Brazil (episode)

## Chronology

"**Brazil**" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of *For All Mankind*. It was released on Apple TV+ on January 5, 2024.

## Synopsis

Things start to go awry just as an important mission approaches a critical juncture.

## Plot

In the lower levels of Happy Valley, Ghost Ops are attempting to communicate with *Ranger* through the discriminator box that Samantha Massey has been tasked with swapping out. When the attempt fails, the conspirators are annoyed that she had a month to conduct the switch but hasn't yet.

Onboard *Ranger,* the crew are simulating the end of burn procedure for the Goldilocks capturing mission, communicating with Danielle Poole in Happy Valley Ops-Comm. The crew are on the final leg of their mission, having already captured Goldilocks, but still need to carry out the final burn to take the asteroid around Mars. Samantha watches on and after the simulation is over, utilizes a small bottle of water to fry the discriminator box without alerting the rest of the crew. After the crew discovers that the box has burnt out, Samantha offers to switch it out. She successfully replaces the box with one that has been altered to accept communications from Ghost Ops.

At Happy Valley, Kelly Baldwin goes over the S.E.E.K.E.R. mission with Dev Ayesa. She tries to share her findings, but Dev is not listening, instead playing with her son Alex. After he finishes, she shares that the mission found methane in areas away from known volcanic regions, indicating that it could either be due to deep subsurface volcanic activity or methogenanic bacteria. The latter proving life on Mars. Dev tells Kelly to keep at it and that he wants her to be the one to find life if it does exist. She is confused why he is leaving so early, but he brushes it off by saying he has work to do with her father Ed. She is surprised by this, as Ed and Dev originally did not like each other, but he insists that Ed's experience is necessary for help with the asteroid capture. Despite these excuses, Kelly is still suspicious.

Miles Dale and Ed talk to Lee Jung-Gil about their conspiracy, asking for his help by sharing the camera feed that the North Korean's have access to. Lee insists that it's dangerous, to which Ed replies that Lee managed to survive in a capsule for seven months alone. Lee argues that was not his choice and that this is, before asking Miles about the status of his wife. Miles says he's still working on it and that while getting her out of North Korea is difficult, sneaking her on a Helios shuttle would be much harder. After Ed tells him that his help would give him and his wife a place to live, Lee agrees to help, giving Ghost Ops eyes on the base by piggybacking off the North Korean feed. With the new video feed, they discover that Samantha successfully switched out the box and send a ping to *Ranger* as a test, which authenticates sucessfully.

At Cobb Space Center, Aleida Rosales briefs Eli Hobson, Margo Madison, and others about how the timeline for the capture mission cannot be pushed up any further without investing more money. Eli scoffs and says that a trillion dollars is already being spent and that if more is diverted to the program, the president will probably fire them all. As Hobson leaves the meeting, Aleida asks for a timeline on the next Mars transport budget, but he brushes it off. Aleida is frustrated and Margo Madison empathizes with her before asking for help with trajectories. She gives Aleida a note for her to pass to Sergei Nikulov. Aleida initially refuses, saying that she has been passing notes for a month now, but Margo insists. Aleida says that they can meet at her house, to which Margo refuses due to the risk involved, but Aleida says it's already risky.

In the North Korean sector of Happy Valley, Commander Cho Byung Ho is watching the security screen, but finds that the video feed is ocasionally interrupted by static. Frustrated, he asks for help, to which another member says that it could just be an old screen. Lee walks in and Cho discovers a relay device with NASA markings behind the screen. Lee says he does not know what it is, and him and Cho go to Danielle Poole in Ops-Comm. Lee translates for Cho, who is outraged that the Americans have placed a device on North Korean territory that lets them piggyback their surveillance feed. Dani admonishes them for being upset that their own spying is being monitored, and Cho insists that the perpetrator is brought to justice. Dani agrees but says that they would need to send people into the North Korean sector. He refuses, calling it an intrusion on North Korean territory. She says that she can't do anything until after the asteroid capture mission, but can track the NASA serial number on the device. Lee translates this to mean that she will convey the demands to NASA. Cho is infuriated and says to immediately arrest and interrogate Miles Dale as he is the only one to have been in their module. Dani understands Cho's use of Miles Dale without translation and asks NASA engineer Natalie Talmadge to track down the part number on the device. Cho decides to ignore Dani and tells Lee that she is a useless tool of the decadent capitalist system and he will investigate the matter himself. After Cho leaves, Dani asks how Lee is going and how Moon Yeong, his wife, is. He says that it is difficult being parted, to which she agrees, but says they'll be back on Earth before they know it.

