A City Upon a Hill

## Chronology

"**A City Upon a Hill**" is the tenth and final episode of the first season of *For All Mankind*. It was released on Apple TV+ on December 20, 2019.

## Synopsis

Ed handles a trespasser. Ellen and Deke chart a new course without Mission Control.

## Plot

Ellen Wilson comes to after Deke Slayton calls her. He tells her that she needs to abort the burn and also tells her he does not have much left in his OPS and he has a puncture in his suit. However, her abort handle is non-responsive, and Houston can not be reached. She pulls on a chord only to find out Harry had been lost in space. She pulls on Deke's chord and is able to bring him into the ship. They close the hatch and are able to remove their helmets, but Deke had been stabbed by the smashed steering thruster, so Ellen tells him to apply pressure on the wound. She tries reaching Houston once again, but they remain uncommunicative.

On the Moon the Soviet cosmonaut, wakes up, bound to a wall by Ed Baldwin. Ed orders him to speak English. Mikhail, who Ed continues to call "Ivan", asks Ed why he had cut off his oxygen, but Ed ignores the question and asks him what he was doing in his mine. The Soviet tells him he was not looking for anything there, and Ed asks him what the device he had left there since it was his territory. Mikhail, however, tells him that the Moon belongs to everybody and counters the fact that if it depended on who was there first, then a Russian man had landed on the Moon first and had even said that the Moon belonged to everybody. Edward remembered it differently, but Mikhail told him that there was enough ice for them all. Ed asks him what he had been doing, but Mikhail told him that he could not tell him and should be let go since his compatriots would be looking for him. Soon Ed told him that he knew they only had one rover and walked away.

Mission Control celebrates the landing of Apollo 25's crew, while Margo Madison asks how Apollo 24 is doing, but GUIDO Bill Strausser is still unable to communicate with them and all they knew was that they were headed for deep space.

Ellen put stitches on Deke's wound, who complained that their communication problems were most likely due to their comm systems having been updated. Ellen told him to calm down and also reminded him that they were risking losing lunar orbit, also asking if he was up for another burn, which he nodded to. Deke told her that Harry had been dragged into the plume, which swallowed him whole. The CSM separated and they kept moving.

Aleida Rosales is in bed, but is called by her dad Octavio, who tells her that he would be sent back to Mexico because if he was caught again, he would be sent to prison. He told her everything would be okay and hung up. Aleida left the house while Harry was mourned and acting Chief Astronaut Buzz Aldrin told reporters what was going on with 24.

It seemed Ellen and Deke were now heading towards the Moon and were moving very fast. Ellen switched to manual, but depleted the SPS and they did not make it by thirty feet. However, in Mission Control, Margo stumbled upon everybody celebrating since they now knew they were alive. Aleida went to NASA and saw Margo, who was still working.

Margo explained Administrator Weisner why it was troubling that 24 had wasted all their fuel and why what they had done had not worked. Weisner comments that he will call the president so he knew that everything was going badly once again. However, Margo mentions that there was something that Ed could do.

However, it turns out Ed was not answering NASA's messages. Mikhail requested water, which Ed told him he would give him when Mikhail told Ed what the Soviets were building. Mikhail asks Ed what his plan was since he knew that Ed had not been communicating with NASA. He reminds Ed that he had been there for 37 hours and tells him that everybody would believe he had died. He told Ed of problems with his child, but Ed made fun of him for simply following orders. Mikhail asked Ed what he did since he did not follow orders, and was a real American cowboy. Mikhail also tells Ed his full name, Mikhail Mikhailovich Vasiliev, and reviewed Ed's options. Ed told him that he would not kill him and Mikhail told him that he had also seen the bad parts of America and Ed slapped him, which Mikhail told Ed was the real America.

Aleida sees Margo at her office. She tells the young girl that she had heard about her father and Aleida told her what had happened. Margo sat down next to her and told her it would be okay since Octavio was smart. Aleida told her how everything was going and told her that she did not want to live with the woman, but Margo told her that it would only be temporary. Aleida asked her if she could stay with her and would not be a bother. Margo told her that they could still do their sessions, but living with her was a lot to ask at the moment.

