‘For All Mankind’ Recap: ‘House Divided’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Wrenn Schmidt as Margot Madison in Episode 404 of ‘For All Mankind’ – ‘House Divided’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 404 of ‘For All Mankind’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. 
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It is definitely safe to say, that there are two key issues in our world right now, preventing humanity from uniting and moving forward and accomplishing wonders. One of them, is the sheer fact that nationalism is a thing and takes precedence over so much in this life. Because for some reason, the power of a flag and the sovereignty of a nation… matter more than the fact it is populated by human beings, the same ones you find all over the world. Not to mention, wealth inequity is a huge issue right now. Because it’s created a world where not everyone gets a fair shot in the name of shareholders and dividends and billionaires and well… our celebration of the almighty dollar has us divided and moving in a strange direction.

If anything, those issues are top of mind today, simply because… they found their way into the fabric of the incredible Apple TV+ series, For All Mankind, and that’s a huge deal. Because in the alternate world we visit through this show, those issues have not existed. For the space race flip, prompted innovation and unity and a push to really explore the stars. But it would seem… all that did, was delay such matters. For ‘House Divided’ allowed for greed to create issues on Mars, and the Geopolitical problems back home also created new issues and that led, to a story that felt painfully familiar. After all, this episode saw Miles… risk life and limb in every literal sense… to make a quick buck. Because certain rocks on Mars were quite precious in nature and worth a fortune on Earth, and to keep his family safe and secure financially, he nearly died in the name of the dollar and that’s quite the relevant plot point to see here. 

Plus, the changing of the guard in Moscow led to all kinds of conflict on Mars, courtesy of a fight. For Svetlana was trying to do her job when one of her fellow coworkers from the U.S.S.R. threatened to report her for not supporting the new regime, since she was dismissive of it. Which led to an all-out fist fight between the two. One that also brought forth a torn suit, and a medical emergency and an international incident. For Moscow wanted Svetlana on the first flight back to Earth to stand trial for a crime against a family member of the newly formed Politburo, and Poole wasn’t good with that. Which led… to pure division. The kind that saw Roscosmos thumb their nose at the treaty they signed with other nations regarding Mars relations. Which led to all kinds of international and intergalactic chaos. All because new rules and a new desire from a new regime somehow needed to take precedence over humanity’s new place in the stars.

Of course, there was resolution found to this matter, one that brought peace to Happy Valley, and disdain to Ed, who was indeed falling for Svetlana. For she was sent home to stand trial in a neutral country, but the damage was done, and it would seem more trouble is on the horizon. For we also came to learn a great deal about the inner working of Roscosmos. Such as how the new head of the division, Irina, embraced ruthlessness and a fear based working environment, one that was loyal to party lines. Which she made clear by having Margot use her brilliant mind to discover exactly how the asteroid mission failed and who was responsible for that failure. Which led to a high ranking Roscosmos official to first lose his job, and then be whisked away by the KGB to pay for failure to the Fatherland, and well… that was troubling. Since it signaled a shift in how Roscosmos does business, and that is downright scary.

All of which made, for an unsettling but compelling episode. Compelling because it once again featured amazing writing and amazing acting through and through, that sold every moment with gravitas and honesty, and unsettling… because this felt too familiar at times. In fact, the fight between Svetlana and her cohort felt akin to the infighting happening now in America, between those who think the Orange One is somehow a savior, and everyone else, that just wants the country to move forward and embrace its promise of a better tomorrow for all and really… it would seem we need to be prepared for more unsettling stories. For this series is now likely going to reflect our troubling times and how our issues are indeed holding us back and hopefully… those examinations will show us how to move past them. So that we can perhaps finally come together in the name of all mankind and accomplish the wonders we dream of. Until next time.  

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