Rules of Engagement

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Rules of Engagement

season 2, episode 3

General Information

Episode

2x03 (13)

Air date

5 March 2021

Run time

60 minutes

Writer

Stephanie Shannon

Director

Andrew Stanton

Chronology

← Previous	Next →
"The Bleeding Edge"	"Pathfinder"

"Rules of Engagement" is the third episode of the second season of For All Mankind. It was released on Apple TV+ on March 5, 2021.

Synopsis

A dispute on the Moon prompts NASA officials to consider arming astronauts. Ed's past comes back to haunt him.

Plot[]

On the Moon, a geological team of NASA astronauts is moving towards their newly claimed mining site, but upon arrival, they find their gear moved away from the site. It seems that the Soviets took their mining site, which they report to the base.

Ed Baldwin tells General Bradford and Margo Madison that the only way that the Soviets knew about the lithium^W on the site was because they had cracked their code, despite NASA changing the encryption keys every month. Administrator Thomas Paine tells them that Reagan had decided not to tell the United Nations^W, instead taking the mining site back again and holding the area. This was due to the fact that if they did not do anything, nothing would stop them from taking other sites from them. Margo agrees, but Bradford is not very sure until Thomas tells him that the Soviets cannot stay there forever, while Ellen Wilson tells them that they could have three teams monitoring the site at all times. Ed mentions that the security detail would need weapons, but Thomas says that nobody had mentioned weapons. Bradford and Ed can not see any other solution to the problem, but Ellen reminds them that even if they could modify guns in order to be used on the Moon, no astronaut was qualified to use them. However, Ed and Bradford agree that if they sent marines to the Moon, it would be possible. Margo says that there has to be another way, but they simply can not see another choice.

Tracy Stevens wakes up at her home, but realizes she had to be in SIM in an hour. She grabs a bottle of beer and tells Marta, her maid, to call JSC and tell them that all their cars had flat tires.

FAM 203 10 — Gordo was shocked to find out his suit was too small for him

Gordo Stevens puts on his NASA suit only to find it does not fit him anymore due to his grown belly. He gets to NASA, where he apologizes for being late and sits next to Danielle Poole, who points out he is not wearing his uniform. He tells her about the malfunction and has a hard time using his laptop until Danielle helps him.

Karen Baldwin talks to Kelly about different places they could visit while looking for colleges. However, Kelly interrupts her and asks if they could go to Annapolis, the Naval Academy^W, since she wanted to apply. Karen is surprised, but Kelly insists that she had thought about it for a long time now since she wanted to fly Tomcats^W, F-14's, but Karen is not happy with her decision.

FAM 203 15 — Aleida was shocked to find Margo in her home

Margo drives and gets out of her car when she makes it to a trailer park. She knocks at a trailer and is asked to come in since the person inside needed help. She is asked to grab some toilet paper, which she does and hands the toilet paper to a young woman who stretches her hand out of the bathroom. She tells Margo (without yet knowing that it's Margo) that she is Aleida Rosales and tells her to leave if she was there to collect on bills, until Margo introduces herself fully. Aleida leaves the bathroom and looks at Margo in disbelief, greeting her once again.

Aleida asks Margo what she was doing there, so Margo explains that she had gotten a call from Aleida's boyfriend, Davey, telling her Aleida is going to be deported soon. Margo looks at a small keyboard and asks Aleida if she still played, but Aleida says that she does not with a tone of "I'm trying to survive here, not play with a toy". Margo said that she wanted to apologize, but Aleida asked her not to do that. Aleida mentioned that she was being deported since she had to have a job to stay in the United States, but she was a bad coworker and team player. Margo defended her, however, stating that she had called her former employers and they had all mentioned that she was a brilliant engineer despite her "behavioral issues". Aleida asks Margo what she wants, and Margo says that she cannot explain why she did not take Aleida in ten years ago, but she could now offer her a job as systems engineer, working on a low priority mission. She mentioned that it was not charity and was offering her a way out of her problem, but Aleida was not listening, so Margo told her that if she wanted the job, she should go to the JSC personnel office. Margo left in anger.