Dani crafts a video message to her step-son Isaiah Johnson whose partner is six months pregnant. She talks about her wishes to be a good grandmother and that she regrets not being able to see his first steps or first words, but she will be able to with his daughter. With tears in her eyes, she finishes the message by sharing the TV shows she will make her a fan of, against his wishes.

Margo arrives at Aleida's house and is greeted by her husband Victor as the Soviet agent following her waits outside the house. Sergei has managed to get into the house by parking four blocks away and sneaking through backyards to enter undetected hours earlier. They discuss the issues with the two year wait time for Goldilocks, managing to get it down to 9 months using Sergei's knowledge. He then shares that as soon as it is in Earth orbit, Soviet President Fyodor Korzhenko will abandon Mars and NASA will follow. Margo agrees saying that without competition there is no progress. Victor sends the children to bed early, freeing up the table for them to continue their work. Margo playing the same trick of hiding candy in her hands with Aleida's young daughter Graciana, as she did with her son Javier when he was younger. Sergei gifts Margo a Duke Ellington CD, harping back to their original habit of sharing jazz records with each other. He then brings up a plan to move to Brazil and assist the Brazilian government with their space program, who would in turn guarantee their safety from the Soviet and American governments. Margo is hesitant, but comes around, she says it will be like the Apollo-Soyuz days when they worked together, he instead calls it Soyuz-Apollo "for the sake of convenience", a call back to their original meeting back in 1983.

Eli watches a recording from Danielle where she shares that the serial number on the device found in the North Korean sector, indicating that the device arrived on *Phoenix* in the last shipment, but never left. A check of the box showed that the seal was still intact but the device had been replaced with an identical device although with a separate serial number. An inventory check of the rest of *Phoenix* discovered substantial thefts of communication and computer gear. Danielle does not believe that is simple theft, but something more serious. Hobson calls Roscosmos director Irina Morozova and Will Tyler to his office.

Will says that the CIA has investigated the theft and none of the stolen equipment has value on the black market. However, it is useful for communicating with spacecraft, and given that *Ranger* is the only spacecraft near Mars with cargo of value, they quickly ascertain that *Ranger* may be in jeopardy. Irina agrees saying that due to the recent sabotage during the strike they cannot afford to turn a blind eye to this, before sharing a "simplified" version of a Dostoevsky quote stating that no matter how resplendent a crystal palace is, there will always be some asshole who wants to bring it crashing down. Tyler argues that there is only 24 hours until the final burn and that any moves will likely be made before then. Morozova advises to use the hidden intelligence assets they have on the base to deal with the matter.

In the North Korean sector, Cho is watching the surveillance footage and investigating the device himself. He notices Miles looking suspicious, and follows him on the cameras, only to discover that Miles enters an elevator but does not exit on any visible floor. He quickly ascertains that Miles exited on one of the restricted lower sublevels.

Dani meets with the agents: KGB agent Timur Avilov, who was a disguised as Helios worker, and CIA agent Mike Bishop, who was disguised as a NASA engineer. Dani says that while she isn't surprised there are intelligence agents, she is surprised at who they actually turned out to be, as Timur was vocal in the strike. Mike says that he wouldn't be good at his job if she had suspected him, while Timur says that an operative must move amongst the people like fish in the sea. After she asks if the KGB and CIA are working together now, Mike brings up her own work with Apollo-Soyuz, with Timur saying it was very courageous. She tells them to investigate Miles as he was mentioned by the North Koreans. Timur says he knows of him as the organizer of the black market on the base. Mike seems surprised at this, but agrees to look at him.

Kelly visits her father's quarters to talk to him about his behavior recently. He walks in as she is looking at his photos and tries to dismiss her, but she insists on talking to him. She confronts him about the stolen computer equipment and Ed denies any knowledge of it. She then asks why he's been with Dev so often lately, remarking how he used to think he was evil.

Cho follows the surveillance trail to the elevator Miles had used and discovers it had been tampered with. Meanwhile, Miles is tasked to complete a routine maintenance job on a cooling system. However, when he opens the door, he discovers Mike and Timur waiting for him.

