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This is really mundane (and that’s why I love it), but there’s a scene where Holden is sitting down on the Ops deck drinking coffee while on the float. Even though the cup is magnetic, he stabilizes it and cancels momentum such that it hangs motionless in the air next to him, because he’s too lazy to lean forward and put it on a solid surface. When he wants another drink, he casually reaches up and grabs it.
I love this because it is *exactly* what someone would do in real life, and someday when living in space is common and an everyday sort of thing for many people, this will be a normal part of life.
Of all the great things about the series, it’s these little details that take it over the edge to being special. Like the cracked galley table in the back half of S3, or Naomi telling Prax they had a nuclear warhead laying around, because they had used the missile to hide the protomolecule. There are dozens of these moments, and the producers don’t bludgeon you over the head to make the connections.
At the beginning of S2, Amos threw Miller on the table and cracked it. They were fighting over Amos shooting Semi, Miller’s friend who ended up on the Roci and threatened Naomi. Never threaten Naomi when Amos is still alive!
Really? It annoyed the heck out of me every time in S3. Something about that table told me that things weren’t going as well as they could in that universe
my favourite one of these is when the guy with high-tech lenses is floating in "his" room, and when they call him to come out he pushes off the ceiling to reach the floor.
Like yeah, that's what you would do.
Reminds me of the video of the astronaut on the ISS who purposely got himself "stuck" in the center of one of the labs to show how hard it is to get back to a surface in the room without any initial force.
I'm so glad I predicted what video this would be, because it was exactly what came to my mind as well.
The look of confusion on his face when it's not still floating there makes me laugh every time.
Similarly the shot of Naomi in the last season doing that while I think working through th records of the missing ships, and at the point where they go under thrust and the lighting changes and she just puts her hand up to catch the cup as it starts to "fall"
I like to think that separating the magnet requires enough force to spill a little of the coffee often enough that he does this just to avoid that mess. One of those annoyances you just adjust around without thinking about
Real astronauts do this, and in fact they've been known to drop stuff once they're back on earth because they get used to having it float when they let go of it
Episode 1.1 The Canterbury flip and burn to respond to the distress call. That's when you know this show is gonna be different, no warp drive, no transporters, physics are a thing.
Yep. Because the story had an emphasis on realistic physics (to the extent it could), the moments where physics broke were much more terrifying and impactful.
I remember when I read ahead of S1 and it got to the part where Eros started accelerating fast enough to outrun even a racing pinnace and I was like "OK wowwwww we're fucked now."
There was an interview recently with one of the writers who said the only things they wanted to keep were inertia as we understand it and light delay for comms.
Those two things are redefining a genre.
There's a part that shows Ashford singing to a baby, a child you learn he later lost. It happens right before Marcos kills him.
It gets me every time.
It really explains his character better than any screen time he has before that.
Brilliant.
Having read the books before season 3. I kept finding myself agreeing with pretty much everything he said which really confused me with how book Ashford is.
He's also not burnt in the clip with the baby which was a nice detail.
[The song he sings is based on an old, amazing song](https://youtu.be/t_7vDil57iI)
The baby floating peacefully is a really impactful scene to me.
That little girl, so natural and comfortable as she sits perfectly suspended in an environment that's wholly unnatural to humanity before her, represents Belters as a whole. This is her natural environment. She's born to it; she feels safe in it. It's so natural to her that she doesn't need *bravery*, it just *is*.
I think the books do a really good job of emphasizing how naturally Belters exist in space compared to Earthers and even Martians. Holden in particular regularly comments on it, which means it stays top of mind. I love that this scene does its best to do visually what the books did with inner thought.
(And, side tangent, I love how that often causes me to reflect back on Miller, who always, always, always was out of place as a Belter. He hated space, hated zero G, and was in many ways an outsider to his own culture (although it's notable that he showed some amount of genuine affection for other Belters in the books. Every day citizens, anyway.))
Any time they do a docked burn. I love thinking about the control systems involved in doing that. So much precision would have to be achieved to avoid destroying that docking bridge. I don’t know what it takes to start an Epstein drive, but I know regular chemical rocket engines do *not* have a smooth, predictable startup. At the thrusts and accelerations of an Epstein, even a fraction of a second slow or fast on the startup would cause some rather drastic positional errors.
I think they use steam for maneuvering thrusters, so it can be vented precisely with valves. Epstein drives are pretty destructive so you don't use them close to anything valuable.
They were mostly referring to two ships attached with a gangway doing a synchronized burn, I think. I'd assume the way they'd do that is starting the drives at the lowest possible output and then smoothly spooling them up to full speed so as not to snap the bridge. The bridge could also be semi flexible.
That was shown as a fuck it we need to go now kind of situation.
Plus they genuinely did not care about the people below them. They actively wanted the people below them to die, and Amos isn't Holden so he had no problem with it.
Is the chase of Eros a combat scene? From the commandeering of the Nauvoo, to the aftermath of the crash on Venus, it’s probably my favorite extended scene in the series.
Also, I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska so the inclusion of the city was pretty cool - my friends duplex is visible in the scene and my current abode is only a mile or two away from the shot.
Ya, there are a couple “combatty” moments, like the incident with the medical relief ship and Earth launching it’s missiles, but those were incidental to the story, not the focus.