Aleida goes home, but stumbles upon a notice of seizure. Walking in the home she finds it is empty and trashed with even most of her photos removed. The phone rings and she talks to her father. She tells him what had happened and he tells her to grab as many things as she could and run. She tells him that she would not go to Mexico and lies, saying that Margo had told her she could live with her. Her dad is very happy and tells her that those are great news and tells her to be careful. She hears police and runs out of the apartment after grabbing some clothes and her acceptance letter.

Deke tells Ellen that their death would not be the worst way to go. He also tells her that he kind of wants to see how far they get, but lets out a cry of pain. Ellen looks at his wound and notices internal bleeding; Deke tells her that he had always thought he had seen a bit of John Glenn in her since whenever she wanted to walk into a room, people saw her and listened to her. He tells her that his "in case of death letter" was bad since he was distracted and only had two minutes to write it. He tells Ellen that his wife Marge deserved better and still could not believe Marge had said yes to him. He asks Ellen for her story and she tells him that it was nice how Larry had proposed. She tells him that Larry had taken her to Memorial Park, but did not finish the story and said that she did not know what she was doing since she was heading towards nowhere and tells Deke that she had to hide parts of who she was and told him that she did not love Larry, but Pam Horton. Deke realized Pam was the bartender from Outpost and laughed until he realized she was serious and was disgusted.

Karen Baldwin was in her house alone, smoking. She looked at her hands, took off her fake nails and went to bed, while touching Ed's pillow.

Ed was awakened by Mikhail, who was singing. The overhead lights were flickering. Ed asked the Soviet if he had done anything and asked him to stop singing. Mikhail told him that Elvis was banned in the USSR, but people found a way to listen to him, and called the singer fantastic. Ed told him that he had wanted Sinatra played at his wedding, but ended up playing "Love Me Tender" because Ed's wife wanted that song for their first wedding dance. Ed told Mikhail that they went to see Elvis a year ago, but that Elvis was a joke now. Mikhail told him that Elvis would always be king, but Ed mentioned that Sinatra would always be the one. Mikhail noticed that the lights were flickering in a pattern, which they read as the SOS morse code. Ed then called NASA and reached Gordo Stevens and Danielle Poole at Mission Control. Ed told them that he hadn't been responding because he needed some alone time.

Karen went to Outpost, where Pam was told that Ellen was alive by Larry. He did not tell her anything else. Karen asked her if she was Pam and told her that Ed went there a lot and always spoke highly of the place, but it was a shithole. Karen told her that it was understood that wives do not go to Outpost, and Pam complained that men had a lot of rules, which Karen called bullshit. Pam told her that the country looked up to them and told her that she would not feel sorry for her, but apologized, saying that the last few days had been rough since she knew all of astronauts. She told Karen that she had become "good friends" with Ellen, but was not being told anything by anyone. Karen told Pam that Ed was her husband, also telling her that she should go to JSC with her.

Margo told Mission Control that they would have a 33 minute window during which 24 would be within lunar orbit range. Ed watched the transmission as well. Margo told everyone what to do and told them that if they did not play their cards correctly, Deke and Ellen might be lost in space. Gordo mentioned they might have another problem: The distance that Ed would be flying was pushing the LSAM's range. Ed asked about Apollo 15, since the descent stage still had fuel in it. They started working on it, and Margo told them that they did not have a lot of time.

Tracy Stevens, Molly Cobb, and Dennis Lambert walked back into Mission Control and were celebrated by everybody. When Gordo saw Tracy he ran up to her and kissed her. Molly told them to get a room, and then told everybody to settle down. She went to Margo, who tried to apologize by saying that she had to consider the safety of two astronauts over just her, but Molly told her that she had done the right thing and was not what she wanted to talk about. She proceeded to tell Margo that she thought that when their ship slammed into the side of 24 it may have knocked their antenna loose, which was the cause of their communication problems, but their short-range radio might still be working. Margo thanked Molly, and Gordo told Tracy that she was not in uniform since she needed to wear gold. He gave her his pin, and she cried tears of joy.

