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The Expanse |S2| You guys look like shit - Wednesdays on Syfy

- Onion A|V Club review
- Podcast for this week
Leave it to The Expanse to close out this amazing season with an anxiety-ridden finale. Holden and crew face off against the protomolecule, and just when things look their bleakest, "Plant Guy," aka Prax, saves the day. Naomi comes clean about some stuff, and we know Fred Johnson is back. We wrap up the finale and the season with most of the Roci crew as Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper and Cas Anvar join us, along with a surprise guest.

- Teaser for S3 (no new footage)

Presumably the show will be back sometime in early 2018.
 
I saw that part as telling the viewers to have sweet dreams until season 3. Also wtf was that Venus shit, crazy.

It took the ship apart all at once to see how it worked. Not the humans though, because it already knew what they were about what with being made out of them and all.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
In the books, science vessel [which was much larger] was "scanned" when it was in high orbit. There was no descent [or any known characters on it]. Heck, in the books the crashing of Eros to Venus was ~"most watched live event in the history of mankind" and the orbit around Venus was filled with the various research ships.


Anyhow, not all events from book 2 were shown. It looks like they are keeping those things for later.

Opening of S3 should have great first few episodes. :)
 

Nokagi

Unconfirmed Member
Great finale except for the creature trying to dig through the ship. This supposed "super strong" creature look pretty damn weak as it struggled for 30 mins just to remove one panel from the floor.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
Great finale except for the creature trying to dig through the ship. This supposed "super strong" creature look pretty damn weak as it struggled for 30 mins just to remove one panel from the floor.

Being super strong means having an ability to fold metal. It was enough.
 

Nokagi

Unconfirmed Member
Being super strong means having an ability to fold metal. It was enough.

I guess. But I just feel like they should have shown it making more progress tearing into the ship. I mean we get near the end of the episode and it's still not made it much farther than when it first started so the tension kinda disappears. At least it did for me.
 

DrSlek

Member
I guess. But I just feel like they should have shown it making more progress tearing into the ship. I mean we get near the end of the episode and it's still not made it much farther than when it first started so the tension kinda disappears. At least it did for me.
That's how it was in the book too.
 
A great finale to an amazing season. I cannot wait for 3.

Also, hot damn Amos.

giphy.gif
 

Backlogger

Member
Knowing what happens in the books the first couple episodes of S3 should be fairly action packed. They obviously left a few cliffhangers this episode.
 

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
Ok this episode I'm having a major problem with how slow the Proto being is digging into the ship, and is only concerned with digging into the ship.

Why doesn't someone just put on a suit and go get Holden out of there?

And then why the fuck would you give the nuke to Prax who has already stated on several occasions proto being could somehow be his daughter? He shouldn't have even been allowed to suit up.
 

Backlogger

Member
Ok this episode I'm having a major problem with how slow the Proto being is digging into the ship, and is only concerned with digging into the ship.

Why doesn't someone just put on a suit and go get Holden out of there?

And then why the fuck would you give the nuke to Prax who has already stated on several occasions proto being could somehow be his daughter? He shouldn't have even been allowed to suit up.

When Amos was in there Protie was saw them more as a threat. He only ignored Holden when Holden was by himself and couldn't move. Having 1-2 people go in there to fiddle with the mag locks on that crate could have endangered more lives. Holden didn't want that.

Everyone's life was in danger at that point, even Prax's. Obviously too, this is TV, this part of the characters' arc was somewhat rushed this episode for sure.
 

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
When Amos was in there Protie was saw them more as a threat. He only ignored Holden when Holden was by himself and couldn't move. Having 1-2 people go in there to fiddle with the mag locks on that crate could have endangered more lives. Holden didn't want that.

Everyone's life was in danger at that point, even Prax's. Obviously too, this is TV, this part of the characters' arc was somewhat rushed this episode for sure.

Yeah I guess, but Holden and Amos had just shot the proto as well. Seemed relatively harmless once the reactor was up again. Also how slow it was digging killed all the tension. With how slow it was digging you figure you'd send someone in there to help Holden because it seemed like he was dying on the comms. Like he could barely even breath talking to Naomi and she's just like don't even talk to me until we figure this out? What? I was like guys, at least try to send someone in to get him out. Amos mainly left because his suit was ruptured and he was running out of air.
 

