For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 Review: ‘Svoboda’

For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 deals with the immediate consequences of Lily and Alex’s leak of the top secret automation plans in the previous hour. Now, after years of small protests and acts of civil disobedience, a large portion of the Mars population is engaged in large, loud protests. Automation—and the thought of being sent back to Earth, which isn’t the place Marsies consider home—has caused what might have been a simmering discontent among a small resistance group to boil over into the majority. And, as far too many people learn the hard way that justice isn’t for most, there is still a mission to Titan that’s mostly been forgotten. Especially since, by the end of the hour, tensions simply explode.

It’s a difficult hour to witness, not because of any lack of quality (quite the opposite) but because so much of what’s wrong in our current, real-world timeline is reflected back at viewers in all of its ugliness. Protesters mocked by those with enough proximity to privilege to think what they’re fighting for doesn’t affect them, abysmal news coverage, young people calling out a major injustice and receiving the most disappointing rude awakening about the people they’ve looked up to their whole lives, men who comply and appease realizing far too late that things have spun horribly out of control—it’s all there. And, of course, there’s the episode’s anxious, violent closing moments.

Civilians are shot, beaten, and ripped away from their families. They’re attacked not by each other, but by the people who are meant to protect them. And when the “mob” unleashes, it’s because they’ve been pushed to the limit and provoked into defending themselves against a mob full of armed guards that attacked first. If this is the parallel to the movements that sprung up and/or expanded 10 years ago, it’s difficult to imagine what might happen in this series’ version of the 2020s. But we have to get out of this mess first. As the season’s halfway point, For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 certainly gets the job of capitalizing on the first few episodes’ table-setting done.

As in, here’s the turning point. It might have an eery similarity to the chaotic series of events that closed out the previous decade. But…that’s kind of the point. And, if real history is anything to go by, the people in power will continue to take whatever evil measures they can come up with to ensure the power isn’t returned to the people.

MORE: Mars was already under an authoritarian crackdown before the citizens protested the automation plans.

“How is she?”

In For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5, the conflict on Mars isn’t only about normal citizens trying to maintain control of their destinies in the face of state and corporate manipulation. Helios, Kuragin, and the M-6 also need to figure out what comes next now that everyone knows about their agenda, and that puts Aleida in a terrible position. As if dealing with Dev’s BS and inability to keep her in the loop as Helios’ CEO weren’t difficult enough, she’s now stuck on Mars with none other than Irina Morozova. You know, the person who Sergei told Margo last season was “the one who destroyed both of [their] lives.” (And, as a result, hurt Aleida herself as well.)

Now, these two women come face-to-face for the first time since Margo and Aleida helped the Marsies steal the asteroid and Margo refused to go back to Russia with Irina. And, what unfolds is this absolutely fascinating battle of wits. During the meeting to determine Mars’ future, and really throughout this hour, Aleida very rarely looks directly at Irina. It’s almost always out of the corner of her eye or from a lowered gaze, which makes the more direct moments that much more impactful. And that gaze…It shouldn’t be possible, but you can actually see the history between these two characters in it.

Whether in the meeting with others or in their more direct conversation closer to the end of the hour, the tension is palpable. The same is true of the subtext. Whatever these two people are discussing out loud, something else is always bubbling under the surface. It’s all forced pleasantries, a practiced calm, the threat each character poses to the other never direct but always implied—always known. Coral Peña and Svetlana Efremova are simply brilliant throughout For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5. And it’s all about the tiniest of subtleties and nuances they each bring to this game of 3D chess, mixed with poker, mixed with a giant “F you” and something very, very personal.

At some point, Aleida thinks she’s gained the upper hand and can leave with the last word. She’s just reminded Irina, world’s fakest smile painted on, that what she did all those years ago wasn’t capitalism—it was “just stealing.” She’s in the middle of making a pointed, determined sort of walk away, when a simple “how is she” (no names needed—we all know who she is) stops her in her tracks. As a frozen Aleida gathers herself and works herself up to an answer, the camera moves from behind Peña, to in profile where viewers can see her filtering through so many emotions, to eventually right in her face.

