Summary
More political debates and surface-level character studies, with another tense finale, keep viewers coming back for more.
This recap of the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind season 3, episode 7, “Bring It Down,” contains spoilers.
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As the series draws ever closer to its finale, For All Mankind piles on the pressure. “Bring It Down” sees Ellen Wilson’s presidency in jeopardy, Jimmy and his cronies infiltrating NASA’s headquarters, Danny struggling with a new drug habit and the water drilling commencing on Mars’ surface.
For All Mankind season 3, episode 7 recap
The show opens with a news segment discussing this water discovery and plans to drill down to the hidden reservoir below. Helios have teamed up with the Russians in another joint mission and NASA are feeling the sting of exclusion. Ed leads both teams as usual, with plans underway to drill imminently.
Meanwhile on earth, Sergei is sent back to the motherland, possibly to face further imprisonment and torture. Margo begs for a few more days to help fight for his permanent asylum, but she’s out of time. The stern and emotionless leader actually starts to fall apart in this episode, screaming into a cushion when Sergei leaves and later arguing with co-worker Aleida. Sergei states that he appreciates what Margo tried to do for him and his family. She says they shall see each other again, but it seems unlikely. It’s a tearful goodbye that brings their doomed romance to an end.
Larry is under fire for allegations of an affair taking place in Ellen Wilson’s staffing, with a congressman asking flat out if he, the President’s husband, is having an affair with a White House aide. Larry lies under oath, then meets with the actual aid he is supposedly sleeping with in secret, asking how this got out. The aid seems just as surprised as Larry at first, but then remembers telling an old college friend. He is told to make up an elaborate lie about being an addict. Larry even suggests he goes to rehab to back up the story. Although it might be too late. This scandal looks set to ruin Ellen’s presidency once it gets out.
Jimmy hangs out with his new friends, who love all those wild conspiracy theories surrounding space travel. They convince Jimmy to get them into NASA, with the naïve astronaut’s son showing Sunny around the building. He reminisces about his mother, who has a wall dedicated to her memory and then helps Sunny steal an ID badge.
On Mars, Ed plans the first drilling mission and the villainous Danny just keeps on popping those pills. He’s starting to look a little distracted and POV shots show Danny zoning out, gazing at the many flickering lights in awe. The astronaut is a full-blown liability and disaster is only moments away with this loose cannon in the ranks. Later, he destroys a crew member’s toy dog and is taken off the ground mission by Ed. The fearless leader points out his drug dependency and places him on a final warning. The drugged up astronaut looks ready to attack and Ed goads him into laying the first punch. The only punches he lands though are on himself when he hides in a cramped toilet, staring at his sorry reflection.
Aleida continues to investigate the fraudulent cover-up and takes her findings to Margo once more. She tells her to let it go, worrying it will start to affect her work-life balance. Aleida storms off and Margo vandalizes her room in a fit of rage. That’s two major things slipping out of her control. There’s a shot of Aleida staring at Margo’s photograph after their argument, indicating that Aleida believes Margo may have stolen the designs. Jimmy has second thoughts with the stolen ID badge, but it is too late. The new friends have already broken into the headquarters and taken a statue of Jimmy’s parents.
The ending
In the final, tense moments, Ed’s team begin drilling for water. Danny is left in charge back at base, which could possibly be one of the greatest faux pas’ in the history of space travel. He starts to zone out and when an alert flashes on the screen he just turns the comms off, overwhelmed by the situation. The drill begins to malfunction, reaching the pressure threshold and then surpassing it. Danny just watches in a dazed confusion, with all the mayhem happening off screen.
When Danny’s crew mate takes over, news arrives that the astronauts are injured and Ed has been hit by shrapnel. As the crew members head back to base the drill causes a massive earthquake that sends an avalanche of rocks descending on the team. It’s infuriating that Danny was allowed to cause such catastrophe and I’m sure next week’s episode will address the aftermath of this unforgivable act in full.
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