The Expanse
- Thread starter clockwork.satan
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Apr 2006
- Posts
- 7,114
- Location
- Earth
yeah you just hit nail on the head. After Marco says "I made this happen" in episode 10 there is a shot of the spaceships and they're decelarating towards the ring. I hadn't realised that is what they were doing, turned and fired to slow down.
Thanks
I enjoyed this season more than the previous, where they spent most of the time on a single planet which had huge potential but kind of fizzled out. I thought the exploration of Naomi's past and her character were well done, but maybe too much of that. Also her relationship with Marco didn't feel as deep and genuine as it was suggested. I also feel like we hardly saw Holden at all and he was kind of superfluous to the plot until the last episode or two. Amos' story was also great, good to get more understanding and development with him (and his amazing sense of humour).
The setup to the next season promises a lot. I feel like we need to get back to the main arc around the protomolecule and the ring gates. This season was more a shift from the previous political norms to a new balance of power in the system, which was interesting but maybe too far on politics versus sci-fi for my tastes. Then again, the new BSG often wandered between those as well and was very good all things considered. The expanse is still the best Sci-fi show out there at the moment for me.
I was thinking that the last episode was probably 3 episodes worth of action and events, so maybe they should have paced things a bit differently and also agree there are probably a number of clips on the cutting room floor that would have made things a lot easier to follow...
The setup to the next season promises a lot. I feel like we need to get back to the main arc around the protomolecule and the ring gates. This season was more a shift from the previous political norms to a new balance of power in the system, which was interesting but maybe too far on politics versus sci-fi for my tastes. Then again, the new BSG often wandered between those as well and was very good all things considered. The expanse is still the best Sci-fi show out there at the moment for me.
I was thinking that the last episode was probably 3 episodes worth of action and events, so maybe they should have paced things a bit differently and also agree there are probably a number of clips on the cutting room floor that would have made things a lot easier to follow...
Yeah, that too. Though I am not a huge fan of that usually. I agree that had Cas not done what he did he would have made it until the end, so yeah, I do not buy that explanation. He certainly would not have died the way he did, as that was dumb. It so clearly was done last minute.
I don't think re-casting a major character is ever a good idea, even for a minor character it's usually a bad idea (Avasalara's (sp?!) husband for instance - I just never bought them as a couple while I did with the other actor).
I think they all just wanted to bury it and get on with things. Giving Alex the death of Fred was probably the easiest 'fix' for what was no doubt a horrible situation for them all to be in. They've left it open for who they can replace Alex with as pilot, Bull or Bobbie. At least they've got a char from the books they can call on who we never got to see as Drummer became an amalgamation of him and others.
It's amazing how tight lipped they all are over it, probably contractual. I'm sure the true story will all come out eventually (of what they had to change and when).
I think they all just wanted to bury it and get on with things. Giving Alex the death of Fred was probably the easiest 'fix' for what was no doubt a horrible situation for them all to be in. They've left it open for who they can replace Alex with as pilot, Bull or Bobbie. At least they've got a char from the books they can call on who we never got to see as Drummer became an amalgamation of him and others.
It's amazing how tight lipped they all are over it, probably contractual. I'm sure the true story will all come out eventually (of what they had to change and when).
I watch with the subtitles on because of this and the belter accents!
Still can’t follow where the missiles hit in the battle in the last ep. It was quite poorly directed.
The Expanse majors heavily on realistic physics when it comes to all aspects of space travel.
All the ships have stacked decks that are perpendicular to the main engine, so that when the ship is accelerating 'down' is into the deck. Outside shots are frequently created at odd angles to highlight that there isn't really an up or down in the traditional sense. Normal travel involves constant acceleration from the start point to the mid point of the journey, then the ship will flip through 180° so the main engine is pointing towards the destination to provide the same duration of deceleration.
You'll also notice in the combat scenes that the PDC cannons have a small thruster on the back to provide a counterbalance reaction to the gun firing and stop the ship going into an unintended manoeuvre.
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Apr 2006
- Posts
- 7,114
- Location
- Earth
Thanks alibab99 for the awesome explanation.
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Oct 2007
- Posts
- 9,255
- Location
- newcastle
Just watched the last episode of this season and will say again this is one of the best series made for years, can’t wait for the last season
I watch with the subtitles on because of this and the belter accents!
That whole scene was just a cluster-fudge of direction. I had no idea which ships were engaging with whom until right at the end, there was no understanding at all about where the missiles were hitting until you saw the relevant crews again.
That aside, it was predictable as hell what the outcome would be with Drummer when she got to the fight.
Yes it is very well done. Directional/Steering thrust (according to the books) is actually provided via superheated steam jets, referred to colloquially as "The Kettle", was wondering if a similar system was employed on current or past real spacecraft such as Apollo and the shuttles?
IIRC current space craft use either "cold" thrusters (gas), or some form of hot thruster using chemicals that react, I think there is some experimentation with ion thrusters which give really low but prolonged levels of thrust (so good for probes that might be under thrust for months, but not for human craft where you need to balance fuel and life support).
The "kettle" idea is a relatively old sci-fi one based on the idea you have some form of heating (fusion/fission/unobtanium) available, and then use it for whatever is the most readily available reaction mass, usually water because it means you don't have to carry two completely separate sources of reaction mass, and in a pinch can use the mass intended for fuel for life support and vice versa. You can also use the water as ice for ablative armour, or some level of radiation shielding.
Water is also useful as you can potentially get it from various places in the solar system, and from memory Europa is thought to have a huge amount of water ice, so as a reaction mass it makes sense because you could potentially pick it it up from other parts of the system.
One of the things I quite like about the expanse is that a lot of it's in canon science, is based on real world science and ideas.
So, what actually happened right at the end... am I being a little bit slow with the...
Bearing in mind, I’ve only read the first book so far (which I really enjoyed and keep meaning to read the others!)
Mars admiral and the red stuff, is it to do with what Holden saw in his visions and it’ll destroy the human race?
Bearing in mind, I’ve only read the first book so far (which I really enjoyed and keep meaning to read the others!)
Basically, yes.
They're the creatures that destroyed the protomolecule builder civilisation. Now humans are faffing around with protomolecule tech, they're getting agitated again.
I do feel that by editing Alex out of the scene it made Avasarala's 'this is how we win' speech falls kinda flat.
The intention of the speech is clearly aimed at the mixed nature of the Roci crew, Earth, Mars, and the belt working together. They're clearly all supposed to be there. But without alex, it's a bit hollow and also too jubilant a scene after such a bit loss to their family.
The intention of the speech is clearly aimed at the mixed nature of the Roci crew, Earth, Mars, and the belt working together. They're clearly all supposed to be there. But without alex, it's a bit hollow and also too jubilant a scene after such a bit loss to their family.