'The Seventh Man' was your typical middle of the season episode - a slow burner setting up things to come. This is not entirely a negative thing; however, the episode would be disappointing to those looking for something more substantial after last's week awesome cliffhanger.
Despite being a slow burner, the episode was still quite engaging and well paced. Jared Harris always excels in his roles and Anderson Dawes has been no exception. Throughout 'The Seventh Man' we see Dawes scheming his way around Tycho deceptively riling up support among the various belter factions and Drummer who clearly shares a past with him. Dawes' makes for an interesting character as we don't really know what his true intentions are. There is a lot to the man behind all the bravado and Harris makes that very clear in his portrayal of Dawes.
Another bit of slow burn in 'The Seventh Man' was Bobbie Draper. Frankie Adams did quite the convincing job this week in expressing the excruciating pain Bobbie was experiencing after the attack on Ganymede.
It was actually quite agonizing to watch Bobbie's slow attempts at recalling the events that happened on the Jupiter moon. At first we see her automatically blaming Earth for the attacks, which makes perfect sense on a character standpoint for the Earth hating Martian, but as the episode develops so too does her memory. I loved the scene when she takes the pill and starts to see the incident unfold, the repeated, "I'm so sorry," before being snapped back into focus really showed us the heavy guilt she is experiencing.
It seems from here on out we will begin to see a dramatic change in Bobbie's character. The martian's time on Earth as the peace delegation approaches may give her a more sympathetic view to the plights of Earthers, which could make for some strong character moments.
The highlight of the episode though was Amos' storyline. Seeing him unintentionally scaring that child and then, as he backed off, observing the goodness around him as his shipmates handed out food to the Ganymede refugees, really showed the identity crisis that he is going through.
Amos truly believes that he is a monster, as emphasized in his talk with Cortazar. The mad scientist trying to convince Amos to accept that monster inside of him and to join the cause of the evil doers behind the Protomolecule, really added some intriguing elements to the show. Amos has proven to be quite the complex character and with regards to where this is leading to? All I can say, being a fan of the book, is that Amos' storyline will eventually see him interacting with a future character this season in what will hopefully be a very poignant moment.
Overall, 'The Seventh Man' felt a bit stalled and it was definitely a slow burner. Though Jared Harris' performance as Anderson Dawes and the development of both Bobbie and Amos helped make the episode consistently engaging.
7.5/10
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