The Expanse - Season 1 Episode 2 - The Big Empty REACTION

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[@mikechmielewski386]

The tough thing is that season 1 is especially “show, don’t tell”. This leads to a lot of new viewer confusion. But it rewards rewatching after a few full seasons, because you’ll start seeing where they seeded plot points for later parts of the show (even 4, 5 seasons!)

[@artboymoy]

There are a bunch of seeds planted in the season and right now they are throwing a lot at you but It's worth it. I said it before, but it took me 2 times to get into this show.

[@EvilAnomaly]

Some things you'll learn real fast about The Expanse...they're good for leaving you with questions that you're not going to get right away BUT they will answer all of them. Second, every and I mean literally every detail in this show (visual, spoken, etc) are paid off! Some very quick and some way out in future episodes. Three...this show is an expert for cliffhangers and you'll see that once you get going!

[@elroysez8333]

As others have said, the OPA is the Outer Planets Alliance. It is loose group of different Belter factions, some moderate, some extreme, some in the middle that have come together in an attempt to counter both UN and Martian influence. The extreme factions embrace violence and terrorism while other factions prefer negotiation. No one faction speaks for all. The Belter diet is generally made up from hydroponically grown vegetables, vat produced protein meats, beans and mushroom based foods. That Belter picking a mushroom off of the wall to eat is akin to an Earther picking an apple off of a tree. They know their mushrooms.

[@slandon1977]

A good example I have heard to explain the OPA is the various factions in Palestine. You have hamas, hezbollah, the PLO, etc etc. All are representing their view of the future for Palestine. They are like the various factions of the OPA. It’s not a perfect analogy, but I think it’s a good one.

[@y00t00b3r]

@@slandon1977 The factions of the Irish Republican Army is also a good analogy

[@belinda35_77]

Just hang in there, answers will come! Just keep in mind they are planting seeds in S1 that will continue to payoff all through the series. Any extra attention you have to invest now, will totally be worth it!! Also, lol you don't have to apologize for forgetting or being confused right now! By the end of S1 you'll be completely comfortable with all the characters, places and the world they are building! It all just keeps getting better, the story, the visuals, sets... everything!! Edit: O. P. A. = Outer Planets Alliance You'll be getting to know all about them as the story continues.

[@jamesholland5761]

Well said Belinda!

[@artboymoy]

I think the writers like to pick hard names to remember or ones that are similar to each other so you get a bit confused. :0

[@cunning01]

Don't worry about how dense with world building in the show is , particularly in these early episodes. i expect there will be commenters here to fill you in on anything you want to know. Asking questions explicitly is a good call. A thing this show does quite a bit is put in a ton of information and some which would be nearly impossible to pick up without multiple viewings / having read the books. So, yeah, relax into the show and enjoy (or not) as you will. We'll fill you in as you request, hopefully no one gets too pedantic about anything. It's perfectly reasonable to not know things yet.

[@richardgoddard37]

Don't worry, it all makes sense in the end. There isn't a single wasted frame, and every scene is part of the bigger picture.

[@EvilAnomaly]

For whoever made the "Time Machine" comment, they were probably just saying that the show is basically showing us pretty much how the future will play out once we gain the capacity to actually travel through the system! The politics, relations, wars, conflict, etc.

[@kevinw2592]

Mars protects itself by having the best technology and being highly militarized.

[@namne11]

Being submerged in water(the tank) simulates the atmosphere and weightlessness of space. Hence the relief the belter gets from the gravity of Earth crushing his bones. Not sure one way or another if putting him in the tank will make him more likely to talk, but even today, multiple Studies have shown that torture does not work as a way of extracting information from someone. errinwright also mentions that gravity torture is outlawed.

[@artboymoy]

water will replicate the weightlessness but not the atmosphere as there is not atmosphere in space. The Belter would not feel like he's being pulled down, but he would feel the pressure of the water around him more than any station or earth atmosphere.

[@belinda35_77]

This is probably the slowest/worst episode in the whole series. That being said, it's still a pretty great episode lol

[@Nast33]

2/3 of S1 are mostly slower worldbuilding episodes, can't be worked around since we need it all to follow the plot. E3&4 are excellent, after that it slows down a bit before picking up toward E8-10/end of S1/start of S2 depending on who you ask.

