'For All Mankind' Episode 5 will likely focus on consequences of whether Molly succeeds or fails in becoming 1st US woman to the moon
'For All Mankind', the Apple TV+ space show is currently straddling between setting up a military base on the moon and sending the first U.S. woman astronaut to land there. In a race against the Soviet Union, the U.S. space research center NASA has fallen way behind.
They lost the chance of becoming the first country to land a man on the moon or a woman for that matter. After coming second to the Soviet Union, U.S. President Richard Nixon is dead set on being the first country to set-up a military base on the moon.
The head of the Astronauts' Office, Deke Slayton (Chris Bauer), is however reticent and so are scientists at NASA. They did find a plausible water source on the surface of the moon and setting up the base nearby would be great for the U.S. However, research on the same will take time and setting up a mission for the same is not going to be simple.
People at NASA are put under added pressure because the most recent intelligence gathered suggests the Soviet Union is also aware of the possible presence of H2O on the moon. The evidence indicates a Soviet Union spacecraft crashed leading to a cosmonaut's death, the trajectory of which suggests they were headed to look into the presence of H20.
The President sends a message that he wants NASA to abandon the plan of sending the first U.S. woman to the moon and instead begin work on the military base. However, Deke decides to go ahead and let five women from the training graduate as astronauts and the first one to land on the moon was chosen to be Molly Cobb (Sonya Walger).
After facing many hurdles, including not having enough experience on trial missions to follow the correct procedures, Molly finds herself on Apollo 15. While training, she assumed everything Edward Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) said was a result of his prejudice against her and her gender.
At the end of episode 4, however, it is revealed Edward did not trust Molly because she was not completely aware of the right procedures yet. She faces it head-on, convinces him of her skills and gets on board Apollo 15. We see the rocket take off and Molly watches through the tiny window as she travels to space.
The upcoming episode will likely center on if and how Molly manages to succeed in landing on the moon. A lot depends on this mission's success. If Molly fails, Deke will face the wrath of the President.
If she does succeed, she might receive the same treatment Neil Armstrong did - a silver medalist in a race that doesn't even hold much interest anymore. Between the military base and Apollo 15 mission, 'For All Mankind' will see Edward, Molly, Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones) and Gordo Stevens' (Michael Dorman) lives change.
The next episode of 'For All Mankind' can be streamed on Apple TV+ on Friday.