Why 'For All Mankind's' Bosses Thought That Major Loss Was 'A Great Way' To Start Season 4

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Warning: spoilers are ahead for the Season 4 premiere of For All Mankind, called "Glasnost."

For All Mankind has officially returned with a new season for Apple TV+ subscribers, and the eight-year time jump into the 21st century showed positive changes for some characters, including a happily-ever-after for Ellen Waverly that helps compensate for the absence of Jodi Balfour as a series regular. "Glasnost" was less positive for others, with Margo's circumstances even worse than her Radiohead cliffhanger, Danny forebodingly absent, and the future uncertain for others. The biggest blow was the death of none other than Grigory Kuznetsov, played by Lev Gorn, and the showrunners explained to CinemaBlend why the premiere's tragedy should be seen as "great."

To recap: the Mars mission has shifted to focus to mining in the 21st century, with an ambitious plan (actually based on real-life theories) to drill for resources on asteroids. Ed, who hasn't permanently returned home in the eight-year time jump despite Kelly going back to Earth with his grandson, was leading a joint mission for the asteroid, with his old pal Grigory Kuznetsov winning the honor of becoming the first person to walk on an asteroid. The mission seemed to be a success at first, but the cables attaching a ship to the asteroid began to snap after Grigory was joined by another man.
Transcript
00:00 We have a big tragedy early on with poor Grigori.
00:03 Was it always the plan to end his story early in season four?
00:08 That was not necessarily in the plan until we started talking about this season and really
00:14 figuring out how we wanted to start off the season. And it felt like a great way to show
00:20 the stakes of what people are trying to do this season and just how dangerous this asteroid
00:28 harnessing can be. And that space, yes, space has become more commonplace. Space travel has
00:35 become more commonplace, but it's still really dangerous at its core. And so it felt like the
00:43 right way to start the season off. We are powerless up here. A million miles from my
00:48 family. This isn't what it was supposed to be. People are going to keep getting hurt.
00:52 Well, your bank accounts grow bigger and bigger. Building a new world for our future.
01:02 You ready to make history? Always my friend.
01:05 I want you to take me out.

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