IsPrime Video shovingThe Expanse‘s first three seasonsout of the proverbial airlock on Friday ? io9 has been unable to severally confirm whether or not this is true , and a message antecedently appearing onThe Expanse‘s Prime Video home pages for seasons one and three , discourage that the cognitive content would soon be removed , is no longer visible . So perhaps , hopefully , this is a false alarm — or rather , a potent reminder to never take your streaming option for granted . Even ifThe Expansesticks around for now , there ’s always aWillowscenario waiting to happen .
Fortunately , at least , there are a few more Clarence Day this week you ’re guaranteed to find all ofThe Expanseon Prime ( the Amazon - release seasons four throughsixare presumably safe from any potential purge ) , and there ’s also a Blu - ray solidification available for devotee who ’ve been frightened into fresh appreciating strong-arm metier . And it go without enounce that you should really look on all the episodes so as to to the full allow all the detail of this wonderful sci - fi serial , establish on the books by James S.A. Corey , sink in . The natural action is rattling , yes , but so are the little moment between case , and the on-going jokes , reference , and detail ( Holden ’s eternal hunting for seemly coffee , Avasarela ’s glittering wardrobe and colorful vocabulary , Amos ’ … Amos - ness ) .
But we ’ve done our in force here to contract down the 13 all important episodes to keep you dialed into the plot of land ’s openhanded instant and twisting , at least as far as the first three season go . Hopefully youwon’tend up require to refer to it , and the end result of all of this will just be a reminder of whyThe Expanserules so much .
HE IS THAT GUY.© Syfy
Season 1, Episode 1, “Dulcinea”
Obviously , you got ta start at the very beginning with “ Dulcinea , ” a well - calibrated introduction to the world ofThe Expanseand its characters — as well as the central mystery that force season one ’s entwine patch lines . As tension simmer between Earth ( along with the Moon , it ’s ruled by the UN ) , Mars , and the Belt , Earth - based heiress Julie Mao pass away missing , and Ceres - based Belter detective Miller hold the case , a side job that intensify into a full - time obsession . We meet ruthless yet glamourous Earth politico Avasarala . We get an former glimpse of the protomolecule , something that will become so important in shapingThe Expansein this and future seasons . And most crucially , we meet the ragtag team that will become the crew of theRocinante — Holden ( from Earth ) , Naomi ( the Belt ) , Amos ( Earth ) , and Alex ( Mars)—as they provide the ice haulerCanterburyto investigate a distress call , and are then ram into the first of many , manydangerous escapade .
Season 1, Episode 4, “CQB”
Now aboard a unfriendly Martian ship that pick them up after theCanterburywas destroyed — by ships of obscure origin , cloaked in extremely sophisticated stealth tech — Holden and society are appall to pull in those same stealth ships are now firing on the vas where they ’ve taken refuge . Also dismayed : the Martians , who evacuate Holden and his gang in the hopes that he ’ll spread the message that the ship go around bumble up random targetsaren’tfrom Mars . It ’s in “ CQB ” that we first see the ship that will become theRocinante(previously acknowledge as theTachi ) , and we visit the massive Tycho Station , work by the controversial Fred Johnson — he ’s from Earth , but he has ties to the Outer Planets ’ Alliance , seen by some as a terrorist group — and home to another ship that will become important asThe Expanseprogresses , an tremendous generation ship called theNauvoo .
Season 1, Episode 8, “Salvage”
The dominoes start out to tumble as time of year one record its final episodes . In disjoined yet affiliated storylines , Avasarala and Johnson pull on threads regarding the stealth technical school closed book . TheRocinantefollows the lead of the only known survivor of that ship that place the distraint call in episode one — it was Julie Mao , though they do n’t cognize it yet . Their pursuance lead them to populated asteroid Eros ; Miller , still carry his own search , ascertain his own way there and encounters theRocinanteteam for the first sentence . The search for Julie end in a sordid hotel bathroom , where the realize she ’s succumbed ( horribly ) to a unknown blue radioactive substance that ’s suddenly started popping up everywhere .
Season 1, Episode 9, “Critical Mass”
The curtain lifts on Julie ’s journey as we get a flashback tracing her last ( frightful ) day — and her part in inadvertently becoming Patient Zero for the protomolecule , which her rich father Jules - Pierre and his brother are hope to weaponize . We also see that Daddy Mao is behind the stealth tech that destroyed theCanterbury , part of a greedy outline to sparkle a war between Earth and Mars . Despite erudition of Julie ’s death , her father instructs the scientist on his paysheet to “ go on ” with whatever their noble-minded plan is , something we ’ll teach alotmore about . “ Critical Mass ” is an exciting , satisfying episode that connects a portion of dots and fills in a mickle of blank — being based on a Koran series does a circumstances to helpThe Expanseavoid game holes — while setting the microscope stage for much more to number .
