S05.E04: Gaugamela

[raven]

Quote

Marco's grand plan shocks Earth, Mars and the Belt.

Please keep your discussion to this episode only.  No book talk, thank you!

Airdate 2020.12.23

[thuganomics85]

Say what you will about him (and there certainly is a lot to be said), but Marco certainly isn't all talk.  Dude just threw down the gauntlet on both Earth and Mars big time!  Basically dropped numerous astroids on Earth and Mars (I think), and now the Martian Parliament has been wiped out, millions of Earther lives have been lost, and even Nancy Gao herself is likely dead, along with most of Earth's government.  Yep, that is certainly one way to get everyone's back against the wall!

Oh, and not only that, but he and his "Free Navy" also find time to attack Tycho Station where a) they steal the protomolecule and b) assassinate Fred Johnson.  The first part is obviously bad for numerous reasons, but losing Fred means that the more moderate Belter voice has been silenced, and I wonder if this means the more radical Belters will get even stronger.  Hate to say it, but I can see a lot of Belters being swayed by Marco's words and being down with the Free Navy.  Have a feelings things are going to get very dicy going forward!

In attempt to not speak too ill of the dead, I'll give Gao credit for at least listening to Chrisjen near the end and getting the Watchtower activated to take out the rest of the meteors.  Sure, more lives would have likely been saved had she and everyone else not acted like Chrisjen was a nuisance; instead an intelligent individual, who has great instincts despite her salty approach towards things; but better late than never.

So, Amos' mysterious visit was to an underground prison, where he meets up with "Peaches" a.k.a. Clarissa Mao!  Certainly seems like she is having a rough go of it both physically and mentally (and a lot of it was her own doing), but it was cool seeing them interact again.  Since Nadine Nicole is a regular in the credits, I'm guessing she'll be sticking around again.

Monica might be a self-serving individual at times, but I do respect her ability to throw down and take action when the shit goes down.

Naomi continues to have her worst day ever, probably.

I wonder what in store for Alex and Bobbie, big picture wise.  And Drummer, once she finds out what Ashford's killer did.

Will miss Chad L. Coleman here.  Hopefully he'll be showing up again on The Orville once that finally comes back.

[UnknownK]

Not sure why they would threaten the inner planets with the proto-molecule since it's only function was to create the gates and they are already up.

Where did the poor belters get money to buy stealth tech and ships from anyway? Now that Mars was also attacked good luck getting spare parts for those ships if they survive long enough to need them.

I assume Chrisjen will end up being in charge of earth again now they the last cabinet got nuked, or will some department of education office holder take over?

Naomi used to be fun and intelligent now her arc bores me because of stupidity.

I assume Amos breaks Peaches out of lockup sooner later then later.

 

 

[MissLucas]

4 hours ago, UnknownK said:

Not sure why they would threaten the inner planets with the proto-molecule since it's only function was to create the gates and they are already up.

IIRC it's not clear that the proto-molecule is deactivated just because the gates are up. The havoc it created in S1 is still fresh in memories. I certainly would not have had the guts to sleep with that stuff hidden under my bed.

I noticed that the only main character whose reaction to the attack we did not see was Drummer. Should be interesting especially in combination with the news of Johnson's assassination.

[UnoAgain]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Drummer. Should be interesting especially in combination with the news of Johnson's assassination.

She's probably gonna be like... I thought I was out... And you pulled me back in... Plus eventually her and Holden will figure out Marcos has Naomi.... Then its time for blood

[Macbeth]

9 hours ago, UnknownK said:

Where did the poor belters get money to buy stealth tech and ships from anyway? Now that Mars was also attacked good luck getting spare parts for those ships if they survive long enough to need them.

I assume Chrisjen will end up being in charge of earth again now they the last cabinet got nuked, or will some department of education office holder take over?

Naomi used to be fun and intelligent now her arc bores me because of stupidity.

 

I assume that given what Bobby and Alex were investigating on Mars there is a faction on Mars that is responsible of giving the stealth technology to Marcos.

I love Naomi, but I despise Marcos.  I really don't want to spend time with a character who has a narcissistic personality disorder.   Have enough of that in my own life. Thank you very much.

And we lost Fred!!  I am so going to miss Chad Coleman. Finally Chad was back on the show and now he is gone.  Such a loss.

