Please be aware of spoilers!

2022/12/24

You can split up the 3^rd season in two mini seasons, first one is six episodes, the second mini season starts at episode seven till episode 13. The first batch of episodes finishes off the Earth – Mars storyline from cold war to actually be at war with Errinwright being in the middle of it. The second batch of episodes of course has to do with the giant ring created by the protomolecule and how to deal with that.

I definitely prefer the first part of season 3, which does not mean I don’t like the second part, on the contrary, but I liked the politics of the first part of the season, I liked the tension, the almost unavoidable war between Earth and Mars. I loved characters like Chrisjen and Cotyar, I was really missing them in part two of this season. I didn’t like Cotyar’s fate, he quickly became one of my favorite characters. Also Sadavir Errinwright, I loved this character also, I know he was bad but he (Shawn Doyle) played it perfectly! For me the first 6 episodes is some of the best TV ever made, definitely A+, second part of season 3, I would rate a B+, which is still a very high number.

Episodes:

In the 1^st episode “Fight or Flight” Sadavir Errinwright pressures the UN Secretary-General Sorrento-Gillis into a war with Mars. When he finds out that Chrisjen is still alive, could still be a threat, he throws her under the bus with falsified information. Chrisjen, Cotyar, Bobby and an Engineer Theo manage to escape Mao’s vessel before it explodes. Bobby and Chrisjen via a speedster. Theo and Cotyar via a lifepod. On the Roci Naomi is not everyone’s favorite person right now after she confessed that she gave the protomolecule to Fred Johnson. Naomi want to go to Tycho but the rest want to go and find Mei, Prax’s child. Fred Johnson asks Drummer to retrieve the Nauvoo. Note – Really great opening to this 3^rd season, very exciting episode!

In “IFF” ("Identify Friend/Foe") Bobby and Chrisjen are flying the Razorback and they are being pursued by a UN ship sent by Errinwright. Bobby sends out a distress call that can only be received by a Martian vessel. Of course the Roci is also a Martian vessel and they receive the distress call. At first they don’t want to respond because they want to help Prax find his daughter but Prax wants the crew to respond to the distress call. Secretary-General Gillis contacts a former associate, Anna Volovodov (Elizabeth Mitchell), he asks her to come and be by his side and write the most important speech of his career. Dr. Strickland has Jules-Pierre Mao as guest at his facility where he also has Mei, and he has good news about the protomolecule, which can be tested on kids whom have an immune deficiency, which gives much promise. Meanwhile Holden’s team disables the UN vessel which was pursuing the Razorback and save Bobby and Chrisjen, who is injured. Note – Yet another flawless episode if you ask me, great banter between Bobby and Chrisjen.

“Assured Destruction” is perhaps the best, of certainly one of the best episodes of the season. Chrisjen explains to Holden and his crew what has happened till up to this point. Also about the involvement of Mao and Errinwright. Cotyar and the engineer are found by the USS Agatha King from the Jupiter fleet. With tears in his eyes Cotyar kills the engineer because he knows he won’t stand the pressure and would spill about Chrisjen. Admiral Nguyen rendezvous with the Agatha King because of Cotyar, because Chrisjen is now seen as a traitor because of Errinwright. Cotyar keeps his mouth shut against Nguyen but when Admiral Southern comes in alone, Cotyar tells him about the message from Errinwright, that not Chrisjen but Errinwright is the traitor. Meanwhile Errinwright has found five Mars platforms targeted at Earth. He pressures Gillis to destroy these platforms. At first Gillis does not give the go ahead for this, later on, after more pressuring, he does, the fifth platform manages to fire a missile to Earth before being destroyed, killing millions. Errinwright does not seem to bothered one bit by this and blames Gillis because he hesitated which had an effect on the effectiveness on the destruction of the platforms. When Errinwright tells this to Anna, she see no compassion in his eyes, nothing. Meanwhile Mao is still on IO, connecting with Mei. Mao wants to end the project when he sees another kid gets ill and the end result is far from close. Note – This episode has everything, another flawless episode, tension from the beginning till the end!

In “Reload” Drummer is picking up the Nauvoo with a large fleet, Holden’s crew needs supplies and such, so they go searching in the debris of Martian vessels, there they find 3 Martian survivors. When they find out that the Roci does not have a Martian crew, they decide to try and take over the Roci. They fail but they let them go after Chrisjen tells them what has happened and these 3 survivors should tell this to the leader of the Martian fleet so that they can inform Admiral Souther. Gillis gives the speech Anna wrote, but some alterations were made, by Errinwright, basically these are his words. Anna feels betrayed, wants to leave but then gets a message from Chrisjen about Errinwright. Holden had finally approved to send out the message. Note – He is a disturbing character, but I have to admit, every scene with Errinwright is gold!

