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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 “Leviathan Wakes”
It’s time to unleash the blue goo!
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hi Ryan hello Rachel how are you oh I'm feeling sick so sick of Holden being such a good guy thank goodness that that Miller drags him into some really wacky scenario iOS that make sure to reduce their lifespans real quick how about you how are you doing overall pretty good just pretty good yeah like you know casually being radiated but you know I have I got drugs so I'm highing now so it is much easier to deal with well let's hope they find some drugs they're left here just wondering oh we're dead what a great way I'm saying I I found drugs and that drug is Yum Yum the only source of nutrients that can cure you from all known and unknown diseases and viruses now I'm not a doctor so you can't take that as a doctor's word but as an Australian podcaster that's nothing more golden than a statement like that coming out of a mouth like so we are here to do what Rachel what are we what are we here for today I've got the microphone all set up and ready to record but I don't know what we're talking about until you tell me um why why why do you do that lie I'm not lying why why why do you bother uh we are here currently to discuss the expanse in particular particular episode 9 of season 1 and we have not watched the expans before this is our first time going through the show unraveling the big conspiracy as it unfolds in front of us so please no spoilers out there that includes our wonderful patrons who get these episodes first do not spoil it for us there is a Discord channel for you to put spoilers into but don't give it to us and yes that's right we release uh these discussions for our patrons on patreon first so if you are not uh supporting us over there you're really missing out if you go over there right now you can hear our thoughts on uh the future episodes of the expans right now instead of waiting for them to eventually come on to the main feed and so we are here today as the Yum Yum podcast the podcast named after an amazing line of dialogue from Star Trek Discovery we're here to talk about the penultimate episode of the first season of the expanse uh part one of a part two and what does IMDb have to say about critical mass a flashback to Julie's origin story reveals her trajectory Holden and Miller finally meet and team up and get to the bottom of the strange emergency situation happening on Eros as the true horror of the event of AOS is revealed an alien Holden and Miller must overcome incredible odds in if they hope to live and fight live to fight another day don't forget the last part part one of see thank you we have to be accurate to the descriptions previously on the expanse we name ourselves yum yum podcast because of Star Trek Discovery amazing line but that line is so strange and out of nowhere uh and it has a a sexual vibe to it where a character is licking their lips throwing their hair back and declaring something to be yum yum and we like to do that with the expanse what was a moment or even a character that you looked at and just couldn't help but you smack your lips together lick them and just yum yum for you Rachel what what was in critical mass that you found to be particularly yum yum a is saying no we can to to killing people yep that was a fist pump moment it did turn me on a lot but I'm I'm not a liar this episode showed me butt and boobies and I found that to be particularly yum yum even if it was covered in weird uh fungus and Moss and uh gross crap I saw boobies and butt and uh boy this show has not been that horny since we first met Holden since we first met Holden and he was a guy that [ __ ] in zero g that pilot episode loaded us up with so much horny and then since then they've been really holding it back and now we get it for Julie's demise and it's supposed to be gross but I'm just remembering the days when this show was willing to show us a bit of something so I was happy to see it again this is what I predicted it to be a flashback episode of uh Julie and how her story unraveled in the background of what we were seeing during the season to fill in the blanks and to give more clarity to what the characters had discovered you last discussion was wanting to understand that a bit more you wanted a timeline you wanted to know how these pieces fitted like fit into place and so how did you feel about this side of the story the first 10 to 15 minutes really focus on this is what happened with Julie and this is how it ended yeah uh it it was odd because it's like yes this is what I wanted but I wasn't that invested or intrigued by it because it was basically exactly what we've been led to believe and led to understand uh other than the part of her being annoyed at doors for not coming to get her that she left the breadcrumbs for him in fact the ones that Johnson picked up and the crew picked up I agree it was more it wasn't it was there to serve the function of showing us how the writers have put all of this together during the season and here it is and to confirm things that was one that we didn't really know but you could have a lingering suspicion about if you were a Keeny viewer about how Anderson doors did know Julie but he was ever so Cy about it during the show why and you get a bit of a feeling here that if he did receive this me message from her if he did receive this information he left her in the wind he he didn't help her and so of course he's going to be tight lipped about that because that goes against his image that is not part for the course of what he portrays himself as when it comes to being the leader of the OPA in this particular area and the other big thing confirmed something