Come on back Drummer.  Your skill set is very much needed now.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Macbeth

[wanderingstar]

Holy shit that was good! I have not felt an episode this deeply in my bones since season 3's "Fallen World"

RIP, Fred! Gone too soon.

The attack on Tycho Station was legit terrifying. When Holden realized what was happening, my heart sped up (and it was already racing!)

And RIP Nancy. It's a real shame you did not listen to Chrisjen before it was too late (shades of real life, tbh)

LOVED seeing Peaches and Amos! That relationships is one of my favorites in this series.

Feel so bad for Naomi. She is grieving the loss of her son on many levels.

Also felt terrible for Chrisjen. Not only might her whole family be dead, but now she might have to help guide Earth through a planetwide crisis. Damn.

 

 

[Haleth]

Well, that was depressing.
I need to go watch a sappy Christmas movie. 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Haleth

[WatchrTina]

THE GOOD

I liked seeing Amos & Clarissa together again, though the conditions of Clarissa’s incarceration are horrifying.  I assume there will be a pay-off to that reunion scene.  The show made a point of confirming to us that Clarissa’s implants are still in place so I have to assume that – as a result of the attack on earth (and the resulting damage to the prison) – Clarissa is getting out of that cell and that she is going to join forces with Amos to fight the good fight . . . as soon as they figure out who it is they are fighting. 

Ooooh, I loved it when Clarissa repeated back to Amos the advice he had given her about prison, (“Breath in, breath out, eat, shit, sleep . . . “).  Amos seemed less pleased.

Thank the Maker that Avasarala IS persistent.  I love that she got through to Gao via the butler and that THAT’S how she got them to retarget Earth’s defenses.  How ironic that Avasarala’s life was probably saved by her having been banished to the Moon.

Damn, that whole attack on the space station was intense!  And that assault/construction/safecracker robot was AMAZING.  Props to Holden for trying to jam it with a piece of furniture.  It nearly worked!  But mostly I’m impressed with the animators – it looked SO REAL

 

THE BAD

Ugh – Emo Eyeliner Mussolini turns my stomach. I’m going to hate every second that that wanker Marco is on the screen this season and – alas -- it looks like it’s going to be a lot since he’s the new “big bad.”  His son is nearly as big of a creep, what with his toxic unresolved mommy issues – even his father mocks him for it.

 

THE UGLY

Sakai’s hair-do.  Yeah, I said it.  Her head looks like an everlasting gobstopper from the Willy Wonka movie.

 

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS 

After the opening conversation between Alex & Bobbi -- all about her pet rat and the need to mourn when something dies (like the dream of a strong, resilient, honorable Mars) -- we hear the announcement about the asteroid striking Earth AND about an explosion on Mars.  WHAT explosion on Mars?  Is this the first we’ve heard of an attack there – one that was timed to coincide with the asteroid bombardment of Earth?

Edited December 25, 2020 by WatchrTina

[shrewd.buddha]

Every time I see  Clarissa (Peaches) Mao, I am reminded of the time she killed the old guy who was trying to help her work on the space station .. then used her enhancements to twist his body into a shape that could be stuffed into the machinery.  .. I wonder if she thinks about those times..
I wonder if Amos would be as sympathetic if that old guy had been a friend of his.

Same thing with Marco and Filip Inaros .. there are things that are just irredeemable. Marco is just another Bin Laden: what support would he have? He will go into hiding and be hunted for the rest of his short life. 

[whiporee]

If I were Chrisjen, there wouldn’t be much left of the belt when my much larger and more impressive Navy was done. And that’s not even talking about the Martians, whose entire civilization centers on being ready to defend themselves. 
 

having said that, I think the show does a poor job of showing Belters en masse, portraying them as one-note whiners. Since Miller and the botanist, I don’t think we’ve seen a Belter who wasn’t crying oppression and revenge. There have to be some who are just going on with their lives happily, doing jobs, getting married, having kids. I thought we’d seen an exception in that, but then she goes and shoots Fred. I know it’s done for dramatic effect, but I’d like to see whether the OPA are outliers or not in the belt. 
 

The episode moved very fast. 

