For all Mankind 4.10
In which Margo's storyline ends perfectly but alas no one else's does. (Okay, except Aleida's.)
And I'm not just saying that because I wanted Ed to get his comeuppance, though I definitely did want Ed to get his comeuppance. I wanted someone (preferably Kelly) confront him with his utter selfishness and hypocrisy. Instead, we actually get to hear him tell Danielle "my family is here" (on Mars) and that why he's doing it, that's why Mars is his home, not Earth. WTF? His family is on Mars for all of five minutes, he was already acting as he does when Kelly and Alex were back on Earth, and he'd have acted exactly the same way if they had remained there. Look, I can buy Ed believing this latest excuse for his actions, the same way I buy Walter White believing he's doing it all for his familyl, but Breaking Bad was careful to not just let Walther admit the lie of this not just to Skyler but to himself in the finale but have multiple characters point out it's a lie long before that.
(I don't have the same problem with Dev not getting his comeuppance and instead getting what he wants, because Dev is a comparatively young character, and there's plenty of time in future seasons. But Ed's life time is running out, and while I do not want him to get the heroic death he craves, chances are he will die sooner rather than later, so the comeuppance time is limited.)
But it's beyond Ed. Danielle's story is similarly problematically handled. Now I have no problem with Danielle written as less than perfect and making mistakes of her own, but while the finale did give her a moment to realise that the fact the situation had gotten so out of hand and there was no open warfare among the Happy Valley people wasn't just due to orders from Houston or the former strikers and Ed but also due to herself - paralleling this with Ed getting a lightbulb in this regard, too -, the weight of this was all on the actress, and it was a brief moment, with Danielle having had only a few scenes in the second half of the season anyway to sell us on her being increasingly mono-focused on achieving the mission. Now re: the fakeout of her dying with the reveal that no, she survived after all - on the one hand, I'm glad she didn't die the heavily signalled death, and does get the old age among her family she wanted to, on the other hand, the almost death thus comes across as a mere gimick, not an actual story, which is alas typical for the way her personal story is handled ever since mid season when she chewed Ed out. Even Ed immediately being concerned and horrified at the prospect of her dying and clutching her to his arms did not land the way it could have. I never doubted that Ed did not want Danielle dead and would have in fact at any point done anything to save her life if it was immediately threatened. That was never the problem with Ed.
Among the new characters, I thought Sam Massey was sympathetic throughout the season, and her getting the breathtaking action sequence in space this show excells at in the finale worked very well. The same can not be said for Miles. Who gets introduced as a typical in over his head guy going for get rich quick schemes and failing. Then he succesfully takes over Ilya's operation - yes, he had been making the rounds for Ilya a few months, but when did Miles come across as having the kind of mind that does organiation well? Then he actually resists torture (until it's pointed out that his wife is an accomplice of his smuggling). And then Ilya comes to his aid - WHY? Miles just did not make sense. Don't get me wrong, I don't need to like a character for said character to make sense for me. The Stevens brothers, Danny and Jimmy, weren't exactly likeable last season, but both were completely plausible given what we knew about their lives, both had moments where you could still sympathize, and both got their narrative receipt bills, so to speak.
Now on to the good stuff. MARGO. Though this reminds me, Irina, also a new character, also counts as part of the good stuff. She was chilling and efficient and well acted, and as it turns out, the mistake she made a few episodes back in her conversation with Margo when Margo asks to be put in charge of the Rozcosmos space programm and Irina thinks this is about the power (as it would be for her), when it's about Margo's passion for her work, is what ultimately gets her foiled and brought down. I don't think Irina had Sergei killed out of cruelty, or because she could. She did it because he was a possible way for Margo to escape, and she wanted to keep Margo as her tool, plus it was another intimidation ploy, just as she had Margo believe she'd be driven to her execution when before revealing herself and making a job offer. It simply did not occur to her that Margo would not respond by being cowed and continuing to work for Irina to the best of her abilities.
As you might have guessed, my favourite scene involving Margo - though all her scenes were good - was the one with Aleida in the observation lounge at NASA where she talked about Wernher von Braun for the very first time in several seasons. (I know why I requested both relationships in the latest ficathon I'm participating in.) The parallels and contrasts were perfectly drawn. Aleida is right, of course, when she says "You're not him", but Margo is also right when she replies, "no, but a part of me is". Aside - and that's a big aside - from SLAVE LABOUR WITH CONCENTRATION CAMP INMATES - , though, one big difference is what Margo does in this episode. Not the part where she decides to foil the Goldilocks capture in order to ensure the continuation of the Space Programm. (He'd have done that, too.) The part where she confesses to it, fully knowing it will mean the end of her immunity and the rest of her life in prison, away from the work that gives her life meaning. That she also manages to protect Aleida with this is the icing of the cake, but in terms of Margo's personal development, the important part is that she accepts the responsibility for her actions instead of running from them - what she couldn't do at the end of the last season, what WvB never could and did (in either timeline). And that she does so out of her own free will, instead of running yet again (be it to Russia to live in a golden cage with Irina, or to Brazil to start over again). This turns what he told her and what she tells Aleida - "progress always comes at a cost" - completely around in its meaning - it's no longer an excuse, because Margo doesn't let others pay the price, she pays it herself. We're full circle now with Margo the young engineer we meet in the show pilot, and if this is the last we see of her, I am content, because she truly had a great character arc throughout the show.
In conclusion: either remove Miles or completely change the character, show, he does not work, and for God's sake, give me an Ed comeuppance before he bites the dust. Sam can stay. And Kelly better discover life on Mars, that was an unresolved plot thread. And you better give Wrenn Schmidt all the awards.