She plasters on a forced, exaggerated smile that comes out as a grimace. And she asks, directly, “you mean how is she doing in prison?” And, we wait for that to land on an Irina who actually, somehow, looks to be moved by the question before Aleida’s “yeah. Just peachy” that looks and sounds anything but. The fake smile that never really reached Peña’s eyes just drops here. She follows it up with outright disgust, throwing in that little bit of an eye roll for emphasis.

What remains…is what might actually, somehow, in spite of everything we know about how ruthless she is, seem like remorse from Irina. Concern, maybe? Aleida finally gets to leave with the last word, well and truly done with the conversation. And we’re left with that last shot of Efremova…with her gaze dropped just ever so slightly. It’s a really interesting look at Irina, and I can’t decide if it’s more about feeling any kind of empathy after what she put Margo through or just that hearing about prison is a reminder of her own 19 months in Hell. (Just genius performance and editing to that sequence all on its own.) Regardless, it’s quite the image.

And it’s quite an exclamation point on this hour’s loud and clear statement: Irina remains a threat. Aleida loathes her enough to let her know it, yet is smart enough not to poke the bear too much. And they both want each other gone.

MORE: Before Irina “recruited” her to work at Star City, Margo was also put through unbearable torture

“A child with no awareness of the consequences.”

When Alex goes to work in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5, it’s obvious he’s terrified someone will find out he’s the one who accessed and leaked the automation plans. The journey seems endless; the score echoes Alex’s nervous, pounding heartbeat. Then, there’s Sean Kaufman’s portrayal of a kid who knows he did the right thing but is trying so very, very hard to stay under the radar and not look guilty. He’s wary of just about everyone and everything. And, although his partner in crime Lily is just thrilled at the very beginning of the hour, Alex looks more than a little bit unsure if maybe they’ve gotten in way over their heads.

That all changes when Dev pulls him aside for a private conversation. He’s worried about Ms. Joshi, but Dev drops a bomb: “She’ll be ok. Because it wasn’t her. But you already knew that, didn’t you?” As in, Dev knows Alex is behind all of this. Kaufman makes it so viewers can spot the exact second Alex knows he’s been caught. Afterwards, the character immediately gets emotional. As he tries to appeal to someone he thought he could trust, he also has this sort of…hangdog look about him.

That “Dev, I had no choice” is as simplistic as it is a powerful statement on doing what’s right. What Alex receives in return isn’t the support he was expecting. Instead, Dev lays on the accusations of Alex having planned this from the beginning and the belittling lectures about how his actions were those of a child. Between that and Dev going into full delusional mode about Meru, Alex is put in another position where he has no choice. This time, he knows he has to quit his job at Helios.

Throughout the conversation, Kaufman plays that sense of betrayal—of having your hero exposed as the weak, selfish man he actually is—really well. And when he finally gets to the point where he makes his stand, we can really see how much this hurts him and how strong he’s being in the face of incredible weight. Edi Gathegi, on the other hand, brings us Dev at both his best and his worst. When he blows up at Alex, that’s obviously the worst. The same goes for all of that dreaming and refusing to see that sometimes, the ends well and truly do not actually justify the means.

But there’s something interesting, some sense of conscience, about him. Both here and in some earlier scenes (the confrontation with Aleida, then at the negotiating table), Gathegi’s performance hints that there’s more to this story. Like Dev does experience a sense of powerlessness, of being troubled, possibly having sold his soul to the devil…but for what? There’s also a particularly strong swell of emotion when Alex says Dev’s “the one who’s only thinking of himself.” And whatever this character’s many faults are, if you put that moment together with how purposely blank and cold he was when Ed and the others asked for help saving Lee Jung-Gil, something is just…off.

I can’t decide if there’s been some kind of threat to him, personally, of if the dream of Meru really has blinded him to consequences until now. But Gathegi’s carried a certain haunted quality about him in key moments, and we should know better than to ignore any choices he, or anyone else in this cast, makes.

MORE: When Alex first came to Mars, he had a hard time warming up to Ed but had already gotten close with Dev on the journey there.

“You’re asking me to rat someone out?”

