The following contains mild spoilers for the For All Mankind season 5 premiere.If you watch Apple TV’s For All Mankind in virtually any capacity, then you’re probably already aware that star Joel Kinnaman’s make-up has become something of a running joke. The alternate history drama is currently in its fifth season, but its narrative stretches across 50-plus years, meaning that Kinnaman, whose Ed Baldwin has been part of the show since its first episode, has had to play a character that’s moving fairly rapidly into some serious old age. (The actor himself is just 46.)At this point, Old Man Ed (affectionate) is well into his 80s and looks every bit of it. It’s a fair evolution, in the sense that Ed, a legendary astronaut and war veteran, has not exactly lived a quiet or particularly easy life. (It’s equally true that Kinnaman’s various aging makeup and prosthetics has been…well. Let’s just call it uneven at best and outright suspect at worst.) But, it’s also safe to say that even when he’s giving more Grandpa Simpson than space cowboy these days, Ed remains the beating heart of For All Mankind, an avatar of the absolute best and worst that humanity is capable of. (Often at the same time.) cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});Charismatic, rude, selfish, loyal, repressed, and brave by turns, Ed’s both a product of the environment he came up in and the rare character who has survived (and made) enough history that it’s forced his outlook on many things to at least adapt, if not outright change. He’s been a jerk throughout most of the series’ run, but one that’s easy to understand, if not outright sympathize with, and he often uses his worst traits for the benefit of the things he cares about, be it the space program or the Mars colony he comes to call home. He’s hard on his family — he once sent Alex crawling through an HVAC shaft to steal a key piece of technology as a child — but will also do anything if he believes it would keep them safe. His loyal to his friends (almost to a fault) and will break any rule if someone he cares about needs them to. As a man and a series lead, Ed truly contains multitudes, and this show will lose a key piece of his identity if and when he finally passes on. Octogenarian Ed is still a huge jerk, to be clear. Ostensibly under house arrest on Mars for the rest of his life for his role in the Goldilocks asteroid heist, he gleefully leans into being the most stereotypical of annoying old men. He’s brusque with everyone, day drinks with fellow old-timer Lee Jung-Gil, and regularly disrupts the base’s mission command center by gleefully setting off alarms with his ankle monitor. He keeps secrets about his health from his loved ones and only seems to listen to his doctor’s advice when it suits him. Yet, Ed is also fully willing to use his rude old man powers for good. He’s one of the few who regularly speak up on the issue of Mars autonomy and independence, insisting that the planet’s residents have the right to control their own destiny and reminding everyone that the Mars-6 alliance back on Earth doesn’t care about their well-being as much as they do about the iridium they’re there to mine. To his credit, Ed’s always been relatively fearless as a leader — and what exactly could the powers that be in Happy Valley do to him at this point anyway — but he’s pushier than usual as season 5 begins. Perhaps this is because he is older now, and possibly/probably dying, and forced to confront ideas of mortality and legacy in new ways. For better or for worse, Ed has always seen Mars as a vocation, the next step on humanity’s expansion into the universe, rather than a get-rich-quick opportunity for corporations and venture capitalists. He’s always believed in the mission of space exploration — where humanity goes next, what does it mean to build a home on another world, rather than an outpost, and it’s a perspective that far too few folks in positions of power on this canvas seem to share. We all know it’s unlikely to happen, but it’s unlikely that anyone would mind too much if Ed Baldwin really did live forever on this canvas, just gleefully and grumpily stomping into the 2020s with a mean streak and an explorer’s heart. (And whatever Kinnaman’s awful pushing a hundred old-age makeup would inevitably look like.) It’s too difficult to imagine For All Mankind without him.New episodes of For All Mankind season 5 premiere Fridays on Apple TV.The post For All Mankind’s Best Character Is a Crotchety Octogenarian appeared first on Den of Geek.