that uh needed to happen was her dad is behind this all it's her dad and one thing I actually really liked is her doing this Mission her doing this entire thing was because she actively knew it was her father and it wasn't just a case of I'm doing it because I don't like my dad it's because it is an awful thing that they're doing and we must stop it it ties into how Julie is a very noble character uh that we've heard about and so I enjoyed seeing that actor get to play the role as well uh we haven't got to really see her do that we haven't really got to see her be the living breathing embodiment of this idea that all these other characters have been either chasing or perpetuating to us so uh really got to commend the performance there to living up to the hype of this whole entire season when it comes to this mystery woman and I did like that finally they said it was her dad we revealed it to her dad she knows what's happening to a degree that they've made some bioweapon and they must stop it at all costs I'm truly sorry to be the one to have to tell you this but your daughter is
dead we still don't know what exactly happened on the Anubis but it looks as though Julie was the Lone Survivor somehow she managed to Pilot the shuttle to Iris they name drop the blue goo uh they call it the protomolecule uh which is a good title it gives you a clear understanding of what this is and they don't fully know what it is as well well that's right they don't fully understand it but boy are they going to use it and we were not surprised with the reveal of this being her father cuz we've been saying it as much when it comes to suspects of who is behind this all there's only been a couple and he has been one that was introduced and never touched upon or mentioned again until now and so that made it more and more credible that it was him and so does that disappoint you in a series or in a in a season of Television where it is about a big mysterious conspiracy who's behind this all who's beating the drums of War where they're keeping all of these cards close to the vest that we finally get the reveal and we already we already guessed it how do you feel about that personally when it comes to this story a little disappointed but I'm glad to see that actor back again that was a a main thing that we pegged it for as well we were like oh they got that guy they wouldn't just get him if that was it and then when we didn't see them again at all we were like okay definitely definitely going to be him and there is that level of like a okay okay that's the basic thing but I'm not fully disappointed in it because I am curious to see where it goes I know that this is just kind of the first step in what will hopefully continue to evolve I am not disappointed per se I do wonder what it will be like on a rewatch I I my main reason was that I figured it out is they really emphasized that you needed money to build the stealth ship technology and the only people who seemed to have been able to do that was Mars and they very much made it clear that it was not Mars and so so it has to be one of the companies that run Earth basically yes and he was the only company they mentioned that there's companies and mega corpse and all of this but his his is the only one we know his is the only one that we understand exists in this story and so put two and two together and it leads to him but I wasn't disappointed per se because it's not necessarily about the uh destination but the journey to it and I found the journey to be most of the way of most of the time on the journey was good uh they even used at the beginning of this Miller in a previous scene figuring these things out and putting all the dots together and although we are not big Miller fans and we did not enjoy his storyline as much once he did put the pieces together his character as well as his story also came together he during these last couple of episodes has been once he loses the Hat once he loses the Hat once he loses his job uh that whole sequence when he got C captured by Anderson doors onwards uh it's all really come together for him as a character and so I I do wonder what it'll be like but I no I'm not disappointed that we fig fured it out because it means that the pieces were there to play with they didn't cheat us as writers they didn't pull some [ __ ] out of their ass and the answer that they have given I think we can both agree is is is satisfactory this isn't something where you roll your eyes going oh really that's it it's not like when Discovery does Mysteries and you reveal oh it's Michael was a red Angel it's like yeah we knew that from the very [ __ ] beginning why why did you spread it out for 13 hours 14 hours when we all knew that and you even said it in the show and then pretended you didn't it's not like that where it's it's it's dragging you for so long and the answer it all adds up and you can piece it all together and it isn't just solo him clearly he has some relationship going on with Earth as well and most likely the UN and so it's not just oh it's this one thing it was all of the story lines that we've been following inhabit the conspiracy and so when you get the Lynch pin reveal yeah we figured it out but it makes sense we don't know why though we don't know how we just know who and where we know the Phoebe station is where things really kicked off for all of this Julie is no longer here she she's dead and yet they're using her body as this thing to just get the goo from because clearly what happened on the stealth ship was where all the goo was the protomolecule sorry I just want to keep calling it The Blue Goo and now that she got infected by it it is it is in her and so they can drain it out of her use it replicate it get more of it and so her death an act of defiance is