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We are just your average married couple who love watching and talking about science-fiction television. The Expanse is the series we’re talking about and one we’re watching through for the first time! Listen to us break down episodes of The Expanse and see if it’s as good as everyone says it is. Exploring The Expanse is released to our Patreon first and so if you want to hear more of our discussions then come over and support the podcast.
This week we’re exploring The Expanse episode “Doors & Corners”
It’s time to unleash the blue goo!
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[Music]
hello Rachel hello Ryan how are you doing good how are you oh I'm feeling mischievous because I have evil science that could help save us
all and I'm feeling smug because I guessed a lot of things right boy you do that a lot so you get to be smug quite a bit how about you are you feeling mischievous evil scientist smug H you know like uh we're traveling the road okay we're traveling the road people in case you have not listened to this podcast before we are yum yum podcast a husband and wife team who drive across the country watching science fiction television and we record every single episode while we're driving that's correct is that dangerous who cares because it's more important to hear two people go in depth on their opinions on a piece of Science Fiction television and we are watching for the first ever time that's right the first ever time the expanse and we're just making our way into season 2 we are in the early days and I hope you enjoy what you hear from us and what we have to say about the Beloved the revered series that is the expanse as we explore it one at a time Rachel you know why we're called yum yum so please could you just remind everyone why we're called that and not the blue goo podcast cast well because you're no fun you're no fun and even though they directly called it blue goo last episode you you didn't uphold your end of the bargain and change the name of this podcast to blue blue group podcast yeah I like I think we should do it at least for the expans I'm going to set up an email blue goo podcast gmail.com and if somebody emails us saying I demand that you change the name of the podcast to Blue Goo podcast I'll consider it but we're actually called yum yum podcast because of what reason again because of Star Trek Discovery being a [ __ ] showing you loving it because it was so ridiculous in season 2 gone are the days of actress and Oscar winner Michelle yo proposing murder and an individual being paid to respond with yum yum I don't think those days are necessarily gone she's an actress that plays a lot of badass roles I'm sure she's asking people if they want to help murder somebody the Yum Yum part of it is the the the key here and what is so brilliant about it is it's out of nowhere and it's very sexual in nature and that brings us onto our next part of the Pod where we are going to get into the discussion of this episode of the expanse season 2 episode 2 doors and Corners the description according to IMDb is brilliant because it's quick and to the point Holden and crew stage a dangerous raid in search of information about the Proto molecule and in this episode of the expanse what did you find to be particularly arousing something that made you want to lick your lips throw your hair back and say yum yum like that character in Star Trek discovery I know what it was for me but I'm ke to hear was what it was I want to hear from you I want to hear from you please you got be excited I don't know what you your pick is I want to hear it we cut to a scene in a bar yes and we see her enter Ava solaro we see Chris Jen enter in one of the most gorgeous outfits ever you made the point where I was like she's [ __ ] bangging stunning was the word you Ed to describe and her throughout that entire scene was just smoldering I was oh I was sweating from how much she was just just burning off of that screen into my soul I just thought that scene was just amazing and it was it was that type of arousal in which it's just this is such a wellp put together thing they've got her in this amazing outfit and that and that actress is getting to play up being a bit bit more cocky and a bit more snarky and I was just here for every single moment of that now for you what was it it was the bar scene as well like she is smoldering and uh the vulnerability that is with that Cockiness I find extra sexy
um and then of course I have my Amos moment oh do you have one I didn't think he was that sexy in this but what did you get um but uh getting to see him hang on and use the grav boots to try and hold on during a gForce maneuver was pretty great and also his delivery of the line like I've got to go like I'm going I'm going I'm going I see an inner hole C9 I can patch that I'm a safe H one heart maneuver and you're done we'll get that Thruster back and we're all done I'm going as we are going through this for the first time we didn't really know what we were going to be getting into with this episode episode we made some predictions we had some thoughts and having just watched it a moment ago we don't know what one another thinks of the episode so let's just touch base on that some some just quick thoughts on this for myself I I liked it I I didn't love it as much as the previous episode I there was more in the season 2 premiere episode that I gravitated towards some really great character moments as well as action and suspense and setting up the stakes for the season to come but when it comes to the second episode it was great in following up on what we were given in the previous it didn't have as many of those wonderful character beats that I liked but the action was really well done and the things that it is propelling forward intrigues me as well as giving me answers to things is always satisfying es especially if they're things that make sense Andor it's that style in which the audience was able to put this together themselves along the journey as I stated very much at the beginning I feel a little smug because I had some theories about the protomolecule that were confirmed at the end of this but overall I enjoyed it not as much as the previous what about you I did not connect very much with this episode I think for me it was like things are happening cuz things need to move forward but I wasn't particularly invested in any of the plots other than um some specific scene where I was like oh I really like this because it's slowing down and focusing in on the characters in The M M mid of it yeah yeah uh like the Holden and Naomi scene as well like the bar scene really stands out as do most scenes with avasara oh yes with her yes yes um but that was my main thing of like it's doing its job it's doing its job that's why I always just like we're on the road we've gotten in the car for season two and we're on the way and we're sure that the destination will be reached and they know how to drive the car I understand what you're saying I enjoyed the UN side of the story it was minor in compar comp Arison to last episode there was only a handful of scenes here but each one of them was brilliant and really well done and the thing that I connected with the most because I I do feel that disconnect with what that disconnect you're talking about because there's a lot of information given this is a lot of here's information here's an answer here's some questions here is a piece of World building uh but what I really uh vibed with was Miller his story and what he was given made me very much engaged because it was an underdog tale while also utilizing what he is supremely skilled at yeah it made a lot of