The Expanse Review: Intransigence S03E09

The mystery is deepening and causing some existential thought in The Expanse, with episode 9 of Season 3: Intransigence. (BEWARE! This review contains SPOILERS!)

As the title of this episode suggests, there is a lot of conflict between all the parties involved around the ring, with each jockeying for political superiority, rather than working for a common good.  Since the activation of the ring, the terrorist attack on the UNN ship Seung Un, and the faked video purportedly showing Holden (Steven Strait) claiming responsibility for the OPA, tensions have risen.  To escape from the missiles launched by Belters and Inners alike, the Rocinante, guided by the protomolecule/Miller (Thomas Jane), has entered the ring and ended up in some form of space where everything moves very slowly.  Stuck in here, and with Mars and the UN testing the waters, the crew look at their options.

What this gives us is a story filled with lots of dramatic tension, but played out more like a chess match, than a fast paced sequence of punch and counterpunch.  Luckily, The Expanse does both brilliantly, and although it might seem that not a lot happens on the surface, there is a great deal going on.

Essentially, we get to see four sides of the same mystery, as the attack, and fake video, has severed the ties between the Rocinante and the three main players.  After the events leading up to the arrest of Errinwright (Shawn Doyle), the Rocinante crew had pretty much found favour in each camp, and could safely thread the needle between them.  Now, they are really on their own, especially as the sabotage by Cohen (Brandon McGibbon) has rendered them unable to communicate outside the ship.  This just adds to the tension, and heightens the brinksmanship being played out within the ring, as the MCRN and Belters send their ships in after them.

While the MCRN and the Belters have made their move, the UNN are being more cautious and are evacuating the UNN Thomas Prince of most of the civilian task force.  This seems a little odd, as they formed the task force to examine the ring, so to abandon that idea when it comes to the crunch seems a bit weird.  This is the one issue I had with the plot in this episode, as that plot point seems to only exist to show how Tilly Fagan (Genelle Williams – Warehouse 13, Bitten) and Anna (Elizabeth Mitchell) are desperate to stay and witness this momentous event, albeit for different reasons.  If there is a saving grace, it is that both play this very well, as the characters try to hide their selfish desire to be included, and fail, alongside their normal roles.

There is a nice link shown between Tilly, and Melba (Nadine Nicole), as we discover that Melba is actually Clarissa Mao, the sister of Julie Mao (Florence Faivre), and daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao (François Chau).  Sadly, for me, the character of Melba was a little ruined by the reveal of what her motivations were, as it seemed a bit weak for her to be basically trying to prove herself to her father.  Up until that point there seemed to be a lot more depth going on and this sort of simplified it too much.  I suspect that the strength of the character is mainly down to the excellent work by Nadine Nicole.  It may well be that there is more going on though, and it isn’t as simple as this episode made it appear, so the opportunity may not be lost.

With Melba obviously gunning for Holden, we could end up seeing her coming face to face with whatever remains of Julie with the protomolecule, as Holden ends this episode jumping towards the nucleus of the space within the ring.  The scenes within the Rocinante are great, with each of the main characters having brilliant moments.  From Alex’s (Cas Anvar) tentative knocking at Holden’s door, to Amos (Wes Chatham) going the brute force route with Cohen and Monica (Anna Hopkins), and then to almost a whole episode of Holden getting frustrated with Miller, it just works perfectly.

Over on the Behemoth, the Belters are being Belters too, reverting back to their base character and displaying their own intransigence, typified by the stirring call to arms by Drummer (Cara Gee).  As has been the case in the past few episodes, Cara Gee and David Strathairn (as Klaes) have been fantastic.  All this chest banging, plus a little chat with Klaes, which probably doesn’t have the effect he expects, Naomi (Dominique Tipper) ends the episode travelling back towards the Rocinante, feeling that that’s where her heart lies.

As we tip over into the last third of the season, it is still in very rude health, and despite a couple of minor quibbles, this is another excellent episode.  This show goes from strength to strength, and I suspect it will only get better.