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Last night's season finale of The Expanse was supposedly the series finale but it clearly wasn't meant to be. There are at least three unresolved subplots from the season, plus the overall series plot about the protomolecule doesn't feel done. Even as a season finale, it didn't have quite the impact of previous seasons.

Partly I wonder if it's the absence of actors like Thomas Jane or David Strathairn. And, of course, the absence of Cas Anvar continues to feel wrong, for the absence of his performance but more for the absence of his character, Alex. It's like if Scotty died in the second season of Star Trek and no-one made a big deal about it.

Spoilers after the screenshot.



There was a lot of awkward moral clean-up in this season, too, like Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) expressing regret about torturing the Belter in season one or Clarissa (Nadine Nicole) feeling sorry about killing the mechanic she worked with. Maybe they both do feel sorry about these things but their confessions came at awkward times and felt artificially injected.

The episode also did that thing Chris Chibnall has garnered criticism for doing on Doctor Who--showing the protagonist about to sacrifice herself only for a minor character to step in and do the sacrifice at the last minute. Drummer (Cara Gee) had that cool line, "Leave the Pella to me!" before she set up her suicide run only for someone else to do it. Bobbie (Frankie Adams) made like she was going to sacrifice herself to take out some gun defenses but her special suit ended up surviving a hail of bullets. That's a little more plausible, at least, but the moment felt deflated anyway.



And, of course, Filip managing to sneak off and survive felt like bullshit. The show would've been better off letting Naomi's (Dominique Tipper) grief remain legitimately earned. That's war.

Well, the action sequences were nice. But this show is definitely a long way from its heyday and, if this truly was the final episode, it's going out on a weak note.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

I did get some Wrath of Khan vibes from Friday's new episode of The Expanse. I'd be surprised if Keon Alexander isn't basing his performance of Marco Inaros on Ricardo Montalban. But while I can believe Khan as the leader of a group of genetically engineered radicals, I still don't buy Marco Inaros as the leader of the whole Belter civilisation.



Even Filip (Jasai Chase-Owens) stood up to him after his embarrassing failure to destroy the Rocinante. I'll admit, that was pretty satisfying, but I still remember when this show's big selling point was its realism.

The whole trap Inaros set up for Ceres station doesn't quite make sense, either. Sure, it is now the responsibility of Earth and Mars to care for the people Inaros abandoned, and this looks again like allegory for occupying U.S. forces in the Middle East. But once again, the analogy doesn't quite work. There's no religion tying the people on the station to Inaros' mission so he's just going to look like what he is, a madman who promised them victory and then scarpered. Even if Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) can't get supplies to the people, the Earthers will have to work extra hard at being assholes for Inaros' PR plan to work.



It felt a little out of place, but I liked Peaches (Nadine Nicole) expressing remorse for the mentor she murdered a few seasons back. And Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Amos (Wes Chatham) eating together was cute. I still don't want to see them fight.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

Twitter Sonnet #1506

Departing feathers speak of frozen birds.
Beyond a veil of static crawled the sky.
Assorted lights reflect in liquid words.
Distinguished bells adorn the bold and shy.
A question formed in strings of Christmas light.
To step beyond a sleigh we need a boot.
We never ask the snow to win a fight.
We never grew a man from twisted root.
Our stars engaged the liquid fabric coat.
Recalling paint, the model plastic grew.
Replacing trees, we built a giant boat.
Across the seas, we taught the natives blue.
On morning three the puppy played a horn.
Beneath the douglas fir a cup was born.

The first episode of the sixth and final season of The Expanse premiered on Friday and it was certainly the most underwhelming premiere of the series.

The two conspicuous problems are the absence of Alex and the presence of Marco. Cas Anvar, who played Alex, was the subject of allegations of sexual misconduct last year. Although he apparently has not been charged with any crime, he was awkwardly written out of the show at the end of last season. Anvar was by far one of the best actors on the show but, if he really did have to go, I would have advised recasting Alex rather than killing him off. His character, as the "heart" of the team who made the effort to make the crew like a family, was too essential to the ensemble dynamic. Now it really just feels like people on a ship who'd all rather be doing something else.



Meanwhile, the main villain from the previous season, Marco (Keon Alexander), is still up to his dastardly schemes, and is still just as bafflingly cartoonish. He barks his motivational speeches like an orc wearing a hair shirt. He's so over the top on a show that's usually famed for its realism, you wonder why anyone, let alone almost all the Belters, would follow this guy. When you look at video of Osama bin Laden or Adolf Hitler, they don't come off like Snidley Whiplash.



