‘For All Mankind’ Recap: ‘Red Moon’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘For All Mankind’.
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When one takes the time to think about everything, we’ve accomplished in regard to space travel, one’s mind immediately gravitates to America’s contribution in the matter. For while other nations such as Russia and China have played their part in getting mankind into the cosmos, it is the United States that made some seriously significant breakthroughs. After all, the USA was the first nation to land upon the Moon during the ‘Space Race’ and it also worked to create a reusable fleet of space vehicles by way of the Space Shuttle and the technological discoveries made during this period of time led to all kinds of incredible benefits for the people of planet Earth. But while the Space Race helped America climb into the role of superpower, one does wonder from to time to time, what the world might have looked like if the United States had failed in its endeavors to get a man on the moon, first.
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Because such a misstep would have shifted the balance of power on the planet, since the first one there would have been looked to as a genuine leader, one that was paving the way for the future and it just so happens that Writer Ronald D. Moore and AppleTV+ decided that it might be quite intriguing to explore a world where such a thing happened by way of the series For All Mankind and well, what they came up makes for one fascinating experience. For the series premiere of this show, ‘Red Moon’, takes us back to 1969, June to be exact, and during this summer month, something quite extraordinary happens. In that, mankind lands on the Moon, captivating the world in stunning fashion. Especially because, it wasn’t Neil Armstrong that stepped out of the Lunar Lander to place a flag on the Lunar surface and utter those majestic words. Instead, it is the USSR that reaches Luna first and it is Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov that earns the distinct honor of being the first man to walk on the Moon and well, being dealt that severe a blow leaves NASA besides themselves. 

For they are stunned over the fact that they failed to beat the Russians in the Space Race and the immediate fallout of this surprise, leads to some powerful moments for certain. The kind that allow for the audience to feel the sheer disappointed that comes with losing something this big and of course, when something that bad happens… people are quick to point fingers and place blame, something that Astronaut Ed Baldwin does early on in this tale. For when a reporter from Newsweek is poking around and asking questions as to what the heck went wrong, so America can make sense of this, Ed takes the time to make an astonishing statement. One that speaks to how NASA has lost its way and its guts and that’s why the United States lost the race. Words that of course come back to haunt him and quickly, but that kind of admission is paramount to this episode, because it forces NASA and everyone involved with this proud program to press ahead with Apollo 11 and do whatever it takes to get to the Moon and counterpunch the Russians. 

Which in turn leads to disaster for certain. Because there is a sense of urgency surrounding this launch, and a lack of confidence prompts an alternate Neil Armstrong to crash the Eagle and put everyone in a panic over whether or not the crew survived this rough landing. Which thankfully they do, saving some grace to a program that’s already on thin ice with the Federal Government. But while these elements alone do a fine job of establishing this universe, it is the little things that this series premiere does that make it worth your while. Because it features a lot of rich characters, and we get to spend a fair amount of time with each of them in this opening chapter, helping one to understand what makes them tick and why they are dedicated to space travel. Which is a wonderful way to open up this tale, since it helps to establish that this isn’t going to be some gimmicky series full of big moments that show off a juicy production budget, one that spent all of its money on special effects.

No instead, it’s obvious from this series premiere that For All Mankind is going to focus heavily on its characters and their thoughts/beliefs on space travel. Because every last one of them see space travel in a light that few of us do anymore. For they view it as a noble and powerful act, one that reminds us that we are capable of anything once we put our minds to it, and it is quite refreshing to see that particular thought appear in a series that opens up on quite the sour note. If anything, all of these elements make this quite the fascinating series, one that definitely piques your interest with its unique take on a world where America sees its fortunes take quite the turn and where space travel is the focus on everyone’s mind once again. And it should be interesting to see where this incredible loss and the intriguing ideas presented here in regard to mankind’s place among the stars, will take us in the days to come. Until next time.

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