'For All Mankind' Episode 8 'Rupture' shows the fallout of the last episode with an emotional story of loss
Imagine you're stuck all alone in a place far, far from home and something terrible happens to someone you love. Could there be anything worse? Well, that's exactly what 'For All Mankind' Season 1 Episode 8 'Rupture' explores.
Spoilers ahead for 'Rupture'
The episode largely deals with the aftermath of Episode 7. Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman) and Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall) have made it safely back to Earth, leaving Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) to hold down the fort at Jamestown Base all on his own.
Gordo is still reeling from the after-effects of his breakdown on the Moon and his struggle with mental illness adds yet another layer to the complex character that he is. Meanwhile, Dani's "accident" on the Moon is causing people to decry NASA's decision to send women to the Moon (again) and we see resentment bubbling up even among other astronauts who are starting to think their "merit" is going unappreciated.
To make matters worse, the Soviets are getting more and more aggressive, going so far as to plant a device within the American mining grounds. The administration's response is to cautiously avoid confrontation but that's not sitting well with Ed's military instincts.
Of course, what Ed doesn't know is that his son Shane Baldwin (Tait Blum) got into an accident at the end of last episode and in Episode 8, we find out that Shane's condition is a lot worse than we suspected, with extensive brain trauma having left the young boy brain-dead without any way to save him. Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten) tries to hide Shane's condition from her husband claiming she doesn't accept that anything is impossible in a world where man can walk on the Moon but it's clear that she's in denial.
VanSanten puts on an excellent performance as the mom who has to deal with the loss of her son while also trying to be strong for the sake of her husband. 'Rupture' truly brings out the tragedy of losing a child, especially when one of the parents is forced to be away from the family.
It's a slowmoving episode with a lot of moving parts but it's this part of the story that truly hits you and hits you hard.
'For All Mankind' Season 1 Episode 9 'Dangerous Liaisons' will arrive on Apple TV+ on December 13.