While Alex gets talked (shouted, at times) down to by Dev in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5, Lily’s dad tries to support and protect her in a way that offends her just as much, if not more. Palmer reveals that he knows Lily leaked the files, and all he wants is for Miles to find out who gave them to her. He mocks Miles for thinking of Mars as home and dangles the likelihood of Lily going to prison for “national security sh**” in front of him. Toby Kebbell does a really strong job of showing exactly how much this worries Miles and how miserable he is to, once again, be in the position to have to sell someone out.

He’s done everything Palmer has asked, keeps doing it…and nothing is ever, ever, ever enough. That’s the lesson, though. Compliance won’t save you or the people you love. Not with a guy like Palmer who’s part of a machine like this one—not in a world of would-be dictators.

When Lily catches her dad going through her things—because, rather than ask his daughter to take on what he has, he tries another way until he can’t anymore—she’s all righteous indignation. And she’s standing her ground; she thinks this will be another lecture about her future at Tulane, which she doesn’t care about in relation to the much, much bigger issues. When Miles tells her the consequences are no longer about losing Tulane but now about prison time, Ruby Cruz portrays a very real sense of shock and fear. But it doesn’t last long. Because at the end of the day, Lily knows where she stands. Being a rat is not it, and the way she responds—disgusted, offended—to so much as being asked to do what Miles has been doing all along just knocks the wind out of his sails.

Defeated, he tries to explain to Lily that he’s just trying to protect her…but she’s just not having it. She’s right when she says this is about much more than one person. But Miles is right to want to shield her from becoming another Sam Massey (or worse)—what a moment from Kebbell when Miles absolutely snapped at Palmer’s mention of her—too. For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 sets up this nuanced push and pull between deciding what’s worth it, and when, and whether or not a person can honestly accept the cost of doing what’s right. And then, there’s the not insignificant matter of trying to see if we can ever get out of that cycle where peaceful protesters get provoked into fighting back.

Not to be overlooked, though, something else at the heart of this story: We, as viewers, know what Miles has been doing all this time. Lily doesn’t. If her reaction to so much as being asked to stab one friend in the back is what we see in “Svoboda,” what would she do if she knew her dad had done that and worse? And when Miles finally leaves his quarters during that protest gone wrong, is it only about getting his family out of there? Or was he finally—finally—going to stand beside his fellow citizens again, having seen himself through his own daughter’s eyes? And can he ever become the legend they’ve all made him in their minds?

MORE: Miles came to Mars with so much hope…but quickly learned Happy Valley didn’t live up to the illusion.

“We’re supposed to protect these people.”

For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 exposes Yoon Tae-Min’s murderer. Celia’s own partner, Fred—who is disgustingly dismissive of the protesters’ concerns and makes a face that can only be described as “that one Dawson meme” while in the middle of mocking them—is a killer. Because Palmer told him and another officer to “scare” Yoon into not going public about automation and those night shifts to build toward it. What a waste, considering the truth came out anyway.

Oh. And, when Celia kept digging, Fred followed her around and, ultimately, knocked her out with a pipe to the head. No big! Not to him!

Those revelations bring with them a breaking point for Celia. Not only has her partner betrayed her with grinning up in her face and claiming to be her pal, but the entire system has been a filthy, hideous lie as well. Mireille Enos does a stunning job of reflecting how painful it is for any of us to wake up and finally see the justice system’s injustices for what they are. In the end, there was never going to be any justice for someone like Yoon. Just like nobody was ever going to take a woman’s intuition about a “suicide” seriously without her working within their constraints and approaching everything in an apologetic, “aw, shucks” sort of way as she has all along.

And the cops, peacekeepers, whatever you want to call them—for every one who signs on to protect and serve as Celia seems to genuinely have wanted to do, there’s a whole army of Freds and Palmers, and all those nameless folks who gleefully suit up to go attack their fellow people for simply exercising their right to say “this is wrong” about something that affects us all. For all the times Celia’s caused trouble by doing what’s right and has had to make a career change, she’s never really seen the truth. But now, her eyes are wide open. It’s as heartbreaking as it is infuriating, as confusing as it is a call to action. So, as she jogs in with everyone else to enforce curfew, looking as troubled as it gets, it’s only a matter of time until things get out of hand.

