Warning: spoilers ahead for episode nine of season five of “The Expanse.”
As season five of “The Expanse” draws to a close, episode nine, “Winnipesaukee,” gives us a thrilling escape from a mansion in frozen New Hampshire, sets up Drummer’s revenge, and delivers the return of Earth’s once and future queen.
On the decks of the
Razorback, the
Rocinante, and the
Pella, opinions diverge on what Naomi’s altered distress call means. Alex suspects something’s amiss but he and Bobbie decide they should still investigate. Likewise, while Bull and Monica have reservations, James is understandably blinded by his love for Naomi and orders they press onward full-steam ahead. As the
through it this season.
The end is near, Screaming Firehawks, and with just one
Expanse episode to go after this week’s blazing “Winnipesaukee,” the stage is set for a finale full of questions that need answering, conflicts we hope to see resolved, and a reunion we’ve been waiting almost all of season five to see. But first: PUNCH IT!
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“Winnipesaukee” opens with Marco (Keon Alexander) getting an update on a recent Free Navy battle, which resulted in some Martian and UN ships destroyed, but also multiple Belter deaths. “The Free Navy mourns our allies who died in this valiant effort,” he says diplomatically, before adding with a grin, “But it was worth the price.” His smarm dissipates when he gets a message from Karal (Olunike Adeliyi), his eyes and ears in Drummer’s fleet, and she lets him know that something odd happened with the fake distress call he set to broadcast from the bomb-rigged
Screenshot: Amazon Studios
I’m never going to stop talking about how good Dominique Tipper is in this show, and especially this season. Everyone in “Hard Vacuum” is facing something that seems impossible, but Naomi is struggling with the hardest, most physical manifestation of an impossible task. It’s an aching, exhausting, solo performance, and it anchors another solidly engrossing episode.
Spoilers follow!
Tipper never lets you forget that Naomi, stuck alone on the
Chetzemoka, is in incredible pain. (If you happened to Google “what would really happen to a body that spent a minute in space,” hey, we did the same thing this week.) Her situation is tenuous at best, but the strain is upped by her puffy hands and the fact that it clearly hurts her to do anything. And she’s got to figure out how to survive the stripped, rigged-to-explode ship and keep her crewmates out of danger. All while a fake taped recording cycles endlessly, asking to be passed on to James Holden
Image: Amazon Studios
The Expanse one of the best sci-fi shows ever, and one of the best TV shows (full stop) of 2020 dropped the first three episodes of season five all at once last week. This week, we just got one as the Amazon series switches to a weekly release format. But
damn, what an incredible episode.
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“Gaugamela” picks up immediately after the doom-laden events of “Mother,” and it advances several key plot threads that are all interconnected, despite taking place on different planets and other points across the solar system. We also see the return of a character who’s quite changed since we saw them last and get a re-introduction to someone very important who’s been lurking around the fringes of the story for some time now.
The Expanse Just Delivered an Explosive, Game-Changing Episode
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Fred Johnson (Chad Coleman) and his helmet art wall. (Image: Amazon Studios)
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The Expanse one of the best sci-fi shows ever, and one of the best TV shows (full stop) of 2020 dropped the first three episodes of season five all at once last week. This week, we just got one as the Amazon series switches to a weekly release format. But