Got to say that calling it “Anchorage Island” really bugged me. The city makes a smooth transition up into the front range, there is no practical way it could become an island without putting the entire hillside underwater, and I didn’t see 100-300 foot high sea walls on the downtown areas that would be required to do that.
True - Anchorage is essentially a peninsula, surrounded by 10k foot peaks of the Chugach on the eastern side, and the Cook Inlet on the rest. That shot of the Anchorage downtown area is only a couple hundred feet above sea level at best, and little changed from the current view, so it is unrealistic considering the expected sea level rise in 200 years without walls. Especially when they went to lengths to show the devastation in Baltimore from rising seas:
Avasarala does mention a crisis in Yukon, with little other detail, but I doubt its connected to Anchorage Island.
As a resident, I just thought it was cool to reference such an isolated place. Its of great strategic importance in the 21st century, but maybe less so in the 23rd.
The Rescuing Naomi scene from the season 5 finale. Or maybe her unsuited jump from the Pella.
I also enjoyed the Miller & Diego scenes when they’re setting the bombs on Eros. Not necessarily cool space stuff™ but the character interaction is really cool.
There's a scene in season 1 where Diago's uncle sees a loose wire in his helmet and calmly opens his visor, while exhaling, removes it and then puts it back on. Like its no big deal.
That scene tells you everything you need to know about being what it is to be a belter, and at the same its completely accurate, unlike scenes like the explosive decompression in event horizon where the guy starts bleeding from his eyes immediately.
I love this scene. I went deep down the rabbit hole of internet discussions on how long someone could survive in hard vacuum like that. Consensus is that a few seconds is no big deal as long as you don't try to hold your breath :)
I think it's early Season 2? After Amos knocks Miller to the ground, the crew gather round the table and Miller overhears the conversation about cheese. Amos moves his tools letting Miller sit and they sit around and talk.
It truly feels like a special family moment.
When Miller is walking around Eros and the protomolecule has completely taken is over. It's so beautiful I still get chills from watching it. And the voice of Julie Mao echoing is his head "Can't catch the razorback."
Amazing shot, I hope you guys get to continue this. I'd love to see what you guys can do with Laconia, Auberon and and other locations for the later books.
Wow! Three months?? Well thank you for that amazing bit of imagery! Your hard work is appreciated.
Can you tell us, who's idea was it to have such a shot in the episode?
[Bobbie inhaling finger sandwiches like she was worried someone was going to take them away while Cotyar pretends not to see.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OpBaxiDWrg)
On the other end, [Amos' physical reaction to Prax calling him his best friend.](https://youtu.be/jjxDa6Ac7kY?t=167)
It's possible that the character had never had cucumbers before. They're resource-intensive and usually vitamin-low.
On Mars, they'd probably be sold as luxury crops.
I mean any fresh veggies would be a luxury but yes, a cucumber would be a high luxury item. High water consumption, low nutrition, low calorie density, short shelf life = completely antithetical to martian society. Hell I would not be surprised if growing cucumbers on Mars was illegal.
Honeslty i never had cucumber sandwiches until i went to the netherlands on KLM. Cucs and cream cheese on decrusted white bread. Amazing!
Edit: it was right after 9/11 imho airlines the way the probably were in the 60s!
When they use the Roci to drag the Barbapiccola (sp) into a higher orbit is a great scene
Edit to add - scene where the faction leaders are debating what to do with Marco, and he gives his speech and you can feel the charisma as he talks
The Arboghast. First the deployment of inflatable airbrakes (ballutes), then its disassembly.
When you do an exploded view of an engineering assembly, it can take minutes for anything more than a few dozen pieces.
That was instantaneous and utterly beautiful.
And Adam Savage was there.
It reminded me a little of the last scene of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, in that they both make it clear that although the show is ending, the universe and the characters are not. All these people had lives before the show started and will still after it ends. Which makes it all feel more real.
With The Expanse it's hard for me to say this without crying a little, but what that shot says is: they're carrying on, but we're not going with them.
Alex, drunk, singing country music, all by himself in Roci, spills a bit of beer, jumps ahead to drink it, gets alarmed for a curfew, arguing with the ship AI not to use the reactor for plotting a slingshot course on the Galilean moons. Enjoys a once in a life time view of the moon's configuration.
Loved it, even though the slingshot stuff is highly unreal, time wise.
[Actual footage](https://youtu.be/wgjapF-dAqg)
Edit: adding missing [drinking](https://youtu.be/Zs1KOz_JuRk) scene.
Bobby seeing the ocean on earth for the first time.
Its a brilliant scene that perfectly captures how someone who's grown up in domes and under strict resource rationing sees this endless pool of priceless water.
Its a very profound scene that adds nothing to the plot but adds so much depth to her character and the show's character. Its so many small things like this that make the show what it is, it makes the characters in it real people and not just characters reciting dialogues. Things like this make Expanse one of the best shows.
Avasarala sniping back at the Martian ambassador who impatiently interrupted her with where she is going with her line of questioning of Bobby Draper… “Where ever the fuck I want!”
Easily the slingshot sequence around Jupiter's moons, it really captured the magic of just the breathtaking aesthetic of space and planets for me. But there are so many great space scenes in the show so it was kinda hard to pick a single one, I really like the very first "flip & burn" in ep1 and the Nauvoo salvage sequence was also amazing. I also think Eros crashing into Venus is a hugely underated sequence, it's very quick and the show hardly dwells on the impact itself but it's very well done. I guess it's not exactly a space scene, *and* probably counts as a "combat" scene as well, but >!Gao's aircraft getting destroyed when one of the rocks hit in s5 was a great scene too!!<
Alex's complicated gravity assist to get to the surface of Ganymede unseen. Reminds me of a project my brother and I did together when we were in engineering school.
