S03.E06: Immolation

[formerlyfreedom]

The final battle between Earth and Mars threatens the very future of humanity; a new monster is unleashed on Prospero Station; Anna receives the smoking gun she needs.

 

[WatchrTina]

Holy shit, that promo is terrifying.  And so is the title of the episode.

[johntfs]

"I am that guy."  Too fuckin' right.

[tennisgurl]

"Your not that guy."

"I am that guy." 

I have a lot of emotions about this episode, guys. So many emotions. I am not even close to being ready for this show to end. 

[WatchrTina]

Holy shit, that episode lived up to it's scary promo.  I don't often yell at my television set but I was yelling tonight.  I kept shouting at Prax to shoot that asshole Strickland.  What Amos did was SO much better.  "You're not that guy . . . [Prax exits the airlock] . . . I am that guy."  Just so good.

And then Amos speaks for all of us at the very end when he says "What the hell is THAT?"

RIP Cotyar.  You were a bad-ass

As for Nguyen . . .  I hope he died screaming.

Meanwhile back on Earth, everyone is awful and even the bad guy Errinwright being taken into custody doesn't make me happy because President Bobblehead turns out to be something of a player too.

I'm glad Mei is safe . . . ish.

Last but not least . . . Bobby Draper is the biggest, baddest MoFo in the 'verse.  HooRah!

PS: Did you catch the way Amos looked at Bobby?  That man's in LOVE. (And I'm kind of in love with Amos now.)

PPS:  Was anyone else worried when they left Avarsarala alone on the ship?  I love her.  But I don't trust her. It would not surprise me at all if in the next episode we find out she did something Holden does not approve of while she was unsupervised on the ship.

Edited May 17, 2018 by WatchrTina

[raven]

9 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

 "You're not that guy . . . [Prax exits the airlock] . . . I am that guy."  Just so good.

This one bit stole the episode, which was already fantastic. 

[marinw]

The Roci is getting crowded. 

So many satisfying moments. I can’t even. I literally jumped off the couch and clapped when Amos Brough Mao to Chrisjen.

I’m not ashamed to say I cried when Prax and Mei reunited.

Edited May 17, 2018 by marinw

[nekilarose]

As much as I hate him, Errinwright went out standing. He didn't even try to couch his actions in some flowery language. Although he is right about the president, whisper in his ear, make it sound good, and he'll bend to your will. When did Admiral Nguyen find the time to put on a suit? But whatever, I hope he felt every second of that, with his bitch-ass. 

Cotyar on the other hand, did not deserve that :( 

"This is Amos, he's my best friend in the world" Hell, I need a best friend to be "that guy" for me. Pretty please.

Strickland got what he deserved, the wimpy punk.

Bobbie for the MF-ing win! She looked beat up to all hell at the end, but girlfriend did the damn thing!

Fred Johnson at the end showing that the belters are arriving on the stage, and wanna play.

I guess now we know what "the work" looks like. 

[WatchrTina]

4 minutes ago, nekilarose said:

"This is Amos, he's my best friend in the world"

Oh yeah.  I LOVED that moment.  In particular, I loved the look on Amos' face when he heard it.  This was big episode for Amos in terms of connecting with people, which is not something I think he does easily.

[freebie]

Still processing, but ... wow! So much happened that I'll have to re-watch. Things I liked:

• Bobbie's fight with the hybrid was stressful, and I loved how she seemed conflicted once she got what she thought she wanted.
• The decision to make the hybrid launch primarily a threat to Mars so that Alex ended up leading the charge to shut them down really worked for me.
• Cotyar's ending was fitting. RIP, spy!
• Errinwright -- finally! Now if Anna could try not to be so freaking naive about the bobblehead specifically and politics in general ...
• And Strickland and Nguyen both going down under the weight of their own hubris. Not going to miss either of them!
• The symmetry between Naomi's last unilateral decision vs. this real group decision was nicely done. Not sure I get where they're going with her, but I'll take that to the book thread.
• The "whistling in the dark" conversation -- Holden's square watermelon and Naomi's "are they hypoxic?" -- was just plain perfect.

[UNOSEZ]

In agreement with everyone.. Lots to love in this episode... One thing I was hoping for but didn't get was Bobbi getting a chance to see the "Katoa" part of the hybrid... I mean he was too far gone to save in any meaningful way.. But just so she and maybe the rest of the crew coulda had a second to remember that the thing she shot like 300 times was the victim here... 