sense and I enjoyed what we were given but I really felt the strings of the right like the writers pulling the strings with that of like oh yeah well we need we have this big thing that's happening we have these different perspectives it wouldn't make sense for Miller to be on the ship and he says as much and we know that we need a ground assault so he's going to go with them yes it's functional yes that doesn't make it bad and it it isn't something that like I think people who aren't engaging with it as critically as we are would feel it would just be like oh yeah and Miller does this but I was like oh okay they they've shuffled Miller in here for these purposes and it has this impact and it's probably going to set up these things like I saw everything in this episode epod coming from a ways away yeah and I think a part of the struggle is this particular one had lots of little stories or lots of little it's moving everything forward just a little bit every character practically gets a thing to do and since that is the case you Fred Johnson Alex AAA yes we can go through like it's every single character in the main cast as well as some secondary characters CU we Al like I wouldn't consider Fred a main a main character and we have uh Diego oh yes the rock hopper is that his name yeah I think so um and even and and the general yeah General South though yeah yeah I I what I was trying to grasp at with this particular story and why some of it didn't work is you said it you can determine where it's going to go and you have to wait for it to get there because we have six other little stories to fill in until we can touch base with that Miller I liked it a lot because I did understand what it was going to be and it was something where and I love when this happens in a show when you are given the storyline of a character and you smack your hands together and go baby I love that and this is going to be excellent you know it because it's something that caters to your sensibilities and this was definitely one for me and this is such a a far cry statement from where I was in season 1 which is Miller is better which is to say could have used more time on Miller in season 1 they had the three three story lines would cycle through and usually Miller and Holdens took up the most screen time here Miller is very very very very very far down until the end of the episode the plan boss man all right stad split them up into four groups five of you guys come with me stay sharp everybody stay sharp and watch the doors and Corners doors and Corners where they get you let's go into the UN first because they only have a couple of things happening same with Chris Jen and I adored the direction here it was so brilliantly done and every actor from even the people we we really don't know there's there's certain military figures as this uh warmongering Admiral character we have the the Secretary General of the UN is there everyone is living and breathing their roles right down to just a glance of the eye to another character I believe them yeah and you get the sense that these people have known each other a long time as well without a sense of intimacy to it these are work colleagues they are not friends they are not intimate they do not care about each other they are there for a function and that is that that's what they there for um and you got to play the game to stay in that room the Admiral who's in charge of the command Fleet the fleet command he does refuse to play the game but it touches on an aspect you were just going through which is everyone here is here to do their job but everyone has their own agenda everyone has their own thing to play with and that's what I really liked about the introduction scene when it came to this story which is Erin right it's just glances and expressions not even the dialogue it's just telling you what a shitty guy he is and that he is playing the people in the room and he's trying to stir up those emo and he is reving in his success at doing that by just interjecting one statement and cutting over to Christian and seeing her concerned but then realizing that she is expressing concern via her facial expressions and having to hide that so no one notices and people do notice as the admiral has pointed out and to see her having to try and snap back and make Aon Wright feel comfortable in his position and she flicks over this uh very vital piece of information to him because the UN are wanting to strike back or they're wanting to back down they will they see it as Mars has done this act of aggression we must at least equal that active aggression and I friend an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth even though there hasn't been a direct uh confrontation shots have been fired in some way so we must fire some the balance at least like they're still kind of in that zone of like War it's probably not a good idea and we should maybe try and avoid it but we cannot let it seem like Mars is the greater power that's unacceptable or the victim we need to make it so that Mars is cornered and they lash out and it's them who started it Christian flicks over this information to Aon wri about this important base of operations for Mars that would be valuable to take and even before we get told what it is I was so Overjoyed by the Expressions these two gave each other they gave each other some [ __ ] me eyes eyes look to one another when she flicked it over and he had he just Dawning realization and he gave her a look of
Chrissy you naughty Vixen oh you're at it again Chrissy and she just returned the look with yeah I did it are you going to say it for everyone else to hear oh my I know that these two are enemies really but I really wish that we could see or could have seen what it was like when they were on the same page wholeheartedly because these two actors work so well I'm so glad that Shawn Doyle is getting more to do in the season because last last one we knew him because of his work and Star Trek Discovery so we gave him a lot more attention than this series itself was and he was having to play Cold bureaucrat now he's getting to I don't want to necessarily say ham it up but he is getting to indulge in a little bit more uh villainy in the character of Aaron Wright and I just I love it I I really love this character I just love that he's a shitty Whipping Boy for the corporation and he doesn't like it but he's going to do it and he's good at it that's the thing this whole sequence is him really proud of what a piece of garbage he is so good so good now when it comes to the UN and they're going to take this base because Aaron Wright proposes this idea and everyone in the room seems to say yeah that's brilliant let's just do that even the Secretary General gives the oh we'll get that passed through but we W agree on this right now I'm going to put up this foe this foe pretense of not being on board with it but I'm actually on board with it the real diplomatic way of saying let's kill people but the Admiral that we like so much who I I haven't heard refuses to tow the line they haven't said his name on on on the show I I think I saw it on IMDb because I was just looking at the cast and I think they said his name on IMDb but that's a weird thing about the expense there's so many characters they just don't say their name out loud maybe you'll see it in writing or if they do they wait a while I find that frustrating because I just want to know characters names especially him because he's one that I've liked since the beginning he's a he's been a minor recurring character and they've given him more attention but he refuses to participate in this Bloodshed to instigate a war to play dirty politics he is done with it because he has