The flow of this episode detracted from its dramatic effect. There were many good pieces in this episode, but their order and the editing of them reduced their impact. Naomi's rescue, the battle with the Rocinante, the battle at the gate, and the reunion with Avasarala, none of these hit with me the way they could've.
Firstly, the nice speech Avasarala gives during the reception would have been much better as the last scene of the episode. After the belters and Martians have taken over the ring, we would be concerned about the future, then Avasarala gives us hope.
The other development that didn't resonate with me was the dissolution of Drummer's team. I understand that they were torn between supporting Marcos and not, but that turmoil was caused by a threat of destruction, not a desire to work with Inaros. The ties between the crew were shown to be extremely strong, emotionally and otherwise. It should take an enormous conflict to break them. The crew knew that the agreement with Inaros was made under duress and so should have understood how fragile it was. The crew faced two options: cooperate with Inaros and do things they did not want to, or risk their lives and their family's lives by defying him. Both options would be reasonable and acceptable to the crew, and it doesn't resonate with me that the crew would be that upset by Drummer making the decision everyone thought she'd make in the first place. I could accept a decision by some of the crew to leave temporarily because their brother was killed, but to blame Drummer for this (and not Inaros) and completely break their bonds is a stretch given their relationship.
This season was a roller coaster in regards to quality. It felt stretched out and with generally decent to mediocre storylines. If this season had half the episodes it would have been really good. I did enjoy this episode though.
How could you kill off Alex like that? I guess it adds to the realism of being too risky piloting, but cmon.
No alien stuff this season. Just another "They have the protomolecule" boring.
Let's be real, the alien stuff hasn't been executed well throughout the entire show. That most interesting alien thing was when the protomolecule took over Eros and was heading for earth (and instead of an alien intelligence, it was just Julie Mao wanting to come home, which is less interesting and threatening). They had the chance for great things with the structure in season 4, and we got some interesting things but it was kinda disappointing overall, especially at the end with the detective and that anomaly.
At least next season looks to have some alien stuff, and they'll also be dealing with Inarus. I actually look forward to both storylines though, and it's great the crew is united and we have some new members.
Edit: Did some research and discovered that the actor who played Alex had allegations against him, and that's why they killed him off in the show, as he was supposed to be alive. Wow, that's why his death is so abrupt. To be honest, i'm not too bothered about Alex dying. I liked him, but he was a bad father and husband. Even before the Rocinante, he wanted to get away from his family and go on joyriding adventures on the Cantebury.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2021-02-04T13:05:25Z
This actually is an overall decent finale. The tense in Camina's fleet is good. The Rocinante battle is good. Naomi's rescue is good. The reveal on the end was also good. However there's one reason that makes the episode feels like a jumble of choppily edited scenes: everything involving Alex's death.
I don't take issue with it being sudden and abrupt, as many deaths are. But everyone feels really disconnected from that one incident that should have affected at least all the main casts. Alex just died, but Holden and Naomi spent their time to listen to Naomi's supposed farewell (and spent minutes on it). Amos was more eager to bring Peaches instead of mourning his close friend; even worse he was only informed about Alex's death off screen. For a fellow Martian and somebody who has spent quite a time with Alex, Bobbie seems largely unaffected at all. And Alex, well... The only tribute they gave to this incident is a plaque, which makes for some emotional moment, but that's it. Heck, that part where Holden talked to Naomi to rekindle the events almost feels like Holden breaking the fourth wall to explain to viewers due to how abrupt it is handled.
It almost feels like the event is not supposed to happen, and the showrunners edited in last minutes.
This season has been nothing but a Naomi season that leads to a reunion of Rocinante crew. That incident stuck like a sore thumb, making the supposedly joyful event with all crews gathering feels really emotionally detached. Not to mention that, barring the reveal at the end, most events still happen off screen. Just like most things that happened this season. We don't get to see the impact of something big happening.
So despite being an overall decent episode, this finale closes the relatively most mediocre season The Expanse has produced. I'd even say that the quality is even lower than Season 4. The first four episodes were nice, but it went downhill and stagnated really fast.