Only kinda looking fwd to the coming weeks.. Because unless something changes that'll be it and I'm not ready to be done with the expanse yet 

[tennisgurl]

This episode was so intense, so much shit went down. So freaking good. I tweeted like crazy the whole time. Anyway to help keep us flying.

Bobbie is such a damn badass. She wont be taken down by a little space monster! Also, I think Amos might have a crush. Well, that makes two of us, Amos. 

"This is Amos, he is my best friend in the world." Amos is a great best friend to have around, as messed up as he is. I actually cheered when Amos shut the door on him and Strickland. What a piece of shit he was, he deserved a worse death than even getting his head blasted off. Also, the expression on his face when Prax called him his best friend! 

On the other hand, Cotyar did not deserve that. I am so sad, I so wanted him to make it to the rest of the gang. I wanted to see him and Bobbi team up again. And Chrisjen looked so miserable watching him die, while being unable to even say anything to him. At least he went out fighting. Such sadness. 

Holden shoving Mao on his knees in front of Chisjen was such an awesome visual. Kneel before the Queen, asshole. 

Mai and Prax are reunited! And Amos is playing babysitter for the other kids! And this time, Naomi asked the whole crew to back her play, and they did! Things were almost going well...and then...what the hell is right. 

[xaxat]

So much good stuff, so many great characters. 

Amos is great. Even though he is (self admittedly) a very damaged individual he is the conscience of the Roci and the show manages to make that work.

Good riddance Doc Nazi. 

Elon Musk really needs to make a Razorback class ship.

[WatchrTina]

11 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Holden shoving Mao on his knees in front of Chisjen was such an awesome visual. Kneel before the Queen, asshole. 

I think it's interesting that you liked that.  For me that was the one false note in the episode.  Holden does not think of Avasarala as his "boss" and even if he did, his forcing Mao to kneel before her felt like an anachronism.  She's not a queen, she's a diplomat.  I wish he'd pushed Mao in the door and Mao had stumbled and fallen and that's how he wound up on the floor looking up at Chrisjen.

On a separate note, I have to give the show props for having Mei ask her father what took him so long.  That felt real.  She's overjoyed to see her father but she's also been through a trauma and it is only natural for her to feel some resentment that the adults in her life did not protect her from it.

That raises another question -- don't all those kids suffer from a particular syndrome that made them ideal candidates to become hybrids?  I don't recall anyone grabbing their medicine as they left the laboratory so I sure hope that armband thingy in the Roci's medical bay can deliver the medication they all need.

Edited May 17, 2018 by WatchrTina

[tennisgurl]

19 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

think it's interesting that you liked that.  For me that was the one false note in the show.  Holden does not think of Avasarala as his "boss" and even if he did, his forcing Mao to kneel before her felt like an anachronism.  She's not a queen, she's a diplomat.

Well yeah, she isnt really a Queen (except to me!)  but it just made me happy to see that dickhead Mao getting tossed on the ground in front of the lady he tried to have killed. I think I just hate that guy so much at this point, I just take perverse joy in him being treated like crap. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by tennisgurl

[showme]

So, what the hell was that?

I am talking about the ending, of course.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, showme said:

So, what the hell was that?

I am talking about the ending, of course.

"That's one small step for protomolecules, one giant leap for annihilation."

"We choose to destroy the universe, not because it is easy, but because we were created that way."

[zobot81]

5 hours ago, showme said:

So, what the hell was that?

I am talking about the ending, of course.

That is. Uh. A spaceship. A space...shop?? A spaceball???

It is bad. It is a bad thing and I don't like it.

[marinw]

15 hours ago, zobot81 said:

That is. Uh. A spaceship. A space...shop?? A spaceball???

It is bad. It is a bad thing and I don't like it.

In the opening credits, there is an Earth-like planet both in the Sky above New York and then in orbit around Jupiter with the other moons. Perhaps that thing is that.

One scene I really liked was when Alex was helping fellow Martian Bobbie in Sickbay. This is the second time Bobbie has been injured, and her vulnerability keeps her out of Mary Sue territory. The Roci may have the Magical Medical Beds, but people still get hurt. Even Holden has bruises from a fight a couple of episodes ago.

I know the casting of Bobbie was initially a bit controversial as Frankie Adams isn’t as large as Book Bobbie. But a skilled actor can be imposing without being physically big. It’s an attitude. Shohreh Aghdashlo as Chrisjen looks about eight feet tall!