FAM 203 20 — Bradford asked Ed if he thought Mikhail could have planted a bug in Jamestown

At NASA, Ed and Bradford discussed whether or not the Soviets had ears on communication between NASA and Jamestown all along, since cosmonaut Vasiliev had remained at Jamestown alone after Ed left to rendezvous with Osprey. He asked Ed if it was possible that Mikhail had planted a bug at Jamestown, but Ed said that it was not. However, Bradford reminds him that he was emotionally vulnerable at the time.

At Jamestown, astronauts use a bug-detecting scanner, at Margo's direction, with Ed, Bradford, and Thomas observing the process. Bradford whispers to Margo that she should ask about the overhead lights, so the Jamestown astronauts check and find a bug installed on top of a light fixture at Jamestown. Bradford's theory is that Mikhail planted the bug when he was with Ed or maybe after Ed left. Ed looks ashamed when the bug is discovered. Thomas states that the President will not like being told that the Soviets has been listening to everything in Jamestown for the past nine years.

FAM 203 24 — Karen congratulates Tracy on her wedding

Tracy visits Karen at Outpost, but finds it strange that Karen had not congratulated her. When she points it out, Karen rushes from behind the bar in order to hug her friend. Karen is surprised by the size of the ring, and pours herself a drink as well. Tracy tells her that she was the only one who actually seemed happy for her, since everybody at JSC was looking at her funny like she needed Gordo's approval. She tells Tracy that Kelly wanted to go Annapolis, which she should not find strange since she grew up around Ed and Tracy, telling her friend that she had inspired a lot of young women. Karen tells Tracy that she had shut her daughter down, but Tracy tells her that her daughter had told her something that was a big deal. However, she also points out that if Kelly really wanted to do it, she would do it with or without Karen. Karen mentions that if anything happened to Kelly, she would not know how to live without her.

Gordo is awakened by a phone call. Tracy tells him that he had left a message and he says that he wanted to tell her something. Tracy says that everywhere she looks she sees herself, so Gordo asks her if she is okay. She tells her that she is, but she had crashed her car and tells him to pick her up since her husband was out of town. Gordo mentions that it is 2 in the morning, but picks her up anyway.

FAM 203 29 — Gordo drove Tracy home when she crashed her car after a few drinks

Tracy asks what she should do about the car, but Gordo says that Sam would probably buy her a new one. She says that Sam was a good man, but had a bit of temper when she pushed him, unlike Gordo, who she describes as easy. She tells him to take her to their old house, since whenever she was late, the staff treated her as if she was a teenager getting home past curfew. She tells Gordo to pull over, but he does not and she throws up in his car.

When they get to Gordo's house, Gordo tells her that since both their children were at home, she would have to sleep on the couch. However, when he turned around, Tracy had gone into their bedroom and had taken her clothes off. Gordo picked them up and says that he would take the couch instead.

Aleida asks Davey why he had called Margo, and he says that he did because he did not want to see her deported, which angered her since she did not ever want to ask Margo for a favor. Davey says that the reason he called was because he panicked and did not want to lose her, also telling her that she could be an engineer at NASA, but Aleida worries she will fuck it up. Davey tells her that Margo herself had gone to visit her because she knew how talented Aleida was. Aleida tells him to shut up, and says that she would do it. When Davey told her that he was proud of her, she tells him that they are done since he had gone behind her back and she had been humiliated by Margo once again. She told him that she had packed his things in a box, and asked that he leave and never return. When Davey leaves, she turns her keyboard on and starts playing.

At home, Ed is awake in bed and reminisces back to his encounter with Mikhail. He gets out of bed and walks to model what he was working on. After a while, he grabs a box and brings it down.

FAM 203 39 — Tracy was furious when Gordo took her keys and told her they would be in space at the same time

Tracy tells Gordo that the taxi would be there for her soon, also asking him where her keys were. Gordo tells her that he took them since it was not her house anymore, but she could visit the kids whenever she wanted. Gordo tells her that he would be returning to the Moon, which makes her laugh, until she realizes that he would be on Jamestown 91, which meant that they would both be on the Moon at the same time. She says that she does not want to go through the whole "space couple shit" again since it would affect her publicity. He yells that he would be returning to space after ten years, and did not like that she only cared about herself, but she left.

