S02.E01: Safe / S02.E02: Doors & Corners

[nephtis]

I love this show so hard. I'm a big science fiction fan, and watching this show feels like reading a space opera opus - multiple threads slowly coming together. Usually for the first 100 pages nothing makes sense, but you just keep reading. The visuals, the details, the world-building is incredible and heads and shoulders above what I would have expected from a TV show.

We get 1 sex scene per season? I wouldn't mind more. The Holden character isn't very attractive, until he takes his shirt off, and then it's - whoa!!! His body is sick. Like incredibly sexy, just unbelievable, probably the best I've seen on TV. He should take his shirt off more often. I found the sex scene pretty hot & believable for that reason. 

Chrisjen is a pleasure to watch - her voice, her clothing, her facial expressions. 

Miller is the only character I dislike. His hair, omg, he needs to shave that. I second Holden's "why is everything so half-cocked with you?" I don't think he's very intelligent. 

Love seeing the future realized in such detail. 

[Haleth]

1 hour ago, doram said:

wonder if Naomi was also black in the books (I've never read them and I don't intend to until after the show. I'm enjoying the show too much), or if she was racebent. I get the impression that she was, otherwise I'm sure there'd be complaints about her casting. 

Yes, she is.  I love your comparison to Jasmine and her tiger. 

[Miles]

ugh. I didn't like the cop in the first season and now I'm starting to actively hate him. You think that scientist dude deserves to die for what he has done to Eros. Fair enough, but let him decrypt the data first! Then you can still shoot him, you f*cking idiot!

On the other hand Pheobe has been where it is for a long long time. So it doesn't seem like the alien invasion is an imediate threat. The aliens might have sent seeds to a number of planets billions of years ago and will never bother following up.

[johntfs]

15 hours ago, Miles said:

You think that scientist dude deserves to die for what he has done to Eros. Fair enough, but let him decrypt the data first! Then you can still shoot him, you f*cking idiot!

Sure, let him decrypt the data first.  You'll need to have a secure location for that, of course.  Because the decrypt might take a while.  And other questions about proto-molecule will certainly come up, so you don't want to kill the guy too soon.  And another thing, and another thing and it wont be all that long before the guy cuts a deal and gets his own private science-horror asteroid.  AKA he gets away with it all.  Miller knew that, so he shot the bastard first.

[Miles]

He has to work with the data all the time. So the decrypt shouldn't be more than him entering his password. It's not like I need a secure location and days every time I open my true crypt volume.

You seem to subscribe to a slippery slope fallacy here. Just because you let him do one sensible thing doesn't mean you have to keep him around forever, to do a bunch of way less important things.

[btp]

Very mild spoiler about Miller's shooting of Dresden:

Spoiler

Miller explains why he did  it a later episode, and it's not for the reason that everyone thinks. I'll be interested in knowing if your opinion changes after you hear it.

[Miles]

Also very mild spoiler:

Spoiler

Miller basically said he killed Dresden, because he was going to get away with it. Which is what we were all thinking. Or did I miss something?

I just don't concur with his reasoning. You can let him do one thing, without going down a slippery slope and letting him live.

[johntfs]

15 hours ago, Miles said:

Miller basically said he killed Dresden, because he was going to get away with it. Which is what we were all thinking. Or did I miss something?

I just don't concur with his reasoning. You can let him do one thing, without going down a slippery slope and letting him live.

Well, you can, but it's kind of hard.  Humans are transactional, social creatures.  The more we deal with and get know another person, generally the harder it is to just casually kill them.

Also, this episode aired back in February.  Spoiler tags aren't really needed for it or any other episode of the second season.

Edited September 9, 2017 by johntfs

[Ceindreadh]

20 hours ago, johntfs said:

Well, you can, but it's kind of hard.  Humans are transactional, social creatures.  The more we deal with and get know another person, generally the harder it is to just casually kill them.

Also, this episode aired back in February.  Spoiler tags aren't really needed for it or any other episode of the second season.

S2 has only just landed on Netflix. I thought there was a rule - or at least a common courtesy - about spoiler tagging anything from future episodes in an episode thread. 

[johntfs]

3 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

S2 has only just landed on Netflix. I thought there was a rule - or at least a common courtesy - about spoiler tagging anything from future episodes in an episode thread. 

As far as I know, once an episode has aired in the US it's fair game for discussion within its own forum (ie within the overall forum dedicated to The Expanse).

[Ceindreadh]

8 hours ago, johntfs said:

As far as I know, once an episode has aired in the US it's fair game for discussion within its own forum (ie within the overall forum dedicated to The Expanse).

In the general threads or character threads yes. But not in individual episodes. 

[JZL]

16 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

S2 has only just landed on Netflix. I thought there was a rule - or at least a common courtesy - about spoiler tagging anything from future episodes in an episode thread. 

Unfortunately, not in the USA.  Amazon has it.  S1 is free on Prime but S2 is still pay-fer.

[Miles]

On 9.9.2017 at 3:58 AM, johntfs said:

Also, this episode aired back in February.  Spoiler tags aren't really needed for it or any other episode of the second season.

This isn't a general discussion thread. Episode threads should only ever discuss events that have happened up to and including the episode in question, without spoiler tags.

 

On 9.9.2017 at 3:58 AM, johntfs said:

Well, you can, but it's kind of hard.  Humans are transactional, social creatures.  The more we deal with and get know another person, generally the harder it is to just casually kill them.

