Donkey Balls | The Expanse Ep 1x7 Reaction & Review | Syfy & Prime Video

Watch the Full Length Reaction @ patreon.com/nerdynightly!
Every The Expanse Video - • The Expanse
Edited by BRHVideo
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[@chaost4544]

The reason why the Martians have southern accents is kind of funny. A long with Chinese and Indians, there were a lot of Texans who were the first settlers of Mars and many of the first colonists embraced Texan culture including the accent.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

In my head canon, one of the first Martian settlers brought their entire collection of spaghetti western movies and TV shows and so it was one of the few entertainments on the colony. 😃

[@andrewcarter9649]

I'm actually rereading the first book and just covered that part, it's not all of Mars just an area of it that was settled by mostly Chinese and Indian immigrants and a small number of Texans. The Texan accent apparently spread through the group like wildfire.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

@@andrewcarter9649 Mariner Valley

[@braedenmousseau8032]

That was just the Mariner valley where Alex is from though

[@Josh-vb7pt]

I love that the books go over this and say that the Texan accent spread like a phonetic virus among the Martian settlers.

[@destro6971]

Man, the outfits they put Avasarala in throughout this show are amazing.

[@cinedelasestrellas]

Chrisjen’s wardrobe is stunning in this show. She never wears the same outfit twice.

[@Ramipon]

she puts for the Glory of the earth empire real well haha

[@tonycamas9747]

When the show wrapped after Season 6, Joanne Hansen, costume designer for the show, offered Shohreh Aghdashloo her choice of one outfit from all the fabulous stuff she wore throughout the entire run of the show -- and she wore a LOT of fabulous stuff. Shohreh reportedly chose the red snow outfit from this episode.

[@BadlyHonedBytes]

Kind of reminds me of Commander Servalan from Blake's 7.

[@RemboBajingo]

The interesting ship shapes is due to them being designed like office buildings in space. The thrust of the engine creates “gravity” allowing the interior to act like a sort of tower while burning.

[@gabsrants]

The jumpsuits changed because they got that refit to hide as a gas-hauler, so they bolted on a couple of empty gas tanks and invented a company, Berantas Gas, to hide the Roci from the Inners

[@shawnloging8649]

Fun fact, the actor playing the spy was one of the people who auditioned for Amos, and the creators liked him so they brought him in for this role.

[@chrism7395]

The actor also voiced Adam Jensen in the Deus Ex games

[@kingdancekiller]

Do you think he was a little salty when he didn’t get it, and then he SAW Wes and was like, “oh yeah that makes sense”

[@syc1805]

Clarus, even if your predictions aren't 100%, your intuitions about how the plot develops and the relationships between the characters and factions are always dead on. Watching you figure things out is so much fun. Seeing these reaction videos makes me remember how much I love this show!

[@wtimmins]

This is a show that bears a bunch of rewatches, because it's written very well.

[@jubronaljoan]

"Soomething's going to happen on Eros. I'm excited for it." proabably the most precinct sentence ever spoken 😁

[@falcon5588]

Prescient*

[@Luzarioth]

The thing ith Avasarala: She is a VERY important Character in every book but the first. So they created all her szenes in Season 1 to give us more of a connection with her before the felota hits the fan !

[@alexanderpauli2835]

One Astronaut to another: "I can't find any milk for my coffee." The other replied: "In space no one can, here use cream!"

[@Justanotherconsumer]

As a dad, I grant this the dad joke seal of approval.

[@AngeloBarovierSD]

_groan_ _applause_ Nice.

[@alwaysbam]

Finally some fucking appreciation for Averseralas clothes!!! 😂🤣

[@krbkrbkrbkrbkrb]

The previous episode seems like such a non-sequitur with the rock hoppers being hassled by the Martian patrol but in actuality it is a big setup for this episode. It creates the drama in this episode since Uncle Mateo's attack puts the Martians on high alert and it shows us how Martians treat civilians when they are doing compliance inspections so we understand the risk of the Roci being boarded and inspected.