[@jamesholland5761]

Well we'll well, why am I not surprised you would be here!? Lol

[@peadarruane6582]

Hello stranger. . Lol. But yeah ep. 2 is probably the slowest of the seasan, but important ho worldbuildig

[@GSFBlade]

Just found your Expanse videos, liking this format. Welcome to a great show.

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

Welpcome

[@cinedelasestrellas]

Martians are people. Recall in episode 1, they say that Mars is an independent military power. Mars started out as an Earth colony, then gained their independence, much like America gained independence from Great Britain in the 18th century. That scene where the drink pours sideways is explained in more detail in the book. Ceres produces its “gravity” by spinning, like that amusement ride that sticks you to a wall. Whenever you have spin gravity, there’s something called Coriolis acceleration which will deflect moving objects. This effect is undesirable, and is more pronounced the closer you get to the spin axis. Therefore, the real estate closer to the spin axis of Ceres is the “low rent” district (the scene is in a cheap brothel, not exactly Park Avenue), hence the drink flows from the bottle at quite an angle.

[@kirkdarling4120]

That little discussion between Holden and Amos. Amos said that he could not determine whether or not he should kill Holden...but depended on Naomi's opinion. When he was holding a gun to Holden's head, he was looking at Naomi for guidance. When Alex was hypoxic, he was mumbling about "one more run, Darling, and I'm coming home"...that's significant information about his backstory. OPA is the Outer Planets Alliance. It's similar to the Palestinian Liberation Organization or the Irish Republican Army.

[@AndrewMasuda]

BSG was able to provide a lot of context because the characters who made the big decisions - Adama, Roslin, etc. - got frequent briefings about what was going on, and the events that led to the current situation facing them. From the miniseries on, as viewers we constantly had answers provided to us, whether directly as dialogue or via text on screen. But think about just how darn confusing it would be for civilians in the RTF, they'd have so little context as to why, for instance, they had to jump every 33 minutes. The crew from the Canterbury is completely out of their depth, and Miller is just some security guard (detective my ass...can you imagine how competent corporate security would be at using detection to solve 'crimes'?), more used to dealing with corruption and drug dealers getting murdered in brothels than finding a wealthy young woman hiding out in the Belt. Avasarala on Earth is a top bureaucrat in the biggest bureaucracy there is, trying to figure out why some low level OPA courier is smuggling state-of-the-art technology that as the destruction of the Canterbury demonstrates is incredibly dangerous and risks the balance of power between Earth and Mars. They're all trying their best to figure out what's going on, so as viewers we ride along for that journey, and on the way we also get to know them. Who are they? What are their motivations? How do they react to stress? What have they trained for, or done, before we saw them, that they can use to help themselves or will affect how they make decisions? What are their values - obviously we know one of them is fine with torture, another accepts bribes, and one of them is kinda okay with random murder if it wouldn't be an issue with their friend - and how will those values shape their actions?

[@jamesholland5761]

Great reaction! As my good friend Belinda said hang in there because by the end of season one you will become very familiar with the characters and the style of the show. There are no wasted lines or scenes in this show! But the important things you miss we will help. The rest is things that make this show so real and rich. Such as one of you commented about the water dripping on the their shuttle. That is actually a very bad thing because of the bad mixture of oxygen and hydrogen.... I think? I'm sure someone will correct me, just don't throw me in comment jail over it...lol. I want to say so much more but can't because of spoilers. But I will say that there is one character that I really didn't like here at first that eventually became my favorite... Great testimont to the writers!! Can't wait for the next one!

[@belinda35_77]

Hi James! Happy Holidays to you and yours 🎄💚✨ Hope y'all had a wonderful day!

[@jamesholland5761]

@@belinda35_77 thank you my friend! Yes I did ! And Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!😁🎄 hope you had a wonderful day!💚🎄🚀🪐🌌

[@TArnoldFerguson]

keep in mind that, as was said in the opening to S1.E1, Mars was colonized by Earth. Therefore, Martians are descendents of Earthers. Also, the first few episodes can seem to be a nit slow due to the time it takes t build the universe. However the shows focus on details is amazing. Almost every scene and line of dialog is important - also, pay attention to what appears on the video screens, including those in the background, You have already seen some things in the first two episodes that don't really become significant until seasons 4 and 5. I've watched the show 10+ times, and still find things I've overlooked on previous viewings.