principles he has morals and he will not Bend he will not break and he refuses and he even refuses to engage with their pomposity of of oh well if you're going to do that then that means you're going to let's just cut through the [ __ ] I resign I step down I'm out yeah like don't don't pretend that this is a question we know what's going on here like the fact that he refuses to play the game in that moment he's just like no I'm calling you out on your [ __ ] and they keep on trying to do things the way that they do things and he's just like no I'm [ __ ] done I'm done they're trying to minimize what they're doing they're trying to obus skate it dress it up make it seem less hostile than what it actually is less hum human than what it is uh because what they they're doing is immoral uh but they don't care and so they're going to use this flowery way of talking and so he stands up and refuses he says I'm no longer going to be the fleet commander I step down hand it over to somebody else I'm washing my hands of this what did you think of that because we have been noticing his character and how for somebody who began as as an entity to give Exposition he has slowly been blossoming into someone with World Views and a very important perspective to highlight the changes in avara's character as well um as well as presenting a different world viw on these issues and that that's always been very consistent which is something that I appreciate and I think that that's uh a sign either either way of doing the writer is doing a good job but that might be that they've built him up and they know the purpose of him and or using the books as a resource to build up and build out these other characters so that they feel like real people in a real world and to make it when you shake up the status quo to actually have it feel meaningful because I now am actively aware of the horror that the UN can bestow upon the system now that the one guy who has been logical rational speaking from a place of military perspective that isn't just kill kill kill annihilate destroy the one guy in on the side of Earth who is is trying to advocate for peace has stepped out has said I'm not doing it anymore you are going to bring Reckoning upon us all and it is on you I'm going to try and minimize the body count that's where I live now because you guys are damned I I I I find that very exciting to watch in the show to see how this is going to unfold uh when when he did stand up and he refused what was your what was your reaction to that and the Fallout of it within the episode I was a bit surprised at first and then I was like good on you good on you for actually standing up for what you believe in and refusing to justify staying in a awful situ sitation in an awful situation where you are trying to do the right thing and nobody's listening to you and not being like Oh I can I can fix it from the inside but being like no that's it I'm done I worry for him because the experience has definitely shown us within this season and a bit that the ones who succeed the ones that thrive are the those who can adapt those who can bend and he cannot he does not Bend he is firm he is rigid he is staunch in his opinions and thankfully they're ones that we the audience see as good but even right down to what he likes to drink he doesn't Bend he he he he gives we we cut to the scene in in ax where he's drinking beer and and Chris Jen comes in and they share some bars at one another and it's just this little touch of she insists that he should drink Scotch because that's a proper drink that's a proper drink and you're an officer you're you're a high-ranking member of the military you drink Scotch he gives it a sip he doesn't like it I prefer my beer she'll pay even right down to his preferences on what he likes to drink he's very adamant on and he will oppose other options he was a hero to Earth and despised everywhere else all based on a lie but you know what he never said a word didn't even try to clear his name just walked away so does that make him a hero or a traitor I don't know what it makes him but I know that he's an honorable man who held on to his soul and that is a tough thing to do in this line of work not bad I prefer beer she's buying so we find out that according to a source that this General trusts the UN hid the truth from Fred Johnson that they didn't let him know that the people who had takeen over Anderson station were trying to surrender and that they had sent out that message which we got to see last season yeah they said the the idea was Earth was jamming their Communications and they were able to receive them but Fred Johnson and his group weren't receiving those messages as far as they knew these terrorists were holding the station and refusing to bow down yep and he probably wasn't told why they were doing it which we know from the footage that we got to see last season which it I really appreciate the decision to make those flashbacks the further we get into the show it feels really important that we got to see Johnson reacting on the station and that you can project a lot of things onto that expression that we saw him have the I have become death expression makes more sense now because what the Admiral goes over is if Fred Johnson did know he would not have done it because he has morals and he has a conscience and he has a soul and so something that like you know playing in this world keep on using the expression playing the game playing the game but being a being somebody of importance in the universe of the expans you have to they expected they expect you to be soless to be like the ma family or to be like Aon Wright where people acting like corporations and corporations acting like people hence this Anderson station got butchered in the first place because they were costing the corporations a bit of money yep they were inconvenient and it was a way to put the boot on the bels and so and look Justified doing all of that was covered up and swept under the rug by the by the previous people in the UN and it has been perpetually covered up and so Fred Johnson eventually found this out and this was the the the the the the Avenue that they took that I wasn't expecting so I was wondering as were you how did he leave why would he leave now I didn't expect this particular information to come but but the thing I really was I also found it a bit devastating was once he knew he didn't try to clear his name he didn't try to he just stepped away he walked away from it all he received these accolades knowing knowing and then he just walked away because because he still wanted to hold on to his soul and no matter how much he tries to explain himself it means very little in comparison to actions and we have seen Fred Johnson actively portray himself as somebody who is on the Road to Redemption without per without without expressing with his words that oh I was innocent about that Anderson station butchering because he isn't innocent he still did pull the trigger he still did kill those people now if he knew what was going on he wouldn't have but he didn't and he still and he did do it and there's a level of ownership you have to take when it comes to that cuz you still change it he can't go back and change what he did in the way that it ended and to just throw your hands in the air and throw blame to the powers that be will get you nothing it will only bring Devastation upon you so instead turn over to the OPA and help them and Strike Back use your knowledge your expertise for something quote unquote greater and then that brilliantly pivots us over to Fred Johnson who's back in the episode like he's back in this show we haven't seen him in a little while and he was strange to me