[WatchrTina]

On 12/24/2020 at 9:06 AM, shrewd.buddha said:

Every time I see  Clarissa (Peaches) Mao, I am reminded of the time she killed the old guy

Yeah Clarissa is a convicted, cold-blooded murderer and we shouldn't forget that.  But I wouldn't mind that character redeeming herself a bit by fighting the good fight this season.  It'd be a shame to let her special skills (super-strength) go to waste -- especially when it is packaged in a character we can never completely trust.  Isn't that a well-established dramatic trope?  (Isn't that basically the plot of "The Dirty Dozen".)

In the early seasons Naomi acted as Amos' moral barometer and later Pastor Anna and Prax took turns playing that role (after Naomi's fall from grace.).  Amos knows he needs someone in that role and now one of his former "advisors" is not just gone from his life -- she is in mortal peril.  So I would enjoy seeing the roles reversed and watching Amos travel with Clarissa in a strange, fucked-up mutation of his relationship with Season 1 Naomi.  Instead of acting as Clarissa's moral barometer, Amos can act as both her brother-in-arms AND a looming threat to keep Clarissa on the right side of this fight.  I don't know if that is where the story is going (I haven't read the books) but there HAS to be a reason Amos is in that location when all hell breaks loose.

 

On 12/24/2020 at 9:07 AM, whiporee said:

I think the show does a poor job of showing Belters en masse, portraying them as one-note whiners. Since Miller and the botanist, I don’t think we’ve seen a Belter who wasn’t crying oppression and revenge. There have to be some who are just going on with their lives happily, doing jobs, getting married, having kids. I thought we’d seen an exception in that, but then she goes and shoots Fred.

I think this is a fair point.  Marco clearly thinks the belters are going to rally 'round his leadership but we've been shown repeatedly that the Belters are clannish, with long-standing and long-simmering resentments.  And some are doing just fine in the current situation, having found lucrative employment and a decent quality of life under the current regime.  So I'm not sure why he is so confident that they will support him.  

OMG, I just realized that the Belters are a LOT like the Scots as portrayed in my favorite TV show, Outlander.  The Scottish clans came together for "The Rising" in 1745, temporarily setting aside their inter-clan resentments to fight the great oppressor: England.  (It should be noted, however, that some Protestant Scots feared the mostly-Catholic Highlanders and sided with the English in 1745.  Similarly I don't think we should assume everyone in the Belt is happy about Marco's rise to power.)  In this analogy, the Belt is Scotland, Marco is wanna-be-king James Stuart, and Filip is Bonnie Prince Charlie.  Well (checks history books) good luck with THAT Marco.

Edited December 25, 2020 by WatchrTina

[Tachi Rocinante]

This was pretty much the episode I've been waiting for.

• For such a hardcore Belter, Marco sure doesn't have the haircut or the tattoos for it.  He's more Inner than he wants to admit.
• Bobbi and Alex can go chase Freddie Lounds and Special Agent Peter Burke for the rest of the season, thank you.
• Not even a quick reaction shot from Drummer? 
• Pretty sure it doesn't matter who's playing Chrisjen's husband now
• "The Speech" being shown on Fred's floating comm screen was a punch in the gut.

[UnoAgain]

49 minutes ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

This was pretty much the episode I've been waiting for.

• For such a hardcore Belter, Marco sure doesn't have the haircut or the tattoos for it.  He's more Inner than he wants to admit.
• Bobbi and Alex can go chase Freddie Lounds and Special Agent Peter Burke for the rest of the season, thank you.
• Not even a quick reaction shot from Drummer? 
• Pretty sure it doesn't matter who's playing Chrisjen's husband now
• "The Speech" being shown on Fred's floating comm screen was a punch in the gut.

I think we needed a good amount of time to see drummer take in everything... Cuz its the murder of Ashford... The murder of Fred and the kidnapping of Naomi... That's a lot.. And I want time for her to get enraged... Then I imagine it'll be a reunion as our major players congregate either on tycho.. Or wherever chrisjen is... I haven't read the books either.. But as the main villain.. The rogue martian tech... the protomolecule and Naomi are all basically in the same place our heroes will need a staging area to plan how to hit Marcos... With Amos and prob peaches meeting up with chrisjen and then Bobby and Alex meeting up with her and holden and what's her name reporter.. and finally drummer and her crew... 

[JZL]

18 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

THE UGLY

Sakai’s hair-do.  Yeah, I said it.  Her head looks like an everlasting gobstopper from the Willy Wonka movie.

