In 'Back to the Butcher' Holden's new ship gets a name and we are introduced to Fred Johnson's backstory. A better title for this episode would have been 'Rocinante' or simply 'The Butcher,' but that would be nitpicking an episode that did not have many flaws this week.
The episode also gave us some backstory on Fred Johnson. He has thus far been developed as someone we don't know whether we can trust. Flashbacks show him as a former UN marine blowing up a space station invaded by belters - many of them kids and families - to smithereens. The last shot in the sequence was a haunting shot that showed a dead belter and his daughter floating in space as Johnson looked on.
Speaking of shady characters, Anderson Dawes has another highlight interaction with Miller. Dawes claims the OPA is about clean air and freedom for belters, but what is his true agenda? Actor Jared Harris has a penchant for portraying villainous characters and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him revealed as a terrorist in later episodes. Nonetheless, the veteran actor Harris has proven he can play both sides equally effective and he has been a scene stealer.
Halfway through this series The Expanse has definitely set itself up as a character driven show. There is a slow burn to the development of these characters, but it is engaging nonetheless. It has been particularly fabulous watching Holden and crew gradually trust each other over the weeks right up until this week's episode where, for example, Amos sticks his neck out for Holden by convincing Naomi to agree to meet Fred Johnson. Meanwhile, Miller is inching closer and closer to the truth behind Julie Mao, and there is a foreboding sense that he is heading towards danger. There are many layers to this story and they have all been told equally engaging thus far. Next week it seems Fred Johnson will meet Holden, which will make things very interesting.
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