Be aware of mild spoilers

2023/01/15

Well most of you probably know that the Syfy channel cancelled The Expanse after 3 seasons! Social media intervened, making lots and lots of noise and in part I think this is the reason why it was picked up for 3 additional seasons at Amazon Prime. The 4^th season however is quite different than the first 3 seasons mainly because the episodes for most part are set on a planet instead of in space. Doesn’t mean it is a bad season but I was a bit disappointed by this. On a whole the stories are still good, the characters are put in the same kinds of situations but instead of in space, this now happens on a planet, New Terra aka Ilus. For me this season turns out to be my least favorite season.

Some interesting characters were added this season. The first one of course is Adophus Murtry, played by Burn Gorman, whom most you probably know from Torchwood. Murtry is a part of the RCE (Royal Charter Energy). He is in fact a bastard. Dr. Lucia Mazur (Rosa Gilmore), a Belter woman, who is partly responsible of what happened to the RCE’s shuttle at the start of the season. Dr. Elvi Okoye (Lyndie Greenwood) who becomes very important during the season, certainly at the end of the season. Chandra Wei (Jess Salgueiro), who is second in command to Murtry but has also started a relationship with Amos. she trusts Murtry 100%.

I very much do like the Bobbie storyline on Mars, she tries to make an honest living, comes in a shady situation and meanwhile finding out there is something definitely wrong on Mars. She is determined to find out what is going on. Also the election on Earth is very interesting plot spreading all over season 4. At first Chrisjen has a big lead on contender Nancy Gao but through some ill-chosen decisions and unforeseen decisions Nancy Gao quickly comes closer in the polls. Chrisjen’s behavior also changes, her husband does not feel comfortable with her behaving like she does.

Episodes:

To be honest, there really isn’t a bad episode in season 4, with full season story-arc there usually isn’t time for a bad episode is my experience. Usually the filler episodes are the ones that are so so but a TV show like The Expanse doesn’t have that kind of episodes.

The 4^th season starts on a planet which lays through one of the many rings. The humans call it New Terra but the Belters call it Ilus. A ship of Belters has landed there and they want to call Ilus their new home. Chrisjen asks Holden and his team to go to that planet too, to oversee if everything is okay because there are signs that protomolecule could be present there. Chrisjen also sends a science vessel with RCE personnel, while trying to land, something goes wrong, not sure if it was an accident or an attack, many lives are lost. Because of this, there is immediate tension on the planet between de RCE personal, the Belters and Holden’s team. Then everyone gets attacked again by what looks like something like a sharp, metallic thing that looks like a bug.

Episode 2, “Jetsam”, the bug looks to be something of the protomolecule, Holden and Naomi have a pretty good idea where it is coming from. Amos and the RCE commander find a cap at the crash site which seems the shuttle most likely has been targeted. The RCE commander Murtry blames the Belters. Bobbie is being held for questioning because of her past. Chrisjen offers her a job she declines. There are many billion year old structures on the planet, which are protomolecule related. Miller wants Holden to enter such a structure. While working there the structure closes and Holden barely gets out. Ashford and Drummer see a bunch of floating corpses passing by, when they investigate it leads to a ship that is destroyed recently. They decide to inform Earth because otherwise they fear Belters will get the blame.

In 3^rd episode “Subduction” Murtry kills a Belter, Amos has only seen the last part of the incident but keeps an eye on Murtry from now on. Chrisjen gets competition when Nancy Gao also announces to want to run for office currently occupied by Chrisjen. But Chrisjen still has a comfortable lead. The protomolecule structure on the planet is being unstable, Alex calculates it could hit the edge of the settlement. Holden sends a missile to try to counter it. Bobbie saves her nephew but this has consequences, she has to be part of a shady gang. Murtry kills a group Belters who were planning on an attack. He knew about it because he had the place bugged.

In episode 4, “Retrograde”, Naomi and Lucia are no longer safe from Murtry, now he knows Lucia has something to do with the crash landing of the RCE shuttle. The missile Holden sent worked but Holden is unsure for how long. Drummer and Ashford apprehend an important Belter freedom fighter but Drummer and other Belter factions are afraid if they kill him, it could lead to a Belter civil war. Holden and Murtry stand before each other, Holden punches him to the ground and tells him he’s done.