For me it's a WWII sea mine

8 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

Every time I see  Clarissa (Peaches) Mao, I am reminded of the time she killed the old guy who was trying to help her work on the space station .. then used her enhancements to twist his body into a shape that could be stuffed into the machinery.  .. I wonder if she thinks about those times..
I wonder if Amos would be as sympathetic if that old guy had been a friend of his.

That Clarissa is a multi-murderer is true, yet her thwarting of Ashford on the bridge of the Behemoth was a major contribution to saving the entire solar system.

I agree this is one of the best episodes yet for one of the best series ever.

[marinw]

55 minutes ago, JZL said:

I agree this is one of the best episodes yet for one of the best series ever.

Yes! THIS is how you do space drama!

Was Asteriod #3 headed towards the Moon? There would be a lot of Earthers there. Marco (The Big Shit to Filip's Little Shit)) must know that many Belters must also be on the Moon, but Colaterrral damage i guess.

I don't think ALL Belters are whinners at all, Marco has taken it upon himself to speak for his entire people when they all  want him to or not. Becaise opressing your opressors ALWAYS works!

This is one of the few robots we have seen on The Expanse, and it was terryfying.

Edited December 25, 2020 by marinw

[ahpny]

How can the belters use  the proto molecule in any way that wouldn't come back and bite them as well? Is the mere possession of it really enough to avoid an alliance between Mars and Earth to wipe the belt out almost entirely? Something that doesn't seem quite right is the apparent "fragility" of Earth, as though only it is uniquely susceptible to catastrophic damage from rogue asteroids, slealth-induced or otherwise. Wouldn't both Mars (with almost no atmosphere to blunt the impact of an asteroid, though far less gravity), and the belt be far more easily damaged by hurling large "rocks" at it? I suppose the belt's dispersal and lack of a single location might protect it in the aggregate, but any space station or habitat, on or orbiting, any other moon would be far more easily disrupted, if not destroyed by hurled "rocks" than anything on Earth.

[Enero]

11 hours ago, whiporee said:

The episode moved very fast. 

Indeed! I blinked and the episode was over. That’s a good thing though because I was waiting for the story to continue when to my disappointment that was the end of the episode. 
 

On 12/23/2020 at 11:03 AM, Macbeth said:

I love Naomi, but I despise Marcos.  I really don't want to spend time with a character who has a narcissistic personality disorder.   Have enough of that in my own life. Thank you very much.

I’m hoping once Naomi gets over herself and the utter stupidity of this plan she had to save her son, that she’ll toughen back up and help save herself. I’m hoping that Marco becomes blindsided by the huge mistake it should be having Naomi on his ship. Hopefully her being kidnapped by Fillip will come back to bite them on the ass big time. 
 

Quote

And we lost Fred!!  I am so going to miss Chad Coleman. Finally Chad was back on the show and now he is gone.  Such a loss.

I was hoping this would somehow be a situation where he was severely injured but with their technology they’d be able to patch him up. I really hate losing him now that we were seeing him again. I will miss Chad Coleman as well. 
 

 Come on back Drummer.  Your skill set is very much needed now.

 

Oh it is on now. This fight is now hers and it is personal. Others brought up an interesting point, Marcos assumes all the Belters will line up to follow his lead, but who knows how many pots he’s stirred with his actions which may have people gunning for him whom he didn’t expect. 

[marinw]

Poor Chrisjen has probably lost her entire family, and, of equal importance, most of her wardrobe.

[mjc570]

Not only does Filip looks amazingly like Naomi (great casting), doesn't he have the same neck tattoo?
Great episode, although I could do without the whole Naomi thing, she as a character deserves better.  I also was hoping for some advanced tech to save Fred.

[WatchrTina]

15 hours ago, ahpny said:

Something that doesn't seem quite right is the apparent "fragility" of Earth, as though only it is uniquely susceptible to catastrophic damage from rogue asteroids, slealth-induced or otherwise. 

I think what makes Earth uniquely vulnerable is the fact that it is now hopelessly overpopulated and its land masses are shrinking due to rising sea levels.  Many population centers are now below sea level and protected by man-made sea walls.  So any asteroid strike on the Earth is going to do major damage to a population center -- damage they are not set up to handle.  Earth's approach is to PREVENT an asteroid strike (or an attack from a hostile army) via their orbital defenses; not to build as though a strike were inevitable.

