Apple TV’s “For All Mankind” Takes Bold New Leaps in Space and Scope in Its Fifth Season

It’s sad to think, entering the fifth season of the wildly underrated Apple TV fantasy series “For All Mankind,” that Ronald D. Moore saga began with a simple premise: What if the Russians beat us to the Moon a few weeks back in the 1960s? In the seasons since then, Moore, along with current runners-up Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, have put forth a very different timeline from that simple breakdown, including major shifts in the political climate (lesbian POTUS? Moon base in the 1980s? USSR still standing strong in the 21st century?).

Now, in its fifth season, the show’s infamous time jump has taken us to another 2012 where Mars is not only colonized, but may be on the verge of asserting its independence from Earth. It’s not exactly the near-future dream of “The Expanse,” but as the years go by, it’s getting closer. And, happily, it carries all its human pain, vast scope, and incredible productivity to that great beyond, as humanity reaches for the stars like never before, bringing all its attendant flaws with it.

After a flurry of headlines to accompany the start of the new season (including sweet Easter eggs like John Lennon and Jay-Z collaborating on the hit song “Grey Album”), “For All Mankind” gets its wheels and asteroids spinning fast. Many years after the Happy Valley colony hijacked the Goldilocks asteroid in the orbit of Mars and defied the greed of the Earth, the Martian colonies live in uneasy peace with their terrestrial neighbors (thanks to the international alliance called M-6 that manages this colony, alongside the Russian ruler of Costa Ronin, Leonid Polid Polinov). And, of course, it’s still 2012, so kids are still doing flash mobs and “Gangnam Style,” even in space.

Astronaut Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman, rocking some of the system’s aging prostheses), now in his 80s, is enjoying his final years in exile on the station, as a new crop of Martian children—including his grandson, Alex (Sean Kaufman)—has ushered in the Red Planet’s first full-grown generation. Meanwhile, Helios founder Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) pushes ahead with his plans to turn Mars into a self-sustaining colony, with none of those pesky things from Earth needed. On top of that, a small group of political activists, calling themselves the Sons and Daughters of Mars, and led by Season 4’s man Miles Dale (Toby Kebbell), begins to complain about their “Free Mars” freedom campaign.

As in many cases in “For All Mankind,” the colony is a powder keg waiting for a match, and the first of many comes in the form of a mysterious corpse found outside the settlement, quickly attached to the beloved Martian citizen (and North Korean abuser) Lee Jung-Gil (CS Lee), imprisoned by the Martian for keeping the peace, Mireille finds his peacekeeping forces. “Killing” star Kinnaman this season). A hasty attempt to get Lee out of prison sets off a chain of events that tests the colony of Happy Valley like never before, forcing the hands of both Earth and Mars as the colonists begin an earnest bid to overthrow their Terran masters and strike out on their own.

Meanwhile, the spirit of exploration that dominated previous seasons of “For All Mankind” remains, as Ed’s daughter, Kelly (Cynthy Wu), and Helios CEO Aleida Rosales (Coral Peña) begin a race to the next frontier: Titan’s moon, which may be the first step in the search for new life in the universe. For all the domestic and, forgive me, worldly concerns that follow the show’s emphasis on Mars this season, it’s this eternal hair-to-the-border that keeps the bittersweet, human vision going.

As always, the show’s far-flung locations manage to stay focused on the personal and political challenges of our time; this season touches on everything from aliens (intergalactic refugees known as “Craters,” so named because they sneak inside supply crates) to the threat of automation to the never-ending fight for labor rights. Corporations fight among themselves to be the first to reach Titan, while competing governments dispute the fate of Mars and its inhabitants.

And all this anxiety is due to the rapid increase and change of characters as they are loved; so far into the future from the show’s alt-’60s, it’s amazing that Wolpert and Nedivi are able to keep some of their old characters around, while introducing new faces each season that fit seamlessly into the show’s colorful fabric. (Aside from Kinnaman, we also see series star Wrenn Schmidt as the now-imprisoned Margo, who is still giving advice to Aleida about her Titan mission.) Enos and Sanchez stand out as some of the best new faces this season, and Ines Asserson stands out as a young Earth marine with a chip on her shoulder related to some complex seasonal characters. Even Kebbell’s Miles grows in stature and love as an everyday guy thrust into a leadership role by sheer entropy.

For all the meticulously rendered visual effects and NASA-centric production design of the show, what’s most surprising is the incredibly relatable human drama at play. The third episode of the show is a heart wrenching, transitional moment that feels like the end of an era, not just for the families that have spawned many generations in this story (the Baldwins, the Stevenses, the Dales), but for all of humanity. Love, loss, maturity, all these things play out on the crumbling walls of spaceships and extraterrestrial habitats as powerfully as ever. While this review can’t address the last two episodes of the season, the first eight episodes make a good conclusion that should speak to the show’s interest in human endeavors on both small and large levels.

At the end of the day, “To All Mankind” is an amazing testament to the deep human desire to improve itself, whether it’s in individuals and communities finding the strength to build something where they stand, or to strengthen the unknown. Knowing that this is the penultimate season of the show, and the Russian finale, “Star City,” is on the way, it is tempting to hope that the rest of the series will stick. No matter where it ends up, it will be worth the ride.

The first eight episodes were screened for review. New episodes air Fridays on Apple TV.