Marco is beginning to lose his grasp on the Belters on The Expanse. Last week, he surrendered Ceres but not before pillaging the station of all its resources and leaving a humanitarian crisis for the Earth-Mars Coalition. Some start to doubt whether he is fighting for his people or is only looking out for himself. Then he tries to ambush the Rocinante but his fleet takes heavy losses in the skirmish.
Like all the previous episodes, “Redoubt” begins in the Laconia System following the tragic accident. Cara takes a predictable approach with her deceased brother but what is more noteworthy is the introduction of Admiral Duarte. He tries to comfort the child and is very knowledgeable of her and her family’s history. However, beneath the compassionate exterior is a more authoritarianist individual. From the whispers at the viewing, you hear how he deals with people that don’t follow his rules even if it is an accident.
Elsewhere on The Expanse, the crew of the Roci must deal with Holden’s actions during their engagement with the Pella. These are some great personal moments between the characters starting with James’ internal struggle with sacrificing the potential end of the conflict with saving his lover’s son. Amos has a more direct confrontation while Naomi has a more nuanced argument but ultimately understands what might be lost during war. The captain at least finds a sympathetic voice from a crewmate that understands the mental hardships of causing death.
We check in with the reason for the disarmed warhead, Filip, and his continued path to redemption. After being demoted to what is essentially clean up duty, he observes the effects of his father’s actions on regular Belters. This is further emphasized through his interest in his boss’ family drama on Ceres following their terrorist bombing and their growing friendship.
His arc has been well developed so far and you can see how diminished his faith in his father has become after Drummer’s attack on a supply depot. Despite trying to put on a strong face and rally the Pella, his facial expressions while he leaves tell a significantly different story. There’s also a slight and subtle nudge of Filip embracing his mother’s side when he quickly picks up more technical and engineer related work.
The subplot with Avasarala resumes the political and propaganda side of the war on The Expanse. The EMC must pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Ceres bombing. It’s interesting at how delicate the Earth/Mars alliance is and the toll Marco Inaros is taking on them could possibly fracture their partnership. The two sides have butted heads before but there is an inkling that one of them is willing to take drastic actions without the other.
“Redoubt” is a slower paced episode taking the time to build the characters and their relationships while also setting up intriguing possibilities for its multiple storylines.
New episodes of The Expanse are released Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
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