The Mars settlements, on the other hand, were built in a hostile environment.  The very atmosphere (or lack thereof) could kill everyone on Mars. Mars' population has also been at war with the solar system's super power for much of their history.  So Mars is built with redundant systems and alarms and emergency doors that automatically shut if a loss of atmosphere occurs.  Also Mars is MUCH less densely populated.  Most of it is uninhabited.  Yeah a direct strike on a main dome would be catastrophic but -- given the long-term war of independence with Earth -- Mars was built basically EXPECTING such a strike.  So chances of survival are probably much better on Mars.

Edited December 25, 2020 by WatchrTina

[shrewd.buddha]

It is a bit of a stretch to believe that a ship could attack Tycho Station and manage to escape without being destroyed.  Fred Johnson would have had several contingency plans for that - and being a space station there should be several types of ships that could track and catch up to the attacking ship.  If the ship were destroyed at a safe distance, there shouldn't be any danger of the proto-molecule causing problems.
... but I suppose there would not be as much excitement if the problem were handled efficiently .. 

[WatchrTina]

30 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

It is a bit of a stretch to believe that a ship could attack Tycho Station and manage to escape without being destroyed. 

It is a stretch but they made a point of saying there was a diversionary crisis that was using much of Tycho's emergency resources.  And it seems clear that there were people on the inside -- more than the few we saw -- who participated in the plot.  The proto-molecule was the big prize and TeamMarco knew just where to find it.  Apparently this attack was the result of a major conspiracy and had been in the works for a LONG time.

Edited December 25, 2020 by WatchrTina

[Eulipian 5k]

Chrisjen walking thru the halls dropping F bombs left & right was vintage! My heart bleeds for Fred Johnson. I guess the post 9-11 rule of separating the cabinet (to an undisclosed location) or designated survivor died out in 300 years; luckily, Chrisj is more than a schoolteacher!

The robot looked like the belters finally found a use for all those excess MCRN (Swiss Army) knives; some guns on the turret would be nice.

[MissLucas]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

The robot looked like the belters finally found a use for all those excess MCRN (Swiss Army) knives; some guns on the turret would be nice.

That damned thing looked like a giant tick! Despite not being organic it gave me the creeps.

Edited December 25, 2020 by MissLucas

[Eulipian 5k]

The cover picture Amazon is using for this season 5 has always been the face of Clarissa Mao. Isn’t that a spoiler for who Amos needed to see? Is she the face of the season?

[tennisgurl]

What an absolute mess, poor...pretty much everyone except for smug ass Marcos. Drummer might have tried to leave the fight, but the fight needs her again. Of course, one huge question that needs answers...what happened to Chrisjen’s wardrobe?! Did anyone think of the pantsuits?! What an amazing episode, brutal but absolutely riveting. This season is seriously hitting the ground hard. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by tennisgurl

[Bryce Lynch]

On 12/27/2020 at 8:49 AM, tennisgurl said:

What an absolute mess, poor...pretty much everyone except for smug ass Marcos. Drummer might have tried to leave the fight, but the fight needs her again. Of course, one huge question that needs answers...what happened to Chrisjen’s wardrobe?! Did anyone think of the pantsuits?! What an amazing episode, brutal but absolutely riveting. This season is seriously hitting the ground hard. 

Chrisjen will get revenge on Inaros by flinging all the enormous stones from her jewelry at the Belt.   

[Bryce Lynch]

I rewatched Season 1 over the weekend and there was a lot of foreshadowing of the asteroid attack in it.   Most notably, Chrisjen and her grandson lying on the roof, looking up at shooting stars, and him talking about how they were usually harmless...except for the one that killed the dinosaurs.  

I think Diogo's uncle's attack on the Martian patrol ship that harassed him was another example, and I believe somewhere there was a reference to men throwing rocks at each other.   

[Eulipian 5k]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

 Most notably, Chrisjen and her grandson lying on the roof, looking up at shooting stars, and him talking about how they were usually harmless...except for the one that killed the dinosaurs.  

Yes! I later thought they were foreshadowing Eros, .Talk about an Easter egg that took 4 seasons to hatch!