seemingly in vain her death her her whole entire mission was to defy her father and this uh this weapon and in the end her her demise her doing this has just given it to her dad again to use on people on on on many many people and uh that's just sad honestly we we see how Miller is processing this death he's really taken it hard and he almost has like a her her and him almost have like this weird psychic connection to one another's spiritual bonding even though they haven't met each other she sees him in dreams he sees her her um the bird imagery repeating itself because in part of the flashback secret we see Miller at the apartment and the bird outside and then she sees him in the bird yeah and he's hovering in his hand as he enters as she's taking her dying breath almost like he is this weird other worldly figure uh you know I know that he's supposed to be like this Beacon of light for her but he almost comes across like a a figure of death coming at her with that bird it's just it's a again the expans each episode or most episodes have that striking visual image that doesn't leave the brain and that's the one for me in the episode that was just remarkably compelling stuff even though the CG on the bird is a little wonky it's always been a little wonky nonetheless just that image is one that doesn't leave the brain spy drone each time each time I look at it and I'm like that's not a bird we both follow Julie here we both have part of the story I want the truth as B as you do I if I Le a a dear friend a dear old friend someone like family almost yeah um who's known me since I was a child to kill themselves you know what I'm going to go and steal their [ __ ] what do you think of this I think it adds up like when she was just like oh I'm I'm I'm here it's like no no no you're here for something else it's a ploy it's it's a no no like you might be a little bit sad you traveling all the way to Japan oh my Lord for this nope don't buy it for a second I really like what the partner had to the husband had to say which was uh to quote Frank about you can't really stay mad at that little brat and he just says well I'm not Frank like I am mad I do not like you I hate you ah this was really brutal because as soon as she enter like as soon as the scene starts you know what it is like and that's in in the way of we understand the character so well that even this moment that should be in any other person's hands a really depressing sad sequence where we get to see a human moment from this woman instead we know she's here on business we know that this visit isn't just to say I'm sorry I ruined your life and that he killed himself because of my betrayal because I used him as a porn we know that's not what it's going to be even if she says those words we know that that's not the real intention of her being here just as soon as she rocks up and walks through those doors and that gorgeous out a truly gorgeous outfit that she's wearing I I was aware oh she's trying to get some information to help her unravel the mystery that's going on because what is here that she needs was the thought that I had she is a character that deeply cares either about her own stuff like her own ego her own uh sense of importance or uh the safety of Earth itself that's definitely how she would justify everything she does I'm doing this for Earth I'm doing this for the greater good the bigger picture is at play here and so here she is performing in this moment talking to this man who's just lost his husband in part because of her he would argue entirely because of her and we hear about Frank's life at the end of how he was putting on this face of of of dignity but there was none it was a lie and everyone knew it was and yet he they all played it until he killed himself and and I mean did he actually kill himself that's something I'm curious of as well because with a show like this and with all of these conspiracies going on who knows but I I found the Chris Jen stuff to be really challenging in this episode what about you what did you think of uh it on just that level of her as a person rather than the specific action she's taking to develop the plot forward I thought it was an very interesting thing to have happen because it is another way that the show is highlighting to me that Christian isn't built the same way as our other characters and as typical character is in sci-fi which is part of what makes it so interesting when it's just like you she steals pencils and it's just like what are these pencils worth and then it's like very shortly after you find out that they're like futuristic USB drives uh with Dana stored on them uh and of course she knows that that was his thing because I don't think it's like a oh yeah everybody has pencils like this they double up again she knew him and knew how to play him even in death she knew oh there's his pencils the secret USBS that I can use to help benefit myself of course there's the justification of why she's using them and why she's done this there's even that haunting moment and tell me if I'm mistaken but she's looking at his desk and there's what smearing of blood still on the desk and she looks at it and you can tell that there's a moment where she's having a hard time processing that but she's not here for that like you can tell she's like oh my but I can't that's not what I'm here for right now I must continue to piler through his things to get what I need that there was she's a hard character to process and like you say she she is one that is is is certainly driven for sure and uh I mean how do you feel about her being a character that one can argue is driven by ego but more so her drive is about the bigger picture it's a very intriguing character to see because usually when we get characters that have this much power they