in this episode he was very wired as a character the actor was playing him very differently to how we saw him last season where he was very calm and reserved and together voice felt different to me like it felt like it had a more manic Stern quality to it as well like the analogy that I'm going to go with to try and explain the quality of the voice performance cuz very much feels like a very deliberate oh yeah Choice um it's kind of like um you know the explanation of like how atams work of like they're on this tiny level and they're bouncing around and humming with the energy feels like every cell in his body is vibrating and he's trying to contain it and stay still so it just feels like he a a can of soda that's been shaken up real good and it's just sitting there and you can sort of hear it and you feel this tenseness but there's nothing on the outside that's giving it away there not look of the thing it's it's the feel it's the weight it's the sound I was wondering if there was a change in the way to to play the character in between the seasons whether the actor decided it or somebody came over and said we need Johnson to be more like this whether it is for the sake of the show or oh we got to be more book accurate because nerds care about that but what was actually going on in my opinion as somebody who's not read the book as somebody who's again this is first time experienced with the show I could be wrong but they were trusting of us the viewer to go along with the ride because when he came on I felt very very disorientated with how he was presenting himself very different to how he saw him at the end of the last season but as the episode goes along I slow it it dawned on me over the course of the 45 minutes that it was him in despair of the fact that this image that he's built up of himself over however long has to be thrown away and he has to embrace the side of himself that he despises again the man who has to send people off to die the man who has to make the battle plans the man who has to kill when we saw him in that first season those were things that he was capable of they were threatened but really he came across as the man who was wanting to be the state man the gentleman the almost Messianic figure you can trust me I'll give you sanctuary and the man who calls the shots from very far away but here we see that there are many many many moments where he's confronted with the notion of being the the guy who draws blood again the man on the on the front line who has to kill people again we have the OPA hate him as well there are factions in the OPA which was given to us last episode and they're reemphasizing it here of the OPA isn't necessarily just one unified group there's multiple factions within it and they all have differences of opinion but they're working towards a similar thing overall it's an alliance that's it it's in the title The outerplanar Alliance and people don't like Fred Johnson in the OPA and that I mean how did that feel just to get that confirmed because with what we were given about Fred Johnson it was very confusing how he could be such a respected member of the OPA considering with what he did in the past you would think that the OPA would hate him the most that they exist to fight against what he did he's the gun that the UN used against belters and now he's part of the fold you're just an earther pl belter we don't need you giving us orders and we don't need you picking our Target I loved that scene where Fred is getting dressed down by the OPA they're going through the classic we hate you not only that he he he he tags that oh this guy's a gun right there I'll make sure that I know that's there so I can make sure he doesn't grab it and shoot me while I do this he grabs him and smashes his head against the bulk of the ship and then throws him into the airlock and ejects him into space and everyone stands there and lets it happen and and just just cow underneath the absolute bossness of Fred John Johnson we have been Fred Johnson fans we have liked the character because of all of these Shades of Gray what did you think about that in this episode where they they're really playing around with the morality of his character and can he keep it if he has to go back into the old way of being because he has that conversation with his uh with his right-hand woman about how he has to lie and manipulate and let people die I really enjoyed his line on the ship and it annoys me that I can't remember it exactly but how he's just like everybody she's like everybody here is a volunteer and he's just like yeah that was the best way to do it to make it think that them think that it was their
choice Christian wants to talk to Fred Johnson she needs to talk to him this is an act of treason to talk to him because he holds certain pieces of information that is valuable and when we when we cut over to Fred Johnson to see him to see him using similar tactics to what she uses helps to strengthen why her story line exists in tandem to others because she's all the way over there on Earth you can say that the Earth stuff feels very isolated and adjacent but they keep finding ways to thematically tie them together and plot-wise tie them together yeah she's learning about Fred Johnson Fred Johnson also has a plot in this episode so that works on that literal level but the mirroring of these two characters and how one of them is far more comfortable and one of them is very uncomfortable having to do very similar things the crew of the Rossy make it back to Tao station they drop off some of those people that they saved Alex is very much caring for them a little bit too much he he he's sticking his nose where it doesn't need to be and they meet up with Fred Johnson and he is very pissed off at them barking at them trying to make them serve even though they aren't soldiers for him and it really turned around for me and and I thought this was a brilliant piece of acting when they give him the footage and the information about iro station and what happened there and that it was not what the news is telling you but it was a weapon and that this is a genocide an active genocide the look on Johnson's face of Horror of of of absolute despair with that realization of oh it's happening again they're doing it again Earth is [ __ ] over the little guy and this is the worst way they could ever do it it helped strengthen his character in the episode just just that expression of oh my God instead of reacting to oh I'm angry we've got to do the mission and Strike Back they took a moment to actually let the gravity of what Earth is doing just wash over the character as it should don't you agree yes so what's the mission they have to strike back against what Earth is doing so what does the gang get up to they have as we knew figured out where this information is being streamed to they watched all the cameras being set up that was a whole thing and now they're like we're going to go where it's being sent to and try and figure out sort of what's Happening why is it happening can we stop it um and then they discover that at this station who which name I cannot remember right now uh at this station there is a stealth ship so then they have to figure out a way to try and get through and thus we get some fun scenes with Alex doing practice runs on his little console up in the sort of cockpit area and running through them with Fred um and being like that was your best one yet he died a second into it it was good and they did it they set that up and they pay it off later they set up the maneuver Alex was trying to do and he uses it later and it succeeds simple trick but it worked on me it worked on me that was one where I actually said hey he's using