I've seen people say that season 5 is dragging but the show has always been a slow burn leading up to insane finales but this is just straight up glacial with little to no focus on the space race anymore for me. It feels like a soap opera with a rebellion/ police procedural subplot taking over most of the show when the main focus should be the mission to titan. In an alternate timeline Kelly and her crew are already halfway there to Titan but they find out their ship was sabotaged by a competitor that wants to get there first and she has to step up as a leader while Aleida tries to help the crew fix the problem but she can't do it herself and calls in Margo. Imagine how baller a scene of Margo walking into the Helios control room would be. Stunned silence, looks of awe and revulsion on the faces of the other scientists and then she makes a quick speech to get everyone into gear.... Now i'm just sad lol
Anyway what are your own gripes with the season so far?
i get that the point of the show is its evolution and march towards a star trek future, but i miss when the show was about NASA and actually exploring space- we've hit this middle ground now, and i really just wanna see Dev build a space cruiser and launch expeditions, idc about mars mining operations lol
6
Triskan10 hr ago
+1
While I agree the show peaked with its first three seasons, and I do prefer the tone and themes of those, I still feel like the show has grown organically into what it is. Yes, the era of bold frontier pioneers risking it all is behind us and, just as in our timeline, things have become more and more corporate.
It's cynical but realistic, so I'm still totally invested in the show even though I too miss the earlier days, and I wanna believe the show will end on a hopeful note when all is said and done.
And to be fair, the new generation is growing on me. I really like Alex and Lily, I cant wait to see more from Avery, Miles and Boyd are complex easy to root for characters, Dev is a compelling billionaire a******... and we still got Kelly, Aleida and Irina. And hopefully, Margo will get one final arc before the end.
I understand the show is not as thrilling as the first three seasons, but I feel it has evolved naturally and I'm in till the end myself. :)
1
poopBuccaneer12 hr ago
+3
The one guy who is a news anchor who looks like a 12 year old wearing his dad’s suit.
3
theredcourt9 hr ago
+1
I know you're joking, but honestly it's been such a downgrade in realism when they show the 'news' this season. They used to try to make the news look realistic in tone and delivery.
1
Nerrs12 hr ago
+6
They ran out of ideas last season, so not surprising this season has very little space race.
Might also be a budget thing.
6
Oasx12 hr ago
+6
It looks really c****.
Ed overstayed his welcome by about two seasons.
The first season of the show is so great because it’s about progress, as soon as it gets mired down with politics whether that is US vs. Soviets or Mars politics like in this season, the show grinds to a halt.
6
muduke12 hr ago
+5
I'm not really digging it. It feels a lot lower budget than previous seasons to me.
5
No_Board_472812 hr ago
+2
lower budget for sure, you can tell they're spending way less on space scenes and more time in these boring earth locations. the mars stuff used to feel so epic but now we get like 5 minutes of actual space content per episode while they focus on this weird corporate drama that nobody asked for
2
urgasmic12 hr ago
+2
oh i had no idea it was out yet, idk why i thought may.
2
MR_TELEVOID11 hr ago
+1
The spin-off is coming in May
1
23zia2312 hr ago
+3
I finally found a character interesting last episode when they introduced Tracy and Gordos granddaughter but now she's disappeared and we only get eds grandkid looking confused every other scene
3
PetyrDayne12 hr ago
+2
Yeah she was awesome and should have been the new main character
2
bestbird612 hr ago
+1
This season feels like For All Mankind: The Next Generation.
1
EntertainmentOk775011 hr ago
+1
Ed’s character STILL being around is PISSING ME OFFFFFFF we didn’t need crotchety grandpa ed imo
1
MR_TELEVOID11 hr ago
+1
I'm enjoying it! I felt mixed about Martian murder mystery, but presumably Martian independence is where this is all headed... which feels like a natural step. Automation being the the spark that starts the rebellion feels pretty timely.
Dev is an especially fascinating character. He's better than most real life tech CEOs... there seems to be an actual humanity there... but he's still fundamentally a ceo. Excellent demonstration of why folks say "All billionaires are bastards."
Plus, I'm excited about the trip to Titan. Hopefully we'll start seeing more of that in the upcoming episodes. This season has been pretty light in actual space travel, so I assume they're saving the FX budget for the finale.
For All Mankind has always been kind of a flawed gem. Tons of great moments, characters and a genuinely inspiring storyline, but it can be slow, clunky and occasionally make some boneheaded decisions (everything Danny Stevens). I don't get the impression that's ever going to change with this show, but I feel pretty confident in their ability to stick the landing.
1
theredcourt9 hr ago
+1
The melodrama filler has always been the weakest link of an otherwise great show. I feel that this season has suffered for it particularly. I want more time on the ship! I want more time with the smart people! Instead, we're getting this labor fight all over again, which was already covered in the previous season (and very well done!), but this time with really, really, really dumb cops.
1
IsOverParty12 hr ago
+2
My biggest gripe is that they’re repeating the “M-6 wants to take the jobs away from Mars” storyline.
Last season it was with the asteroid. The M-6 wanted to mine it closer to Earth, which threatened to take jobs away from Mars.
This season its that the M-6 want automation on Mars.
And the thing is—it was interesting last season. The Asteroid heist was epic. But workers complaining about automation? That’s everyday life right now. It doesn’t make for great speculative sci-fi.
That and the budget has plummeted. The green screen in this week’s episode was bad (gulag exterior scenes). There’s very little CGI (they never go to space anymore) and set design is starting to look like something made for a CW show.
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