Hello Multiversity TV bingers! For this year’s Summer TV Binge, I’m tackling the SyFy/Amazon show The Expanse, based on the novels by James S. A. Corey. My boyfriend Frank joined me for our look at the first season, and as we move into the second season, I’m flying my own Rocinante all alone.
There’s a rock with a very dangerous science experiment on a fast collision course with Earth, and everyone has a solution for how to deal with it. Let’s dive into “Home” – – and as always, spoilers within.
1. God, Magic Tricks, and Physics
No one’s sure how this whole thing is working – – either in space or on Earth – – but HOLY CRAP EROS MOVED OUT OF ORBIT. Let’s let that sink in for a moment: a planet moved out of orbit. Not only that, there’s still gravity as Miller and the bomb he’s babysitting (it doesn’t have a remote detonator as you may recall, so Miller has to manually turn it off) are not floating in space. And Eros just discovered its gas pedal and is moving out of orbit faster.
This makes the angry Mormons down on Earth (who are convinced Fred Johnson stole their ship) a walk in the park.
Oh, and Earth thinks it’s Mars’s fault and they’re setting Eros on a collision course for Earth as one big bomb. Would be nice if all of these sides just talked to each other, but then, we wouldn’t have a TV series or nice dramatic tension now, would we?
But the one person who knows everything is Errinwright, who is drunk dialing Jules Mao and telling him to “rein in his [CENSORED] science experiment” or there will be Mutually Assured Destruction. I’m a 1980s kid who grew up with movies like The Day After in the rearview mirror, so this whole thing is playing out like a 23rd century version of Testament and Miracle Mile. (And if you need something to watch this Labor Day weekend, enjoy some of the 1980s finest in nuclear destruction thanks to this recap.)
2. So Crazy It Just Might Work
While the UN is losing its mind over Eros’s inevitable collision course with Earth, the Rocinante (well, specifically Naomi) have another cunning plan: have Miller crawl into the belly of the Eros with his new bomb buddy and detonate it to destroy it from within. It’s so crazy it just might work.
Yes, this was this the ending of Armageddon (and don’t @ me with “spoilers!!” the movie’s two decades old), but with one difference: Naomi is going to come up with a way to lengthen the countdown clock on the bomb so Miller can destruct and dash. Can Naomi do it? And can she do it before Earth’s nuclear arsenal reaches Eros?
3. Taking the Pet Nuke for a Walk
You’d never think a nuclear bomb would be the source of comic relief outside of deep gallows humor that’s borderline poor taste on a good day, but Miller and his uranium filled BFF do provide some of the best lines of the episode:
- “I’m going to take my pet nuke for a walk!” (Don’t forget your uranium Pooper Scooper!)
- “I didn’t count on this damn bomb loving gravity so much!”
- “Looks like I’m going to need a minute here guys.” (A little more subtle humor here since the dead man’s switch on the bomb that Miller has to manually turn off only buys him a minute of time.)
4. Caterpillars and Butterflies
At last, everyone is working together. After receiving a message from Fred Johnson offering help to make Eros visible in order for the nukes to destroy it, Avasarala convinces the UN to open a channel to talk to the Rocinante, who offer the same solution and stress the gravity of Eros’s danger to Earth (and not just from destruction). Just before the head of the UN Security Council gives his blessing to this aid, he mutters “what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
This is actually only a portion of a full quote from American writer Richard Bach from his novel Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah: “The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” Illusions is a book that questions reality at every turn – – is it merely an illusion to make us happy? It’s an appropriate philosophical question at this point in the episode – – and the series – – as everyone’s curated version of the reality around them does seem to be falling apart at the seams.
Continued below5. That Ending
While I do have my standard spoiler warning up top here, there’s no way on Earth, Mars, or Tycho Station I’m going to tell you about the last 10 or so minutes of this episode. It needs to be seen without commentary, and if you have someone in your life that has watched this show or read the books already, you are probably going to be up in their face afterwards with “you didn’t tell me THAT was going to happen!” once it’s all over. (Yes, that did play out in my house pretty much like that, just with a lot more cursing.)
I’ll leave you with two things, though:
- My jokes about this episode being “Armageddon 2.0” were a lot more on-point than I thought.
- Bring the tissues.
Afterthoughts:
– Naomi: “Hey, don’t get all Holden on me, chatting under pressure.” It’s not a good idea to throw the shade at your boyfriend when he’s STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.
– Avasarala telling her husband of her decision to stay put on Earth until the end, and his response to same, will put a lump in your throat and if it it doesn’t you are dead inside.
See you next week for “Paradigm Shift” and tell me what you thought of this episode in the comments!