[@Conorp77]

Alex has a southern accent because the Mariner Valley was settled by a diverse group of people, prominent among them being Indians and Texans, hence his heritage.

[@billross7245]

Early on in the first book, Holden found Alex's accent a little annoying because he believes Alex intentionally exaggerates his Texas drawl during casual conversation, because it all but goes away when he is concentrating on something.

[@Missneverlandmermaid]

Love that you are both appreciating Avasarala's outfits :') her fashion sense is ah-mazing

[@UserName-vb4lg]

Iirc they let the actress keep 2 outfits, and the red one was one of them. Costume designer on this show was so good.

[@theshadowling1]

The "bubble" you describe about Avasarala is a consequence of Avasarala realistically only happening later in the books. As a result, it has far less tie ins, as it's "This is likely what Avasarala was doing" rather than an intentional and planned part of the main story. Her story becomes far more tied in later on.

[@m33p0]

wifi engineer: "Most we can do is 15G. anything beyond will kill you."

[@Jeminai77]

FYI Kenzo (The Spy), played by Elias Toufexis is also the voice of Adam Jensen in Deus Ex games.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Elias was also almost cast as Amos. He and Wes were the only 2 auditioners who "got" Amos's character. That Amos doesn't engage in bravado and threats.

[@Erithacus]

Wasn't he also porotomolecule monster?

[@rodentnolastname6612]

@@Erithacus yep. He did the motion capture for the hybrids

[@kirkdarling4120]

We've mentioned that The Expanse was originally a role-playing game. So you should be able to determine by now which characters are the Paladin, the Wizard, the Fighter, and the Claric. Not thoroughly explained in the series: The UN has confiscated most privately owned land. The law permits private ownership when the land has been held by eight previous ancestors. A group of eight landowners (some married to each other) exploited the law as a loophole by conceiving Holden as a test tube baby from their DNA...eight ancestors. For Holden's entire life, the family and the government have been locked in court battles. But Holden is the key to them keeping their land...it's theirs to manage only as long as he lives.

[@ShasOFish]

There's a line in the book that explains the accent. The Mariner Valley was settled by Chinese, East Indian, and Texan colonists. Somehow, the accent of the latter stuck around.

[@daxeah8472]

I will say as yall progress through the series having the full stario sound in both ears really is amazing. Also Amos not blinking is really funny because Wes who plays him blinks a lot.

[@bigyetter]

100% agree

[@halgari]

"Like water is wet, and sun is up..." "not in space", that quote is there for a reason, might tell you something about who Amos is and where he's from.

[@silafuyang8675]

"They are all gonna be gray by the end of the last season". You have no idea.

[@shawnloging8649]

The work the wardrobe dept put into Avasarala is off the charts! With the bleakness of space, she is the queen of the show and Earth

[@rodentnolastname6612]

The "money" Miller puts on his sock is literally poker chips, well, gambling chips. The legitimate economy is all digital so gambling chips are used in grey and black market currency. The chips are easily converted back to digital money as gambling winnings. It's what the weasel bribes Miller with about the air filters in ep 1.

[@krondarr8865]

"Something exciting is going to happen on Eros" Screaming Firehawks: "Oh man you have no idea, can't wait for your reactions to those events" 😁😁

[@laioren]

The reason Avasarala feels so separated during season 1 is because she wasn't in the first book. She doesn't get introduced until book 2, but when they made the show, they decided to introduce her as soon as possible because she's awesome.

[@SyrosAlex]

9:22-9:33 "Not in space" - well played ))

[@michaelgonzalez6295]

This episode introduces Amos' general philosophy in life. We will learn later much more. For now, Amos values his freedom with no compromises. Yep Amos kills people and probably enjoys, it in the moment. Amos does not go seeking to kill people just for the enjoyment of it. He also does not voluntarily get into situations which give him opportunites as an excuse He kills them to ensure his freedom. No negotiations. Why does he voluntarily get into such situations if he desires freedom so much? SPOILERS

[@BrandonDuckett]

That silent opening got me lol

[@blackpaw29]

Damn, you guys were on fire this episode, won't say much because spoilers, but you are making connections that everyone misses first time round. Re the ship shapes, as mentioned they tend to be stacked vertically to make use of thrust gravity and since they are always in a vacuum, there is no need for streamlining.

