The Expanse Podcast - Tales From The Rocinante

Want to listen to The Expanse series? Get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at solotalkmedia.com/audible. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Leviathan Wakes amongst them.

Send me your feedback 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This Week I have a special deadline of Fridays at 11am Eastern time to submit your feedback.

Welcome to The Expanse Podcast Double Take. This is where I give you my first impressions right after seeing the ninth episode of season 2 titled “The Weeping Somnambulist”. I’m creating these short posts to encourage listener feedback by asking questions about the episode.h

This week’s question are…

1) Will the woman on the Weeping Somnabulist cause any problems for our group?

2) Were the Earth/Mars talks a success?

3) What do you think Prax thinks about his situation?

I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed to this podcast and encourage you to join the discussion by sending in your feedback by calling +1-805-910-7656 or by e-mailing me at [email protected] or visiting the website at solotalkmedia.com. If you are enjoying this podcast please consider leaving me a review in iTunes.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

This episode Timestamps

[2:27] News

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the episode titled “Pyre”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the most recent episode. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

What are those High-G “Juice” Injections?

Alex Kamal’s Lasagna Recipe.

Belter Creole

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

The episode opens on Ganymede as during the battle as one of the orbital solar mirror crashes down, destroying a bio-dome garden.

An unknown time later Praxideke Meng wakes up on board a refugee ship for Ganymede survivors. He finds his friend Dorris who tells him that his daughter Mei is dead. Half the mirror came down on sector 4 where Mei was at a clinic for her doctor’s appointment.

Things are rough on the refugee ship. With Ganymede no longer an option, Parx and Dorris make plans to start over on Mars. The ship rendezvous with another ship to unload all refugees from Earth and Mars.

Prax follows Dorris as they load all the “innards” into the airlock but he’s denied access because he’s a belter. As Prax watches, the outer airlock door opens and the Earth and Mars refugees are ejected into space.

When he arrives on Tycho Station he tries to report the crime but he doesn’t know the names of the refugee ship he arrived on or the name of the person who opened the airlock.

——

At Tycho, Naomi and Alex return with Diogo but the kid won’t give up any information on Anderson Dawes whereabouts.

They discover that a four man skiff left Tycho from the opposite side of the station at the exact time as Dawes’ ship did. Diogo was a diversion. To bypass station security they needed an inside man.

Dawes sends Fred a message. Fred is his protégé but they must now part ways. Fred told Dawes the Protomolecule was destroyed but he still had Cortazar held away. Anderson thinks Fred was vying for power all for himself and not just for the belt. So Dawes took Fred’s secret weapon and will share it will all the belt.

One of the belters from Fred’s command centre secretly recorded Dawes’ message and shows it to his Black Sky contacts.

—

Fred and Holden discuss their options. Fred isn’t worried. They have all of Cortazar’s notes and data. The drives Dawes took with him are useless without the security codes. Holden is more concerned with the fact that Cortazar was getting messages from the Portomolecule.

Naomi is shocked but offers a solution to pinpoint where Cortazar was looking. Before implementing her plan, she returns to the Rocinante to verify on the hidden missile only she knows about. From what she can tell, nobody else has approached it.

She then accompanies Drummer to an antennae array that Cortazar had used. Along the way, Naomi learns how loyal Drummer is to Fred Johnson. She used to work with Anderson Dawes. When Dawes found Fred she and Johnson started talking and he gave her a new perspective on life so she followed him to Tycho. Once they access the antennae they are able to pinpoint where his Protomolecule signal came from. A message was sent from Ganymede at the same time that Earth and Mars started shooting at each other.

Holden wants to set out for Ganymede to stop it’s spread. Fred on the other hand accepts that the Protomolecule is out there and they’re just going to have to live with it.

—

Back on the Roci, Holden and Naomi use the knowledge that Cortazar used to work for Protogen to look up anyone on Ganymede with a similar past. They narrow it down to anyone with an advanced degree and come up with the name of Dr. Lawrence Strickland a paediatrician. They continue their search and discover that Praxideke Meng, one of the refugees from Ganymede currently on Tycho Station is associated with Strickland.