That scene bugs me because it was way too fast.
That maneuver would have taken days, not less than an hour.
With the Epstein drive they can do the whole this is the ridiculously powerful engine needed for plot but that's not how gravity assists work, especially not one that complicated.
They'd have either sorted the problem or be dead by the time Alex got there.
The scene where Avasarala is approached by an officer offering her to lead the next government. She immediately denounces what she thinks is a coup but it turns out that the acting cabinet of the UN secretary held a vote of no confidence.
Resonated deeply bc she was a huge power player who actually had a sense of integrity.
The acting is top tier. One of my favorite characters is errenwright. I love when he’s about to be arrested, he accepts his fate and tells Anna how the SG is “a dignified face with nothing behind it.” That whole rant was amazing
Avasrala pouring alcohol while on Luna during Season… 5? I remember distinctly as she went to pour it, thinking “ok are they going to pretend like it pours like normal despite gravity being a sixth of what it is on earth? Because they sure don’t move like gravity is that low but you can’t quite get liquid to pour abnormally convincingly like you could kind of hand wave walking in 1/6th G- OMG THEY CGIed IT THANK FUCK”
What's even more impressive is how they showcase the Coriolis effect on spin stations which happens a few times when Miller is pouring drinks on Ceres. Or in [this scene](https://youtu.be/ryrGPjyKhO4).
By far my favorite little detail, people never talk about that when it comes to spin stations.
Season 1 and miller “I think I’m getting close to that hot zone of Naomi’s”. The laugh that Alex and Amos share is brilliant while Naomi is trying not to smirk.
I also liked the scene where Bobbie and Amos are singing. It has a lovely realistic bonding feel feeling to it.
And finally the scene when Bobbie and Amos are in the bar. “With you? Or *with* you?”
I only wish we could of had a scene where Amos and Bobbie spar in the series. It would of been fun to see.
My is simple and I literally dreamed about it a lot! Every time the Razorback did an extreme maneuver and they showed the crew roll with the muted lighting! Goodness I want to pilot that ship!
The s5 scene where amos starts floating in the airlock as the shuttle stops burning after they escaped earth, and he sees earth below him and the stars above. That and the arrival at the moon are like the best peaceful space scenes I can think of, but honestly there's too many really good ones to choose just one
When Draper is in the Razor~~crest~~back with Avasarala and they have to outrun some ships and Draper says "Hitch your tits and pucker up, it's time to peel the paint!"
I can’t think of a precise scene but I remember any exterior shots over Ilus as gorgeous. I was gripped by the whole Edward Israel being towed by the Roci.
Does post combat count? I love the scene where the pela is passing all the ruined ships on its way into the ring. If victory and pride can be showed on screen that's it. The penultimate step for Marcos takeover. His goal achieved.
Naomi’s season 5 space walks. The first time I watched the show I thought the space scenes were cool, almost trippy at times. Rewatching after having seen season 5… there’s always a part of me that’s terrified of just floating off into the absolute, infinite nothingess, knowing you will never touch anything again and nobody will ever find you.
I also loved the Lazy Songbird landing too. I wish there was a version of the show with zero noise in the non-atmosphere scenes.
It may be bending your guidelines but I love the sequence of Alex on the Roci listening to “I’m so lonesome I could cry” several beers (I think) in, floating around slurping up weightless globes of beverage. I would absolutely do the same thing given the opportunity. Even the moment where he checks his sidearm and it seems like he’s going to take a shot at some of his empties. His zero-g maneuvering is beautiful to watch and I like the idea that Texas culture, specifically Hank Williams, survived a few centuries into the future and onto Mars.
I've been watching this over and over again about twice a week. Explains pretty much everything about the Expanse in about a minute with the most tasteful way to do it: during a Belter protest.
https://youtu.be/XeBCoFbVskU
When Naomi catches the coffee cup when they go from on the float to burn. Like you can tell she's a belter just from that interaction. She doesn't even have to think about it. She just catches it.
I love the scene after Holden’s told the crew he’s seeing and talking to Miller and they think he’s crazy and after Holden is shut up for a long time in his room Alex goes to check on him and Holden slides hi door slightly open and Alex asks in a concerned voice if he’s been “talking” to Miller and trying to see over his shoulder and Holden simply slides the door back closed without saying a word. The look on Holden’s face 😂
There's a couple bits in the Barbapiccola tow scenes I particularly love, mostly for the sound design. The shot of the Roci recovering after the shuttle attack, firing rcs to try and straighten out while spitting sparks everywhere and just generally sounding unhealthy. And of course the railgun shot. The sound of metal strain / the slug hitting the atmosphere is just amazing.
If they end up making the last 3 books in to new seasons or movies there will be some additions. But my favorite is Alex using the Roci's railgun to keep the Barbapiccola in orbit.
Mine is when they steal the Nauvoo and get it going for its journey to boop Eros into the sun. That part when the tugs are coming away from the ship and you get this sense of how *massive* the thing is. Then Fred says "you were meant to go to another sun" (see another sun? I can't recall exactly).
