July 15: The Expanse 4x02

[kinetic_elaboration]

I think this was a good episode and I like where S4 is going but for some reason it felt so long to me. That might just be a me problem. I’ve been kind of going through it this evening and maybe I just didn’t have the stamina for this episode. Even though a bunch happened and I wouldn’t call it slow or uninteresting, I wouldn’t call it long as in boring, it just felt like it was taking a very long time.

Anyway, overall, I still like the concept of the new planet and all of the different factions/characters/character groups circling around the unexplored land and all its possibilities. As a resource, as a refuge, as a mystery—exploitable, dangerous, a pawn. That’s interesting. More interesting than war. And I guess I’ll give it to this show for constantly pushing at the boundaries of its universe, not telling one particular story, but following different ideas to tell different types of stories. Or possibly telling one multi-faceted story—not sure, and either would be fine.

 

Some random, specific thoughts:

I think the Bobbie/Mars/Chrisjen stuff was probably my favorite. I like Bobbie a lot and I liked seeing her all dressed up and trying her best while simmering with resentment inside. I live for interactions between her and Chrisjen, even as short as we got. Bobbie can totally read her. She can be honest with her even while still showing her respect. And she might be the only non-family person in the universe Chrisjen actually likes, tbqh. I just think they have the best dynamic on the show and a totally unique one that I haven’t seen in any other media. I’m also still enjoying Mars and I loved the bit of quasi-gratuitous Bobbie badassery at the end. I’m curious to see where this will go. She obviously can’t just stay on Mars having a boring job forever, but there are already the starts of various threads to get her out of there and it’s only ep2.

I’m weirdly liking Drummer and Ashford. I didn’t care about either of them at all until fairly late in the last season and they haven’t even done that much this year but somehow they’ve really jumped in my esteem. I kind of like the idea of them literally floating at the perimeter of the Ring and figuratively floating at the perimeter of the story, keeping an eye out for future plots and running down pirates, uncertain in their identities as Belters who work with Inners.

On a related note, I think actually it was smart of the show to put its war in S3 and finish it up by mid-season. It didn’t just build forever up to it with tensions among the three groups. It brought out those tensions and then went on to something more interesting than the war (which was very boring in its depiction honestly) and more sustainable than when-will-the-war-come: the aftermath, the attempt to make peace. Chrisjen’s fake quote summed it up and was true. We also see the difference between people at the top—willing to make peace especially when there is money, for whom all of this destruction has been very fake anyway—and people who are just ordinary—still simmering in resentments, but who also care more about their own lives and well-being, and their own memories, than about what elites have declared to be true.

This also explains why the Roci crew to me is like… really struggling to deserve their relevance as technically I guess the main characters? Because they are not now and never have been concerned with all this stuff, either high order politics or on the ground everyday life. They are their own family, and they concern themselves with staying out of other people’s business and with dealing with the Big Mysteries of the Universe. Those Big Mysteries might be interesting but I’ve yet to see them ever coalesce into anything specific enough to warrant my interest. Like I will care when I see real answers and not a moment before because until then I will not believe I will get answers. Have I ever really gotten them before? Arguable at best. Plus I know in general that the longer a show drags out its big mystery, the less likely the conclusion will be to satisfy. I’m going to care more about the concrete and Holden is literally as far away from that as it is possible to be. So—boring.

I think there is almost something interesting with Miller/the Investigator but like… I know what I would be doing with him based on what I know so far. But I can’t tell if I’m reading that into the story because that’s what is being hinted at or because that’s what I want to see. I think (want?) that whatever it is that makes up the Ring has enough sentience or at least enough… ability to want to figure out what happened to its makers, what threat wiped them out, and it’s using the leftover stuff of Miller’s consciousness to figure it out, specifically because he solved crimes for a living. And that’s interesting. But I really don’t see anything deeper or more specific than that yet and this storyline has been limping along since last season. I’m going to need to see more clothes on the emperor. I’m tired of this cryptic stuff.

Holden/Naomi are also boring. As I said, that ship has sailed for me. This story around her being ill-suited to planets is the kind of thing I like. I’m curious to see where it goes.

I wish Alex and Amos interacted with each other more. Their parts are just both so small and, like, I do find them enjoyable together or separately but not a lot ever really seems to happen with them. At least Amos got to fuck this time.

Anyway. I think that’s all my thoughts for today. I’m curious to see what will happen when I watch again.