It has almost become embarrassing to talk about how good The Expanse really is. The show just seems to get better and better each passing week, digging deeper into characters and political intrigue while incorporating great action and special effects, some of which could be the best ever seen on television. Ok, let’s explore these episodes, shall we?
Episode 7: “The Seventh Man”
This definitely felt like one of those set-up episodes and really, that’s not a bad thing, especially for a show like The Expanse. With so many moving parts it was good to kind of take a step back and watch and listen to what was being planned by the characters as we move further along in the season.
It was wonderful to see Anderson Dawes (Jared Harris) take center stage this episode. He is a very interesting character and the way he manages to shake things up with almost everyone is very entertaining. However, he is also dangerous with his own agenda, as we see very clearly at the end of the episode, so you can’t just fluff him off as just a blowhard or hothead. It’s going to be great watching where his character goes in future episodes.
Another great character that will have a huge impact going forward is Bobbie Draper. As we watch her slow recovery from the attack on Ganymede you can almost feel her physical and mental anguish. Frankie Adams is amazing as Draper and the look on her face as she is given a medal is heartbreaking and powerful. We know she is strong and honest, both as a soldier and a person, especially when she realizes that as much as she wants to blame Earth for what happened, she knows the UN Marines were running from something, that being the haunting blue eyed face she saw looming over her when she was injured. Her testimony at the peace summit should be pretty powerful and very important to the story.
Even though the episode did drag in parts, it still had some great moments. I especially like watching Holden and Avasarala’s totally opposite approach to the political landscape. Both are smart but Holden is more the optimist to Avasaral’s realism. They are powerful players in this game and are important pieces on the overall chess board in The Expanse’s universe.
Episode 8: “Pyre”
This might have been the toughest episode to watch in terms of some of the trauma certain characters have to endure. To that end, it did make for a powerful episode and reiterated how The Expanse continues to grow as a show, especially in terms of the characters and how we as fans get more and more attached with each passing week.
As important and impressive as Bobbie was in last week’s episode, this time around we have Praxidike Meng (Terry Chen) to be the center of attention. Dr. Meng is a botanist who was on Ganymede when the mirror fell into the dome. Watching him wake up on a refugee ship without his daughter Mei was disturbing, to say the least. Never mind what ended up happening on that refugee ship, this was a great example of how political decisions can devastate the average person and their family. It is haunting and creepy and incredibly well done.
The crew of the Rocinante had their own issues to deal with as well. The strange dynamic between Holden and Naomi continues, with the proto-molecule ‘secret’ threatening to tear them apart at every turn. Also, Amos has a heartbreaking moment that stemmed from an encounter with a refugee child, sending him down a path that was very dark and also very sad.
All of this set the emotional tone which made the OPA actions, or the more extreme members of the OPA, regarding the stockpile of missiles Fred had even more interesting. Drummer was excellent during this coup, as was Fred, and I don’t think this group had any idea who they were really dealing with. It was great to see Amos pull himself out of his funk long enough to be a factor, helping his tortured soul, at least a little bit.
Leaving behind the politics for a while, The Expanse dug deep into the emotions of the show and tapped into some parts of characters that made that feel more vulnerable, more interesting and more human. There are times where we take things for granted and The Expanse falls into that trap now and again, but in “Pyre” we discover just how much the show is in touch with what’s really going on and that can only be a good thing as the season continues on.
Episode 9: The Weeping Somnambulist
Week after week The Expanse continues to juggle the politics and action very well, giving us some fantastic space battles and scenery to getting us emotionally attached to characters, some who most of thought we would never give a damn about. This week the show goes back to the well in terms of emotion, combining characters struggling with different issues with the political and corporate landscape they are forced to live in.
The meeting, or the so called peace accords, begin between Earth and Mars and it quickly becomes clear that there is a lot of tension, resentment, and distrust hiding beneath the surface of everyone involved. (Some don’t tend to hide these facts simply by the way the gesture and talk) So into this den of tension walks Bobby, brought to testify about what she saw on Ganymede.
Except, that’s not what she has been ordered to do and Bobby, ever the good soldier does what she has to for Mars although it’s pretty clear she’s struggling with it. This, of course, is not missed by Avasarala, who asks the marine some questions of her own and soon has her suspicions confirmed. No one wants to believe the story about the blue eyed creature that she saw, but Bobby knows there is something else going on here and now Avasarala knows as well. It will be interesting to see how she proceeds in terms of Bobby, whether she tries to get her on board with the truth or if Bobby will even want anything to do with her at all.
As always, there is no shortage of drama on the Rocinante. The crew comes up with a plan to search for Dr. Meng’s daughter but it involves a couple and their ship the Weeping Somnambulist that Holden and the crew need. The plan does not go as they would have hoped, what a surprise, and though their hearts may have been in the right place, whether with the search for Meng’s daughter or the constant hunt for the proto-molecule, lives were lost and that’s on them. It is yet another grim reminder of how things can change in an instant and the best-laid plans can go to hell, even when you have the best of intentions.
It was another great episode of give and take, where the good guys make strides but the bad guys, and circumstances beyond anyone’s control decide that today is just not your day. The Expanse continues to find the balance between these two things with remarkable consistency and allowing for a truly marvelous viewing experience.
Episode 10: Cascade
Some might complain that The Expanse moves too slow, with too much emphasis on politics and all of the nonsense that involves. However, I find the show is moving just fast enough to give us little tidbits of information to chew on while diving deeper into the characters to see what they are really made of. This episode is all of that and more, continuing the plot arcs on every front and giving the viewer a completely enjoyable experience.
The search for Prax’s daughter Mei continues and with it, they discover another child with a similar condition is also missing. While fingers point at Dr. Strickland, and they should since he was last seen escorting Mei to safety on Ganymede, there is also more at play here. What do missing children with a shared sickness have to do with the proto-molecule? Taking that a step further, what do those two things have to do with the blue eyed creature that Bobby saw?
As Holden and the crew continue the search, Prax notices the plants are dying, meaning the station is not doing too well, either. While the station’s prognoses is grim, the way Prax calmly and precisely spells out its inevitable doom is both parts disturbing and creepy. I’m not sure if his disconnect from this is due to his missing daughter or something else but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
It’s almost inevitable now that Avasarala will have some sort of impact on every episode, whether big or small, and this has to do with the wonderful way her character is written and the wonderful performance by Shohreh Aghdashloo. There was no way she was buying Bobbie’s account of what happened and sure enough, she uncovers some information that proves she did indeed see something. Now she needs to get Bobbie to trust her and that won’t be easy, as we see for ourselves with Bobbie’s own actions. She has always had a very anti-Earth attitude, at least up until this point, and combined with her now lack of trust in her own superiors it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
As we wind down to the last three episodes I am so happy to say I don’t have a clue where all of this will lead. The ever changing political landscape, as well as the weird and wonderful dynamic that is going on between many of the characters make predictions very difficult, to say the least. Since The Expanse has been so good up until this point, I really wouldn’t have it any other way.
Four out of five stars.
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