For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 Review: ‘The Sirens of Titan’

For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 “The Sirens of Titan” begins on a tense, emotional note that ends in tragedy, as a group of astronauts bound for Titan listens to what could very soon be their own fate. Due to what we later learn is a miscalculation, Kosmos-1 gets sucked into Saturn’s atmosphere, and in a seemingly endless stretch of horrible silence, the Sojourner-Titan crew maintains contact with the ship until the bitter end. Space is dangerous—this series has never exactly hidden that truth, no matter how “normal” space travel and colonization have become in more recent seasons. One wrong move, an infinitesimal error, and exploration becomes death.

It’s possible people who have been living on Mars for the last decade or so have begun to take that for granted, but viewers know, or at least should’ve known, better. Space has always been a b**ch, even without any of the political struggles the Marsies are going through, and what happens to those cosmonauts is an all-too-horrible reminder. This—this type of event, right here—is why Aleida was so desperate to get back into MOCC during the hostage crisis, and by the hour’s end, it’s her new calculations and Kelly’s steady hand that guides Sojourner to…not quite safety but certainly something more stable than that those on the Kuragin ship experienced.

Mission, or at least the first part of the mission, accomplished. Humans have now, officially, set foot on Titan. Just when all hope is lost, just when it seems like there’s no more progress that can be made, it happens. These people knew where they wanted to go. They weren’t completely sure how to get there, and for a while, it seemed like they were doomed to either giving up when they were so close or stubbornly moving forward to certain death. But by some miracle, combined with a little bit of bravery and stupidity, they didn’t give up. And they made it.

Meanwhile, back on Mars, a rundown, desperate, group of people about to give up on their own tiny shred of progress anxiously watches, first in fear, then in horror, and finally in awe. It’s the kind of ending sequence that brings the series back to its roots, in a way. Instead of citizens rising up against authoritarian regimes or protesting unfair labor practices, it’s just about what happens when a group of people come together to work toward a common goal previously thought unattainable. It’s about the “what if” and seeing what happens when we dare to ask.

The closing few moments’ visuals are stunning, especially as we enter that that bluish-gray atmosphere that signals we are definitely, definitely no longer on Earth. (Or even Mars!) Will this be the morale boost that the Marsies, many of whom are actually begging to leave on the next transport, need to keep pressing toward freedom? And will Kelly Baldwin finally find life, far from both of her homes? Only time will tell. Maybe it’s all just a distraction from the countdown to the day the Marsies will run out of food supplies, or from their recent tragedy. And maybe it’s just a few moments of brilliance in an hour that’s otherwise more than just a little bit bleak.

Regardless, Sojourner‘s impossible landing on Titan is the perfect way to bookend For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7. It’s a super sort of full-circle journey, both within the hour and—thanks to what causes Kelly to risk everyone’s lives for the big win—for the series as a whole. And it reminds us what these people are fighting for. Mars was once believed unreachable, and now it’s home. Just like Kelly doesn’t want to turn back, despite the odds stacked against her and the rest of the crew, the Sons and Daughters of Mars have come too far to go back—back to Earth or even back to the way things were, before all the violence and the embargoes and the (actual) terrorist attacks courtesy of Dev and Palmer.

So, overall, “The Sirens of Titan” may be a bumpy ride of an hour. In addition to the hopelessness of the Marsies’ situation, which may leave viewers wondering what the point of trying even is, the story seems to veer off course into teen drama land—which has a place, just not usually here—only to pull itself back with a bang. And for all its inconsistencies, all its ups and downs, it still manages to work…in the end. The highs are more than high enough to offset the lows, and even the lows have meaning. As we move ever closer to the end of this season and the end of the series’ version of the 2010s, this seventh episode is just shouting “don’t give in to despair.”

MORE: Here’s how bad the Mars situation was when Season 5 began.

“Reality has set in”

In the six months since Bragg refused to negotiate with so-called terrorists, life on Mars has become increasingly difficult. The people have managed to survive, to press forward, but morale is low. Hundreds of people have signed a petition, requesting to be sent back to Earth. Someone (Palmer’s “peacekeepers,” at Dev Ayesa’s instruction) has been stealing and sabotaging what little food and medicine the Marsies have. The ISN has been sending what aid they could, but they want to avoid war with the M-6, so For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 kicks off with them withdrawing their support. That leaves two months’ worth of rations (assuming no more sabotage) before the people have to surrender or risk starving to death.

