Polaris

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This article is about the first episode of season 3. For the space station, see Polaris Orbital Hotel. For the accident, see Polaris hotel disaster. For the space tourism company, see Polaris Space Tours. For the shuttle, see Polaris shuttle.

Polaris

Season 3, Episode 1

General Information

Episode

3x01 (21)

Air date

10 June 2022

Run time

57 minutes

Timeframe

17 July 1992
(almost 9 yrs. after the end of S02)

Writer

Matt Wolpert
Ben Nedivi

Director

Sarah Boyd

Chronology

← Previous	Next →
"The Grey"	"Game Changer"


Another Giant Leap: 1984-1992

"Polaris" is the premiere episode of the third season of For All Mankind. It was released on Apple TV+ on June 10, 2022.

Synopsis

Nearly 10 years have passed. Danielle and Ed attend a celebration, where things take a terrifying turn.

Plot[]

Karen Baldwin lies in her bed at the Polaris Orbital Hotel when she is called by Sam Cleveland, telling her that her first guests would arrive in an hour. The hotel features Earth gravity due to a spinning habitation ring^W.

At the Johnson Space Center, Margo Madison wakes up and prepares for her day, playing piano in her office while overlooking calculations. Emma Jorgens and Nuri Prabakar pass the day's notes to her, including the need to choose a commander for their 1996 Mars mission, a new record being left for her at a record store, and a North Korean rocket launch that reached orbit, but then exploded.

In Mission Control, Aleida Rosales is overseeing a test at the Jamestown rocket testing site for the NERVA engine that will be utilized for NASA's Mars mission, while Bill Strausser watches. The test is a failure, leading Margo to discuss it with Aleida. They are interrupted by Roscosmos announcing on television that Grigory Kuznetsov will be the commander of their own Mars mission, also scheduled for the 1996 launch window.

On Polaris, Ed Baldwin and Danielle Poole arrive along with other guests who are attending Danny and Amber Stevens' wedding. The wedding is being used as a soft launch for the hotel.

Back in Houston, Margo visits Chief astronaut Molly Cobb to discuss the commander of the Mars mission. Margo wishes for Danielle to be the choice due to her intellect and solid decision making. While Molly likes Dani, she believes that she is too "by the book" for the mission, instead favouring Ed due to his test pilot background. Before Margo leaves, she says that they will discuss it further when she returns from Huntsville.

Margo stops off at Neptune Records to supposedly pick up her record, although it is instead a signal that Sergei Nikulov, the director of Roscosmos, wishes to speak to her. She uses a payphone at the store to call him at Star City, where they discuss the record he has ordered for her, before Sergei asks for help on an engineering issue. Margo says that she will look into it, before revealing that Sergei had previously helped her. After the call ends, Margo happily walks into the record store, while Sergei receives another call from a Soviet agent telling him to press for details on the NERVA engine design.

On Polaris, the wedding goes well, although Danny's brother Jimmy makes an awkward speech at the reception, talking about Danny's alcoholism, the fights their parents had, and how their death has been twisted into a heroic act, but now they're just dead. He finishes with a toast, hoping that Danny and Amber find the happiness that his parents couldn't.

Margo visits Aleida to give Javi, Aleida's son, piano lessons, and to have dinner with Aleida's family. Her father Octavio makes dinner, but includes cheese, which her husband Victor cannot eat. Octavio dismisses the concerns and Victor is frustrated as he has told him many times that he is lactose intolerant, believing that he is doing it on purpose. Aleida says that he just forgets.

On Polaris, Jimmy and the step-son of Danielle, Isaiah Johnson, sneak off to smoke marijuana. A video message from Kelly Baldwin at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica is played. Danny and Amber dance to Billy Swan's^W version of Don't be cruel^W, the same song that he and Karen had danced to during their affair in 1983. Karen watches on conflicted. As they dance, debris from the North Korean rocket hits an orbital thruster on Polaris, causing it to be stuck fully on. Gravity slowly begins to rise in the station. Although only the station's staff notices, the effects begin to be somewhat noticeable at the reception as well, with the cake topper slowly sinking into the cake, and guests begin to fall while dancing. Ed and Karen speak to each other and Ed heads back to his room with Yvonne, his new wife. Polaris commander Rich LaPorte informs Sam and Karen about the problem, proposing a spacewalk to fix the issue. They decide not to alert the guests yet, as they believe that they will be able to fix it quietly.

At Aleida's house, Margo and Aleida go over the issues with the NERVA engine. Aleida has come up with a solution, although it requires the nozzle wall thicknesses to be at the correct tolerances. To avoid issues with translation errors or confusion, Margo tells her she will be leaving for the Moon in a week. Aleida is shocked but thrilled to finally complete the dream her mother had had for her before her death. She celebrates with her family, her father in tears. Margo travels back to her office and plays the record Sergei had bought for her as she looks on fondly.

At Polaris, as Jimmy and Isaiah share their joint utilizing the same trick that Tracy Stevens had used to hide the smoke on the Moon. Two Polaris technicians begin their spacewalk to fix the thruster. The gravity continues to rise, as Ed and Yvonne fight in their room. She throws her shoe at Ed across the room, but it drops onto the bed, the effects beginning to be more noticeable. In the dining area, Danielle also begins to notice, seeing that the cake has collapsed in on itself, alerting her husband Corey Johnson that something is wrong. The spacewalk goes wrong, as a stabilising cable breaks loose, killing both technicians. More cables begin to snap, swinging wildly and damaging more of the hotel, including the window in Ed and Yvonne's room. Ed breaks his ankle when Yvonne falls on him while escaping the room, as the window begins to crack and depressurize the room. Commander LaPorte begins damage control protocols and tells Karen and Sam that if the hotel reaches 4 G, the station could break apart. Karen then orders the evacuation of the hotel.

