For All Mankind Season 5 Premiere Recap: Is Ed Baldwin Dying?

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for For All Mankind season 5, episode 1.For All Mankind is back with another out-of-this-world premiere episode, but it also raises some questions about what’s to come this season. After five stellar seasons, the alternative history of For All Mankind has almost caught up to real time, but as the series enters its penultimate chapter, things are getting incredibly tense.

Where both the characters and the future of Mars and relations with the people of Earth are concerned, humanity trying to conquer worlds beyond Earth and spread out across the stars is proving to be more difficult than most people probably assumed. And in the midst of this chaos, the fates of heroic characters like Ed Baldwin appear to hang in the balance.

Ed Baldwin’s Time Is Running Out

Ed Baldwin has been the main protagonist of For All Mankind since the series debuted in 2019. Joel Kinnaman’s performance as the eager and bullheaded space pilot has proven to be an integral part of the show up to this point. However, with the show’s format seeing every season step into a new decade, Ed is getting old, and his body is starting to suffer.

In For All Mankind season 5, episode 1, Ed is seen with a bad cough, which could seem like a fairly low-stakes health issue. However, when the doctor confirms that he has stage 3 cancer and that his body won’t be able to take flights or engage in intense activity anymore, it seems clear that Ed’s time is almost over.

Unfortunately, Ed’s stubbornness has also resulted in him failing to share this important detail with his daughter, Kelly, and his grandson, Alex. Hopefully, the family can reconcile before it’s too late.

Dev Ayesa Wants To Build A City On Mars, Despite Helios Being Against It

Dev Ayesa was introduced as a visionary billionaire back in season 3. Dev dreamed of having a private company, Helios, land on Mars before any of the world’s major governments. Despite him failing to achieve this goal, Dev has now set his sights on an even more ambitious goal as he prepares to build a city on Mars.

The proposed city, Meru, promises to be a luxurious and complete living experience that can house thousands of people and provide modern luxuries of life on Earth hundreds of millions of miles from home. However, Helios, which is now being led by Aleida Rosales, isn’t happy with Dev’s gung-ho approach to announcing major developments and spending without any prior discussion.

A New Generation Graduates On Mars

While some characters appear to be on their way out, a new rising generation appears early in season 5’s premiere. This graduating class, which consists of Alex Baldwin, Lily Dale, Marcus Haskell, and Gulsora Akilmatova. These characters appear to be paving the way for the next generation of stories and taking center stage ahead of the rest of the season.

The Rebels Have Formed The SDM To Give Voice To Mars

While the youth raised on Mars naturally call it their home, a new radical group appears to have been set up with Ed Baldwin and Miles Dale serving as leaders among the unhappy community. In the years since the meteorite was captured and placed in orbit around Mars, these people have built their homes and brought in their families to make Mars their own.

With a growing population on Mars, the so-called “SDM” wants to have a say in how their home is governed. Unfortunately, at present, it appears as though the M6, a coalition of some of Earth’s most influential countries, dictates everything about how Mars is maintained and the rules by which the residents there must abide.

Lee Jung-Gil Has Been Arrested For Murder

At the end of For All Mankind season 3, the team that landed on Mars makes a remarkable discovery some time after landing. Russia had sold a number of satellites that were especially designed for unmanned missions to Mars to send up supplies ahead of anyone arriving. However, the Democratic Republic of Korea chose to use its satellite to try and get a head start and send two men to Mars.

Against all odds, Lee Jung-Gil made it to Mars in a ship that was barely capable of making the journey without a crew aboard. And even more remarkably, he managed to survive long enough for others to find him. As a result, Lee was recognized as the first man on Mars and welcomed into the mixed crew aboard the other habitation.

Now, decades after his heroic achievement, Lee is being recognized for committing another first on the Red Planet. At the end of For All Mankind season 5, episode 1, Lee is accused of having murdered someone he worked with. This certainly doesn’t ring true to the character, but it does open the door for a major murder mystery to unfold this season.