Revolutions aren’t easy, and although we hear plenty of stories about people who stood up to the powerful and did great things—who effected real change—it’s rare to get into the dirty, unglamorous business of it. For All Mankind at least attempts to show what breaking away from a powerful government and alliance can actually mean for the average person, and that makes this story far more compelling than if the change in leadership had at all been simple. Just because so much is different about this series, just because there’s been so much additional progress in space exploration and science as a whole, doesn’t mean people aren’t still people.

That’s always been a theme with this series—that we’re better to a point but still flawed and messy, and drowning in our own corrupt systems—and how “The Sirens of Titan” handles this period of uncertainty post-uprising stays true to form. It should probably be no surprise that Miles’ visit to ask Aleida if sending the petitioners home is possible is one of my favorite parts of this hour. First of all, the long, awkward pause where the whole Council waits for Miles to realize he’s the one who’s being volun-told for the bazillionth time to go deal with the big, scary Miss Rosales is hilarious. Even Celia smirks a bit, looking genuinely like she’s fully part of this group—and, likely, fully part of any group for the first time.

Also, this idea that Miles is “the only one [Aleida] does not hate” makes a bizarre sort of sense that I can’t even begin to explain but just know tracks. Then, there’s the actual conversation. Miles catches a totally-drained Aleida, just as she’s had to explain the team’s findings on why things ended badly for Kosmos-1 and send up new calculations that are still riddled with uncertainty. Walt’s now contacting MOCC to say his decision is to return to Mars without attempting a landing. Miles manages to relate to her on that point before pulling her aside…and then…there’s that usual Aleida snark. But it’s drained. Because even for her, with her relative power and control, it’s been a rough six months. Rough day, even.

The way Coral Peña plays with Aleida’s exhaustion and that usual snark of hers is so fascinating. She starts off totally just…bored, almost, not wanting to waste energy on an argument because it’s not worth it. But when she gets going, when she starts talking about all the lives in her hands—especially those on the Titan mission—Peña builds that energy and that frustration and just lets it out. Even so, her approach remains muted in comparison to what we’d normally expect.

But the most important part of this conversation comes when Miles asks for Aleida’s opinion on the posters, off the record. She’s strangely gentle, yet insistent, when she tells him not to hide from the fact that what the SDM did was a coup. And then, she lays out what viewers can see pretty easily by that point in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 and should know to be glaringly obvious by the end:

“The people up here, they trust you. So, for the first couple of months, you had the support of almost the entire base. People were cheering you on, celebrating you. How you guys were fighting the tyranny of automation for an independent Mars. But now? Six months in? Food’s being rationed, money system’s breaking down, maintenance issues are piling up. Reality has set in.”

Peña plays this really well—I particularly love the way she gestures as Aleida talks about the people cheering and celebrating—and there are these…teeny, tiny little reactions, moments of contrition almost, from Toby Kebbell as he plays a Miles who’s hearing the simple truth. It’s something he knows deep down, respects Aleida enough to confirm…but, despite all that, can’t stand to hear. And, as Miles stands and listens, as he puts on that bittersweet little smile after Aleida says no, she’s not his friend, there’s still some kind of understanding or partnership here that’s built out of a mutual respect. A grudging one, maybe, on Aleida’s part? But it’s there. (It probably does not hurt that this man knows to defer to her, ask politely, and stay in his place.)

They’re not enemies, but they can’t totally be friends either. It’s real. And although they’re not quite allies, Aleida does attend the meeting toward the end of the episode, after Dev’s attack on the agro-domes. Yet, it’s when she looks to be most on everyone’s side…that she almost helplessly says she signed the petition to go home now, too. She has kids; she can’t stay. Again, it’s…the world is still the world. People aren’t all one thing. It’s not all heroes and villains. Sometimes, it’s just people making impossible decisions to keep others safe, and other people making other impossible decisions to keep others safe.

MORE: Aleida needed a nudge to even come to Mars in the first place.

“No more bloodshed”

Admittedly, my first impression of Alex’s birthday surprise was somewhere along the lines of “WTF is happening and why.” The build-up of Alex getting ready to go meet Lily at 3:00 in the morning, doing shirtless pushups because reasons…I could one hundred percent do without, even knowing how the situation plays out. And, tonally, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to see a bunch of kids just randomly doing a choreographed dance like it’s a teen movie or something. After all, For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 opened with people helplessly getting drawn to death-by-radiation while others listened as they just went..silent. And there’s the whole “hey, we’re going to starve in two months or less if something doesn’t change” of it all! Like, what are these kids doing partying it up by the crops?