Episode 5, “Oppressor” is the best yet. In a dream/memory we as audience see that Lucia was part of a group that has something to do about the RCE shuttle that went down, but when she makes it clear she does not want to kill them, she gets knocked down. Holden wants to try and evacuate the Belters because of the coming danger, but they don’t believe him. Murtry wants a war with the Belters because they hold two of his men. Chrisjen makes a decision in a crisis which is going to cost her voters. Gao benefits from this. Alex notices a big explosion while being on the Roci. Note – Best episode till now for me – Nice moment between Lucia and Naomi and between Holden and Naomi .

“Displacement” is another really good episode. The explosion Alex saw causes earth quakes and a tsunami. Ships in orbit malfunction. Holden gets the Belters to evacuate, to one of these structures, for certain promises he has to make. Bobbie is active in this group of criminals and she seems not to hate it. Drummer and Ashford do not feel valued by the UN. Note – Good episode, do miss the space battles though!

“A Shot in the Dark”- New Terra has been flooded, everyone is inside this alien structure. Tension is high between Murtry and the Belters, also everybody has sort of a virus which makes them blind. Holden is the only one who is not going blind. Naomi, Alec and Lucia are trying to help the ship Barbapiccola, where Lucia’s daughter currently resides on, to get it to a higher orbit. Lucia may have a solution that may help. Chrisjen is determined to win, whatever the cost. Inaros is believed to be on the Pizzouza. Through advice she chooses to board the ship to catch him but he is gone and has left a present and the ship explodes, killing everybody!

“The One-eyed Man” – Chrisjen’s general resigns, blames her for her recklessness to send in these marines. Note – I have to say something about the general, he did not even object when she gave the order, she asks him what the options were. So he is as much to blame. Holden/dr. Okoye figure out that his cancer meds from Eros radiation is the reason he did not become blind, with this info, dr. Okoye hopefully can make an anti-dote. Chrisjen is very emotional during the eulogy for all those men that were killed on the Pizzouza, Gao is also impressed with this but is this real or does Chrisjen have a double agenda? After regaining his eyesight, it seems Murtry is planning something… in the final moments of the episode, Miller returns…screaming! – Note – Another very good episode!

In “Saeculum” Miller has possibly a way to destroy the protomolecule forever. He also tells Holden that when he showed himself as the detective, he was influenced by the protomolecule. He is constantly battling the protomolecule for control. Murtry wants to kill Holden, has convinced Wei that, if needed, Amos must die also. He has also given the command to try and derail the efforts of getting Barbapiccola into higher orbit. Miller has to become an object in order for him to deal with the protomolecule, but the protomolecule is fighting back! Miller tells Holden about the protomolecule still under the deck of the Roci.

The season finale “Cicola Burn” is with the previous episode the best of the 4^th season. Miller and dr. Okoye seem to be successful, but the doctor is very scared of what she had felt, an ominous presence. Protomolecule seems to be dead all over this world now. The ships have thrusters again. Murtry is captured after he critically wounded Amos. He himself is also wounded. Belters and the RCE remain on the planet, except for Murtry of course. Chrisjen loses the election and with that also a bit of her husband who is disappointed in her for how she behaved. Bobby contacts Chrisjen telling her something is definitely wrong on Mars, if the job opening is still there, she would like to accept.

Ashford is captured by Inaros. Inaros is getting ready for another attack with a big rock, Earth looks to be his next target. Holden and Naomi find the died out protomolecule under the deck. It really looks like it is dead everywhere. Holden says Miller farewell, talking to the piece of protomolecule before sending it into the sun. In the final moments of the episode, Murtry, who is a prisoner on  the Roci, and Amos are up for a fist fight!

Final Word:

I have to admit, I find it very difficult writing rewatches about “The Expanse”, even more so when the “enemy” supposedly is the protomolecule. Furthermore I am trying to write down less spoilers than usual, but it is just so darn difficult. Still I did my best, as always, I hope you enjoy the read and with every rewatch blog I write in the future, I try to be shorter and give away less spoilers. Unfortunately only the first 4 seasons have been released on Blu-ray, seasons 5 & 6 still haven’t been released and I doubt it ever will, you never know of course. So for these last two seasons I have to watch it via Amazon Prime.

ps. I have been trying to shorten the blogs a bit, with less detail and less spoilers. it already has less details and less spoilers but with season Five it will be drastically different, shorter, almost spoiler free.