For All Mankind: The 8 Best Couples On The Apple TV+ Show

One of the most unique and interesting shows on all of television right now is For All Mankind. The Apple TV+ series about an alternate history of the space race works for many reasons but the characters are among the best highlights. These are complex people going through some of the biggest events in the history of their world.

There’s not a ton of romance on the show but there are a handful of couples at the center of it all. There are astronauts in marriages that have their ups and downs, romances that have to stay hidden, uncomfortable affairs, and more. Some of these couples stand out as better than the rest.

8 Danny & Karen

Danny Stevens and Karen Baldwin are definitely not a real couple. However, they spend most of season 2 flirting and eventually kiss before having impulsive sex at The Outpost. Karen is still married to Ed, meaning this was a forbidden affair. It’s clear that Danny really likes Karen and even says he loves her, which is what makes Karen decide to end their fling.

The real problem with this hook-up is the past the two share. This wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill affair. Danny is the son of Tracy and Gordo, Karen’s friends. She helped watch Danny when he was just a child, so them getting together and sharing a bed ultimately felt kind of weird to most viewers.

7 Margo & Sergei

For most of season 1, Margo Madison had serious issues as a character. She was likable at first since she was a hard-working woman trying to find success in a man’s world. Over time, she had moments that fans didn’t really like, including blackmailing people and choosing her job over helping Aleida. Nobody expected a romance for her in season 2.

It came from the most unlikely of places too as she started forming a bond with Sergei Nikulov, a Soviet engineer who works with NASA on the Apollo-Soyuz team. Despite the differences of their countries, the two grow closer and help each other in immense ways, all while maintaining their flirtatious nature.

6 Danielle & Clayton

This couple feels like they would rank much higher if they had more time together on screen. Danielle Poole is an instant standout as the lone Black female astronaut and one of three original members of the team at Jamestown Base along with Ed and Gordo. Her husband Clayton unfortunately only appeared in a few episodes.

Their love was evident during “Into The Abyss” but the focus was more on Clayton’s struggles with his time fighting in Vietnam. He gets into an argument with Gordo and that’s mostly it. In between seasons 1 and 2, Clayton took his own life and Danielle mourns him. She visits his sister, who clearly didn’t like her, and blamed Danielle for most of his problems.

5 Ellen & Larry

There is only one relationship on this list that isn’t at all romantic and it’s the one between Ellen Waverly and Larry Wilson. The two get married but the unique aspect is their sexual orientations. Both Larry and Ellen are gay and their marriage is done purely to keep their lives secret at a time when that wasn’t as accepted as it is today.

Although they don’t want to be together on a romantic level, there’s no denying that they are close friends. Larry and Ellen have one of the healthier bonds in the series, always being there for each other. Even when Ellen considers a divorce, he only questions it due to what it would do to her career but seems to agree so that she can be happy.

4 Ed & Karen

Technically, Karen and Ed Baldwin are the show’s central couple. They’ve experienced the most growth and change over the years. At the start, Ed is a star astronaut and Karen is the stereotypical housewife of the ’60s. While he’s on the Moon, she struggles and that’s especially true after their son tragically dies. It changed them both, with Karen especially becoming a more independent woman.

In season 2, they’ve gone on to adopt a daughter in Kelly and they seem stronger than ever romantically. However, it is revealed that they nearly split up after their son’s death and only turned things around after Kelly came into the fold. Karen also goes on to cheat on him with Danny and their relationship is on the rocks by the time season 2 wraps up.

3 Ellen & Pam

Poor Pam Horton. The former bartender at The Outpost quickly fell in love with Ellen but they had to keep their lesbian relationship a secret due to Ellen’s position at NASA. Their love is easily one of the show’s strongest but they face plenty of hardships and roadblocks. Watching Ellen break her heart at the end of season 1 was among the saddest moments so far.

Season 2 sees Ellen in a new position and Pam went on to become a published poet. Though it looked like Pam might be gone for good, she returns to the fold and reignites her romance with Ellen. However, it’s a shame that for it to happen, Pam had to cheat on her new girlfriend. The two rekindle their love and Ellen considers giving everything up for her, including a potential shot at being the first female President. Pam chooses to step away so Ellen can live out her dreams.

2 Molly & Wayne

When the audience is first introduced to Wayne Cobb, it seems like he’ll be something of a jokester. He’s the only husband among the astronaut’s wives and turns Karen away by openly smoking weed. She eventually befriends him and it becomes clear why Molly married him in the first place.

They balance each other out. Molly is the ambitious one who can sometimes be a bit serious, so having the more chill Wayne around is great. He shows obvious concern for her when she’s in space and he’s the one who is willing to risk their relationship to save her from possibly making a mistake in trying to fix her vision in season 2. They’re always there for each other.

1 Gordo & Tracy

After watching an episode or two of season 1, you wouldn’t expect Gordo and Tracy Stevens to rank at the top of this list. Gordo is the astronaut who cheats on her while she’s at home with the kids. They mildly make up when she joins the Mercury 13 and grows into a tougher woman. They share good moments near the end of season 1 and the actors have great chemistry but are divorced by season 2.

Tracy gets engaged to someone new in the ’80s and is famous, while Gordo has gotten out of shape and can’t deal with what happened on the Moon. However, Gordo realizes his love for Tracy and uses that to fuel turning his life around. He tells her new fiancé that he’s going to win her back, which he attempts to do with romantic gestures on the Moon in a heartwarming scene.

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