[@artboymoy]

OMG.... Fascinating how you sang Eric Carmen's "All By Myself"... The jumpsuits are to ID the crew and ship they're on. Here they're just a gas hauler.

[@ogieogie]

I love the way you guys love actors.

[@tyrionlannister4920]

this show is fucking amazing. its no spoiler to say, it keeps up showing us different sides of the story, which i personally admire about it. and throughout all seasons, which are far to few sadly, i can't think of any episode, or any certain scene that bored, or didn't intrest me. its getting so fucking good xD you guys really got me back into it xD

[@Tan-Tan666]

Bruuuuuhhhh you got me so good. I restarted youtube like 3 times on my phone, reconnected it to my tv, checked my soundbar, restarted my tv..... "Stupid KZbin! Why is there no sound?! .....oh" 🤣

[@bobriemersma]

Did you notice the music in the dive bar Dawes was holding court in? Surely a nod to Taffey Lewis' place in Blade Runner.

[@bobriemersma]

Remember the spy's biotech implants. These get him... noticed in an unpleasant manner later on.

[@tastyneck]

This show does a really good job of making their characters more than just one-dimensional. Generally speaking, nobody is all good or all bad as they get fleshed out. Everyone has to make tough decisions in the churn. We havent even met one of the best characters and probably my fave yet. And, as a minority, I appreciate the diversity throughout the show.

[@PsychoMuffinSDM]

Many people think the title of the show "The Expanse" is some kind of reference to how large space is. This is a misnomer. It is in fact, actually named after the size of Chrisjens' Wardrobe.

[@wtimmins]

Just on outfits alone, Avasarala is Queen of Earth.

[@astrodude5222]

She rarely (never?) looks anything less than spectacular

[@alto1MO]

My immediate thought upon watching the first few seconds of the video was "Nerdy's up to some video intro shenanigans again!" Love it!

[@ericc.6255]

7 episodes in and I can already tell you two will get more out of this show than most! So excited to watch you guys see where this show goes.

[@TheCognient]

Man I can’t wait for them to see episode 8!

[@scambammer6102]

yep, that's when it shifts into greatness

[@Dynnen]

Pls pls pls let there be some Expanse cosplay in the future ❤️ Also I don't know if anyone else mentioned this, the "spy" character named Kenzo is the wonderful actor that does the voice of Adam Jensen from Deus Machina. Elias Toufexis is a treasure 😀

[@foxtango3862]

Fun fact the end of season 1 is about 75% of the first book. the second season is the remaining of the first book plus most major parts of the second book plus it sets the stage for the 3rd book. Season 4 is the only one that covers the whole 4th book in one season.

[@cameronvincent3122]

Kenso not getting a signal in his eyeball is kind of a sign to him that they're way outside of the normal space travel lanes.

[@golfr-kg9ss]

Moriarty, lol. The actors name is Jered Harris. He was also in the "Chernobyl" series. He's also the son of English actor Richard Harris. Most younger people will know Richard as the original Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies.

[@surfeit5910]

Holy fuck, really?? Or some of us might know him as Marcus Aurelius, English Bob, and a Man Called Horse :)

[@IanHillan]

And he was Lane Pryce in Mad Men and plays Hari Seldon in Foundation. The man's got range.

[@auslander808]

Fun fact - The spy was a close runner up to play Amos, and also plays another character later in the series.

[@this.is.a.username]

that fedora fits Miller so damn well. if you ever read the books you'll see just how perfectly cast all of these character are.

