I did not review S1 because it annoyed me. It was nothing so much as generic “noir in space,” an aesthetic we’ve seen far too much of. Star Trek, Twilight Zone, old 1950s genre films, Alien, Blade Runner, Outland, Lifepod, et cetera. Nostalgia for the 1940s is not a valid catch-all/be-all for science fiction. Season One of The Expanse didn’t seem to be trying hard enough to establish something original, and yet I kept watching.
I appreciated that Blade Runner 2049 went above and beyond and may be the best film of 2017. It ditched the expected looks and fashions to push things forward a generation. The only 2017 films that compete are Get Out, which just isn’t in the same league when all is said and done, and Dunkirk. Dunkirk delivers greatness, but Blade Runner 2049 edges it out with depth of experience, the thoughts it provokes. I haven’t been out to the movies all that much, and so there may be other contenders.
But back to The Expanse. Yes, it does redeem itself in Season Two. The cliffhanger at the end of the first iteration was the proto-molecule, an alien growth that cannot be contained. It has such immense power and capability that no one in their time, nor ours, quite knows what to do with it. This alien seed is a powerful sci-fi device that keeps on giving.
Every so often, though, you just want to smack a writer for the glaring plot hole.
I had to step back and consider what else is out there? Not much. Sci-fi is being churned out, but not with the quality and scale of shows like The Expanse. Perhaps “quality” is too generous. It’s pulpy. There are miscues. There is a reliance on mindless violence, but then again The Belt is a cold bitch.
I will be tuning in for Season Three.
Wrecking Balls
A Comic Satire
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J. Giambrone 
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