In “Triple Point” the 3 Martian survivors bring the message to the commander but she is not convinced that this is real. Katao, the kid that was Ill on IO, is changing rapidly, Mao concludes the protomolecule seems to be working on him. Mao is okay when Strickland proposes to use Mei as the next test subject. Chrisjen confesses to Holden that Earth doesn’t have the protomolecule and she wants a sample, to bring peace. Souther receives the message and authenticates it with Cotyar. Nguyen relieves Souther but a mutiny is at hand, for a short time Southern takes control back but ultimately the man still standing is Nguyen. He wants a war but the Martian Capt. Sandrine Kirino makes it clear she has no interest in fighting. Holden’s team arrive on IO, trying to get in when they see a launch of missiles, Holden thinks these are the protomolecule hybrids. Note – How you first feels some respect for Mao when he calls off the project, until he sees improvement, he approves to use Mei as the next subject, disturbing!

“Immolation” is the season finale of this mini season and with episode 3, it is the contender for the best episode of the season. Some of the hybrid missiles bore itself into the Agatha King, infecting the ship and its crew. Cotyar is freed by a soldier but gets infected as well. Holden and his crew go inside to look for Mei, Strickland releases Katoa and Draper is keeping it busy while the others can find Mei. Holden captures Mao. Naomi has an idea, to let Johnson help with the destruction of the hybrid missiles with the missiles he still has from Earth, he agrees to help. After a long run, Draper kills the being that used to be this kid Katoa. Prax wants to kill Strickland but Amos does it for him. They escape and Cotyar, who is infected blows up the Agatha, killing Nguyen who still was alive (and very annoying). Errinwright is arrested for treason, he thinks Secretary-General Millis is a weak man and asks Anna if he was always this weak. Millis again misses the point when he says the death of all those people are now no longer on him but on Errinwright. Holden brings Mao to Chrisjen. In the final moments of this episode, Something arises from Venus, it looks like a big round ship of protomolecule. Note – In my eyes this is a season finale, a grand finale and for me, till now, the best of The Expanse, which started in season two.

In “Delta V” 187 days have passed since “Immolation”, the object coming from Venus has formed an enormous ring in space, Chrisjen has called for peace, secretary-General Gillis has resigned. A documentary is being made on the Roci, none of them really wants this but they are seen as hero’s. We see Melba, who is the daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao and the sister of Julie, wants revenge, she despises Holden and wants him to die. In order for her not to be caught, she kills a colleague which she really respected, which hurts her. Klaes Ashford is the new first officer of Drummer on the Behemoth, formerly known as the Nauvoo. Drummer and Ashford know each other and she is not happy with him being there. Naomi also serves on the Behemoth as an engineer. First to enter the ring, and die, a Belter: Manéo Jung-Espinoza. In the final moments of the episode Holden sees Miller! Is he real or not?  Note – Klaes Ashford (David Strathairn), what a great addition to the cast, from the very first second he steals every scene he is in!

In “It Reaches Out” Holden continues to see Miller but he is not making any sense. Cohen, the cameraman on the Roci, is doing things he is not supposed to. It turns out, Cohen is working together with Melba, she truly hates Holden. Meanwhile Holden is going nuts because he keeps seeing Miller. Melba sends out a message to all, where Holden says he believes the ring belongs to the Belters, she wants to start a war, Holden is not responsible for this. But the Behemoth fires a missile but because of an error it does not destroy the Roci. Miller does speak sense after all, with everyone going after the Roci, in so many words Miller says that the Roci has to slow down to enter the ring. Finally a follow-up on the protomolecule under the hall-plating which we saw in season two after killing their first protomolecule hybrid encounter. Note – Melba Koh (Nadine Nicole) also a fine addition to the cast, interesting character. Impressive how she can cry on que!

In “Intransigence” the Roci manages to get into the ring successfully, the missile is “hanging” there still in pursuit but not moving.  Amos figures out it was Cohen who was messing with the communication hub, he confesses very fast. Miller is absent now when Holden needs him. Chrisjen gives the order to remove nonmilitary personnel from the ships orbiting around the ring because it has become too dangerous. Anna arranges something because she doesn’t want to go, it seems she does not want to go back to her family. Amos lets the two news reporters go in a space suit because they will be held responsible also, if they were to stay if the Roci would be boarded. Miller finally returns and tells Holden where to go next. We see some backflashes of the Mao family, where Melba (aka Clarissa) was never good enough for her father, still she did everything to try and please him.

