13:44 - Jefferson Mays, the name of the ship that was cleaned for docking, is actually an homage to an actor who narrated all The Expanse series books (and he is awesome!). Great reaction as always 🖖🤘
He's the BEST voice for The Expanse books! Glad I saw your comment. I didn't even realize there was a ship with his name in the show! I'll have to listen for it.
@@theapocalexexpanse was originally conceived as a tabletop rpg like dungeons and dragons, so to help understand the characters they explained them by type. Holden is very much a good but self righteous paladin
Words of your intro are so true. That’s why you’ll see so many of our names on bunches of reaction channels. We love rewatching and getting to see someone experience something so good for the first time.
The venting of the refugees makes me tear up every time. Not the least of which is because I know this has played out in our world many many many many times.
9:10 Come on! Holden had just learned about the signals from Fred and hasn't immediatly talked to Naomi and/or the crew about it yet, meanwhile Naomi has been hiding that sample from her friends for weeks.
Did you remember when Bobbie's squad was on the surface of Ganymede, they saw the little girl at the window waving to them? If you freeze the frame here and look through the window, you can see the Marines on the surface that she's waving to. When Prax first asked that Belter where Mei was, he asked in Standard English and the Belter refused to answer. But when he asked again in Belter Creole, that Belter gave him an answer and called him, "Beltalowda." Although in the novels, mere appearance identified Belters, in this story I think they used this bit to show that Prax had been positively identified as a Belter...which kept him alive. So, if the Protomolecule on Ganymede is "shouting," the question is: To whom or what? And does Naomi's sample also shout? We knew Drummer (who curiously hadn't been named in the credits until this episode) was loyal to Fred because she had never betrayed that he'd helped Avasarala. We can be sure of her loyalty now. Unless Fred screws up royally and betrays that trust. When Alex asked Amos, "What happened to you?" we saw Amos' face subtly working. His lips quivered and his eyes watered. If the alarm hadn't gone off, we might have seen a real spill of emotion. Wes is a great face actor. In the table conversation between the Roci crew about what to do with the Protomolecule, that conversation had happened after Naomi had tried again and again to get Holden to understand the Belter viewpoint. To Belters, practically _everything_ is existential. Belters grow up feeling their lives are always on the edge. Holden has had the luxury of a really pretty secure and cushy childhood in which the only risks had been those he chose. His positive childhood has shaped his outlook just as Amos' and Naomi's negative childhood experiences have shaped them negatively. When the crew decided to destroy the Protomolecule sample, I saw on Naomi's face exactly the same look I've seen from time to time on my daughter's and wife's faces when I try to tell them something they're worried about is actually okay...she was unconvinced and still very concerned. I think you missed that for the first time, Holden and Naomi said that they loved each other.
Yeah, I think in one of the Ty and that Guy episodes Ty Frank said that, of course, they couldn't always find actors who looked like natural belters as described in the books (tall, skinny, big heads) for every role, so for the show they went with more normal looks and introduced what he called a "cultural belter". You can usually identify them by their tatoos, hair styles and overall raggedyness.
Aboard the Donnager, they used a scanner to ID our crew. Maybe everyone is chipped in the future, unlike the books where there are physical differences between Belters and Inners.
@@billross7245 All that is true, but it's still likely a deliberate point made in the writing that this evil Belter made a specific determination and acknowledgement early on that Prax is a Belter.
Bro not even done season 2 and you have some of the best reactions I've seen. I love how invested you are and and can't wait to watch the rest with you. Cheers from Delaware!
I love this episode, because if you're watching closely, it gives a LOT of insight into Amos's character. When Alex asks why Amos isn't helping, and he answers "Because I don't feel like it", it's not a flippant response. His lack of an internal moral compass, and "normal" emotional responses aren't usually so front and center. But in the previous episode -- with the kid saying "Don't you hurt my mom!" -- he got a bit lost. He follows Naomi, and now Holden, because he thinks they're good people, and if he follows their lead, he'll be a good person too. But kids are his absolute. You don't hurt kids. And in the previous episode he hurt a kid. WE know it's not on purpose, but Amos is lost, and he knows he can't trust his feelings to guide him, because they're all messed up. The whole scene between him and Alex is weird until you realize how much he's struggling with that -- and you'll find out who Lydia is much later, FWIW. I love Amos's story. He's probably my favorite character on the Rocinante crew! Very much enjoy your reactions! Thank you!
