DISCLAIMER: This recap of For All Mankind Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
For All Mankind‘s propulsive penultimate episode effectively sets the stage for next week’s season finale while simultaneously breaking our hearts with that ending. Ugh. RIP, Sergei. I knew this was coming, but the romantic in me hoped he and Margo would flee to Brazil. Their chemistry is off the charts, and watching their love blossom over decades has been a treat.
“Brazil” is one of the season’s strongest outings thus far, deftly balancing action, high-octane drama and exciting space stuff. For All Mankind is at its best when it finds that balance between the above. The Mars discovery on Kelly’s end feels especially significant, but more so for Season 5. Here’s hoping we get to see the fruits of her labor.
Ready to delve into “Brazil”? Let’s get to it.
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Deactivating the Discriminator
We open with the crew of Operation: Asteroid Heist (a name of my devising) in their Ops-Com hideout below ground in Happy Valley. Ed (Joel Kinnaman), Dev (Edi Gathegi) and Miles (Toby Kebbell) watch while the group attempts to send a signal to Ranger, hoping to connect with the discriminator box up there. Unfortunately, they’re locked out with every attempt. Miles wonders why Sam hasn’t switched out Ranger‘s discriminator box for their own yet. After all, she’s been on board for a month.
FOR ALL MANKIND Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
However, Sam (Tyner Rushing) is in a precarious position. We see people surround her. Ravi Vaswani (Vinny Chhibber) and Palmer (Myk Watford) run a simulation with Danielle (Krys Marshall), who’s at Happy Valley. While they’re distracted, Sam deactivates Ranger‘s discriminator box. In 48 hours, Goldilocks will begin its trajectory toward Earth (with the aid of Ranger) if Operation: Asteroid Heist doesn’t stop it. Meanwhile, Sam tells Ravi she knows where the backup discriminator box is. She ventures into the area where her bag is, surreptitiously removing Operation: Asteroid Heist’s discriminator box to replace the one she broke.
Kelly’s Findings
Kelly (Cynthy Wu) tells Dev about her findings in the Korolev Crater. The seekers detected specific methane concentrations during a lava tube test. She reveals the most significant methane was discovered in the Korolev Crater, but substantial signatures have come from Chasma Australe near the south pole. Dev plays with Alex (Ezrah Lin) but briefly pulls away from the distraction to inquire about what’s producing the methane. Kelly surmises it could be deep subsurface volcanic activity. Or, better yet, life. This could be big, y’all.
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Dev tells Kelly that he has to return to Happy Valley. He evades Kelly’s question about what he’s doing with her father. Instead, he encourages her to mend fences with Ed. Elsewhere, Ed and Miles chat with Lee (C.S. Lee) about utilizing North Korea’s surveillance equipment. They need to ensure that nobody discovers Operation: Asteroid Heist. Lee asks Miles for an update regarding smuggling his wife out of North Korea. Miles admits that it’s a complicated situation. Ed persuades Lee to cooperate with them.
Next, we see the extra cameras from Lee set up in their Ops-Com area. Operation: Asteroid Heist sends a signal to Ranger, which the ship accepts. Ed and Dev realize Sam successfully deactivated the Ranger discriminator box and installed theirs.
Staging a Meeting
Later, Hobson (Daniel Stern) concludes a meeting at NASA with Margo (Wrenn Schmidt), Aleida (Coral Peña) and the asteroid capture team. He orders the crew to minimize the time it’d take for Goldilocks to reach Earth. They need to mine the iridium as soon as possible. It’s all about money, baby. After the meeting, Margo asks Aleida to pass on a message to Sergei. Aleida claims she’s tired of playing the messenger — she’s been doing it for the past month. She suggests they all meet at her house even though Margo, in particular, is under intense surveillance from Moscow.
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Meanwhile, at Happy Valley, Lee’s boss, Commander Cho Byung Ho (Charles Kim), discovers a device planted on their surveillance equipment that’s the cause of its malfunctioning. He believes the Americans are spying on them. Lee accompanies the commander to confront Danielle about this. She vows to look into it, although she’s not too pleased that the North Koreans have been watching their every move. When Danielle hears the commander say “Miles Dale,” she realizes a larger issue might be at play.
FOR ALL MANKIND Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Messages to Home
Danielle records a video message to her son. We see a framed wedding picture beside her laptop with her son and his wife. Now, he and his wife are expecting a boy. Danielle’s excited to meet her grandson and to introduce him to Star Trek (and The Bob Newhart Show, of course). She gets emotional while telling her son she regrets not witnessing his first steps.
