The Expanse 4x8 - 'The One-Eyed Man' TIMESTAMP / FULL LENGTH Reaction & Review
Added 2024-10-17 17:26:19 +0000 UTCMy favorite episode (so far) of Season 4. Fantastic!
Comments
The funny thing is this was probably just a one-upsmanship between Daniel and Ty-the authors-as all of these threats are in the book. I was surprised beyond belief that they stuck so close to the book with this season. I honestly thought that it was unfilmable without heavy adaptive changes and they proved me spectacularly wrong. Probably the most faithful adaptation, at least when it comes to what's happening on Illus.
Simon Shea
2024-10-26 00:19:39 +0000 UTCI think her leaking the Ilus images was her way of saying "I've mourned, it's time to move on"
LightningInvoker
2024-10-24 23:50:32 +0000 UTCWell said. I'm reminded of a passage from a book I read a while back. "The splash of truth she was about to inject into this soup of lies went a small way to salving her own conscience." We need those small doses of reality to make it easier to swallow the tough choices we must make in those positions. She's said it before when Erinwright was playing her. Erinwright: "The OPA killed your son. You sure this isn't personal?" Chrisjen: "You're god damned right it's personal." She's motivated by it. And I love Ashford as a character. If you've ever seen Black Sails, he gives me Cpt Flint vibes. The visionary of fearful reputation who is willing to make compromises no one else will to secure the future of his people. The first to put a uniform on. The first to try to forge Belter's a legitimate navy in the eyes of their oppressors.
Joshua
2024-10-24 23:29:02 +0000 UTCI love how Ashford, who didn't agree with Drummer at Marco's trial, backed her explicitly to Johnson. I freaking love that guy. I think I'm the only one who didn't think Chrisjen's speech at the memorial wasn't a play. You could tell how bothered she was by what happened. Leaking the images from Ilus definitely was, and she admitted it. Her and Nancy are two extremes in the whole colonization plan.
LightningInvoker
2024-10-22 16:28:25 +0000 UTCI didn't have the heart to tell him that once Miller left Ceres we'd never see Octavia again π€£
LightningInvoker
2024-10-22 16:22:40 +0000 UTCSo much to unpack here! Firstly, your comparison between Erinwright and Chrisjen is so on point. If you wanna see a great side by side of their plays, look at the scene from S2E12 where Erinwright makes his play. He speaks directly to Chrisjen via his message to Mao, reminding her that it was HER who drilled into him that earth must always come first and that she has no right to throw him to the dogs for fulfilling his mandate. He was her protege. I feel so bad for Bobby but it's so true. And when she says in early S2 that because of the shift to militarization because of tensions with Earth, now no living Martian would ever see an ocean on Mars. Because they pulled funds from the terraforming initiative. And as much as I sympathize with David, he's not the best of the best. When Esai said "I wasn't good enough for the Terraforming project" he knew that it was once the greatest honor. And now, they're queuing at the ring gate to have a life on a new world with free air. Another great line is from Dawes "Earthers get to walk outside into the light. Breathe pure air. Look up at a blue sky and see something that gives them hope." Lopez saying "It would've been nice to see an ocean on Mars." A century out and suddenly all of it, all of the rhetoric, all of the patriotism, evaporating because systems that a year ago no one had even sent probes to are suddenly in reach. The Mormons generation ship was the best shot at leaving the system. Jim does so much heavy lifting in this and because he's the only one who can see, he doesn't have to mask. He can just wear the devastation on his sleeve. There was a time when he put a gun to the back of Amos' head and then after told Naomi to get Amos off the ship. Now he can't do this without him. And Amos needs his blowtorch because he wants to go out fighting, but it's not gonna be like that. Just like when he was a kid, this is a battle he can't fight against an enemy he can't overcome and he's hopeless. It's so gut wrenching. Amos realizing that for the first time maybe in his life, he has to be a bystander in his own narrative and at the end of it all, despite everything that his past has taught him about the harshness of his life, (S1E7 "Guys like you and me, we end up dead. It doesn't really mean anything.") and then Holden beats the odds and wins the fight