I prefer the one episode a week because I get to watch the reactors all gaping at the action, but, arrgh, I need to binge.

Why are the Inners at Amazon starving us Beltalowda of our Expanse bingeables! Too bad, ...so sad!

[Tachi Rocinante]

2 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

Why are the Inners at Amazon starving us Beltalowda of our Expanse bingeables! Too bad, ...so sad!

Is-is, Bosmang . . .

[Haleth]

5 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Chrisjen will get revenge on Inaros by flinging all the enormous stones from her jewelry at the Belt.   

And she’ll look fabulous doing so. 

[SnoGirl]

10 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I rewatched Season 1 over the weekend and there was a lot of foreshadowing of the asteroid attack in it.   Most notably, Chrisjen and her grandson lying on the roof, looking up at shooting stars, and him talking about how they were usually harmless...except for the one that killed the dinosaurs.  

I think Diogo's uncle's attack on the Martian patrol ship that harassed him was another example, and I believe somewhere there was a reference to men throwing rocks at each other.   

When I watched Season One (and I haven’t read the books) I just knew at some point someone was going to weaponize space rocks or junk as weapons because of that scene with Chrisjen and her Grandson. I love that its something that took more then one season to come true.

This episode was WILD. I cannot WAIT until the next one drops. Mainly because I hope we get another episode closer to all the main players being in each other’s orbit again. The Roci and friends when they’re together is my favorite flavor of Expanse. I like that we set up this season’s drama, let’s get everyone together.

I need Drummer back in the mix ASAP. I hope she is literally hell on wheels when she hears about everything. I know Holden and the Roci are our heroes but I need Drummer just mixing it up like crazy this season. Her and Holden going after Marcos because of everything?! Yes please!

[raven]

I'm also re-watching (just finished S2) while watching these new episodes and trying to keep my thoughts straight.  Lo and behold, when we first meet Chrisjen, she is interrogating a Belter (ok, participating in torture) about Belters buying stealth tech from the Martians!  So yes, they were planting seeds way back then.  There's also a Belter faction which tries to assassinate her - not the Inaros faction, though they are name-checked.

On 12/24/2020 at 8:33 PM, ahpny said:

Something that doesn't seem quite right is the apparent "fragility" of Earth, as though only it is uniquely susceptible to catastrophic damage from rogue asteroids, slealth-induced or otherwise. 

Earth has the largest population so there would be the immediate loss of life and then the devastation afterwards.  Earth has the largest fleet so there's an advantage there if they can be crippled. There's also the symbolism of attacking humanity's home; the psychological effects of proving them vulnerable would be very valuable for Marco.

The effects of the protomolecule stealing robot were outstanding.   I'm really not happy to lose Fred.

On 12/24/2020 at 11:00 AM, WatchrTina said:

 Marco clearly thinks the belters are going to rally 'round his leadership but we've been shown repeatedly that the Belters are clannish, with long-standing and long-simmering resentments.

This will be interesting to see.   By pulling off these well coordinated, simultaneous attacks, Marco has proved capable of long range planning and must have a good amount of support already.  He needs to balance the strength of his position with his ability to improve the lives of the Belters, if that's even his first priority.

[Eulipian 5k]

3 hours ago, raven said:

when we first meet Chrisjen, she is interrogating a Belter (ok, participating in torture) about Belters buying stealth tech from the Martians!  So yes, they were planting seeds way back then.  There's also a Belter faction which tries to assassinate her - not the Inaros faction, though they are name-checked.

So JP Mao was a distraction, he wasn't buying stealth, he made his own. The real plan went undetected until The F#cking Woman Who Saved Mother Earth found out, again!

Black Sky faction tried to kill her. Fred spaced the leader.

[Bryce Lynch]

On 12/25/2020 at 12:32 PM, Eulipian 5k said:

Chrisjen walking thru the halls dropping F bombs left & right was vintage! My heart bleeds for Fred Johnson. I guess the post 9-11 rule of separating the cabinet (to an undisclosed location) or designated survivor died out in 300 years; luckily, Chrisj is more than a schoolteacher!

The robot looked like the belters finally found a use for all those excess MCRN (Swiss Army) knives; some guns on the turret would be nice.

I was thinking they could solve all the economic problems of the UNN, the MCR and the Belt by simply putting a swear jar in Chrisjen's office.  

