Is anybody else watching The Expanse?

well also it looked like a fuckin spider

wish it had given holden a fatal blow, tho -- he and alex are corny as fuc

this was GRIM

see as a corny fuc myself i can relate to them

xpost

sci-fi without corny as fuck is like fish 'n' chips without vinegar!

lol with some practice you could be nearly as corny as holden, but never alex

the fate of the galaxy is ultimately going to come down to holden's mysterious ~connection~ to protomolecule/aliens/'miller' and him persuading it/them to chill, isn't it

will the protomolecule also be his dad y/n

not so much a mysterious connection as an explicit infection/rewriting

How do series map to books. Did people get killed off because we were entering a new volume or something?
I'm not 100% up on chronology either is this all supposed to be happening consecutively or are there supposed to be major intervals anywhere.

B1: first 1.5 seasons. B2: 2nd half S2+1st half S3. B3: 2nd half S3. B4: S4. B5: S5, with backstory in B plots of S4.

Some characters that have died in the series didn't get resolutions in the books.

So far, everything in the series is chronological. By season 5, years have passed since Julie Mao disappeared. In the books, Rocinante is a working ship, not wholly dependent on Fred Johnson's charity. It's glossed in the books that it's taken on other jobs between books 2 & 3, and between books 3 & 4, like anti-piracy patrol for the Belt and high-value transport, that keep the crew in fuel & kibble.

Cool, thanks

some of the series characters are composites (kinda) of book characters (e.g. Drummer) - though I think this was covered upthread. I was watching Season 4 when Covid hit (9 months ago lol) and stopped because too close for comfort ... I finished it the other night and started on Season 5.

I liked the futuristic DeWalt product placement

yeah I like a bit of DeWalt. The unstoppable robot spider had a brand name on it as well I think.

disappointed it wasn't DeWalt trademark yellow

it would be a bugger if you forgot to fully charge it before tasking it with such an important cargo!

lmao

Wouldn't be surprised if Frederick W. Smith (founder of FedEx and Alcon Entertainment) had some ownership interest in Spectrum Brands to smooth the brand placement.

more than anything else I'm watching right now, this season just has such a compelling STORY

what a concept

unstoppable robot spider said "Savage" on it iirc -- was disappointed it wasn't a Hilti as the colors were right

the amos scenes in this ep have Cube energy

this last episode was a fuckin cracker

inaros really turning into a very enjoyably hatable villain

this is the first time in years I'm eagerly waiting for a new ep of a series to drop - it's so good right now.

it really is. however i’ve completely forgotten the basis for amos’ tender connection with “peaches” i.e. melba i.e. julie mao’s sister clarissa. didn’t she frame holden for a previous opa bombing??

whoa was that who that was?! that makes more sense, I thought it was some random new plot element from his criminal past but you are right. I assume he was seeing her for reasons yet unknown.

that episode totally fucking ruled, obviously, the shock wave taking out UN1 was A++

In the book they transport her back to earth from the ring gate for trial. It’s takes months to cover the distance and at some point they let her out and Amos and her form a bond repairing stuff on the rocinante, which is beat up after the slow zone incident.

Everything is a bit foreshortened in the tv series but the better pacing suits it. The inaros stuff is a bit turgid in the book.

ah, thanks for context

I never know if booksplaining is a good idea or not but this bit sets up probably the best sequence in the books, Amos on earth, and how it’s unfolding so far on screen is really gripping.

yep, cuz he is fucked now, there ain't gonna be some easy way offplanet

So after trying to wait to get whole season broke down, and that means half way (or more) through season already

as always amos and chrissy (!) were/are joys, apart and def together

think thy've, which has been ongoing, done great job of combining/compressing storylines from books
in re that though, and responding to cpl above comments - maybe wasnt ultra clear but think not just in books but in show they have

1. made clear that the rocinante doesn't just depend on goodwill of fred johnson - the whole point of in (s 3?) transporting the journalists, lead of whom is back in this season but whose name i'm blanking is that that was a pay job - fred just gives them a friends/family discount on repairs not full subsidy for adventures

2. re peaches/clarissa mao- not just a book thing but when they are transporting her back for trial (again s3, end) she is working with amos on ship repairs and it comes up that he intentionally gave her option of committing suicide as opposed to facing life in prison, feeling that wld be a choice he'd want in that position. her belief she deserves to face trial/punishment is when he told her (bad paraphrase/memory) - then take the shit they give you and just grind out your time giving nothing back. a line she repeats to him when he comes to visit her and she realises he's really there.

think for amos who we've seen clings to codes he's gained from others or maybe more tries to live by the codes of others he sees as better, saw a chance to maybe serve as a compass for someone else who is even more lost lost (and love amos having to serve as moral compass for lost person)

but yeah, have been pushing the show on friends for years now and restarted now new season is back - and great

Ah yes, Amos give her a chance to space herself.

this show is finally properly "GOT (but good) in space" and I love it

the Amos standoff / Clarissa attack sequence is good as hell!!

killer closing line (straight from the books I'd guess), great delivery from Chatham

some more thoughts up to 5.06

The Marco/Naomi scene where they're openly talking in medieval terms (not to mention the mention of "rallying to his banner") had me chuckling in its sheer GOTness. also, I think Marco is a fantastic villain. the guy plays him with just the right mix of petulance, arrogance, and conviction.

it occurs to me that Marco’s a lot like a dog chasing a car

re Amos & Clarissa -- I think some of the bond between them is the darkness/anger/sociopathy aspect of their personalities that aren't just completely chaotic or mercenary. Like, there's a kindred spirit aspect there, as well as the fascination that they come from opposite social strata.

Also, the polyamorous sex-positive belter pod is in the books. This wasn't an invention of the show to make things sexy on a show that doesn't have as much sex as comparable programs (e.g. Game of Thrones lol)

I hadn't even really paid enough attention to those characters to notice they had a polycule going tbh

everyone on Drummer’s ship right now (at least before they met up with Marco)? polycule

the "Clarissa goes ham on the weirdo" sequence was, I daresay, slightly Lynchian!

Showxiating

think for amos who we've seen clings to codes he's gained from others or maybe more tries to live by the codes of others he sees as better

pretty much called the end of yesterday's episode!

this was intense. did not expect the Last Of Us vibes!

so happy for bobbie and and alex. they deserve it.

absolutely cannot wait for the next episode. too far away!

Drummer's Faction: Requirements

Loyalty
Love
Dedication
and being really, really, really ridiculously good looking #TheExpanse506

— Aspect of Dan (@Garcian_Smith) January 8, 2021

Dawes is, AFAWK, still alive, right? I wonder if we'll get one last Jared Harris appearance.

holy fuck these last two eps were good

Marco looks like such a high school drama teacher.

and the silly little han solo stripe down the side of his space trousers!

E06 best of this season so far - six separate story threads weaving around and incredibly exciting and well edited rather than overstuffing. Major LOLs at Bobbie's HUD display showing the Belter boarding party as "Low Threat"

I think this is the first time there's been a ton of different plots and none of them are boring