X-Ray 2 — “Zenobia”
When to watch: After Episode 2, “Azure Dragon”
"The doctrine of One Ship describe a system of unities, between home and society, work and rest, fear…and hope."
“Zenobia” is all about Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo). The episode begins with her receiving an update from the MCRN Admiral in command of the Martian forces of the combined Inner fleet. The two speculate that Marco Inaros is up to something, but aren’t quite sure what. It’s clear that this Admiral (played by John Ralston, who never appears in the season itself) is pretty eager to meet the Free Navy in actual combat. “Have you ever seen a Hekate keelhaul?” he asks Avasarala. She assures him she hasn’t, and he tells her how eager he would be to demonstrate it for her if they capture any of the Martian defectors who supported the Free Navy.
Keelhauling is a very old and brutal execution method done by pirates where they drag a person across the barnacle-encrusted bottom of their ship. So…not sure what that would look like in space, but there’s no doubt it would be pretty awful.
From there we launch straight into the “it’s all bad news” section of the episode, as Avasarala’s advisor Gareth (Ted Dykstra) informs her of all the various ways that Earth is fast becoming uninhabitable. The asteroid bombardment has really done a number on the human homeworld, leading Avasarala to remark that “we’re all Belters now.”
As with the MCRN Admiral, Gareth seems pretty eager to kill their enemies regardless of collateral damage. He actually suggests nuking Ceres station, which earns him a look of incredulous horror from Avasarala before she locks herself in her office.
Finally, the leader of the Inner forces is granted a reprieve when she learns that her next meeting has been delayed by 15 minutes. After checking on her vitals and seeing a bunch of warnings, she shuts off the lights and sets an alarm for 10 minutes later…only for her terminal to immediately buzz. The exhaustion that Aghdashloo exudes here is so strong you can’t help but feel it with her.
The call is from her granddaughter on Earth, who is growing her own indoor garden to help their family have vegetables despite the planet’s dying atmosphere. In a show where Shohreh Aghdashloo has had so many chances to display her amazing acting chops, I shouldn’t be so impressed when she does it again, but I am. The barely restrained emotion in her eyes during this scene is just so powerful.
After sending the message, Avasarala kicks the lights back on, sends a message to her doctor telling him to get the “medication we discussed” ready for her, and then brusquely orders the person who was late to the meeting to hurry the hell up. There’s work to be done, and despite the fact that Avasarala is clearly stretched thin, she’s not giving up.
This also sets up a minor plotpoint that we circle back to later in the season, during Episode 5. In that episode, we see Avasarala inject herself with a stimulant before her meeting with Holden. “Zenobia” sets that up, while also letting us know just how long Avasarala has been pushing herself past her own limits.