corrupted in a more obvious way whereas you still believe that she wants what's best for Earth and that is peace but war is fine if it's Justified and it's not something that I was expecting to get from this show but it's it's very rewarding we have experienced in a lot of the shows we have covered on this podcast and ones that we watch that have a hierarchy uh leaders that have to weigh up how much of the uh uh the the safety or livelihood or rights of the individual have to be put to the side put on hold or even thrown out for the the better of things for the greater good and Chris Jen is somebody who very much abides by the ends justify the means uh I'm sure that she's the type of person that would have a speech about how it doesn't matter how she treated people on that individual level because at the end of the day in the history books what will be noted down was she uncovered this and that led to this that was a good thing for the society the Belta yes and leading Frank to kill himself and lose his job and it was it doesn't matter that's inconsequential the ends justify the means here and that's very difficult to Grapple with and it makes her complex because we understand why she is doing these things because we have been seeing the other storylines going on and we understand the world and what's at risk what is going to be lost if she doesn't pull on these strings if she doesn't take a affirmative action because nobody else on Earth is whether it is for insidious reasons or passive reasons we see the Admiral during this season be very logical and pragmatic and I've praised him for that but at the same time it is still uh just tending to the weeds rather than solving the crisis and she wants to solve the crisis and so I really was uh taken aback by her in this episode because how much of her do you do you empathize or sympathize with how human does she feel to you considering that she's willing to give up so much that we on an individual basis would Define as the right thing or the good thing I obviously don't like what she did to Frank I don't like the outcomes of it I completely agree with the husband about how she is and I find her to be not only morally questionable but a very reprehensible person but she is doing all of this for this great cause that nobody else is and you can see wholeheartedly that it's for the right it's it's for the right reasons but she's going about it in the in really horrid ways and we see sometimes that it weighs on her sometimes we don't that's what I like about her as a character sometimes we see that it weighs on her and other times it isn't here we do see it when she's flying back and she has those pencils we just get longing shots of that actress and her eyes and that face just really soaking in what the character was going through and yet still stoic yet still pushing forward through it all I let him keep his pride it was the only thing he had left he had you he loved you more than anything Frank always said it is damn near impossible to stay properly mad at that
brat I'm not Frank she's a character that I want to watch not a character that I want to know no is she one you would want to play no no no no no no acting terrifies me why the [ __ ] would you say that oh come on who would you want to play in this show nobody nobody nobody oh come on you wouldn't be mus ga belter oh that's the correct answer no no further questions that's who I want to play as well end of conversation but uh she find on these pencils on the one pencil a bunch of uh data relating to the steal ship information like the materials made for it and she's trying to gather where this could have been made and where these things could have come from but the materials required for it do seem to be leaning towards Earth itself which she isn't verbalizing she isn't saying she isn't really going through but you can tell that that is Dawning on her very slowly during this and uh then that perfectly leads into Fred Johnson believe it or not this episode has a lot of parts to it this being a part one of a part two story to the end of a season we're going to have to bring all of these uh factions and players and threads into it and Fred Johnson is here to follow up on what he was doing at the end of the last one uh revealing what he found on that data chip that was on Lopez and he has a little speech written out I I Adore that I loved it too I loved it we see him practicing and you think it's just him like gearing up and then there's a full script that appears in front of him when he starts recording and I I I love it I love that detail of he knows that these ships uh well the ship from the UN is coming and that he's found this information and he doesn't want to get backed into a corner he doesn't want to be a scapegoat y he refuses to play by their rules so instead he plays by Opa rules and his own conscience uh it was really humanizing to have him stumble and practice through his speech before giving it because in all honesty Fred Johnson is only here to deliver Exposition and important information for the other characters to use in the future running threads and in another team's hands this could be very empty and very Hollow and just just a block of text being spoken at you we've had that in previous episodes of the expans where uh we may like the actor and even the character but all you're doing is dispensing information or blatantly stating the themes but that touch at the beginning of him not just going over his speech but he's specifically going over his name and how he wants to uh portray himself and what's the right way to do that and how he's insecure then confident that was really great to launch into this information because it reminds us that Fred Johnson is a man he is a person he isn't just this ghostly figure