They track him down in the refugee area, he thinks they are there to silence him about what happened on the ship that brought him there, but he’s surprised when they ask him about his daughter’s doctor.

Prax tells them that Strickland is his daughter’s doctor. She was with him when the mirror fell and the clinic was wiped out.

Naomi gets him to show her the last footage of Mei which shows Strickland taking her out of the clinic an hour before it was destroyed. Meaning Prax’s daughter may still be alive.

Holden concludes that Strickland knew the battle was coming and went back for Mei. When it becomes evident that they are going to Ganymede Prax asks to accompany them.

——–

In Tycho’s command centre, Black Sky burst in guns blazing and take over in order to gain access to the nuclear missiles. They can prep them but they can’t launch them without the codes. When Fred refuses to give them the codes they start shooting people. When Drummer, a fellow Belter sides with Fred they shot and wound her as well.

—

Elsewhere on Tycho, Alex asks a zoned out Amos for help fixing some hand terminals for the refugees but Amos says no and walks away.

Later, back on board the Roci, Alex interrupts Amos as he’s searching for information on Lydia Maalouf of Baltimore.

The pilot tells Amos that his problem is he only thinks of himself. Alex can’t figure out why Amos doesn’t want to help the people on the station in need. He presses him more so Amos asks him why he isn’t helping his family on Mars. Alex takes affront and confronts Amos who instantly retaliates before realizing what he’s doing and backs off before he hurts the pilot.

They are interrupted by a beeping and discover that someone is trying to access the nukes on Tycho. They contact Holden with the news.

—–

In the command centre, Fred refuses to cooperate with Black Sky. It doesn’t matter, they are close to breaking the codes themselves. Outside the station, Amos cuts off oxygen to the command centre causing everyone inside to black out.

Once everyone is down, Holden leads a team in to rescue the hostages. On her way out, Drummer kills the Black Sky leader and the Command centre trader.

——

Later, on board the Roci, Amos shows Prax around, he’s not a prisoner, but he will be restricted to his room.

Elsewhere, Naomi questions Holden’s motives in going to Cortazar’s cell. Jim confesses that he was going to kill the man to prevent another Eros.

Naomi is upset. Jim is not a murder, it’s not who he is. He wants her to keep reminding him who he is.

——

When the Roci is denied leave of the station, Holden calls Fred. Fred wants him to bring back whatever he finds but when Holden refuses, Fred tells him they are no longer welcome on Tycho. Holden isn’t concerned. He doesn’t think Fred will still be in charge of Tycho when they return.

Twitter: @solotalkmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/solotalkmedia

Email: [email protected]

Voice Feedback: 1-805-910-7656

Want to listen to The Expanse series? Get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at solotalkmedia.com/audible. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Leviathan Wakes amongst them.

Send me your feedback 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This season, unless otherwise mentioned, you have until Fridays at 2pm Eastern time to submit your feedback.

Welcome to The Expanse Podcast Double Take. This is where I give you my first impressions right after seeing the eighth episode of season 2 titled “Pyre”. I’m creating these short posts to encourage listener feedback by asking questions about the episode.

This week’s question are…

1) Will Alex and his family reunite?

2) Why is Fred upset with Holden

3) What’s going on with Amos

I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed to this podcast and encourage you to join the discussion by sending in your feedback by calling +1-805-910-7656 or by e-mailing me at [email protected] or visiting the website at solotalkmedia.com. If you are enjoying this podcast please consider leaving me a review in iTunes.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

This episode Timestamps

[1:57] News

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the episode titled “The Seventh Man”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the most recent episode. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

Let’s do the physics of knocking an asteroid into the sun.

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

On Earth, the U.N. council is trying to make heads or tails of what happened on Ganymede. Errinwright wants to choose an appropriate Martian target and respond. But Chrisjen wants instead to invite Mars to a peace summit. She believes that neither side really wants a war but with tension so high between them it’s just a matter of time before it comes to that. She convinces the Secretary General to call a summit.

