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rogueslayer452Since it's still been on my mind through rewatching, here are some points I didn't go fully in-depth in from my review of The Expanse's fourth season.
** The fact that James Holden was literally sleep deprived for three days straight trying to help people while they were all hunkered down in that structure because he was the only one who wasn't affected with the blindness plague was so incredible, because it showed his selflessness and trying to maintain the calm and peace with everyone. Every time I rewatch that episode it just gets to me more and more with how he is so utterly exhausted, but he doesn't get angry at anyone. He only lets out his frustrations at the death slugs he finds, but not towards other people. I mean, when a Belter is freaking out because they think there's a slug on them, he calms them down, is very gentle with them. When Elvi asks him to read off results because she can't anymore, he does so even if he cannot pronounce the words correctly, giving her the chance to deduce what he's saying. He's also so fucking tender with Amos after he finds him after wandering off and after his brief breakdown. Holden is just trying very hard to keep his sanity, but he's going the extra mile to keep everyone else sane. Just, amazing.
** Going with that, the conversation that happened between Elvi and Holden where Elvi is essentially scolding him for not considering his first contact with an ancient species to be something of a miracle was an interesting one. Even though we know it's not a blessing with what Holden is dealing with, we all can understand that sentiment of wanting something that we don't have. It's like imagining having immortality and thinking it would be cool, only for the reality of immortality to be anything but. Holden tells her that it's a nightmare, he's seen horrific and terrible things that he never wanted or asked for, and it's traumatizing. Elvi, being the scientist, cannot understand not wanting to know things that we merely dream about. Until it happens to her at the end of the season, where she finally understands how traumatizing it really is. Holden, of course, is understanding of what she unexpectedly went through because he's seen those same visions. I like that at least he knows he's not alone in that regard of seeing the same thing.
** I didn't talk much about the election storyline in my previous post because it wasn't really a favorite this season. Not that it was bad, it was quite important as it interconnected with everything else going on and the show has always dealt with the political side of things which is what made it intriguing, but considering that we're dealing with our own real life political election stuff having a storyline dealing with the internal dirty politics just wasn't something I was that interested in too much. With that being said, it was an integral part of understanding where humanity is standing when it comes to the Ring Gates and having a new frontier in front of them, and the concerns that come with it. It reminded me a lot of the Roslin versus Baltar election in Battlestar Galactica when it came to the terraforming of New Caprica, as both sides were sharing their own thoughts about viewpoints about the possibility of venturing out to newer systems beyond the Rings. But unlike with BSG, I understood where both sides were coming from. Both Avasarala and Nancy Gao had fair viewpoints when it came to the Ring Gates and what was right for their people and for humanity overall. But the storyline was mostly about Avasarala's struggles with being a politician and appealing to the people, the citizens of Earth who are yearning for having a new place to restart their lives on a better planet that isn't overcrowded and where they don't have to live off of basic assistance. As much as we all love Avasarala and wanted her to keep her position of power, she seemed more concerned about her poll numbers than with the concerns of the people which made her losing the election seem inevitable. This is just how the political game works.
I know some people were upset about not only the recasting of her husband and the way they altered his characterization as opposed to what seemed to be in books, which even though I haven't read the books yet I can understand that level of frustration. It seemed odd given how he was shown previously seasons ago. That being said, I think that perhaps this was a narrative choice to parallel her and Bobbie, to show that they feel kind of alone and isolated with the things they're dealing with and how they'll come back together realizing that they need each other.
** The relationship between Amos and Wei was interesting because it gives a better look and understanding of Amos with their similarities, but mostly with their major differences in perspectives. Wei thinks she understands Amos because she believes they are essentially the same because they operate kind of similarly within their groups. However, as we've learned over the course of the show, Amos is not like other people. He surrounds himself with people who want to do good and have a sense of morality because that's what he wants to be himself. It's why he attaches himself to people he considers to be good, because he wants to be good. Amos has no problem with killing, but he listens to Holden when he says to stand down. Wei, on the other hand, attaches herself to Murtry because she owes him and doesn't question him, his morals, or his methods. He tells her to jump, she'll ask how high and for how long. There were times when I thought that she might change her mind about Murtry, but that never happens. You see her following his orders completely, never questioning or having any morality issues with what he asks of her. Their loyalties and perspectives of how they do things are totally different, and that's why, at the end of the day, Wei never understood Amos. She never understood where he comes from and why he follows Holden and what the Roci crew means to him.
At the end of the day, they both chose their sides. Amos was always going to choose Holden, and Wei was always going to choose Murtry. She may have wanted to spare Amos, to talk him into standing down because I do think she caught feelings for him, but ultimately she was only doing that so Murtry could do whatever he needed to do because she was more loyal to him than to whatever she and Amos briefly had. And that's that.
** The fact that James Holden was literally sleep deprived for three days straight trying to help people while they were all hunkered down in that structure because he was the only one who wasn't affected with the blindness plague was so incredible, because it showed his selflessness and trying to maintain the calm and peace with everyone. Every time I rewatch that episode it just gets to me more and more with how he is so utterly exhausted, but he doesn't get angry at anyone. He only lets out his frustrations at the death slugs he finds, but not towards other people. I mean, when a Belter is freaking out because they think there's a slug on them, he calms them down, is very gentle with them. When Elvi asks him to read off results because she can't anymore, he does so even if he cannot pronounce the words correctly, giving her the chance to deduce what he's saying. He's also so fucking tender with Amos after he finds him after wandering off and after his brief breakdown. Holden is just trying very hard to keep his sanity, but he's going the extra mile to keep everyone else sane. Just, amazing.
