of Margo in her cell, trying and failing to distract herself from the time she’d usually see her only friend, is such a killer. It’s yet another reminder, among so many, that For All Mankind is so good at knowing when to slow down and pause or linger. And, well, with the way Schmidt performs her grief, coupled with Peña’s showing us that tight swallow of Aleida’s somewhere, out there, free…it hits. Hard. If For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 tells us anything at all, it’s that time with our loved ones is precious, and losing them—whether permanently or not—is a terrible thing.
Whatever you do, don’t think about how Margo has already “died” once and how awful that was to cope with. And don’t think about the full-circle moment of Sojourner 1 being up there, waiting for Aleida after its crash landing on Mars took place right as things were starting to fall apart all those years ago.
MORE: Here’s hoping for another Aleida/Margo reunion.
“…some sort of hero”
At times, maybe even more often than not, Ed Baldwin has been a difficult character to like. Even so, he’s always been a central figure for this series, meaning his death was always going to be a painful one. But For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 makes it hurt so good. Much like the character himself, Ed’s last days aren’t easy. He snaps at Kelly, refuses treatment for his cancer, and even manages to sneak out one last time. But the story is so lovingly told, brilliantly mixing his military past with his final battle and all the family moments—good and bad—along the way.
Anyone who’s ever watched a love one die may very well recognize themselves in equal parts in both Kelly and Alex. There is not a single second where Cynthy Wu isn’t believable as the only daughter of a dying father who just…can’t. When Dima first tells her about Ed’s illness, she can’t process it; she can’t believe her friend kept this from her either. And, as she makes plans for trying to help her dad get treatment for his cancer, she can’t understand that his mind is made up. She keeps talking, living in her false hope, as he tries to stop her. The usual Ed Baldwin attitude can’t get Kelly to realize he’s truly done. Instead, it’s an out of character moment—that so very small “please. Stop” that’s the beginning of a very long and difficult rude awakening.
Coming to terms with something like this doesn’t happen all at once, though, so she settles back into her comfortable denial and tries to back out of her hard-won opportunity to pilot the mission to Titan. When Ed overhears her, it brings him back from one of his many flashbacks. His reaction is exactly as outraged as anyone who’s ever watched this man not get his way would expect. And, as Kelly frets over him, telling him it’s not good for him to get all worked up, he just becomes more and more angry. The eye rolling and growling as Kelly once again mentions the oncologist are both classic Ed. But he’s now disgruntled and obstinate on a new, heightened, level—one where he’s made up his mind on this one last thing he gets to choose.
It takes that very sharp, knife-like “no” for her to finally, finally listen as Ed lays down the law. He’s “not doing any godd— treatments.” And, he demands that Kelly not step down from Titan. He’s determined. Period. Put this man in a hospital bed, and make him as sick as you want. He’s still that same fighter. That spirit never leaves him. I feel like that’s something society often forgets with people who are sick and/or old. They still are who they are. Treating them like they’re not is an insult, and for a character with as much pride as Ed, all you’re ever going to get back is righteous anger.
For Kelly, this is as much of a moment of realization as it gets. That shot of her just…sinking into that chair outside Ed’s pod in horror features, just, incredibly powerful work from Wu. When we revisit her, the image of her just painfully numb, dissociating as she waits for her coffee is another remarkable one. At least now, Alex is back—having spent some time dealing with his own difficulty with all of this through complete avidance—and that hug is absolutely everything.
Here, Ed manages to slip out. No clue how. That’s just Ed for you.
It’s wonderful that he gets to have his guy time with Alex, quite literally taking their secret—that the drink Alex has when his mom finally finds some form of acceptance and takes her seat on Ed’s other seat is neither his first nor his second—to his grave. As Kelly continues to protest her dad’s reckless behavior when he’s actively dying, it’s Alex who steps up and steps in, takes the burden of taking care of his mom here. “He doesn’t want to go back there,” he tells her. A heartbroken Kelly tries, much more weakly than ever before, to protest.
But, in the end, it doesn’t take a fight. Just Ed’s fond little clutch of her forearm, how he slowly turns to her and caresses her face silently—that’s what gets his message across. He wants her, needs her, to show him she loves him by letting him go. Ed is ready to die, and he wants to do it at “home,” without being such a great burden.
That he waits for Kelly to go off to visit the wreckage of Sojourner 1 before dying makes all the sense in the world. Because he needs her to start moving on before he can move on. For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 gives Ed chance to deal with his unfinished business in a way many of us will never get to. Kelly will be ok, and things are on as good of terms as ever with Alex. He didn’t have to waste away in some sterile med bay—he got to die in his own bed, surrounded by all those photos with all those cherished memories and reminders of who he was when he was still young and healthy. It’s…a tearjerker, but it’s as decent of a death as it gets for a guy like Ed.