——

Bobbie Draper regains consciousness on Ganymede after what looks like a fierce battle took place. Martian troops arrive and retrieve the injured Marine.

Back on board the M.C.R.N. Scirocco, Commander Thorsen informs Bobbie that she’s the only survivor from her unit. She’s having trouble recalling the events from the battle. She remembers 6 U.N. Marines charging their position but then thinks there may have been a seventh.

—

Later, Commander Thorsen records Bobbie’s official statement of the incident. As she tries to remember the accounts of what happened, Thorsen tries to put words in her mouth, or at least swing the story in Mars’ favour.

She keeps repeating that 7 U.N. Marines were charging their position firing. But Thorsen keeps repeating that they were firing on the Martian Marines. He wants her to say that the U.N. started the fight. Still confused she concedes that the U.N. started the war.

—

Later Bobbie is visited by Captain Martens, an M.C.R.N. Chaplain. He tells her that M.C.R.N. command will need her full cooperation regarding the mission on Ganymede but she can talk off the record with him.

He asks her what really happened. She mentions the drone that flew over their position but Martens tells her they have no record of any drone there. When pressed why it’s so important she tells him she can’t remember.

—

When her interrogation continues she takes a stimulant to improve her focus and help her remember things better. With Captain Martens watching remotely, Thorsen continues to question her.

Bobbie realizes that the U.N. Marines were not firing on them, they were running away from the seventh man while firing back on him. When she recalls seeing the seventh man, the monster, not wearing a vac suit, Martens orders the interrogation terminated.

—

Later, Thorsen presents Bobbie with the Purple Heart and informs her that she’s to attend an emergency summit. Her first-hand account of what happened on Ganymede will be vital to the proceedings. She’s to tell them that in the confusion, her team opened fire first on the U.N. Marines. She’s shocked and furious but concedes to the chain of command. But then all thoughts are pushed aside as she learns that to tell her account, she’s going to Earth.

——

On Tycho, refugee ships from Ganymede are arriving. As the crew of the Roci are handing out care packets, Anderson Dawes makes a grand entrance. Holden and Naomi each have a different view of the man’s methods and motives.

After being called out for his rough behaviour by a child. Amos goes to visit Dr. Cortozar to learn more about the procedure that was done to him. The doctor tells him not to seek out those lost feelings from his past. Instead, stomp them out and he’ll be free of them to move forward. He offers to help Amos if he wants.

—

Fred addresses the Belters on Tycho. He wants a unified OPA to send a representative to negotiate with Earth and Mars for the benefit of them all. He thinks it should be a born Belter and suggests Anderson Dawes.

Dawes is honoured at the appointment but he doesn’t share Fred Johnson’s ideas. He believes that if Earth and Mars formed a peace they would both turn their sights on the Belt and view them as possessions, animals for their experiments. They’ve done it before, they’ll do it again.

Fred interrupts him saying there is no more threat against the Belt. Whatever happened on Eros has been destroyed and the people behind it killed. Earth knows that what happened there originated from their backyard and they don’t want anything like that to happen again either.

As Dawes retaliates, Holden interrupts, telling them that the threat from Eros is over. And the missiles they have, they should give them back as a sign that the Belt wants peace as well.

Dawes thinks them both ideologists, but he does agree about the missiles. Keeping them is an act of war and using them would offer the same results. That’s why they should be sent back.

—

After the gathering, Naomi tells Holden he should have stayed out of it. By taking Fred’s side all he did was show the crowd two Earthers trying to tell Belters how they should run the Belt. She leaves him quite upset.

—

Later, Dawes visits the Rocinante. He wants to know what they and Fred are leaving out of the Eros story. He knows Fred is a tactical thinker. He wouldn’t send Dawes to negotiate with Earth and Mars plus send back their missiles if he didn’t have another card to play. Earth doesn’t trust Fred’s past, and after the Nauvoo incident, he won’t be long on Tycho. So whatever weapon Fred is hiding will soon become vulnerable.

