For All Mankind Season 2 Episode 2, "The Bleeding Edge," is an almost entirely Earthbound hour, a bit of a strange choice given the dramatic solar storm that hit the Jamestown colony during the season premiere and that seemed to promise a more action-oriented second season. As a result, it's hard not to feel as though this episode drags - other than Molly's lies and obvious physical struggles in the wake of her radiation exposure, there's not a ton of tension or what you might call a propulsive plot here. Granted, there are multiple essential character moments, but in a sophomore outing that already feels slow-moving, it's hard not to wonder how "The Bleeding Edge" might have better spent its time. After all, the phrase "bleeding edge" generally refers to a product or service that is new, experimental, or that carries a high degree of uncertainty. Perhaps we're meant to assume that multiple people within this story are left in extremely uncertain places by its end, and that's certainly true. But it's...well, it isn't exactly what you might call exciting. But, this is a show that's always had pacing problems. Ellen orders Molly to return to Earth along with Wubbo, citing her intense radiation exposure during the solar storm. Molly, being Molly, resists, insisting that her radiation sensor - which she purposefully hid so it wouldn't register the fact that she exposed herself to save a colleague - was green and fine. Given that Molly's plan to lie about her exposure was so easily thwarted, one wonders what the point of it was. Sure, Ellen promises her that she'll be able to return to Jamestown in six months, but we all know there's little chance Molly will ever make it back to the moon, once the NASA medics find out how irradiated her body is. Especially not once it appears as though she's having health problems almost as soon as she's back on the ground.
But she's not the only astronaut that's got some adjustments to make. Ellen returns home to find that her gay husband has a new of-the-moment boyfriend, a surprise that she takes in stride and further proof that we should really get an episode dedicated to how these two have negotiated how to make their lives together work.