selenak

This last week, I marathoned the first two seasons of The Expanse, and it is indeed as good as advertised. It's been a while since I've come across a sci fi story which is set within the solar system. Now I've seen other sic fi shows tackling colonialism, but not often as well. Meaning: as layered. This isn't a SW like "Evil Empire vs Brave Rebels" scenario where everything is expected to be fine once the rebellion succeeds, and which doesn't bother actually showing how the rebels do at governing. The Earth vs Mars vs "Belters" (i.e. the humans born on or living on the settlements further out in the system, like the moons of Jupiter) situation is complicated, and what's more, the show doesn't appear to be of the grimdark type where morals are for naives. Keeping an ethical compass in a hostile universe isn't presented as easy, but it's definitely presented as worth trying.

As for the characters, I think about the only thing that didn't initially work for me was Miller getting obsessed with Julie Mao in absentia while investigating her disappearance. I mean, I recognize the trope. And hey, I've become obsessed with a great meany absent (dead, historical) people. But I still didn't buy it, which is unfortunate since Miller's entire subsequent storyline builds on it. This aside, though, everything else I found compelling to watch, and appreciate how storylines which initially seem far apart (in s1: Miller's investigation on the one hand, the adventures of Holden & Co. as they become the crew of the Rocinante on the other, in s2: Bobbie Draper on the one hand, Chrisjen Avasarala on the other) turn out to be cosely entwined as the season progresses. And the characters play off each other very well. Naomi Nagata and just about everyone else guarantees great scenes, as does Chrisjen Avasarala & everyone else. Somewhat predictably for me, Avasarala, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, is the character I'm most interested in. Given she tortures someone in her introduction scene, I was sure she'd be the designated villain, but no, it's more complicated than that (and NOT because torture is prettified in this universe), and so we have a wily older Indian politician contantly toeing the line between antiheroine and antivillain as she tries to prevent a war from happening. But seriously, there isn't a dull character in the lot (so far), and I'm looking forward to the remaining seasons.