Annoyed with his accusing manner, Holden kicks the man off his ship.

—

Anderson Dawes runs into Fred’s second in command on the promenade. The two obviously know each other. He asks her to come back to Ceres with him to help run things, but she prefers it on Tycho. If she won’t come back with him, he asks if she would at least tell him what Fred’s secret weapon is.

—

Elsewhere, Fred tells Holden that Cortazar is somehow getting information from the Protomolecule. He doesn’t know from where, but he’ll soon find out. Once they have it in their possession Cortazar will help them to understand it better. Fred believes that if the Belt has the Protomolecule, no one will ever use it against them again.

—

When Diogo arrives back home Anderson Dawes is there waiting for him. The older man turns up the charm and soon learns that Fred is holding Cortazar prisoner.

—

That night, Holden wakes and goes to see Cortazar only to find the man is gone. He informs Fred but they’re too late. Dawes’ ship just took off. Holden orders the Roci with Alex and Naomi to pursue.

They manage to shoot out the ships engines but when they board her all they find is Diogo on board. Dawes and Cortazar are gone.

Twitter: @solotalkmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/solotalkmedia

Email: [email protected]

Voice Feedback: 1-805-910-7656

Want to listen to The Expanse series? Get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at solotalkmedia.com/audible. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Leviathan Wakes amongst them.

Send me your feedback 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This season, unless otherwise mentioned, you have until Fridays at 2pm Eastern time to submit your feedback.

Welcome to The Expanse Podcast Double Take. This is where I give you my first impressions right after seeing the seventh episode of season 2 titled “The Seventh Man”. I’m creating these short posts to encourage listener feedback by asking questions about the episode.

This week’s question are…

1) What is Anderson Dawes’ agenda?

2) How is Cortazar sensing the Protomolecule?

3) Why does Mars want Bobbie to lie about the events on Ganymede?

Bonus) Was Anderson Dawes waving at Holden or Naomi?

I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed to this podcast and encourage you to join the discussion by sending in your feedback by calling +1-805-910-7656 or by e-mailing me at [email protected] or visiting the website at solotalkmedia.com. If you are enjoying this podcast please consider leaving me a review in iTunes.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

This episode Timestamps

[3:04] News

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the episode titled “Paradigm Shift”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the most recent episode. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

Drive (The Expanse Prequal)

Nick Farmer, Creator of The Expanse Belter language, talks the art of language invention

Science And Tech In Syfy’s ‘The Expanse:’ The Spectacular Launch Of The ‘Nauvoo’

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

The episode starts 137 years ago above the United Nations Mars Colony long before it became The Martian Congressional Republic.

Solomon Epstein is testing the new modifications he made to his yacht’s fusion drive. In the process, he turned off the problematic voice controls leaving only touch controls available.

The new drive worked much better than anticipated, boosting efficiency by over 100 times more than anyone thought possible.

Unfortunately, Epstein’s breakthrough was also his downfall. The high Gs he experienced made his body so heavy that he couldn’t reach out to press the abort key.

As his ship reaches speeds never before dreamed of he’s comforted in the knowledge that his wife has the plans for his new drive system and it will set her up financially for life. As the G force finally overcome him, he imagines that his invention will allow Mars to travel outward, colonize the belt and beyond. His drive will finally give Mars the edge they need to break away from Earth. That’s the wonderful and terrible thing about technology. It changes everything. And with those final thoughts, Solomon Epstein perishes,

——-

On Earth, the U.N. Council is debating what happened to Eros and they can’t come to a consensus as to who, what or why it acted like it did. They plan on sending a research ship to Venus to study the impact area and see if anything from Eros survived.

They also mention that of the 150 missiles they launched, 121 are confirmed aborted and destroyed, but the remaining 29 are nowhere to be found.

—

Later, Avasarala has dinner with Dr. Michael Iturbi to discuss his thoughts on Eros. His theory is that Eros was infected by something alien. He tells her he needs to get to Venus to study the matter. If she can arrange it, he would be her own personal eyes and ears reporting all his findings directly to her.

