For All Mankind Season 4 Episode 9 Review: Brazil
The asteroid heist kicks off in For All Mankind Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil,” in a penultimate hour that’s jam-packed with action, plot, and an unexpected gut-punch in its final moments.
Unfortunately, the hour lacks some of the propulsive fun of last week’s episode, which doubled down on fun Ocean’s 11-style tropes and tricks. “Brazil” is big and messy — and not always in a good way — setting up pieces that will undoubtedly come into play in the season’s final hour, but that relies on some pretty weird swerves to put the necessary pieces into place.
The episode’s best moments are human ones, of both the heartwarming and tragic variety. Ed and Kelly finally have the conversation they’ve been putting off since Alex was born, as he finally acknowledges that he’s been lying to her for years, and has no plans of coming back to Earth to grow old in her guest room.
But he also opens up about his desire to leave a real legacy behind on Mars, and how much he worried about whether she — and the rest of the world — would think he was crazy for admitting to this dream. (Glad to know that even in an alternate timeline men will do pretty much anything to avoid therapy.)
And while it’s unlikely that anyone had “Dev Ayesa and Ed Baldwin become BFFs and it’s really sweet and awesome” on their For All Mankind Season 4 bingo cards, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Mars is not only good for both men, they’re good for each other too.
It’s strangely easy to picture them growing old on the Red Planet together, telling stories of the early days of the planet’s colonization to the latest class of new recruits. And it’s almost unimaginable how much I now want that future for both of them, despite the absolutely awful things they’ve each done. Is that what the kids call growth? Possibly. Or, at least, it would be, if they both weren’t also working overtime to commit one of the biggest crimes in human history.
The plot to steal Goldilocks is threatened by a bunch of unexpected snooping by both the Americans and the North Koreans. After North Korea’s Commander Cho discovers a bit of NASA tech attached to their surveillance feed, they raise holy hell about it with Dani, who orders an inventory of the cargo currently on Mars. They discover a prodigious amount of comms equipment is missing, which ignites a panic both in Happy Valley and back on Earth.
Worried that someone is plotting to sabotage Ranger on its way to intercept the asteroid, the U.S. and the Soviet Union agree to activate the secret CIA and KGB agents they’ve planted among the general population of the base. There’s a whole lot to unpack here before the two men start deploying what America likes to call “enhanced interrogation techniques” on various interviewees.
Admittedly, it’s odd that Miles is the character around whom so much of this subplot is currently turning. Despite his prominent place as the initial audience window into the world of the Helios lower deckers, we still know relatively little about him, other than he’s extremely motivated by money and obsessed with the wife he left behind on earth who may or may not be planning to leave him when he returns to Earth.
He was completely absent during the workers’ strike a couple of episodes back, he literally stole Ilya’s black market business — including his bar!! — out from under him, he doesn’t have any real relationships with other characters on the canvas, and is somehow still mostly an island unto himself. (He betrayed Ilya and has seemingly abandoned Massey now that he doesn’t need her help anymore.) Does anyone have a strong attachment to this character? Or even particularly care about him?
We probably all should have realized that poor Sergei was a dead man walking as soon as For All Mankind brought the character back. I know I can’t be the only one who (delusionally) decided to believe that he and Margot would defect to Brazil together and finally get a chance at a life together. (Sorry to Sergei’s wife, I guess.) I was won over by all the googly eyes and math-based flirting I guess.
But, no, Sergei is assassinated — by a guy who makes zero effort to make the crime scene look like anything other than a hit — and there’s no way that Margo isn’t a.) emotionally crushed and b.) in immediate fear for her life, given that it’s glaringly apparent that former KGB-handler-turned-Roscosmos-director Irina was behind his death.
Stray Thoughts and Observations:
- Whatever else happens at the end of this season, Kelly Baldwin is so about to discover life on Mars and I’m here for it.
- It’s so weird that the show never bothers to explain — or even mention — how Sergei’s managed to spend an entire month in Houston passing notes to Margo when he’s technically got a wife at home.
What did you think of this episode of For All Mankind? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of For All Mankind stream Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Lacy Baugher
Lacy Baugher is a digital strategist and freelance writer living in Washington, D.C., who’s still hoping that the TARDIS will show up at her door eventually. Favorite things include: Sansa Stark, British period dramas, the Ninth Doctor and whatever Jessica Lange happens to be doing today. Loves to livetweet pretty much anything, and is always looking for new friends to yell about Game of Thrones with on Twitter. Ravenclaw for life.