For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 Review: ‘Sons and Daughters’

For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 “Sons and Daughters” brings the Marsies and the M-6 forces face to face in a way that seems inevitable. After all, colonies don’t generally tend to gain independence by simply being like, “hey, could we please be free now,” and military forces don’t tend to travel far away from home to politely suggest the people their leaders have called “terrorists” knock it off. Not to mention, bombing a docking platform, resulting in a major casualty, would be seen as an act of war even without all the tensions that preceded it. In that sense, this is a predictable—and fitting—penultimate episode.

Thankfully, the hour also happens to be a strong one. And, although we could see the basic idea of “war on Mars” coming, there are still some interesting surprises along the way. The biggest surprise, at least for me, is how well all the focus on the younger generation pays off. Although the military forces from Earth and the random civilians thrust into a life-or-death situation—some who signed up for the Happy Valley Corps but only recently, too recently, began training—are horribly mismatched in terms of supplies and preparation, what they have in common as we witness one roomful of people after another gunned down and wiped out, is whose eyes we see all the carnage through. With few exceptions, it’s people (Alex and Lily on Team Mars, AJ and Haskell on Team M-6) who are technically adults but are, in reality, still so young.

Witnessing so much senseless death—the blood pooled by victims’ heads, the horrible silence following each burst of fighting—from such innocent points of view is harrowing. For All Mankind has never shied away from death and destruction, either because space is a b**ch or because of international tensions (see also: the pure cinema of the last two episodes in Season 2). But For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 highlights how scary and meaningless war is, as well as how insane it is that we allow—in some cases, have even required—young people to serve in war zones. And then, there’s the obvious horror of being someone just going about daily life when the world erupts in chaos and carnage all around you.

The hour is smartly crafted, with the opening moments’ sense of “hurry up and wait” transforming, all too quickly, into the fog of war. But, sometimes, the pacing slows to a crawl again, lingering on the fallen or pausing altogether to show viewers what’s happening far, far away on Titan, where all anyone there knows is they can’t reach MOCC. What may seem like hours’ or even days’ worth of the war on Mars is subtly revealed to be only a matter of moments. Because, otherwise, Elena wouldn’t exactly survive the radiation after tearing her suit.

And that contrast, between the isolation on Titan and the collision of worlds on Mars, between the anxious hope for new discoveries in one place and the breathless anxiety of not knowing if death waits around the next corner in another, is one of the true stars of For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9. The same goes for the score, and all those point-of-view shots, and all those dread-inducing pauses in between the action. Sure, the actual stars deliver the same strong performances as ever. But there’s something about Kelly and the others, abandoned on Titan because of the mess back home yet still pushing forward in spite of all the hardship, that just resonates in a way not much else really can. After all, even our one small planet has people facing various tragedies of their own, oblivious to each other’s. Life goes on, if you will.

And then, there’s that ending. Childhood friends, now told they’re enemies and unknowingly drawn toward each other—and the catastrophic reaction of a scared kid, two legacy characters on opposite sides of the drama yet both determined to save the life of the one person they have in common, and all the anger and pain Dev’s caused, come pounding on his door to demand entry. For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 isn’t only setup for the season finale. But that last image of Alex and AJ trying to hold up Haskell as his life hangs precariously in the balance, all as they wait to see if Dev will actually help them, sure makes for quite the cliffhanger. Especially since Happy Valley is still most definitely under siege.

MORE: Ines Asserson on portraying AJ’s struggle with that huge Stevens family legacy.