—

Later, Avasarala goes to see Errinwright about Jules-Pierre Mao. She wants him to convince Mao to come in so they can learn what he knows. She’s willing to cut the man a deal because of the stakes involved. However, if he doesn’t come in, or if his family doesn’t help them, she tells him, in a quite articulate way that she will rain fire down on the Mao family and make them regret the day they ever crossed her and the people of Earth.

——-

On board the Rocinante the crew is contemplating the events of the past week. When they arrive back on Tycho they are treated like heroes.

When they tell Fred about the missing earth missiles he informs them that he has them. He’s not sure what he’s going to do with them but he’s going to hold onto them for safekeeping.

Holden tells Fred that they need to let everyone know about the Protomolecule but Fred disagrees. All that would accomplish is system-wide panic. For now, they should keep what they know under wraps, although it seems he’s more interested in looking out for the belters than he is for humanity as a whole.

Fred confronts Holden about an anomaly in their flight logs from their original trip back from Eros. He wants to know why they stopped for 5 hours. James tells him about Miller’s friend Semba and giving him a proper burial. Fred doesn’t think Holden is being straight with him. If they’re going to continue working together they need to be on the same team. But to Holden’s thinking, there shouldn’t’ be any teams.

—

Later Naomi tells Fred she wants to tell everyone about Miller and Julie’s story. She thinks it would help everyone to see how a Belter and an Earther/OPA member came together to save humanity.

—

Back on board the Roci, after some debate, the crew vote to destroy their sample of the Protomolecule. Naomi sets up the flight path to fly the missile with the sample into the sun, but she fools Holden by showing him is a simulation of the launch. The actual missile is still right where they hid it and she’s the only one who knows.

—

Elsewhere, Alex runs into some trouble at a Tycho bar when some guy doesn’t appreciate him flirting with his woman. Alex takes a beating before Amos, out of nowhere, comes to his aid.

Later, back on board the Roci, Alex finds Amos defacing a Martian flag and confronts him. The two have some words, Alex is not mad because Amos bailed him out at the bar, he’s mad because 25 belters died in their landing pod because he was trying to protect Amos.

—

Back on board Tycho, Naomi offers to help Johnson’s second in command to hack into the recovered nuclear missiles. She tells the woman that Belters need to help Belters.

——

At Ganymede Agricultural Station, a joint U.N.+M.C.R.N. Facility, Bobby Draper and her team are patrolling the border between the Martian and U.N. zones.

After Lt. Sutton on board the Scirocco disappears behind Ganymede’s shadow for 48 minutes all hell breaks loose.

The perimeter alarm goes off on the ground and the Martian Marines see the U.N. troops heading their way guns hot. Before they can report the activity their comms are jammed.

They notice a firefight has erupted in orbit but without communications, they have no idea who is attacking whom. Bobby orders her men to form up and hold their line against the U.N. Forces.

The scene cuts to several minutes later and the aftermath of a fierce ground battle. The Martian Marines are down. Roberta Draper regains consciousness only to see something alien standing over her.

Twitter: @solotalkmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/solotalkmedia

Email: [email protected]

Voice Feedback: 1-805-910-7656

Want to listen to The Expanse series? Get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at solotalkmedia.com/audible. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Leviathan Wakes amongst them.

Send me your feedback 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This season, unless otherwise mentioned, you have until Fridays at 2pm Eastern time to submit your feedback.

Welcome to The Expanse Podcast Double Take. This is where I give you my first impressions right after seeing the sixth episode of season 2 titled “Paradigm Shift”. I’m creating these short posts to encourage listener feedback by asking questions about the episode.

This week’s question are…

1) Why did Naomi lie about destroying the missile?

2) What was the purpose of Avasarala’s rant?

3) What happened to the Martian Marines at the end?

