TV Review: The Expanse Season 4

The Expanse originally aired on Syfy in 2015. It’s reminiscent of such classic science fiction shows as Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. It may be set hundreds of years in the future, but humanity is still hampered by the same problems of class warfare, racial tensions, and political conflicts. After three fantastic seasons, with nearly universal critical acclaim, Syfy surprised fans in May 2018 by announcing it would not renew the series. Fans of the series were heartbroken, but they didn’t take the news lying down. After a successful lobbying campaign was mounted, Amazon Studios picked up the rights a mere fifteen days later, with production starting on the fourth season five months after that.

Did the essence of what made the show so good survive the Syfy-to-Amazon transition?

From the initial six episodes sent to critics for review, The Expanse is as exciting and tense as ever, with a noticeably larger budget.

The entire crew of the Rocinante is back. James Holden (Steven Strait), Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper), Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar), and Amos Burton (Wes Chatham) are sent to Ilus by United Nations Secretary General Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) to investigate the planet for remnants of protomolecule, an extraterrestrial substance that consumed the entire human population on the asteroid Eros.

Months after the ring gates leading to Ilus and other planets opened, the three main factions—Earthers, Belters, and Martians—are in a frenzy, trying to claim and colonize the ring worlds. Earthers and Martians are looking for opportunities: there are far more people than there are jobs, and most are living on Basic Assistance from the government. The Belters are excited because, well, they’ve never had a place to call home before, and this may be their chance.

This season focuses on Ilus. Newly occupied by Belter refugees of Jupiter’s moon of Ganymede, the settlers are excited for their new home and extremely protective of their right to be there. Enter RCE, an Earth-based corporation contracted by the UN to explore the planet. In what may or may not be a freak accident, the ship sent by RCE suffered catastrophic damage while landing on Ilus, killing most crew members. RCE believes this accident was caused by the colonists, and the colonists believe RCE is there to kick them off the planet—thus propagating tension and distrust between the two.

Space politics is alive and well. Between the Belters’ backstabbing and power grabbing amongst themselves, the uneasy alliance between the Belters and the UN, Avasarala’s juggling with the threat of the protomolecule’s reemergence and her election campaign, and the whole RCE-settler clash on Ilus, fans of political intrigue will not be disappointed this season.

There’s some great protomolecule shenanigans too—from swarms of metal clouds akin to Lost’s Smoke Monster, to massive monolithic structures built millions (billions?) of years ago, to outright disabling of the laws of thermodynamics. Without spoiling too much, Detective Miller (Thomas Jane) is also back in action, and with him, weird stuff starts happening—things that a planet like Ilus shouldn’t do, like…melt down and explode.

However, what solidifies my confidence that The Expanse’s heart and soul are still going strong under Amazon Studios is an exchange between Amos and the RCE Chief of Security and main antagonist, Adolphus Murtry (Burn Gorman). Amos and Murtry sit at a table in a makeshift, rundown bar on Ilus, away from the crowd. Amos outright accuses Murtry of being a killer, but one who has flimsy excuses and reasons that make it seem right, and Amos can see right through it.

Murtry never contests this accusation but instead subtly threatens Amos, “Someday you and I will end up bloody.”

Amos replies in the calmest and nonchalant manner possible, “How about now? I’m free right now.”

Murtry is immediately taken aback, looks him over, then gets up and leaves the bar.

It’s such a small scene, but it does a masterful job of mixing tension and exhilaration. It’s a classic Amos scene.

Season 4 of The Expanse may have moved to a new home at Amazon, but fans of the series can rest assured that all their hard work campaigning to save their favorite show has ultimately proven successful beyond their wildest dreams.

All ten episodes of The Expanse Season 4 premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 13th.