The drama that has been simmering is about to start boiling over, because we are at episode four of The Expanse. Amos and Naomi are going to confront Holden about one of the biggest shocks in episode three, "Force Projection," thanks to a pair of exclusive clips. There is so much more that awaits us.
The Laconia storyline is no surprise. The main events of season six have been unimportant, but we meet an important figure from The Expanse books in a scene that takes place as Cara's family mourns the death of her little brother. He was hit by a speeding car, which may have been driven by the person who almost mowed over Cara in the first episode. The culprit will face a firing squad as punishment. Cara was approached by the man she hadn't heard of until now, but hadn't met before. He turns out to be friendly after all that build-up. He talked to Cara about Paris, which she was supposed to be going to with her parents. The little girl says she doesn't care about not going to Paris because she has never been to Earth. As book readers know, he is from Mars, so he has not been to Earth.
He compares Cara's sadness over losing her brother to his own sadness over losing the dream of Mars, because having something you love that you can't protect is terrifying. He told her that he needed something to make it more than death. I had to make it a sacrifice to make it sacred. It doesn't fix anything, but it makes losing them less painful. He says that Laconia is helping him fill the void, and that Duarte is trying to keep us safe. The admiral is hurries away to see for himself the big news that the Protomolecule scientist burst in to tell him that his new coordination protocol returned a coherent reply pattern. There is a shot of Laconia, and then we see Cara wheeling Xan's body into the forest, and she is hoping the strange dog will be able to resurrect her brother. Uh-oh.
The water tank explosions we saw last week have caused turmoil at the station. The station administrator is trying to keep the Belter faithful in line while also noting there is no telling who actually caused the disaster, and then begins leading the assembled in a rousing chant of "Beltalowda!" The camera pulls back and we see that we are watching a news report with the leaders of Mars and Earth. Marco Inaros and his Free Navy were likely behind the mining charges that killed several people from all sides. They know the Belters won't turn on Marco. Mars, a place where military culture has reigned supreme for generations, is ready to strike back with a plan to take back control of the Ring from Marco. UN forces won't join the plan, as she thinks it's exactly how Marco expects them to react. Mars is prepared to go it alone when Kirino passes on the message.
The Rocinante is still on its way to Ceres after last week's close call with Marco and the Pella. Naomi turned her attention to a new project after the damage assessment, which was to gather all the data the Roci gathered on the Pella and share it with the entire fleet. Someone will find the ship and destroy it, as she tells the Roci failed to complete the job. Amos and Bobbie are still angry about the torpedo that hit the Pella and are working on repairing the ship. Amos realized that this was Alex's music, and they shared a moment singing along and remembering their friend. Amos was summoned to another part of the ship to see something she discovered: that the missile wasn't a dud. It was disarmed by Holden at the last second, but all the other characters have yet to discover. Amos, who has had some doubts about the captain recently, reacts calmly, but you know a confrontation is a necessity.
The Roci crew is in turmoil, but that is not compared to the scene on the Pella. Marco ordered the captain of one of the ships to space the two most senior officers of the other ship because he was angry about the Free Navy ships turning tail. He said if the captain contacts her to try and get Marco to change his mind, that captain would also be spacing. The boss' son, who was demoted after directly challenging his father, heads to his new assignment as a repair technician, working with an easy going Belter who is a bit taken aback at having the boss' son as his new underling.
Before they can start, Rosenfeld comes by for a chat. She thinks that Marco is so emotionally unstable that he is ordering Free Navy captains to space each other, and that he is interfering with the war the Free Navy is currently engaged in. He looks thoughtful but he doesn't commit, instead he learns the ropes of his new job patching the many holes in the Pella. He blames his co-worker for distracting him when he fumbled right off the bat, but he mellows out when he learns his brother is a dockworker. As they talk and get to know each other better, Filip sees a look in his eye that is starting to realize his father isn't actually the center of the universe, even for Belters. If you were wondering what happened to the warhead, it was lodged into the hull of the Pella, waiting to be discovered by the new friends. When he sees the display that says "disarmed," he widens his eyes.
Amos and Holden are on a space walk outside the Roci and working on repairing the battle-damaged ship. Amos says he can't understand why Holden chose to go with you-know-what. Why wasn't Marco allowed to do something? Amos said if we were not trying to win the fight he wouldn't know what he was doing. Amos wonders if Holden is angry because he can't explain himself.
Amos has a clearly labeled box of stuff.
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After that, he admits that he couldn't kill your son, and that's why he did it. Naomi is angry that Marco is going to do a lot of damage if Holden doesn't blow up Pella on account of Naomi's feelings. Though they are upset with each other, Holden and Naomi are able to express their feelings respectfully. Naomi told him that she did everything she could to save Filip, and that she made her own choice not to martyr herself in the name of her child. Don't take that from me. It is all I have left.
The only crew member who doesn't know the truth is the one who enters the Roci kitchen. Clarissa tells Holden that she told Amos the truth about the dud. They seem to find themselves trapped in a cycle of violence. "Here we are, still trying to kill our way to a better tomorrow, and I am so sad," says Holden. Clarissa is haunted by the death she has caused and regrets trying to kill Holden. Naomi says that killing someone is a terrible thing and that you can't take it back. Don't ever feel bad if you don't kill someone.
In the Belt, the drummer and her band of pirates are looking for one of Marco's secret supply depots, which is basically an array of shipping containers lashed together to create a makeshift station. As they begin to inspect the cargo, there is a firefight with a few Free Navy soldiers who were apparently there to gather supplies for an imminent pickup, though from her post on the Tynan, she insists no ships are incoming. Josep was pinned under a crate when a Free Navy guy popped out as everyone hurries to take care of business. She is cool as can be while hacking Josep's limb off, despite the jittery blunder she made in battle earlier this season.
Monica was recording just before the explosion, and we got a look at what she was recording. Belter was talking to a cat. The cat is called Lucky Earther because she is fat and lazy and I give her whatever she wants. His voice-over continues to show the aftermath of the explosion. I do not hate anyone. The people who want more hate and the ones who just want to live are the ones I want. I am tired of the hate. Monica presses her because she doesn't like it. If you want the enemy to see you as a person, you have to see them as humans.
While Josep recovers on the Tynan, Drummer decides to open a wide-band channel and throw the gauntlet down. We are here, unbowed, unbent, and you hunted me and mine. And you? You are nothing. They speed off, towing the supplies behind them. The captain who asked for mercy for the first two Belter officers wasn't spacing them as Marco had said, according to Rosenfeld. I assumed you meant it rhetorically, and that punishment would have made you look scared and weak. Now you look kind. Marco isn't a fan of being spoken to like this, but someone has to. The people that used to pick up trash are either dead or depressed. She told him he couldn't let the crew know he was upset by the Roci confrontation. You are Marco Inaros. Things like this can happen.
The news feed on the Pella inevitably shows Drummer's message to the universe, which is why we hear the rest of her speech. You were a champion and then you ran. I will always take back what you stole. The drummer did this to you. Live shamed. Die empty. When his co-worker makes a joke about how at least it wasn't inners who stole their supplies, he leaps to his feet to give a Marco-style speech, eager to remind everyone that Drummer may be a Belter. There is no turning back now because this is war and it won't be over until we are dead or victorious.
Only two episodes of The Expanse left after this. Ever! How will this end in two episodes? The show can be watched on Amazon Prime.
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