It is nice to see Shohreh Aghdashloo, Dominique Tipper, and Cara Gee again and I'm happy that Nadine Nicole has joined the crew. But the show is definitely at a low ebb.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

The winning subplot this season on The Expanse is Amos and Clarissa on Earth with Naomi coming in second. I liked Bobbie and Alex early on but they've been stuck in that little ship flying back and forth for a few episodes now. Shohreh Anghdashloo is wonderful as always but her plot is a little too much like a coded message about the U.S. wars with Iraq and Afghanistan. Holden, as always, is a drip, though the stuff about Fred Johnson and the reporter in his subplot was nice. But nothing holds a candle to Amos and Clarissa, especially not after last night.



It began as a story about a former gangster returning home. Then it became a sci fi prison escape film. Then it was a wilderness survival film. And finally, last night, it became a household siege film. Through it all, Amos (Wes Chatham) and Clarissa (Nadine Nicole) are an unlikely duo of murderers, each one complementing the other's strengths and flaws. Amos is the durable tank without empathy, Clarissa is the vulnerable, occasionally super powerful, and overly passionate slasher. It's a classic comic combo.



All in all, though, this hasn't been an especially strong season. I really miss David Strathairn and Thomas Jane. I feel like the first three seasons were the strongest.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

Twitter Sonnet #1437

The absent lemon boosts the wooden car.
For coffee spilled the milky air absorbs.
The very space was split to make a star.
The eyes were white and dark within the orbs.
The chipper mouse was lost amid the gloom.
A leading thread arrived before the shirt.
Construction stopped beside the rusty loom.
A gear contracts a case of coffee dirt.
The talking blobs were pudding words in mouths.
The quiver aced the arrow quizzing gel.
The varied norths reflect the waving souths.
The brainy sea assumes propellers well.
A heap of masts divert avenging ships.
The fire sauce absorbs the salty chips.

Last time I wrote about The Expanse, I wondered why in the Belt Naomi would be attracted to Marco Inaros in the first place. Last night's new episode sort of gave me an answer, or at any rate it had a flashback to when they were young and in love and Filip was just born.



She looks so mature, not fifteen or sixteen, as I guess her age would have to be. I can't find the age of Jasai Chase Owens, who plays Filip most of the time, anywhere on the internet but considering he has a history of aiding in terrorist attacks I figure he has to be at least seventeen by this point. Dominique Tipper, who plays Naomi, is listed as being 32 or 33 (weird seeing such imprecision about someone in a major TV series). I guess Naomi's meant to be older than Tipper or maybe Belters have accelerated pregnancies.



Still, I don't find Marco (Keon Alexander) or Filip very interesting but I like the story of Naomi's struggle. Tipper's performance makes the scenes really work when she's talking about nearly committing suicide. And I liked how the episode came back to that story in the climax.

I was sorry not to see Amos or Avasarala this week but an episode focused on Naomi is always a good idea.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

Here a giant Picard poster grimly holds vigil across the street from the San Diego Convention Centre as though to say, "So. It begins." By which he'd mean Comic Con. Preview night was last night, Wednesday night, and to-day's the first official day. I feel like I'll probably be wandering the floor a lot this year, there are only a few panels I really want to see--the Farscape panel for certain. I'm going to have to choose between the Expanse panel and the Orville panel--they're both on the same day in different rooms. Both are also competing with the Star Trek panel, which wasn't much competition at all last year. Hardly anyone seemed interested in Disco. This year might be different with Picard since Patrick Stewart will be here.

If there's something you would like me to check out and report on and/or take pictures of, let me know.

A decent new episode of The Expanse last night though it mainly felt like filler. Still, even a filler episode of The Expanse is better than a lot of other shows and one or two things did develop. It could've been worse.

Spoilers after the screenshot



Ah, the old Trapped in a Basement Together Telling Stories plot. At least there weren't flashbacks to previous episodes. At least when Ashford (David Strathairn) and Drummer (Cara Gee) swapped stories of narrow escapes neither ever said, "I don't know how we got out of that one!"



The other reason to use this plot device, of course, is to show the characters bonding in ways that won't matter if you missed the episode. But it was nice listening to the two talk. Maybe Drummer is dying but I doubt it. If anyone's going to die I bet it'll be Ashford. The way he was relishing his moment calling himself "Captain" felt like he didn't expect to have the pleasure for long.



Drummer and Ashford became trapped in the cargo bay when the big protomolecule blob put some kind of purple membrane over all the ships, slowing them down. This is Sci-Fi without inertial dampers, it's nice writers can explore the possibilities now.



Anna (Elizabeth Mitchell) was lucky enough to have been strapped down during the incident. She goes to help out because she's a trained nurse--her doctorate is in something else as a commenter pointed out in one of my previous entries. I'm guessing everyone stopped calling her "Reverend Doctor" after her first episode to avoid confusion. You'd think basic nurse training would include basic information about how injuries are different in zero gravity but it provided an opportunity to explain it to the audience.