JeffZero

Purple Drazi
This was an extraordinary season of television. Seeing the 0.16-range Nielsen ratings for it just slays me so hard. It should be taking in ten times that. On a bad day. In the rain. Uphill.
 
This was an extraordinary season of television. Seeing the 0.16-range Nielsen ratings for it just slays me so hard. It should be taking in ten times that. On a bad day. In the rain. Uphill.

I blame the general public for having terrible taste in TV.

Yeah I guess, but Holden and Amos had just shot the proto as well. Seemed relatively harmless once the reactor was up again. Also how slow it was digging killed all the tension. With how slow it was digging you figure you'd send someone in there to help Holden because it seemed like he was dying on the comms. Like he could barely even breath talking to Naomi and she's just like don't even talk to me until we figure this out? What? I was like guys, at least try to send someone in to get him out. Amos mainly left because his suit was ruptured and he was running out of air.

I will say I had the thought that they could just keep on turning the reactor On/Off thus putting Prottie in a loop of Holden-Floor-Holden-Floor

Of course that would probably use up a shit ton of fuel.
 

Moff

Member
when I read the books I always knew this would translate perfectly to TV, and today's finale was full of the beautiful and awesome moments I hoped for

I really hope this show doesn't get cancelled
 

Moff

Member
I haven't always been satisfied with the protomolecule looks, but I really liked the design of the creature in the finale and this was a great moment
GqP4AgN.gif
 
Avasarala's wardrobe, presence and no fucks given attitude (actually, she blurts out quite a few of those) continues to sell every scene with her in it. And count me among the ones shocked by Errinwright's turn. It's not like he seemed the most ethical of the players, but the cowardly way in which he rationalised his treason as pushing the "Earth first" agenda as taught by Avasarala was low as hell. And very much unexpected. It totally caught me by surprise, not unlike Naomi's stabbing my poor murderous baby Amos with tranquilizers. He looked so surprised. I wonder if this is going to affect their relationship. It'll probably do and I'll hate it.

I also loved this little shot with Bobbie shielding Avasarala from those goons while Cotyar (blessed be Nick E. Tarabay) did precisely what he was hired to do.

tumblr_ooitgwyzqv1r30atgo1_500.gif



Space sci-fi is not very sexy without frequent battles and this is a show with so many warring factions and politics that it almost off putting for newer viewers. It's fantastic, but not really approachable.

As a side note, I had to do a double take watching the Battlefield II trailer because the protagonist looked so much like Dominique Tipper (Naomi) in this particular scene.

kH5epAY.gif

I don't think The Expanse is that complicated to get into at all. You have Earth, Mars, and The Belt. We're not talking about some far away planets in the galaxy. These are places that everyone is familiar with.
 

Jackpot

Banned
Bit of a weak ending.

Bobbie getting the suit should have been the climactic action scene, not the research ship or the creature crawling over the ship.
 
I don't think The Expanse is that complicated to get into at all. You have Earth, Mars, and The Belt. We're not talking about some far away planets in the galaxy. These are places that everyone is familiar with.

To be fair, Sci-Fi has always been a pain to advertise to the general public, especially compared to Fantasy and Alt-History which are viewed as 'less nerdy'
 

Kadayi

Banned
Decent ending. I'd of liked more Bobbie in the suit wrecking fools, but I thought it was pretty good overall. Also glad Cotyar didn't buy it, as we need more Bobbie/Cotyar smack talk. First, it was the passed out thing, then it was the 'yeah we lied time to die' moment.

Also cool that Adam Savage got his cameo, and cool also that they didn't make a big thing of it.

Also I honestly though Naomi's big secret was going to be 'I've got a kid' to Holden, because I'm pretty sure that's not been brought up before now to him.
 
I have to thank a gaf person when about a year ago in a thread about sci shows, he or she recommended The Expanse and I am glad I took that advice. What a great show, both seasons were great and I cant wait for season 3. This show needs more love.
 
It was kinda weird to have Adam Savage suddenly being there though. Like, did I miss him on the previous episode? Also no glasses:

JABZ78E.gif


Also, star-child got burned. Suck it, Kubrick.