I hope Frankie Adams has a long career. She is such an engaging presence, I can’t imagine anyone else in this role.

[btp]

100% agreed on Frankie. I remember when she was cast, the writers and show runners tweeted and posted raves about her, saying how pleased they were that they had found her and how they were thanking their lucky stars they found someone so perfect for the role. At first, I was a bit skeptical, but after watching her in just a few episodes, I began to see what they were talking about. And then, starting basically after the Ganymede incident, I began to realize how incredibly good she was.

The casting for this show has always been competent, and occasionally has risen to greatness, even though the people cast often did not match my original idea of the characters from reading the books. But who ever would or could?

But yeah, Frankie Adams, Shoreh Aghdashloo, and Wes Chatham in particular have all won me over completely despite initial concerns. Dominique Tipper also has demonstrated way more range than, frankly, the book version of Naomi ever had for me, and Steven Strait and Cas Anvar have fit their parts to me almost from the start. Terry Chen as Prax is awesome, too.

And that doesn't even mention Chad L. Coleman, who makes an appropriately imposing Fred Johnson, Sean Doyle as an increasingly smug Sadavir Errinwright, and it goes on and on.

And Cara Gee is awesome, and don't even get me started on Jared Harris, whom I'm really missing this year. And Elizabeth Mitchell so far seems spot on as Anna (other than the hair color, which is not that big a deal). And next week, from the looks of things, we get our first David Strathairn sighting, and he's only, like, one of my favorite actors of the last 30 years.

It's a very talented ensemble and it's an absolute joy to watch them work. I hope they get to keep doing it, well into season 4 and beyond. Fingers crossed.

[WatchrTina]

8 hours ago, showme said:

So, what the hell was that?

I am talking about the ending, of course.

It reminded me of an ovary releasing an egg.  I'm afraid Venus is looking to give birth.

But in all seriousness, I assume it's a ship and I assume it's headed for one of the other planets.  Earth and Mars should each be calling their fleet home PDQ.

BTW did anyone else notice that Amos never stopped pouring what he was pouring even as he saw that very disturbing image on the screen.  That's some preternatural eye-hand coordination he has.  I would have ended up with liquid all over the table.

Edited May 17, 2018 by WatchrTina

[btp]

6 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

IBTW did anyone else notice that Amos never stopped pouring what he was pouring even as he saw that very disturbing image on the screen.  That's some preternatural eye-hand coordination he has.  I would have ended up with liquid all over the table.

Loved that. Especially since the tropes in play here almost demand that he spill whatever that was all over one of the kids' jumpsuits. Instead, turns out he can walk and chew gum at the same time. Amos truly is special.

[shrewd.buddha]

Agree with everyone - the show is really firing on all cylinders. All the characters are hitting their stride, while still speaking and acting like themselves. 

Just a couple of nitpicks :

• With all the gorgeous effects for the  spaceships and planets, the Protomolecule Hybrids look a bit .. lame? Maybe a person in a costume as a start - with CGI added - would look better. 
• After all these weeks of waiting for Errinwright to be found out, his take-down felt a bit anticlimactic. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by shrewd.buddha

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

"Your not that guy."

"I am that guy."

Even though I knew it was coming, it was still a thrill.

6 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

One thing I was hoping for but didn't get was Bobbi getting a chance to see the "Katoa" part of the hybrid.

Oh no.  For her to see the human face behind the monster would have been devastating.  To know she was killing a child, even mutated to a killing machine and even in pure self-defense, would be horrible. We knew it was once a little boy -- that was enough.

3 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I think it's interesting that you liked that.  For me that was the one false note in the show.  Holden does not think of Avasarala as his "boss" and even if he did, his forcing Mao to kneel before her felt like an anachronism.  She's not a queen, she's a diplomat.  I wish he'd pushed Mao in the door and Mao had stumbled and fallen and that's how he wound up on the floor looking up at Chrisjen.

Holden knows that Avasarala is the only one who can get Mao what he truly deserves, which is not a quick death.  Holden also knows what Mao did to Julie, and the rest of Eros.  Making him quiver at the feet of the Queen of his Fate was only the beginning.

1 hour ago, WatchrTina said:

BTW did anyone else notice that Amos never stopped pouring what he was pouring even as he saw that very disturbing image on the screen.  That's some preternatural eye-hand coordination he has.  I would have ended up with liquid all over the table.