the trick that he learned earlier y classic screenwriting I really like that it's like um oh somebody has a line about it about it like being uh tricky I think is Holden when Holden is talking to Naomi he has a moment of being like now Alex has got this the crew of the Rossy team up with Fred Johnson and they coordinate this plan they have information Fred has the resources let's work together and it was a much better ex like much better execution of it in this season than last season agreed Fred talking to these people and actually abiding by them made sense this time round rather than last season where he just let Holden do whatever once because Holden said so it it it lined up but they even grapple with it on a moral level of working with Fred Johnson they they they they they question if what they're doing is right because he is still a very Infamous and Troublesome figure and for Naomi specifically they go over her relationship with the OPA and how is this right to bring you back into their grip again we we do get a little bit more clarity when it comes to Naomi's background um with that conversation with Holden when they're doing all the things with the spanners and we're getting a little bit of a reminder about how the ship Works inventory they're counting up yeah the ammunition and everything yep um and just doing doing the admin doing the admin which is a nice backdrop to this conversation where they have the hey were you and Amos a thing um and it's just like he's like my brother just like oh okay that could been a lot of different things does he know that is the thing he says as the jealous boyfriend type that's that's what Holden wants to make sure of it's like yeah yeah you know he wanted to kill me right yeah yeah yeah as brothers often do and as somebody who is married to a person with a very overprotective brother let me tell you factual true 100% Rachel's brother did want to kill me at one point so and I survived to tell you the tale the tale of Rachel's brother on the podcast I liked that scene overall it was it was good to I didn't like when I I like it it's more I like that we just got some information we had it yeah and I like the very broad explanation of her history with the OPA that we are given as well like we are just getting a little fill in of Naomi's backstory in general like the part with Amos the part with the Opa we do not know how old she was what it was but the important part of that scene for me at least was we know how whatever happened weighs on her and it was easy to get sucked into being basically radicalized yep and how when you join an organization like the PA let's not beat around the bush a terrorist group you commit acts and it feels Justified and then the next one feels Justified and it's an and it's an even more heinous act and then at some point or another you either succumb to the moral depravity of it all like with uh uh Anderson dors obviously he's a great example he doesn't care he has no qualms about it hence he left Julie to die something that's also called out in this episode by Miller straight up to Fred Johnson where oh the OPA care but at the same time the OPA will leave each other for dead because it's a doggy dog world we only care if a number one even though Julie tried to do the morally right thing it cost her her life and she died but you fall down that road or you get where Naomi is where you realize and you can't you can't justify it and you have to remove yourself the the the the the the conversation really boil down to giving her a Justified reason to be doing this because last season she was so anti Fred Johnson and the OPA so why would we have a plot where she's doing it and instead of justifying it with some really Hackney thing about like he is multiple story lines where her and Fred Johnson have warmed up to each other no no know it's more about her mentality it's more about her world viw and being able to see her place in these conflicts and how saving lives in this instance is more important who I said never
again but this time it's different after
AOS are you scared I'm angry Alex and Amos went to the bar again different bar but went to the bar again different bar uh amamos is still a [ __ ] as soon as soon as we get that closeup on Alex when he's just going on his tie raid when they're at the bar I'm like Amos is gone Amos is gone no two ways about it and then it went on and then it was still going on and I'm like come on Alex come on Alex come on come on come on ah there you go and somebody was there though yeah a woman that Amos paid or or set up to hey if you go here you promise to pay you get some drinks and and you get to listen this guy just yabber on and is that good thumbs up up okay didn't see it but I liked hearing about that I like their friendship Alex and Amos or or this their bro bro buddy you sit 5 feet apart because they're not gay they're equip yeah they're an Odd Couple aren't they because Amos is emotionally detached and Alex is very emotional yes uh talk and cheese chalk and cheese freck and Frack yes I thought yeah yeah freak and Frack sure I was going I thought you going to say frictionless for a second then it made me think of Babylon 5 and those sheets that Sinclair was given in the pilot Alex is very upset because he got called out in the previous episode for not saving people and he actually feels about that now like he's actually thinking about it and thus he's trying to help the people from Aeros that they did manage to save and he's the one that's caught up in what happens to them and wanting to make sure that they get a good job and then being upset when at least one of them was confirmed to be on the shuttle that got destroyed on the breach pod that got obliterated in the attack to try and the FED get to the station oh God yeah were they the FedEx I know there's a there's a pod or just a shipping container that's fed X both of them had fed x on it so it's very amusing that fed X makes it into into the future it's like in Babylon 5 when zema made it into the future as a drink I I that was just amusing I like it when certain piece of Science Fiction really hedged their bets on what will make it like in Blade Runner as well where it was like PanAm uh that was very amusing and look how that worked out and then blade rder 2049 still doubl down on that even though aren't really around so no no it's just like why why don't more things do that with Coke like that's already lasted o like yeah close to 200 years well Blade Runner got that right at least something else something ridiculous I don't think it is quite too what about future arm with Pepsi the Next Generation yeah I like that and the Pepsi joke what do you think about this Al Side Story I I I didn't really care for it honestly yeah and I'm like oh you're getting some business you're getting some stuff to do um I didn't really care much and it just felt like they didn't want to overlook the cost of life and their role in lingo death H happened like I hesitate to phrase it that way but that's kind of the way that Alex is framing it in his head now of like we should have done more we let those people die cuz we didn't save them rather himself we saved ourselves which is amos's perspective I give it a that that classic meme Gold Star Sticker that says you tried it's not as if this doesn't have Merit to it but it's done in the most it's done in the most quick way yeah it it feels like obligatory in a very specific kind of way it's it's not fleshed out it is exactly what you read on the tin okay Alex feels guilty about not saving lives at the end he still feels guilty because the ones that he was hoping to help one of them died maybe this will play out more I hope that this is just a