[@JRLorean]

By season 2 I was rrrrrreally hooked and started to binge-watch... It was like work - expanse - sleep -repeat lol. Hoping you expand The Expanse to twice a week, simply because I want more. Cheera from Sweden!

[@reverance_pavane]

I always loved the very early ads for Aliens III (before the studio/money panicked that there was no "star" for the movie). A shot of an asteroid in space, with the voiceover saying "In 1986 everyone learned that in space no one can hear you scream." It then pans over the asteroid to show a familiar blue and white planet. "In 1991 [?] people are going to learn that on Earth everybody can hear you scream.'

[@TessaxMusic95]

Yesss when I was younger (2007-2010) I would forget to blink when I played video games and I didn’t notice until hours later when my eyes started burning 😅 I’m glad I grew out of that

[@kalmarr120]

Past couple days were torture waiting for this! 😂

[@johnniequinn3215]

0:13. Clarus trying to intro around a giggle...too cute. 4:13. I used to forget to blink when I read too! Now I force myself to close my eyes between chapters as a kind of station break. 69g is a popular carrier running off the ubiquitous N.I.C.E protocol. It is famous among mendacious polyglots for its cunning linguistics.

[@AustinStarDust]

The story has been good. It is about to get better. Beginning with the next episode, the pace will pick up with each passing episode, and you will begin to learn more answers to the questions. But you won't get ALL of the answers because season one and the first half of season two cover the first book.

[@blackpaw29]

Plus, lots of brand-new questions! And the cliff hangers/game changers become even more gob stopping.

[@nullunit]

The spy is played by Elias Toufexis and you have probably both seen and heard him before because has been in a bunch of stuff. The thing most folks know him for his the VA for Adam Jensen in the newer Deus Ex games from Eidos. He is a good actor and I hope to see him in another lead role in something, but he is always good as a supporting character. Season 1 is very much a slow burn, build up that establishes characters, love you reactions.

[@ferchrissakes]

The Martians are in part descended, IIRC, from Southeast Asian and Middle East laborers, Pacific islanders (who were in part displaced from Earth by climate change), and Texan roughneck types looking for hazard pay on the frontier. The oil industry is probably the closest we get to terraforming and it’s hard, dangerous work, so take people from drilling, refining and shipping, and you’ve got a good set of skills for colonizing an uninhabitable planet. And it’s how you get someone of Indian and Persian descend saying “donkey bawls” like a rancher.

[@efetherman]

Dude totally died for his country against Avasarala's wishes.

[@kampfkeks6619]

Martians are a mix of Indian, Texan and Chinese because the settlers had that background and it mixed together.

[@billross7245]

Yay, you immediately caught the wind turbines (contemporary windmills) and the Don Quixote connection.

[@scottlescard6154]

FYI, it wasn't actually Montana, it was shot in Ontario just north of Toronto.

[@17thknight]

Nerdy's face when they skip from 68g to 70g: 😡

[@mintjulius275]

Miller is probably my favourite character on this show. Thomas Jane killed it

[@destro6971]

A popular selling point of 69G is the matching download and upload speeds

[@IanHillan]

Oh, man. You ready? This one might have been a bit slow but shits about to get real. There was some awesome foreshadowing in this episode, including some pretty amazing unintended foreshadowing from Nerdy! Couple of seasons away, but it cracked me up. Also, all the other characters are definitely gonna get filled out. You'll see. 🙂

[@neutchain7838]

It's so much fun watching people going through these early episodes and having no idea about the scope of events that are happening in the backround. Prepare your minds to be blown guys, even though in my opinion the show is already amazing this is really just the tip of the iceberg. Its quality time spent laying the groundwork and establishing the world and the characters but when things start to heat up the difference will be night and day. You'll have hella fun with this one. :)

[@daviddalke926]

I think you will be asking for all of her outfits by the time the series is finished. Avasarala is THE QUEEN!

