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I didn't think this episode was as strong as the other season openers (well gently caress nothing can beat that first episode) but even when it's not at the top of the game it's still one of the best shows on TV. Spoilers below I guess: The family subplot is such a key part of the show it feels bad for me to say I loving hate it. Ed's wife just seems to be there as a throwaway character, probably to open up the Ed/Karen/Danny terrible love triangle. Margo remains the greatest, I love how she improves her office bedroom every season. Also getting Aleida to go to space is cool. That space hotel is nowhere near good enough from a safety perspective. Hopefully this triggers a "private space enterprise might be a bad idea" movement but I guess not based on everything else. My way early predictions for the season: -Margo is going to get caught up in some espionage sting. There's no way the CIA aren't aware of her Russian boyfriend. Sadly I think Aleida will end up using some information she gets given through it and gets caught too. -Ellen will beat Clinton and become President, and have to deal with the above. I'd say there's like a 90% chance she ends up being a one-term president (probably her homosexuality comes out? She's still pretending she's straight I assume?) and gives Margo a pardon when she leaves office. -Ed and Danielle will both be going to Mars. One will command the Nasa mission, one will go with a private company, they'll both have to deal with the Russians/Chinese/both -North Korea are going to do... something. Like I'm pretty sure there's going to be something wild where either they a) somehow have actually created a functioning space craft and beat them to North Korea, or b) end up causing some catastrophic incident (maybe on the Moon) that precipitates more US/USSR tensions. All the alt-hist stuff is cool as hell and we get to do I'mGladShe'sDead.gif decades earlier
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Jun 10, 2022 19:51
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Data Graham posted:
Yeah this is why I'm absolutely convinced there'll be some sort of espionage scandal plotline. The CIA will know this phonecall is happening and probably is fine with it as long as it's convenient, but something will happen (probably poo poo going wrong on Mars) and Margo will be exposed.
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Jun 10, 2022 22:12
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Spacebump posted:So season 1 is the moon landing season. Season 2 is the space base season. Season 3 is the Mars season. This show has a 7 season plan. What could the next four be? I'm thinking season 4 will the colonisation of the solar system, asteroid bases, moons of Jupiter etc. leaning heavily into the private spacetravel side of things (assuming the Mars stuff doesn't put a stop to all that). Season 5 then the first attempt at leaving the solar system Season 6 maybe first colony in another solar system (though making that different enough from moon base/mars base might be tricky) Then finishing up with season 7 making first contact with an alien race. That makes it a nice bookend to the series, and avoids having to do any weird inter-species conflict.
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Jun 11, 2022 16:14
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I have to say I don't hate the way the Karen/Danny storyline is turning out. It's quite clear that Karen isn't into it (which was my biggest concern because that's very... ew), but Danny is - and more importantly they're putting physical distance between the two so it'll become more of an Ed/Danny thing. I see the private trip being more "Nasa/the Soviets have prepared for years to do this and you've thrown this mission together" than anyone being evil. Nasa and the Soviets have been (quietly) working together to try and avoid any disasters, but Helios hasn't, so I suspect that will be what goes wrong on the way to Mars.
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Jun 19, 2022 11:05
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I never know if we're doing spoilers or not. I will just in case. Good episode, we needed to advance the Margo plot to the point where there's reason for her to get exposed. I thought it would happen more organically but KGB doing KGB stuff makes sense as well. Danny continues to be the worst. I am so glad they advanced the plot to the point we didn't see any more face to face interactions with Karen. When she came into the bar I audibly groaned. So now we're on the way to Mars. The Soviets seem... unlikely to make it. They always seem one step behind (except for that one big time they were ahead). Helios and Nasa are going to get stuck together sooner rather than later. It looks like Kelly is joining Danny as the Next Generation of the cast. I don't think Ed survives the trip.
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Jun 24, 2022 19:50
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For what it's worth, I don't see how Danny and Kelly both don't survive, just in terms of keeping future astronauts around. I'm surprised that Aleida hasn't found her way on to the ship but I guess they need to keep part of the next generation on earth to replace Margo et al. The absolute worst time limeline is Danny and Kelly hooking up. God I hope that doesn't happen. If the Soviets need some sort of rescue 100% they'll have a new young up and coming astronaut involved as well.
