8:20 when I see monica suddenly rush to grab holden and pull him through the doorway, I think about how way back in season 3 she said her camera guy died from being cut in half by a door that closed on him when the ship they were on was forcibly decelerated. she had to see that happen once and in this moment she was _determined_ to not see it again
Holy....nice catch that I never thought of! The thing I love so much about this show and how every detail matters and is paid off! I've rewatched this series probably 50 times by now and I love catches that are still there to be found! Hell the other day another Reactor had a terrific catch regarding the scene in 1x1 where the juxtaposition between water being more precious than gold for the belt but then a scene where Chrisjen's grandson is wasting water in a water balloon for mere PLAY compared to survival.
@@EvilAnomaly oh wow I never caught that part either, which is probably because I've never been in a position where I had to worry about whether I'd have enough water like belters do
This is clearly my favorite season because when we have an charismatic antagonist... We have a better show. Marco Inaro is a nightmare. He's monstrous but you understand his motivations. He is also someone who always knows how to find the words for men to follow him. Best season ever
And what makes it terrifying is that, in a sense, Marco is right - Belters have been oppressed and now, with the ring gates leading to habitable worlds with resources, Belters have every reason to fear the obsolescence of their society and culture
Fascinatingly, Luthen Rael in _Andor_ believes he has to make choices in this direction (though clearly not as horrifying on this scale), but recognizes that doing so doesn’t make him good; it makes him necessary That’s the challenge of these humanist stories: regardless of how necessary the revolution is, how good can a revolutionary really be?
"Chef Casey" has been acknowledged by the writers as a nod to Stephen Segal's role in the movie "Under Siege." Monica failed a lesson my grandfather taught me: Hit them hard, and when they go down _keep hitting them until they stop moving._ Not a spoiler: Fred didn't die in this attack in the novels...there are surprises in the series even for novel readers, but none of them derail the direction of the story. We're all built up with progress But sometimes I must confess We can deal with rockets and dreams But reality What does it mean? Ain't nothing said 'Cause Freddie's dead. -- Lyrics by Curtis Mayfield
i don't believe that oppressors stop oppressing willingly. And having that patience that lasts life times while the oppressor is murdering your people is untenable. Maybe it has a better end result ... but when your children are being murdered it's hard to be patient.
To put things in perspective, Marco kills a higher number of Earthers in this episode than the sum total number of all the Belters who have ever lived up to this point.
Feeling distressed? That's what the writers were going for! Actually they wanted the same emotional response as those who experienced that dreadful day on Sept 11th in 01...😢 For me they succeeded. As Bull said " Just because your the underdog doesn't mean you're the good guy" 🤷♂️
The best you get from The Expanse are usually epigraphs from Naomi. "How about we try to find a version of this where nobody gets shot?" is one of my favorites, casually slipped into a scene with plenty of memorable dialogue. Anna's a pretty close second, whether it's minding a flock of sleazy UN politicians or teaching Amos the rules of being a good person. And Clarissa shines in a couple moments as well, once she's freed from prison. But mostly Naomi's words are the show's guiding ethos, I think; it really reads like stuff that Corey would write. It's similar to Naomi from the books, but distilled a little for tv and with some change necessary for Tipper's performance and character. Her belief in people's right to choose for themselves, to make their own mistakes, to be accountable for those mistakes, to make amends, to live together with each other and forgive each other - a lot of that comes out in her advice to Holden and to Lucia on orbit around Ilus in S4, as well as her earlier discussion with Drummer as they passed Medina Station in the Slow Zone. The Expanse considers justice throughout the show, and how power affects how justice is perceived. From Miller's "No laws on Ceres, just cops" to Holden hauling Murtry back to Earth to stand trial (oh, you know, a year or so keeping him in the brig while they burn to the Ring and then back to the UN), there's lots of precedent before we get to Clarissa in the depths of hell. Drummer exacts summary judgment in her role as head of Security to execute two unarmed captives, and intends to space a drug dealer before Ashford stops her. She chooses to not execute Inaros to avoid internecine conflict within the OPA. The UN Navy advises the Secretary General on proportionality in terms of military responses to a perceived attack by Mars which include (and ultimately is chosen as a mission and executed) killing Martian military personnel on a small moon base. The Deputy Under Secretary of the UN personally supervised a torture session of an OPA agent, only stopping when her wrist was slapped by her superior (because, eye-rollingly enough, the SG had 'publicly disavowed gravity torture'; and this from one of the main villains too). I don't think it's unreasonable to come away from watching The Expanse and think that the penitentiary is a concept who's time has long been up. That rehabilitation, not punishment, and accountability, and preventing harm in the first place, are important goals that we should strive for and implement wherever and whenever we can. I think if we ask ourselves before we act, "What would Naomi Nagata do?", we would be in a better place. (Barring giving a xeno-biological weapon to someone once named "The Butcher", perhaps, but I would argue exigent circumstances and a nuanced view of system politics vis-a-vis mutually assured destruction bears our that action.)