I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed to this podcast and encourage you to join the discussion by sending in your feedback by calling +1-805-910-7656 or by e-mailing me at [email protected] or visiting the website at solotalkmedia.com. If you are enjoying this podcast please consider leaving me a review in iTunes.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

This episode Timestamps

[4:30] News

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the episode titled “Home”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the double episode premiere. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

The Expanse: Tycho Station – Spacedock

The Expanse’s Executive Producer Tells Us Everything That Made Last Night’s Big Moment Work

Decrypted: The Expanse—OK, so we broke a few laws of physics here

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

The episode picks up right after last week’s. Eros has dodged the Nauvoo and is now moving fast sunward.

The U.N. Council on Earth is starting to panic. The asteroid is heading in their general direction. They saw the generation ship almost collide with Eros and aren’t sure what to make of it. Fred Johnson is claiming it’s an engine test gone wrong but they believe he’s lying, plus the Mormons are saying he stole the ship from them. Either way, they don’t have an explanation as to how Eros is moving like a ship.

Mars is just as confused as Earth is and denies any knowledge of what is happening. The asteroid has once again changed trajectories and is now on a collision course with Earth. If it hits it will cause an event larger than the one that killed the dinosaurs, 7-10 billion dead plus another 10 in the aftermath.

Their only option is to launch their planetary defenses at it in the hopes of blowing it up.

After informing Mars of their intentions the Secretary General and Errinwright launch half their missile arsenal.

Almost immediately everyone looses radar contact with Eros. The rock is still there, it just can’t be seen. And if it can’t be seen the nukes have no way of hitting it.

The U.N. Council is at a loss as to what to do when they receive a message from Tycho Station. Fred Johnson has a solution. Use an OPA ship to paint a laser lock to guide in the nukes. All they need to do is give him control of their missiles.

After some debate, Avasarala decides to send a message to the OPA ship directly. To everyone’s surprise, it’s James Holden that replies. He vouches for Fred Johnson and prays they all trust each other. On Avasarala’s word that Holden can be trusted, the Secretary General concedes and they give Fred control.

When Eros speeds up again, Avasarala is surprised that the Roci try to keep up with it, even at the risk of their own lives.

—

Later, Cotyar informs Avasarala that the rest of the council has evacuated the planet but she refuses to leave. She calls her husband Arjun on Luna. After a very touching conversation she tells him that it’s her duty to stay in order to protect Earth. Arjun doesn’t expect anything less.

—–

On Eros the laws of physics are being rewritten. At the speed it maneuvered Miller should have been crushed, but he didn’t feel a thing and he still feels gravity even though the asteroid is no longer spinning.

Naomi manages to deactivate all the bombs on the surface but the damage to Miller’s bomb prevents her from accessing it.

The Roci crew notice a temperature increase from Eros and speculate it’s waste heat from what’s making it move. Without warning, it starts to speed up again. They theorize that if Miller is able to detonate his bomb where that heat is being generated they might be able to stop the asteroid in it’s tracks.

Miller agrees and takes his pet nuke for a walk while Naomi tries to figure out a way to get him off the rock. It will be dangerous but she’s determined.

The ex-detective enters the station and starts making his way to the heat source. It’s hard going. The bomb is heavy and he has to press the reset switch every 60 seconds.

He notices along the way that the Protomolecule only affected the living. It’s leaving the dead alone.

Time is running out, he needs to set the bomb and get out of there before Earth’s missiles arrive.

Whether by random chance or because of the nuclear threat, Eros speeds up again, forcing the Roci to push it’s limits to keep the target lock.

Miller realizes that he’s heading towards the Blue Falcon, the place where Julie Mao died. Along the way he starts hearing voices that are unmistakably Julie. He deduces that somehow, her conscience is still active and thinks it’s on her ship the Razorback. The Protomolecule must be using her conscience and everyone else’s to grow and power itself. But that also means that a part of Julie could still alive.

Miller believes he can reason with her but only if the Roci backs off so the missiles are no longer a treat. After some debate, Holden makes the hard decision to stop pursuing Eros.

—

Without explanation Holden contacts Fred and tells him to direct the nukes away from Eros. Johnson is between a rock and a hard place. Without knowing Holden’s plan he could jeopardize it if he doesn’t listen to the man, however, redirecting the nukes will look bad in the eyes of Mars and the U.N.