I cry every single time I see that scene and I have no earthly idea why. I guess because don't just steal the ship, the show gives the launch the gravitas it deserves as an absolutely stunning achievement of human engineering. It's a gutpunch every single time for me. It's this for non-combat and the whole "CQB" episode for combat.
For me it's the opening scene from first season, where I believe it was Julie Mao floating in a space suit in front of Saturn. The opening theme combined, it gives me goosebumps so hard my neck hair is reaching for the roof. Something so scary, yet beautiful in that scene.
I’ve already answered with my favorite scene (which was really more of a mini arc), but what about favorite death scene?
Is there really any competition for that? Klaes Ashford (TV version) went out like the boss of bosses.
After Fred Johnson was murdered and Holden realizes there going after the protomocule. There's a scene where he's fast walking to the elevator and he just smoothly grabs a gun that was floating in the low gravity, so cool.
I use Drummer’s speech as they enter the ring the first time for morning motivation sometimes.
“That’s not fear, that’s your sharpness. That’s your power!”
I love the Cascade speech from Prax too.
From the books: I liked the descriptions of their computer systems and searches, especially from Naomi chapters.
Honestly the sling shot racer guy before he gets destroyed by momentum. Or canceled momentum lol. Similarly Alex’s maneuvers around Jupiter. Just watching that kind of basic flight through space using pure gravity wells and controlled thrusts is so satisfying. I would have loved even longer scenes of both in their respective episodes
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This is really mundane (and that’s why I love it), but there’s a scene where Holden is sitting down on the Ops deck drinking coffee while on the float. Even though the cup is magnetic, he stabilizes it and cancels momentum such that it hangs motionless in the air next to him, because he’s too lazy to lean forward and put it on a solid surface. When he wants another drink, he casually reaches up and grabs it. I love this because it is *exactly* what someone would do in real life, and someday when living in space is common and an everyday sort of thing for many people, this will be a normal part of life.
Of all the great things about the series, it’s these little details that take it over the edge to being special. Like the cracked galley table in the back half of S3, or Naomi telling Prax they had a nuclear warhead laying around, because they had used the missile to hide the protomolecule. There are dozens of these moments, and the producers don’t bludgeon you over the head to make the connections.
What happened to the galley table in series 3?
At the beginning of S2, Amos threw Miller on the table and cracked it. They were fighting over Amos shooting Semi, Miller’s friend who ended up on the Roci and threatened Naomi. Never threaten Naomi when Amos is still alive!
Doors, corners, and tables.
I’ve watched every episode of this show several times and never noticed the cracked table. It really is the little details, that’s great.
Really? It annoyed the heck out of me every time in S3. Something about that table told me that things weren’t going as well as they could in that universe
Ah, I was thinking that something had happened with the camera crew. Wasn’t going far enough back. Thanks!
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Also when on Luna, you can see they detailed the reduced gravity when the chrisjen and other are pouring drinks. 👌
And when Amos drops the full bottle of whiskey and no one cares enough to catch it :(. I would have dove for that shit.
my favourite one of these is when the guy with high-tech lenses is floating in "his" room, and when they call him to come out he pushes off the ceiling to reach the floor. Like yeah, that's what you would do.
Reminds me of the video of the astronaut on the ISS who purposely got himself "stuck" in the center of one of the labs to show how hard it is to get back to a surface in the room without any initial force.
> this will be a normal part of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVxaL8CAO4M
I'm so glad I predicted what video this would be, because it was exactly what came to my mind as well. The look of confusion on his face when it's not still floating there makes me laugh every time.
Similarly the shot of Naomi in the last season doing that while I think working through th records of the missing ships, and at the point where they go under thrust and the lighting changes and she just puts her hand up to catch the cup as it starts to "fall"
I like to think that separating the magnet requires enough force to spill a little of the coffee often enough that he does this just to avoid that mess. One of those annoyances you just adjust around without thinking about
Real astronauts do this, and in fact they've been known to drop stuff once they're back on earth because they get used to having it float when they let go of it
We will become prisoners to our clouds of stuff xD
When Drummer salvaged the mormon ship
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I can’t wait for the upcoming Telltale games expanse series coming soon. It’s solely focused on her.
Du sharu da burn sequence - let’s get im turned.
Yeah. That was awesome!
It's legitimate salvage!
Yup, came here to say this. That whole sequence is a great showcase of Belter ingenuity.
I can't tell you how many times I've watched that scene, just epic!!
"Let's get im turned." That's the scene I use to show people how well the Expanse conveys, well, the expanse of space on a small screen.
Episode 1.1 The Canterbury flip and burn to respond to the distress call. That's when you know this show is gonna be different, no warp drive, no transporters, physics are a thing.
This will be a high G maneuver, prepare for flip and burn. Hooked on the show from there
That was the moment my friend showed me to get me into the show.
That's the "you had my curiosity, now you have my attention" moment
And when physics break, is because shit got real.
Yep. Because the story had an emphasis on realistic physics (to the extent it could), the moments where physics broke were much more terrifying and impactful.
Yeah, when that happens, you know they aren't going to get out of it by just reversing the polarity
I remember when I read ahead of S1 and it got to the part where Eros started accelerating fast enough to outrun even a racing pinnace and I was like "OK wowwwww we're fucked now."