It felt like Anna almost became a completely different character in this episode. I suppose all the security officers were busy, injured, or dead but it felt weird seeing her rush off with a nightstick to take care of business all on her own. No reference at all in this episode to her internal conflicts. Her sudden appearance at the end to save Naomi (Dominique Tipper) from Melba (Nadine Nichole) was a little cheesy.



It was nice seeing Naomi's reunion with Alex (Cas Anvar) and Amos (Wes Chatham). I liked how no-one even mentioned the fork stuck in Alex's arm.

Twitter Sonnet #1126

Impatience shaves the screws to thickened pipes.
On yellow bits the friendly fishes stand.
Slowly rain in glimmered torrents wipes.
There drifts along the dock an even band.
Predicted drums surprised the running car.
Redacted rums revealed the drunken moon.
The bulletins were ranged along the bar.
By glowing, twisted red we read the rune.
Say whence have come the spiny beetles red?
As heated coals the hardened legs've glowed.
In even pace the soldiers slowly tread.
The burning pins were steps in rhythmic code.
The thin remembered strands have slipped the air.
A mirror hall produced an extra pair.

No Avasarala on last night's new Expanse but it was still pretty good. Lots of good character moments, good performances, and a nice cliffhanger ending.

Spoilers after the screenshot



We begin with Holden (Steven Strait) trying to get aholden of himself in the blue head of the Rocinante. I feel for anyone trying to do makeup in there.

It's no surprise Holden's unsure of his own state of mind because he's started having visions of Miller (Thomas Jane) roaming the ship, rambling things about his old job as a detective.



It's nice seeing Jane again. I wish he were back as his old self but I do like the idea of his stories about his job as an investigator being clues for dealing with the protomolecule ring. Holden not having seen his hat before now was a nice touch.



Meanwhile, looks like Anna (Elizabeth Mitchell) is almost flirting with a fun lady at the table with religious dignitaries. I wonder who gets to have the dessert sushi in the centre of the table.



But Anna's eye is drawn away by another beautiful woman. Can't think why.



Nice to know some vestiges of fan service live on. But then I'm sure yoga pants are very practical for sleeper assassins.

On a completely non-pervy note, I really like Anna's green coat. She almost looks like a gender-swapped Peregrin Took.



I really like the brief moment between the two characters in the corridor. Nadine Nicole is pretty good as the assassin (looking up her character's name on Wikipedia I see someone has ever so helpfully put a spoiler there. If you, like me, haven't read the books, be warned). Both actresses play the emotions of the moment well, Mitchell with her evident compassion and Nicole with her conflicted emotions clear on her face. Something is definitely up with her. She seemed really freaked out by the murder she'd committed after she'd come out of whatever Hulked out state she went into.



It also allowed the episode to have some nice "hide the body" Hitchcockian tension. Her desperate solution for getting the corpse to fit in the hiding place she'd chosen was nice and weird while again hinting at the strangeness of what she goes through to get her super strength.



"Just what do you think you're doing, Dave? Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it."

The climax of the episode, with the fake video of Holden, was also filled with some nice Hitchcockian tension--of the "Wrong Man" variety this time. I think I remember a character saying that the video of Errinwright had been examined and confirmed genuine so presumably this footage of Holden will eventually be found to be a forgery. But obviously it didn't need a lot of time to achieve an effect. With concerns to-day about the approaching dangers of video that can be forged, this was a timely plot device.

It's only with the ghost of Miller that the Rocinante avoids certain doom but I guess we'll have to wait until next week to find out exactly how.

Twitter Sonnet #1119

Upon a rope the night distributes fobs.
Here and there the line'll kink and catch.
The waving tips describe a sea that robs.
Reflections 'twixt the foam reveal a fetch.
The trunks of hair enact the blinding woods.
A symbol read aloud obscured a thought.
Explosives moulder near the paper goods.
A sculpture slowly peels insistent rot.
A tennis court retains a pallid foot.
Some logic's woven late of silken string.
Beside a second box a third is put.
A folding number quites a needle's sting.
In circuit names for naming loops repair.
A copied shot the pixels will impair.

I feel like there's a tug of war between directors on The Expanse--between directors who like coloured lighting and directors who don't. This week's decent episode where tensions came to a head saw the bridge of the Agatha King turn purple.

Spoilers after the screenshot



I kept thinking Admiral Nguyen (Byron Mann) was kind of an idiot. Why antagonise the crew of the Agatha King by being so obviously secretive? When he started firing at UNN ships I thought we were about to see the last of him. But then he fired off those missiles. I guess superior technology is one way an unlikeable dipshit can take over.