I saw that, and I also saw that he did stop once the bowl was full.  Without looking!  Amos is awesome!

[zobot81]

Has anyone talked about what the heck the protomolecule Katoa was looking at wistfully, just before Bobbie blew his/its brains out?

[Danny Franks]

Okay seriously, how many hybrids were there? That launch was endless.

Loved the look at what Bobbie's suit can do. Wearing one of those things really does put you on a level far above a normal soldier. It's the closest thing I've seen to Space Marine armour on television.

Everyone got to play a major part in the climax of this storyline. Holden grabs Mao, Amos and Prax rescue Mei and the other kids, Naomi, Alex and Kotyar shut down the hybrids, and Bobbie distracts and kills the one hybrid left on Io. Interesting choice to send Alex and Naomi to the Agatha King. In the book it's Holden who goes (he kind of has to, as the only POV character in the section), but I liked this version, because Alex is risking his life for Mars, and Naomi is risking hers for Alex. And Avasarala... okay, well she just stood about watching it all happen.

I love Amos. "I am that guy." He saves Prax from doing something he'd hate himself for, but Amos has absolutely no compunctions killing someone who has to die.

That dead guy floating in the background as Kotyar talked to Larsson was so creepy. I liked her, and my heart really sank when she looked down and saw the Protomolecule on her leg. And dammit, I knew Kotyar was a goner too. He was great.

But I do really wish they'd show more of the Protomolecule dismantling people. Either Ty Franck or Daniel Abraham summed it up so well on The Churn podcast last week, when they described the Protomolecule treating all organic matter like a lego set. "Where's this piece I need...? is there one in this spine? Nope. How about inside this eyeball? No, not there either. Keep looking."

Errinwright taking Gillis apart was excellent. "Spineless", "he's parroting you because you talked to him last", "he's shitting himself because he's afraid the history books won't be flattering enough." Like Gillis is a well meaning mirror image of a certain real life authority figure.  And he showed Hannah that he's not becoming a better man at all, he just found a way to escape the consequences for his bad decisions. But I'm glad that they took Errinwright down, because the talk of him being the show's Littlefinger had me worried they were going to keep finding ways to have him as an active villain.

I always liked how the books, and the show, emphasised the communications delay caused by such vast distances in space. They really highlighted that at the start of this episode, when you realise that the UN high command are hearing everything that Nguyen is doing... forty minutes after he's done it. There's no way of stopping him, no way of countermanding anything that's going on, because no one who is engaging, or is about to engage, in battle out in space has forty minutes to wait for instructions.

Finally, it looks like the Protomolecule has finished what it was doing on Venus... either that or it's going to look for more pieces to complete its work.

And if all that isn't enough to convince someone to pick up this show, then Dominique Tipper's arse certainly should.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Danny Franks

[WearyTraveler]

14 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Holy shit, that episode lived up to it's scary promo.  I don't often yell at my television set but I was yelling tonight.  I kept shouting at Prax to shoot that asshole Strickland.  What Amos did was SO much better.  "You're not that guy . . . [Prax exits the airlock] . . . I am that guy."  Just so good.

Right after he said that to Prax, I knew what the next line and sequence was going to be, and yet it was very satisfying.

14 hours ago, nekilarose said:

Although he is right about the president, whisper in his ear, make it sound good, and he'll bend to your will.

I was going to hit this fly ball, but , nah! too easy!

14 hours ago, freebie said:

Now if Anna could try not to be so freaking naive about the bobblehead specifically and politics in general ...

I think now that Mao is captured, Avasarala will probably return to Earth with the prisoner, and then she can reign in the president and cover the political/diplomatic angle.  It will be good to have an idealist voice, like Anna's around, though.  Those are the voices that usually make people like Avasarala reflect and make wiser decisions (even if those decisions are not 100% aligned with the world Anna wishes to create because we can't count on other people in power not to be complete assholes)

11 hours ago, showme said:

So, what the hell was that?

I am talking about the ending, of course.

"The Work!"

13 minutes ago, zobot81 said:

Has anyone talked about what the heck the protomolecule Katoa was looking at wistfully, just before Bobbie blew his/its brains out?

Since the protomolecule communicates with all the pieces of itself scattered throughout the Universe, I'm going to guess that PM Katoa was "seeing" whatever was happening in Venus

__________________________________________________

On the shallow end of the pool, nekkid Holden looks good, and Naomi? I'm a straight woman and even I thought "damn! girl has a bod on her!"