[Danny Franks]

Bobbie and Alex coming to terms with the death of the Martian dream was tough. The low key opening after the final scene of the last episode was effective.

So rocks hit Earth and Mars? Yikes. I'm reminded of the Einstein quote - "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Marco found a very hi-tech way of using the lowest form of technology possible to destroy civilisations.

But I don't think he understands Belters as well as he thinks. They're naturally resistant to anyone claiming to rule them, or to lead them, and I suspect that trying to get the different factions to unify behind him will be even harder now he's put a gigantic target on his back.

How lucky it is that Avasarala is on the Moon? Because I think everyone else is fucked. Gao's staff might have been dickheads, but at least she was ready to listen to Avasarala's advice... which came too late thanks to those dickhead staff.

This may be unpopular but I'm really happy to see Clarissa again. She did terrible things but fully believed she was righteous, and it makes complete sense that Amos would shrug and accept that. He's done terrible things too, and has come to believe that they don't define him. She reminds me a lot of Faith Lehane - went to prison almost voluntarily because she felt she needed to pay for the things she'd done.

Holden... oh for god's sake... more fucking containers? At least his plot got livened up by... oh crap, Fred being assassinated. That bloody Sputnik-haired traitor!

Please let Drummer come back and team up with Holden to go after Marco. But Naomi had better get herself free and screw the Inaros family over in the process, because this helpless mother in distress and denial stuff is just a bad look.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Danny Franks

[Eulipian 5k]

10 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

 

10 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Please let Drummer come back and team up with Holden to go after Marco. But Naomi had better get herself free and screw the Inaros family over in the process, 

I remember Naomi told Alex she never shot another Belter before. I hope Drummer is Naomi’s That Guy when the time comes with TLS.

[Holmbo]

On 12/23/2020 at 7:41 AM, UnknownK said:

Not sure why they would threaten the inner planets with the proto-molecule since it's only function was to create the gates and they are already up.

I didn't consider that at all. Good point. I suppose no one would be eager for their planet to be the test subject of that hypothesis though.

On 12/24/2020 at 5:46 AM, WatchrTina said:

Ooooh, I loved it when Clarissa repeated back to Amos the advice he had given her about prison, (“Breath in, breath out, eat, shit, sleep . . . “).  Amos seemed less pleased.

I feel like Amos never hesitate to give his opinion but then when people actually follow it he's not pleased. Maybe it's like regular people feel when a child repeats something you said and it suddenly sounds terrible 😄

[WatchrTina]

9 hours ago, Holmbo said:

 

On 12/23/2020 at 12:41 AM, UnknownK said:

Not sure why they would threaten the inner planets with the proto-molecule since it's only function was to create the gates and they are already up.

I didn't consider that at all. Good point. I suppose no one would be eager for their planet to be the test subject of that hypothesis though.

Haven't we already seen what happens when the proto-molecule gets loose and cannot figure out its "purpose"?  Didn't the bad guys in Season 1 essentially weaponize the proto-molecule by infecting Eros with it just to see what would happen?  Now imagine what would happen if it got loose on Mars or Earth.  I don't think you can assume the sample would "know" that its purpose has already been fulfilled in that sector (the local gate is already built) so It might try to build another one using the inner planets (and their people) as its raw material. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by WatchrTina

[UnknownK]

2 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Haven't we already seen what happens when the proto-molecule gets loose and cannot figure out its "purpose"?  Didn't the bad guys in Season 1 essentially weaponize the proto-molecule by infecting Eros with it just to see what would happen?  Now imagine what would happen if it got loose on Mars or Earth.  I don't think you can assume the sample would "know" that its purpose has already been fulfilled in that sector (the local gate is already built) so It might try to build another one using the inner planets (and their people) as its raw material. 

It knows its purpose but needed to understand the local "building blocks" to get it made. 

Things get iffy with the kids getting injected and the doctor trying to control the PM.

Eros was the first time the PM was released into the wild. Since the PM tends to magically converse with other PM in the universe the sample the belters got was from after Eros and should be able to communicate with the rings.

The rings themselves are made of PM and nobody is shitting their pants when they travel around it or worried about it migrating.