that exists in the plot to make things happen and he isn't just the myth of uh like the the mythical figure that is the Butcher of Anderson station he doesn't just exist to be a badass character he's a person with multitudes and dimensions to them and so really going over that one little moment because that was the key to me rather than him revealing that oh believe it or not the stealth ship was built on Earth at this specific place that reveal is good and it propels s plot forward and for viewers who weren't putting the pieces together that's very again rewarding to get but the real takeaway for me for Fred Johnson was him still being real him still being a a man rather than just a dispenser of important things so that we can cheer and clap and move on with the story and I think it's really important that they took that time to create that moment because it would have been really easy to not have that it would have been more efficient definitely to just have it like cut to him starting but they take they put in the effort to humanize him in that moment and to remind you of his Humanity because that's something that the show has played around with with the things that he's done in the past and what he's doing now we question his Humanity but having that moment of vulnerability reinforces that he still has that on AOS station we pick up with where we left off they found Julie's body and Miller is heartbroken about this and he's also angry he he wants to get revenge he wants to find out who was behind this and why did they do this and he wants answers from the crew and the crew want answers from him and so there is friction between these characters and I adored so much the small amount of time we got with Miller being a part of the crew here how he really hates Holden really hates him and brilliantly the they they team them two up for the rest of the episode and a detail that I was really enamored by was Naomi didn't know what to make of Miller Miller would be reacting and doing these things and she would be trying to relate to him not even by talking to him but by almost giving excuses for him to the rest of the group and uh uh how about hey this girl meant something to him and could you imagine finding somebody like that that meant something to you and when Miller would go off on some violent Rage or whatever she would she would defend him or Justify things for him or or at least fill in some gaps to make it make sense and even then when there were moments when she didn't understand what he was about she was curious nonetheless I really like that gave him the benefit of the doubt more than anybody else and it's interesting that it's her that's doing that I mean it makes sense considering her relationship with Amos you could imagine that it may have started out from a similar place would you agree how did she become friends with Amos how did she bond with him and I imagine it's through behavior and understanding and Views like she does with Miller here where Miller to them is this wild card out of nowhere this agent of chaos and violence and and high emotion and low emotion and another thing to parot is Amos also treats him with a large amount of respect there are times where they they clearly butt heads a little but when when uh uh Miller is disassociating in the streets there are moments where Amos is the guy to to snap him into reality hey hey we're coming over here now and I really think that makes sense for the Amos character because he clearly likes Miller because hey you're like me you're a weirdo uh but him having a relationship with Naomi helps bring that side out of the character need to find out what he knows don't push him too hard right now he's having a tough time dealing with what we saw girl meant something to him it was a shock finding her like that Naomi trying to get a get a feel for Miller and also uh being compassionate and empathetic in a way that you wouldn't think of somebody doing for a stranger if in a situation that's as stressful and high stakes as the one that they're in you think that she wouldn't have the time or the energy for that and I found that really interesting I liked it Al Alex and Amos sort of share a lot of looks with each other um which leads to them sort of agreeing before they've agreed that they were like we're going to the ship first like we're getting out of here by the way we're leaving like yeah there's a mystery [ __ ] that we want to live we didn't know Julie we don't care yeah we're leaving and that makes it when when hold the guy that is butting heads the most with Miller Miller grabs him and throws him up against the wall I mean come on isn't that satisfying as [ __ ] oh yes what what is it about Miller without the Hat where not only it brings out so much of personality of him but teaming him up with Holden brings out this side of Holden that I I I I've been wanting oh my God a character with a [ __ ] spine for a start there's there's this beautiful conversation where he wants to go like he wants to follow Miller and Naomi and him have a back and forth and and she does the whole the whole writer trick of Holden don't you understand that you finished your Arc now it wasn't your fault you don't have to take this as uh your responsibility it's not your problem and then instead he doesn't just do that he goes well I'm making it my problem now that the other way of doing this and I just I just fist pump I'm like [ __ ] yeah buddy you make this your problem instead of being a wussy o I've got myself in the mud I guess I better put myself in it some more because I'm a guilty little boy now you're saying [ __ ] that if I'm in it I'm in it and I'm going to punch some people and I'm going to take some names while I do that oh my Lord there's something about Miller without the hat is it's it's I don't it's they even reference the line of why he has the hat which is to keep the rain off of his head there was that moment when he was walking through the streets and and the water dripped on his face and he embraced it he loved it he got entranced by it and let it happen let to snap him out of it that was a really compelling moment but I mean with with with with uh Holden you feel similar to me right it's not just it's I don't know that am I crazy there is something about how Miller interacts with the character of Holden that makes Holden in a far more compelling character yeah because Miller is questioning things that we've questioned about Halen I think that that's part of what makes it intriguing because not only do these two characters foil each other but they're drawing attention to the way that they mirror each other in a distorted
