I don't know a lot about the production history of The Expanse. I know it moved from SyFy to Amazon with Season 4, and that the 6th season was only 6 episodes (for comparison, Season 2 contained 13 episodes). Further, the number of sets and scope of those sets are greatly reduced when you think of the grandeur of the first seasons, with multiple space stations, practical locations on Earth, interiors of a variety of ships, etc... heck, casting someone like Jared Harris as a supporting role was nothing to sneeze at. And we always saw an army of extras.
That said, this season there's at least half an army of extras, the limited sets we do see are as detailed as ever (if no longer multi-story and as deeply layered), and the VFX are still rock solid.
Based on the 6th book of the series and a novella, Season 6 is the most direct continuation from one season to the next - picking up as our crew, who dispersed across the solar system in Season 5, reunited on the Roci in the wake of Alex's death. Now, they're out hunting as part of the UNN/ UMRC coalition, with Peaches/ Clarissa on board. Avasarala is leading the UN and working with Martian leadership, while Camina Drummer is out in the belt resisting Marco in the wake of the death of Ashford and Fred Johnson.
Taking from the the Strange Dogs novella, each episode begins with scenes on Laconia where rogue Martians have set up a colony, and a young girl discovers some curious local fauna that seems to have a knack for fixing things. Both machines and organic things.
Still, Earth and Mars are reeling after the attacks on both planets, and their navies are locked in place, protecting the planets against any further direct attacks, leaving Marco free to claim The Belt for his the increasingly poorly named Free Navy. Military-minded Mars wants to keep hurling itself at Marco instead of strategizing, and the Belt has fallen under the sway of Marco Inaros, who may not be actually improving their lot - in fact, it seems likely to make it far worse in the coming months - but they sure like his strong man tactics and bombastic rhetoric, making Earth pay for the centuries of poor treatment.
Filip Inaros, is, however figuring out that his father may not actually have a real plan, and that this is less about The Belt and more about seizing power. Marco is slipping, and while he currently has the Belt in his thrall, he requires the guidance of Rosenfeld (played by Kathleen Robertson!), who may have a better grip on what actually needs doing than he does.
Of course, there's a problem that ships keep disappearing during transit, consumed by Ring Entities - which - after an assault on the Ring Station, Holden realizes they can weaponize, eliminating Marco.
The series ends with hope trickling in around the edges. Prax has sent information from Gannymede that may help all of the parts of the solar system produce food - especially Earth, which is just fucked as a sort of nuclear winter has set in. Mars and Earth have all the more reason to drop hostilities now that they've partnered, and the rings have obviated the need for Mars' little brother syndrome to raise hostilities. And, at long last, the Belt is not just playing in a position of power, they have a chance to be at the table for the first time.
Thematically, the season is really about wrapping up character and thematic threads. Naomi is finding peace with her need to flee the Pella and her son, who she couldn't save. Amos has come full circle in his role now as someone else's guide and "boss", and sees that, yeah, he can be good, and sometimes, in war, that distinction isn't particularly useful (and maybe that's okay, too). Holden continues to reach across the table, and continues making mistakes in favor of caring about people. Bobbie steps away from subservience via duty, and, instead, finds her new crew with the Rocinante. Avasarala finally learns not to win at all cost - but that she can still win.
For the first time, we see Belters, Martians and Earthers in one place, negotiating. The old tensions are there, but they at least have a chance now. And Holden's Hail Mary play makes it possible for the Belt to take a position it's never been able to have before, ensuring better footing.
The Laconia portions of the season were intended to feed into future seasons - the antagonists of the last three books come out of that system. I've read the Wikipedia entries for the next novels, and in my mind, this is the place to end it and put a bow on what The Expanse did so well from a narrative standpoint.
The story of The Expanse is an analog for real-world issues of 1st, 2nd and 3rd world countries, how they relate to each other, how the 3rd and 2nd world are exploited by 1st world countries. And that doesn't seem to be carried forward in the back 1/3rd of the book series as it becomes about resisting technology that feels like magic and a "dark empire" invading our solar system, the conflicts of the show no longer relevant.
Sure, you can go on forever with any property, well past the point of keeping the magic alive and just serving an eternally unhappy and divisive fanbase. And I would have liked more Expanse, I suppose. But it's a real case of "don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened at all". Because, man, a television show this ambitious, based on a niche book series was a huge gamble for Alcon, for SyFy and for Amazon.
That said, I'm judging from Wikipedia entries written by sci-fi enthusiasts who tend to be very literal in their recapping of events and less interested in the character development and metaphors that use the nuts and bolts of sci-fi wonderment, scientific accuracy and the beat-for-beat plot as a scaffolding to accomplish something more interesting. Maybe those books kill it on that front, and I'm misunderstanding. If you've read them, let me know in the comments.
On the whole, this is the sort of sci-fi I'm most interested in. I like space fantasy, too, to an extent. But, tbh, I just don't find, saw, Jedis all that exciting. And while I love me some Trek and I love the Let's Strive To Be Good aspect of that show, it doesn't hurt to have a show that might reflect a bit more of what we are, and show how we can work to be better against impossible odds, and no matter where we came from.
The consideration of things like living in Zero G, the supply chain of water, air and other necessities will be the hurdles we face as we try to move out beyond our own thin atmosphere and planetary gravity. Like migrants before, we'll need to think about what it means to bring children into this, and know our children will never know the place their parents came from. And with a millennia or three to tech us how our colonies get treated, we'll need to prepare for the lives we'll be creating for our first Martians and Belters. And how those childrens children will see Earth, a dot on a star field.
I won't take away from the actors on other shows - they do what the script says, bringing as much as they can in what I assume must be difficult situations with complex dialog. But those shows don't necessarily get to take big swings or risks. So, for six seasons, it was an absolute treat seeing nuance and growth in characters, watching them share space on a single show, as much carried along by events as impacting them. Our major franchises rarely can allow for the places the Expanse characters can go (think Naomi's entire Season 5 arc) that we would never seen on Trek or Star Wars. They are flawed, they are deeply human with drives and impulses. And the wisdom of the creators to find pairings to highlight those differences and where characters click is commendable.
Is there anything better than Amos interacting with Avasarala?
I won't litter the internet with superlatives about the show. I loved it the first time, and appreciated it so much more on a second watch, seeing how layered the show really is, and letting the pieces come together and for things to blossom and bloom over time.
It's a shame so few watched it. I know the first episodes are tough to get your head around, but tell your friends to turn on the Closed Captions to get over the Belter lingo and accent, and promise them pay off by the third or fourth episode.
Despite my misgivings, of course I'd watch if Alcon finds financing and a distributor for additional material. I'd guess they can get the band back together for more. The biggest breakout of the show seems to have been Shohreh Aghdashloo, who deserves accolades, but it sure seems like others should have gotten opportunities.
I'm not sure what legacy the show will have. I assume something similar will come along in fifteen or twenty years and Expanse fans (aka: Screaming Firehawks) will come out of the woodwork, and then we'll get articles with headlines like "the best scifi show you've never heard of/ seen". It happens. Like Firefly, it will likely have a small, cult fanbase keeping it propped up and mentioned for decades to come.
I'll take it. So few shows maintain what made them great and improve on it. Having a novel series to base the show on - but not sticking to it when new ideas came to the fore - gave the show a rock solid foundation and the character arcs and motivations a real basis instead of pitches in a writer's room where ideas are in competition, and ratings can require changes and shifts that can kill something with the long-game intent of The Expanse.
For now, oyedaeg, The Expanse. I'll be looking for the comics and other extensions you've put out there, and I may just read those last three books.
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