WiC Watches: The Expanse season 4

Image: The Expanse/Amazon

Episode 10: “Cibola Burn”

Elvi, somehow, survives her encounter with the void and Miller succeeds in turning off all proto-molecule tech. Holden gathers her, Amos and Murtry and radios back to the Rossi for a pickup, now that physics are back to normal. The first few minutes of this episode resolve nearly all the conflicts our lead characters have faced during their time on New Terra. Murtry has been apprehended and is now a prisoner aboard the Rossi. Lucia can return to her family thanks to Holden creating a fake death report that allows her to live freely. Amos survived his wounds and begins regrowth on his hand. Elvi and the remainder of the RCE science team start rebuilding the settlement with the Belters.

It’s a quick wrap up of all things New Terra-related, just as the storyline back in Sol system starts to make waves. Naomi sends a message to Fred Johnson, asking him to find her son Phillip. There’s a hint of regret on Naomi’s face as she records the message, setting up for her own story nest season.

Bobbie has taken back control of her life and she’s backed out of Martin’s latest job. But she cares about the people she’s worked with and doesn’t want to see them hurt. She attempts to save them from an ambush and nearly gets killed herself. That results in all but one of Martin’s crew ending up dead, including Martin himself. Bobbie knew it was a setup, but her gut tells her this corruption in the Martian Military goes deeper than she wants to believe, and she contacts Avasarala to ask for her help and for the job she was offered months ago.

Bobbie’s story this season seemed, well…completely unnecessary. Her decisions only involved her own internal struggle, which was muddled with inconsistencies. Her relationship with her nephew that was so important in the beginning became a nuisance to her at the end. Her entire storyline felt thrown in to justify her presence next season. The show did as good a job as it could with it, but this plotline just felt like an unneeded extra helping of an already full meal.

In the wake of her loss, Avasarala finds that she has pushed her loved ones away during the election. She attempts to reconnect with those she cares about, but they are reluctant to accept her back so easily. Avasarala herself has become somewhat serene now that the race is over and the trouble on New Terra has been quelled. Though she took a personal loss, her choices as Secretary General were the correct ones, and humanity is safer because of them. When Crisjen revives the call from Bobbie, it’s the first time we see her calm break. We can here the emotion in her voice, as she knows whatever Bobbie has brought to her is going to be huge.

The point of the episode comes when we see the confrontation of Ashford and Inaros. Ashford forces his way onto Inaros’ ship and shoots his way into the command center. His actual confrontation with Inaros doesn’t last long as he’s flanked from behind by Phillip Inaros, forcing Ashford to give up. He is then sent out an airlock after a lengthy and mad speech from Inaros. It’s another point for the crazy terrorist that is this version of Maros Inaros. It’s hard to believe Naomi could fall for a man so ignorant and short-sighted. Though Phillip has no lines, the look in the boy’s eyes paints a similar picture.

After Ashford is spaced, we get a glimpse of Inaros’ plan, which is to hurl massive asteroids at the Earth, killing billions and crippling the U.N. It becomes clear who the adversary will be for the next season, but it comes at the cost of making a lot of what happened on New Terra irrelevant. Only in Nancy Gao’s opening of the Ring Gates following Holden’s success on New Terra is the struggle given meaning in the grand scheme of things.

But that might not be the point of the Rossi’s involvement on New Terra. Instead it was about helping the little guys for once, and saving the people who can be saved. The Belters living there are now the first humans to settle in a different galaxy. Holden, Amos, Naomi and Alex are all on their way back to the Sol system having done the job that needed doing. Bobbie is teaming up with Avasarala to investigate the Martian military, and Inaros has just launched the first of a multitude of asteroids that will be the catalyst in the greatest human tragedy of all time: the destruction of Earth.

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