For All Mankind has had two constants since its first season: political strife and Ed Baldwin.
His act first, think later approach has ensured that he’s become a polarising fan-favourite character of the series; so naturally, his loss is a defining moment in the show’s narrative. Having been a linchpin of the alt-history sci-fi epic, one question amongst fans persists: will Ed return, either in future episodes or in Star City?
It’s the first question Radio Times put to the show’s creators, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert, as well as the man behind the brusque, all-American hero/space cowboy, Joel Kinnaman.
“I think you can safely say that’s the end of his character for the most part on For All Mankind,” said Nedivi, “And I think it’s a long time coming.”
He added: “We wanted to make sure the ending felt different than other character endings we’ve done, but we wanted to make sure it also felt right that he had the end of his journey on the show. So yeah, going beyond that now would feel like a disservice to the other characters that I think you’ll see continue to expand their roles.”
Kinnaman also echoed this finality, telling us: “I think it’s done. I’m pretty sure it’s done. I feel like Matt, Ben, and Ron have, throughout this project, have had a lot of discipline and not getting dragged into… they’ve just had such integrity of telling the story in a truthful way.”
Ed’s legacy, however, lives on, undoubtedly playing a “big part in the rest of this season”. Arguably, the divisive nature of Ed is why the “difficult decision” to kill him off is integral to the “evolution of the show” and Mars’ turbulent future.
“It felt like the right time to us because of the nature of the show and the evolution of the show in terms of this generational story,” Matt revealed. “A big part of why we felt it was important that Ed die early on in the season is it’s about his legacy and how that impacts his daughter and his grandson and all the other people around him.”
Still, while Ed’s passing was inevitable, not least of all due to the character’s age, Kinnaman felt conflicted about bidding a final farewell to the show.
“I was actually a little bit confused about why I was so emotional [leaving the show],” he explained, “It was confusing, like this is a fictional character.
“As actors, we’re always doing this – where we form little families that we fall in love with, and then we move on. This is part of our work.
“But it really was like saying goodbye to the story too. I thought it was so special. It was such a unique type of story, and I’m never gonna get to do anything like this again. So I felt an immense amount of gratitude.”
With Ed now laid to rest, Mars and the continued complexities of the space race present an even greater unknown than before. For All Mankind has entered another new era despite being in its penultimate season.
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