for Amos. Amos is suddenly slotted into one of his owns categories and he's one of the "One's you protect". And Holden actually protects him. Suddenly there's this new dynamic. He learned over a few seasons that there were people that he could follow besides Naomi. But now he's learning that he can count on Holden, not just to lead him, but to protect him. I'm reminded of the old adage: "If you can't run, you walk, and if you can't walk, you crawl, and if you can't do that... you find someone to carry you." - Malcolm Reynolds, Firefly He even says it to Alex in CQB. "I can carry you, you can't carry me." It's a simple line, Alex is a Martian flyboy, Amos is an Earther Mechanic. He's stronger. It makes sense. But think about it for just a moment and realize that Amos has accepted in his reality in this crew that if he goes down, he'll be left behind because he is too much of a burden. And I feel like he finally knows that he won't be left behind. So much of what isn't said about Amos' background suggests he's always been braced to be abandoned. That if he can't be of use then he'll be discarded. His old boss on Baltimore told him as much with the line about the churn. He helps Prax because he doesn't know how else to show he's thankful, so he carries something for him in that moment. Amos roots his sense of worth in problem solving and handling issues for others. And without that he has no way to justify himself. Such a great episode, so much going on, didn't even talk about Ashford and Drummer, Fred coming back in hard, Murtry's refusal to ever be at the mercy of Holden again, the ingenuity of the tow cable. I love this show so much.
Joshua
2024-10-20 18:58:01 +0000 UTCAgreed, they wrote her very well with the chess mind she displays in the political realm!
Shawn Anomaly
2024-10-18 23:30:56 +0000 UTCStill can't help but marvel at the exquisite beauty of Crisjen's gamesmanship, though. What a mind!
Lauralyn
2024-10-18 14:35:12 +0000 UTCHaHa LOVE that, my friend! When you said 'MOAR' I couldn't help but see the gif of Adam Driver as Kylo Ren :)
Fury Roll
2024-10-18 14:32:14 +0000 UTCI meant to leave this comment on the episode when the slugs first show up, but I like to imagine the writing room for S4 went something like "Ok, so new alien planet, we need to raise the stakes." "Well, we got these flying protomolecule razors" "I said raise the stakes" "Holden accidentally turns on a piece of protomolecule tech that's going to wipe out the settlement?" "I said. Raise the stakes." "It also creates a nuclear explosion on the other side of the planet!" "Raise 'em higher" "Ok, so it creates a supersonic blast and a tidal wave, so they all take cover in the structures." "RAISE. THE. STAKES" "and everyone goes blind?" "MOAR" "And it's raining instant death slugs, the moon is melting, fusion doesn't work, and our ships are falling out of the sky into a death fire wall?" "........Perfect"
Beat Conductor
2024-10-18 14:05:32 +0000 UTCI like how The Expanse has you living the ultimate "DTA" (Don't Trust Anybody) life that Sylvester Stallone preached in "Lock Up" Even poor Octavia wasn't spare from the DTA gaze!
Shawn Anomaly
2024-10-17 22:56:33 +0000 UTCGlad you were on the General's side for that incident. Some let their understandable bias for Chrisjen prevent them from siding with someone saying something against her though that something was right. The Expanse does well that it shows that even the protagonist have their flaws and that includes Chrisjen. Even the memorial was rightfully called out by Arjun (some gave him shit as well)! Both actions were for political gain as the primary motivation despite them both having some good intentions in them!
Shawn Anomaly
2024-10-17 22:54:15 +0000 UTCSometimes I do forget how great this episode is. Honestly, this show has so many great episodes that it's difficult to choose! The Drummer-Ashford dynamic is great. I really like that while they both have somewhat opposing views about the future of the Belt, with Ashford being more of a believer in change and Drummer being more of a Belter purist "we are who we are", they both have a great deal of respect for the other.
Erasure25
2024-10-17 20:07:25 +0000 UTCSo glad you loved this one as it's one of my favorites also. Such great character work for so many people.
Aquitaine
2024-10-17 20:03:14 +0000 UTCThis is one of my favorite episodes because it is so rich in character development, specifically in Amos. Any episode that give us a better understanding of Amos is instantly beloved by me.
Daxeah
2024-10-17 19:09:48 +0000 UTC