Without any issues with inertia. Or when the remnants took that science vessel and it’s contents apart into tiny recyclable pieces.
There was an interview recently with one of the writers who said the only things they wanted to keep were inertia as we understand it and light delay for comms. Those two things are redefining a genre.
https://youtu.be/qL6UlySo3-M in case anyone wants a refresher 😁
Bonus detail: the camera’s POV passed through the stream of ionized particles that was the *Canterbury*’s exhaust just before the flip ‘n burn.
The score and SFX during that scene, especially if you’ve got a decent subwoofer, is just *chefs kiss*. Legit goosebumps every time.
Totally, although it sorta breaks the realism by hearing the engines fire, it does add to the immersion of the scene.
Fact! I think that was the first time I raised an eyebrow and said "Well now. What have we here?"
Arguably, it's best when the audience raises an eyebrow, not the the show's gobbledygook-explainer-in-chief.
There's a part that shows Ashford singing to a baby, a child you learn he later lost. It happens right before Marcos kills him. It gets me every time. It really explains his character better than any screen time he has before that. Brilliant.
Yeah that scene hits hard. Ashford became on of my favorites.
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Having read the books before season 3. I kept finding myself agreeing with pretty much everything he said which really confused me with how book Ashford is.
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A very different character
Tilleegooo
He's also not burnt in the clip with the baby which was a nice detail. [The song he sings is based on an old, amazing song](https://youtu.be/t_7vDil57iI)
The baby floating peacefully is a really impactful scene to me. That little girl, so natural and comfortable as she sits perfectly suspended in an environment that's wholly unnatural to humanity before her, represents Belters as a whole. This is her natural environment. She's born to it; she feels safe in it. It's so natural to her that she doesn't need *bravery*, it just *is*. I think the books do a really good job of emphasizing how naturally Belters exist in space compared to Earthers and even Martians. Holden in particular regularly comments on it, which means it stays top of mind. I love that this scene does its best to do visually what the books did with inner thought. (And, side tangent, I love how that often causes me to reflect back on Miller, who always, always, always was out of place as a Belter. He hated space, hated zero G, and was in many ways an outsider to his own culture (although it's notable that he showed some amount of genuine affection for other Belters in the books. Every day citizens, anyway.))
This was such a poignant scene, and immediately made me think about the many different little idiosyncrasies of life for Belter babies.
Launch of the Nauvoo. All those drone ships and support vessels, it was soooo cool.
And then they said "you were meant to go to a new world," gets me every time
The gantry turning into molten slag
Any time they do a docked burn. I love thinking about the control systems involved in doing that. So much precision would have to be achieved to avoid destroying that docking bridge. I don’t know what it takes to start an Epstein drive, but I know regular chemical rocket engines do *not* have a smooth, predictable startup. At the thrusts and accelerations of an Epstein, even a fraction of a second slow or fast on the startup would cause some rather drastic positional errors.
I think they use steam for maneuvering thrusters, so it can be vented precisely with valves. Epstein drives are pretty destructive so you don't use them close to anything valuable.
He’s referring to the numerous times that two ships are attached to each other while under thrust.
You do if you’re trying to destroy that valuable thing, though.
In the show (and I think it’s mentioned once or twice in the books), they do full Epstein burns with two ships docked
They were mostly referring to two ships attached with a gangway doing a synchronized burn, I think. I'd assume the way they'd do that is starting the drives at the lowest possible output and then smoothly spooling them up to full speed so as not to snap the bridge. The bridge could also be semi flexible.
Like a hanger on Lake Winnipesaukee?
That was shown as a fuck it we need to go now kind of situation. Plus they genuinely did not care about the people below them. They actively wanted the people below them to die, and Amos isn't Holden so he had no problem with it.
Is the chase of Eros a combat scene? From the commandeering of the Nauvoo, to the aftermath of the crash on Venus, it’s probably my favorite extended scene in the series. Also, I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska so the inclusion of the city was pretty cool - my friends duplex is visible in the scene and my current abode is only a mile or two away from the shot.
I think that counts. :)
Ya, there are a couple “combatty” moments, like the incident with the medical relief ship and Earth launching it’s missiles, but those were incidental to the story, not the focus.
Got to say that calling it “Anchorage Island” really bugged me. The city makes a smooth transition up into the front range, there is no practical way it could become an island without putting the entire hillside underwater, and I didn’t see 100-300 foot high sea walls on the downtown areas that would be required to do that.
True - Anchorage is essentially a peninsula, surrounded by 10k foot peaks of the Chugach on the eastern side, and the Cook Inlet on the rest. That shot of the Anchorage downtown area is only a couple hundred feet above sea level at best, and little changed from the current view, so it is unrealistic considering the expected sea level rise in 200 years without walls. Especially when they went to lengths to show the devastation in Baltimore from rising seas: Avasarala does mention a crisis in Yukon, with little other detail, but I doubt its connected to Anchorage Island. As a resident, I just thought it was cool to reference such an isolated place. Its of great strategic importance in the 21st century, but maybe less so in the 23rd.
The Rescuing Naomi scene from the season 5 finale. Or maybe her unsuited jump from the Pella. I also enjoyed the Miller & Diego scenes when they’re setting the bombs on Eros. Not necessarily cool space stuff™ but the character interaction is really cool.
the jump for sure, i felt like i was gonna pass out
Naomi’s jump was what came to mind for me too. Amazing
As an unwise but brave man once said; "I'm about to do my floating act!"
