For All Mankind S02E07 is the seventh instalment of the 2nd season of a historical fantasy TV drama series streaming on Apple TV+. Created by Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), For All Mankind reimagines the space race of the 60s/70s as an alternate reality where the Soviet Union put a man on the moon before the USA resulting in continued focus on space well into the 1980s.
Entitled “Don’t Be Cruel”, For All Mankind S02E07 utilises the real life historical event of the downing of the KAL flight 007 by the Soviet Union in 1983. The significance to the series lies mainly in the reimagining of the demise of Thomas Paine NASA administrator during that tragedy. This reimagined event sets off a flurry of consequent plot points in the context of the For All Mankind storyline.
Read our review of For All Mankind Season 1
If you have been following our reviews of this excellent alternate reality series, you would be cognisant of the fact that the Cold War between the USA and the USSR plays a key role in the storyline and has a major impact on the lives of the characters.
The main consequences on NASA relate to the fate of the Apollo-Soyuz joint venture and the attack on Soviet-held ground on the Moon. On a personal level, the death of Thomas Paine leads to Ellen Wilson assuming the role of acting administrator. Over at Star City (the Soviet space training facility), astronaut Danielle Poole finds herself a captive of her Soviet hosts.
Read our review of For All Mankind Season 2 so far.
We believe that on a macro level, For All Mankind S02E07 is a key episode and sets up several plot lines leading up to the season finale, with three instalments left in Season 2. Will there be an all-out space war between the twin superpowers? It all seems headed towards that conclusion.
Now streaming on AppleTV+.
… still there’s more …