After two excellent seasons, The Expanse returns with a 12 episode run, of what has been one of the best sci-fi shows in several years. It all kicks off with episode 1: Fight or Flight. (BEWARE! There are SPOILERS AHEAD!)
For those who haven’t seen any of the previous episodes, The Expanse is based on the books by James S. A. Corey (a pen name of writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), and is set two hundred years in the future, where Earth has colonised Mars, as well as other parts of the solar system. Three main factions exist: Earth (United Nations), Martian Congressional Republic, and the ‘Belters’, ostensibly led by Fred Johnson (Chad L. Coleman) and Anderson Dawes (Jared Harris); also in the Belters corner is the ‘Outer Planets Alliance’, which is either a political movement or a terrorist group, depending on who is referring to it.
If this makes you think that this show will be more of a political endeavour, you would be partly right, as The Expanse cleverly mixes some serious political and social discourse, with some extremely hard science fiction. This mix is clear when you look at how things stand as we head into season 3:
Over the years, tension between the three factions has grown, for many reasons including resources and autonomy; recent events have been engineered to start a war between Earth and Mars, and a full declaration is a moment away. Into this mix is an experiment gone wrong, conducted by an Earth company called Protogen, working with Mars. Mars had discovered what becomes known as the Protomolecule on Phoebe (one of Saturn’s moons), and engaged in research with Protogen, which culminates in them deliberately infecting a whole station on the asteroid Eros. This protomolecule is of extra-terrestrial origin and can radically alter infected life forms and adapt them as necessary. Seen as a weapon, as we enter this season, all three factions now have specimens of it.
THE EXPANSE — “Fight or Flight” Episode 301 — Pictured: Steven Strait as Earther James Holden — (Photo by: Rafy/Syfy)
At the centre of the ongoing story is the crew of the Rocinante, a stolen Mars warship, led by James Holden (Steven Strait). This crew is a loose collection of allies, who have been thrust together by circumstance: Naomi (Dominique Tipper), Alex (Cas Anvar), Amos (Wes Chatham) and a relatively new addition, Prax (Terry Chen), whose daughter was a victim of experimentation with the protomolecule. These characters are our main focus and who are probably the only ones who can avert catastrophe, having connections with all the players, and having been involved with some key moments.
Like this crew, the universe created in The Expanse is messy, unpredictable and altogether too believable. This is no super clean sci-fi serial, with cheesy dialogue and macguffins solving story problems. This is a gritty and realistic show, which happens to be set in space, but naturally utilising that wider scope and all the benefits it allows. It also helps that the cast in this series is impeccable and there are great performances throughout; even in smaller roles, the actors chosen are excellent, with well-known people popping up here and there!
THE EXPANSE — “Fight or Flight” Episode 301 — Pictured: (l-r) Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala — (Photo by: Rafy/Syfy)
At the centre of the political stories, is Chrisjen Avasarala, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo (Star Trek Beyond, 24, The Punisher, Grimm), who gives this side of things such a great weight, gravitas, and humanity, that make these scenes rival any other political show. The politics are highly complex and the show doesn’t shy away from dealing with any issues, and is more likely to walk further into the mire, than make it clean and simple; throughout this, it also seems realistic and relevant.
This isn’t to say that this show is all talk and no action however, as this is still firmly a science fiction show, and the environment is brilliantly brought to life. Not only is there quality CGI, but the set design is excellent, delivering a moody atmosphere, full of ergonomically believable technology. Everything looks functional, and feels like a real world, but also in certain circumstances, looks cool, as you’d want; look at the Rocinante itself, or Draper (Frankie Adams) in her Marines combat suit and you’ll know what I mean. This is all used very effectively, and the show delivers plenty of great action scenes and spectacle.
THE EXPANSE — “Fight or Flight” Episode 301 — Pictured: Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper — (Photo by: Rafy/Syfy)
In this opening episode of the season the story picks up where Season 2 left off, but lets everyone regroup before shooting off on a new direction. For the Rocinante crew this means renaming the ship and repairing all the damage, while also eradicating any remaining protomolecules left on board from the hybrid attack; in a somewhat foreboding shot though, we see that they don’t catch it all. The crew goes through some nice stuff this episode, highlighting the dysfunctional family aspect of their relationship, and does eventually come to a decision about what to do next, which is to go to Johnson’s Tycho station. Just as they are about to do this though, Holden finds a tiny thread relating to the protomolecule’s behaviour and they immediately decide to jump back into the fire and head to the moon Io, to investigate; all except Naomi, who is still slightly distanced from the rest after she gave the protomolecule to Johnson without the others consent. This is played very well and there is a lot of good emotional tension between various members of the crew as they discuss the next action.
THE EXPANSE — “Fight or Flight” Episode 301 — Pictured: (l-r) Wes Chatham as Amos Burton, Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal — (Photo by: Rafy/Syfy)
The other big element to this episode is that Chrisjen, Cotyar (Nick E. Tarabay), and Draper are still trapped on board Mao’s (François Chau) ship, after surviving Errinwright’s (Shawn Doyle) initial assassination attempt. With the UN escort ship launching missiles at them, the newly solidifying trio plan their escape, having to split up in the process, with Draper as Chrisjen’s protection, and Cotyar reluctantly having to leave separately. With Errinwright’s treason out in the open, at least for Chrisjen, it seems the gloves might be off now, and we shall see her reveal her full strength; to me there’s also a lot of great storytelling potential in Draper’s commitment to the cause, as she battles against her own side, and former superiors.
As ever, there was also action, deceit and Machiavellian moves on all sides away from the main two stories. On Tycho, Johnson sets in motion a plan whereby Drummer (Cara Gee) salvages the Nauvoo, the ship he built for the Mormons, with the aim of converting it into a warship. Meanwhile on Earth, Errinwright, after goading the Secretary General (Jonathan Whittaker) into declaring war on Mars, sets up Chrisjen as the scapegoat for the Protogen conspiracy.
This was a solid start to the new season and bodes well for the rest of the episodes. The Expanse has always been one of the best show’s that people should see, so hopefully with this strong start it will garner the viewer numbers it deserves. This show is a gem, and it’s proved it once again!