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Jun 26, 2022 22:12
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I guess we're not doing spoilers now. I was honestly amazed they were going to send the private ship back home without going to Mars, and praising the writers for it, then they throw in a twist I honestly didn't see coming, and then that ending... Wow. What an episode. Back to it's best, imo, by just being pure space drama. There's clearly going to be some sort of way they get everyone to Mars (you don't set up "Russians don't like traitors" and then kill them all, you don't set up Nasa v Helios and then send one of them back). Helios to rendezvous, nab all the fuel, and get everyone there I guess? Love it, want the next episode ASAP.
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Jul 1, 2022 20:05
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Bulky Bartokomous posted:Also, Chekhov’s North Korean rocket! There's definitely going to be some loving weird North Korean poo poo happening. It's twice they've put it in as a throwaway line now. The first time caused the initial incident in episode 1. I have 0 doubt that this one is going to cause some fuckery.
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Jul 2, 2022 10:13
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Legitimately wouldn't be surprised if they do something about domestic terrorism tied to the oil/coal workers being put out of jobs due to the Helium-3 mining on the moon. The failson is definitely getting involved with those sorts of groups and seems to be going in to a sort of conspiracy rabbit hole. We're around the time of the Atlanta and first WTC bombings so plenty of footage for them to reuse.
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Jul 4, 2022 15:44
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Another great episode. Really glad it ended the way it did. I can't remember - can the private lander make more than one trip? I assume they can but it would be funny if they just go home now. Wayne coming back and just getting Karen backed is wonderful. I'm not surprised it was Aleida who found the engines were the same, but I have to say I just... don't know why she'd care? Like the engines were clearly hosed, Nasa would have beaten the Soviets, neither side is killing each other. Just let it go? edit: oh also: Kelly's passive aggressive floating away from the Russian guy was loving outstanding comedy Andddd I guess she's gonna become the first person to become pregnant in space (probably when they have to hitch a ride back on the Phoenix, that third booster sounds ominous), which means we get the next generation of astronauts (because you can only get a job at Nasa if you're part of the same family) EvilHawk fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Jul 8, 2022 |
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Jul 8, 2022 19:30
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Cojawfee posted:Probably because the soviets having the exact same engines with the exact same specs from the NASA engines from 2 years earlier is really suspect. if they had that, what else did they have? And how did they get that info? Hopefully Aleida notices how Margo seems to not care at all that the soviets had their engine design. I have to wonder how far Margo will let the soviets push her. Will she just keep giving them more poo poo while coming up with excuses, or will she just resign, or maybe refuse and let them expose her. Yeah I get all that, I just don't know why Aleida would care so much. She's never been presented as this ultra-American person who wants to beat the Soviets.
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Jul 8, 2022 21:24
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I'm now half sure that Danny was so interested in how the computer guy got control of the ship, that he's going to recreate it to take control from Ed after some sort of space mutiny.
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Jul 9, 2022 20:28
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I think the only way Margo really suffers, is if the Soviets have been passing along the rocket tech to the North Koreans and they tie it back to the hotel disaster. Otherwise, prison but pardon from outgoing President.
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Jul 13, 2022 17:40
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It's cool how I think I've figured this show out and they still throw a curveball. Didn't see the Sojourner being broken but that definitely solves the "everyone needs to go home together" plothole. Danny is going space crazy and Danielle is now pissed at everyone, so that's setting up some lovely space drama for the next episode. They're 100% finding life at the end of the season as well (the Soviets/Helios will want to ignore it because Profit/glorious evil communism). I was expecting Ellen to have a secret lover but if Larry is dumb enough to be having a gay affair in the Oval Office maybe that's the scandal that brings down her presidency. Surprised they did Don't Ask Don't Tell though, it's nice ("nice") that they're showing that not everything is wonderful in the FAM universe.
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Jul 15, 2022 18:37
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Hyrax Attack! posted:Oh gotcha I missed that. I think if they end season 4 finding life then that nails on season 5 as being exploring the solar system to find life in other places (moons etc.), and then finding some mysterious material that allows near-FTL speed travel for going to another solar system. Only way the plot can really advance every 10 years.