[marinw]

37 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I love Amos. "I am that guy." He saves Prax from doing something he'd hate himself for

Didn't Prax shoot some people a bit earlier? I suppose there is a difference between that and killing someone not in self-defence.

18 minutes ago, WearyTraveler said:

On the shallow end of the pool, nekkid Holden looks good, and Naomi? I'm a straight woman and even I thought "damn! girl has a bod on her!"

Seconded. A bit a nudity can be a good thing. 

[Netfoot]

15 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I am that guy."  Just so good.

Oooooooh yeah!  I saw it coming from the beginning, though.....

15 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

President Bobblehead turns out to be something of a player too.

Just can't understand how Rev. Anna didn't see that coming.

15 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Last but not least . . . Bobby Draper is the biggest, baddest MoFo in the 'verse.  HooRah!

And I am hot for her....

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

then Dominique Tipper's arse certainly should.

Say Frankie Adams and I might agree.

[marinw]

I can't wait to see how Mao interacts with the rest of the crew. François Chau is great in this role.

[tennisgurl]

11 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

It reminded me of an ovary releasing an egg.  I'm afraid Venus is looking to give birth.

 

So maybe this is a reference to the famous painting, "The Birth of Venus", or is that stretching it? 

[Haleth]

I am that guy. Great line.

RIP Cotyar. At least he went out a hero.

Did you all think the last few minutes were rushed?

8 hours ago, zobot81 said:

Has anyone talked about what the heck the protomolecule Katoa was looking at wistfully, just before Bobbie blew his/its brains out?

The work on Venus?

This show has to come back.

[jhlipton]

10 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

And if all that isn't enough to convince someone to pick up this show, then Dominique Tipper's arse certainly should.

That was certainly a work of art.

9 hours ago, marinw said:

Didn't Prax shoot some people a bit earlier? I suppose there is a difference between that and killing someone not in self-defence.

By picking up a gun and shooting, those people became soldiers.  As Prax said, "They made the choice."

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Say Frankie Adams and I might agree.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.  I'm sure it will be FYRE though.

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So maybe this is a reference to the famous painting, "The Birth of Venus", or is that stretching it? 

LOL  -- or The Birth ON Venus!

[WatchrTina]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

RIP Cotyar. At least he went out a hero.

I just watched a second time (DVR viewing within 3 days of original air date -- doing my bit to bolster the numbers!) and one thing that struck me was that Cotyar finds a vac suit right after that  soldier shoots his cuff off. He'd been careful not to touch any of the blue goo so I thought he stood a chance of surviving (provided he could find a way off the ship).  But when we see him next, doing his final sabotage, he's set the suit (or at least the helmet) aside and we can see blue goo on his forehead.

1. So . . . did he realize he'd already been infected so there was no point in putting on the vac suit?
2. Or did he realize that he had no way off the ship -- a ship he was about to blow up -- so why bother with the vac suit.
3. Or was the vac suit too bulky for him to shimmy into the crawl space in order to unhook all those tubes (which is apparently what sent the reactor into its critical failure.)

I have not read the books (or at least I have not gotten this far in the books) but I like to think that it was option #3.  I want to think that he put the suit on but then when he started sabotaging the reactor the helmet got in the way so he took it off in order to complete his mission . . . knowing full well that the blue goo would get on him and as such, there would be no mad dash to an escape pod for a skin-of-his-teeth self-rescue.  Not this time.

Yeah, he went out a hero.

Edited May 18, 2018 by WatchrTina

[Netfoot]

22 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

I'm sure it will be FYRE though.

Sorry, but I don't know what "FYRE" is.  Or means.

[thuganomics85]

For a few seconds, I really thought Strickland was going to worm his way out of a bullet, by playing up his "I'm not really bad!  I tried to help!" act, but I loved that neither Prax or Amos fell for it.  I'm glad Amos prevented Prax from crossing that line, but it was so satisfying when he did it himself, even though I knew it was coming.  That "I am that guy" was truly the line of the night (maybe even season.)

Overall, glad that the heroes got a decent victory and pretty much all of the bad guys suffered.  Mei was saved, the protomolecule missiles were stopped before they hit Mars thanks to Fred Johnson, Nguyen got infected by his own doing and then blown up, and both Mao and Sadavir have been arrested.  I do wonder if either one will factor in again (especially Sadvair since Shawn Doyle is a regular and he's frankly so good that I don't want him gone for good), but for now, it was nice seeing their evil plan ruined.

