Across its five seasons, For All Mankind has drawn out an epic alternate history, delivering a sci-fi tale on Apple TV that has defined the streamer’s success as one of the bedrock shows of its genre space. Throughout that time, as the series leaps ahead decade after decade, the show has naturally had plenty of emotional goodbyes along the way, with character deaths that have played major roles in the narrative and others that surprised the audience completely. With the latest episode, though, the series finally showed the death no one ever expected. Spoilers follow.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The latest episode of For All Mankind follows up on the bread crumbs it has been teasing for the initial episodes of Season 5, the death of Ed Baldwin. After his heroic efforts last week to save his friend, Ed’s condition quickly deteriorates, and Joel Kinnaman’s character finally exits the series in a graceful way that calls back to the legacy of his character but also his entire history. As a result, fans of For All Mankind were devastated by the latest episode, flocking to social media and Reddit to talk about what the latest episode meant to them.
For All Mankind Kills Off Joel Kinnaman’s Ed Baldwin After Five Seasons
Ed Baldwin’s death has been telegraphed since the premiere of For All Mankind Season 5. Not only is Joel Kinnaman’s character now clocking in at 82, but he was diagnosed with cancer and explicitly told not to fly anymore. Naturally, Ed Baldwin did not listen, which left him bedridden and revealed his cancer had spread to more places in his body. Throughout the episode, not only does Ed refuse treatment, but he actively encourages his daughter to continue pursuing her dream (in-between flashbacks to when he crashed in the Korean War, revealing one of the earliest moments in the For All Mankind timeline never revealed before).
All of this culminates in his final scene, as Ed flashes back to his initial mission to the moon, Gemini 7, with For All Mankind bringing back both Michael Dorman as Gordo Stevens and Shantel VanSanten as Karen Baldwin, giving him a perfect sendoff. As a result, naturally, fans of For All Mankind found this touching conclusion to be emotional and perfect. “I’m destroyed,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I love you so much Ed Baldwin.” Another added, “I already knew that Ed Baldwin was gonna die, obviously, but I wasn’t ready for it—what’s gonna become of us without the protagonist 😭”
“Ed died exactly how he’d wanted to. Surrounded by family, disobeying orders and pissing off the flight surgeon,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “Still can’t believe he’s gone now,” added another. “But at least he’s now reunited with Karen, Shane, Gordo and Molly. 😭”
For All Mankind’s final moments leave no room for interpreattion about the fate of Ed Baldwin. Not only does Joel Kinnman’s breath become slower and more drawn out, but it eventually stops as the epsiode itself ends, it’s a detail that many noticed:
“Hearing his breathing fade, it took me back to my final visit to my grandfather,” one fan wrote. “He passed a day later but his breathing was the same. It hit home.”
To bring it all to a close and confirm that Ed Baldwin really has moved on, for the first time ever, For All Mankind rewrites its closing credits. Rather than just rolling out the credits like usual, instead they’re interlaced on screen with a shot of the Gemini 7 capsule (which Ed and Gordo piloted to the moon) as it slowly moves across the screen in Earth’s orbit. It’s a final tribute to the iconic character that has been with the series since the beginning, and one that uses its visual motif to complete his journey. Seven episodes remain in For All Mankind‘s fifth season, with a sixth and final already ordered, which has fans wondering: what comes next?
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Sony -
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
