The Expanse - 1x2 "The Big Empty" Reaction

[@danbadd]

Regarding gravity on the ships. Most ships on the show are built like towers with floors running the width, not the length of the ship. They then use thrust to push the floor through your feet (like an elevator going up). For half the journey they will accelerate almost constantly at around 1/3 G (1G being Earth gravity) and then half-way to the destination, they will 'flip and burn' 180 degrees and then decelerate at 1/3 G for the 2nd half of the trip. This means that often you will see ships appear to be traveling backwards, with their drive plume facing forward. Whenever they cut thrust, they lose gravity and rely on mag(netic) boots. It's a really cool feature in this world that feels more realistic than 'gravity machines and whatnot'.

[@MrTickleTrunk]

That's one of the attentions to detail that made me really lean into the show when I first watched.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

I've know about flip and burn through all my hard Scifi reading but hadn't seen it effectively portrayed till this show. Also, side note. Often, to conserve fuel, a ship will thrust for only a little while, coast for a long time, and then decelerate at the end. The Belyters call this being "on de float" as you're in free fall for most of your journey.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Of note; while Amos and Holdrn are outside trying to fix the antenna and lose the wrench, there was a mistake. The wrench flies off in the wrong direction. The mistake was caught too late in post production so they had to leave it in. Due to this, the FX team crash course studied physics and orbital mechanics, so deep that later seasons they would correct the writers on certain points. As a reminder and as an Easter egg, the prop wrench makes an appearance in each season of the show. 😃

[@scottbull7378]

You are going to love this amazing story and I'm here for it, beratna.

[@chrisfraser5088]

Ahhh…the expanse. What a great show.

[@therealvector8955]

I knew you'd be watching more of the Expanse! You've chosen wisely, Mega. Funny how you're having the same reaction to Amos I had back then, but he turns out to be so much more. He's a far more interesting character than he first appears. Interestingly, in this episode, I had a hard time liking anyone. I think this was a testament to the writers' courage in letting the character's flaws and mistrust really show as the crew were all under a tremendous amount of stress.

[@snarflcat6187]

There IS NO artificial gravity in The Expanse. There are NO SHIELDS in The Expanse. There is no warp drive in The Expanse. Thrust = acceleration. Acceleration = simulated gravity. As would spin.

[@Awol991]

Just tin cans in the big empty.

[@Nikioko]

The Expanse is the best sci-fi show since Babylon 5. And between those are about 30 years.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

As he likes long form, he doesn't realize that all 6 seasons are one long form story!!! 😲

[@Nikioko]

@@rodentnolastname6612 Well, the show covers the first six novels, but the ends of the seasons don't necessarily match the ends of the novels.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

@@Nikioko yeah, I've read the whole series. That 9th book would be a PAIN to film 😲

[@fakecubed]

Really happy you chose this show to react to, of the three pilots you recently watched, and that you're enjoying it so far. Some people take until episode 4 to get hooked, but I got hooked right away, personally. Of course, episode 4 does really launch this show from really good to absolutely amazing. And the show continues to get better and better over each season, just builds and builds. I did kind of wish that the show did more world-building before the action really got started. I could have spent multiple episodes on the Canterbury, happily, even if nothing really happened, and more day-to-day life on Ceres as well. Instead, The Expanse really does launch straight into the action. All the necessary world-building does happen along the way, but the show doesn't slow down to provide a lot of exposition. You really do just need to pay attention to every little detail, and eventually, you do get a very firm grasp of the setting and all the players. So, hang onto your hats, enjoy the ride, it's quite the roller coaster and you'll just pick up on stuff over time.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Glad to see you reacting to The Expanse. You can react to Firefly at the same time. Your life will be wonderful. Yes, right now they're worldbuilding. But this show is extremely information dense. There is no filler, no fluff. Every line of dialog is important. Every scene is important. Computer screens, background dialog...everything is significant. They have sprinkled clues, foreshadowing, and Chekov's Guns pointing to events that won't happen for episodes or even seasons. You've already gotten some important character backstory clues, particularly for Amos and Alex.

[@BabylonLurker]

Yes, a lot of world building, after all this is an all new universe.I think you will like it.

[@krondarr8865]

The best Sci Fi show ever, hell one of the best shows ever. It may seem a little slow at first but once it takes off it takes a ton of willpower not to binge it. I do recommend that you watch it with the subtitles in order to catch the names of all the characters, places and ship names. The belter language is a mix of English and creole so it is a bit of a challenge to understand at times but awesome none the less.

[@Alskie1986]

Can't wait. It will be an exciting ride.