Bobbie continues to be biggest badass on the planet.  Frankie Adams is more then proving herself to be spot-on in the role.

Sad that Cotyar had to go, but at least he went out swinging.  Always nice seeing Nick E. Tarabay not playing a scumbag (which pretty much consist of only this show and his role in Person of Interest.)

Holden and Naomi have now more then made-up: they've gone back to sexy times (complete with some TV-14 nudity!)

Of course, now that everything has calmed back down on that front, shit seems to be getting crazy over at Venus.  You can never rest for long in The Expanse! 

[WatchrTina]

15 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

"I am that guy" was truly the line of the night (maybe even season.)

You're right of course.  But Amos' line a few moments earlier when he told Strickland "No, seriously . . . shut up" was also awesome.  Strickland looked at Amos and you could tell he just knew that it was all over for him.

15 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

the protomolecule missiles were stopped before they hit Mars thanks to Fred Johnson

Hmmmmmm . . . do we really know that?  We know Fred launched his missiles and we saw some explosions in space as they hit their targets but it was said more than once that if even one missile gets through it could turn Mars into Eros.  And of course we've already seen Earth's defenses miss just one of the missile salvo that Mars launched at the Earth and that ended up killing millions in South America.  So I don't think Mars is necessarily safe yet.  For that matter -- we don't know if they were all aimed at Mars.  Asavarala guessed that that is where Nguyen sent them and given that he's an Earth war-hawk that makes the most sense but he's a slippery, devious character (or rather he was), and I wouldn't put it past him to have sent some of the missiles somewhere else.  If Mars has any other outposts -- maybe another food-production site like Ganymede or a ship-building site like Calisto -- elsewhere in the belt, then there's a risk that some of those missiles went there and made it to their targets.

Edited May 18, 2018 by WatchrTina

[marinw]

It just occurred to me that when Mao looked up and saw Chrisjen, she was wearing the flight suit of Moa’s own very expensive Razorback! “The skin of my enemy” as Chrisjen put it. Planned of not, way to play with someone’s head!

Edited May 18, 2018 by marinw

[jhlipton]

14 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I have not read the books (or at least I have not gotten this far in the books) but I like to think that it was option #3.  I

Book Talk:

Spoiler

Cotyar is a much more minor character, and isn't mentioned after the escape from Mao's ship.

.

14 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Sorry, but I don't know what "FYRE" is.  Or means.

It's an exaggeration of "fyre", meaning extremely beautiful.

4 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Hmmmmmm . . . do we really know that?  We know Fred launched his missiles and we saw some explosions in space as they hit their target but it was said more than once that if even one missile gets through it could turn Mars into Eros. 

Show Talk: 

They got the transponders back on so they knew where all the proto-rockets were.

Book Talk:

Spoiler

Fred got every single one of the proto-rockets.

[Netfoot]

3 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

It's an exaggeration of "fyre", meaning extremely beautiful.

In that case, I think I can agree!

[Clanstarling]

On 5/16/2018 at 7:21 PM, raven said:

On 5/16/2018 at 7:11 PM, WatchrTina said:

 "You're not that guy . . . [Prax exits the airlock] . . . I am that guy."  Just so good.

This one bit stole the episode, which was already fantastic. 

Yes it did. I said it before Amos did, but it didn't diminish it one single bit - it was so fricking satisfying.

On 5/17/2018 at 9:36 AM, Danny Franks said:

That dead guy floating in the background as Kotyar talked to Larsson was so creepy. I liked her, and my heart really sank when she looked down and saw the Protomolecule on her leg. And dammit, I knew Kotyar was a goner too. He was great.

And all of them in the hallway, their feet anchored with magnetic boots. Eerie as hell.
 

On 5/16/2018 at 7:11 PM, WatchrTina said:

PPS:  Was anyone else worried when they left Avarsarala alone on the ship?  I love her.  But I don't trust her. It would not surprise me at all if in the next episode we find out she did something Holden does not approve of while she was unsupervised on the ship.

This is the one instance I trusted her completely. Odd, that.

