Worlds collide!! THE EXPANSE 3x02 Reaction - "IFF"

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Hope you enjoy my first time watching Episode 2 "IFF" of Season Three of The Expanse.
Please watch the original content on Amazon Prime Video.
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[@timdouglas2056]

Avasarala is definitely recognizable. She's the most outspoken politican in the solar system and is known for saving Earth from Eros. She and Holden also spoke directly during the Eros incident, so he for sure knows her.

[@mmattson8947]

Did she speak to him during the Eros incident? (I don't have the episode handy right now to check.) We know she saw Holden's time-delayed message, but I don't recall what they received on the Rocinante. It could have easily been a lower-level comm officer sending the reply back to the ship, or some other official in the UN Council. But I do agree that she would have been on the news enough after Eros that it would be tough to mistake her. (Although not hearing her voice and being in a jump suit instead of a glamorous sari would delay the recognition.)

[@Garryck-1]

@@mmattson8947 - *"Did she speak to him during the Eros incident?"* Not *directly..* there was a 15 minute delay in transmissions, but she heard what he said, and she vouched for him, and convinced everyone else to allow him to guide the missiles in.

[@austinfallen]

I have lost count how many times I’ve watched this episode. That bit when the Roci screams past the razorback and into the cloud, send chills down my back every time!

[@snarflcat6187]

Amos recognizes the difference between helping a fellow crew, and total strangers. Think about it this way: Amos is a ship mechanic. Amos thinks of every other crew of HIS ship is a important PART of HIS ship. He couldn’t give a flip about part of SOME OTHER ship. Amos’ crew is his version of family. He WOULD literally DIE to save a member of his family.

[@snarflcat6187]

It’s really unfortunate that your earbuds take a whole week to charge. 😅

[@ldkinbote]

I was just about to say that Amos was talking about helping people you don't know is pointless, but crew is different. That's who you protect. They are necessary.

[@davidf5097]

The "helium refinery" is referring to Helium-3 an isotope that collects on planetary surfaces from the sun. It has applications in medical imaging, cryogenics, and neutron detection, and most importantly for our story, as a potential fusion fuel source. The possibility of mining Luna for Helium-3 is being explored.

[@garethneller8239]

Enjoying your reactions. Thing to remember about Amos helping Prax is that Prax is part of the crew and therefore part of Amos's family. He also fits into the "ones you need to protect" that he has spoken about before. He wouldn't go out of his way to help a stranger because it just wouldn't occur to him, but once he has accepted a person as part of his clan his loyalty is unquestionable!

[@Dublin.655]

This was one of my favorite space fights in the series. Holden knows how to think outside the box.

[@SciFiCatGuy]

Holden *definitely* recognized her. Yes, Amos is a superhero. Her name is Anna Volovodov. Music available on Spotify.

[@minkalampinen9519]

And we meet Anna! She's simply awesome in every way!

[@cjbroz313]

Nah. I can't stand her character. The reasons will become clear in later episodes.

[@nrran6835]

@@cjbroz313 What? She’s the best secondary character in the series, except maybe book Elvi in the last books. If everyone was like Anna, our species would be better for it

[@cjbroz313]

@@nrran6835 - A pastor who knowingly covers for a leader who deliberately got 37 people killed, who abandons her family, and has an almost-affair with someone while traveling? Whose cavalier indifference to a troubled parishioner leads directly to his suicide? If you read about any real pastor doing those things in real life, you wouldn't be extolling that persons virtues. Anna is a shitty human being with a pretty face, who likes to think she is doing good.

[@francb1634]

on Lost connections: Shawn Doyle(Errinwright) plays Kate's lawyer in season 4 and Cas Anvar(Alex) plays Sayid's brother in season 6

[@danbadd]

If you remember, Chrisjen and Holden had direct communication (although delayed) when Earth gave Fred Johnson guidance control of the nukes they fired at Eros.

[@mmattson8947]

For the opening music, I'm guessing Neil is avoiding looking up the info as it might be mixed with spoilers. Abrieviated version from Wikipedia: "The title sequence was created by Breeder, a motion graphics design studio in Brisbane, Australia. While the title sequence does change visually as the series progresses, the lyrics that accompany Clinton Shorter's title theme - written and performed by Lisbeth Scott - remain the same. Scott noted in a post on Facebook that her words were drawn from Norwegian, though she apologized for any errors in syntax, grammar and pronunciation." (That last part was after she mentioned that she chose words that sounded good together, and she does not have fluency in Norwegian.)

[@reverance_pavane]

IFF == Identify Friend/Foe. Basically the purposefully broadcast electronic signals that permit warships (or aircraft) to identify themselves as a friendly vessel to anyone wanting to fire on them. Or not. Most modern systems do not operate continuously, but rather ping back when the warship is detected ... or actively targeted by a weapons system. In a chaotic situation it can be difficult to tell who your friends are unless they say something.

[@eirintowne]

It is always great to watch a new person fall in love with Amos! Can't wait for you to join the club of people who smile when someone mentions "that guy"...

[@LeeCarlson]

The Reverand Doctor Anna Volovoda is a great another great character being added to The Expanse's roster.

[@miff227]

and yet in a show of excellent character writing, nothing in her first scene would have happened that way. I skip through all her scenes. Terrible, unneccessary, bolt-on feminist leftie drivel.

[@LeeCarlson]

@@miff227, I can tell that you've never bothered to read the novels, either. If you had, you would have recognized the character as much more than "bolt-on feminist leftie drivel." I suppose that you look forward to full-scale war between Earth and Mars.

