Joel Kinnaman as Ed Baldwin has been one of the constants for Apple TV+’s For All Mankind. His character started off as a disappointed astronaut once the Russians landed on the moon first to leading the effort to put the first woman on the moon. His character has grown exponentially from when we saw him in season one. It feels like his presence is always there, even as more characters are added to the mix and his character has grown older.

Two astronauts in white NASA suits walk down a hallway as people in the background applaud. — Joel Kinnaman and Michael Dorman in “For All Mankind,” now streaming on Apple TV.

The show has done some significant time jumps in between each season, so it was pretty predictable that Ed Baldwin most likely wasn’t going to make it to the end of the series – considering how old he is in season five. However, now that he is dead, it feels a little emptier without him. A fixture of the old guard, his absence now echoes the sentiment of real life (and the AU of the show); the people who are responsible for growth are often the ones who either don’t get to see the fruits of their labor or live just long enough to pass the baton.

Admittedly, Ed’s storyline has been just one of many and For All Mankind has become much more than it once was. What started as an alternative reality, starting in the retro world of the 60s, has developed leaps and bounds in technology that is more advanced than what we have in real life. The world has colonized Mars, there’s a generation not even born on Earth, and what started as a space race series has become so much more – including [still] a murder mystery.

An elderly man lies in bed under a quilt, holding hands with someone standing beside him, looking up with a neutral expression. — Joel Kinnaman in “For All Mankind,” now streaming on Apple TV.

For All Mankind will continue on and it has a lot of meat to it, but it is sort of sad to think that Ed Baldwin’s presence won’t be around for the sixth and final season. Selfishly, we hope to maybe see his character in flashbacks – not having Joel Kinnaman around almost feels cheapened. Shouldn’t he see this to the end? Perhaps we’re putting too much emphasis on this character, but for a show that’s always reached for the stars, it almost feels hollow to not have him here. But, his legacy lives on his daughter, and they would not have reached Mars if it weren’t for Baldwin and the others and their efforts all the way from season one.

What do you think of Ed Baldwin’s death in For All Mankind season 5?