 

On 5/16/2018 at 9:47 PM, WatchrTina said:

That raises another question -- don't all those kids suffer from a particular syndrome that made them ideal candidates to become hybrids?  I don't recall anyone grabbing their medicine as they left the laboratory so I sure hope that armband thingy in the Roci's medical bay can deliver the medication they all need.

I did wonder about that, particularly in the happy scene with Mei and Prax. But since they were evacuating, I assume they were carrying the meds with them, so hopefully it was in those cases Holden made Mao carry.

On 5/17/2018 at 12:34 AM, AnimeMania said:

"That's one small step for protomolecules, one giant leap for annihilation."

"We choose to destroy the universe, not because it is easy, but because we were created that way."

Neil Armstrong and JFK  - you win for best revised, yet on point, quotes ever.

On 5/17/2018 at 6:39 AM, btp said:

100% agreed on Frankie. I remember when she was cast, the writers and show runners tweeted and posted raves about her, saying how pleased they were that they had found her and how they were thanking their lucky stars they found someone so perfect for the role. At first, I was a bit skeptical, but after watching her in just a few episodes, I began to see what they were talking about. And then, starting basically after the Ganymede incident, I began to realize how incredibly good she was.

It's a very talented ensemble and it's an absolute joy to watch them work. I hope they get to keep doing it, well into season 4 and beyond. Fingers crossed.

Since I hadn't read the books when I started watching I wasn't hampered by pre-conceptions of the characters. Now I'll just have a rich visual dictionary for all the characters and scenes when I buy and read all of the books.

On 5/17/2018 at 6:49 AM, WatchrTina said:

It reminded me of an ovary releasing an egg.  I'm afraid Venus is looking to give birth.

But in all seriousness, I assume it's a ship and I assume it's headed for one of the other planets.  Earth and Mars should each be calling their fleet home PDQ.

Now see, you brought up something I hadn't thought of, which seems both possible and extremely chilling - given that ovaries regularly release eggs.

7 hours ago, marinw said:

It just occurred to me that when Mao looked up and saw Chrisjen, she was wearing the flight suit of Moa’s own very expensive Razorback! “The skin of my enemy” as Chrisjen put it. Planned of not, way to play with someone’s head!

Nice. I didn't notice that - but I love it.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Neil Armstrong and JFK  - you win for best revised, yet on point, quotes ever.

I was going for a JFK/Lady Gaga Mash-up.

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I assume they were carrying the meds with them, so hopefully it was in those cases Holden made Mao carry.

Holden told Mao to "pick up the data cores".  That may have just been one box and the other(s) had meds, but I don't know.

[Clanstarling]

36 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I assume they were carrying the meds with them, so hopefully it was in those cases Holden made Mao carry.

Holden told Mao to "pick up the data cores".  That may have just been one box and the other(s) had meds, but I don't know.

Me neither, which is why I said hopefully.

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Neil Armstrong and JFK  - you win for best revised, yet on point, quotes ever.

I was going for a JFK/Lady Gaga Mash-up.

I'm old, so I just went with the original sources - I'm not familiar with the Lady Gaga reference in this instance.

[Netfoot]

28 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I'm old, so I just went with the original sources - I'm not familiar with the Lady Gaga reference in this instance.

Who is Lady Gaga?

[WatchrTina]

I'm watching for the 3rd time (doing my bit for the viewing numbers!) and I just paused to come comment that the rear-camera display in Bobbie helmet face screen -- the thing that lets her see the proto-monster chasing her even as she hauls ass in the opposite direction -- is simultaneously very cool speculative technology and absolutely terrifying.  And then, when she turns around after losing sight of it, we suddenly see it in the upper left of her face plate.  IT'S BEHIND YOU!  Damn.  That's some "The call is coming from inside the house!" level of creepy.

On a personal note . . . some day I want a man to look at me the way Amos looked at Bobby as she sprints forward announcing her intention to lead the monster away.  (I just hope I don't have to become a marine and fight monsters to get it.)

I do have one tiny criticism of the plot.  Why did the monster chase Bobbi?  When they were fighting the creature on the Rosi it was tearing up their ship trying to get to the reactor (it is obviously drawn to radiation) and it got mad when the radiation was turned off. Also that monster had stowed away on the Roci to escape.  But why did THIS monster keep chasing Bobbi?  What could it hope to gain?  It made for a nice, suspenseful chase scene in the episode but it doesn't actually make much sense that the monster would keep chasing something that kept shooting at it.  Then again, the monster chasing the earth soldiers on Ganymede (for no good reason that I can recall) is what started this whole shooting war.

