For All Mankind 4.08.
In which we get another long awaited reunion, and a heist is planned.
Ed has a few humanizing moments in this one, i.e. when he reads to little Alex, and a book Alex actually enjoys listening to (I bet it's a favourite of the two scriptwriters), but he's still in the running for terrible grandfather of the year, not just for shoving baby sitting duties off to Joanne so he can conspire with Dev some more but primarily for using Alex to steal equipment. Kelly is going to kill him once she finds out, and I'm here for it.
Speaking of Kelly, she has only two scenes this episode, but the second one was essential, because it's the first moment of wonder re: space and being on an alien planet we've had since Miles & Co. landed on Mars in episode 4.02. and got quickly exploited out of any sense of wonder and into a sense of greed. I mean, I get that "space exploration has become commerzialized, and this is the result" is the big theme of the season, but I didn't realize how much I'd missed characters geeking out about what a miracle it is, at its core, to be able to stand on a different planet and explore until Kelly did that. Also, lovely visuals of the crater.
Meanwhile, on Earth: we get a morning routine which isn't Margo's, and of course it's Sergei's. He's living his undercover life as a maths/physics teacher, has moved on after Margo's supposed death in that he's married now, eight years later (and why not, he had no idea she was still alive!) - but still freezes and is gobsmacked when hearing her voice on tv. And I really like how this entire episode plays Sergei's reactions and decisions. Because it's not just about having romantic feelings for Margo (or not). He knows she ruined her American life for him, to save his life, and despite knowing he was instrumental in the KGB getting leverage on her she still organized his escape to the US. Of course he's going to take that road to Texas. (BTW, it's also important for the audience to know just how serious Sergej takes his friendship/love for Margo when he's not pressured by the KGB to pursue her but has everything to lose by contacting her.) And I like the smart way he goes about it - of course he doesn't show up at NASA but goes to Aleida. Which has the additional benefit of filling Aleida in on the parts of the whole saga Margo left out, precisely because they could have served as an additional explanation/excuse, i.e. the part where Sergei was getting strangled right in front of her until she gave in.
The scene between Aleida and Sergej was lovely, including her mixed feelings - both the love and the resentment for Margo on her part that doesn't go away and is not just for the defection but the eight years of grief.
But the cream on top of the cake is that Sergei didn't come to see Margo again for romantic reasons. He comes because he sees her in direct danger. Given that Irina used to be his KGB handler and the person who engineered the entire s3 disaster. Now I don't think Margo had any illusions about Irina's nature (Irina's claim of having been friends with Sergei not withstanding), given she was brought to her with brain splatters on her face and believing she'd get executed next. But it's still different to know Irina personally is responsible for her having to defect to the USSR to begin with. (And why, I wonder, did Irina wait eight years before making contact with Margo? Can't just have been because she was on the outs with Gorbachev.) Of course, Margo could seek asylum in the US now, but that would mean prison (now more than ever), and never engineering work for space exploration again, which is what it's all about - this is why she lives. My current guess: Margo will end up neither back in the USSR nor in the US by the end of the season. Somehow, she'll go to Mars.
By which you can guess I think the heist will succeed, but also Dev will not get to feel smug about having his own fiefdom. I think he'll find out once you've evoked the spirit of revolution, you can't just conveniently rebottle it, and the workers, once they are in possession of the asteriod, won't listen to him anymore. Not to mention that his literally Earthly possessions are probably going to get confiscated or at the very least frozen once the M7 nations realize what he's done.
Ed has a few humanizing moments in this one, i.e. when he reads to little Alex, and a book Alex actually enjoys listening to (I bet it's a favourite of the two scriptwriters), but he's still in the running for terrible grandfather of the year, not just for shoving baby sitting duties off to Joanne so he can conspire with Dev some more but primarily for using Alex to steal equipment. Kelly is going to kill him once she finds out, and I'm here for it.
Speaking of Kelly, she has only two scenes this episode, but the second one was essential, because it's the first moment of wonder re: space and being on an alien planet we've had since Miles & Co. landed on Mars in episode 4.02. and got quickly exploited out of any sense of wonder and into a sense of greed. I mean, I get that "space exploration has become commerzialized, and this is the result" is the big theme of the season, but I didn't realize how much I'd missed characters geeking out about what a miracle it is, at its core, to be able to stand on a different planet and explore until Kelly did that. Also, lovely visuals of the crater.
Meanwhile, on Earth: we get a morning routine which isn't Margo's, and of course it's Sergei's. He's living his undercover life as a maths/physics teacher, has moved on after Margo's supposed death in that he's married now, eight years later (and why not, he had no idea she was still alive!) - but still freezes and is gobsmacked when hearing her voice on tv. And I really like how this entire episode plays Sergei's reactions and decisions. Because it's not just about having romantic feelings for Margo (or not). He knows she ruined her American life for him, to save his life, and despite knowing he was instrumental in the KGB getting leverage on her she still organized his escape to the US. Of course he's going to take that road to Texas. (BTW, it's also important for the audience to know just how serious Sergej takes his friendship/love for Margo when he's not pressured by the KGB to pursue her but has everything to lose by contacting her.) And I like the smart way he goes about it - of course he doesn't show up at NASA but goes to Aleida. Which has the additional benefit of filling Aleida in on the parts of the whole saga Margo left out, precisely because they could have served as an additional explanation/excuse, i.e. the part where Sergei was getting strangled right in front of her until she gave in.
The scene between Aleida and Sergej was lovely, including her mixed feelings - both the love and the resentment for Margo on her part that doesn't go away and is not just for the defection but the eight years of grief.
But the cream on top of the cake is that Sergei didn't come to see Margo again for romantic reasons. He comes because he sees her in direct danger. Given that Irina used to be his KGB handler and the person who engineered the entire s3 disaster. Now I don't think Margo had any illusions about Irina's nature (Irina's claim of having been friends with Sergei not withstanding), given she was brought to her with brain splatters on her face and believing she'd get executed next. But it's still different to know Irina personally is responsible for her having to defect to the USSR to begin with. (And why, I wonder, did Irina wait eight years before making contact with Margo? Can't just have been because she was on the outs with Gorbachev.) Of course, Margo could seek asylum in the US now, but that would mean prison (now more than ever), and never engineering work for space exploration again, which is what it's all about - this is why she lives. My current guess: Margo will end up neither back in the USSR nor in the US by the end of the season. Somehow, she'll go to Mars.
By which you can guess I think the heist will succeed, but also Dev will not get to feel smug about having his own fiefdom. I think he'll find out once you've evoked the spirit of revolution, you can't just conveniently rebottle it, and the workers, once they are in possession of the asteriod, won't listen to him anymore. Not to mention that his literally Earthly possessions are probably going to get confiscated or at the very least frozen once the M7 nations realize what he's done.