Not a peaceful one, thanks to the disease and his war-torn dreams. But his last thought is a happy one, a heroic one. Endings are hard. Some of our loved ones are, similar to this F—in’ guy, even harder. But my, how boring things might be without them.
In our last scene with him, Ed earns himself that same sort of hero’s sendoff he relished so much when he first flew to space all those years ago. This time, he’s heading off for whatever great beyond there may be. The dearly departed Gordo shows up, right by his side. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Even Karen, for as messy as that relationship was, makes an appearance. So, too, does a young Shane. And off he goes, headed toward the freedom of flight, just a small blip in the vastness of space. For Ed Baldwin, this is heaven.
Joel Kinnaman is brilliant, whether as the disgruntled old man who can’t stand his daughter fretting over him, or that terrified young serviceman who saw the man that kept him alive shot in cold blood. It’s when Ed finally gets to stop fighting that Kinnaman’s at his best, though. Maybe it’s because, in a lot of ways, that’s a new side of the character that he finally gets to show like never before. Perhaps, something else.
Regardless, in the end, we’re left with a number of bittersweet new memories and some imagery that makes it all-too-easy to idealize the dead in exactly the same way it is often all-too-easy to do in real life. Because Ed Baldwin was a difficult, abrasive guy…but he’s in this show’s DNA, a part of the FAM fam, just the same. Why wouldn’t we want to remember him at Ilya’s, listening to some Elvis and just spending time with his loved ones?
MORE: Gordo also made a surprise appearance when Ed made the impossible decision not to land on Mars in the middle of a dust storm. The ship that beat him? Sojourner 1.
More For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 reactions
- Nice to see Joel Kinnaman look like Joel Kinnaman again.
- Often, we talk about patients’ “bravery” when they’re “battling” cancer, so Ed having literal war flashbacks while he’s dying is not only very Ed, but also very appropriate from a language standpoint. Also, because he initially winds up in critical condition after a rescue mission, that would be triggering. So, there are a lot of layers here.
- “Hey, Skipper. You ready?”
- The way we just blur back to present day: Amazing.
- “…I’m still not sure where our protocols went wrong.” IDK, man. Maybe y’all suck.
- “Ed Baldwin with an ankle monitor. Almost in diapers. Leading it all.” If you didn’t know Polivanov was the bad guy, the “diapers” comment ought to clue you in. Incontinence has nothing to do with any other ability, whatsoever. There are people, young and old, with all sorts of conditions who could otherwise kick Palmer’s guys’ butts.
- Ah, yes. The emasculated male lashes out at the first available woman. Palmer makes a classic move when he has to be extra infantilizing and misogynistic with Boyd, thanks to Polivanov wounding his ego.
- “…but that’s ok because Celia Boyd, who’s only here because she fu**ed things up so bad Earthside, she had to go seek employment elsewhere in the solar system, has a hunch.” Super line reading from Myk Watford. And the way Mireille Enos silently just…melts from that nervous and apologetic, yet sure, stance to totally small and beaten throughout this is fantastic.
- Every single time that camera either draws into that pod with Ed or zooms us out of it toward the family, it’s stunning.
- Poor Kelly. As if watching her dad suffer because of his latest stupid stunt wasn’t hard enough, now she has to hear this.
- “How could you keep this from me, Dima?” “It was your father’s wish. I could not betray his trust. He’s been very stubborn, didn’t want radiation therapy.” Excellent timing here. Goran Ivanovski pauses and takes the tiniest contrite beat before Dima answers Kelly. Not only did he not want to keep this from her—so, he feels sorry for that—he also just feels sorry he has the news at all.
- “So, you basically have no f**king idea.” Wow…the disbelief, just shaking her head no and barely holding back those tears.
- CYNTHY WU EATS THIS UP.
- “They’re clearly spying on you, Aleida.” “Guess it wouldn’t be the first time.” She says it with a bit of humor. But also. OUCH.
- I have to say, so much about For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 honors this series’ history—especially with how it uses the Sojourner 1 time period as a touchstone for past, present, and future. I mean, it makes all the sad parts sadder and all…but it’s just really smartly done. Super writing.
- “She’s been gathering dust for 20 years.” “So have we.” Now, that is how you do wry, deada** humor.
- “What a nightmare.”
- “I never thought it could happen here.” The real-world commentary…
- “It’s so F—ed up.” “It’s just crazy how much your grandpa saw this coming. More people should’ve listened.” Yes, but that might require respecting the old man.
- The terror in Kinnaman’s eyes in this flashback where Barnhill gets shot. Good God. Wow.
- “I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t…I couldn’t get to him. They shot him.”
- The way he totally erupts on “LET GO OF ME!”