Kind of a strangely peaceful place to leave the story at for this finale, even if ships were already re-engaging over Ganymede.
I'm not displeased with that, I'm just noting how odd that is compared to the usual 'big action cliffhanger' that TV has used for so long it's almost weird to not have one.
 

jerry113

Banned
Bobbi is now my new waifu. Never has tossing people around looked more adorable.

I see where half of the season's entire FX budget went to. That protomolecule-human hybrid looked damn good, and that long shot following it through the hole in the ship and out to Prax and Naomi is impressive.

And what the fuck is happening on Venus?

Strong episode and leaves me wanting more right away. Didn't end the season with a bang, but ended by introducing a bunch of unanswered questions.
 

Morts

Member
Really good episode, but I think I expected more from the season finale. The proto was just a threat to be overcome and nothing was really earned or gained. All the big developments with Mao and other UN guy happened last week, and the science ship was cool but I don't know if it was just a cool way for the protomolecule to kill Adam Savage or something more interesting.

It was an exciting hour but it's going to be a long wait.
 

Hyun Sai

Member
Well, again, didn't felt like a true finale. Last episodes were better I think.

Too bad the arcs don't fit. Episode 5 would have been a perfect conclusion to season one, and now we feel frustrated.
 
That scene with the Arboghast being torn apart was pretty wild. It looked like Iturbi creaked out a little smirk as if he was fascinated by what was happening in his final moments. That was a nice touch as he seems like one of those types that just want to see some wild new shit beyond their imagination.
 
Yeah ship dissection was amazing, I didn't even think about how the protomolecule did it to "learn" about space ships but that makes a lot of sense. Every moment the proto-hybrid was on screen was just a OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT scene in my mind, especially when it starts staring at Holden. Man I hope the recycle unit on his space suit is hella strong.

I loved every bit of the finale, especially the small little change ups from the books that look like they will have significant impacts on the story. Oh man Naomi, giving Fred Johnson the protomolecule... holy shit.

Adam Savage suddenly appearing on screen was a bit weird.

Only disappointment was NOT having a scene, book 2 ending spoilers
I really wanted a "We gotta talk" scene
 
God this season was so dissapointing!

- Watched S1 knowing nothing about the books and i liked it.
- Read all 6 books before S2 and with the exception of Cibola Burn i liked them all relatively well.
- Mainly after S1 and the books i was excited for S2 and what did i get?

* Slapdash rushed remainder story of Book 1 in the first couple of eps. I guess you could argue that they cut out some of the fat from Book 1 which i could live with if the remaineder of S2 would have concentrated to deliver the plot lines from Book 2. Instead what we got was:

* Horrible horrible charactarisation changes compared to the book to Holden, Naomi mainly and to lesser extents Amos, Alex.

* Uneccessary plot changes that don't seem to serve any purpose other then the writers of the show petting themselves on the back saying they added something to the material....which they didn't.
*Things like Naomi
keeping the protomolecule sample and hiding it from the crew only for it to be given to Fred Johnson anyway which is how they started in the Book with this part anyway!
*Amos going through the weird ass motions of "Am i a emotion less killer and if so why" stuff which clearly is a lead into Book 5 character teritory
* Added scenes with Dawes schenanigans which really serve no purpose compared to the books
* The Tycho station coup attempt which again is a sort of a
plotline from Book5
* Some story elements clearly seem to be already building towards events that happen in book 5 while there is plenty of story to tell from book 2 and 3 if they would want. Why start setting up those events already now when you still have other stories you can tell?

* On top of all of these we got really shitty filler episodes with storylines not connected at all to the books and NOT enhancing the season in any way like 2x12 and are embarrassing to watch.

* Sometimes really questionable effect shots compared to S1. Budget reduced?

* Bobby Draper's character is NOTHING like in the books. In the tv show she is a useless maoning skinny chic while in the books she is a badass Brienne kinda tall no nonsense marine who actually does shit.

I could go on and on but this season was a maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaajor letdown especially since S1 got me interested and i thought after reading the first book they did a really good job with the source material (even if they added some stuff already from book 2 in season 1 to introduce characters early). The added characters and scenes didn't nearly detract as much there as they did here.

I will tune in for S3 in hopes that it maybe improves somewhat but after this season my anticipation will be really really low. :(
 

Flai

Member
I on the other hand, having read all the books after S1, liked the second season a lot. There were some annoyances, but overall really enjoyable!
 
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