As someone with clinical depression, all I can say is that learning not to trust your feelings is a survival skill for some. Would be curious to hear a psychiatrist’s take on what Amos has, in terms of symptoms.
@@Justanotherconsumerright?!? Some fans come to the conclusion that he’s emotionless and thus a sociopath. But my boy is sparkle ✨ Traumatized ✨ and learning to not trust, feel, or show his emotions are a direct result of it. He’s trying to learn how to deal with them again now that he may have finally found a “safe” place and people
@@banf7425 I think it's less that he's emotionless, but that he had to bury his emotions for so long, it became his natural state and he became detached. He still feels emotion, but from a distance and dulled.
Ah, to meet Drummer for the first time... Fell in love with her with this episode. Alex be like "You ok darlin? Lean on me, i'll get you fragile flower to the med bay". Drummer whips out pistol and shoot the guys who shot her right in the head, then walks away bleeding without saying a single word. Such a freaking badass lol.
This was a great episode, in so many ways. In addition to everything else, it started Drummer's climb to one of the favorite characters of the fans of the show. 😊
You poor man. You’re so hyped already and it’s not even peaked!!! I love Pyre- so much in this.. from the spacing of Doris, to Drummer and those headshots. God I love that woman 😍 Yes, welcome Dr Prax Meng. Our BFITWW…
Regarding the final conversation between Fred and Holden, I hope you realize that Fred wants the protomolecule badly, assuming the Roci crew finds some of it on Ganymede. So first he suggests that Holden should be grateful for all the support they'd been having on Tycho station, and then when Holden says that Fred still shouldn't expect them to bring any PM back to him, that's when he says that in that case the Roci crew shouldn't bother to come back to Tycho at all. Fred needs the Protomolecule, now that Dawes stole Cortázar, leaving Fred with empty hands (not taking into account the missiles.)
Pyre really does kick off hard and I think that sensation of too much is exactly what the writers wanted. In a crisis your world is falling apart but everything else just hurtles along around you. We really see this episode from Prax’s perspective. He is reeling from trauma & shock and that’s why everything going on outside of his experience feels like a runaway train & I love it. Drummer is THE badass. Gut shot, not as big a problem as putting down the two dogs that tried to kill her. Love her. ❤
Prax and Doris were on wires; everyone else was a dancer and pretended to float. When you see Amos and wondered what happened to him, he's wearing a jacket that's a size too small - Wes' idea!
Totally agree with your thoughts about this show continuing to provide a great escape. I’ve watched it a couple times and read the books - plus a few reaction videos. Always delivers.
"I'm getting too spun up!" and second later there's the proof you're *not* - things are getting slowly but surely out of control in the system, 'nuff said. I feel that is *precisely* the human reaction to something profoundly alien destabilizing the system... tribalism. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
20:46 I get what you mean about wanting to see Amos go in guns blazing. But you have to remember, Amos isn't just strong. He's smart, and he's been trained by Naomi so he can fight like an engineer and not just as a brawler (although he is amazing at that 😉).