[@madux42]

3:00 There is no artificial gravity in The Expanse. Gravity comes from the engine's thrust, if that is off, no gravity. Ships here are built the correct way here, with "up" being the bow and "down" being the direction where the engines are. Other than in most other sci-fi where ships mostly are built like the would float in waters. That's why the Canterburry had to do a flip&burn to slow down, flip the whole ship and thrust in the other direction. That's how is works in reality, that's the only real way to brake in space. Beside thrust-gravity, they have spin-gravity in some space stations. Ceres for example was spun up, so people live inside that body, "up" is towards the core and "down" is towards space. That's why they have airlocks in the floor, like the one Miller threw the guy not cleaning the filters in. Beside a couple of things, like their drives being unrealistically effective, this story follows real physics.

[@pacio49]

Hey man! No artificial gravity in the Expanse. Doesn't exist. Thrust-based gravity or Spin-based gravity only. In Star Trek and most SciFi operas, the spaceship operates like a cruise ship with artificial gravity and inertial dampeners providing the physics. The decks of the ship are perpendicular to the propulsion source - the momentum is at your back, like on a sailboat. In the Expanse, they obey the laws of physics as we know them for the most part. The decks of the ships are laid parallel to the engines, like on a rocket ship or in a skyscraper. The engine is underneath your feet. It is the relative thrust momentum of the ship versus you that pushes the floor into you at a force roughly equivalent to a G or some percentage of it. Without the concept of inertial dampeners, there's no brakes in space. So to stop you have to use Flip & Burn maneuvers where you flip your engines to point in the direction you were heading, and then burn the thrusters enough to slow your velocity so you can come to a stop . In the show they'll use the phrase "burning towards". It means that the ship not only is on its way, but it already passed the halfway point and now has flipped its engines around to decellerate without killing the crew or causing discomfort. It is now burning toward you and approaching, getting slower and slower to stop near you. As someone who enjoyed Elite Dangerous for a while, stopping is the hard part in space. You worry much more about someone slowing down at you directly than you do necessarily someone speeding along in an indirect course. But no artificial gravity in the hands of the humans at this time. Anywhere. At all.

[@scambammer6102]

Get ready for the best show of all time!

[@MrTickleTrunk]

Everyone not on Mega's Patreon is missing out. Episode 3 IN FULL dropped this morning hours before this video even went up.

[@EvilAnomaly]

Looks like I'm going to have to put another Reactor on the Patreon! Have four of them at the moment but I love seeing reactions to The Expanse. It's the ONLY show I watch reactions for because it's just so damn good that I have to see how others respond to the journey!

[@MrTickleTrunk]

@@EvilAnomaly I have 2 myself with 3 others who do other things lol

[@koalabrownie]

They don't have artificial gravity, they lose gravity because if the ship is accelerating at 1 gravity, it simulates 1 gravity. The ships are built like buildings where the engines are in the basement pointed downwards.

[@theoriginalkimerli]

I’m going to step in it. I am far from a Naomi hater, but at the same time I don’t understand how people believe she’s leadership material based on this episode. She’s being bossy, and while that has its place in a situation like this, it’s not leadership. I am not at all excusing Holden wanting to go after the [redacted] but his concern for She’d during a panic attack shows the leadership that I frankly would look for in a leader. It’s a quality that a shocking amount of reactors missed.

[@fakecubed]

I can appreciate both perspectives. In a crisis you do need people who know what to do and how to do it, and create a sense of purpose and direction so that people don't waste valuable time, or have too much time to think about impending doom. What you call bossiness, others might call confidence, and confidence can really inspire people to do what needs doing to survive. In a crisis, some people do panic anyway, if they haven't been trained for it, and in those cases you might need somebody with more emotional intelligence and who really cares for people, who can figure out the right things to say to calm people down and help them to keep going when things look bleak. I think both Naomi and Holden are doing their best in a difficult situation here. Naomi is an engineer, she knows the engineering problems, and what comes easy to her, the others might need a little more time to think about before they leap to action. Holden seems to have better people skills, and was able to help Shed out, whereas Naomi might not really know what to do about Shed. Together, the two of them could make a good team. Naomi to bring the practical side of things, to keep them all alive, and then Holden to bring the moral compass and people skills so that their lives are worth living. I think without Holden, they might as well have died on the Cant. But without Naomi, Holden (and everyone else who follows him) would be dead pretty quick on this show. The best leaders can merge the rational and the emotional. But realistically everyone has weaknesses, and is better at one than the other, and stories about flawless characters are boring anyway. And of course, in the best stories, the characters grow and develop over the course of the story.

[@i1youtube]

Awesome dude.. Alipers miss you

[@MegaReacts]

Alipers are always in my thoughts. Maybe this weekend I can get a reaction in.

[@i1youtube]

@@MegaReacts Wish you and yours healthy and success

[@PsychoMuffinSDM]

Congrats on getting through the most boring uneventful episode in all the series! It all goes uphill from here! I look forward to finding out who your favorite characters are as you go through the series!