Season 1, Episode 10, “Leviathan Wakes”
The time of year finale is key out for the firstExpansebook , and while not a lot of forward momentum occur , it positions several cliffhangers forward of season two . TheRocinanteescapes the protomolecule - infest Eros , with Holden and new passenger Miller receive pressing discourse for radiation poisoning . Miller ’s metaphysical connection with Julie Mao and the protomolecule itself begins to show itself here — and Avasarala begins to understand that Jules - Pierre Mao ’s program has infiltrated the highest levels of Earth ’s government . Both situations mayseemunrelated … but the protomolecule presently reveals how inescapable it is , no matter who you are or where your alliances lie .
Season 2, Episode 1, “Safe”
After the effect ofLeviathan Wakes , The Expanselogically plunged forward into the events of the next Holy Writ , Caliban ’s War — key word being “ war , ” something time of year one loosen but time of year two nudge from Cold War Tension into We Are Now destroy Our enemy ’ Stuff on the Regular . In this opening installment we meet Bobbie Draper , a immature Martian soldier who brings a welcome blend of badassery to the show ’s action ; at first , she ’s very pro - war , though her bow throughout the show offers a unassailable argument that even the most fanatical patriot — once exposed to other points of opinion — can become far more nuanced . ( While still being a entire badass , of course . ) “ Safe ” also brings the flash point moment of Phoebe Station — the surreptitious enquiry facility where the protomolecule was developed — being destroyed by Mars during a skirmish with a UN ship , as well as theRocinantecrew deciding to stash the last protomolecule sampling in a deep - space hiding place .
Season 2, Episode 5, “Home”
After Fred Johnson , Miller , and theRocinantecrew gain Eros needs to be ruin — for one thing , they do n’t want any curiosity seeker live on there and dilate the protomolecule’sspread ; for another , it ’s been evolving in eery ways , let in learning to communicate . Their design , so crazy it just might work , is to pirate the massive generation shipNauvoo , scorching the colonization plans of many Mormons , and utilize it to poke at Eros into the sun . This program offers the gravid , earliest example of a lessonThe Expanseunderlines over and over : the protomolecule can not be check . The squad take in their old pal Julie has somehow fused her undead consciousness with the asteroid and is steer it toward Earth . Miller must knock into his alone psychical link to her and convince her not to head up “ rest home , ” but instead to Venus — where its smashing impact spares billions of lives , though Miller sacrifice himself in the process . ( He returns … sort of … with the protomolecule ’s help , but that ’s a story for a later time of year . )
Season 2, Episode 6, “Paradigm Shift”
Three big takeaways from this one : first , we get a flashback to the inventor of the Epstein Drive , the engineering that allowed humanity to greatly expand its blank space travel — and thereby colonise Mars and the Belt . We saw it used in the very firstExpanseepisode ( complete with a cry of “ Here comes the succus ! ” , a catchphrase from the show consult to the drugs used to help humankind cope with the uttermost speed ) , and now we get it on its origins . ( It does n’t further the current plot , but the backcloth is important , and it ’s also a swell object lesson of howThe Expanseis always revel to put the “ science ” in “ scientific discipline fabrication . ” ) Elsewhere , we see Naomi only profess to destroy the last protomolecule sample … and we see Bobbie , the sole survivor of an onrush on her military unit , come face - to - face with a humanoid protomolecule soldier .
Season 2, Episode 13, “Caliban’s War”
time of year two caps off a pair of arcs , one involving Bobbie and Avasarala ( who become improbable ally after being ensnared in Mao ’s forbidding plan , and their various government ’ involvement in it ) , and the other involving theRocinante ’s effort to dog down a scientist doing undercover protomolecule work on Ganymede , a former agricultural station that ’s now in a state of bedlam . Along for the ride is Prax , a biologist who think his immature girl may be with the shady scientist . Again , we get some juicy cliffhangers to wrap up the time of year : an Earth - backed research ship trying to see what ’s happening on Venus ( strange thing are afoot after Eros smashed into it ) disintegrates in a very uneven manner ; Bobbie and Avasarala make a dramatic escape cock from Mao ’s baddies ; Prax helps theRocinantecrew fight off a protomolecule creature that ’s hitched a ride from Ganymede ; we see yet another secret lab , this time on Io , where Prax ’s daughter is one of many children being prepped for protomolecule - enhanced transformation ; and Naomi ‘ fesses up that not only did she not destroy that protomolecule sampling … she handed it over the Belt , in the maintenance of Fred Johnson .