…but…isn’t that…life? People do what they can, when they can, to find light in the darkness. That’s human. Even now, should we all just stop watching TV and talking abut it because of everything going on in the world? Of course not. And sometimes, it might even feel like we should! But then, all the negative forces against us win. So, whatever jarring, slightly corny, “did the youths really do this sort of thing 10 years ago? I can’t remember” feeling the scene causes…it’s still, strangely, awkwardly, appropriate. In its own way, at least. Will a lot of viewers have negative things to say? Probably—like I said above, even my knee-jerk reaction was less-than-impressed. But is it totally without value? No.

Regardless of how I feel—eh, felt initially…I’ve warmed up to it, overall—about the flash mob, watching a stern, mock-disgruntled Lee Jung-Gil suddenly start dancing is hilarious. So, everyone’s having fun! It’s a blast! Life feels normal, just a group of friends (and Lee) celebrating a birthday…and then. It’s…a blast, featuring a stunning series of images.

Sean Kaufman and Ruby Cruz are brilliant in those glimpses we see, between blackouts and between the slow-motion terror of the explosion’s aftermath, of Alex and Lily’s devastated, traumatized, reactions. And all the technical elements, with piecing together all the clips of that chaos, the labored crawling against the winds, through the wreckage, with the cuts to black, and the sound being so wrong—all the sights and sounds put us in that place, life suddenly interrupted by what is, essentially, a war. Then, as suddenly as it all began, we’re out of that moment, back with the Council and an even darker outlook on the future—two weeks worth of supplies, not to mention the “one dead, seven injured, two critically.”

Unlike the five souls from Kosmos-1, that one death—Gulsora—isn’t because of a miscalculation or an accident. It was an attack. Terror. Dev can lie to himself about how he and Palmer planned everything. They can even try to convince themselves they didn’t want anybody to get hurt. But this is what happens when you turn to violence to force others to change their minds about an issue. Furthermore, even if nobody had been in the domes that late night/early morning, people would have, eventually, died because of Dev’s choices. You can’t steal medicine and destroy emergency rations without harming people. No, really. What did they think. (They didn’t think at all, is the problem.)

On what planet (no pun intended, weirdly!) could Dev have possibly expected no one to get hurt? And for all his immediately asking about Alex…maybe he should’ve thought of Alex the many times he’s sent his guys to go steal medical supplies over the past six months. There are always innocent casualties when so-called leaders take action of this type, and a billionaire selfishly holing himself up in his lair, acting like only he knows what’s best for everyone’s future, often causes plenty of needless suffering, too. The perfect storm, then, to have Dev be so sure he knows what’s best and is doing this for any hope of a tomorrow on Mars. He’s always been a fascinating, morally (very dark) gray, sort of guy. I’m not sure how he comes back from what he does in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 without doing some serious work.

MORE: This season’s fourth episode was a major passing of the torch to that younger generation.