Celia may cry “not like this!” in the middle of the beatings, and the gunshots, and the flash grenades. But it was always going to be exactly like this. This is what she signed up for. It’s just that she didn’t realize it. The system, the institution, is the problem.

MORE: We’re questioning Palmer’s insult about Celia being “here because she fu**ed things up so bad Earthside” more than ever now.

More For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5 reactions

That opening sequence really is a lot. Efremova delivers an excellent performance, especially in terms of the physical toll Irina’s imprisonment takes on her. And that spirit stays with her, even as Irina is beaten down, filthy, exhausted from the endless, demoralizing, slow forced labor. I also really like how all the little moments are edited together, so very slow and drawn out, then just rapid fire day after day after day, really emphasizing how time is completely meaningless in a place like that.
My God, the force of that slap.
“I have faithfully served my country and this is my reward?!” THE RAGE. THAT SCREAMING AS A VOICEOVER, as we see Irina scrubbing the filthy toilet in her cell and then just destroying things after.
That is some triumphant sh** when Irina just…finally shows all her cards, terrifies this guard, and produces a tooth—hers, which he slapped out of her mouth!—as the source of her information. “I believe I am rehabilitated. Comrade Petrikov.” What a line delivery. That pause for effect before his name…
I mean, I still hate this b**ch for her role in the Sergei/Margo/Aleida of it all, but…wow.
“Once the heir-apparent to Korzhenko, many in the Party are now calling into question his fitness for higher office.” Rest in pi** to Polivanov then, huh.
“What do you say to those who don’t understand why you all are so upset?” If looks could kill…
“Yeah, I read it. Honestly, I don’t know what the fuss is about. You’d think it was a bunch of naked pictures of Gisele Bündchen.” I had my doubts about this dude from the start, but this…WTF. Can he go?
“They have a right to be angry.” “I know. They’re angry with us.” “Yeah. Maybe they should be.” That part.
Was the acting note to be as sh** of a liar as possible or…?
God, Palmer sucks. So bad. Like, that sarcastic pat on Miles’ shoulder on the way out just to show how much he has him????? Awful. Monstrous. Gross.
Aleida is trying so hard to maintain control when she goes to see Dev. Honestly, I think that is significantly more threatening than if she just went off on him. This way, it’s possible to see the effort it takes and imagine what it might look like if she directed that energy where she wanted to.
“You thought automation wasn’t coming without us? This way, we can control it and make it work for us.” “How inspiring.” She is so not here for it. The deada** sarcasm! (Dev is so naive, too. WTF.)
“Oh, F— your Legoland.” What a moment. The way Aleida walks toward Dev as she says that and like leans in/puts her body into it??? Amazing. And, again, she still doesn’t explode. Close, but not quite.
That last shot of Gathegi, though. Dev has definitely done something he regrets and can’t get out of it. So, poor lying to defend the decision it is from here on out. I guess.
“We give into them now, they will only ask for more.” You mean, like, more freedoms? Yeah…they will. And they should.
Gathegi there, head down…
That camera right up in Peña’s face! “…which was intended to expose unethical work practice at your company.” The way Aleida hates this woman just shines through all that purposeful cool and calm.
Another great closeup on the “not a chance.”
“MARS IS OURS F*** HELIOS.” Alex’s little grin.
“Dev, I couldn’t unsee that.” Kaufman plays this beautifully. Alex is, like…so quietly devastated and vulnerable. He lets Dev see it all, is practically begging him to understand. But, of course, that’s a no from Dev.
When we zoom out and see just Dev and Alex, with that wall from where the corner of the windows meet sitting between them in the distance, that is a great visual representation of where things stand. What a gorgeous, gorgeous shot.
“Dev, you sit up here on a mountain. Away from everybody, just playing with people’s lives. You don’t really give a sh** about this place. About what my grandfather really wanted.”
“These people don’t f*** around—believe me!” We do. Because we know. Now, tell your kid the truth about 2003!
“Not a f—ing chance.” What a relatable expression, that “you gotta be effing kidding me” look from Cruz is.
“No. What I’m ask—…what I’m asking you to do is not destroy your entire life.” “They are the ones who are destroying my entire life!” “Lily…” Phew. That aggrieved, warning tone from Kebbell and the way he closes his eyes. What a dad moment for Miles, as well as just…what a weight he carries.
