For All Mankind – Season Four [2023] on Apple TV+

For All Mankind lost its steam halfway through season three. And this season proves that by taking contradictory swings to the story of its main characters. Thankfully, the production is still perfection.

To be honest, I’m disappointed. I’ve loved this show since its first season. It’s the kind of “What If” science fiction that is rooted in world events. Two seasons in, I was invested. But last season saw the story lose focus and get all over the place.

Sadly, season four doesn’t make it any better. After we ended with a new race to colonize Mars, this season sees the geopolitics of the cold war mixed with pure greed and capitalism taking the mining hostage. And that’s didn’t bother me.

In fact, what bothered me is the blatant disrespect for the characters they developed through the first three seasons.

Edward Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) was the equivalent of a World War 2 space here by the end of last season. For whatever reason, they turned him to a selfish asshole here. Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu) was a genius scientist. Instead, what we get here is a selfish mom that takes her son to Mars away from his father. Surprisingly, the one character that kept her arc and even made it better this season was Margo Madison. Wrenn Schmidt plays her perfectly this season as the tormented scientist in love who’s held hostage.

Should You Watch It?

It’s sad to see this show go sideways. Yes, the production and CGI is still magical, but I’m not sure that the story is worth it anymore. Stop at the end of the last season.

Where Can I Watch It?

You can stream all seasons of For All Mankind exclusively on Apple TV+.