More For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 reactions

• Those lights and the ships just…slowly descending. What a tone setter.
• Meanwhile, on the ships themselves, talk about the lone portrait of grief, surrounded by so many mission-focused Marines. Oof. Ines Asserson continues to make it impossible not to feel for Avery.
• Check out the pure hope and wonder when Kelly finally spots that SEEKER. Just absolutely overcome with emotion.
• “Bet she never thought she’d see us again.” “She is a robot. She doesn’t have…” (Insert stern AF looks from Kelly and Elena here.) “…ok.” What a fun moment!
• See how it’s dark and gray out there, but you can still see????
• “Crazy to think that those might hold the greatest discovery in human history.”  “No pressure.” Effortlessly hilarious line reading from Kristina Klebe.
• …but why is the camera looking in from the outside like something’s watching them???
• Imagine if literally anyone from Earth or Mars thought things through enough to realize there was a tiny group of people on Titan, for the first time in human history, that—I don’t know, just guessing—might need them!
• There’s something about the way Kelly sounds very in control as she’s giving orders to the guys back on Sojourner while she actually lets her expression show Elena (and, to a lesser extent, Walt) how afraid she actually is. Really nice balance from Cynthy Wu there.
• “I need you stay calm, and we will figure this out!” Sure. Very calm. Much figured out.
• “Stay strong. And remember that this is our home.”
• Such an intense wordless conversation between Alex and Lily.
• “Just…keep going over it in my head, you know. One moment he was there, and then…” Great delivery from Asserson here. That rush on the first sentence, followed by the much quieter and more hesitant second one, the failure to keep eye contact—easily relatable battle against emotions.
• “Now, he’s gone. And these f**kers did that.” I just…the violence in the way she rips that poster down, even.
• “Tape everything. People need to see what’s happening up here.”
• “I’m a medic. I only started training last week.” …and Silvio just hands Alex the gun while he stands there, looking so incredibly lost. I think this moment, more than any, solidifies not just how young Alex is and how much he obviously signed up to serve thinking it would be one thing, only to learn the hard way it’s something entirely different, but also the huge difference between the Marsies and the invaders. Even the greenest among the OPEF forces has trained. Hard. And they have more experienced leaders among them. All that bunch of rebels has is Silvio and two guys who were afraid to even raise their hands and admit they had experience.
• That horrible gasp and terror when they hear the Marines coming…and goodbye, Silvio. Instantly. And, again, he was the only one who knew what he was doing among that group. So, now what?
• Lily’s camera is such an interesting way to show us everything she’s witnessing—as both a scared young woman and the best approximation of “press” on Mars.
• I also appreciate that For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 lets us sit with the trauma of Alex, just staring in horror at Silvio after he falls. Everything just…blurs and slows. There’s not enough time to draw that reaction out like when Gulsora was murdered, but it has a similar chilling effect.
• “Wait, Lily. LILY, LILY!!!” Super from Sean Kaufman. Talk about panic and desperation.
• CELIA BOYD, YOU LEGEND YOU. She is a mission-focused, totally composed hero bursting through that chaos. (As seen through Lily’s camera/eyes.) And she’s so sure of herself as she tells Lily and the others they’re “getting out of here.” Such a difference from when we first met her!
• That emotional goodbye, though.
• It’s so easy to spot the instant Celia thinks they’ve made it to a safe-ish place. Mireille Enos just totally abandons that rigid, in-control posture and…sags. I don’t know how else to put it. All that exhaustion, and what Celia’s actually been through to go save Lily and the others, just written all over her. And she just…gasps for air, like she was holding her breath through the entire rescue.
• “So, there’s another squad of M-6ers around the next corner. We have to get past them, so we have to regroup. There’s more of us that need help, and…so that’s what we’re gonna do.” But her expression says it all. She doesn’t know if they can help. Still, she finishes with “we’re gonna help them. I need you to listen to what I say, when I say it. clear?” She looks sick, dreading it, after giving those orders as she prepares to move to the next battle! Such strong work from Enos.
• I felt that “oh, sh**,” Walt. Definitely the mood.