- …and then, we go straight from that show of strength, to zooming out and really seeing just a daughter trying to care for her frail, dying father. Lovely, lovely camera work and editing.
- “This is why I didn’t tell you.” The misery…and then, after she leaves, he’s like…crumpled in that bed.
- Aleida doing her best “me getting mad when I watch my shows” impression.
- Pretty sure she did not, in fact, breathe through that rant. And I love her for it.
- “No one in the history of the world has ever calmed down because someone told them to.” Love her for this, too.
- I just love her in general, ok.
- Get you a man who’s supportive like this.
- ”I mean, I’m not surprised. There’s, like…a ton of sh** like that goes on around here.” “That’s ok with you?” “Uh, no. But I mean, people gotta get their cash somehow, right?” Should’ve clocked Fred harder.
- “We have the right to protest. It’s the First Amendment.” “This isn’t America. There is no First Amendment.” Wow. What a statement, and then that imagery of the cell door slamming closed on them while the officer doesn’t even look at them. Wow.
- “Don’t talk to me like I’m five years old. You call him back right now, you hear me?”
- Deadly quiet in there whenever they’re not arguing. Oof.
- Dev and Alex are fascinating together. Whatever coldness we saw from Dev in the previous hour, it’s nowhere to be found here. What a lovely, vulnerable callback to his full story about his father. Edi Gathegi’s as good here as he was there, if not better.
- “…you can try to tip the scales. Diet, exercise. The works. But at a certain point…you have to ask yourself, ‘what do I want to do with the time that I have left?’ And your grandfather, he made the most of every moment. Everyone should be so lucky.”
- “He always pushing me to do something with my life, leave a mark. Or…I haven’t done sh**. So.” “You will.” Just that calm reassurance from Dev while this poor kid’s beating himself up.
- “Told him he was a real a—hole.” “Well, he could definitely be one on occasion. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about that.” You can tell this is a sad episode because I’m not like “LOL. LMAO” or whatever here.
- Maybe just a little chuckle, though.
- “He loves you, Alex. Same way my dad loved me. It’s not an easy love. But sometimes, you have to take things as they are, not as you want them to be.” The way Gathegi’s voice breaks on the “same way my dad loved me” part absolutely has me unwell.
- “…and I know it’s hard, but it’s going to be even harder if you’re not there for him. By his side. Believe me…and bring food. Never fails.” Solid advice. Both parts.
- Miles, bro. You’re corrupt AF right now.
- I hate to say it, but it’s still very early in the season…and I’m already getting attached to the youths. That hug when Lily doesn’t want to leave her friend behind…
- “If anything, it’s gonna make it worse.” “Well, it’s better than doing nothing.”
- Oh, hey. Boyd took my advice! If you want to get people to talk, don’t show up in uniform!
- The tears Alex barely holds back while his mom is just clinging to him.
- …his chin is on top of his mom’s head. Adorable.
- I love them.
- “To Karen.” Raise your hand if you ugly cried.
- And that pleased, little smile when Alex hears she would’ve loved him. (She totally would have.)
- “No comment.” That sh** eating grin, though.
- “Baldwins.” The shot of them from behind, at that bar…
- …and no matter what comes next, Alex will always have that memory.
- My heart hurts.
- No. Wait. This is going to hurt more.
- Peña just acting the sh** out of Aleida not being able to stay present in the moment because she knows this is it—this is the last time. Kill me now.
- The “I’m sorry.” And the, like, shaking her head no, the motioning like she’s trying to push all those feelings off of her.
- “It’s a big decision to be away from your family for that long.” YOU ARE HER FAMILY.
- Masterclass from these two. Every expression, every line reading, every pause, every movement. Masterclass.
- The dialogue itself is perfection, too.
- So, basically, what Boyd’s saying here is ACAB. She should quit the force and do some real justice work, then, huh.
- “Yeah, it turns out everything’s just as F— here as anywhere. I think everyone eventually figures that out.”
- “That is not the typical response to paid vacation.” “What am I gonna do, sitting around?” “I don’t know. Sit around?” 10/10.
- “Atta girl.”
- “I have the boy here to change my bedpan” HIS GRIN on “not a chance.”
- The “hey, old girl.” That awe from Kelly…but look at the damage 20 years has done to that ship.
- And also to all of us.
- The lighting and shadows right before the flashback to Ed’s rescue. Absolutely gorgeous.
- GORDO.
- KAREN?!
- Hm. Nope. I’m not ok. Still ugly sobbing.
- “You know where Dad’s going?” “Yeah.” Ouch.
- (Because he’s already been there.)
- Gut-wrenching, top to bottom. That’s the problem with good TV. It can do…this to you.
- What a way to wreck me. Well done.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 3 “Home”? Leave us a comment!
New episodes stream weekly on Apple TV.
