The Expanse: Triple Point Show Only
May 9, 2018 10:05 PM - Season 3, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Stand-offs and mutinies take place in space.
The UNN Agatha King is redirected to Io to pickup the protomolecule hybrids, the most recent of which is making cryptic references to ongoing "work". Admiral Souther confirms the duplicity of Nguyen, but makes his move a fraction too late, losing control of the CIC, two of his officers, and his life. Most of the UNN fleet following the King remains in Nguyen's control, until a ship - the Patrol Torpedo vessel Jimenez - breaks ranks, and is destroyed. The UNN vessels begin to fire on each other, with the closing MCRN vessel Hammurabi and the Martian fleet remaining out of the fight.
With control slipping from his grasp, Yuen fires the hydrids - locked in torpedoes - from the surface of Io, as the crew of the Contorta try to break into the facility.
Two asides: this episode used up-to-date images of Jupiter from the Juno probe in the VFX; also, the mods have fixed the first episode of this season on Fanfare to be "Show Only", so readers can now navigate the entire series. As always, the Books Included thread, covering the entire series, remains open.
The UNN Agatha King is redirected to Io to pickup the protomolecule hybrids, the most recent of which is making cryptic references to ongoing "work". Admiral Souther confirms the duplicity of Nguyen, but makes his move a fraction too late, losing control of the CIC, two of his officers, and his life. Most of the UNN fleet following the King remains in Nguyen's control, until a ship - the Patrol Torpedo vessel Jimenez - breaks ranks, and is destroyed. The UNN vessels begin to fire on each other, with the closing MCRN vessel Hammurabi and the Martian fleet remaining out of the fight.
With control slipping from his grasp, Yuen fires the hydrids - locked in torpedoes - from the surface of Io, as the crew of the Contorta try to break into the facility.
Two asides: this episode used up-to-date images of Jupiter from the Juno probe in the VFX; also, the mods have fixed the first episode of this season on Fanfare to be "Show Only", so readers can now navigate the entire series. As always, the Books Included thread, covering the entire series, remains open.
time is short and i’ll be brief.
great episode. super tense, excellent character work within the two naval vessels... great effects including a polar approach to jupiter using new reality-based visuals!
really the show is doing well at focusing on the people living in these big hunks of metal.
aghdashloo as avasarala is still miscast to me but that racing suit’s pretty fierce. i want to see jewels on it tho.
only weird note for me was naomi’s moment. she sorta just walks into the room and unloads? now? because... she doesn’t know why? lazy. that moment was bereft of any larger thematic links or smaller buildup.
posted by sixswitch at 5:07 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
great episode. super tense, excellent character work within the two naval vessels... great effects including a polar approach to jupiter using new reality-based visuals!
really the show is doing well at focusing on the people living in these big hunks of metal.
aghdashloo as avasarala is still miscast to me but that racing suit’s pretty fierce. i want to see jewels on it tho.
only weird note for me was naomi’s moment. she sorta just walks into the room and unloads? now? because... she doesn’t know why? lazy. that moment was bereft of any larger thematic links or smaller buildup.
posted by sixswitch at 5:07 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
How old is Wynn meant to be? He was at the Vesta blockade? Which took place 40 years prior to these events?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:16 AM on May 10, 2018
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:16 AM on May 10, 2018
How old is Wynn meant to be? He was at the Vesta blockade? Which took place 40 years prior to these events?
I don't think Nguyen's exact age is ever given, but there was a previous episode which gave life expectancies — 123 years for Earthers, with Martians a bit higher, and 68 years for Belters on Ceres. So Nguyen could plausibly be at least 70.
ETA: S01E04, in the opening when Miller is talking to the coroner on Ceres.
posted by myotahapea at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
I don't think Nguyen's exact age is ever given, but there was a previous episode which gave life expectancies — 123 years for Earthers, with Martians a bit higher, and 68 years for Belters on Ceres. So Nguyen could plausibly be at least 70.
