Review: For All Mankind – Rules of Engagement s02e03

With a small nod to The Real Ghostbusters cartoon signalling that we’ve moved ahead a little, For All Mankind is now into the mid-1980s.  Political tension is high, sparking difficult decisions, and mirroring the emotions in season two’s third episode, ‘Rules of Engagement’.  *Warning! Spoilers Lie Ahead!*

For several of our main characters, this episode is a bit of a turning point as they deal with the past and have to face some uncomfortable truths or emotions.  As the title suggests, how they do so, and what consequences there will be is the predominant theme, with there being significant impact on their lives going forward.

As far as Nasa is concerned the biggest issue is that the USSR has made a large incursion into the American operations, by taking control of a Lithium mining site.  How they managed to know about the site remains a mystery at first, but becomes the first massive point of conflict on the Moon for quite a while.  While some want to follow a political route to solve the issue, President Reagan wants the Astronauts to take it back and hold it with a permanent security force.  It’s a surprise that this hasn’t happened before now, with two superpowers both operating on the moon, but it is a natural, if pessimistic expectation.

This starts an interesting discussion which will have its ramifications for a long time to come, as it is suggested that weapons may be needed.  As you can’t put that genie back in the bottle, what they decide now will change everything.  The dialogue and smart interaction between Margo (Wrenn Schmidt), Tom Paine (Dan Donohue – Damnation), Ed (Joel Kinnaman), Ellen (Jodi Balfour), and General Bradford (John Marshall Jones – Paradise Lost, Bosch) is crisp and engaging, with lots of nuances playing out between them.  It’s a brilliantly written scene, with the stakes never far from the top of their minds, but with a layer of pragmatism over the top.  They know what it means and aren’t afraid to stare the monster in the face.

Also coming to terms with a monster of their own is Gordo (Michael Dorman), who begins to realise what he has in store with his training.  With his initial fear of being put back in the spotlight not being enough to make him reveal his self-doubt, he is now having to deal with the reality of being sidelined for 10 years.  From his jumpsuit no longer fitting to having to learning how to use a laptop, he is finding lots of ways he has to improve.

In a positive note for Gordo though, this is giving him some self-esteem back, and making him examine what he allowed in his life for the past few years.  There is a particularly important switch that goes off in his mind, when Tracy (Sarah Jones) asks him to pick her up after she crashes her car.  Although he does help her, he notes how she treats him, and takes steps to move forward and regain some personal space for himself.  There is still some darkness and the psychological aspect creeping in at the back though.  While trying to go to sleep, he experiences a marvellously twitchy eyed moment where he has a flashback to spotting blinking lights on the Moon, which unsettles him somewhat.  He’s made some positive steps, but will have to find more ‘Rules of Engagement’, as the mental health issues he experienced on the Moon have clearly not gone away.

Similarly, some experiences or decisions that took place in the past come to the fore with Margo and Ed.  Margo finds herself visiting a trailer park in search of Aleida (Coral Peña – 24: Legacy), having been tipped off by her boyfriend Davey (Alexander Neher) that she was about to deported.  It’s a painful meeting, with Aleida finding it especially difficult to see Margo, while Margo herself is wracked with guilt at her inaction previously.  It’s tense, but played very well with the layers of guilt, regret, and desire to help all mixed up together and fighting to be kept under control.

Control though is not what springs to mind when thinking about what must be the standout scene of the series so far.  It involves Karen (Shantel VanSanten), Ed, and Kelly (Cynthy Wu) experiencing an explosion of emotion that goes from zero to one hundred out of nowhere.  Kelly has had her heart set on going to Annapolis for some time, and finds a lot of resistance from Karen when it is suggested.  Karen had a much different vision for Kelly’s college years, and joining the Navy was not one of them.  These scenes alone would have been remarkable as Wu and VanSanten are fantastic, showing the pain of Shane’s memory and fear for Kelly move through Karen, battling against Kelly’s excitement of making that step.  What isn’t expected is the scene that happens afterwards though, as having come to a conclusion between them, they break the news to Ed.

It starts off as a simple ‘Hi Honey, I’m home’ moment and very quickly escalates into an argument, physical violence, and then an emotional breakdown that rips into all three of them.  With the viewer thinking that they were about to have a nice celebratory meal, sharing in Kelly’s excitement at following her father’s footsteps, this is a real shock.  At the heart of its success is the combination of a perfectly judged script by Stephanie Shannon, and a cast that deliver it exquisitely.  VanSanten, Kinnaman, and Wu have probably just given us 9 of the most powerful tv minutes for a while.

This is no small feat and just goes to show what quality there is behind For All Mankind. Obviously, it helps to have Oscar winning director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E) helming the episode, but without this level of nuanced writing, or anyone good enough to deliver it, this would fall very flat.  For All Mankind continues to develop far beyond a simple sci-fi ‘alternative timeline’ idea and is taking advantage of the opportunity to explore the human cost of being involved in the race for progress.  If you haven’t yet watched any of For All Mankind, or have only just dipped into it, do yourself a favour and binge the whole thing now.  This series just keeps getting better and better, so you’ll want to be ready for what will likely be a remarkable continuation of this second season.

For All Mankind airs on Apple TV+ on Fridays