** Going with that, the conversation that happened between Elvi and Holden where Elvi is essentially scolding him for not considering his first contact with an ancient species to be something of a miracle was an interesting one. Even though we know it's not a blessing with what Holden is dealing with, we all can understand that sentiment of wanting something that we don't have. It's like imagining having immortality and thinking it would be cool, only for the reality of immortality to be anything but. Holden tells her that it's a nightmare, he's seen horrific and terrible things that he never wanted or asked for, and it's traumatizing. Elvi, being the scientist, cannot understand not wanting to know things that we merely dream about. Until it happens to her at the end of the season, where she finally understands how traumatizing it really is. Holden, of course, is understanding of what she unexpectedly went through because he's seen those same visions. I like that at least he knows he's not alone in that regard of seeing the same thing.
** I didn't talk much about the election storyline in my previous post because it wasn't really a favorite this season. Not that it was bad, it was quite important as it interconnected with everything else going on and the show has always dealt with the political side of things which is what made it intriguing, but considering that we're dealing with our own real life political election stuff having a storyline dealing with the internal dirty politics just wasn't something I was that interested in too much. With that being said, it was an integral part of understanding where humanity is standing when it comes to the Ring Gates and having a new frontier in front of them, and the concerns that come with it. It reminded me a lot of the Roslin versus Baltar election in Battlestar Galactica when it came to the terraforming of New Caprica, as both sides were sharing their own thoughts about viewpoints about the possibility of venturing out to newer systems beyond the Rings. But unlike with BSG, I understood where both sides were coming from. Both Avasarala and Nancy Gao had fair viewpoints when it came to the Ring Gates and what was right for their people and for humanity overall. But the storyline was mostly about Avasarala's struggles with being a politician and appealing to the people, the citizens of Earth who are yearning for having a new place to restart their lives on a better planet that isn't overcrowded and where they don't have to live off of basic assistance. As much as we all love Avasarala and wanted her to keep her position of power, she seemed more concerned about her poll numbers than with the concerns of the people which made her losing the election seem inevitable. This is just how the political game works.
I know some people were upset about not only the recasting of her husband and the way they altered his characterization as opposed to what seemed to be in books, which even though I haven't read the books yet I can understand that level of frustration. It seemed odd given how he was shown previously seasons ago. That being said, I think that perhaps this was a narrative choice to parallel her and Bobbie, to show that they feel kind of alone and isolated with the things they're dealing with and how they'll come back together realizing that they need each other.
** The relationship between Amos and Wei was interesting because it gives a better look and understanding of Amos with their similarities, but mostly with their major differences in perspectives. Wei thinks she understands Amos because she believes they are essentially the same because they operate kind of similarly within their groups. However, as we've learned over the course of the show, Amos is not like other people. He surrounds himself with people who want to do good and have a sense of morality because that's what he wants to be himself. It's why he attaches himself to people he considers to be good, because he wants to be good. Amos has no problem with killing, but he listens to Holden when he says to stand down. Wei, on the other hand, attaches herself to Murtry because she owes him and doesn't question him, his morals, or his methods. He tells her to jump, she'll ask how high and for how long. There were times when I thought that she might change her mind about Murtry, but that never happens. You see her following his orders completely, never questioning or having any morality issues with what he asks of her. Their loyalties and perspectives of how they do things are totally different, and that's why, at the end of the day, Wei never understood Amos. She never understood where he comes from and why he follows Holden and what the Roci crew means to him.
At the end of the day, they both chose their sides. Amos was always going to choose Holden, and Wei was always going to choose Murtry. She may have wanted to spare Amos, to talk him into standing down because I do think she caught feelings for him, but ultimately she was only doing that so Murtry could do whatever he needed to do because she was more loyal to him than to whatever she and Amos briefly had. And that's that.
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Date: 2020-01-22 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-22 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-22 07:08 pm (UTC)The election story was interesting and I actually would say that I would have enjoyed seeing even more of it. More of Avasarala's and earth's struggles. For me it was over so fast. I suppose that is probably what it would feel like to a politician, too, once the election finally comes around after a long campaign.
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Date: 2020-01-22 10:00 pm (UTC)The election did go rather quickly, though perhaps that was intentional. We focused a lot on Avasarala's struggles with that, and the kind of personal fallout that happened. I read that the actress who plays Nancy Gao has been promoted to being a regular for the fifth season, so this was most likely the foundation of more political stuff coming up.
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Date: 2020-01-26 02:15 am (UTC)I hadn't really thought about that with Holden. I may have to rewatch the season to really soak it up. I got so much out of my rewatch of the other seasons. This show has so many layers and so much story, it is good to give it a second pass, at least.
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Date: 2020-01-26 05:37 am (UTC)I've rewatched season four several times now, and I just fall in love with it more and more. You notice stuff or pick up on things you didn't before initially, and that's another thing I love about this show. As you said, there are so many layers. I really can't wait to start reading the books because I know there's definitely more detail in them about what's going on and, boy, to unpack all of that is going to be so good. :)