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Jul 15, 2022 20:49
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I decided overnight that Will is 100% going to be staying on Mars. I think they said the mission was scheduled for 2 years? Well he can't be discharged if he never goes home. Plenty of time for them to set up a permanent base with the full lake of water they've found. Echos Ed doing the same back in season 1 as well.
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Jul 16, 2022 10:35
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How many episodes are left in the season? I'm still fairly sure that failson is going to fall in with the crowd he was at the protest with and do... something big. I thought it would be this season, but if there's not enough time for that and Danny dies on the return journey then I can see him spending the next decade falling further down the rabbit hole and basically becoming a domestic terrorist next season.
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Jul 19, 2022 18:12
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Ugh agree this was a poor episode. It felt like an episode they needed to fill out the series, so much of it just didn't need to happen. Aleida didn't need to spend half an episode suspecting someone else to realise it was Margo. Jimmy didn't need to spend half an episode getting all pally with Nasa only for his friends to steal a statue. The Ed/Danny plotline is getting tired and putting Danny in charge of a critical part of the mission was such an obviously bad idea it feels contrived. I'm going to go against the grain and say I don't hate what's happening with Ellen, but at the same time the rest of the episode is just dragging that down. The saving grace is that, outside of the shot of them eating their food sadly, we didn't see much of the Nasa astronauts. That means they're probably going to get a big part of the next episode (mounting a rescue mission). I think we're going to look back after the next one and say they could have probably compressed it together and dropped a few plots, and nothing of value was lost. The overall quality of the season is still up there though.
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Jul 22, 2022 18:05
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w00tazn posted:Just watched ep 7 and the boy that episode sucked. The Dems subpoena the White House recordings to find evidence of an affair, instead get evidence of Ellen talking about being a lesbian, forcing her to... presumably resign but depending how far along we are when that happens it might just be not stand at the next election. I am still 100% convinced Ellen will pardon Margo on her way out.
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Jul 28, 2022 16:35
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Add me to the list of people who thought that was a good episode. It had everything we want: earth drama, space drama, and most importantly engineering drama. Dev coming up with this magical solution ("you've got to go up!" what the gently caress does that mean Dev. Use proper sentences) was a bit telegraphed but it was all good in the end. Ed and Danny had their bubble episode but Danny still hasn't told Ed his bonked his wife so there's future drama there. Some dead redshirts slims down the Mars crew to solve any "what are they going to eat" questions later. We've got two episodes left and the next one is Coming Home so I expect they will... be trying to get home. The MSAM being out of commission suggests more engineering drama, Kelly probably has to explain to Ed why she was mourning the loss of a Russian guy who claimed he didn't even know her name, and Danny is still going through his withdrawal period. It wasn't clear to me at the end of the episode - did Will and the Russian guy survive? They made a point of saying they had checked locations twice etc., and I don't remember seeing them in the Hab after (but I might have missed it).
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Jul 30, 2022 11:10
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Ahahahahah I loving LOVE it was the North Koreans. I swear I loving called that poo poo. What a show this is. edit: I loving DID: quote:-North Korea are going to do... something. Like I'm pretty sure there's going to be something wild where either they a) somehow have actually created a functioning space craft and beat them to North Korea, or b) end up causing some catastrophic incident (maybe on the Moon) that precipitates more US/USSR tensions.
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Aug 5, 2022 17:04
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Cojawfee posted:Everyone called it, my dude. I'm going to be excited about this stupid amazing space show my dude. Predictions for next episode: -Episode starts with the promo shot, revealing the Korean dude. I hope they also show how the gently caress he's survived for this long (presumably) on his own. I also assume that his communications have been damaged because I couldn't see a reason why whichever Kim is running North Korea (is it still North Korea in this timeline? They've called it "People's Republic of Korea" on a number of occasions and I can't remember if there's some timeline fuckery going on) would keep it quiet. -One of Ed or the baby is going to die. I did throw Kelly into this mix but I think she has to survive as part of the next generation of astronauts. Danny survives for the same reason, and tells either a grieving Ed or dying Ed (the question about his injury is suspicious) about Karen -Ellen probably gets either impeached or doesn't run again (depending on the time skip). She's still giving Margo that presidential pardon, it's written in the stars. -Dev takes over at Nasa, Aleida continues climbing the ladder, Karen does... something (either staying at Helios or joining Nasa). Next season is Mars colonisation and exploration of asteroids.
