With its gorgeous, sprawling sets and top notch effects, The Expanse, based off S.A. Corey's hit sci-fi novels, was everything we expected from a show that cost $5 million per episode, plus more. 'Dulce' focused on building and bringing to life this rich and complex world, as well as introducing us to the main players involved. 'The Big Empty' was more character driven, especially focused on developing the relationship between Holden and his crew. It would have been nice to see a two hour kick-off as each episode felt insubstantial by themselves. Nevertheless, the two night premiere as a whole made for engaging television, one episode building upon the other, and this adaptation has so far done justice to this fabulous sci-fi novel.
The Expanse is set 200 years in the future where humans have settled on Mars and is now an independent military colony. Humans have also made the asteroid belt their homes and those on the various settlements naturally identify themselves as belters. Brewing beneath the surface is a cold war between Mars and Earth, a conflict that is on the verge of escalating to chaos. Elsewhere are the belters who see both Mars and Earth as one in the same - two corporate entities who have continually mistreated them.
We are introduced to three main characters: Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), a world weary detective on Ceres station, the largest asteroid on the belt; Jim Holden (Steven Strait), an XO or executive officer from Earth on the ice freighter Canterbury; and Chrisjen Avasarala (Shoreh Aghdashloo), a tough as nails UN undersecretary dealing with the brewing conflict between Mars and Earth, as well as investigating belter terrorism. The latter of whom does not appear until the second book, but she is a smart addition to the cast as she gives us some perspective on what is happening on Earth. Aghdashloo herself has quite the authoritative type of screen presence which helped bring this character to life.
There were some minor differences between the first book,
Leviathan Wakes, and
The Expanse. Jonathan Banks, Mike of
Breaking Bad and
Better Call Saul fame, makes a very odd cameo as the original XO of the Canterbury. The character does not exist in the books and it seems they created him so Banks could make a brief appearance. The character actor has quite the gravitas and it was an effective scene in showing the affects that space can have on an individual.
In
Leviathan Wakes, when readers are first introduced to Holden he is engaged in witty dialogue with his eventual crewmate Naomi. In 'Dulce' initial focus is mainly put on Holden and his lover, Ade, who we see in the midst of space sex (in the books they only talk about sex). Holden's future crewmates in this first episode pretty much took a backseat. Part of this change is likely due to, one, sex makes for good TV, and two, building that relationship does make Ade's eventual death at the end of the episode more impactful. Her last words in the episode, "I have something to tell you," was not in
Leviathan Wakes, and it does add more emotion to the scene as she was probably about to announce her pregnancy right before she died.
We finally got some meaningful conversation between the XO turned captain and his surviving crew mates in 'The Big Empty,' a situation created strictly for the show. The five of them working together, despite their differences, to survive on this shuttle made for some great character moments. There is clear tension between Naomi and Holden which makes for compelling drama. Their medic Shed is more developed in the show than the book where he starts off as more of a background character. In
The Expanse we see him breaking down in anxiety after the Canterbury is nuked and then getting a hold of himself later on to save Alex' life. They have already started to develop a family together and this camaraderie between them will become the backbone for this series.
One other interesting minor change with regards to Holden was the whole bit of him going against captain's orders to respond to the distress signal. In the book the captain decides himself to investigate, after some hesitation, and Holden follows along. This scene in
The Expanse really sets up Holden as a bit of a rebel, albeit with good intentions, a side of him we do not entirely see immediately in the book. Of course, this aspect of his personality would go on to act as a catalyst for many of his actions.
Elsewhere is detective Miller who is assigned a job to locate Julie Mao, the missing daughter of a wealthy businessman. We see her at the beginning of the pilot trapped in the now abandoned ship Scopuli. Miller's storyline on Ceres is used to explore the culture of the asteroid station, especially with regards to the importance of water and the high levels of poverty. This is an aspect that is touched upon in
Leviathan Wakes, but not explored as much as it was in
The Expanse. Through the eyes of Miller on Ceres and Avasarala on earth, we get a sense of the extreme instability in the solar system.
'Dulce' and 'The Big Empty', through the belter language, the costume designs, and the practical sets, engagingly brought this rich world to life. It has been a while since an immersive space opera has graced our screens, and if the book is any indication,
The Expanse will only get better each episode. Syfy has been on a roll in bringing science fiction back with the likes of
Killjoys and
Dark Matter debuting over the past year. Though
The Expanse did take a while to really get into it, the show still tops them all in large part due to its ambition, originality and the thought put into it. Hopefully this becomes a hit for Syfy.
8/10
What did you guys think?! Will you be sticking around for the next eight episodes? Leave your comments below!
About the Author - Kollin Lore
Kollin is an entertainment writer and a film and television, in particular genre TV, freak having grown up during the 90s and early 2000s a dedicated fan of Buffy and Angel. Current shows like Person of Interest, Supernatural, Ripper Street, Penny Dreadful, Grimm, The Blacklist, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours. Please follow him on social media via links below!