Giving him 5 minutes to input his password isn't going to endear him to Miller enough, that he won't be able to kill him. If it does there is something deriously wrong with Miller, that he would go from murder to acceptence in that timespan.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, Miles said:

Giving him 5 minutes to input his password isn't going to endear him to Miller enough, that he won't be able to kill him. If it does there is something seriously wrong with Miller, that he would go from murder to acceptance in that timespan.

My memory of this is a touch vague at this point, but from what I recall, Miller would never have reached acceptance, but the others might have. They were listening to the guy, and Miller's act definitively ended the risk that they'd decide it was worth keeping him alive.

[johntfs]

20 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

My memory of this is a touch vague at this point, but from what I recall, Miller would never have reached acceptance, but the others might have. They were listening to the guy, and Miller's act definitively ended the risk that they'd decide it was worth keeping him alive.

Yeah, that was pretty much the point of Miller's action.  Holden's boogeyman was the proto-molecule itself and this guy could tell them about it in detail - perhaps enough to be able to stop it.  Meanwhile, Fred Johnson was Fred Johnson and more about the OPA and finding ways to protect/assert the rights of the Belters.  This guy might have given him that.  With those two it was just a matter of time, probably seconds at that point, before they took the guy into "protective custody" and put him to work - which meant to Miller that he gets away with it.

Edited September 11, 2017 by johntfs

[Holmbo]

On 2017-02-05 at 0:01 AM, marinw said:

Not much traffic on this forum. If this show was on Netflix or HBO I think we would be on page three of comments by now.

And non US people got it half a year after it originally aired in the US. Not a great premise for a joint discussion.

Edited September 17, 2017 by Holmbo

[halgia]

Just a quick reminder that general site policy is that episode threads should not have any untagged spoilers from beyond that episode, so that people catching up can read them in relative safety.

[WatchrTina]

On 3/27/2017 at 8:18 AM, nephtis said:

Miller is the only character I dislike. His hair, omg, he needs to shave that.

But it looks much better this season than last.  Who knew radioactivity was a beauty product?  The thing that impresses me is how thin he is.  Maybe that's the actor's natural body type but I don't recall noticing that last season.  I think he made a decision to commit to the role and get really, really lean this season to sell the look of a Ceres-born belter (they of the long and fragile bones).  His body looks much more evocative of a person who lives in a low-gravity environment than, say, the amazingly well-defined physiques of Amos and Holden.  (Not that I'm complaining -- it's clear those two actors work out and may I just say . . . Damn.)

So I'm binging my way though seasons 1 and 2 while on vacation and this two-parter was f**king awesome.  I love, love, LOVE the way this series moves from intimate character pieces like the bar-room scene between Chrisjen and the admiral who resigned, to totally bad-ass battle scenes like the Roci taking out that stealth ship.  Amos being tossed around in the crawl space during the battle was just a genius bit of writing to heighten the tension even more.  Amos and Miller as dueling psychos really-intense-people makes for some interesting and unpredictable scenes.  I also loved seeing the kid again -- the one we last saw after his uncle tossed him out an airlock before going kamikaze on that patrol ship in a fit of equal parts despair and rage.  I was pissed when he "died" via a bullet to the face and relieved when it turned out to be a false alarm.  Way to play my emotions like a fiddle writers! 

BTW -- that cool lasagna pan?  It's real.  It can also be used to make brownies where every brownie has an edge crust (which we all know is the best part.) Google "lasagne pan all crust" to find it.

Edited April 23, 2018 by WatchrTina

[Holmbo]

On 2018-04-23 at 11:02 PM, WatchrTina said:

But it looks much better this season than last.  Who knew radioactivity was a beauty product?  The thing that impresses me is how thin he is.  Maybe that's the actor's natural body type but I don't recall noticing that last season.  I think he made a decision to commit to the role and get really, really lean this season to sell the look of a Ceres-born belter (they of the long and fragile bones).  His body looks much more evocative of a person who lives in a low-gravity environment than, say, the amazingly well-defined physiques of Amos and Holden.  (Not that I'm complaining -- it's clear those two actors work out and may I just say . . . Damn.)

It really is kinda unbelievable that anyone would have any muscles out there. They barely move, they just sit in chairs all day! Maybe there's a gym somewhere we just haven't seen it.

Quote

BTW -- that cool lasagna pan?  It's real.  It can also be used to make brownies where every brownie has an edge crust (which we all know is the best part.) Google "lasagne pan all crust" to find it.

They talked about this in the commentary for the episode. Apparently so many people had gotten in touch with the creators and actors about that pan :D

[wanderingstar]

One of the morals of "Doors and Corners" is definitely don't fuck with Fred Johnson.

[wanderingstar]

On to season 2 in my rewatch.

Avasarala playing more of a central role is such fun to watch. Loved her scenes in the UN war room and with Souther (love love love Souther).

Miller and Diogo bantering in the breaching pods was hilarious ("I just really hate space")

I still get a jolt of excitement when Alex says "Surprise assholes" and fucks up the stealth ship.

[Holmbo]

18 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

On to season 2 in my rewatch.

Avasarala playing more of a central role is such fun to watch. Loved her scenes in the UN war room and with Souther (love love love Souther).

Miller and Diogo bantering in the breaching pods was hilarious ("I just really hate space")

I still get a jolt of excitement when Alex says "Surprise assholes" and fucks up the stealth ship.

That episode is so great! One of my top three for the whole show I think.

[xaxat]

I have been waiting for years to use the term "doors and corners" in a conversation.

But alas, the opportunity has never arisen.