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Aug 5, 2022 18:10
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Jerusalem posted:I want them to attempt a landing at Europa, in direct violation of the message HAL gave them. I'm also assuming as a given since it hasn't been directly contradicted that For All Mankind takes place in the 2010: The Year We Make Contact universe.... though not necessarily the 2001: A Space Odyssey universe They've not quite found the magical science stuff that'll let them go to the outer planets in a reasonable time... yet. The whole water life/thing has been suspiciously dropped.
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Aug 5, 2022 18:51
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Open Source Idiom posted:It's so weird to me that they ended on a cliffhanger about the Russians conspiring and then the next episode, nothing. I actually quite like they dropped this quietly, because it got dangerously close to "the Soviets are cartoonishly evil". What I like the most about this show is that they never really go into that (outside of the KGB scene early this season). We are told the Soviets are bad, and the show presents them as austere and dicatatorial, but all of their decisions are mostly rational. The entire plot of the second season revolves around an ever escalating scenario on the moon that's not caused by any one party being evil, but misunderstandings and miscommunications in a climate of mutual fear. Having the Russians (presumably via force) terminate Kelly's baby would be a step way too far. There's not really a way to come back from that.
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Aug 9, 2022 20:32
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Episode good, ending good, season good, show good. I'm glad they wrapped up everything the way they did, largely as we expected (because otherwise you go down the Lost route) but also throwing twists in there. I'll spoiler from here out. -Margo getting spirited away to Russia came out of nowhere and seems... suspicious. Like how would they know to remove her? Unless the Failson's group are backed by Russians... holy poo poo yeah I've just realised that. Didn't they have AKs? -Danny gets locked in Mars jail for a bit to think about what he's done. Probably going to lead to some drama next season. At least Karen's dead. -Karen's arc does feel a bit flat. She joined Helios, effectively took over, then died. I wonder if this means Dev sticks around (probably because they have to work on a way to get the Mars crew back with Nasa gutted). -Molly goes out like an absolute hero -Did Aleida die? It wasn't clear at the end there. If not she'll be head of Nasa in 2003. -Ellen comes out, reunites with her girlfriend, and says gently caress you to the Republicans. I wonder if she's in political exile in 2003 or defects to the Democrats (or... launches a third party bid a la Nader but actually does something?) -Ed will never ever die. So we're in 2003. A colony on Mars seems guaranteed (why go back if you're not going to do more). Ellen doing something no doubt (they're not going to write out an openly lesbian character). Nasa coming back from the brink. Helios still kicking around. The biggest elephant in the room is life on mars. If they find that, maybe they go to Europa to look for other signs of life, driving the plot in the the outer solar system.
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Aug 12, 2022 18:29
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Spacebump posted:I don’t think NASA would get gutted after the finale. The country would probably rally around NASA and Ellen. More that they've just lost a fairly significant of their (command center) work force, people that'll need to be replaced.
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Aug 12, 2022 18:40
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Handsome Ralph posted:I could see the logic/storyline being, the Russians were already in the building/area because of the forced joint mission. Bomb goes off and Margot is wandering around afterwards and is either willingly or by force, picked up by the KGB in the ensuing confusion. Also no, Aleida didn't die. They showed her at the memorial wall with her (ex?) husband and child. Ah, that's who the kid was. I looked away and didn't quite catch it.
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Aug 12, 2022 18:46
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Flesh Forge posted:so I just finished watching this and my big complaint is they should have killed a lot more characters off. also I fast forwarded through anything to do with Danny and the insanely gross love triangle poo poo. every time I would try to give it a chance the writers would rub your nose in the parental relationship karen and ed have with danny and uughghghghghg *uncontrollable puking noises* Arguably the biggest problem this show has is the lack of trust in the next generation of astronauts. Putting the terrible Karen storyline aside, Danny (direct descendant of two martyred astronauts) and Kelly (adopted daughter of the USA's best known astronuat) could be compelling characters on their own. Instead, Danny has barely had character development outside of "weird Oedipus complex" and Kelly has... gotten pregnant? I guess? It really felt like season three could have been a hand off between the "first gen" astronauts/cosmonauts, and the next gen. Hopefully next season will do that, otherwise Ed is the best choice for the Europa mission.
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Aug 20, 2022 23:42
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