“I hear you on that. All these protests? Kids could learn a thing or two about monthly nuts.” Politely, with all due respect (none), STFU.
Oh, wow. That miserable, emotional reaction Celia has to finding Fred on that list…such a great moment from Enos. Especially since it’s such a different tone from just moments before. Really loved how good of an actor Celia was as she totally played that guy into giving her what she needed.
I also absolutely adored the sweet, little moment we had with Kelly and Alex. For one thing, I’m always here for a star war. But on a more serious note, Kelly manages to warn caution while being understanding and supportive. She gets it—she sees that this means something to Alex, but like she warns him, she knows how scary things can get and how quickly. (Which, uh, they do by the end of For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 5.)
Also: The “I miss you” part melted me.
That absolutely haunted reaction from Peña the second Aleida sees Irina marching in there like she owns the place—a killer.
“Yeah, well, it’s not really viewing hours, so.” Translation: GTFO.
“This is all very impressive, your new home. How long will you stay?” “Until they land, at least. And you? When do you leave.” One of the rare times Aleida looks at her dead on…and also a giant GTFO.
Check out that subtle triumphant expression because Irina knows she’s gotten under Aleida’s skin. Score 1 for the KGB**ch.
“Well. That is the nature of capitalism, is it not? You must always be growing.” Just so effin’ condescending.
“I’m from Mars, a**hole.”
Alex with the F Helios sign.
The kids being the ones to start that last chant that gets Polivanov running to Irina with his tail between his legs? Yeah, that…hits.
“You have allowed things to escalate. Now, the only way to put out this fire is to starve it of oxygen.” Bold of someone who once caused an explosion with her ignorance to say.
“Let’s hope you’ve made a wise decision.” “For both of our sakes.” Did…did Polivanov make that decision? Or did Irina very pointedly manipulate him into it and then put the responsibility on his shoulders?
Enos’ barely held back tears when Fred claims he’s been trying to “help” Celia…wow.
“You won’t listen. I….you think you know everything. You think you know best; you think you have, uh…secret line to the Almighty himself. But you don’t. You just make sh— worse for everybody here. Yourself, especially. What are—what are you doing? You’re sticking your nose in everywhere…” While male misogynist grievance has entered the chat.
Shorter Fred: “Waaaahhhhhh! Look what you made me do!!!!”
“You’re—you’re talking to Craters?!” The way he’s disgusted when he mentions these people.
“Like, just stop.” Me at this man.
That long beat while she lets it sink in and figures out what he’s just exposed…
“No, the only way you would know that…is if you were the one…” And then, the little nod to herself before “that was you down there…following me.” Enos’ voice is so gravely here. It hurts. Just. Ouch.
“I was trying to protect you.” “By hitting me in the head with a f**king pipe?”
When she walks away, with both those hands on the side of her head and is just breaking…
This “poor” man, unable to control his own actions! It all got out of hand! Boo-effing-hoo!
“I just wanted it all to go away.” “Wrong answer.” There it is.
Such incredible editing here. That long, awful pause from Celia when Fred asks her who she thinks told him to “handle Yoon in the first place.” And, before we even move to the next setting, we hear that loud and proud voiceover from Palmer—the monster himself—as he rallies the troops ahead of the curfew op. What a way to maximize impact.
She looks sick.
THEY CLUBBED ALEX IN THE BACK.
For All Mankind really, really said ACAB with this one.
They even destroyed the altar of Ed in the process.
I really, truly had a visceral reaction to this ending sequence. All the worst people will be like, “but they should’ve just complied.”
Like watching the world in all its ugliness, every protest movement destroyed…everything.
…and these people on Mars have already been through it.
This is really one of those, “violence is never the answer, but also WTF else do you do when they beat you, and beat you, and beat you even as you’re just holding some signs and hollering” sorts of moments. I really don’t know the answer. I’m not even sure For All Mankind is going to give us one. Because, at the end of the day, I think humanity as a whole has yet to find the right one.
Ouch.
Super well done.
….but I also kinda hate it. The silver lining is at least Dani’s not here to get shot this time. There’s that!