[@grafffuller3265]

Really enjoyed this episode. Loved the "donkey balls" line that kept being said. The spy guy is cool. When it is time, I'll mention some stuff about the actor, Elias. You are right, the supporting cast for this show NEVER lets you down. Really great writing, too. So happy that you're reacting to it. Marie and I are holding off on starting our S2 rewatch...so we can watch it WITH you...and our reactions and yours will be paired in the comment section. Till next time.

[@cinedelasestrellas]

Ok… you pointed out that Miller left his hat behind. Remember that detail. That’s all I gotta say.

[@17thknight]

Ship design, gravity, and physics:. Imagine the ships are all towers but laid on their sides. This means that "up" for the crew is actually the direction the ship is moving in. Their engines are "down", below them. This causes a situation where the acceleration of the ship simulates gravity. As their acceleration increases, gravity increases. As their acceleration decreases, gravity decreases. This is an illusion of gravity, it's g forces acting on their body from acceleration, it is not abroad gravitational pull. If they came to a complete stop, they would be weightless. This is why they need to be strapped into seats to do any kind of maneuver, because every time they turn a new wall would become the "floor" as their velocity (speed & direction of movement) changed. The white goo injected into them but the chairs is sci fi magic to compensate for the stress this puts on their bodies.

[@mjbull5156]

Being pedantic, "down" is the direction the opposite of the direction the ship is accelerating in. The ship can still be moving in a direction counter to acceleration.

[@17thknight]

​@@mjbull5156actually a good point, like if you flip around and begin thrust opposite to where you're moving but haven't overcome your inertia

[@danielskinner5346]

Yes the area of Mars Alex is from was settled by Texans and East Asians. So yeah the book describes the reason for Alex's accent.

[@efetherman]

Wait till you meet a Martian not focused on Donkey balls.

[@halgari]

Fun fact, the spy voiced the main character in the Deus Ex video games, and now I can never not think of that game when I watch this episode.

[@efetherman]

I'm not sure if I'm more attracted to Avasarala cussing or Holden's mom cussing. Let's keep this betwen us,k k?

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

2:40 It's legitimate salvage.

[@alessandrogirotto9]

Legitimate Salvage

[@vincegamer]

You got me. Sometimes my Bluetooth connection gives out if I have too many windows open. I rebooted the KZbin app

[@beardedbookworm794]

Moriarty is Jared Harris, son of the late, great Richard Harris!

[@swhaw]

The spy was also the guy who played Adam Jensen in Deus Ex.

[@patlogic9512]

Dont know if you have watched Dr Who but there is an episode called Blink that is well worth a watch.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Blink is both an excellent introduction and also a good single episode for someone with no interest in becoming immersed in Doctor Who.

[@spacewizard69]

The calm before the storm

[@wtimmins]

Interesting, this is the episode where Miller hangs up his hat.

[@theKonfusion]

The spy is the voice actor for Jensen in the " recent" Deus Ex game serie. Very recognizable voice. Also, erinwright talked about them meeting their end at Eros is because the spy first thought they'd go directly to Eros, but they actually go to an asteroid checking the Lionel Polanski ship or something.

[@snarflcat6187]

Donkey Balls is Naval (and CGPS) code for “Don’t Board”.

[@ViraL_FootprinT.ex.e]

Avasarala got that drip.

[@jamesholland5761]

Great reaction! Yes this isn't the most action packed episode but very important for plot and character development! Remember there are no wasted lines or scenes in this show! Enjoying your journey! Looking forward to the next one!