Andor is another great show to react to that talks about prison life. Like Expanse takes a few episodes to get going, but… payoff is definitely there. Bobbie’s rat is my favorite part of this episode, and that is saying a lot. Gaugamela, for what it’s worth, was the site of Alexander the Great’s most famous victory. Exactly how outnumbered the Greeks were is probably more legend than history, but it’s an underdog win. Keon ~>Alexander
But here is the problem: Seriously..._what_ would it have taken for Earth and Mars to reconsider their treatment of Belters? The Belters have at this point saved both Earth and Mars from literal destruction and have not gotten any consideration from the Inners. Even with 1300 habitable worlds available, the situation on Illus proved Earth and Mars would continue to oppress Belters as before. In all the time that I've considered this story, I don't see any peaceful plan the Belters could have conceived that would work. In our own recent history, the 9/11 attack was preceded by a succession of attacks and warnings of growing severity...all ignored.
I didn't think they could make a more tense and harrowing sequence of terrifying and disastrous events than the escalating situation on Ilus in Season 4. This season, and especially this episode, proved me so so wrong. Editing to add some of my thoughts to your discussion at the end: Is it true that change in the belt was necessary? Absolutely! Does it justify what Marco does? Not ever. You're so right that real change happens slowly, and while it's far from a perfect process, things can get better when the right people stand up and work together to do the right thing and to set a course in motion to keep people doing the right thing going forwards. And you're right that quick, violent change, while effective in the moment, almost never lasts. However, Marco doesn't care about any of that, because it's not really about making a better future for the belt or for humanity. It's about him being the one to do it, and to do it *NOW.* He's a dangerously sociopathic narcissist, he wants power and glory, and he doesn't care how much blood he spills along the way, whether it's Earther, Martian, or Belter blood. He didn't do this with a heavy heart, a wrong thing for the right reasons. He did it with glee because it's his victory.
The scene where Naomi is put into the brig by Filip and then starts breaking down is for me the best acting Dominique ever done, and she has been top notch throughout the show. So many actors would pull it off, but with her it was so believable to me how she screamed and broke and cried etc.
I think that Marco is the kind of man who sees a worthy cause and then weasels in to make it about him. Desperate people don't look too closely at their "heroes."
7:36 "Ok Holden, you and your little gun"🔫 It's not the size, it's about how you use it😌... Sorry I just had to make that joke.😅😆 Also 8:28 Awww Kitty😍🐱
It's not even the killing that sets him out as an implausible leader - it's the fact he says Mars and Earth can't leave their atmosphere or use the gates. Clearly that's not possible - it's like saying that the US can't have access to the Pacific or something, you've left nothing but a fight on the table.
I thought season 4 was a bit of a low point, but for me they really stuck the landing with the last two seasons. Even got me to read the final three books. Just started the last one. So Imon, you might have three great books to look forward to as well if you still are interested after season 6 :)
@@pssthpok I went straight from the show to book 7. With the time jump it worked smoothly. Never felt I missed something, and just continued the saga on from season 6 of the show.
Oops, was this posted a bit early? We still haven't finished season 4 reactions (never mind...I got confused and started watching the season 4 eps again, forgetting that I had already watched them!).