[Katsullivan]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:27 PM, Danny Franks said:

This may be unpopular but I'm really happy to see Clarissa again. She did terrible things but fully believed she was righteous, and it makes complete sense that Amos would shrug and accept that. He's done terrible things too, and has come to believe that they don't define him. She reminds me a lot of Faith Lehane - went to prison almost voluntarily because she felt she needed to pay for the things she'd done.

 

Yep, I expect good things from Clarissa. She was a "spanner in the works" in season 3, and I thought her character had potential there. Knowing what I know from the books, I'm glad to see her back. 

[marinw]

Clariisa looks different to me this season, even though it is the same actress.

So: The UN can't forcebly remove a person's legal or illegal mods, but you can forcibly drug them. Interesting.

[wanderingstar]

Quote

Ooooh, I loved it when Clarissa repeated back to Amos the advice he had given her about prison, (“Breath in, breath out, eat, shit, sleep . . . “).  Amos seemed less pleased.

Yeah, Amos seemed like he didn't know what to say in response to Clarissa.  I think he didn't even realize why he went to see her. Great scene - and great work from both actors.

[Eulipian 5k]

Amazon has been using Peaches as the avatar for the whole Season 5 so I guess she'll be big throughout this season. Really liking the character; she's a wildcard with no allegiance to any of the remaining factions in this system.

Questions from an unwashed non book reader:

• Who wants Monica? Does TBS need her to chronicle his story, like Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now?
• Did Babbage (sp?) send the crew that *attacked Alex? It seems she could have gotten the same info, (and a lot more info) out of him without directly exposing their ties to the convicted smugglers.
• Does Sauvetere (also sp?) know what Babbage is doing? The speech he gave was about controlling access to the Ring Gates, which is exactly what TBS announced at the end of the episode; is he giving that plan to TBS?

*Nothing to do with Anvar's off screen issues, but it was hilarious watching Alex getting beaten up...again!  Loved his reaction to "Shoot him", very Scoobie Doo.

[Holmbo]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

 

Questions from an unwashed non book reader:

• Who wants Monica? Does TBS need her to chronicle his story, like Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now?
• Did Babbage (sp?) send the crew that *attacked Alex? It seems she could have gotten the same info, (and a lot more info) out of him without directly exposing their ties to the convicted smugglers.
• Does Sauvetere (also sp?) know what Babbage is doing? The speech he gave was about controlling access to the Ring Gates, which is exactly what TBS announced at the end of the episode; is he giving that plan to TBS

 

Also non book reader (beyond book three at least)

-your explanation is the only reason I can think of for why Monica would be important for anything. But she doesn't seem to be famous, we saw Holden being greeted in the bar and no one aknowledged her. Maybe people think she's connected to JPM somehow. Since his daughter hired her colleague to sabotage the Roci.

-I feel like Babbage must have freaked out about telling Alex about the ship name so decided to have him killed. Or that was always the plan and she didn't want to get her own hands dirty.

-I think Sauvetere knows what Marco has planned and somehow feel that will benefit Mars. I suppose keeping them grounded would help with speeding up the terraforming, but I think he'd be too proud to want that. Maybe they're planning to take over the ring gates after Marco have flown all the rocks at earth.

[AudienceofOne]

On 12/25/2020 at 2:09 PM, Enero said:

Marcos assumes all the Belters will line up to follow his lead, but who knows how many pots he’s stirred with his actions which may have people gunning for him whom he didn’t expect. 

I don't think he cares tbh. These kind of people just want to prove they're better and/or smarter than others. They never believe the cause they're supposedly fighting for. They're just manipulators and con artists who want to win. Whether the Belt rallies behind him or not is only relevant in whether they can do him personal harm. Which they probably can't. He did this entirely for the moment at the end of the episode where he can portray himself as the saviour of his people. He could not give a shit about what happens afterwards. And his son's an idiot. 

[AudienceofOne]

That episode was amazing btw. AHAMAAAZZING. 

[Tyro49]

I couldn't make out the sign on the beach where the first asteroid hit; what language was that?

[Fireball]

So I had no idea who Amos was going to visit in the prison; I assumed it would be someone from his past. When Amos said "Hi Peaches" I was all crap crap crap I'm supposed to know who this is! I had to come on here to figure it out because I didn't remember who Peaches was and I didn't recognize the actress.  Remind me did Amos and Peaches sleep together in season 3?