Ed finally breaks down and talks about how Gordo Stevens's father had been suffering from cancer in his old age and that he wants to be on Mars to do something meaningful instead of languishing in a nursing home and being subjected to humiliation daily; up on Mars, he believes he is making a difference for everyone, including Kelly and her son. Kelly asks why he hadn't told her and he replies that he didn't think she would understand. He further apologizes for not being there for her or Alex, and Kelly assures him that she doesn't think he's crazy. She then asks what him and Dev are doing.

Taking the elevator to the lower levels, Cho discovers Ghost Ops after hearing Gerardo Ortiz-Niño and Holly Edmondson talk to each other about their families. As he watches them, Lee hits him from behind, causing a fight between the two. Gerardo attempts to help, but Cho gets the upper hand and begins to strangle him. Lee takes the chance to get Cho in a chokehold, strangling him until he is unconscious.

Mike and Timur begin to question Miles about the missing equipment. He insists he knows nothing, but they say that they already have him dirt on him for contraband and tax evasion. Miles keeps to his story, claiming that all he sells are things to make their lives easier like mouthwash and foot powder. Mike asks why he would want to help terrorists, sharing the story about how Nick Jennings died in the cryo center explosion. Miles says he has nothing to do with it before Timur hits him. Miles tries to fight back, but the two agents hold him down on the chair.

Sergei and Margo return to their respective lodgings, Margo in an upmarket hotel, while Sergei has to pass through a dingy parking lot to his motel. Margo puts on the CD Sergei gave her while she reads up on the Brazilian space program. They both enjoy hamburgers, Margo's from room service while Sergei's from McDonald's. Sergei takes care to add extra ketchup to his burger before he is shot in the head by an unknown assassin. The assassin places a gun in Sergei's hand to pose the killing as a suicide before leaving.

## Cast

show/hide list

Main Cast

* Joel Kinnaman as Edward Baldwin
* Toby Kebbell as Miles Dale
* Krys Marshall as Danielle Poole
* Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa
* Cynthy Wu as Kelly Baldwin
* Coral Peña as Aleida Rosales
* Tyner Rushing as Samantha Massey
* Svetlana Efremova as Irina Morozova
* Wrenn Schmidt as Margo Madison
* Daniel Stern as Eli Hobson

Guest Starring

* Piotr Adamczyk as Sergei Nikulov
* C.S. Lee as Lee Jung-Gil
* Robert Bailey Jr. as Will Tyler
* Myk Watford as Palmer James
* Vinny Chhibber as Ravi Vaswani
* Billy Lush as Mike Bishop
* Nikita Bogolyubov  as Timur Avilov
* Jorge Diaz as Victor Diaz
* Santiago Veizaga as Javier Diaz
* Ely Henry  as Dr. Seth Razack
* Tess Lina as Veronica "Ronnie" Hunt
* Elliott Ross  as Maximus Taylor

Co-Starring

* Salvador Chacon as Gerardo Ortiz-Niño
* Moses Jones as Rich Waters
* Charles Kim as Cmdr. Cho Byung Ho
* Cindy Jackson  as Holly "Sparks" Edmondson
* Ezrah Lin as Alex Poletov
* Katarina Morhacova as Nina Rozhenkova
* Hedyeh Falsafi  as Natalie Talmadge
* Sean Patrick Murphy  as Nate Lowry
* Kang Kim  as Lim Sum Gi
* Mark Kwak  as Park Chui Moo
* Paris Rose as Graciana Diaz
* Dimitri Kornakov  as KGB Handler - Anatoly
* Maz Nieviarovski  as Assassin
* Rafiq Batcha  as Ops Radar Controller
* Sasha Golberg  as Ops Ranger CAPCOM

## Appearances

### Events & missions

Mission:
 **Goldilocks capturing mission**Mission:
 **S.E.E.K.E.R.**Event:
 **Assassination of Sergei Nikulov**
### Locations & stations

 **Happy Valley colony** **Asteroid 2003LC "Goldilocks"**
## References

1. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 6: "Best Laid Plans"

## External links

### Soundtrack

  Soundtrack of episode 4x09, "Brazil" on Tunefind
### Transcript

  Transcript of episode 4x09, "Brazil" on TV Show Transcripts