‘For All Mankind’ Recap: ‘Have a Good Sol’

11/17/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Krys Marshall and Joel Kinnaman as Danielle Poole and Ed Baldwin in Episode 402 of ‘For All Mankind’ – ‘Have a Nice Sol’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 402 of ‘For All Mankind’. To revisit the Season Four Premiere, click here.

If there is one particular dream, we’ve all harbored when it comes to interstellar travel, it would have to be… what would it be like… to live on another planet? Because just like that… we would be millions of miles from home, and we could potentially, do anything, go anywhere and just see the universe if you will. Which is a dream that really does ignite our imaginations like never before and has given rise to countless incredible stories about such matters, some that are grand in scope, some that are simple and satisfying. But what none of them have explored until now… is that there’s a genuine possibility that if humanity were to travel to the stars and establish permanent colonies there, it might mot be what we expect it to be.

In fact, it might be pretty darn close to living on Earth, and that possibility is top of mind today, simply because that is precisely what the next episode of For All Mankind on Apple TV+ explores. For ‘Have a Good Sol’ saw Miles Dean and Danielle Poole arrive at Happy Valley and at first, it really did seem as though, interstellar living was quite amazing. For humanity was indeed firmly planted on Mars’ surface and there was plant life growing in controlled situations, and there was harmony and wonder. But alas… that was just what one would initially see, and behind the scenes… the unfortunate reality of the have and have nots existed as well. Which was explored through Miles. Who, had to take on a new role at Happy Valley since there was no asteroid to mine, and that put him in a miserable place.

Where he was disregarded by the majority of folks that worked for NASA or Helios and where he lived in just awful conditions. For his bunk was deep below the surface, and Helios was nickeling and diming him for every little thing from a cost perspective. Making it more expensive to work on Mars than it ever was on Earth, and that brought about a lot of tension on the below decks. Not to mention, they couldn’t talk with their families due to satellite issues that no one cared to fix. But Danielle was ready to make changes and went the extra mile to make life a little better for the folks that worked in the depths of the base, giving rise to some peace. But in reality, this felt akin to our modern Earth, and how exactly… we will get to in a moment.

Because also need to talk about how the story handled some of the plot threads it introduced during the season four premiere. Specifically, how Aleida struggled badly with PTSD. Because those dark memories were indeed haunting her, and sadly… rather than get therapy as suggested by all, she opted to change career fields and join Kelly Baldwin’s search for extraterrestrial life as a way to heal. When it might not work, but this plot thread did make it clear, that in 2003, in any universe, people wanted more to escape their problems than face them. Plus, we also came to learn that Margot will soon be in a lot of hot water. Simply because something is happening in Russia, and she made a point to involve herself in it, and her life will never be the same because of it.

But of course, while those were interesting and engaging moments, it was the life on Mars stuff that truly dominated this story. Wherein we saw class warfare much like we have on our Earth now. Where the working-class lives check to check, and even then… that’s being generous, and where those we hold in a different class… live like royalty. Which in this case involved getting access to the finest coffee and even fine pasta, and well… let’s be honest… that means Happy Valley is a powder-keg waiting to explode. Unless Danielle can figure out how to really make everyone equals. But that aside, this was a fresh take on life in outer space, and what it could look like, and this show deserves a round of applause for pointing out… it probably would be close to what we already know, for we find comfort in the familiar to help us cope with change. Change as extreme as say… living on the Red Planet. Until next time.

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