'For All Mankind' Episode 4 could see Molly value Tracy’s astronaut credentials more given she survived the exercise Patty likely didn't
Apple TV+ show 'For All Mankind' is a space drama where the creators have reimagined history. What if it was not Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who had landed on the moon making the U.S. the first country to achieve this feat?
Instead, in the show, we see the Soviet Union enjoying the glory of taking the first man to the moon, and when their mission is successful they follow this up with another one where they take the first woman to the moon.
In the wake of failing to make this achievement theirs, the U.S. space research center NASA is scrambling to make President Richard Nixon, happy. The first three episodes of the show centered on how the U.S. failed not once, but twice and the repercussions of this failure on the astronauts who are part of the space program.
NASA is threatened by possibly being blocked from further funding. The director of the program at that time - Dr. Wernher von Braun (Colm Feore) is asked to research the possibility of having a military base in the moon.
The American intelligence agency CIA has got its hands on blueprints from the Soviet Union which hints at them researching the possibility of having one. Dr. von Braun refuses to budge despite the power of the forces at work here, and because of his experience in Germany under Hitler, he is sure his research will become weapons in the hands of men.
To get NASA to research a lunar military base, the government in power manipulates Dr. von Braun's work under Hitler, makes his past a matter of public record and has him resign from his position. Ironically though, all of this takes a backseat after the Soviet Union manages to become the country to take the first woman to the moon.
Nixon's obsession to not stay behind takes over and in a matter of minutes, the plot redirects itself into a space drama about a group of women who train to become the U.S. candidate to land on the moon. We see NASA's program, Mercury 13 resurface.
This program which trained a group of pilots a few years ago comes in handy as Deke Slayton (Chris Bauer), the Head of Astronaut's Office, is tasked with the job of training one female astronaut to land on the moon. The president is rooting for Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones), who happens to be astronaut Gordo Stevens' wife who had learned to fly a plane.
However, there are better candidates than her and the show now centers on who gets cut and who proceeds the furthest to become the first U.S. woman to land on the moon. The fourth episode of the show may continue on this note as we saw the premiere end with a possible death.
The handful of women who remain in the training program after weeks of training are shown their way to a machine that looks more like a death trap. They are tested on how well they can fly it. During this exercise, one of the best trainees crashes the machine which blows up.
Patty Doyle (Cass Buggé) couldn't have survived a crash such as this. Until this moment, the women hadn't exactly understood the gravity of the situation they were in. But now, in the wake of a fellow trainee possibly dying, things can be expected to get a lot more stressful, especially for Tracy.
Tracy is facing the disapproval of her fellow trainee Molly Cobb and her close friend Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten), who feels that it is not fair Tracy, who hasn't worked half as hard as her husband Edward Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), would get the honor of stepping on the moon.
We can also expect this friendship to turn sour soon because Tracy decided not to let this opportunity to prove herself, pass. When Deke informed her in the previous episode that she wasn't good enough, so she should voluntarily leave the program, she refuses.
Tracy is done with being looked down upon by her husband and friends and there is no better way to prove herself than to be a part of this training and if possible, even make it to the top. We would have to wait and see how Tracy and Molly's relationship changes after Patty's accident.
Molly has always found it unfair that Tracy is a part of a programme she doesn't qualify for. Now, she has seen Tracy survive an exercise Patty failed at and this may influence Molly's opinion of Tracy in the future.
The next episode of 'For All Mankind' will air Friday on Apple TV+.