In “Dandelion Sky” Holden goes out into space in a spacesuit alone. Miller is with him, he orders Alex and Amos to stay put. Naomi is trying to get to the Roci, after Drummer gave the order to shoot down the Roci, she no longer wants to be there. The Thomas Prince is also going through the ring. Anne neglects a fellow believer, at least that’s how she feels it when kills himself. Tilly recognizes Melba and pays the ultimate price. Melba is also trying to get to the Roci now, she wants to have her revenge and kill Holden. Bobby and her team are going after Holden, when they try to apprehend Holden, the structure deals with them, except for Bobby. The structure, aka the ring station, also takes more severe defensive position by vastly decreasing the speed limit on the already slowed-down zone. This rapid deceleration causes people on every ship in the slow zone who were not strapped in to be thrown against the bulkheads of their ship. Meanwhile Drummer gets sick of Ashford sawing at her legs for letting Naomi go, Ashford wants to talk but because of the deceleration brought on by the ring station, both Drummer and Ashford get stuck. Note – this is one of the reasons I love the first part of the season way more, more tangible for the viewer.

In “Fallen World” Bobby brings an unconscious Holden back to their ship. Melba has mortally wounded Tilly, Anna’s friend. Tilly tells Anna about Melba, what her plans are before she dies. Naomi is back on the Roci, finds Alex and Amos unconscious. Melba escapes in a space suit, on route to the Roci, to Holden. Anna sees her leaving. Drummer and Ashford still stuck, after trying some things, Drummer lets the vehicle ride, what makes her wound worse, perhaps untreatable but it frees Ashford. Ashford gives the order to spin up the drum of the Behemoth despite hesitation expressed by crew since it has never been tried. When it is shown that the drum is maintaining 1/3 g in its spin, Ashford, professing to be captain, announces to all that the Behemoth has gravity and is accepting anybody who needs medical attention. Naomi checks the cargo bay after she heard something, Melba is on board, in a fight Melba, still in her suit overpowers Naomi and is ready to kill but Anna has come after her and saves Naomi. Holden comes to and says he had a vision: Everything is about to end.

In “Congregation” Melba is put into prison. Amos wanted to kill her but Anna wouldn’t let him. Roci crew goes to the Behemoth in the hopes of finding Holden. Holden and Melba are across from each other in prison. Kolvoord on the Thomas Prince, thinks he can send a communication out with the help of the Behemoth. Naomi finds the wounded Drummer but helps her up with a mechanical chassis. Drummer brings Naomi to Holden and Melba listens to them and realizes she hate for Holden might been unjustified. Holden tells Ashford that they should get out of there a.s.a.p., he informs Ashford that the protomolecule is not a weapon but a creation designed to build roads, treating the humans on Eros as one would treat an anthill being paved over by a road. Holden thinks Miller might know how to get out of the situation, but Holden hasn't had much time to himself for Miller to come and visit again. With the most powerful communication laser ever built, Ashford's plan is to slice the gate, destroying it, which would mean trapping and effectively dooming everyone inside the Slow Zone, including themselves.

In the season finale “Abaddon’s Gate” Ashford wants to destroy the ring but Holden believes that they should do nothing. Anna tells the story to Monica, the reporter, and they broadcast it to all ships and Ashford is unable to stop it. Ashford orders to shoot Naomi and Holden as they approach him. When he tells his men to shoot them, Melba comes in and helps. When all the ships are powered down, more rings appear, a ring network. Holden thinks that Miller wasn't always honest with his intentions. He suspects all along it was just Miller's ploy to open up the gates. Without denying the accusations, Miller asks if Holden can give him a ride. As the Rocinante is transiting through the gate, some sort of energy appears to enter Holden.

Final Word:

So two totally different kind of episodes, the first 6 and the last 7. A truly exciting season, as said before, I favor the first six more than the last seven episodes but I love the whole season. These characters continue to grow, interesting new characters have been added, like Klaes Ashford and Melba (aka Clarissa). The Expanse is just amazing SCI-FI show, the best one in at least a decade. Three more seasons to go, these upcoming seasons I’ve only seen once, so I am really looking forward watching them again!

Screencaps: Kiss Them Goodbye   With some help of The Expanse Wiki