a speed bump in the road for Alex as a character because I have been wanting them to give him more juicy material and it this is the kind of stuff they've regularly given him thus far just just little things just a little little oh here you go just a scrap of a storyline for you the actor is very good in this role he's very char charismatic I like the character as a character type but and him being the dad and that all works and him being the friend to everyone works but when they give him like little things that's it they're little things speaking of little things that are developing and building up over time we get the junior rock hopper Diego back again um and he's on the little tin can with Miller and you know um surprise surprise Miller throw up again I really I [ __ ] enjoyed Miller so much he is so much better as being the Fish Out of Water character rather than being the man who knows it all oh man he and and Thomas Jane is really good at the comedy here as well as doing the Rah R I'm in charge I'll save your butt but he's on the breaching pod and honestly I feel like such a goober it took me a little bit of time to realize that that was the Rockhopper kid I was like was that the rock oper kid accent I swear has shifted again thicker yeah cuz he's been spending more time with belters his uncle died so now his accent really thick he's trying to emulate his uncle that's what he's trying to do yeah he's he's become radicalized yes yes th th thus he's there and thus he thinks that he's in Invincible that's a funny shot with the Chell guns oh yes when they board the station he gets shot in the face I thought he literally died I was like oh that's funny they brought him back to kill him and then I had that moment too and then they realized basically it's a paintball gun basically and just like oh we we killed all of them and they're defenseless and the kid wipes off his helmet and he screams out that he's invincible and if that's going to be his little thing because we wanted to know this character the last the last time we saw this character he was floating in the void of space and we never saw him again and no other person other like only Miller has interacted with him so when we ended last season not touching anything with that mhm we we were scratching our heads going okay obviously something's going to proceed forward but how yeah like don't just do this for no reason and instead they just did it off screen yeah he got picked up by some fellow belters and now he's here is basically what I predicted of oh I'm sure off screen he'll be swooped up by Fred Johnson's group or the UN or the OPA and it it happened yep I don't like it clearly they want him around for one reason or another um I hope that it's something interesting but I do not give a [ __ ] right now he has I don't give a [ __ ] with how they've led him here I'm not opposed to relationship with Miller being this very energetic cocky kid to Miller's beat down cynical but still goofy older man the I'm going to save your butt now actually I'm going to save your butt because you're out of your element because Miller has he doesn't like space and he throws up and he's weak and he can barely grab his helmet as it flat above his head it's out of it's Out Of Reach and like I particularly like that contrast with the cynicism because it really nicely sets up Miller's attitude for when he kills the evil scientist at the very end and to have Miller be so out of his element you need a character there who knows what he strength is because if this was instead Miller is in a in a ship filled with people who don't know him and yet they have to look at him as the leader of the group and they still present the story would still present him as they did in the ship where he's throwing up he can't grab his helmet he doesn't know their procedures you would say why would anyone listen to him so to give him this fun little back and forth with this kid who does know him he calls him star Helix he calls him a filthy cop he asks him why he's here people are hearing this mhm it helps humanize Miller instead of making him a joke or making him like Holden was in the first season where I asked boy why would anyone listen to him other than his main character yeah because when they get on the station he takes control because now he's in his element space is in his element but being on the ground with a gun that's what he's good at get this guy out here nothing happens to this guy get him out of here out here I need scientists alive [Music] guys guys they get on this station they had a big battle with the stealth ship it was well done it was good it was impressive it was done better than the previous stealth ship battle they showed us the glory shots yeah and we got a sense of geography this time I was going to say that I had a sense of where everybody was and in the relation of things and the scale of things were much clearer in this particular battle but everyone gets on to the station and Miller's group comes across these scientists and they're all hooked up to these VR things and they're too busy in that and then they I like that they're nonresponsive until Miller disconnects them and then they are in Hulk ra Hulk like rage probably some ly kick they're not fully with it and his group of guys just mow down all of them except for one that put in the corner he managed to say cuz he he says corners and doors that's where they'll get you that's that was a very good title drop to have Miller is really hilarious as a character now because I got a good laugh out of Thomas Jan's not just line delivery but his body language of ah come on guys come on you're not you're supposed to save one of them like you're not supposed to kill all the scientists he's really I need this one alive I need this one Alive come on he's really disappointed in his group that they murdered everyone basically he's so disappointed come on I you're Opa but get your [ __ ] together and then you cut to that one guy and even he looks disappointed in in himself like he yeah you know what Daddy Miller has called me out here God jeez yeah there's a reason that he's just defaulted to being in charge yeah he's he's got his head screwed on straight that thought I was going to be the head hon show just because I'm a big musly guy doesn't mean I'm a smart guy but I thought I would be the top dog Miller stumbles across the evil scientist who proudly gives us the information the exposition the justification and his mentality is all about let me do evil science because it will benefit mankind as a whole I have noil in context morality doesn't matter survival is what matters and he doesn't even have allegiance to who he does a science for if you let me do it for you I don't care let me do science let me make Humanity great let us evolve into something else it really gave me Vibes uh that I it really uh reminded me of the attitude of people who worked with the Nazis to invent the most efficient way of killing the most amount of Jews possible with the least amount of resources like the way to make it the most efficient Mass murdering possible I thought you're going to reference that there was also a lot of uh scholarly like people who looked at how the Nazis were trying to give the Master race uh a chance the whole let's actually do the master race and try to look at it with merits and try and do the if we remove the fascism angle to it all there's some actual logic here that [ __ ] uh the people who are like but the Nazis did give us various scientific advantages let's just bust it open he gives a very mustache twirling evil science I keep saying evil science because that's what it is it's science but evil and I was right I made predictions could you go over what he said and your understanding of what the protone molecule is all about and why they want it and why they need it treating it as a weapon that has been sent from another galaxy and it was originally intended for Earth to take over Earth to reform life on the planet and to destroy us yes he says they fired the first shot so we must fire one back which goes you don't know that it you don't know you don't know it goes back to the to the UN and their dilemma nobody's really fired any shots but it feels like they have so we must fire them back they're posturing so we must posture but we have to be ready to fire if they fire but we don't want to fire first cuz then we would look like the bad guys but we don't want to wait for them to fire because we don't want to look weak and so the protomolecule is this alien weapon that was launched here and so we have captured it now and we're studying it and what has he figured out and why does this scientist need it so badly what's the plan
