Spoilers for Episodes 1-3
Strap into your couches, here comes the juice!
After multiple countdowns on different social media platforms ticked down to the long-awaited start date of the fifth season, Amazon finally dropped the first three episodes of The Expanse today. For readers of the books and members of The Expanse fan groups, the excitement for this season, in particular, has been palpable for months – Nemesis Games is, after all, a fan favourite among book readers. The first three episodes certainly don’t disappoint.
The fifth book, as well as the season, start on a whole new premise: This time, the crew members of the Rocinante have split up and are scattered across the solar system. Now, each of them quickly stumbles into their own adventure. James Holden remains on Tycho, overseeing the repairs of their beloved ship after the Ilus incident. Alex tries to apologise to his wife and son – an endeavour destined to fail – and soon teams up with Bobbie on Mars. Amos returns home for the first time since leaving Earth to bury an old friend and Naomi, too, faces her past by going out in search for her lost son. All of that could have gone quietly and peacefully if it hadn’t been for a sinister terrorist plot that is about to change the solar system forever. Marco Inaros is going to bring about the Churn, an unexpected and all-encompassing shift.
Season 5 of The Expanse follows the book quite closely with only minor alternations and additions, a fact that is going to make a lot of readers very happy as many favourite moments make an appearance on the show. When asked about what they were looking forward to the most, a couple of answers were common among fans of the show:
While the books have already proven to very inclusive, some readers hoped for more LGBT+ representation on the show. Season 5 definitely grants this wish by including Camina Drummer in the Michio Pa plot of the books and making her part of the polyamorous family. Even though Holden’s family of eight was mentioned and briefly shown during season 4, seeing Drummer’s new family in action certainly shows that in the universe of The Expanse, people have become more open-minded about varying relationships. Yet despite having found a new family in Michio and the others, Drummer’s storyline is still shadowed by her grief for Ashford and the rising tensions between the Belt and the inner planets.
James Holden’s story also stays close to the books during the first three episodes of the new season as he remains on Tycho and encounters the journalist Monica Stuart who, on the show, is trying to uncover a potential plot surrounding the Protomolecule and Cortázar. James Holden wouldn’t be James Holden if he didn’t stumble or run headfirst into the nearest dangerous situation he could find.
Fans of the books have been especially eager to see Alex team up with Bobbie on Mars, and the show does an incredible job at showing the state of the planet. After the opening of the gates and the events of season 4, it becomes clear that Mars is dying and that many Martians have given up the terraforming dream to populate planets already habitable for humans. With Bobbie’s ideals of Mars already shattered, she works with Chrisjen Avasarala to find out who on Mars is selling weapons to the belt. When Alex tries to help, he soon gets caught in the crossfire, proving just how high the stakes really are.
Naomi’s name comes up a lot when fans talk about the events of Nemesis Games as her past is touched upon for the very first time since the show began. After receiving a hint about her son’s whereabouts, she goes out to find him and help him escape his father’s clutches – who is no other than hardcore OPA faction leader Marco Inaros. At this point, the show differs from the books as Naomi walks into the most elaborate terrorist plot by accident and ends up being kidnapped by her own son and her former family.
Yet even though fans often talk about Naomi, Alex, Bobbie and Holden, Amos Burton’s storyline in the fifth season is undeniably the most anticipated of them all. Not only did The Expanse include one of his most famous lines spoken to Chrisjen “Chrissie” Avasarala, but this season also takes Amos, formerly known as Timmy, back to Earth to face the demons of his past. He also uses the opportunity to see Clarissa Mao whom he befriended on their way back to Earth after the events of season 3. While he is visiting her in prison, the single plot lines that have been leading up to this moment since season 4 finally culminate in Marco’s strike on Earth. Three asteroids coated in stealth tech hit Earth, an event that is about to change the planet for decades to come.
After a not quite so satisfying fourth season, The Expanse is finally back to what it used it to be and shows how it can work breathtaking plots, fascinating characters, emotional scenarios and frustrating cliffhangers. Ending the first batch of episodes on one of the most devastating events in human history leaves the viewers, whether they’ve already read the books or not, craving for more. Choosing the asteroid strike to end the first three episodes ends them on a shocking bang, reiterating the point that something very grave has just taken place in the universe of The Expanse. For the next week, viewers have the chance to ponder just how the characters of the show are going to deal with the greatest Churn to have ever shaken the planet. Book readers and viewers alike will be more than excited to return to their screens next week for more of The Expanse’s new season which is promising to be the most emotional yet.
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