Apple TVSince 2019, one fictional astronaut has been pushing the envelope farther and farther into space. As embodied by Joel Kinnaman, the hotheaded yet heroic Ed Baldwin has been the de facto lead of For All Mankind since the beginning. In Season 1, he led the charge to establish the first Moonbase; in Season 2, he helped avert global war on the Pathfinder shuttle; in Season 3, he made it to Mars; and in Season 4, he stole an asteroid. Now, at the start of Season 5, just three episodes in, Ed’s journey is seemingly at a close. Inverse caught up with Joel Kinnaman to unpack the massive spoiler in For All Mankind Season 5, Episode 3, “Home.” If you haven’t seen this episode yet, this is the warning to stop reading now. Spoilers ahead.Ed (Joel Kinnaman) is on his literal death bed in For All Mankind Season 5, Episode 3, “Home.” | Apple TVWhile unrest heats up on Mars, “Home” finds Ed slipping in and out of consciousness, where he remembers a mission he flew in the Korean War, which took place in the 1950s, before the show even began. Throughout the episode, we see what impact Ed has had on the present, but as he slips away and eventually succumbs to his cancer, Ed also flashes back to a moment in the 1960s in which he and Gordo (Michael Dorman) are flying a Gemini mission. Shantel VanSanten returns as Karen Baldwin for this flashback, giving Ed a true send-off as he passes away. In many ways, this episode is the culmination of five seasons and more than 50 years of fictional history. “Even though this has always been an ensemble show that follows a lot of different characters, Ed has a little special place in the center of the show,” Kinnaman tells Inverse.To reflect on this huge moment, seemingly Ed’s last episode of the series, Inverse caught up with Kinnaman to get his thoughts on playing Ed, his love for the show, and why the world needs more optimistic storytelling.What was your reaction when you learned that Ed was going to die in Season 5? And were you relieved it wasn’t from old age?Well, the show was initially pitched to me as a five-season vision. And then somewhere along the line it expanded to a seven-season arc, and then it kind of settled at six. And so in the end, Ed was going to be 80 or 90. And I think that everyone agreed that this was the perfect season to make it happen. [The showrunners] brought me into the conversation, letting me know what they were thinking. They didn’t want to start a new season without Ed.But I think we also wanted to catch the audience a little off guard by him dying pretty soon in the season. I think that gives time to pass the baton, a little more runway for that idea to sink in. Ed (Joel Kinnaman) in a deep-cut flasback in his final episode of For All Mankind. | Apple TVAt the same time we’re saying goodbye to Ed, we also get an extended flashback to a point before the show even started.It was really fun. In just one episode, I got to play the youngest and the oldest versions of Ed! But this Korea episode has been part of the conversation for three or four years. I think during Season 3, one of the writers brought that up, and he’s been tinkering with this idea; the moment when Ed crash-lands in Korea, there was always this idea of a separate episode. I think they tried to get it in both Season 3 and Season 4, but it was reshuffled. So I was really happy that it found a place at least in these final moments. Artemis II is happening at the same time Season 5 of For All Mankind is airing. Obviously, this show began with a story about a more robust moon program. Did you have thoughts about some of the overlap between the fiction of For All Mankind and the real-life space renaissance?It’s been an exciting time. I think when the show came out, it felt like it was right at the same time when space exploration and SpaceX and all of that was heating up. And during the same time as the show has been going, we’ve seen them landing rockets on landing pads and all that, just like in the show. And for me, it’s just one of the most important things. If we could spend our money exploring space and trying to make humans a multiplanetary species instead of bombing young schoolgirls, the world would be a better place.Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) and Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman) in a Gemini-era flashback in For All Mankind Season 5, Episode 3. Gordo died in Season 2, and so when Ed dies in Season 5, we get the sense he’s joining Gordo, and his late wife, Karen.Ed is an incredible character. You’re only 46 now, but you’ve played Ed from his late 30s through his 40s and 50s, and now his 80s. If you could come up with one word to describe this journey as an actor, what would it be?It’s been profound. It’s a show and an experience that’s really made me dream, in a way. I’ve loved being part of this story. I love being part of telling the story because the ethos of this show is optimism. I think it’s so important that we tell stories like this. And of course, without becoming sappy or too glossy or shallow, but actually having some optimism and giving an example of a better version of life, not being uncomplicated or without its faults, there are certainly downsides to the show’s [timeline]. What if we actually put our resources into positive things, and if we focused in just a slightly different way, or we chose leaders slightly differently? Things could just move in a much better way.Why is optimism so important in popular fiction?Well, it’s very easy as storytellers to kind of just go down the worst path, asking what’s the worst thing that could happen? We like those kinds of stories, too. But the thing about playing this character and playing these different ages is that it just puts my own mortality at the forefront of my mind. I genuinely believe that being aware of your own mortality and our limited time here, the more you’re aware of that, the richer and fuller life you’re ultimately going to have.For All Mankind Season 5 streams on Apple TV.