As you can see the Belters are no better than anyone else. In fact they frequently commit crimes against humanity, acts of terrorism, casual murder of prisoners in captivity, assassination of their enemies. Most major factions are labeled as terrorist organizations and I believe pretty much all of their major and minor factions are correctly labeled as pirates. Oh yeah, piracy! I sympathize with the Belters but they aren't the good guys. In fact if anyone is, short of the Rocinante crew, it's the Earthers. The Martians are hegemonic warmongers whose prisons are universally refered to as "Gulags". The Belters run around killing, stealing and basically acting like rowdy teenagers. The Earthers, other than a few out of control individuals are basically led by level-headed people (yes a couple exceptions) who are legitimately maintaining the peace, dealing with this cold war with Mars while helping to police the belt and give billions of people an opportunity to actually succeed and live good lives. Opportunities I point out, which were denied to them by the selfish, hegemonic attitude of the Martians. And they can't get opportunities in the Belt because the Belters accuse Inners of taking jobs from them and you just know there will be murders. Sorry for the long post.
I prefer Earth over Mars politically, but Earth (and Mars) has been brutally oppressive to the Belters for at least a century. That doesn't justify Belters killing innocent people, but at that point Earth has murdered, starved, and enslaved millions of Belters for generations while reaping the benefits of their work. If they really wanted legitimate peace they wouldn't have taken advantage of Belters for so long. In every society for all of history oppressing a people that badly almost always leads to a cycle of violence and revenge.
Naomi was afraid that Cortazar found the sample she didn't destroy on the torpedo. It was a relief to her when she found out about Ganymede. Amos thought he became the monster he always faced as a child. It caused a breakdown. Going for Prax's little girl is a focus for him. Drummer shows who she really is when she shoots the two belters.
If you go back to the ep where Bobby and her team are attacked, there's a brief shot of a child waving at them from a window in an Ag dome. In the opening dream sequence here, we see it's Prax's daughter, Mei who's waving at Bobby and her team. Nice attention to detail. Drummer is a badass. The shocked look of Alex was priceless.
Spacing the Inners was important to show that the Belters are not completely innocent in all this. The group that tried to hijack the missiles weren't just villains of the week This is a system wide issue. 😯
This is something that gets muddied with the situation in season 4 where there are clearer… better… people and worse. In the books the situation is even more grey. The only heroes in the story are… oh, wait, Holden has just confessed to attempted murder.
Great reaction! I respectfully disagree with you on your take of Naomi and the betrayal she did to her Rocinante family! We're introduced to a new character Prax! Amos said " You're coming with us find your little girl, good reason!" We'll get back to that later! Also good that you caught what Amos was looking at on screen about Lydia! I've always been sympathetic to the belters, but when they spaced the refugees from Ganymede...not a good look! Remember just because they are the underdogs doesn't make them the good guys!
22:50 I would argue that this exact moment shows how characters work in the Expanse and what makes Jim so different from most other characters. Characters in the Expanse can grow, though they can also choose not to do so, for example out of fear. Jim however doesn't need to grow as a person - he needs to be reminded of who he once was so he can become that person again - a Paladin, a Leader, a Paragon of Virtue.
Remember a couple of episodes ago when I said the writers would wreck you over a character you just met a couple of minutes prior? Yeah, Prax, Mei, and Doris aren't who I was referring to. :)
Aww, I'm disappointed that we disagree so completely about Naomi & Holden. Naomi lied to everyone in her crew, and for selfish reasons. She wants the sample for the Belt, even though she knows how dangerous Dawes can be. After he stole Cortizar, that was the moment for her to come clean to Holden & the crew. Holden made a mistake, yes. But at least he owned up to it, and asked Naomi to help him if he lost his way again. Not because he thought it was "her job" to keep him from drifting, but because he TRUSTS her. And, once again, a great opportunity for her to come clean about what she's done. Once again, she didn't.
I don't think Naomi was simply being selfish by not destroying the sample. I think she thinks it's extremely important, could be useful someday, and it's completely irreplaceable.
The weird thing is...I agree with your viewpoint too. Its strange. Before the moment on Eros when Naomi stood up to Semi, I felt the exact same way. Honestly not sure what it was that clicked for me in that moment (Naomi's been a badass before), but ever since then I've viewed her more positively. I am curious to see where my opinion ultimately falls, but one thing is for certain, I love hearing everyone's takes :) Its one of my favorite things about the Expanse community! Thank you for watching, my friend!