And I'm not just saying that because I wanted Ed to get his comeuppance, though I definitely did want Ed to get his comeuppance. I wanted someone (preferably Kelly) confront him with his utter selfishness and hypocrisy. Instead, we actually get to hear him tell Danielle "my family is here" (on Mars) and that why he's doing it, that's why Mars is his home, not Earth. WTF? His family is on Mars for all of five minutes, he was already acting as he does when Kelly and Alex were back on Earth, and he'd have acted exactly the same way if they had remained there. Look, I can buy Ed believing this latest excuse for his actions, the same way I buy Walter White believing he's doing it all for his familyl, but Breaking Bad was careful to not just let Walther admit the lie of this not just to Skyler but to himself in the finale but have multiple characters point out it's a lie long before that.
(I don't have the same problem with Dev not getting his comeuppance and instead getting what he wants, because Dev is a comparatively young character, and there's plenty of time in future seasons. But Ed's life time is running out, and while I do not want him to get the heroic death he craves, chances are he will die sooner rather than later, so the comeuppance time is limited.)
But it's beyond Ed. Danielle's story is similarly problematically handled. Now I have no problem with Danielle written as less than perfect and making mistakes of her own, but while the finale did give her a moment to realise that the fact the situation had gotten so out of hand and there was no open warfare among the Happy Valley people wasn't just due to orders from Houston or the former strikers and Ed but also due to herself - paralleling this with Ed getting a lightbulb in this regard, too -, the weight of this was all on the actress, and it was a brief moment, with Danielle having had only a few scenes in the second half of the season anyway to sell us on her being increasingly mono-focused on achieving the mission. Now re: the fakeout of her dying with the reveal that no, she survived after all - on the one hand, I'm glad she didn't die the heavily signalled death, and does get the old age among her family she wanted to, on the other hand, the almost death thus comes across as a mere gimick, not an actual story, which is alas typical for the way her personal story is handled ever since mid season when she chewed Ed out. Even Ed immediately being concerned and horrified at the prospect of her dying and clutching her to his arms did not land the way it could have. I never doubted that Ed did not want Danielle dead and would have in fact at any point done anything to save her life if it was immediately threatened. That was never the problem with Ed.
Among the new characters, I thought Sam Massey was sympathetic throughout the season, and her getting the breathtaking action sequence in space this show excells at in the finale worked very well. The same can not be said for Miles. Who gets introduced as a typical in over his head guy going for get rich quick schemes and failing. Then he succesfully takes over Ilya's operation - yes, he had been making the rounds for Ilya a few months, but when did Miles come across as having the kind of mind that does organiation well? Then he actually resists torture (until it's pointed out that his wife is an accomplice of his smuggling). And then Ilya comes to his aid - WHY? Miles just did not make sense. Don't get me wrong, I don't need to like a character for said character to make sense for me. The Stevens brothers, Danny and Jimmy, weren't exactly likeable last season, but both were completely plausible given what we knew about their lives, both had moments where you could still sympathize, and both got their narrative receipt bills, so to speak.
Now on to the good stuff. MARGO. Though this reminds me, Irina, also a new character, also counts as part of the good stuff. She was chilling and efficient and well acted, and as it turns out, the mistake she made a few episodes back in her conversation with Margo when Margo asks to be put in charge of the Rozcosmos space programm and Irina thinks this is about the power (as it would be for her), when it's about Margo's passion for her work, is what ultimately gets her foiled and brought down. I don't think Irina had Sergei killed out of cruelty, or because she could. She did it because he was a possible way for Margo to escape, and she wanted to keep Margo as her tool, plus it was another intimidation ploy, just as she had Margo believe she'd be driven to her execution when before revealing herself and making a job offer. It simply did not occur to her that Margo would not respond by being cowed and continuing to work for Irina to the best of her abilities.
As you might have guessed, my favourite scene involving Margo - though all her scenes were good - was the one with Aleida in the observation lounge at NASA where she talked about Wernher von Braun for the very first time in several seasons. (I know why I requested both relationships in the latest ficathon I'm participating in.) The parallels and contrasts were perfectly drawn. Aleida is right, of course, when she says "You're not him", but Margo is also right when she replies, "no, but a part of me is". Aside - and that's a big aside - from SLAVE LABOUR WITH CONCENTRATION CAMP INMATES - , though, one big difference is what Margo does in this episode. Not the part where she decides to foil the Goldilocks capture in order to ensure the continuation of the Space Programm. (He'd have done that, too.) The part where she confesses to it, fully knowing it will mean the end of her immunity and the rest of her life in prison, away from the work that gives her life meaning. That she also manages to protect Aleida with this is the icing of the cake, but in terms of Margo's personal development, the important part is that she accepts the responsibility for her actions instead of running from them - what she couldn't do at the end of the last season, what WvB never could and did (in either timeline). And that she does so out of her own free will, instead of running yet again (be it to Russia to live in a golden cage with Irina, or to Brazil to start over again). This turns what he told her and what she tells Aleida - "progress always comes at a cost" - completely around in its meaning - it's no longer an excuse, because Margo doesn't let others pay the price, she pays it herself. We're full circle now with Margo the young engineer we meet in the show pilot, and if this is the last we see of her, I am content, because she truly had a great character arc throughout the show.
In conclusion: either remove Miles or completely change the character, show, he does not work, and for God's sake, give me an Ed comeuppance before he bites the dust. Sam can stay. And Kelly better discover life on Mars, that was an unresolved plot thread. And you better give Wrenn Schmidt all the awards.