• I’m so impressed by how easily For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 shows the closeness Kelly, Elena, and Walt are developing. Kelly actually defers to the other two before deciding whether or not to go back to Sojourner—and the time it takes her to make that decision, with all those long wordless glances and small swallows, seems endless in a way that only making one of the most important decisions of your life in a split second can feel. Then, there’s all the grinning to close the scene…
• …before we transition back to the war zone on Mars.
• Knocked over piece on an abandoned chess board, the still-warm drink in that mug…such great detail work in this hour.
• The tension.
• Asserson plays that beat where Jarrett recognizes the weight of having just killed, like, a totally normal civilian so incredibly well.
• The. Silence. And. Stillness. As. Alex. Steps. Over. Those. Bodies.
• Is that…duct tape?
• Poor Alex, poor Ronnie, poor everyone.
• The silence of all that death, versus the silence on Titan.
• THE GLOWING WHATNOW?
• I always appreciate the way this series is shot, but it’s especially on point in For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9—particularly with the buildup to Celia and the others’ capture. We know anything could go wrong at any time, any dead end could truly be a trap, and we get to experience not knowing what’s there until we see it with our own eyes. So, we’re in the conflict, right beside the characters onscreen. Brilliant.
• …and Celia’s right back to being small in Palmer’s presence again. So sad when she gives up that gun, not because she’s attached to the weapon but because it means she couldn’t protect her home. And then, there’s the pure emotion when she sees Fred, of all people, is part of yet one more awful betrayal.
• Palmer is such a jacka—.
• “You doing ok?” “Fu— off.” “Come on, C. You think I like this?” “I don’t wanna hear sh** from you.” GET HIM.
• That medbay scene about killed me. Such a short amount of time, yet casualties just flow in so that, by the time the scene ends, we really see how chaotic it all is. Then, there’s the time the camera spends focused on all that blood on Alex’s shirt and hands. (Again, great choices were made.)
• “Dima, what do you need?” “Everything.” Gutting.
• “Hey. Be careful. I do not need you coming back here as a casualty.” “Don’t worry. I probably crawled through every vent and tunnel in this place when I was a kid.” “You’re still a kid.” There it is. MY HEART. Also, what a lovely throwback to when Alex was a kid who very much did have a thing for crawling around in vents.
• No, wait. Ronnie and Alex’s goodbye? That’s gutting. Fantastic from Tess Lina and Sean Kaufman, as both of their characters have to express so many things that, honestly, there are no words for. (And again with the focus on the blood.)
• Palmer being a messy b**ch when they’re in the middle of a war. Unbelievable. Anything to gloat and make life miserable for others.
• “You know what, Lily? I don’t really give a damn if you believe me or not. The only thing I care about now is that you and him pay for what you did.” As a reminder that I’m going to keep beating like a dead Palmer, dude’s talking to someone who’s practically still a kid here. Creep.
• …at least he pays for what he and Dev did, huh.
• But all of this since we last visited Titan, knowing Elena has precious few moments to get down off that rock???
• Kelly, what are you doing.
• “Take me to your commanding officer. I’d like to offer my services in whatever way I can.” “You fu**ing a—hole.” Gerardo said it. And if looks could kill…
• 99% sure I didn’t breathe the whole time Alex was in that vent space.
• Again with SO MANY BODIES.
• “Are you disobeying an order?” “Negative. Following one. We were ordered to hand off the prisoners to superiors and return to our unit. And that’s exactly what we’re gonna F—ing do.” Obsessed with that attitude, to be honest.
• “You are a people person, huh?” Amazing.
• “MH WAS HERE.” Glad Haskell’s all cheesy-grinning about how he did that because otherwise…Mariska Hargitay exists in this universe and went to Mars?!!!
• No, no, no, no, no. Like, you can see both sides coming together there at the end. But NOOOOOOOO.
• Just the slow-motion unreality as Alex realizes what he’s done and drops his weapon. Wow.
• “You’re going to be ok, Haskell. It’s all right. You’re going to stay with us, all right? Stay with us.” AJ’s trying so hard to sound reassuring but failing miserably. And then, the way she screams the second half is so, so, desperate.
• This time, it’s the Baldwin being good with tape and not a Stevens…
• (Too soon?)
• (It’s always too soon for me.)
• Oh, she’s already grieving…
• That is one intense effin’ look from Alex to end this thing. Kid’s not taking no for an answer. Period.
• RIP to Dev if he hadn’t given that tiny nod.
• Ok but, like…where—and I mean this sincerely—the F*** do they have Aleida?

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9 “Sons and Daughters”? Leave us a comment!

The For All Mankind Season 5 finale releases Friday, May 29 on Apple TV. Episodes 1-9 are now available to stream.