ETA: S01E04, in the opening when Miller is talking to the coroner on Ceres.
posted by myotahapea at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
I only watched the first 3 episodes of season 1, and now I only have access to the current season through my cable provider. Do you think I would still enjoy it without having seen the previous seasons?
posted by Brocktoon at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2018
posted by Brocktoon at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2018
Brockton -- you'll be horribly lost. If you're in the US Amazon Prime Video has seasons 1 and 2 streaming. You could sign up for a Prime membership, binge, then cancel before the trial period is up. Or you could sign up for Prime Video for only $9/month.
posted by nathan_teske at 1:00 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by nathan_teske at 1:00 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Expanse teaches the same lesson at Hamlet: stab early, stab often.
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:43 PM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:43 PM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
only weird note for me was naomi’s moment. she sorta just walks into the room and unloads? now? because... she doesn’t know why? lazy. that moment was bereft of any larger thematic links or smaller buildup.
That moment is built up in tiny snippets from previous episodes. I think they play one of those in the 'previously' on bits. She keeps trying to reconnect with Holden, but isn't able to. She's had several moments like that this season where she tries to talk to Holden and it doesn't work. She talks to Alex about it as well in a previous episode. I sort of thought the show might be building up a potential romantic link between her and Alex. Anyway, the scene with Holden this ep read to me as her realizing that she couldn't mend her relationship with him while still holding back part of herself (which she basically says explicitly in the scene). I agree that there was no real build up to that in this episode but it's there in the previous ones.
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:48 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
That moment is built up in tiny snippets from previous episodes. I think they play one of those in the 'previously' on bits. She keeps trying to reconnect with Holden, but isn't able to. She's had several moments like that this season where she tries to talk to Holden and it doesn't work. She talks to Alex about it as well in a previous episode. I sort of thought the show might be building up a potential romantic link between her and Alex. Anyway, the scene with Holden this ep read to me as her realizing that she couldn't mend her relationship with him while still holding back part of herself (which she basically says explicitly in the scene). I agree that there was no real build up to that in this episode but it's there in the previous ones.
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:48 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I loved the little smile the MCRN captain gave as she started addressing her fleet, when she realized her path was clear and that they should let the UNN ships fight it out. There were a bunch of little moments like that in this episode - everybody strapping in on the Roci as they start the suicide burn and Bobbie, just standing in a doorway, reaches out to hold on to the doorframe as a concession to the G forces.
I'm torn between disappointment that this show isn't a goddamn 20+ episode major TV show season where we could spend some more time on some stuff that (justifiably) gets a bit clipped in the show and counting my blessings that it's a tightly plotted short season that keeps up the pace without bogging down too much.
I like that the senior officers are all of reasonably appropriate ages, no 20 year old admirals on the Expanse, no sir!
I was happy we got a bit more of Natalie Lisinska (Aynsley from Orphan Black) and Morgan Kelly (Alvis from Killjoys), although it's probably too much to expect that we'll see them any more, huh. Oh well.
posted by Kyol at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm torn between disappointment that this show isn't a goddamn 20+ episode major TV show season where we could spend some more time on some stuff that (justifiably) gets a bit clipped in the show and counting my blessings that it's a tightly plotted short season that keeps up the pace without bogging down too much.
I like that the senior officers are all of reasonably appropriate ages, no 20 year old admirals on the Expanse, no sir!
I was happy we got a bit more of Natalie Lisinska (Aynsley from Orphan Black) and Morgan Kelly (Alvis from Killjoys), although it's probably too much to expect that we'll see them any more, huh. Oh well.
posted by Kyol at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I knew I recognized that dude (Alvis) from somewhere! If I recall we don't see him dead-dead at the end of the episode. I take that as a hint that he might have one last move before he kicks it.
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:09 PM on May 10, 2018
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:09 PM on May 10, 2018
I assume everyone who got shot in that bridge died, except for Nguyen. Btw, I love that they have a character with my name on an American show and everyone is pronouncing it correctly and they treat his name very matter-of-factly, instead of all the other times American shows have used it and make puns with it and mangle the pronunciation even as a joke. This was hugely satisfying.