—

Miller reaches his destination and finds Julie. Or what the protomolecule has made of her. After an awkward introduction he tries to convince her to stop Eros from going to Earth. Julie can’t stop the Asteroid, the work needs to continue.

Miller tells her that he came all this way to find her because he believes in her. She’s a fighter. But all she wants to do is go home. He tells her that whatever she does, wherever she goes, she wont be alone. He’ll be with her.

The ex-detective removes his helmet and gloves, exposing himself to the Protomolecule. Whatever happens, happens to both of them. The two embrace.

His actions and words must have gotten through to her, because Eros veers off from it’s collision course with Earth and instead crashes into Venus.

Twitter: @solotalkmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/solotalkmedia

Email: [email protected]

Voice Feedback: 1-805-910-7656

Want to listen to The Expanse series? Get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at solotalkmedia.com/audible. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Leviathan Wakes amongst them.

Send me your feedback 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This season, unless otherwise mentioned, you have until Fridays at 2pm Eastern time to submit your feedback.

Welcome to The Expanse Podcast Double Take. This is where I give you my first impressions right after seeing the fifth episode of season 2 titled “Home”. I’m creating these short posts to encourage listener feedback by asking questions about the episode.

This week’s question are…

1) Is that the end of the Protomolecue threat?

2) What will Fred Johnson do with his newly acquired nukes?

3) Did you tear up while watching this episode?

I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed to this podcast and encourage you to join the discussion by sending in your feedback by calling +1-805-910-7656 or by e-mailing me at [email protected] or visiting the website at solotalkmedia.com. If you are enjoying this podcast please consider leaving me a review in iTunes.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or [email protected]

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the third episode titled “Static”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the double episode premiere. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

AfterBuzz interview with Cas Anvar

The Science behind The Expanse

The Expanse Board Game coming this summer

The Expanse isn’t Just Awesome TV-It’s Transforming TV

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

The episode starts with the inspection of the mysterious stealth ship Fred Johnson gave Avasarala the coordinates to. She receives confirmation that the drive on the ship came from the Bush shipyards on earth.

According to the DNA profile from all the bodies found on the stealth ship indicates that they were all last employed by Protogen Corporation then their histories just stopped. Protogen is a subsidiary of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile. A company owned by Jules Pierre Mao.

Avasarala realizes that’s why Fred send her that information. He wants her to connect the stealth ships to Protogen and Jules Pierre Mao.

Putting two and two together she deduces that Mao and Errinwrite are working together. Knowing she can’t use this information without showing her hand, she has her guys push the derelict stealth ship into the established U.N. Shipping lanes knowing it will soon be discovered and the secret will be out.

—

Once the stealth ship is discovered, it doesn’t take long before word gets out of it’s connection to Protogen Corporation. Jules Pierre Mao isn’t happy and demands a meeting with Errinwright.

At the meeting, Avasarala questions his knowledge of the happenings at Protogen. Mao denies knowing anything. Protogen makes up only a fraction of a present of all their holdings and is very low on his radar. He suspects the company was infiltrated by OPA moles sent by Fred Johnson and they are responsible for building the stealth ships.

He claims that Protogen works autonomously. There were no red flags that would have alerted him or his team of excessive spending.

Avasarala acts amazed that these so called moles could build super-advanced stealth ships and start a war, right under their supervisor’s noses and not go over budget.

She questions Mao about Protogen, it was a biotech research company with a government contract on Phoebe station. She says the Martians were very intent on destroying Phoebe before the U.N. ship could secure it and it makes her wonder what Protogen was working on. He offers to get her that information.

Avasarala oversteps Errinwright and threatens Mao, telling him that the stealth ships were built by his company on his watch and if anything comes of it the people of Earth will hold him responsible.

Errinwright quickly steps in and comes to Mao’s defence assuring her that the man will cooperate fully with their investigation.