Deke asked Ellen if she was aware of the security risks, since she was opening herself up to blackmail and manipulation. Ellen told him that that was not fair, but Deke told her that she was putting everybody at risk. Ellen said she believed that he would understand because he had pushed for the women when nobody else had, but Deke told her that that was because they were good pilots and being women was beside the point. Ellen told Deke that the world was changing and that he helped do it. Deke started letting out a cry of pain, and Ellen told him to breathe.

Margo told everyone to focus and was handed a paper which prompted her to tell Danielle to call Ed so they could send him the fueling procedures.

Ed received them and Mikhail told him that he would require Mikhail's help since Ed did not have enough time. Ed told him that he had it under control, but Mikhail told him that he was not in Korea anymore and told him that they had no choice but to trust each other, asking him to let him help. And so, Ed and Mikhail traveled to the Apollo 15 by rover and did as Ed was instructed by NASA.

Karen and Pam walked in to JSC, where she saw Larry. Karen hugged Tracy and asked her where everybody was at. She told Tracy that she was proud of her and invited Pam to sit next to her.

Gordo told Ed that there were ten minutes left to launch, Ed then thanked Mikhail and gave him back the part to the rover that Ed had previously sabotaged. Mikhail wished Ed good luck, and the American left. As Ed prepared to rendezvous with *Osprey*, Mikhail turned back toward the Jamestown habitat. Ed radioed Houston and began the launch sequenced, helped by Gordo, Danielle and Margo.

Ellen fed Deke, who was now laying down. They suddenly heard Ed radio to them and Ellen responded, saying they were there to rescue him. He greeted Ellen and asked how Deke was doing, but Ellen told him that space had made Deke more soft and cuddly than usual. Ed said he was sorry to hear that and told them how the plan would go.

Larry told Pam that she should not be there and asked her what she thought people would think, but Pam told him that she did not care.

Deke regains his ability to talk and weakly told Ellen that she has great things ahead and that if they made it through, to not tell anybody else. He tells her to keep it to herself since there were too many people like him and it was all they would see.

Ed radios 24 and tells them that Houston was working on a fix, but Deke says that there would be no time for him to dock. Ellen suggests Ed throwing a tank. Weisner argues against it, but Margo tells him to shut up or fuck off, earning much respect from her colleagues in the control room. Ed removes the tank while Ellen exits 24. He throws the tank, but it went a little too high and sailed over Ellen's head. Ellen removed her chord and jumped, successfully attaching it to the tank and barely able to hold on to it. Everybody at Mission Control celebrates, completely impressed by Ellen's move.

Ellen goes back to 24, asking Deke if he had seen her, but sees he is slumped and not moving. At Mission Control, everybody finds out Deke has passed and look at Marge, his wife who is in the visitor gallery. Weisner personally walks up to her and takes his glasses off, breaking the news to her. Karen hugs Marge, who starts crying.

When Ellen makes it to the Moon, they stand in front of Shane's memorial stone totem and drop Deke's pin on the ground, having buried him next to Shane's memorial.

Ed tells Ellen that she should probably rest since during the next few days, they would start digging, but Ellen tells him that he would be returning on *Osprey*. Ed tells her that they can not expect to hold the mission then, since she would be alone and could not leave the base after everything that had happened. He mentioned another relief mission that would be there in a few days, but Ellen tells him that she would send him back home. Ellen tells him that she relieves him as commander of Jamestown and Ed acknowledges that he stands relieved.

Later, Ed leaves the Moon and heads back towards Earth, crying as he enters the atmosphere. When he got there, he went to Shane's room with Karen.

Ellen is interviewed over what had happened with Deke. Ellen tells them that Deke had been a pioneer and a stubborn man, having helped everybody get to space. A reporter tells her that traveling to space now seemed like a dangerous endeavor, but Ellen says that everybody knows the risk and it was worth it because things could get better. In order to say goodbye, she said she loved Larry. After she hung up, she found an ant running on the floor of Jamestown.

