July 9: The Expanse 4x01

[kinetic_elaboration]

Finally starting S4. I… thought this episode was good. I thought it was really good, really promising. It was a lot. But the thing is I can’t fault it for being a lot. That’s probably objectively a positive thing: many strands, many questions, many characters, many points of view—much to think about, and I like cerebral shows, I like complexity. I personally don’t think I’ll ever be sufficiently invested in this show in particular to care about its complexities as much as, as its best, those complexities warrant, but I can appreciate when it is doing well. Of course, I may eat these words if this set up is all wasted and fizzles out into nonsense, which certainly could occur.

So, yeah, I’m sure I missed a lot. Just thinking over the ep in my head, I keep thinking of characters or character-dynamics or scenes that came up in, and it’s kind of wild they fit all that in less than 50 minutes. I’m glad there was actually some exposition, although after a time skip that is literally necessary. I thought the Amos and Clarissa scene was a good example of how to put exposition in dialogue without it being too awkward or obvious. Because I was like ‘wait, did I miss them being friends?’ (totally plausible), but in fact that happened in the time skip and dialogue explains this. Not so hard. That said, I totally missed the part where the RCE was explained, had to look that up, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask that that be exposited at length. Like, I don’t know, I can’t tell what’s supposed to be a little hard/supposed to require attention and what is just needlessly opaque. Maybe how I want to watch the show, which is to say very casually, and how the show needs to be watched, which is with a fair bit of attention, are not compatible.

The concept of the new season, the discovery of all of these new planets/new land, and in particular the ‘new gold rush’ effect, is interesting. And I like how it’s pulling in the traditional factions as well as the characters, who are now aligned with different sub-factions and have cross-faction attachments, etc., in a new way. One thing I do like about this show is how it imagines a future that still relates to the past. Humans still have the same history and so there’s still a lot of the familiar in it. New York City pizza, Mormons, references to the Yukon, and so on. There are just also human beings who have never been on a planet with gravity before. That world building, when it’s the focus, is well-done and it grounds me and it also helps me feel that the show is actually saying something, about human nature, about real events from the past and how they could echo into a future that is so vastly different.

I enjoyed seeing more of Mars for pretty much the first time. Like, urban Mars. That was very interesting and I still love Bobbie, and I’m still amazed every time that THIS character somehow pulled me in where no one else did. I was disappointed in S1 when the mysterious Martians turned out to be just, like, regular people who were really regimented? But I guess they couldn’t be anything but. Seeing some of the ways that regimentation shows up in their day to day lives is interesting and I loved the set design, etc.

Also Chrisjen my beloved finally returns. I did like the 3B plotline, in particular that it finally moved away from the concept of war, but her absence was a real bummer. Line of the week to “Don’t put your dick in it, the situation is fucked enough.”

It’s so funny to see Burn Gorman anywhere. I’m originally familiar with him from Torchwood but I feel like his filmography is so diverse and bizarre.

Holden and Naomi are so boring. I know I watched the last season really slowly but it feels like it’s been SO long since any real effort was put into their relationship. I know they’re together. She’s awkwardly meeting his 15 parents or whatever; they’re saying I love you and making promises about together forever, but why are they together? I’ve kind of forgotten. Honestly a lot of the early relationships have kind of gone by the wayside. Where’s protective Amos as Naomi’s puppy? Where is any Amos and Alex interaction? Eh. I guess it is balancing a lot.

What else? I need to shower and get ready for bed before it gets too late so I can’t remember what else I was going to say. The new planet is definitely interesting… the landscape, the different factions, the mysterious events. I mean a LOT was set up here and all I can really say is that it could go somewhere very intriguing. Or it could not! Hard to tell as of yet. The combination of mystery, politics, and long-woven character entanglements is all piquing my interest. But I’m trying not to let my expectations get too high.