For All Mankind Season 5: Show Continues Strong After Ed Baldwin’s Death

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 4 of For All Mankind! The Apple TV+ series has proven it’s willing to make bold choices, and a recent event shows it was building to this moment for five seasons. Because the show jumps forward a decade with each season, characters naturally age and sometimes die, with new generations stepping up to take their place – including the children and grandchildren of those who came before.

Season 5, episode 3 of For All Mankind said goodbye to Admiral Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), a core character since the very beginning of the series. While For All Mankind has always featured a large cast, Ed Baldwin was a consistently vital presence, appearing in every episode from the start and serving as the show’s emotional center.

At the start of For All Mankind season 5, 81-year-old Ed Baldwin, who was battling cancer, passed away peacefully. He was remembering his time as an astronaut, and was surrounded by the two people who meant the most to him: his wife, Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten), and his close friend, Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman).

With the passing of Admiral Baldwin, a key question arose: Could the show For All Mankind remain compelling without the actor who played him?

For All Mankind Proved It’s Still Good Without Joel Kinnaman’s Ed Baldwin

The latest episode of For All Mankind proves the show remains strong even without Joel Kinnaman. While season 5, episode 4, “Open Source,” paid a heartfelt tribute to his character, Ed Baldwin, with a touching scene and photos, the show confidently moves forward without him.

After Ed Baldwin’s departure, For All Mankind cleverly transitioned the story by centering it around a new, younger cast. Alex Poletov Baldwin (Sean Kaufman), Ed’s grandson, stepped into a prominent role, inspired by his grandfather’s guidance and accepting a position at Helios Aerospace.

Alex quickly uncovers a plan to fully automate Mars within five years, a move that would leave most of the human workforce jobless. Teaming up with Lily Dale (Ruby Cruz), Alex shares this information with news outlets on both Earth and Mars. This act mirrors exactly what Alex’s father, Ed, would have done – he always trusted his gut and did what he believed was right, no matter the consequences.

The show For All Mankind isn’t afraid to say goodbye to characters we’ve grown to love, making room for new ones to take center stage. While many longtime viewers still wish they hadn’t lost characters like Karen Baldwin, Gordo and Tracy Stevens, Ellen Wilson, and Molly Cobb, the death of Ed Baldwin felt like a particularly important moment. The show handled it well, proving it’s willing to make difficult choices to move the story forward.

I was completely captivated by the latest season of For All Mankind. Even without Ed Baldwin, the show was flawless – the writing was as strong as ever, the direction was superb, and the acting was just phenomenal. What really impressed me was how seamlessly they integrated the new characters like Miles Dale, Celia Boyd, and Avery Jarrett alongside the familiar faces of Dev Ayesa, Aleida Rosales, and Kelly Baldwin. Everyone truly carried the story beautifully, making it a truly compelling watch.

Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) is the last character remaining from the first season of For All Mankind, but season 5, episode 4 featured a guest appearance by Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall). The episode revealed that Dani is alive and well, and now mentors Avery, the daughter of Danny Stevens (Casey W. Johnson). She also showed she still cares for Ed, having forgiven him for their past conflicts.

Where For All Mankind Will Go In The Rest of Season 5 & Season 6

I’ve been following Ed Baldwin’s journey since the very beginning – he was the one who really spearheaded our efforts to get to the moon and then build a life on Mars. It’s heartbreaking to see that by season 5, he’s just too old and unwell to fly, let alone lead the next big push further into the solar system. But honestly, For All Mankind doesn’t just show us space exploration, it lays out a clear path for where we’re going next, and it’s incredibly exciting!

Kelly Baldwin is now carrying on the family tradition of space exploration as part of the Helios mission to Titan. This mission, coinciding with a similar launch by a Soviet team led by Kuragin, will send humans past Jupiter and toward Saturn’s moon to search for potential life. While the show For All Mankind hasn’t featured aliens in its alternate history timeline, that may be about to change in the upcoming fifth season.

I’m totally hooked on For All Mankind, and it’s wild how different things are in that timeline! It’s not just a little change – Russia getting to the moon first completely flipped the script. And they’ve actually found water up there and are using it! It’s amazing to see Happy Valley doing so well on Mars after ten years, and I’m really hoping Dev Ayesa succeeds in building Meru, a city that could actually survive on its own. Honestly, after everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t even be surprised if they started dealing with aliens next!

The sci-fi series For All Mankind will conclude with its sixth season, but the show promises an ambitious finale. It could depict humanity reaching the farthest points of our solar system, potentially even venturing beyond to explore space outside of it, perhaps all the way to Pluto and beyond.

Ed Baldwin played a crucial role in the show’s beginnings, and it’s great to see that he built a foundation for For All Mankind to continue successfully even after his departure.

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2026-04-20 14:19