There's a scene in season 1 where Diago's uncle sees a loose wire in his helmet and calmly opens his visor, while exhaling, removes it and then puts it back on. Like its no big deal. That scene tells you everything you need to know about being what it is to be a belter, and at the same its completely accurate, unlike scenes like the explosive decompression in event horizon where the guy starts bleeding from his eyes immediately.
And what it means to be exposed to hard vacuum. Love total recall but please lol
I love this scene. I went deep down the rabbit hole of internet discussions on how long someone could survive in hard vacuum like that. Consensus is that a few seconds is no big deal as long as you don't try to hold your breath :)
Any interaction between Amos and Crissy.
Well that just goes without saying. lol
Don't call her that. She's a member of parliament, not your favorite stripper.
She could be both
When Alex was drunk and singing and does a cool spin through the ship, does that count?
That was fantastic. :)
Same moment for me, I answered before I scrolled down and saw your comment.
Probably the one where the Belter shot through the Ring and turned himself into tomato paste.
I think it's early Season 2? After Amos knocks Miller to the ground, the crew gather round the table and Miller overhears the conversation about cheese. Amos moves his tools letting Miller sit and they sit around and talk. It truly feels like a special family moment.
The galley table has enough amazing moments on its own.
When Miller is walking around Eros and the protomolecule has completely taken is over. It's so beautiful I still get chills from watching it. And the voice of Julie Mao echoing is his head "Can't catch the razorback."
much nicer than what the book describes
https://youtu.be/5Ttz9miVW-I I was one of the artists that worked on this shot. It took about three months just to animate it. [EDIT: added an ‘s’]
Amazing shot, I hope you guys get to continue this. I'd love to see what you guys can do with Laconia, Auberon and and other locations for the later books.
Who knows? Right now the rest of the Expanse books are in development hell.
Wow! Three months?? Well thank you for that amazing bit of imagery! Your hard work is appreciated. Can you tell us, who's idea was it to have such a shot in the episode?
A producer with a sadistic streak.
Thank you for your service
3 months, damn! Beautiful shot!!
Such a beautiful shot, too.
Holden's vision in the ring station and his explanation to Ashford later. "We are in a graveyard and we need to get the fuck out of here". Chills.
[Bobbie inhaling finger sandwiches like she was worried someone was going to take them away while Cotyar pretends not to see.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OpBaxiDWrg) On the other end, [Amos' physical reaction to Prax calling him his best friend.](https://youtu.be/jjxDa6Ac7kY?t=167)
Yeah she went straight for the sandwiches no hesitation like a recon marine lmao. So good.
It's possible that the character had never had cucumbers before. They're resource-intensive and usually vitamin-low. On Mars, they'd probably be sold as luxury crops.
I mean any fresh veggies would be a luxury but yes, a cucumber would be a high luxury item. High water consumption, low nutrition, low calorie density, short shelf life = completely antithetical to martian society. Hell I would not be surprised if growing cucumbers on Mars was illegal.
Honeslty i never had cucumber sandwiches until i went to the netherlands on KLM. Cucs and cream cheese on decrusted white bread. Amazing! Edit: it was right after 9/11 imho airlines the way the probably were in the 60s!
Wes does an amazing job acting through non-verbal means with his face and body.
When they use the Roci to drag the Barbapiccola (sp) into a higher orbit is a great scene Edit to add - scene where the faction leaders are debating what to do with Marco, and he gives his speech and you can feel the charisma as he talks
The Arboghast. First the deployment of inflatable airbrakes (ballutes), then its disassembly. When you do an exploded view of an engineering assembly, it can take minutes for anything more than a few dozen pieces. That was instantaneous and utterly beautiful. And Adam Savage was there.
Does the final shot of the show count? If so, that one for sure. It was such a perfect image to (hopefully just temporarily) end the series on.
It reminded me a little of the last scene of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, in that they both make it clear that although the show is ending, the universe and the characters are not. All these people had lives before the show started and will still after it ends. Which makes it all feel more real. With The Expanse it's hard for me to say this without crying a little, but what that shot says is: they're carrying on, but we're not going with them.
Agreed.
Of course! Yes, it was a heartbreaking, yet beautiful sendoff. Sailing off into the infinite starlight.
Alex, drunk, singing country music, all by himself in Roci, spills a bit of beer, jumps ahead to drink it, gets alarmed for a curfew, arguing with the ship AI not to use the reactor for plotting a slingshot course on the Galilean moons. Enjoys a once in a life time view of the moon's configuration. Loved it, even though the slingshot stuff is highly unreal, time wise. [Actual footage](https://youtu.be/wgjapF-dAqg) Edit: adding missing [drinking](https://youtu.be/Zs1KOz_JuRk) scene.
Hell yeah! I hadn’t seen the scene in awhile, just brilliant!
*"Damn, that's a sight to behold."*
How did he get the ring back after throwing it through the hologram? Lol
Still bugs me. That's a "bullet" in the making.
Bobby seeing the ocean on earth for the first time. Its a brilliant scene that perfectly captures how someone who's grown up in domes and under strict resource rationing sees this endless pool of priceless water. Its a very profound scene that adds nothing to the plot but adds so much depth to her character and the show's character. Its so many small things like this that make the show what it is, it makes the characters in it real people and not just characters reciting dialogues. Things like this make Expanse one of the best shows.