@@Shawn_M That's a valid argument. And maybe "selfish" was a bit too harsh on my point. I think for me it's just that every time I see that episode, it makes me angry that she's not being upfront with Holden, so I'm taking it a bit personal. Lol. But, I do see where you're coming from.
@@WarpReactor This is so interesting! How different fans feel in different timeframes, seasons, episodes....yet we all love it the same. I can't tell you how many times I've flip-flopped about Naomi. But, by season 3, I absolutely adored her! She has a way of making me angry one moment, and loving her the next. Lol
The show has given us many instances where either Martians or Earthers have abused Belters. Then ships from Mars and the UN destroyed at least one mirror above Ganymede, presumably killing a lot of people in shattered domes on the ground when the debris fell from the sky. Spacing those refugee inners was a reprehensible, but also an understandable reaction. They probably got away with the mass murder, too, in the confusion following the advent of the refugee crisis on Ganymede.
The similarities of what happens in this show and the real life situation in Gaza right now are unpleasant at best. It’s part of what makes the show good and the reality of the social value of science fiction - it’s a fake situation where we can talk about what is the right thing to do with a hypothetical where we don’t have such obvious partisan blinders and loyalties to real people.
The best way to describe Naomi and it actually feels like a compliment, is to say...... She has a great poker face. Are you lying while playing poker? YES! The idea being that you don't want to give away the cards you're holding. So much so that the game's lingo has become common language... "Don't show your hand" Even people who've never played poker understand that warning.
Another great reaction, Beratna! "This show does a great job of making you care about people you just met." I could NOT agree more! Again, when you feel strong emotions, take a moment to listen to the score of the show. It's one of their secret weapons. When Drummer and Naomi were inspecting the antennae on Tycho, Naomi asked about how Fred came back from the brink. Drummer said "It was more than talk." I do wonder how much backstory was packed into those few words. When Amos and Alex had their "Who's going to fly the ship" moment on the Roci, they were lit from below, making them look unusual and out of place... I found it really helped with to make me feel unsettled and uncomfortable. Beautifully done! Prax and Drummer came to prominence in this episode. Can't wait to see more of them!
It's just so effortlessly ominous. Amos is one of the very few fictional characters that I trust when they 'threaten'. Again I think you're right in that it isn't a threat just a statement but for the audience...that sh-t is a very, very believable threat :D Thank you for watching, my friend!
Loved your analysis. this episode has some real heavy hits, and the show pulls no punches. I had to laugh when you talked yourself down at 11:00. the scene also shows that just because Belters are the oppressed minority, doesn't mean they are without blame in all of this. 14:19 I feel the need to note that just because the airlock scene and Prax walking on to Tycho was close to each other in the episode, doesn't mean that they were close to Tycho when it happened, this show does omit very much of the time spent in the black, travel time in space is very long. from that airlock to Tycho may have been a month or more, we just don't get that aspect.
Thanks for the kind words, my friend! Appreciate the clarification about space travel. I've been told that they expedite the actual time of space travel (from the books) to accommodate the show. Now if only I can remember that going forward :)
A friend of mine gave me a copy of Laviathan Wakes years ago and I was really surprised at just how great a story it was, but an even bigger surprise came years later when the show came out and they somehow managed to tell that story so well! Maybe I've been burned too many times by adaptations, but everything from the effects to the casting to how they tell the story was just perfect, and the show got a lot of people into sci fi, it gave me hope that the genre still has the potential to tell incredible stories and be well received my mainstream audiences.
@@afrancis1582 Well, speak for yourself. Numerous comments on many, many reactors channels, contradict your assertion that nobody would pick it up. Her body language was very telling. Enough to raise suspicion, even more when one takes into account that she "is the best liar", that a few episodes later her revelation doesn´t come as a total surprise.
Frustrating situation, and I like how they handled it in theory, but the execution left something wanting -needed more buildup as it had been a while since they had talked about that risk. I’m glad that they dealt with it, though, instead of just burying it and letting it go unaddressed.
