After carefully setting up the building blocks in the first three episodes, The Expanse finally explodes with action in “CQB”. While the world-building and visual effects remain The Expanse‘s greatest assets, the complicated relationships between interplanetary political factions and differing cultures improve with each episode.
One of the things I appreciate the most about this show is that creators have clearly put careful thought into each science fiction element that makes up this world. While most of the credit can be attributed to the creative minds of James S. A. Corey (the pen name of the authors who dreamt up The Expanse in their book series), there’s always the possibility that details can be lost in an on-screen adaptation. Not so in this case. Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have eschewed lazy storytelling and rote visuals in favor of a fully realized science fiction universe.
A lot of these details are highlighted on the MCRN Donnager, in which most of the action takes place in this episode. The unidentified ships seen following the Donnager in the last episode finally open fire on the Martians after ignoring multiple warnings. The ensuing space battle deviates from the typical dogfighting style made popular by the Star Wars films, where ships shoot at each other in close quarters, resulting in fiery explosions. In this case, torpedoes are silently launched from a distance, each ship hoping to hit their target while staying put in order to preserve fuel. In fact, when the bogies finally do engage in close quarter battle (CQB), the Martians are mystified as to why these small ships would want to take on a massive cruiser such as the Donnager (we later learn that the bogies are equipped with surprisingly high-grade technology).
Amidst the space scuffle, the crew members of the Knight are dealing with their own struggles as prisoners. In these scenes, gravity (and the lack thereof) is used as a fantastic visual tool. For example, a stray shot from the railgun blows through the prisoners’ holding cell and unfortunately obliterates Shed’s (Paul Costanzo) head in the process. The blood from his severed neck floats eerily upwards until Naomi (Dominique Tipper) and Amos (Wes Chatham) manage to plug the holes in the hull; when gravity’s restored, the gore drops in an audible squelch. In another instance, while running from enemy gunfire, Naomi and Holden (Steven Strait) are suddenly suspended in midair, completely exposed and unable to accelerate forwards. Using practical physics, Holden pushes Naomi forward so he can move towards the ground to activate his gravity boots, and then tugs the hovering Naomi back with a tether. And finally for comedic effect, when the crew is aboard the shuttle Tachi, Holden just sort of throws a drug-addled Alex (Cas Anvar) in the direction of the pilot’s seat, where he gently floats into position. All of these visual treats are evidence that the show creators are choosing not to rely on drama to capture the audience’s attention, but are instead respecting the intelligence and dedication of the viewers with such thoughtful detail.
Besides the visuals, the political intrigue in The Expanse just keeps getting better and better. Holden realizes that he recognizes the enemy ships as the same kind of ship that destroyed the Canterbury. What we know about them so far are two-fold: (1) they have extremely advanced technology, and (2) they are trying to frame Mars in hopes of interplanetary war. Adding to the mystery is Tycho Station, where a ship called the Nauvoo is being constructed in order to send Mormons to a new world around a new sun. We can tell something fishy is going on when Fred Johnson (Chad L. Coleman), the station manager with ties to the OPA, points sensors towards the Donnager, implying that he’s perhaps connected to the ships sent to attack both the Canterbury and the Martian cruiser. Meanwhile, we’re introduced to an entirely new conspiracy when Lopez (Greg Bryk) reveals that the Phoebe Station was destroyed with the purposes of covering something up. All of these mysteries are artfully building upon themselves, pointing towards a complex and well-crafted revelation in the future.
Indeed, so far the biggest weakness on the show seems to be Detective Miller’s (Thomas Jane) search for Julie Mao (Florence Faivre). The clues are arriving at such a glacial pace that it’s difficult to maintain interest in a character we’ve only seen for a few minutes at the beginning of the very first episode. It doesn’t help that Miller is the least fleshed-out main character on the show, lacking the personality and charisma to carry this tedious subplot. In this episode, we learn that Mao’s acquaintance (who died in the Ceres riots) has no official identification, is a data broker, and has a memory crypt (which Miller extracts in a gratuitously gruesome scene). I’m hoping that soon we’ll either get some backstory on Miller or learn something more substantial about Julie herself, because even if it’s eventually revealed that Julie is central to the fabric of the show’s mythos, it’ll be too late for anyone to care. Perhaps the real reason this dead weight plot is so aggravating is because it’s competing against the phenomenal storytelling happening in the other corners of the solar system.
Other Thoughts:
Lopez provided some more insight into the Martian way of thinking. Apparently, Mars has become a libertarian fantasy world, touting individualism and progress while looking down on the Earthers and their government handouts. While the Martians initially seem cold and militaristic, Lopez manages to gain some sympathy in describing his dream of seeing on ocean on Mars, and his lament that Earth only knows destruction and decay.
So Havelock (Jay Hernandez) is apparently still alive?
We’re teased with some further information on Amos and Naomi’s relationship when Amos gives his heartfelt thanks for her past help, and Naomi laments that she didn’t get to say goodbye to someone. I can’t wait to find out more.
Although Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) makes only a brief appearance this episode, she still manages to light up the screen as she lies on the roof with her grandson, contemplating the stars and worrying about people who throw rocks.