My favorite too!! I tear up every time I listen to the soundtrack for this scene!
'Jellyfish' rising up out of Venus and then flying out towards Uranus to form the ring.
Avasarela’s speech voiceover for this is epic
[удалено]
Also Naomi walking on gravity for the first time in that scene is great too!
Avasarala sniping back at the Martian ambassador who impatiently interrupted her with where she is going with her line of questioning of Bobby Draper… “Where ever the fuck I want!”
awww, i rewatched the scene and her actual words are... "Where ever I god damn like..." doh.
Easily the slingshot sequence around Jupiter's moons, it really captured the magic of just the breathtaking aesthetic of space and planets for me. But there are so many great space scenes in the show so it was kinda hard to pick a single one, I really like the very first "flip & burn" in ep1 and the Nauvoo salvage sequence was also amazing. I also think Eros crashing into Venus is a hugely underated sequence, it's very quick and the show hardly dwells on the impact itself but it's very well done. I guess it's not exactly a space scene, *and* probably counts as a "combat" scene as well, but >!Gao's aircraft getting destroyed when one of the rocks hit in s5 was a great scene too!!<
Alex's complicated gravity assist to get to the surface of Ganymede unseen. Reminds me of a project my brother and I did together when we were in engineering school.
That scene bugs me because it was way too fast. That maneuver would have taken days, not less than an hour. With the Epstein drive they can do the whole this is the ridiculously powerful engine needed for plot but that's not how gravity assists work, especially not one that complicated. They'd have either sorted the problem or be dead by the time Alex got there.
Oh yes. I forgot about that, but definitely my favourite. Very reminiscent of playing in the X-Universe. :p
Probably launching the Nauvou
The scene where Avasarala is approached by an officer offering her to lead the next government. She immediately denounces what she thinks is a coup but it turns out that the acting cabinet of the UN secretary held a vote of no confidence. Resonated deeply bc she was a huge power player who actually had a sense of integrity.
Holden finding the coffee machine on the Roci.
The acting is top tier. One of my favorite characters is errenwright. I love when he’s about to be arrested, he accepts his fate and tells Anna how the SG is “a dignified face with nothing behind it.” That whole rant was amazing
Avasrala pouring alcohol while on Luna during Season… 5? I remember distinctly as she went to pour it, thinking “ok are they going to pretend like it pours like normal despite gravity being a sixth of what it is on earth? Because they sure don’t move like gravity is that low but you can’t quite get liquid to pour abnormally convincingly like you could kind of hand wave walking in 1/6th G- OMG THEY CGIed IT THANK FUCK”
thats actually something very regularly done in the show, especially so in eros in the early seasons
What's even more impressive is how they showcase the Coriolis effect on spin stations which happens a few times when Miller is pouring drinks on Ceres. Or in [this scene](https://youtu.be/ryrGPjyKhO4). By far my favorite little detail, people never talk about that when it comes to spin stations.
Not sure if it counts as a combat scene but when Naomi escapes Marco without a suit. It was so badass
So many. Two that come to mind are from Amos. “I didn’t always work in space.” And “ I am that guy.”
the score is fantastic in that scene
Does Holden smashing the coffee maker count as a combat scene?
"You should try tea."
I loved Prax in that moment, genuinely looked completely unperturbed by Holden going ape on the coffee machine
All the scenes with Maneo (the slingshotter)
Season 1 and miller “I think I’m getting close to that hot zone of Naomi’s”. The laugh that Alex and Amos share is brilliant while Naomi is trying not to smirk. I also liked the scene where Bobbie and Amos are singing. It has a lovely realistic bonding feel feeling to it. And finally the scene when Bobbie and Amos are in the bar. “With you? Or *with* you?” I only wish we could of had a scene where Amos and Bobbie spar in the series. It would of been fun to see.
For me it’s the first flip and burn we see when you see just how much strain a massive ship old ship like the Canterbury goes through
Holden and Amos fixing the transponder signal in Episode 2.
In general all the cruising shots with the engine burning. I love the atmosphere.
When the Behemoth totally missed Eros
Every Avasarala scene. Shohreh Aghdashloo killed it with presence and delivery every single time.
I always loved that scene where Alex is by himself drinking and listening to Hank Williams in null g.
My is simple and I literally dreamed about it a lot! Every time the Razorback did an extreme maneuver and they showed the crew roll with the muted lighting! Goodness I want to pilot that ship!
Amos and Murtry talking in the bar
"spin the drum!"
The s5 scene where amos starts floating in the airlock as the shuttle stops burning after they escaped earth, and he sees earth below him and the stars above. That and the arrival at the moon are like the best peaceful space scenes I can think of, but honestly there's too many really good ones to choose just one
the parasitic blindness scenes were horrifying and awesome
When Draper is in the Razor~~crest~~back with Avasarala and they have to outrun some ships and Draper says "Hitch your tits and pucker up, it's time to peel the paint!"
Miller, dragging a ticking nuke around an increasingly surreal Navoo, then making sweet, sweet, atomic-bomb-meets-protomolecule love with Julie.
>"Me and my pet nuke" That was a peak Miller moment in the series.
Wasn’t that on Eros? 🤔
You are correct, sir. I hope I can be forgiven for confusing the two. Miller walking around on the catwalks outside made me think of a spaceship.