way and it's really interesting to see that kind of character work being done alongside a really intriguing development in terms of the conspiracy of the show and we get the classic chalk and cheese odd C body Dynamic we've got this hinted and teased a little bit with Holden and Amos but it hasn't really been there as clearly as Holden and Miller so they all decide that they must split off Naomi and Alex and Amos must leave and they're going to go to the docks and they're going to do their thing Miller and Holden go off to find out the mystery they want to know what's happening they must stick their nose where it is not to be stuck and so we get the division in the stories and hopefully they will converge Again by the end of these two parts and let's talk about the Naomi side of it first you brought up the brilliant little moment of uh Amos being Amos uh but they break away and they just see as the station is in lockdown a ship has been blown up so nobody can leave the uh the police on this station have been told to us in the previous episode and more again in this one that they're just a bunch of gangsters that have been hired by a corporation to be the police and now they're just putting people in the shelters in the isolation zones they're hurting them in like cattle they're shooting people on the streets they're not saving people they're they're beating people up there's there riots aboard the station heck Miller's cop friend has to contend with these guys and gets in a shootout with them as well and Naomi and crew are watching this happen and feel powerless to do anything about it Naomi is very much taking the precaution like the cautious approach and looking at it as we do not want to get involved in this there's a time and a place and we we are not going to be in that time and place right now and that's where her and Amos disagree he thinks no you know what I think we could kill them actually I think this is a perfect opportunity I think we could actually shoot them right now and you know what we both like that line because we like Amos as a character but I I speak for myself on this and and I hope you agree I like that line because he's right instead of uh Naomi being right because it's the morally pure goody to shoes uh that's the good option in your in your RPG game I like that it's actually right uh to just shoot [ __ ] if they're shooting and hurting civilians I like that I do as well and I like that it's very soon after that they just get into that fight they don't start it but they help end it and uh we see the Spy he's in the crowd he's he's worming his way through the crowd so keeping tabs that he's still around too like he's still an active player that was the only real time we saw him in the episode but he was making his way through things and trying to uh slip through and Escape but he's still stuck he's still stuck on the station as well we're just going to stand here we can't just charge in and start shooting pretty sure we can the good old chalken cheese routine um in this iteration we have Holden and Miller and they are trying to figure out what the [ __ ] is going on on this station as a creepy scientist who Miller immediately wants to kill then Holden is like no I want answers and stops him from killing him and I was immediately like I'm on Miller's side if you kill this dude potentially found thousands of people will be saved but you need to know why it's happening yeah and I'm like it's it's too early aren't you a cop it's too early too early to kill the evil scientist um and and and Holden hasn't killed anyone he makes that a point like I'm not a killer I've never shot anyone uh because Miller wants to know where he stands if you're going to stick if you're going to follow me if you're going to chase after me are you worth it are you helpful do you serve any reason other than you are a guy where [ __ ] storms follow you wherever you go are you actually up to the challenge and I like that Holden flicks that right back at him when when they do capture this other cop guy and he you know they have the whole back and forth like are you a cop AR you a cop or are you one like them uh he flicks it right back he throws it right back in Miller's face where although they have this obvious chalk and cheese relationship that generates a lot of fun to be had of this guy's willing to kill people this one's not this one's unhinged this one is straight laced there's Merit to both of them and that's why I also am in in a fun way uh in in um disagreement with you when it comes to the scientist I was on Holden side I was like no you just can't shoot the guy and expect like it to be your okay someone will replace him they will get you right then and there you need to know what's going on capture him get the get the story from this guy because we know he has a lot of things going on he's the lead scientist for Julie's dad and so we want to know but I I completely understand