Then, Aleida and Victor (Jorge Diaz) invite Margo into their home. Her security detail waits outside. She reunites with Sergei (Piotr Adamczyk), who claims he avoided detection by parking far away and wandering through people’s yards. They all have dinner with Aleida’s kids while brainstorming ideas on cutting down Goldilocks’ travel time. Thanks to Sergei’s input, they find a solution.
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After Aleida’s kids go to bed (Margo slips them some candy like the hip grandma she is), Sergei gives Margo a Duke Ellington CD. He asks if she’s considered his idea. They can flee to Brazil, where he knows someone high up in the Brazilian space agency. They can help build Brazil’s space program in exchange for immunity. Russia won’t be able to attack them on Brazilian soil. There’s a good chance they won’t see each other again if they don’t take this opportunity to run. Girl, you better say “yes.” Do it. Instead, Margo tells Sergei she’ll think about it. She wants to see this mission through first.
Sabotage on Mars
Danielle sends Hobson a message about what she found at Happy Valley. The component Commander Cho found in the North Korean compound was on Phoenix. It was scanned, but there’s no record of it leaving Phoenix. This discovery led to other findings, including missing equipment such as the Ops-Com backups from NASA. Danielle believes this indicates a significantly more serious problem for them. Someone is trying to sabotage the asteroid mission, and Ranger is, pardon the rhyming, clearly in danger.
FOR ALL MANKIND Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Next, the North Korean commander watches Miles move through Happy Valley. He also sees Ed take the elevator. He notices a fourth level below ground that he can’t see via camera. Uh-oh. That’s where Operation: Asteroid Heist’s base is located. On Earth, Hobson meets with Will (Robert Bailey Jr.) in person and Irina (Svetlana Efremova) via video to determine their next course of action. Irina believes they should let the undercover CIA and KGB operatives in Happy Valley discover the saboteurs behind the thefts.
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As it turns out, Mike Bishop (Billy Lush) and Timur Avilov (Nikita Bogolyubov) are those undercover CIA and KGB operatives. Danielle meets with them to hatch a game plan. She believes they should start with Miles since the commander mentioned him. She’ll also approve another search of the employee bunks.
Heart-to-Heart
Kelly returns to Ed’s quarters after her trek to the Korolev Crater. She picks up a photo of Ed and Karen while the latter holds a baby Shane. It’s a reminder of how much the Baldwins have lost. Ed returns to his room to find Kelly waiting for him. Kelly confronts her father, wanting to know the truth regarding his behavior. Commander Cho heads into the elevator, going to where Operation: Asteroid Heist meets, while Miles responds to a fake work order from Mike and Timur.
Returning to Ed and Kelly, we see the former open up to his daughter about his health and his feelings in the wake of Karen’s tragic death. Now she knows why he refuses to return to Earth. He apologizes profusely for missing out on so much of Kelly and Alex’s life while embracing her. Joel Kinnaman knocks this tender, beautifully vulnerable scene out of the park. However, Ed still doesn’t disclose his objective to hijack the asteroid mission. Kelly asks again about Ed and Dev’s business.
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Interrogation Time
Mike and Timur interrogate Miles about his involvement in the various thefts. Miles claims to know nothing. The operatives start roughing him up, hoping the physical pain will get him to squeal. Elsewhere, the North Korean commander spies on Gerardo (Salvador Chacon) and Sparks (Cindy Jackson) as they chat about the upcoming asteroid mission and Old Man Mars’ (aka Ed) insistence on never going home.
Before the commander can make a move, Lee whacks him over the head. Gerardo and Sparks watch as Lee fights his boss. Lee wraps his arms around Commander Cho’s neck, squeezing the breath out of him. The commander falls unconscious. Damn, Lee.
FOR ALL MANKIND Season 4 Episode 9, “Brazil.” Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.
Later, Margo and Sergei return to their respective hotel rooms to eat dinner. Sergei has McDonald’s, while Margo receives her fancy cheeseburger and fries on a silver platter. They even prepare their burgers in the same manner — with lots of ketchup. Margo pops in the Duke Ellington CD and pulls up an article about Brazil’s space program while taking that first delicious bite. Sergei also takes a bite … and gets a bullet to the head. Admittedly, this moment made me jump. The man who killed Sergei puts the gun in the latter’s hand to make it look like a suicide before departing.
My heart. It’s broken. I’m devastated. I knew these two would never know happiness, but I badly wanted it for them.
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What will Margo do when she learns Moscow is behind Sergei’s murder? Did Lee kill his boss? Will Ed tell Kelly the truth? Can Operation: Asteroid Heist hijack Goldilocks now that their discriminator box is installed on Ranger? Will Miles give up his heist buddies? Only time (and one more episode) will tell.
For All Mankind streams new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
What I Learned From the Women of THE EXPANSE
Melody.McCune@geekgirlauthority.com
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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