man like he says a bunch of [ __ ] but he he just he's just excited by it he's excited by the power of it and he wants he wants to be the one in control he wants to be the one that saves humanity and doesn't care about how much of humanity he tramples on to get there you could test this protomolecule on some bacteria I don't give a [ __ ] about bacteria how it affects microbes I want to see it on people he wants to do experiments to make it so that we can evolve into a new species beyond our bodies Beyond he wants it so that we can evolve into a species that can survive anything because this has the properties that can make you adapt terraform in a way like I was saying in our last discussion survive the harsh realities of space and gravity and it goes back to the very very first few episodes I think it might even even been do where it's just like there's these two things that we need and that are rationed in the universe and that's air and water he wants us to evolve beyond the need for those things either you're going to reference that the belters are slowly changing their bodies are growing in different ways there are people with longer Limbs and Bone differences and that in a way living in space is making us evolve into something else and this ties is it Evolution or deformities is a is a question that is sort of more justified in bringing up now because when we got the initial explanation of like oh you can always tell a Bel by this way is you got this thing or you got this thing or some people some deformity or some tattoo or some yeah some variation and he as a as an antagonist this this scientist he has two things at least propelling his need to use the protomolecule military might in terms of we weaponize it so we can strike back and the Intrigue of it the allore of it the Proto molecule is proof that we're not alone in the universe and are ticken out of the limitations that bind us to these pathetic little bubbles of rock and air if we Master it we can apply it apply it to what to everything we become our own Gods everyone in the room except for one sees the validity of this mad man's point and that's why I [ __ ] loved Miller in this episode he doesn't he doesn't mess around he just shoots this guy in the head comes over and shoots him more because Holden and Johnson are actually siding with the scientist and letting him do what he wants they're going to let him be the Earth is the Earth is one of which is a product of genetic manipulation and splicing and has grown up in a weird political cult and Fred Johnson who is this man who who thinks that this is a way to strike back since the very first scene of this series The protomolecule the blue goo has been there yep it has been the thing hanging over everything as this is what our sci-fi shows going to revolve around question it's the like it's the question at the heart of the show what is and why is and what are people going to do with it now we know what do you think or now we know more what do you think my opinion hasn't changed too much since the last time that we got a little bit of information on it it's just like okay okay yeah this thing can either go be either way it depends on how you use it I also like what if it was just a pure [ __ ]
accident I fear it as a thing because two words I said it once and I'll say it again super soldiers I suffered through the X5 s and the super soldier Arc of that and this is giving me major PTSD flashbacks to it and I and look is it fair to hold the expanse be to that because the xils fumbled the ball no it isn't fair but at the same time I've seen as have you a lot of science fiction or fantasy properties properties take this idea of blah we weaponize it evil Corporation wants to weaponize it we must get the xenomorph and weaponize it we must get the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park and weaponize is evil in space and it can work and can be very very striking and it can just hit so well but it's just something where I'm just tired man it's been done and other elements of the expand I'm I'm looking at you Ava salara give us hope that the expanse is going to do something different it's just that the evil madman scientist is played so arched and written so arched in a way that's deeply familiar thus I feel very uncomfortable with the state of things when it comes to the protomolecule because it's not only deeply familiar but it has been very poorly handled a lot of the time Prometheus with its black goo like I said alien with the xenomorph we must we weaponized the xenomorph the super soldiers and xfiles I dread it but I'm going to give the series a chance even though it has been a little cheesy here and there with this I mean the mad scientist even is Mr oh we are going to skip all those preliminary f is because I want to do it now okay I guess maybe they're going to explore more of why that is the case why there's why there is such an emphasis on needing it done within a time frame because that's something I don't understand why does it need to be rushed to such a to such an extent is it just sheer human failing is that what they're going to go with I I feel like there's going to be like
my uh intuition no not even that just my pure guess basically is that the idea comes from the fact that this has appeared recently so we need to respond as quickly as possible and there's multiple groups that once they know about it will want it yeah like we've we must fast we've got to work fast because we have the all of these pressures and also like he's so like the scientist that is in charge of everything is so driven as is Julie's Dad it's hilarious that they end it on this big dramatic sting like Miller what the [ __ ] did you do instead of Miller you did the right [ __ ] thing yeah I don't know do you think that we're supposed to feel that way like you're supposed to feel like Miller what the [ __ ] did you do I think you meant to be like I get it Miller but you [ __ ] up you didn't think no I I agree I agree that like he wanted revenge for Julie right that's the main reason that like Miller wanted him dead oh and like that was the start and then hearing him go on about the molecule and AOS being like just a blip a nothing right yeah and the guy wanted to just skip all of the steps he didn't want to do the this you know work it up oh Miller was the one who's like why don't you do it on these bacteria well I don't want to do it on the bacteria I want to do it on pathetic people I don't care about its impact on bacteria as like uh like that line does Stand Out thus I think we've mentioned it a couple of times but it it is to me like well no like realize that Mill is right and that yeah maybe they could have gotten more information and