FOR ALL MANKIND SEASON 2 (Blu-ray Review)
For All Mankind imagines a world where the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, turning what was once a brief space race into a prolonged global competition. In this alternate timeline, the rivalry between the two superpowers never cools but expands into orbit and on the lunar surface. By 1983, both nations have established permanent bases on the Moon, and space exploration has become deeply entangled with politics, national pride, and military strategy. The second season begins when NASA’s Jamestown base has grown into a bustling outpost and the Moon itself has become a strategic frontier.
Series ★★★☆☆
Against this backdrop, the series continues to follow the lives of the people behind the missions. Familiar characters return, facing new responsibilities and personal challenges. Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) moves into a leadership role within NASA, while Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten) builds a life on Earth and raises their adopted daughter, Kelly. At the same time, figures like Ellen Wilson (Jodi Balfour), Molly Cobb (Sonya Walger), Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall), and Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) grapple with difficult choices tied to their careers, relationships, and personal identities.
The show moves organically between the pressures of the space program and the emotional lives, from strained marriages, to private struggles, to moral compromises, all these unfold alongside the race for technological and political advantage.
Season Two broadens the scope of the series, with the Moon evolving into a tense and contested environment where American and Soviet crews compete for influence and resources, which raises the stakes of the Cold War.
For All Mankind grounds this alternate history with morsels of recognizable events and aerospace concepts, blending speculation with realism. The scale grows larger, but the heart of the series remains intact.
Video ★★★☆☆
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
Clarity/Detail: For All Mankind Season 2 premiered on Apple TV in a 4K/Dolby Vision presentation, rendering this blu-ray release a slight downgrade. But fear not, detail and clarity are perfect; everything looks wonderful. There’s real vibrancy to the visual style and the image retains a crispness with no loss of detail to be found.
Depth: The depth is handled deftly, with countless sequences looking natural and rich overall. The interiors are dense, allowing you to pick little details out throughout.
Black Levels: Blacks look near perfect overall, with nothing getting too shadowy or grey for the duration of the season.
Color Reproduction: Outdoor scenes, space scenes, and special effects shots look fantastic, with subtle color palettes and a nice bright look in scenes calling for it.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones look natural.
Noise/Artifacts: Clean.
Audio ★★★☆☆
Audio Format(s): English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Dynamics: While the Apple TV stream For All Mankind has a Dolby Atmos mix, the blu-ray release has just a 5.1 mix, which is fine, it gets the job done. Knowing that the Atmos mix could have easily been included is nonetheless disappointing.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: Bass hits hard when necessary. Launches, planes, car engines and source music cues all benefit from the subwoofer.
Surround Sound Presentation: Ambience, louder sound effects and quiet chatter are all in the surrounds.
Dialogue Reproduction: All dialogue is clear.
Extras ★★☆☆☆
- Episode 10 Commentary by Series Creators Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert
Summary ★★★☆☆
For All Mankind is a nice exploration of how ambition, rivalry, and cooperation push humanity into space and examines the personal sacrifices that come with it. Fans are no doubt hoping for 4K releases in the future.