Meanwhile, most everyone else was thinking about their kids. Even Naomi (Dominique Tipper) has a kid named Filip we've never heard about and apparently he was a big part of her decision to send the protomolecule to Fred Johnson. I don't feel like we needed more motivation from her at this point for that. Maybe he'll become more important later, right now it feels like filler.



A lot of the stuff on the Pinus felt like filler this week. Alex (Cas Anvar) telling Bobbie (Frankie Adams) about how they killed the protomolecule monster, additional bonding between Amos (Wes Chatham) and Prax (Terry Chen). I think the floating tool disaster pretty well established the friendship between Prax and Amos in addition to Amos always voting to look for Prax's kid.



The Agatha King stuff was more effective and watching the strands of mutiny slowly come together was nice--Souther (Martin Roach) getting taken out at the end was an effective surprise. The episode certainly left me wondering what's going to happen with Mars and all these rebelling UNN ships.

Twitter Sonnet #1112

Important texts; a set of dotted clouds.
A promise turned ignitions past a date.
The matte depicts a car in velvet shrouds.
This busy image still is young and late.
Suspicious faces sound a softened rock.
The granite depths deliver dusty tones.
The ankle like a fork absorbed a shock.
In Morse a madness spoke in sequent stones.
The car alarm was herald of the mode.
Approaching kings betook to court behind.
So Orson Welles predictions blithely strode.
What alien and strange may yet remind.
A tie provides a plate for mouths to sigh.
A hat extends above the tails to sky.

There were lots of great character moments in last night's new episode of The Expanse, an episode that used a series of good scenes to show overlapping political, personal, and social issues and the unpredictable ways they play off each other.

Spoilers after the screenshot



There were two someones in the kitchen with Naomi (Dominique Tipper) in two separate scenes that contrast with each other in a nice way. Both are scenes where someone tries to make peace with her, one more successfully than the other. First Alex (Cas Anvar) offers her some food, this coming after a scene where he finally hears back from his wife on Mars.



This was a scene that showed why Cas Anvar is one of the standout performers on this show as the rapid sequence of emotions that pass through him after his wife has told him she's left him are completely clear. So his motive for making peace with Naomi is also clear--he's suddenly realised, without Mars and without his wife and kid, his misfit shipmates on the Pinus are the only family he has. I like that he still made it clear that he's still furious about Naomi for giving up the protomolecule, but there's a basic human need that transcends that. It's a very sweet scene.



The episode began with another Martian, Bobbie (Frankie Adams), in a nice, dialogue-free scene that establishes her own feelings. With a relaxed smile she sits down, happy to be in the familiar Martian surroundings, until she sees the defaced Martian flag and she's furious.



Despite her own experiences that have cut her off from Mars, the symbols are too personal for her, and it's especially a cruel shock coming when she was feeling a sense of peace at being some place, somewhat like home.



Feelings of family and loyalty are too deep rooted and complex to be cast aside even for very clear logical reasons. The other person to have a scene with Naomi in the kitchen is Avasarala and it was a pleasure watching Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dominque Tipper doing a scene together. Outside the more restrictive political scenes and voluminous costumes, Aghdashloo seems to be taking the opportunity to give a more physical performance, her poses simultaneously theatrical and reminding me a bit of Marlon Brando.



She gives a very political line to Naomi about how she understands that not all Belters support the actions of the OPA--it's a familiar line one might hear from someone talking to an Irish person about the IRA or a Muslim about ISIS. There's insight in it and maybe a real effort at sympathy but of course it's patronising and Naomi demonstrates why with her angry reaction--she might not agree with OPA all the time but there's a history of personal and philosophical dialogue that Avasarala's political speak is tone deaf to.



The episode also featured some nice moments of nuance with two of its more villainous characters, Mao (Francois Chau) and Errinwright (Shawn Doyle). Even Mao has a moment of conscience after he, like Alex with his shipmates, has a transference of familial connexion, in his case to Prax's daughter. And in his case, he does allow his personal feeling to influence his policy decision.



Errinwright, meanwhile, shows he really is as conflicted as he seemed last season. He's clearly shaken by the over two million people who died because one Martian missile got past Earth's defence systems. Then he does something really petty with that feeling and goes and tells Anna (Elizabeth Mitchell) that it could've been avoided if the president had had firmer resolve--implying that it was she who swayed him. It's unclear if Errinwright's insinuation is right but we see by the look on her face that Anna knows he could be. And Errinwright walks away with a bitter smile at the knowledge that he's spread some of the misery. So he's not a total psychopath--he does feel bad about people dying--but he's too weak not to abuse others for his own pain management. I think he's an asshole, but then, it's hard to imagine what it would be like feeling responsible for two million deaths.



There were also some nice scenes on the UNN flagship. I love those classic space opera corridors. I definitely like the more complex lighting after the endless blue of the Pinus/Rocinante.