FAM 203 40 — Tracy got very mad at Ed when she found out he had assigned Gordo to Jamestown at the same time she would be there

Tracy goes to Ed's office and tells him that being on the Moon with Gordo was complete bullshit since she did not want people to think of them as the space couple. He says that nobody was talking about that, but she tells him that she knew he only gave Gordo the assignment out of pity. However, Ed says that he only makes decisions based on what he believes is best for the program, but she insults him, saying that he made decisions based on his golf score and how big a dump he had taken that day. Ed tells her that she is out of line, but she says that she would not be a laughing stock again, taking Gordo's sticker off the board and telling him to bounce Gordo off the flight. Ed tells her that Gordo would not leave his flight, but says that if she wanted out of hers, to just say the word, but she should not expect new assignments soon while he was in office. She gets angry, but says that she would not leave her flight.

FAM 203 43 — Karen asked Kelly if what she really wanted was to go to Annapolis

Kelly looks at a brochure about life in Annapolis, but goes to the air vent in her room and finds some toys. She gets a knock on her door from Karen, who she tells she is fine. Karen asks her daughter to tell her that joining the navy was what she really wanted and Kelly confirms that it was not a whim since she wanted to do something with her life, while making a difference and not writing essays. She also says that she wanted to make a difference like Ed. Karen says that she knows the feeling having lived with Ed, but also comments that Ed had payed a heavy toll and had not lived a normal life, but one filled with stress, danger and had missed time with her. When Karen was about to say that Ed had missed time with Shane, she stopped herself and said that he missed a lot. Kelly asked if Karen meant Shane, and she confirms this, saying that he had missed a lot of time with him. Kelly reveals the toy she had gotten out of the air vent. Karen mentioned that Popeye was his favorite, and Kelly tells her that she always knew that this was his room and sometimes felt like Shane was listening to her, which Karen could understand. Karen tells her that they had considered moving at first, but says that after she had come along, everything was good again, also agreeing to let Kelly go to Annapolis, which excited her daughter.

FAM 203 48 — When Kelly told Ed she wanted to go to Annapolis, he got furious instantly

Ed got home and walked in, seeing Karen and Kelly happy. He is surprised to see actual dinner being made and asks if it is a special occasion. Karen says that it is since Kelly had finally decided where she wanted to go. Kelly tells him that she had decided on Annapolis, which surprises him, and he refuses, getting angry and telling Kelly to go to her room.

As he left the house, Karen told him to stop and discuss it. Ed says that he is the man of the house and did not need to explain himself to anyone, and when Kelly told him that she did not need his permission to apply, Ed said that he knew the superintendent of the academy, so with one phone call, she would be rejected. Kelly says that if he does that, she would go to the recruiting office and go to Annapolis as an enlisted sailor. Ed said that she could do that, but said that she should pack her bags an never come back. Karen tells him to take it back, and pushes him, while saying that she did not know what had gotten into him.

FAM 203 54 — After a big fight, the Baldwin family hugged

Kelly tells Karen to stop and starts crying, saying that whatever had happened, she did not want it to continue. Ed agrees, and so does Karen; he apologizes for having said what he said, also saying that he did not want her to leave. Kelly asks Ed what was going on, but Ed said that he did not know and had suddenly reacted and knew that he should be proud, but had gotten an overwhelming feeling that he was going to lose her as in her dying, like Shane. Ed starts crying and Karen says that she had the same feeling, but reminds him that Shane had died while biking down the street, mentioning that there was nowhere on Earth that was safe. Ed says that he was not there when Shane died and was not there for anyone, only being able to scream into the night. He mentions that he had promised himself never to let that happen again, always being there for Karen and Kelly to protect them. Karen asks Ed if he thinks that it was his fault, and he says that Shane had been angry at him and he was not on Earth, but Karen tells him that it had been an accident and says that thinking back to that day was just torturing themselves. The three hug each other and Kelly gives Ed the Popeye action figure. Karen tells him that she remembers when he wanted to join the navy, also mentioning that both of them ended up in the navy, with Shane wanting to be in the navy as well. Kelly starts singing a navy song, and both her parents join in.

At home, Gordo had fallen asleep while on his laptop while watching TV. He takes his reading glasses off and looks at Tracy's keys which he puts in his drawer. He turns the television off and gets in bed, turning off his light as well. In the distance he sees a red dot flashing, but he turns the light back on and it disappears, turning out to just be his TV source device, which makes him laugh.