Season 3, Episode 4, “Reload”
Amid a caboodle of political intrigue at the beginning of time of year three — will Avasarala be capable to get the truth out about Mao before full - on war between Earth and Mars breaks out ? Will raw character Anna , an onetime friend of the corrupt UN drawing card , be able to positively work his actions ? Will the eternal sleep of theRocinantecrew ever forgive Naomi for sneakily giving Johnson the protomolecule?—we see creepy experimentation taking position on the kidnapped vernal subjects on Io . We also see one of those “ this is gon na be Brobdingnagian later ” present moment when Drummer , Johnson ’s bowelless second - in - control , tracks down the waywardNauvooand set aside it for Belter use .
Season 3, Episode 6, “Immolation”
This thrilling unveiling pick up the previous episode ’s infinite battle between hostile UN and Martian battleship closing in on Io . The UN ’s nefarious head is in conclusion removed from power , and even that tricky billionaire Mao is arrested . The kids , including Prax ’s girl , who have yet to be transmute into beam blue lab rats are lay aside . We also seesomethinglifting off the surface of Venus , which is both worrisome and challenging . But you ca n’t leave “ Immolation ” off anyExpanseessentials list , because it contains maybe the bang-up fan - favourite moment from the intact serial : Amos foreclose Prax from killing the scientist who kidnap his daughter , then order the scientist “ I am that guy”—as in , “ I am that guywho ’s going toend you . ” The moment became so iconic thatExpanseco - writer Ty Franck and actor Wes Chatham , who played Amos , refer their sci - fi podcast after it : Ty & That Guy .
Season 3, Episode 7, “Delta-V”
Forget the semblance of comforting impropriety you felt take in allExpanseepisodes previous to “ Delta - V. ” Earth , Mars , and the Belt are still around , but there ’s a whole new player now : the Ring , work from that peculiar protomolecule structure that prompt itself off Venus . Naturally , all three position hustle their ships to see what it ’s all about — and as time of year three opens a young chapter , we meet some fresh characters , including a fifth columnist list Melba Koh , and scrappy OPA headwaiter Ashford , who joins Drummer and Naomi ( still alienated from theRocinantecrew ) aboard theBehemoth(the rechristenedNauvoo ) . We also see a Belter aught his little ship through the ringing impulsively and immediately die in a ghastly splat of viscera . And aboard theRocinante , visible only to Holden … somehow , Miller returns .
Season 3, Episode 13, “Abaddon’s Gate”
The time of year finale is , once again , named for the book that assist inform its patch . It takes several suspenseful episodes full of potentially devastating lapsing in judgment for everyone to image out the only safe way through the Ring is to enter very slowly — and even then there are massive injuries . The Expansetakes for a while to reveal that “ Melba Koh ” is actually Julie Mao ’s sister , hellbent on destroy Holden to impress her Church Father ; she fails , but by “ Abbadon ’s Gate ” everyone is looking at Holden very obliquely for his claim of being able-bodied to pass on with Miller — or at least , a version of him create by the protomolecule — and having glimpse an apocalyptical visual sense of the future .
However , Miller ’s pretext as “ the police detective , ” as he later comes to be called , ends up preserve the whole solar arrangement when he say Holden the Ring is well equipped to defend itself . In the ding of clock time , world place its weapons down and thereby forbid its own experimental extinction , and — thanks to Amazon ’s intervention , perhaps ironically — The Expansegot to have three more seasons .
As time of year three ends , the danger has been diffused but the adventure has opened up … way up , as the Ring reveals portals to hundreds of other organization . There ’s also a fresh mystery , as Miller tells Holden that the beingness that produce the protomolecule were eradicate by an unknown enemy . With an uneasy peace among humanity , theRocinanteshifts into exploratory mode ahead of time of year four — which , as fans already know , mostly takes place on an exotic satellite .
Want more io9 news ? break out when to expect the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on moving picture and TV , and everything you need to know about the next ofDoctor Who .
Prime VideoThe Expanse
Daily Newsletter
Get the effective technical school , science , and culture tidings in your inbox daily .
News from the futurity , extradite to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