The guests are alerted and the evacuation begins as gravity approaches 2 G. Danny and Yvonne help Ed to the elevator to get to the shuttles. Sam is already taking groups to the shuttle, but after offloading one group, he is killed on the return trip, when the elevator free falls. The only other way to the shuttles is via a ladder bay, but the gravity which is nearing 3 G means that only Danny can make the journey. He utilizes a pressure suit from a shuttle and commences his own spacewalk, as the other passengers lie on the ground due to the immense forces working on them. Danny manages to get to the thruster, despite debris continuing to fly, and gravity reaching closer and closer to the limit. He manually shuts off the thruster just as gravity reaches a max of 4.04 G. Shortly after, he is knocked loose by another cable.

The gravity begins to lower and the passengers embrace, as Danny is hanging off the hotel at the end of his tether, watching the Sun rising over the Earth.

Cast[]

show/hide list

Main Cast

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Ken Rudulph as Edward Kline
John Hartmann as Administrator Richard Truly
Fran de Leon as General Jeanette Masters
Tiago Martinez as Javier Diaz
Brooke Burgstahler as Chelsea
Thomas Crawford as Pastor Dirkson
Kyle Louis as DJ
Mariel Taren as Controller Whitney
John Ruby as Controller John
Sean Muramatsu as Controller Steven
Lola Paja as Polaris Crew Member

Other

Gary Hart as Self (archive footage)
Bill Clinton as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
Keisha Mitchell as Campaign Staff (uncredited)
Dennis Quaid as Actor - Gordo Stevens (archive footage, uncredited)
Meg Ryan as Actress - Tracy Stevens (archive footage, uncredited)
Alex Trebek as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
Ryan Keith Turner as Driver (uncredited)
Sigourney Weaver as Ripley (archive footage, uncredited)

Appearances[]

Events & missions

Vehicles & vessels

Locations & stations

Press review intro[]

The episode begins with a montage of events that occurred between season 2 and 3. The alternate history differences are as follows:

Democrat Gary Hart wins the 1984 United States presidential election and 1988 United States presidential election. In reality, Ronald Reagan^W was re-elected for his second term in 1984 and George H. W. Bush^W won his only term in 1988.
US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov sign a Lunar Peace Agreement. In reality, while a Moon Treaty^W was signed in 1979, the United States and the Soviet Union were not signatories.
The Brighton hotel bombing^W was successful, killing UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher^W on the 12th of October 1984. In reality, Thatcher narrowly avoided the explosion, dying of natural causes in 2013.
Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev's policies create a economic boom for the Soviet Union from 1986 forward, expanding Soviet influence into countries such as Mexico in 1988. In reality, reforms by Gorbachev did occur, being termed Perestroika^W. It was considered the beginning of the downfall of the Soviet Union and the communist bloc in general.
The Portland Trailblazers^W of the NBA select Michael Jordan^W with the 1st pick in the 1986 NBA draft^W. In reality, they selected Sam Bowie^W, with the 2nd, leaving the Chicago Bulls^W to pick Jordan at 3rd in the 1984 draft. It is widely considered the biggest draft mistake in sporting history.
Dev Ayesa and Richard Hilliard make a breakthrough in nuclear fusion^W allowing cheap nuclear energy. In reality, while there was proponents of so called Cold Fusion^W in 1989, it was not able to be proved.
Diego Maradona's^W hand foul in the 1986 FIFA World Cup^W handed victory to England. In reality, the handball was counted as a goal and termed the Hand of God^W, helping Argentina eventually win the World Cup.
Sam Cleveland and Karen Baldwin found the first space tourism company, Polaris Space Tours, in 1986. In reality, the first space tourist would visit space in 2001 after Dennis Tito^W paid Roscosmos^W $20 million to travel to the International Space Station^W. The first flight of a private space tourism company was in 2021, when Blue Origin^W flew a suborbital flight.
In 1987, China launches their own Moon base. In reality, China plans to land their first taikonaut on the Moon by 2030, and to have a joint Chinese-Russian lunar base^W beyond that.
The Beatles^W commenced their first US tour since 1966 in Chicago after reuniting. In reality, John Lennon^W was killed in 1980 and despite collaborations between the surviving members, no reunion as The Beatles has occured.
The stock market increased through the late 1980's, leading to record gains. In reality, the Black Monday crash^W of 1987 wiped $1.7 trillion of markets worldwide and led to changes in regulation.
The changes to cheap and clean nuclear energy curbs global warming. In reality, climate change^W continues to be a major issue.
The American ambassador to the Soviet Union is recalled after listening devices are discovered in the American embassy. In reality, while listening devices were discovered in the embassy^W in 1964 and during construction of a new embassy in 1985, the ambassador was not recalled.
On 7 November 1990, Gorbachev and Cuban President Fidel Casto^W celebrate the anniversary of the October Revolution^W in East Berlin^W. In reality, major demonstrations were held in East Germany^W throughout 1989, leading to the dissolution of the country and reunification with West Germany on 3 October 1990.
Donald Trump^W meets with Gorbachev in Moscow to build a luxury condominium. In reality, Trump did travel to the Soviet Union in 1987 to plan a hotel, but this fell through and despite a planned meeting in New York in 1988 between the two, that also fell through.
The Thomas Paine Space Telescope was launched aboard a Pathfinder shuttle. In reality, the Hubble Space Telescope^W was launched by a Space Shuttle in 1990.
President Hart refuses to send troops into Kuwait to protect against an Iraqi invasion. In reality, President Bush did send troops in 1990, with the Gulf War^W resulting in an independent Kuwait and major sanctions on Iraq that would eventually lead to the Iraq War^W in 2003.