Expanse #5 Game done changed.

[SpaceChampion]

Was Amos dropping the bottle suppose to foreshadow Bobby not dropping Naomi?  Otherwise it's just a cute moment but I think it was suppose to remind us working in low or no gravity is difficult.

[DaveSumm]

4 hours ago, Sharpes said:

Ah I'm so glad it wasn't just me that was confused by the fight at first. I think the battle would have been easier to understand if they listed the names of the ships on the battle screens (we see one from Tynan's perspective and another from the Roci) instead both sides show them as G01-G05.

It might sound a little more Star Trek than Expanse, but is there some reason they don’t just go with the tried and tested colour scheme? Make Martian ships red, Earth blue, Belters grey, the Roci some other distinctive colour? Does this interfere with the realism, is painting ships impractical? Would it wear off in space? It’s a shame cos that battle was awesome, and the super quick thruster adjustments combined with rail guns looks so, so good. I just didn’t have a clue who was shooting at who for what reason.

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

Was Amos dropping the bottle suppose to foreshadow Bobby not dropping Naomi?  Otherwise it's just a cute moment but I think it was suppose to remind us working in low or no gravity is difficult.

??? Future book spoilers?

[Corvinus85]

39 minutes ago, DaveSumm said:

It might sound a little more Star Trek than Expanse, but is there some reason they don’t just go with the tried and tested colour scheme? Make Martian ships red, Earth blue, Belters grey, the Roci some other distinctive colour? Does this interfere with the realism, is painting ships impractical? Would it wear off in space? It’s a shame cos that battle was awesome, and the super quick thruster adjustments combined with rail guns looks so, so good. I just didn’t have a clue who was shooting at who for what reason.

In today's space travel technology, the paint will suffer due to radiation in the long term. For example, Elon Musk's Tesla that they shot in space will have its paint worn off, and suffer other damage, too. But more importantly than that, there is also a weight consideration. The reason why airplanes or spacecraft are typically white is because white paint is lighter. 

Now in The Expanse universe these issues aren't a big deal, I think. And we see new laser imprint techniques, like how Amos created the Roci logo on the hull, which don't wear off. Interestingly, the show did start with additional color schemes. Some of the Martian ships in season 1 did have red & black colors, so I don't know what changed. I'm pretty sure the Roci when still called the Tachi was red & black, and they changed it on Tycho.

[Denvek]

5 hours ago, john said:

I don’t understand what was happening to the Barkeith at the end. It seemed like something bad, but I don’t really remember what a normal ring transit is supposed to be like.

It's supposed to be weird and unclear at this point, to set up some things for next season. The important thing to take away from that scene is (TV spoiler only)

Spoiler

The Barkeith went into the gate but it didn't come out the other side.

 

[SpaceChampion]

2 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

??? Future book spoilers?

No, I'm talking about what happened in the episode.

[Corvinus85]

10 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

No, I'm talking about what happened in the episode.

But the bottle happened after Bobbie got Naomi, so where is the foreshadowing?

[SpaceChampion]

38 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

But the bottle happened after Bobbie got Naomi, so where is the foreshadowing?

oh yeah.  oops, you're right.  Totally had that backwards.

[SpaceChampion]

 

[Kalbear]

4 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

In today's space travel technology, the paint will suffer due to radiation in the long term. For example, Elon Musk's Tesla that they shot in space will have its paint worn off, and suffer other damage, too. But more importantly than that, there is also a weight consideration. The reason why airplanes or spacecraft are typically white is because white paint is lighter. 

Now in The Expanse universe these issues aren't a big deal, I think. And we see new laser imprint techniques, like how Amos created the Roci logo on the hull, which don't wear off. Interestingly, the show did start with additional color schemes. Some of the Martian ships in season 1 did have red & black colors, so I don't know what changed. I'm pretty sure the Roci when still called the Tachi was red & black, and they changed it on Tycho.

Another reason: white paint reflects, meaning your hull doesn't have to deal with excess heat as much. This is the same reason astronaut suits are white - because heat transfer from sun is not awesome and you have to process it in some way. 

[Caligula_K3]

Pretty good finale. Once it got going, it had some very exciting stuff (and the final scene was so cool). But it suffered from the same problem as last year's finale: all the cool stuff gets rushed after spending multiple episodes on not very interesting plotlines: in this case, Naomi waiting to get rescued (and Amos slowly getting off earth) vs. killer slugs last year.

I'm curious if those who haven't read the books enjoyed the Naomi stuff since her space jump more than me; since I knew she survived, I felt absolutely no tension. But I don't think I would have bought that Naomi was in real danger even if I hadn't read the books.

Pretty hilarious that they dealt with the Alex situation like that.

Anyway, the first 4 episodes of the season were great. After that it lost its way, but it wasn't bad or anything- just kind of boring and repetitive. I am pretty worried about the final season at this point. Either they ramp everything up to 100 and make the complaints about Game of Thrones season 8's fast pace look quaint in comparison, or it's just going to focus on one or two plotlines and end pretty unspectacularly.

 

[Corvinus85]

I predict that season 6 will largely follow book 6. And once again, I don't remember much of the plot, other than its end. I'm starting a re-read.

Of course, two significant changes will be no Alex, and no Fred, but in Alex's case they'll have other characters on the ship. As to other things that touch on the books

Spoiler

Fred's death left a void in the wise Belter leader area, who can be a counter to Marco. I hope we get Dawes back, at least for 1-2 episodes, but Drummer will likely step in that role.

