Kind Words

Last year, I wrote a post praising the first season of the TV series For All Mankind. While the "space race" subject matter made me predisposed to love it, I recognized that not everyone would think it alone would be a reason to subscribe to Apple TV+. Since then, two things have changed. First, Ted Lasso has become the show many critics laud as the reason to subscribe to Apple TV+. And For All Mankind has completed a second season that's even better than the first.

For All Mankind is an alternate history story in which Russians are the first to land a man on the moon. The first season showed how the 70s changed as a result. Season two jumps ahead to 1983. The waves have rippled out and the world is more different. But tantalizing bits of reality are still woven into the tale -- the culture and trends of the early 80s, significant events that still take place (albeit with a different context), and little accents for fun (such as which famous people live or die in a different timeline).

But as fun as all that is, For All Mankind is a character-driven show, and the writers find intriguing stories for those characters in season two. There's a redemptive arc, a tale of the privileged brought down a peg, a story of standing up to injustice, a tense conflict between work and a personal life, and more. And almost every story line threaded through the season works. (The one exception? Well, let's just say that in any series about a "profession," writers always seem to struggle with "the wife" who isn't in the profession. For All Mankind isn't able to buck that trend.)

Season two pulls off some incredible narrative stunts. Many shows now have the luxury of planning ahead, but they still don't plan as skillfully as this. Elements woven throughout the opening episodes, story threads that feel like they're getting perhaps too much attention, come around to be absolutely vital as the season concludes. The action keeps building, the complications keep escalating, and the season finale winds up being a jam-packed thrill ride as a result. It's a machine built so meticulously that you grant a few bits of dramatic license, a few moments that seem far-fetched, because they fit so well thematically, and seem natural for the characters we've come to know.

I loved season one of For All Mankind. But I LOVED season two. It would not surprise me at all if, during the wait for the next season, I wind up going back to watch the entire series again from the beginning. This has been "appointment TV" for me, the show I had to watch on the day a new episode dropped, the show I found myself thinking about between episodes, the show that almost never disappointed.

Season two of For All Mankind is a total A for me. If you haven't tried it, you must!