It's really too bad that he's an evil bastard. :-/
posted by numaner at 9:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
It's really too bad that he's an evil bastard. :-/
posted by numaner at 9:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
Oh, noooooooo: it looks like Season 3 will be the last to run on SYFY. Hope is not yet dead: Alcon Television, the financial and production backer of the series, plans to shop it to other networks.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 10:46 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 10:46 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's no way Netflix doesn't pick it up, surely?
posted by fullerine at 11:44 PM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fullerine at 11:44 PM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's very expensive. Who knows. Fingers crossed.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:51 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:51 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
SYFY do this every damn time I get into something on their network but this one in particular is bizarre. The viewership numbers were good, the critical acclaim was off the charts, the cast and creators are fantastically approachable and interactive on social media. Only show I go out of my to watch live these days. Amazon have the US streaming rights for previous seasons, so hopefully enough people are watching it there that they notice. Would be a great prestige show for them.
posted by IanMorr at 7:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by IanMorr at 7:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
In the same week as B99! Damn these television executives!
posted by numaner at 8:25 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by numaner at 8:25 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's not really that bizarre; it's the result of a not-great licensing agreement. From what I've read, Syfy has been paying a lot of money for the show (the accounting department at Alcon Entertainment refer to the show as "The Expense") but only makes money on live viewings (and maybe DVR viewings in the first 24 hours? not sure about that).
Whoever picks it up (she said with firm optimism) had better negotiate a more profitable deal or we'll wind up going through this again, I think.
posted by Lexica at 10:33 AM on May 11, 2018
Whoever picks it up (she said with firm optimism) had better negotiate a more profitable deal or we'll wind up going through this again, I think.
posted by Lexica at 10:33 AM on May 11, 2018
Syfy has been paying a lot of money for the show (the accounting department at Alcon Entertainment refer to the show as "The Expense") but only makes money on live viewings (and maybe DVR viewings in the first 24 hours? not sure about that).
Well now I understand why the way to watch this after the live viewing is so fucked up.
posted by corb at 12:53 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well now I understand why the way to watch this after the live viewing is so fucked up.
posted by corb at 12:53 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
It also makes sense why this season they started showing just a single minute of commercials directly after the first act break, trying to get people to watch live?
posted by Automocar at 1:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Automocar at 1:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I hope it gets picked up by Netflix, but hey, we will always have the books. And I hope to see Wes Chatham in other series, he's really good as Amos.
posted by Pendragon at 1:38 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Pendragon at 1:38 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yup, SyFy NBC Universal Comcast is really making it easier and easier to pull the plug on my CATV subscription.
posted by MikeKD at 6:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by MikeKD at 6:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Cancellation thread (not solely on this show) on the Blue.
posted by mwhybark at 6:28 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by mwhybark at 6:28 PM on May 11, 2018
numaner, I remarked to my wife how great it was that the actor portraying Admiral Nguyen was using a North American standard Vietnamese English accent. I agree, it's a shame the character is a bad guy. I definitely still appreciate the performance and direction. I noticed that overall except for Alex the Martian characters are NOT using the silly Texan accent and am one hundred percent in favor of that choice.
posted by mwhybark at 6:33 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mwhybark at 6:33 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Appreciate the expanded role for Prax Meng. Terry Chen is killing.
posted by porpoise at 8:04 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 8:04 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
I noticed that overall except for Alex the Martian characters are NOT using the silly Texan accent and am one hundred percent in favor of that choice.
I believe that the Texas drawl is not a general Martian accent, but specific the Mariner Valley, where Alex is from.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:58 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
I believe that the Texas drawl is not a general Martian accent, but specific the Mariner Valley, where Alex is from.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:58 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
fingers crossed, toes crossed
posted by supermedusa at 9:15 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:15 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm really enjoying the relationship between Amos and Meng. Amos is helping to teach him how to survive as a member of the crew but also really wants to protect him from going on the path where he ends up broken like Amos knows himself to be.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:17 PM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:17 PM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by corb at 10:31 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]