For All Mankind has returned with a premiere that launches ahead almost 10 years to 1992. Thanks to some sweet make-up effects, it’s clear that all the astronauts, technicians, and Karen (Shantel VanSanten) have grown and changed in ways that still have yet to be fully revealed.
However, when it comes to the state of the world in this alternate history, For All Mankind provides essential information in a montage that starts off the season, just like the previous season. While some events displayed are directly related to the characters and the space race, some are just a consequence of the inciting incident of the USSR walking on the moon first. What are these historical events that cast humanity in this new reality, and how do they contextualize Season 3 of the space drama?
The Death of Margaret Thatcher
On October 12, 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is assassinated in a bombing at the Grand Brighton Hotel in England. The attack also sees five others killed, including Conservative Member of Parliament Anthony Berry, and 31 injured. This attack, initiated by terrorist organization, The Irish Republican Army, was part of a larger 30-year conflict known as The Troubles or The Northern Ireland Conflict. The conflict primarily revolved around the status of Northern Ireland, whether it should remain with the United Kingdom or unite with Ireland to create a unified nation. In our reality, Thatcher narrowly escape the attack even though the five casualties still remained.
President Hart
Gary Hart, senator for Colorado, runs two presidential campaigns in the 1980s. In For All Mankind, he wins the presidency in 1984 and is later re-elected in 1988, most likely having avoided the scandal of an extramarital affair, which caused him to pull out of the race in our reality. Hart likely wins due to his idealism, a side effect of having the world constantly looking up to the moon, Mars, and the stars.
Communism in the Americas
Gorbachev succeeds Andropov as the Soviet leader. In our reality, it’s under his leadership that the USSR eventually falls, dissolving into multiple nations. However, in For All Mankind, Russia’s focus on the space race alters the nation’s challenges. The nation pulls out from the Afghan border in 1979, and this refocusing helps Gorbachev keep the nation united and widen the spread of communism to USA’s southern neighbors in Mexico, Latin America, and South America. This causes the United States Senate to vote to further secure the Southern Border in 1986.
A Trailblazer?
In 1986, Michael Jordan is recruited to play for the Portland Trailblazers, rather than the Chicago Bulls. This changes the track for a pop culture icon, questioning the existence of endeavors and projects such as Air Jordans and Space Jam. However, this isn’t a random change to the timeline. In 1986 and 1987, the Trailblazers recruited players from communist states Yugoslavia and the USSR, demonstrating the different state of For All Mankind‘s Cold War compared to ours. But the most important question from this change is clearly: What happened to Space Jam????
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More Sports
In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Diego Mardona scored a remarkable final goal that gave Argentina the cup taking the lead over West Germany. In For All Mankind, this goal was declared a foul. It also appears that the match was against England in this altered timeline.
Beatle Mania
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon survives his assassination attack, leaving a slew of new opportunities for the group to make an impression on America and the world. In the mid-1980s, the band comes together for a worldwide reunion turn that starts in Chicago. Playing to packed audiences, this is the first time they’ve played together in the States since 1966. What else lies for the quartet after their reunion?
Black Monday
The stock market crash in October of 1987, dubbed Black Monday, doesn’t seem to have occurred based on the visual of a stock market increase of over 1,000 points. With the NYSE instating trading curb rules in 1988 in response to the crash, how different will the stock exchange market look in the 1990s in its absence? What other economic events will the space race alter?
Gulf War
While in actuality, America leads a coalition against Iraq for its invasion and attempted annexation of neighboring country Kuwait, For All Mankind takes a different approach, with President Hart declining to send troops into the conflict. With no American-led coalition to liberate Kuwait, the show dangles the possibility of Kuwait becoming part of Iraq, setting a very different scene in the coming years, especially due to the fact that the USSR also didn’t continue their conflict in the region years before.
