Abhiroop Das
Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, Apple TV+’s science fiction series ‘For All Mankind‘ jumps ahead in time to bring us the 2010s, where humanity has successfully turned Mars into their second home. Though a tightly knit community thrives on Martian soil, systemic oppression soon creeps in, prompting pushback from the masses. Amongst these rebels is Ed Baldwin, now 80 years old, who is determined to do whatever it takes to get his friends and family to safety. As the season progresses, we get a deeper look into all that Ed has been silently carrying in his heart for all these years, and when the time comes, many of these feelings see the light of day. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ed Baldwin Passes Away Peacefully After a Lifetime of Heroism
Though death flags have been surrounding Ed Baldwin from the start of the season, it is only at the start of episode 4 that we learn that he really has passed away. Episode 3, in retrospect, doubles as his swan song as we jump between his past and present exploits. Once a war soldier, Ed found his true calling as an astronaut during the Apollo 10 mission and went on to become one of the most celebrated figures in the world. However, as he reaches 80 in the 2010s, he finds himself trapped in a system beyond recognition. It is in rebellion against this system that he decides to fly one last time and save his best friend on the planet, even if it means sacrificing his own life.
Though Ed’s stage 3 cancer diagnosis almost makes his tragic fate feel inevitable, what truly stands out is his refusal to tell the truth to his family. Having been involved in a series of traumatic incidents throughout his life, Ed has a tendency to shut out any signs of vulnerability in front of others, even the ones he cherishes the most. This comes to a head when he is told by the doctors that he can no longer fly again, and it almost feels like this is a buildup to his arc’s climax this season. Desperate to get Lee to safety, Ed launches into the sky with a spacecraft, sustaining internal injuries that lead to his death in the hospital. The flashback to how he couldn’t save his friend’s life during the Korean War also ties into this, as it appears that Ed dies content with how he has redeemed himself in his own eyes.
Joel Kinnaman Bids a Tearful Goodbye to the Show and to a Major Chapter in His Life
With Ed’s passing, actor Joel Kinnaman is most likely stepping out of the world of ‘For All Mankind.’ With him gone, Wrenn Schmidt, who plays Margo, becomes the only remaining member of the original cast to appear in the fifth season. Having been a narrative pillar for this long, Kinnaman had very complex feelings about his exit and what it means for the future of the show. During a conversation with Decider, he opened up about his last week of shooting, stating, “It was a little shocking to me of how emotionally affected and overwhelmed I was by saying goodbye to him (…) I was crying all the time, and I was confused.”
Looking back on his journey with the show, Kinnaman remarked that this is the longest he has ever played a single character, and it almost became an era for him as an artist. His final days of filming also coincided with a decision to shift to a new house, which solidified this feeling in his mind as one of passage. Ed’s arc in the show also informed the actor’s reaction, as he continued, “I think it was also spending so many months on each of these ages that I’m portraying (…) My own mortality, really, my own aging became right at the forefront of my mind.” Kinnaman noted that Ed’s age in the final season lined up with his dad’s, which made the emotional scenes all the more heavy.
In capturing Ed’s life on screen, Kinnaman embodies what he called the “underlying ethos of this show and the optimism that it carries.” He was especially glad that his final appearance comprised a flashback to the Korean War, such that he got to play the youngest and oldest versions of his character simultaneously. All in all, he described his role as more important now than ever, as he believes ‘For All Mankind’ to be a story about what humanity can be. Though the actor’s time with the show might have come to an end, his impact on the story will remain timeless.
Read More: For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 2 Recap: Does Lee Escape Prison?
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