Ooooh, another thing I love is when Holden sees Mao on the screen while he's looking for the abort codes for the proto-missiles.  He says "There's someone here who should know. Let me go ask." (His voice thickens on that last line in a way that is just fraught with menace.)  I know a few people on this board are not fans of the actor who plays Holden but that line delivery . . . that was perfect.

Earlier I posted wondering if the kids they rescued were going to be okay without their medicine.  Just now I noticed that after Amos shoots Strickland and he begins leading the children away, Prax picks up a big duffle bag as he brings up the rear.  I'm going to fan-wank that the duffle bag contained the medicine needed by the kids.  After all, just because they were evacuating didn't mean that Strickland was planning to stop experimenting on them.  As such, I'm going to assume he had packed up what was needed to keep the kids alive.

So . . . when Naomi re-programmed that one missile (while on the bridge of the Agatha King) . . . where do you suppose she sent it?  I'd like to think she used orbital mechanics to send it on a trajectory that will end with it burning up in the sun.  But Naomi makes some Belt-centric choices (as we know.)  Is it possible she worked her magic to aim it at Earth? Surely not . . . Holden's family live there.  She'd never do that.  Would she?

When Cotyar give his final broadcast he says "Well, Charapal . . . I guess this makes us even."  Someone remind me -- who was Charapal?

Did anyone notice that Bobbi is wearing a UNN tank top when she gets taken to med bay?  It's a little thing but it does reinforce how fluid her role is in this story. Loyalties and uniforms get co-mingled.

Every time Prax pulls Mei's stuffed animal out of that backpack I am creeped out because the toy looks like it's a mutant with two faces.  It's not -- it's just the way the bear's hood shows one ear and not the other -- but it still creeps me out.

Edited May 19, 2018 by WatchrTina

[AnimeMania]

Lady Gaga has repeatedly reminded us that she "was born this way".

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Who is Lady Gaga?

A singer-songwriter in her early 30's.

19 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

Earlier I posted wondering if the kids they rescued were going to be okay without their medicine.  Just now I noticed that after Amos shoots Strickland and he begins leading the children away, Prax picks up a big duffle bag as he brings up the rear.  I'm going to fan-wank that the duffle bag contained the medicine needed by the kids.  After all, just because they were evacuating didn't mean that Strickland was planning to stop experimenting on them.  As such, I'm going to assume he had packed up what was needed to keep the kids alive.

So . . . when Naomi re-programmed that one missile (while on the bridge of the Agatha King) . . . where do you suppose she sent it?  I'd like to think she used orbital mechanics to send in on a trajectory that will end with it burning up in the sun.  But Naomi makes some Belt-centric choices (as we know.)  Is it possible she worked her magic to aim it at Earth? Surely not . . . Holden's family live there.  She'd never do that.  Would she?

Good catch with Prax picking up the duffle. I will go right along with you on the fan wank.

I was wondering where it will go. I think it may well end up in a bad place accidentally, but I don't think Naomi deliberately aimed it toward Earth. That would be pretty counter to the storyline with the crew.

2 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Lady Gaga has repeatedly reminded us that she "was born this way".

Ah, yes she has. It's on my play list. I just didn't connect the quotes to that particular statement. Focused on the first part of the quote - not the second, I guess.

[Danny Franks]

35 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

So . . . when Naomi re-programmed that one missile (while on the bridge of the Agatha King) . . . where do you suppose she sent it?  I'd like to think she used orbital mechanics to send in on a trajectory that will end with it burning up in the sun.  But Naomi makes some Belt-centric choices (as we know.)  Is it possible she worked her magic to aim it at Earth? Surely not . . . Holden's family live there.  She'd never do that.  Would she?

 

I didn't think she re-programmed any of them. She switched the transponders back on, so the missiles could be tracked, which is what allowed Fred Johnson to target and destroy them, with the missiles he stole from Earth last season.

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Who is Lady Gaga?

Here ya go (list of Lady Gaga songs): https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lady+gaga

24 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I didn't think she re-programmed any of them. She switched the transponders back on, so the missiles could be tracked, which is what allowed Fred Johnson to target and destroy them, with the missiles he stole from Earth last season.

That''s what I got too  I can say fairly certainly that Fred got all the missiles.

Edited May 19, 2018 by jhlipton
Tried to enclose playlisy but wouldn't play