[@avsbes98]

I'm not sure if this comment because it is discussing a kind of running theme of the Expanse, that flows through all seasons, could be considered a spoiler or not, so if you think it might be a spoiler, please don't read it, or rather read it when you are like one and a half seasons further or so: In my opinion the core theme of the Expanse is People acting according to what limited information they have. While other TV Shows have the characters aquire whatever information they need to make the right decision (unless they want them to experience a temporary setback) at the right time by almost magical means, the Expanse instead thinks about what characters ẃould do with the information they have, with only time showing if their conclusions and thus actions were right or wrong. We especially see this with Holden. The entire first few epsiodes are basically a chain of his decisions based on very limited information. And thus Chrisjen is so special, especially her appearence in the first season, in a way that might have been entirely by accident as the Character didn't exist in the first Book iirc: Because she doesn't act with limited information. On the contrary. She spends a lot of time to desperately try to get enough information to make the right decision when it is necessary - although other characters with access to a different set of information might make different decisions which can also impact her - such as Errinwright this episode, who did not go and speak to Holden's Mum, but instead read his Briefings and used those informations to make a decision. (One of the other important themes of the Expanse is that Characters can to some degree grow/change, which will be more apparent over time and also does to some degree intersect with this theme)

[@trufax79]

That intro made me think y’all were dipping your toes in ASMR

[@AngeloBarovierSD]

Since no one else has commented on it, it falls to me: "A very equal give and take," she said, restraining a sly smile while he continued watching, utterly oblivious to the double entendre. 😄

[@kirkdarling4120]

Yeah, I got it.

[@wb3159]

If it makes you feel better about there stress it takes like weeks to get anywhere for them in space so they have a ton of down time. It mostly just gets skipped over for pacing.

[@efetherman]

I'd like to take this moment to remind Holden that you didn't give Amos his crowbar back.

[@helenathedreamer7766]

They can’t pretend they are Martian Navy because Martians would think they are the bad guys who stole the ship and blew up Martian flagship. (Nobody knows what happened yet) They have “drive signature” of the specific ships and would know where the ship come from. So they did their best to not to look like a Martian ship. Best they could do was to pretend being a Martian ship pretending not yo be a Martian Navy

[@MattNolanCustom]

I may be misremembering, but I think Fred Johnson said they had modified the drive signature while adding the gas freighter disguise. The MCRN has got to be scanning the skies for the Tachi, so it would be prudent to do so. Your point stands about them trying to pretend to be Martial Navy though. There would be ID checks and all sorts. The only way out was the black ops codewords.

[@PsychoMuffinSDM]

Dude... I was legit having headphone problems on the previous video I was watching. I fixed it, came here, and was like... "Crap! that fix usually works!!!"

[@Jcewazhere]

You'd think one of those codewords would've been a distress word, and one a waive off word. Saying all three (four) at least shoulda tipped the Martians off that something was up. It's population and land control. Holden's family got together, all got married together, threw their genes in a blender, and popped out James in order to cement their claim on that much land. It's like a farmer's CoOp in Alabama, keeping it all in the family. Just don't tell them that's literally communism/socialism. Great show, books are even better.

[@tonycamas9747]

The Miller Brewing Company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee baseball team, The Brewers, play in what was called Miller Park until 2020, when their naming rights contract expired. Miller Brewing was acquired by Molson Coors in 2016, but they still make Miller beer in Milwaukee. That said, I must admit, with apologies to my friends in Wisconsin, that I don't much care for their beer either. But I do like Detective Miller, who could be, but probably isn't, a distant relative of Frederick Miller, who founded the brewery in 1855. (End of completely useless information)

[@therealsirchewy]

I genuinely thought something was wrong with my sound at the start of the video

[@Elios0000]

dont feel to bad about not knowing whats going on. Season 1 is mostly world building

[@Narrator1620]

Love you guys! excellent reactions to one of my all-time favorite shows! Please dont ever stop doing this show!

[@robertcartier5088]

You bastard! -- You had me checking my audio, I was freaking out! lol

[@shadowpowahful]

im almost about to watch the expanse again due to these reaction series

[@Jadedgoober7]

Do it, there's so much hinted at that you see on rewatches. I'm on my sixth run through with my son

[@pUTPOCKETRY]

No one with self respect actually says, "It's Miller Time."

[@m.e.3862]

Just letting you guys know ahead of time that ep 9 and 10 were shown together as a two hour season finale so maybe a longer reaction?