Review: The Expanse returns for season 5, excellent as ever

Dominque Tipper (Naomi Nagata), Steven Strait (James Holden)

Episode 503: “Mother”

Convinced there is an asteroid headed towards Earth, Avasarala questions a private sector scientist to get a professional take. Though she’s all but certain of what is happening, she’s still in no position to take any action, only to draw attention. This keeps her at Luna and working long hours, neglecting family even when they come to visit. After the day’s work she sends a message to her husband in an attempt to rebuild the collapsing bridge that is her marriage. Her dedication to her job has literally saved lives in the past and may still in the future, but it isolates her, and those who love her most suffer the most. The episodes gives us no answers to her struggle but simply depicts a complex situation and lets us draw our own conclusions.

Having just rescued Monica from near death, Holden and Fred watch the video she holds, which is gruesome enough to convince Holden that there is some organization — a powerful one at that — after the protomolecule. But the way Monica was taken points to an inside job coming from Fred’s crew on the station. They hatch a plan to board and capture the ship that was supposed to pick up the storage unit Monica was trapped in.

Holden may not have his Roci fam around him, but he’s still the guy he always was. However, the people working under him now aren’t used to having someone like Holden calling the shots. For example, in the last episode, Holden immediately answers a call Monica is receiving on her futuristic cellphone; it’s connected to her eye-cam, giving the team a glimpse of where she’s being held. “What did you do?” Fred asks Holden. “What?” Holden responds. “There was a button, so I pushed it.” “Oh that’s just how you go through life isn’t it?”

While looting Ashford’s ship, Drummer finds his hidden data stash and discovers incriminating evidence against Marco Inaros. She finally confronts her grief, and with the comfort and support of her crew, makes a crucial decision: she sends the evidence to Avasarala, and formally removes herself from the fight. She has lost too many friends and wants a chance to live for a while rather than constantly fighting.

Naomi is back home. She reunites with old friends for the first time in years, with mixed results. Some are happy to see “Knuckles” back, but most are hostile towards her, including Felip. Naomi pleads for him to listen to her, even offering him her ship so he can escape his father’s fight. But he’s having none of it, doubling down on his fathers’ beliefs. Even Marcos’ dishonesty has rubbed off on the kid, as he takes Naomi captive and steals her ship for his dad’s fleet.

Returning from a rather awkward date with the Admiral’s assistant, Alex is jumped by some professional thugs and given a sedative that compels his to tell the truth. They ask him questions about his purpose on Mars, and right before they go to shoot him, Bobbie walks in and helps him take down the goons.

If Alex wasn’t apart of Bobbie’s fight before, he’s fully in now. The two plan to track a ship they think will be doing a weapons exchange.

Finally, we see a man walking alone on a quiet beach. The morning calm is suddenly shattered by a massive light in the shy, which turns into a fiery ball hurtling down. The explosion is soundless at first, then the first wave hits with a catastrophic force and the end of the world begins.

Grade: A-

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