where you're coming from because Miller is so driven by passions and emotions as are we during all of this all of this Insanity happening on the station that a part of you does want to see that guy just get punched in the face or just just get blown away there's a there's something really gripping about seeing Holden be witness to violence and death and feel like he is a participant in it like he is responsible for this cuz that's his character right like they keep telling us during the season he feels the burden and the responsibility for what happened to the C and then what happened to siries and what happened to the Doner and on on on paper I've always understood that but I've never really felt it and yet in this episode him just standing next to Miller and watching him tear through people and shoot people and use them as just slabs of meat to get things done I actually felt the burden of responsibility that Holden has been proclaiming he has throughout the whole season the fact that he is a participant that he's a bystander and that in part this is all happening because of him I actually felt for the character finally when it comes to this in this episode agreed why do you think that is what do you think about like what do you what in this episode do you think has pushed that over for you oh well I guess part of it is going back to what we said before that he chooses this even didn't choose to be on the cerb when that [ __ ] went down but he Embraces the cold to Adventure in this episode and he knows the potential risks that lay ahead while in the first episode oh I'll accept the distress call because it's the right thing but he didn't know that it would lead to all of this and there's a way where you can make that story work and uh make his guilt about it work and I think the series has thought that it has really achieve that I never it didn't it didn't work for us but the fact that it's working at all is a good sign in part it works for me because I also know the character of Miller I know both of these guys I know both of their head spaces when it comes to the actions that they're taking in this story and so I can feel the conflict for holding because Miller you argue but let's just say Miller is a good guy underneath it all but he is willing to do bad things while Holden he hasn't gotten there but yet since he as you said as you just stated he's chosen this in part he is getting there and that scares him that that makes him recoil that makes him take a moment of pause to see this guy Miller who is in a weird way a strange mirror of what Holden could be yeah it's a potential future which scares him even more this makes me have more favor towards these two guys being the leads of the show like Miller is the lead in one way because he's the head of this one story and Holden is the central lead of the show it makes me have a finer liking towards this but I still don't love it necessarily let's see how the series ends and maybe Series going and and the show going forward but I I'm definitely looking back more fondly on the two characters overall we've had some conversations with uh members of our Discord and uh some of the people who listen and they would say oh Holden is a character no one has defended Holden by the way no one has defended Holden against our criticisms but Miller people have said oh he will grow on you he will get better you have to go through the tropy of the character to get the meat and I think that has become true especially in the definitely more true now than it was in the first half if these [ __ ] on people no shelters we should let them out hey you're welcome to try you said you were a cop you a cop like him and we end the story with the characters of uh Holden and Miller entering a very very upsetting scene of uh a room full of people men women children of all ages uh shoved in like sardines into this tin can and they're getting blasted with radiation and uh Holden and Miller don't know what's going on and they get blasted with radiation too and uh they run out of there and you you had a real golden reaction if if we ever did record our reactions to watching episodes this would be the one that people would have enjoyed to have seen which is when when they go through the information of what's just happened and it ends with uh yeah we're going to be dead we're dead we're dead you giggled and squealed and said what what what do you mean you're going to be dead you seem just fine like you in absolute disbelief of just the the the end end in sting of this of oh yeah they got radiated and now they're going to be dead soon the end see you next week well no because these episodes were AED together and they're together on our DVD on our Blu-ray thank you we are watching on a Blu-ray quality but what an ending what an ending it leaves us with so much obviously ah what's going to happen to our main characters how are they going to survive how are they going to overcome this what are the struggles going to look like for them in the next episode now that they're going to be puking up their guts and bleeding out of all their orices they're going to go through what Jared Harris went through in Chernobyl like what what's that going to look like for them but obviously we picked up on this in previous scenes that the uh the the the the cops are injecting all of these people with the the Proto molecule that they got from Julie and they are throwing them in these radiation rooms to I guess exacerbate it that Aeros station is clearly being used as a testing site and that's why they used the stealth ship throughout the whole entire season to draw attention away from there we thought it's because oh they discovered the blue goo and they didn't want people to find that out no no no no they they they not only discovered the