The Gist
Set a few centuries in the future, mankind has colonised other areas of the solar system. Instead of the bright and shiny Star Trek federation of the future, mankind has split into three distinct groups. The Earthers, Martians and Belters, a bunch of factionalised space pirates.
The Review
My conversion to an acolyte of The Expanse happened some time ago. The Expanse continues to be the best sci-fi on TV. It’s written and paced flawlessly while navigating the waters of alien technology, political relations and awesome space battles!
Unlike a lot of sci-fi, that you can dip in and out of when the exciting parts arrive, The Expanse needs your full attention, or you’ll miss so much of what makes The Expanse great.
Season 5 sees the crew of The Rocinante split up to deal with their own stuff while the ship undergoes repairs. Holden is aboard Tycho station, trying to track down the remaining protomolecule sample, Naomi is attempting to find her son and rescue him from the influence of his terrorist father, Alex heads to Mars to try and reconcile with his family and Amos returns to Earth after the death of a former friend/mother figure.
Splitting up the main cast is a good call as we get the chance to really dig into the back story of each character, rather than them being confined to the Rocinante, under pressure to deal with the latest alien/belter threat.
However, the narrative threads are all pulled together by a series of potentially lethal asteroids all heading towards earth.
While the dark undercurrent of the entire Expanse universe has always been the threat of the protomolecule and the unseen race that wiped out its creators, it’s people who remain the threat.
Much like the Walking Dead, where walkers just became a fact of life, the real danger came from other people. The Earthers, Martians and Belters spend so much time plotting against each other in an intergalactic pissing contest, there’s barely time to think about the potentially lethal alien tech, other than how it can provide them with more leverage and power.
If you’ve not seen the Expanse before, don’t start here. Go back and watch it from the beginning, you won’t regret it.
The Verdict
A great season that brings along the various storylines and positions all the main players ready for the final sixth season next year.
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