More For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 reactions

“Will you please tell our colleagues that we tried? And we love our families very much.” Just gutting opener for this hour, truly. And the emotion that Cynthy Wu and Christopher Denham bring to it is just…exquisite.
“Look, she’s gonna be fine. Your mom’s gonna be fine. Right? She has, like, two whole planets’ worth of scientists trying to figure out how to land on Titan.” Even so, look what happened to Kosmos…
“And, oh, my god. That Rosales lady? She would literally beat Saturn to death if it tried any sh**.” So true. We all know better than to mess with Aleida! Even the planets!
What in the flirting over the smell of manure???
“It pains me to deliver this news. The courage you have shown these past six months has been inspiring. ISN and the Chinese government continue to have nothing but good feelings and sympathy towards you, your people, and the noble struggle in which you are engaged.” It’s giving “thoughts and prayers.”
I love Mireille Enos’ line reading here: “Yeah, former Sheriff Palmer remains elusive. The hidden access tunnels that we found last month…” Just the tone on “former Sheriff” absolutely killed me.
“I still cannot believe Dev is helping them.” I’m both like “same, Lee” and “BFFR, Lee. He’s a billionaire” here. It’s…complicated
“I’m not sure we have a population ready and willing to make that kind of sacrifice.” And there it is.
“Nobody’s being held captive!” “Well, actually, the governor, the Kuragin liaison…”
Ah, yes. “Radicals” and “terrorists,” not just like…people who don’t want to be replaced by machines and who want a say in how their lives look. So true!
How f***ed up is it that the report on the five people who died on the Kosmos-1 mission is…background noise left on the TV after Lenya gets let out of his room for his daily meaningless walk in circles, branded as “exercise?” Go back, and listen to the news reports about everything else. And that is the type of stuff that gets pushed to the side. What the media chooses to focus on, and how they choose to cover those stories, makes such a huge difference. That one, brief moment in this hour really drives that idea home…but you have to be looking/listening closely to even catch it.
“Giving prisoners salt and pepper shakers…they don’t know how to run a jail.” Amazing.
“I was nothing but loyal to him. And this is how he treats me.” Similar to Irina’s “this is my reward” outburst during her time in the gulag, no?
I love how Irina manages to firmly keep casual and maintain that poker face during these walks, whereas Lenya…increasingly does not. Especially when he’s practically drowning, as he stands there after learning his wife will publicly denounce him.
Beautiful camera and lighting work there with Palmer being that dark smudge on the way to Dev’s office.
Dev, there’s always a choice. Jerk.
“Let me tell you something. NASA didn’t lose the moon to the Russians because they were infected with go fever. It was because they lost their godd— balls. When the moment came on Apollo 10 to break the rules and do the gutsy thing, the dangerous thing, my dad chickened out. And you know what? He regretted that decision until the day he died. So, let’s just take a minute. And think about this before we decide.” Love the passion Wu delivers this with…
…but Kelly, what are you doing? You have a son back on Mars. He has no one but you now. This could end very, very, very, very, very badly. Just ask your Kuragin friends! Wait. You can’t.
Then again, I also totally understand her and want to root for her here! It’s complicated!
Miles asks Aleida for a favor. Aleida very much gives “WTF NOW” face as she slowly, painfully takes those glasses off and turns to him.
“Oh, yeah. Because spaceflight’s that simple, isn’t it? Just a yes or a no.” THAT FAKE AF GRIN.
“I’d say ‘come back anytime,’ but…I really hope you don’t.”
Can’t finish writing her coded “I love you” on paper, can’t actually fully get the words out to Irina…oof. Not a fan of this guy as a general rule. And yet.
“…but you’re right. Something must be done about Korzhenko. He is acting like a wild dog backed into a corner, capable of anything. He might just destroy the nation to save his own skin.” That…is concerning. Either Irina’s really going to try to overthrow this guy from her position on Mars, or she’s setting Lenya up, or some combination of both? Because, seriously, I know better than to trust her. So.
“Comrade Morozova, I’m afraid this confinement has cost you your mind.” “I have been through much worse.” True.
“These people, they are convinced that what they’re doing is right. And they are stubborn as ever. They’re willing to put their lives on the line for something utterly foolish.” Show this man a mirror and his little Lego city.
“Why would I be asleep? It’s only, uh, 3:00 in the morning.”
Is that…Lee Jung Gangnam Style?
“Turns out people aren’t thrilled by the idea of starving.”
Dima is begging for no more bloodshed. Just…pleading.
“I signed it.” That awful, awful silence after Aleida says this.
And then, she just totally struggles through explaining, in the end, just simply, “I’ve got kids.” What a moment from Peña.
“I can’t…I just can’t anymore. I’m sorry.”
“No f**king way…not after everything we’ve been through. We can’t just stop.” “Then what, Miles? We’re out of options here.” The expressions Kebbell filters through here—what a struggle against so many emotions, all while Miles is so totally hopeless and yet, determined.
“Bunch of dumb kids.” “Was Alex there?” What if you cared about people, like, in general? Instead of making Alex your one and only human concern and, even then, having him always as a secondary thought after all your dumb plans???
Was. It. Worth. It.
Keep looking out that window like it’s magically going to teach you to give a f*** again, my dude.
“I’m so sorry. I know you two were close…I wish you could be spared from going through things like this. But you have to stay strong, Sweetie. Looks like I’ll be heading home soon. I love you. Always.” So much grief…and then, all it takes is that plaque to make her totally swing back into “explore at all costs” mode.
Like, I get it. And I still think Kelly’s brave/a hero/such a total BAMF for executing that landing and all. But it’s rough, given the timing, is all.
“I always wanted to know what it felt like to fail completely and utterly in front of the entire world.” Relatable.
“I don’t think you need me answering pointless questions right now.” Check out that absolutely intense focus.
The world’s longest, most tense few seconds of waiting for any sign of life…
And now, check out Aleida, needing to grab some hands for support so she doesn’t just fall over in shock.
The cheers.
Even all that joy from Lenya.
Space travel is cool!
Yay, Titan!
…but now what? Are they like stuck there???