[@artboymoy]

Belters are descendants as well... I do get a kick out of reactors anticipation for what Martians will look like. That being said, these episodes that show the taller lankier Belters, the guy shouting OPA propaganda, the interrogation subject, and the brothel girl are what all the Belters should be like, but since it's TV, they have to compromise as it's hard to find large numbers of actors that look like that. But it's just something that is nice to keep in the back of your mind, just what generations of living in space will do to people.

[@TArnoldFerguson]

@@artboymoy Yes. It’s fun when they think they’re about to see “little green men.” Regarding the belters, the producers have openly acknowledged there’s are only so many tall, skinny actors available. 😃

[@johncr1354]

You asked about the scene with the water thief. Well obviously this reinforced the fact that air and water are precious commodities in the belt. But as others have already said -nothing is wasted info in The Expanse. So the water thief is an upcoming gangster because the local gang- the Griegas- suddenly left their territory. I wonder why they left?

[@ianlejeune6012]

Brilliant story; dense and compelling. Details everywhere to be remembered for future understanding. Watch the ep. again to catch what you need to keep up - very little fat in this story. It all pays off - The Expanse is where you're going. Hang on…

[@tsy0704]

Nice one. The Expanse is superb.

[@foggydavestfrank]

I'm probably repeating what everyone has already said, but this show just snowballs and gets better and better with each and every episode and you will come to defend certain characters with your life :) Enjoy the ride!

[@PsychoMuffinSDM]

Also, one thing to point out that is a very very tiny spoiler, but mostly explainer, as we've seen that people typically get confused, is this is a future where there have been pretty good medical advancements (for example, the guy getting a new arm and even referencing growth gel). But something else are drugs, which vary from those to help with high G's, others for making denser bones, to others that can make you more attentive / sharper focus and awareness, and even more that can make you super strong via hormones and such. The show tries to give the audience cues, but they don't always come off as clearly as was intended I think. And the things I mentioned here pop up all over the seasons, so you still have no idea which episodes this explainer pertains to.

[@sallyshipwreck4315]

No you don't know what the Razorback is. That's how I fixed my AC just last week! The Donnager is the Martian flagship. Definition of outer planets in our world today: any of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune whose orbits lie beyond the asteroid belt OPA Outer Planets Alliance: basically anywhere not Mars or Earth.

[@milescurtiswatson251]

OPA is the Belter liberation/resistance movement, akin to the ANC or the US Black civil rights and Black Power movements. It stands for Outer Planets Alliance. Most Earthers and Martians see them all as terrorists, but there's a wide array of cells and factions dedicated to different methods of resistance; some violent, some not. Because Belters are scattered on stations over vast distances it is more of an umbrella term rather than a unified organisation with a single leader, though there are important figures who play a role later.

[@jamesholland5761]

Hmmmm 🤔

[@milescurtiswatson251]

@@jamesholland5761 You disagree?

[@kevinw2592]

Think IRA.

[@milescurtiswatson251]

@@kevinw2592 More like the Irish nationalist/independence movement more generally. The IRA was one of the violent elements of that movement, but as with the OPA, the whole movement wasn't necessarily committed to violence.

[@PsychoMuffinSDM]

My previous comment was a little late, maybe you didn't see it, but I just wanted to reiterate a request you try playing KSP. Kerbal Space Program is a ton of fun, but it is still tough, and teaches a lot about orbits, and since it is interactive, you can learn a lot more about orbits intuitively via trial and error than reading int a physics book. I really think it would pair well with The Expanse. If you want help, LMK, I'm sure we could set up a discord or share video, I think a guide would make for a lot of fun. And I promise it would all be spoiler free!

[@evilvolts]

OPA they never really explain what the acronym means I assume it's Outer Planet Alliance as others have. kinda like a union org. in a way representing the belters

[@gilserrano8301]

Outer Planets Alliance

[@kevinw2592]

Haha, Game of thrones fans sat on huge spoilers for years. The Expanse is easy by comparison.