Firstly, as I say with all reviews, ignore any that are '1' or '10' - as they tend to be either bots or promotion companies.
The Expanse is a series that can be divided into two halves...
Seasons 1-3 created possibly the greatest sci-fi experience in the past 30 years. The intricate detail included on physics, locations, factions and their individual culture and technology is something rarely seen in modern-day TV (alas). The storylines are strong, intelligent, believable and rational. The universe is big, the action feels realistic and the characters are perfectly developed. This results in the viewer really caring about what happens to each person, as their different quests begin to unfold - eventually all linking together through superb scripting. As others have quite rightly said on here, what we get is one of the best sci-fi shows of all time and a style in which other shows have poorly tried to imitate since (shame on you current Star Trek writers). However...
Seasons 4-5: This of course is the point where Amazon and their production team pick up the reins - the second half of the show.
Season 4 had its plus points, in that the team continue the story in a similar fashion, with three main storylines occurring. However, the writing feels different, predictable and the pacing really hits the buffers - with the crew of the Rocinante stuck in one location for the whole 10 episodes. Character development seems somewhat less realistic, more clichéd and the casting even less on point (eg Brian George's Arjun being recast as Michael Benyaer). Much can be attributed to the book that the season is based on, with the producers acknowledging their mistakes.
Sadly, season 5 is where the wheels come off. It's a whole lot of nothing and essentially feels like a totally different show. It takes 10 episodes for the whole crew to meet up for a drinks reception on the moon. 7 episodes of Naomi's crying melodrama, 5 episodes of Alex and Bobbie sitting in a small space, and 10 episodes of me trying to work out how old Naomi would need to be to have a 20 year-old son?! Gone is the clarity of direction, the geo-political realism and the intelligence of the earlier scripts. It's almost like the show had a 60% budget cut, leaving the universe feeling small and the show feeling amateur. Yes, there's a global pandemic going on, but most of us would have been happier to wait for a better end product.
My biggest issue with season 5 is the inclusion of the most-meaningless and potentially-worst character death of all time, that was clearly added post-production (and no, not the equally pointless 'prison escape' episode). We're all aware of the external situation and film/TV companies wanting to act holier than holy, but surely a cast change would have been the more sensible and less nuclear option? Not to mention he was one the favourite characters up to this point.
Sadly, the second half has spoilt what started out as a great show. Memo of the story: Finish while you're on top, keep your original script team, eliminate needless character deaths and don't let Amazon take over your show.
The Expanse is a series that can be divided into two halves...
Seasons 1-3 created possibly the greatest sci-fi experience in the past 30 years. The intricate detail included on physics, locations, factions and their individual culture and technology is something rarely seen in modern-day TV (alas). The storylines are strong, intelligent, believable and rational. The universe is big, the action feels realistic and the characters are perfectly developed. This results in the viewer really caring about what happens to each person, as their different quests begin to unfold - eventually all linking together through superb scripting. As others have quite rightly said on here, what we get is one of the best sci-fi shows of all time and a style in which other shows have poorly tried to imitate since (shame on you current Star Trek writers). However...
Seasons 4-5: This of course is the point where Amazon and their production team pick up the reins - the second half of the show.
Season 4 had its plus points, in that the team continue the story in a similar fashion, with three main storylines occurring. However, the writing feels different, predictable and the pacing really hits the buffers - with the crew of the Rocinante stuck in one location for the whole 10 episodes. Character development seems somewhat less realistic, more clichéd and the casting even less on point (eg Brian George's Arjun being recast as Michael Benyaer). Much can be attributed to the book that the season is based on, with the producers acknowledging their mistakes.
Sadly, season 5 is where the wheels come off. It's a whole lot of nothing and essentially feels like a totally different show. It takes 10 episodes for the whole crew to meet up for a drinks reception on the moon. 7 episodes of Naomi's crying melodrama, 5 episodes of Alex and Bobbie sitting in a small space, and 10 episodes of me trying to work out how old Naomi would need to be to have a 20 year-old son?! Gone is the clarity of direction, the geo-political realism and the intelligence of the earlier scripts. It's almost like the show had a 60% budget cut, leaving the universe feeling small and the show feeling amateur. Yes, there's a global pandemic going on, but most of us would have been happier to wait for a better end product.
My biggest issue with season 5 is the inclusion of the most-meaningless and potentially-worst character death of all time, that was clearly added post-production (and no, not the equally pointless 'prison escape' episode). We're all aware of the external situation and film/TV companies wanting to act holier than holy, but surely a cast change would have been the more sensible and less nuclear option? Not to mention he was one the favourite characters up to this point.
Sadly, the second half has spoilt what started out as a great show. Memo of the story: Finish while you're on top, keep your original script team, eliminate needless character deaths and don't let Amazon take over your show.