—

Later, Mao and Errinwright are talking. Mao suspects Avasarala knows they are working together but the Deputy Secretary assures him it’s just wild speculation on her part. Not taking any chances Mao cuts ties with Errinwright.

——

On Tycho

Holden is upset when he discovers that Fred and Miller are working together to eliminate the threat on Eros. The ban has been lifted on the station and it’s only a matter of time before someone either goes there to collect samples or gets infected.

The more he hears of their plan to commandeer the Nauvoo and use it as a battering ram and to slag the landing docks by detonating bombs the crazier he thinks they are.

Unfortunately, he can’t come up with a better idea. Simply blowing up the asteroid is too dangerous since they can’t guarantee that the protomolecule will be completely destroyed.

Reluctantly, he agrees to go along with their plan.

—

A radiation leak alarm on the Nauvoo forces everyone off the ship. Once there’s nobody on board, Fred’s team remotely launches the ship on a collision course with Eros.

—

Naomi questions Miller’s motives, whether he’s doing this for Julie. She asks if he told Fred about the Protomolecule they hid. Miller tells her he didn’t, that’s her and the Roci’s problem.

—

As they approach Eros, Alex spots U.N. and Martian ships heading their way. Holden isn’t concerned. They’ll be long done by the time they arrive. They drop their cargo, the bombs to slag the docks, and take up protective orbit around the asteroid.

They do a survey of the docks to make sure nobody but the Rocinante made it off of Eros. It doesn’t look like any other ships made it off the asteroid but whatever is still there is generating a lot of heat.

Naomi discovers a ship tethered to Eros and investigate. They send in a drone only to discover that the ship, the Marasmus, isn’t abandoned. They are hailed by the ship. The man tells them he and his crew are doctors and they came to Eros to offer aid but they’ve been unable to find an operating airlock to enter the station.

Pretending to be a Martian gunship, Holden orders them to prepare to be boarded. He hopes that the scare will cause them to leave. They can’t tell them the truth, but since they never got into Eros they’re free to go.

He orders Alex to target lock the ship and then tells them to leave Eros or they will be fired upon. The ship concedes and lifts off.

—

Aboard the Guy Molinary the detonation team make the jump to Eros. Miller is nervous, this being his first space walk but Diogo walks him through it.

Miller and the kid start placing their bombs at the predetermined position along the docks. Millers unfamiliarity with space walks is slowing them down. They’re the last team still on Eros with a couple of bombs left to deploy.

The ex-detective notices a breached airlock and investigates. Inside he finds a protomolecule infected body from the Marasmus. The doctor on the ship was lying, they had been on Eros and they’re possibly infected.

—

Holden confronts the Doctor on the Marasmus who confesses to being on Eros. The protomolecule was everywhere and attacked them. There was nothing he could do for his colleague so he got out.

The Marasmus tries to reach the other side of Eros where the doctor wants to broadcast the truth to the entire system. Holden orders them to turn around or he will fire on them but they don’t comply.

With much pain, Holden launches a missile and destroys them.

—

On the station, Miller receives Naomi’s warning that high-speed debris from the destroyed ship is heading his way. He and Diogo just manage to take cover as it passes by. However, they don’t go unscathed. Miller’s suit is breached and he looses a lot of oxygen before he’s able to patch it. And the bomb Diogo was working on got damaged. A 60-second countdown detonation timer has been activated and the only way to prevent it from blowing up is to keep pressing the reset timer button.

Knowing that if that bomb goes off before the Nauvoo hits Eros their plan could be ruined Miller decides to stay on the station and hold the button.

When the crew of the Roci discover that Miller is still on Eros they’re mortified. They want to help but Miller tells them there’s no time. The Nauvoo is almost upon them.

Miller watches his fate as the generation ship closes, only to see it miss and fly by Eros. He calls the Rocinante wondering how the heck the Nauvoo could change course like that and miss. But to everyone’s astonishment, it wasn’t the Nauvoo that moved. Eros did.

Twitter: @solotalkmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/solotalkmedia

Email: [email protected]

Voice Feedback: 1-805-910-7656