The Expanse

[webhead 519]

There's a topic on the Center but I want to talk here too.  I just binged through the entire thing and finished season 3 last night.  This show is fantastic.  It's kind of hard to explain what this show is but picture a little BSG mixed with Star Trek and a little Mass Effect too.  It's just fucking interesting sci-fi and I'm particularly impressed by how logical the explanations are for things in universe (even the fact that there's no instant communication across very large distances and people end up leaving each other messages all the time).

 

The end of season 3 goes...

Spoiler

full fucking Mass Effect

 

We just opened a gateway to I think they said 1800 other galaxies?  Holy fuck.  This is going to be so fucking awesome.

I thought the first few episodes of the show started a bit slow but once

Spoiler

the protomolecule shows up

the show really gets fucking interesting.  This is some really good sci-fi.  Now I know why everyone was cheering when Amazon picked this show up.  I would have been so fucking pissed that the show ended where it did.

 

Also trailer for the new season (December 13th):

 

[Vic Boss 612]

It's also based on a book series that's almost over, so there should be enough material for a few more seasons.

 

I think this is one of the shows you have to put on definitive sci-fi TV show lists.

[Vic Boss 612]

Season 4 was okay

 

I thought more than any other season, it drove home the point how dumb humans are while big galaxy-shaking things can be going around them. I really liked the Amos/Murtry stuff.

 

Belter business was so-so, felt like they cleaned away a bunch of characters who might be leaving the show rather than actually serving the story? Ashford's execution was a fucking incredible scene, at least.

 

Avasarala's stuff was interesting but you totally could've just flipped showed her scenes with Bobbi and it would've served its purpose fine.

 

Bobbi's stuff was also okay (dat one-take shootout at the end), felt more prologue-y to whatever happens next.

[Vic Boss 612]

Oh shiiiii didn't realize Season 5 was already going

 

First 2 eps

 

Much like the characters, I'm getting sucked back in. However unlike the characters, I've forgotten a lot of it.

 

Lol'ed at Amos/Timothy confronting mob boss Zuckerberg

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

My girlfriend and I literally had the same reaction when we were browsing Amazon Prime.  About to watch the first episode after I finish dinner.

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

Episode 5

Spoiler

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Of the Gods

 

Tiny's probably still alive

[Vic Boss 612]

Episode 9

 

Me Most Of The Season: Why are we wasting time bumming around on Earth

 

Me This Episode: HAHA HELL YEAH AMOS SUCK A DICK EARTH

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

Finale

 

Spoiler

Holy shit.  After what was mostly a weak season until the end, I felt this season was a lot stronger.  I cared more for the conflicts, a LOT of significant events, and the last few episodes were a ride and a half.

 

I had no clue about Cas Anvar's sexual misconduct, so I was fully shocked by Alex's death.  Especially the way they already teased him coming close to death earlier this season.  It felt so sudden and unceremonious at first, but that's part of what makes it great.  It was a fully realistic way to implement death(sometimes it just happens), and it played up on lore that always felt like background detail up to this point.  And while the death itself was kind of glossed over, I felt the process of mourning afterward did a lot to balance that, while also not glorifying the actor too much for safe-keeping.  The message meant for Naomi's death that slotted perfectly for Alex's death was powerful.

 

My love and respect for Naomi grew a lot this season, too.  She's always been one of my least favorite characters just because she always makes these impulsive decisions that she never seems to learn from.  While I'm not sure she learned from this, I felt the scenes of her on the ship were incredibly redeeming.  I think it was Episode 8 where half the episode was just her trying to assess the ship and send the message out, with almost no dialogue, great scene cuts as well as the few long shots.  Incredibly intense, and had me thinking a couple times that Naomi might be the one to die this season.  When that episode ended with the "I'm in control" message during the credits, I had chills.  I literally just got chills typing it up.

 

The Roci won't really be the same without Alex, but bringing in Clarissa is a nice touch.  I also wouldn't mind seeing the military dick end up joining their crew, though I'm still up in the air whether he can even be trusted.

 

I've heard rumors the next season is supposed to be the last?  Very curious to see where this all leads and what develops.  Great comeback from a lackluster season with a dope climax.

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Jesus CHRIST

 

Fucking Naomi jumping out into space again and just narrowly missing the rotating ship bonking her and then we're just hanging out while she's suffocating and then you hear Bobbi bump into the background

 

I didn't even realize Alex had died, I thought something else had happened and he was reading the news and shocked at it

[webhead 519]

Just finished it the other night.  Man what a rollercoaster. 

 

Spoiler

 

I was kinda less hot on this season just because it was all of them split up doing shit that was more dramatic than it was cool sci fi.  That said as we got closer to the end, shit really ratcheted up.

 

Alex's death sucks and it sucks even more because it was due to the actor apparently being a shit.  It was KIND of cool how they made this happen from something most shows would totally ignore and they heavily foreshadowed it in retrospect when he talked about how they need to do shit and might stroke out from all the juice.  

 

On 2/6/2021 at 2:18 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

She's always been one of my least favorite characters just because she always makes these impulsive decisions that she never seems to learn from

I definitely feel this sentiment.  She isn't my least favorite character per se but she does dumb shit that annoys me for sure.   I really didn't love how they reduced her to a quivering crying mess several times on her stint on that ship with her kid.  I felt like that whole thing was kind of unsatisfying with her kid just going back to hating her at the end too.  Curious to see if there ends up being more to that.  She definitely didn't learn any lessons though.

 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

I just didn't buy her style of parenting because Belters seem less the type of "What are your feelings on this issue, son?" and more the type of "Oh, you wanna talk shit to me? *takes off sandal and starts whipping his ass with it*

 

There's a few times where I was like "Nah, she would've at least slapped him right there."

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

11 hours ago, webhead said:

Just finished it the other night.  Man what a rollercoaster. 

 

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I was kinda less hot on this season just because it was all of them split up doing shit that was more dramatic than it was cool sci fi.  That said as we got closer to the end, shit really ratcheted up.

 

Alex's death sucks and it sucks even more because it was due to the actor apparently being a shit.  It was KIND of cool how they made this happen from something most shows would totally ignore and they heavily foreshadowed it in retrospect when he talked about how they need to do shit and might stroke out from all the juice.  

 

I definitely feel this sentiment.  She isn't my least favorite character per se but she does dumb shit that annoys me for sure.   I really didn't love how they reduced her to a quivering crying mess several times on her stint on that ship with her kid.  I felt like that whole thing was kind of unsatisfying with her kid just going back to hating her at the end too.  Curious to see if there ends up being more to that.  She definitely didn't learn any lessons though.

 

 

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure there's more to come.  They kept teasing that he was sort of seeing the error in Marco's ways with Naomi gone, and I'm guessing there'll be some kind of big moment of redemption near the end of the next season.  But yeah, while I get it's a very touchy, emotional subject for her, I just wanted her to show some backbone.  This show does really well with making the women more than some caricature, and she was great at that early on.  But it's like ever since her and Holden officially became an item, she changed from this smart-mouthing, tech-savvy, strong-willed heroine to the posterchild for everything feminists go at the media for.

 

Only reason I didn't go ham on that opinion is because I do feel like the latter half of the season redeemed that.  I just hope they don't make her so over-emotional in the next season.  Let this be it and I'll be happy to write it off as character development.

 

[Vic Boss 612]

WE BACK IN IT