I suspect they will follow the book about how they determine the pattern of the ships going Dutchman, and how the Marco plot ends. I think the show will largely end on a positive note, with Earth slowly recovering, and the Belters finding their place in the emerging civilization with the Transport Union (I think that is what it's called) Drummer being in charge. However, the shadow of Laconia and the mysterious creatures that killed the protomolecule civilization will remain, with an open door to solve it in possible futures seasons/movies. I wonder how they will write the finale to justify calling it Babylon's Ashes; or maybe they switch it up and name the first episode after the book.

I don't know how much of Laconia and the remaining big mystery will actually be brought in, but at the same time I always doubted they were going to do a 30 year time jump even if they did another 3 seasons.

If this is really a pause, it could work to allow them to build more and bigger sets. Laconia, their ships, Freehold, maybe even Auberon would be cool to see. 

 

[Caligula_K3]

12 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

I predict that season 6 will largely follow book 6. And once again, I don't remember much of the plot, other than its end. I'm starting a re-read.

Of course, two significant changes will be no Alex, and no Fred, but in Alex's case they'll have other characters on the ship. As to other things that touch on the books

  Hide contents

Fred's death left a void in the wise Belter leader area, who can be a counter to Marco. I hope we get Dawes back, at least for 1-2 episodes, but Drummer will likely step in that role.

I suspect they will follow the book about how they determine the pattern of the ships going Dutchman, and how the Marco plot ends. I think the show will largely end on a positive note, with Earth slowly recovering, and the Belters finding their place in the emerging civilization with the Transport Union (I think that is what it's called) Drummer being in charge. However, the shadow of Laconia and the mysterious creatures that killed the protomolecule civilization will remain, with an open door to solve it in possible futures seasons/movies. I wonder how they will write the finale to justify calling it Babylon's Ashes; or maybe they switch it up and name the first episode after the book.

I don't know how much of Laconia and the remaining big mystery will actually be brought in, but at the same time I always doubted they were going to do a 30 year time jump even if they did another 3 seasons.

If this is really a pause, it could work to allow them to build more and bigger sets. Laconia, their ships, Freehold, maybe even Auberon would be cool to see. 

 

Spoiler

Maybe the showrunners know something I don't, but it seems to me that counting on a pause/sequel in the world of TV (especially these days) is a recipe for disappointment. Actors get other contracts, personnel at the studios change (hell, if Bezos was the Expanse's biggest champion, now that he's no longer in charge, others may not be as enthusiastic). It's not like The Expanse has been such a mega-success that it's going to become Amazon Prime's flagship franchise.

If Season 6 ends at around the same place as Babylon's Ashes, with the Laconia/protomolecule/protomolecule killers all unresolved in favour of all the Inaros stuff, it's going to be a very weird and anti-climactic ending.

Fingers crossed absolutely for the return of Dawes, though. I'd happily watch a show just about him and Drummer navigating Belter politics.

 

[Mr Fixit]

3 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

  Hide contents

Fingers crossed absolutely for the return of Dawes, though. I'd happily watch a show just about him and Drummer navigating Belter politics.

 

Maybe have one of the megacorps build a perfect android replica of Klaes Ashford to keep them company. 

[Starkess]

10 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

Anyway, the first 4 episodes of the season were great. After that it lost its way, but it wasn't bad or anything- just kind of boring and repetitive. I am pretty worried about the final season at this point. Either they ramp everything up to 100 and make the complaints about Game of Thrones season 8's fast pace look quaint in comparison, or it's just going to focus on one or two plotlines and end pretty unspectacularly.

 

That's about how I feel too. They came out the gate so strong this season, and then it really felt like it fizzled. Still good, but definitely didn't live up to what it could have been. I do hope season 6 is a strong and satisfying finish!

[Martini Sigil]

Good article... it explains a few things abut the finale that had skipped past me...

https://screenrant.com/expanse-laconia-season-6-villains-ship-marco-explained/

[Isis]

Totally expected and very convenient demise of Alex.

Finally witnessed some meaningful acting in the scene where Holden and Naomi are reunited, which was nice.

That scene where they're all in the bar sipping fine beverages and looking clean and scrubbed up - that had a real 'are they all going to get torpedo-ed and die and that's the end of the show?' vibe to it, which I appreciated. I kept trying to remember whether that was it for the show or there was going to be one final series. My brain: is this it?

ETA: I've only read the first six books. I tried to read book 7 last month but it didn't grip me. Not sure if that's the writing's fault or Covid's fault. But I switched to William Gibson and that's going fine...

 

[Corvinus85]

Decided to start a re-read of the books, including all the novellas, some of which I hadn't read. I'm doing it in chronological order, so The Churn first. (I then realized there is the story about Solomon Epstein called Drive, but that one is hard to find; it was first published in an anthology of short stories. I assume the episode from season 2 'Paradigm Shit' covers it succinctly)

Book Amos doesn't look like show Amos, but Chatham's voice is now starting to creep in whenever I read his dialogue.

[mormont]

That's the thing about Wes Chatham: he's not at all physically correct for the role, but his performance absolutely nails it. It's a real argument for why it makes sense to be flexible with casting.

[Wethers]

1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said:

Decided to start a re-read of the books, including all the novellas, some of which I hadn't read. I'm doing it in chronological order, so The Churn first. (I then realized there is the story about Solomon Epstein called Drive, but that one is hard to find; it was first published in an anthology of short stories. I assume the episode from season 2 'Paradigm Shit' covers it succinctly)

Book Amos doesn't look like show Amos, but Chatham's voice is now starting to creep in whenever I read his dialogue.

@Corvinus85, here's a link that should allow you to read The Drive online:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_ai6QXrXx1hR2JEbmw4MUZ6UEU/view

For quite a while, it was available online at syfy.com but it looks like they took it down.  I found the above link here on reddit after a google search:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/77ytpa/novella_drive_has_anyone_found_it_or_know_where/