blue goo they're going to test it on a whole station full of people and they want to make sure that nobody notices that and what's a great way that nobody would notice that oh I don't know destabilize the entire galaxy and make a planetary War happen that's the corporate mindset what a great plan huh yeah yeah then no real downside for him I do want to know the like we've kind of mentioned the bits and pieces of it but the fact that this has been in the works for a while they've gotten all of these crew crew SL gang members of series to Aeros to be the military force basically to be part of the police that are hired on the station install cameras and scanners microphones all of that like they're they've set it up for an experiment and our characters do end up calling it that and it's like yeah yeah they are at least they have their finger on the pulse of that they still don't understand what's happening as uh we confused but you you you can put the pieces together and that's what I really liked about that scene where you see Miller and Holden start to explain stuff to each other and it cuts away and then it cuts back to them now bickering over the details they have and that's a a great representation of what this episode is doing as a whole of here's everything we've done in the show and here's how it all jams together and isn't that really frustrating on our scale of yum being bad and yum yum being good what would you give critical mass yum yum yum yum I give it a yum yum yum yum this is really high up there in terms of season 1 what about you just just quick touch base yeah yeah it it's a very rewarding episode to watch the next episode we will be watching is Leviathan Wakes which I do believe is the title of the book that this is adapted from this season or at least the series is called Leviathan Wakes I'm not too sure I've never read the book just the first book it's probably just the first book and uh obviously we have no clue what's going to happen we haven't seen this before but if we had to take some educated guesses if we had to go through some of the things uh what would it be Miller and Holden uh I imagine that they're going to punch their way through and most likely find out stuff from the scientist maybe they won't and they have to make a Mad Dash towards the ship as well and hopefully get the medication that they need to live and chrisen I'm not too sure I I want to know how she factors in I'm imagining that she's going to have to deal with the UN and their potential involvement in all of this because I think Aaron Wright knew all along what was going on I think he funded it I think he allowed to happen yeah so suspicious of him like I've been suspicious of him uh I wonder too if uh we are going to see the UN attack Tao station and how that is going to play out with Fred Johnson especially now that he's leaked this information the UN on their way to Tao station has been something ongoing in the last couple of episodes and I feel like we are ODed seeing that happen seeing Fred Johnson manage to fight back against that and how does that exacerbate the issues at hand here and will the Mormons play into that by any chance because they're bystanders here when it comes to this issue will they protect their assets will they protect their asset I I really don't know and I imagine we have to deal with the protomolecule I imagine we have to get an answer further on what it is and what it does maybe that's something ongoing as a series unfolds but I don't know the protomolecule is is weird and I want to know how it will spread through aerostation will it I don't know we will see and that is all we have got for you uh please make sure to let us know your feelings on uh the things we've discussed here today or the episode that we were talking about do you like critical mass are you a big fan what are your opinions on it when you saw it that first time we' love to hear from you you can uh contact us directly on social medias uh yum yum pod or yum yum podcast you can email us if you want to uh get an even more direct way to uh Converse which is at yum yport gmail.com if you do join our patreon you get to be a part of a group Discord where you can uh have some funny conversations with some fellow ybls about the things we have discussed here or just things you like about the podcast or about the expanse or or other science fiction television shows that you like to watch we have plenty of uh fun discussions over over there so please come on over as uh as stated we would love to have you there as uh said at the top of the show we release uh this for our Pat first and so if you do join our patreon you get to hear a lot more of our conversations on the expanse as well as so many other things we're talking about Star Treks we've got strange new worlds and Star Trek Picard conversations over there we're talking about the alien movie franchise and uh uh all you know Star Trek movie franchise and the X-Men's and all these other franchises it's a real great time so support us if you can or if you feel so inclined recommend us to all of your friends families and enemies uh just say yum yum podcast they're watching the expans for the first time you better hear what they said about this thing and look at the egg all over their face Rachel the gaunt belter wasn't here but we are the gaunt belter so we can end the episode by tipping doing a little hat tip with a menacing look and saying dusters I'm really upset that we haven't heard dusters be used from martians more often they keep using Mickey which is fine Mickey is fine I guess like a Mickey pilot or a Mickey Soldier but I really liked dusters and especially when it came out of that gaunt bel's mouth so Rachel goodbye to you you duster I can't do it justice Fame you Duster
see you then well w