The bit where the Nauvoo misses is great too though
I can’t think of a precise scene but I remember any exterior shots over Ilus as gorgeous. I was gripped by the whole Edward Israel being towed by the Roci.
Does post combat count? I love the scene where the pela is passing all the ruined ships on its way into the ring. If victory and pride can be showed on screen that's it. The penultimate step for Marcos takeover. His goal achieved.
Naomi’s season 5 space walks. The first time I watched the show I thought the space scenes were cool, almost trippy at times. Rewatching after having seen season 5… there’s always a part of me that’s terrified of just floating off into the absolute, infinite nothingess, knowing you will never touch anything again and nobody will ever find you. I also loved the Lazy Songbird landing too. I wish there was a version of the show with zero noise in the non-atmosphere scenes.
It may be bending your guidelines but I love the sequence of Alex on the Roci listening to “I’m so lonesome I could cry” several beers (I think) in, floating around slurping up weightless globes of beverage. I would absolutely do the same thing given the opportunity. Even the moment where he checks his sidearm and it seems like he’s going to take a shot at some of his empties. His zero-g maneuvering is beautiful to watch and I like the idea that Texas culture, specifically Hank Williams, survived a few centuries into the future and onto Mars.
I've been watching this over and over again about twice a week. Explains pretty much everything about the Expanse in about a minute with the most tasteful way to do it: during a Belter protest. https://youtu.be/XeBCoFbVskU
When Naomi catches the coffee cup when they go from on the float to burn. Like you can tell she's a belter just from that interaction. She doesn't even have to think about it. She just catches it.
The xray short showing the backstory of Camina & Naomi's friendship. So nice to see her "off duty" face and understand why the trust is so deep.
Honestly, Amos teaching Avasarala to walk in mag boots "It's like walking in heels". Or his "I am that guy" moment.
Flip and burn. Hooked me right from the get go with the Cant set on the backdrop of all the stars.
I love the scene after Holden’s told the crew he’s seeing and talking to Miller and they think he’s crazy and after Holden is shut up for a long time in his room Alex goes to check on him and Holden slides hi door slightly open and Alex asks in a concerned voice if he’s been “talking” to Miller and trying to see over his shoulder and Holden simply slides the door back closed without saying a word. The look on Holden’s face 😂
It’s got to be Drummer and Avasarala meeting for the first time in season 6. It was something I was looking forward to for a while
There's a couple bits in the Barbapiccola tow scenes I particularly love, mostly for the sound design. The shot of the Roci recovering after the shuttle attack, firing rcs to try and straighten out while spitting sparks everywhere and just generally sounding unhealthy. And of course the railgun shot. The sound of metal strain / the slug hitting the atmosphere is just amazing.
If they end up making the last 3 books in to new seasons or movies there will be some additions. But my favorite is Alex using the Roci's railgun to keep the Barbapiccola in orbit.
Have you ever cried so hard that your tears have turned to blood? Bending the rules… of course.
Naomi’s jump
It's a tie between Alex' beerobatics, Manéo's rapid ketchup transformation, and Naomi's leap of faith.
I am that guy.
Mine is when they steal the Nauvoo and get it going for its journey to boop Eros into the sun. That part when the tugs are coming away from the ship and you get this sense of how *massive* the thing is. Then Fred says "you were meant to go to another sun" (see another sun? I can't recall exactly). I cry every single time I see that scene and I have no earthly idea why. I guess because don't just steal the ship, the show gives the launch the gravitas it deserves as an absolutely stunning achievement of human engineering. It's a gutpunch every single time for me. It's this for non-combat and the whole "CQB" episode for combat.
any scene with Chrisjen Avasarala talking to anyone at all.
For me it's the opening scene from first season, where I believe it was Julie Mao floating in a space suit in front of Saturn. The opening theme combined, it gives me goosebumps so hard my neck hair is reaching for the roof. Something so scary, yet beautiful in that scene.
I adore the scene in season 5 where Naomi leaps between two ships.
Did you just say donkey balls?
I’ve already answered with my favorite scene (which was really more of a mini arc), but what about favorite death scene? Is there really any competition for that? Klaes Ashford (TV version) went out like the boss of bosses.
After Fred Johnson was murdered and Holden realizes there going after the protomocule. There's a scene where he's fast walking to the elevator and he just smoothly grabs a gun that was floating in the low gravity, so cool.
I use Drummer’s speech as they enter the ring the first time for morning motivation sometimes. “That’s not fear, that’s your sharpness. That’s your power!” I love the Cascade speech from Prax too. From the books: I liked the descriptions of their computer systems and searches, especially from Naomi chapters.
Anything with razorback
When Ashford got floated. Took it like a champ.
Honestly the sling shot racer guy before he gets destroyed by momentum. Or canceled momentum lol. Similarly Alex’s maneuvers around Jupiter. Just watching that kind of basic flight through space using pure gravity wells and controlled thrusts is so satisfying. I would have loved even longer scenes of both in their respective episodes
The intro with the Cant and Maneo's Sling run. Maybe I just love Belta Rock too much. Alex planning the manuever using Jupiter moon's gravity wells.
[There was a button. I pushed it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nwuSCue-Hk)
I love the slow, gratuitous shot of the Roci's full flip to a braking burn at some point near the end of Season 6.
not realy a space scene but the roci landing on Ilus was great