4x05 Oppressor

Previous episodes made me think there was a clear-cut definition of who the "bad guy" is, which kinda disappointed me as I expected The Expanse to have more nuanced characters. This episode proves my suspicion was wrong - and The Expanse is still The Expanse.

It's a little bit harder to pinpoint Murtry as the bad guy here, as he seems only want to maintain order - and exacting revenge while at that - though in a rather megalomaniacal, self-centered way. "Now you know," he said to Holden, "This is the shit I have to deal with," sounds exactly just like authoritarian personalities when they rationalize their doing. On the other hand, the other party is not completely innocent at all, since here we are reminded of the O.P.A. strain that holds nothing but contempt to Earthers by their ploy to damage the RCEA. Even as far as to new solar system, they can't get out of their old political squabbles - "playing their old games".

The scene with Lucia's husband depict this best. Whereas Lucia insisted her husband to fight, to be someone strong in her place, he angrily retorted, "am I not strong enough, because I don't want to bring killing to this planet?" The husband reminds me of the scene from earlier season with Maneo Jung-Espinoza - whereas others would fight for their pride, identity, and live for future generations, the ordinary men just survive to live for today.

And identity is the focus of this episode. Belters think once they got taken away, they wouldn't be able to return. It's a result of years of oppression - they became paranoid because that's what the Inner always did in the past. Earthers, meanwhile, thinks that they're some universe-wide police which can regulate what can and can't people do. They're not merely arguing over some territory on the planet for the resource. They're arguing about who can claim the identity planet. A planet to call home.

All that under the backdrop of political campaigning back home, where politicians argue about colonization. Which makes the situation on Ilus actually more delicate - the majority of marginalized Earthers themselves are in crisis, but intergenerational suffering by Belters render the same marginals invisible in their eyes. Which made me recall a great review on Parasite: "the marginalized can look very heartless, even to each other. They don't have enough privilege to blur such social cannibalism with sweetener or perfume."

The episode benefits from its focus to Ilus and Earth's arc; relying only to subtle connection to other subplots they have developed in earlier episodes: the deal with Marcos Inaros (which I suspect will be connected to Bobbie's arc as well).