more data from that dude but there was a risk in keeping him alive that Holden and Johnson weren't acknowledging on a scale of yum being bad and yum yum being good to honor the Yum Yum moment from Star Trek Discovery what would you rate this episode of the expanse I really don't know where I land on this because it's not good which technically means that it shouldn't be a yum yum you don't find this episode good like it it's not it's aage to me it's doing its job it's moving every along there were a couple of scenes that I really like but it felt like an episode that was very plot heavy and focused on moving everything a little bit forward and but then I'm like there was nothing major that I didn't like about it so it feels weird to give it a yum as well like it's a classic middle of the road for me and thanks to you making it a binary rating system no half yums are allowed we don't do that just for everyone out there listening we don't do half yums it's it's bad or good what is it I don't feel like giving mediocrity a boost so it's a yum for me yum this episode is is higher rated than the previous one I don't feel it's better than it though we didn't have Draper in it either we didn't see her but I struggle because I understand what you're saying but I had a good time watching the episode and I think it offered a lot to discuss the expans has that in its favor where the episodes themselves can be what you're going through where they they they go through the minations of serialized storytelling in the Modern Age of Television of Television but what comes with that is being able to reflect on what you have watched and to actually go over the wealth of material given not only in terms of information and character beats but themes there was a lot of thematic relevance to the episode lots of weight given to that and so I give this episode a very solid reliable and but also mild Yum Yum Yum Yum what is the title of the next episode static o episode 3 season two we will not be reading the description or looking at any of it just the title alone static I have no clue what the episode has within it nor do you Rachel but if you have to make a guess what are some of your predictions when it comes to the next episode Andor any predictions for the show that have been maybe founded via watching the episode we've just gone over I think we're going to get more of the scientist that was saved yes they did save one and he was weird mhm I think we're going to get more debate slash argument slash arrogance from the Triad of Fred Jim and I can't remember Miller's right Joe Joe I was like it's a j name and I wanted to say Joe and Fred
yep Jim Joe and Fred uh having debates I think we're g to get some more of that I think um aisara is going to uh maybe be working on the plan to contact Fred Johnson I don't know if like in the meantime they're going to manage to get that or if it's going to be her working towards that go I hope that we see more of her newly acquired right-hand man spy I like I liked that he was there in the background of the bar scene and then came over yeah I hope that's where that story goes where they give more screen time to him so we can actually see and experience why he is here rather than hey Christian I did it off screen and here it is now and thus I'm important my main thrust when it comes to prediction is what you said I think we're going to have a debate and a conflict between those three characters but I think it's going to be focused way more on Miller and Holden disagreeing because they've been friendly this season at the moment they've been Buddy Buddy and we need to see them be jerks to one another again and I think this is going to be where Holden comes in to be m a morally stupid wh nighting Don kyote about it all I think also we're going to get a little bit of the Mars perspective again because we didn't get it this episode as you I I think you mentioned earlier um by the the characters name specifically dra wasn't here yeah yeah we didn't get any Draper and I think will get a little bit of that now that Earth has made this plan to go to this other station and [ __ ] [ __ ] up I feel like we'll get her perspective and uh her in the process of like being mobilized for that maybe oh oh I've got another prediction this is the last prediction havlock will not be in the episode and we'll be happy about it I was totally wrong with my prediction of this episode Anderson doors didn't turn up I really thought we were going to get a lot of Anderson doors I I still got it in the ballpark dropped I got it in the ballpark of the OPA would be involved but maybe I'm going to make my prediction again Anderson doors will be in the next episode you just said that that was your last one havlock was your last one okay Anderson doors will not be in the next episode because havlock not in it
no thank you all so much for tuning in and listening to us get through this particular episode of the expanse I hope you all had a good time and please do not spoil anything for us as we're making our way through we don't want to hear any of that because uh hey this is our first time watch and uh we just want to go in as blind as possible we haven't read the books haven't seen the show know very little about it overall and uh it's been a pretty fun ride thus far if you are not supporting us on patreon you're really missing out you can hear our discussions on the expanse uh over there we release these episodes for our patrons first so if you're listening to this on the Main feed you can go over to the patreon on and listen to episodes ahead right now yes right now you could go over there and there's so much more content we're talking about Star Trek we're talking about uh different movie franchises and we have a group Discord that you get to be a part of where you can communicate and hang out with us and some fellow yum Lings we on all of those social medias under yum yum pod or yum yum podcast everything is included in this descrip description of the episode that that that that also means if you want to contact us directly at an email address you can do so over at yumyum gmail.com or blue goo podcast at gmail.com if you want to Blue goas now I'm very distressed Rachel not only because everyone should be sharing our podcast around and I'm distressed that not everyone's doing it I I I've had a look at the numbers of everyone who listens and I've had a look at the internet and guess what doesn't line up not everyone is uh sharing the episodes with all their friends families and foes but what really upsets me is we have the OPA here and I know when don't on series anymore but what there's no got off Series yeah sorry and the rock hopper did too so does that mean the gaunt belter will be in the next episode hey Real Talk do you think we'll see him again he was very prevalent in season one ah yeah I think they're done with him I would love it but I'm not banking on it there are elements of the experience where they haven't carried over yes uh things they introduced and it is surprising now maybe they will because this is a series that goes for six seasons but in the first episode they made a real emphasis on all these different body types of the bels and since then we've only ever seen just normal act like regular folks who just look normal with a neck tattoo no other people with like madeup deformities that you can see visually or you know actors who exetic extra Prosthetics or actors who have gigantism they they've they've dropped that yep and the accents for the belters boy fluctuate all over the place hence the gaunt belter is the best because he had the thickest and he said
dustice see you then well
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