Where On (or Off) Earth Did We Leave the Cast of 'For All Mankind'

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | November 10, 2023 |

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | November 10, 2023 |

For All Mankind, which is back for a fourth season, is an ambitious series that straddles a line between silliness and emotionally resonant moments on a show with some of the best space effects available on a tv-like platform. In three seasons, we’ve gone from the early days of the space race (which the USSR wins, in this world) up to the 90s where NASA has progressed to a NEW space race to get to Mars, and there’s a functioning moon base with regular shuttle service. Basically, we started out as a historical drama and are now effectively a science fiction show, and some of the same cast members are sticking around playing the same people. The fourth season is just starting, and if you haven’t seen any of the show before, I’d recommend starting from the beginning and not diving right in now. But if you HAVE watched the show and you don’t have time to go back and revisit the last episode of season 3 to see where we left our main cast in the mid-90s, here’s a little catch-up. (Spoilers through Season 3 of For All Mankind).

Ellen Wilson - Has come out, making her the first woman to be President, the first lesbian to be President, and DEFINITELY the first Republican lesbian to be President.

Danny Stevens - In space jail on Mars for getting high and causing a catastrophic failure on a mining mission resulting in the deaths of other astronauts. “Space Jail” is a tiny capsule found manned by a single North Korean at the end of last season who was, in fact, the first human to set foot on Mars.

Kelly Baldwin - Had a high-risk pregnancy on Mars, which meant she got to fly through open space to get to the orbiting ship with proper medical facilities to treat her pre-eclampsia. She flew through open space like at the end of The Martian but with a whole baby inside her! This was NOT the emotional climax of the last episode of season three because…

Karen Baldwin - Karen discovers a van bomb parked outside JSC while looking for Jimmy Stevens. Jimmy Stevens is in the van with the bomb, but Karen gets him out before trying to alert security, and Jimmy survives the explosion, finding Karen in the rubble just before she dies.

Ed Baldwin - On Mars at the Happy Valley base having survived getting Kelly up to the Phoenix and crash-landing back on Mars to stay at the Happy Valley base for at least another two years until a new mission can recover them.

Dani Poole - At Happy Valley with Ed, the second time she has been marooned on an extraplanetary body with that man. I know that both of them survive into the fourth season, and I admire her restraint in not killing him with her bare hands.

Molly Cobb - Was called into JSC to help guide Ed through flying Kelly up to the Phoenix and was on-site when the explosion happened. While she initially survived, she was last seen going back into the wreckage to help other survivors escape the building.

Aleida Rosales - Also at JSC when the explosion happened, she survived but had been in limbo with Margo after figuring out that she supplied NASA plans to the Russians. She never gets a resolution because..

Margo Madison - Collaborated with the Russians to save her friend Sergei, who she succeeded in relocating to the US with his family. Unfortunately, as he’s arriving her actions have come to the attention of the FBI. She appears to be at JSC right before the explosion also, and Aleida’s discovery of an entire wall blown off her office seems to indicate her death. BUT, she is the subject of the flash-forward to 2003 where we see that she is alive in the USSR.