### Post-credit scene

In the post-credits, the year is 1983, and Ed and Karen are watching a rocket launch in the Pacific Ocean, with Karen explaining how it seems risky as the rocket is carrying plutonium, but Ed says it's fine as the rocket is launching from the sea, it is revealed this is the phase 3 expansion of Jamestown, with a zoom-in on the rocket. The rocket appears small, but all of a sudden the rocket expands outward, revealing the massive Sea Dragon, on its way to the Moon.

## Cast

show/hide list

Main Cast

* Joel Kinnaman as Edward Baldwin
* Michael Dorman as Gordo Stevens
* Sarah Jones as Tracy Stevens
* Shantel VanSanten as Karen Baldwin
* Jodi Balfour as Ellen Wilson
* Wrenn Schmidt as Margo Madison

Guest Starring

* Chris Bauer as Deke Slayton
* Sonya Walger as Molly Cobb
* Wallace Langham as Harold Weisner
* Arturo Del Puerto as Octavio Rosales
* Olivia Trujillo as Aleida Rosales
* Krys Marshall as Danielle Poole
* Mark Ivanir  as Mikhail Mikhailovic
* Meghan Leathers as Pam Horton
* Nate Corddry as Larry Wilson
* Rebecca Wisocky as Marge Slayton
* Lenny Jacobson as Wayne Cobb
* Charlie Hofheimer  as Dennis Lambert
* Chris Agos as Buzz Aldrin
* Leonora Pitts as Irene Hendricks
* Noah Harpster as Bill Strausser
* Nick Toren as Tim "Bird Dog" McKiernan
* Spencer Garrett as Roger Scott
* Megan Dodds as Andrea Walters

Co-Starring

* Mason Thames as Daniel Stevens
* Zakary Risinger  as Jimmy Stevens
* Dan Warner as General Arthur Weber
* Krystal Torres as Cata
* Carin Chea  as Penny Chen
* Theo Iyer  as Carl Reid
* Brian McGrath  as Sam
* Ben Solenberger  as LMSYS
* Alex Skinner  as Telex Guy
* Mel Fair  as Reporter 1
* Stephen Jared  as Reporter 2
* Chi-Lan Lieu  as Reporter 3
* James Thomas Gilbert  as Protest Man
* Clint Culp  as Guy at Bar

Other

* Jeff Bergman as Ronald Reagan (voice)
* Ted Kennedy  as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
* Jim Meskimen as Ted Kennedy (voice) (uncredited)
* Ronald Reagan  as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

## Appearances

### Events & missions

Mission: **Apollo 22**Mission: **Apollo 24** **Confrontation on the Moon**
Ed Baldwin & Mikhail VasilievMission: **Apollo 25**
Return to Houston
### Vehicles & vessels

 **Apollo 24 S-IVB** **Moon rover** **Apollo 24 CSM** **Lunar Surface Access Module** **Sea Dragon**
Post credit scene (timejump 1983)
## Closing monologue

> Worth it? I mean it's dangerous. Lives have been lost, and, honestly, probably more will be lost. But every one of us knew the risks before we joined, the toll it takes on us, and on the ones we love. But we all signed up just the same.
>
>
> It's the price we pay to push forward to explore the universe and wander into the unknown. Pushing ourselves to the limits of what's possible. Are there sacrifices that have to be made? Of course. But sacrifice is a part of any journey. It's like those caravans, the wagon trains that crossed our country a hundred years ago in search of a new home. Or the ships that sailed across the Atlantic in search of a new world. Taking on these great challenges against great odds that's what makes us human.
>
>
>
> Remember, we chose to go to the moon not because it was easy but because it was hard. So, yes. Yes, I think it's worth it. Because no matter how hard it is now, when we look to the future, we can see that things can...they can get better. I do believe that.
>
> Ellen Wilson

## Media

### Videos

For All Mankind - Sea Dragon Rocket LaunchPost-credit scene
## External links

### Soundtrack

  Soundtrack of episode 1x10, "A City Upon a Hill" on Tunefind
### Transcript

  Transcript of episode 1x10, "A City Upon a Hill" on TV Show Transcripts