[@miff227]

@@LeeCarlson yes, I'm talking about writing and writers on the TV show. Would they have written that scene as is? Riot police with legal orders to hold a line are NOT going to be in trouble for doing exactly that just because some do-gooder hippie twat decided they are gonna be in trouble. If Anna had done thatfor real she'd have been handcuffed and dragged off within seconds and likely hit a few more times. Did the books have the secretary general land his guest somewhere she'd have to walk 1 metre behind the front line of a riot in the books instead of landing at the landing area inside the secure grounds? Did the books have riot police completely fail their orders and start reacting to her like she had some authority there? I doubt that very much. Feel free to point out the book and the page this happened on.

[@LeeCarlson]

@@miff227, the book title is "Caliban's War" though I do not remember the page numbers off of the top of my head. You are welcome to read the novel yourself. This scene in the show is screenplay shorthand more than a page of exposition that sets up Dr. Volovoda as a former senior advisor the Sorrento-Gilles who became disaffected and left, and he's now calling back to help him. However, you are welcome to feel/think anything that you want to and ignore people who disagree with you as you will do that anyway.

[@miff227]

@@LeeCarlson what a ridiculous post. Do you understand the problem I'm describing? Writers of the TV show in this scene are having the scene members not behave like they would, something not done in the rest of the show. I ask you "did the writers write this scene as is in the books" your reply is "no they didn't" but then you waffle on about utter nonsense. Address the issue or shut up and stop wasting people's time.

[@mmattson8947]

When I first watched the show, I never felt like the Earth ship was still hovering over Venus, like when we last saw them. I had assumed that it was a "freeze frame", to give the audience time to see the crew, show the shock and awe going through their minds for the split second before they died (from either the Venus atmosphere or the protomolecule). In real time, it just would have looked like the ship blew up and scattered/dissolved, which could have been mistaken by the audience for the ship's integrity not surviving the descent towards Venus. It was slowed down enough to show it was deliberately and surgically pulled apart.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Yes. That's how the Arborgast observed what happened to the Martian vessel...which was probably the same thing that happened to the Arbogast.

[@slebetman]

IFF is military technology for "Identify Friend or Foe". It is a transponder that transmits and receives a signal to identify that your vehicle (aircraft, tank, ship) is on your side. It prevents friendly fire (blue-on-blue kill). It was first developed just before WW2 by the British and have been adopted by almost all military forces since.

[@avsbes98]

The Maneuver in this space battle is in my opinion the best space combat scene ever put on TV. Some others are also really good, but this is by far the best

[@cjbroz313]

To me, it's a tie between this battle and the raid on Cortazar's station in Doors & Corners.

[@AmarthwenNarmacil]

This is one of my favorite episodes! And season 3 is my favorite season. Can't wait for more! ❤

[@elroysez8333]

Just some info. The Roci does not have railguns. PDC's are Point Defense Cannons. Adding a Railgun would require extensive modifications due to the added power requirements.

[@kirkdarling4120]

The writers pulled a big "gotcha" on us. Remember when Avasarala threatened to chase down all of Mao's relatives, we cheered. But when Errinwright threatened exactly the same thing, Anna reminds us that it's a war crime. Yes, everyone in the system knows the face of Avasarala. Where, indeed, do they refuel and re-arm? They have put about 80 hybrids into torpedo casings. Yes, that is the new nuclear option. But those are not hybrids from children with the immune disease. I suspect those were created from other children that Strickland, as a pediatrician, had access to: "Oh, I'm sorry Mr and Mrs Jones, your child died despite my best efforts. We've already sent the body to the recycler." 'Way back in the second episode of the series, when Alex was suffering hypoxia, he was mumbling an argument to someone, "One more trip, sweetheart, and then I'll be home." This book ends with episode six of the season.

[@michaelmanville89]

23:22 is maybe my favorite 'battle plan' in the show. The way it's filmed is incredible too.

[@jamietaylor5570]

Using a car roof box as a coffin(-like thing) is also something they did in a Firefly episode.

[@terohietamies9441]

Elisabeth is one of the most underrated actresses. So talented. I just love all her works.

[@LeeCarlson]

In the novels, both Errinwright and Avarsarela (as well as others) refer to the Secretary-General as "the bobblehead."

[@tomw4955]

pls do more episodes. it often feels ages until a new drop. XD I feel like he started 3 or 4 new shows since Expanse.

[@naynay3710]

LOL, you said Razorcrest, again, Neil. 🤪😂 IFF stands for "Identify Friend or Foe" Also, I found this on a Reddit: According to Executive Producer/Showrunner Naren Shankar: The Expanse incredible main title was composed by Clinton Shorter, with a vocal by Lisbeth Scott who wrote the lyric in Norwegian. It means: "In the light of morning the sun climbs upon the shoulder of the sky / I yearn for the tender darkness."

[@johanwittens7712]

35:00 something to keep in the back of the mind when considering Amos' backstory, which is often hinted at in the books but is barely made clear in the show is that earth suffered immensely from climate change. It's one of the reasons the UN came to be in control of earth. National governments collapsed or fell short during the crisis, resources became very limited and hard choices were made. The UN basically had to step in to manage the global crisis and save as many people as possible. One of the consequences was sea level rise. As seen in the intro, certain places like NY were saved by building huge flood barriers to keep the sea out. But even then only Manhattan is still there, and large parts of the surrounding burrows were simply left to be swallowed by the sea. Baltimore is also one of those places that simply was not saved, but was abandoned to fall to the ocean. So large parts of Baltimore are permanently flooded and pretty much only inhabited by the undocumented. And that's another thing to keep in mind when considering earth which was somewhat misrepresented on the show. There's basically 3 classes on earth. The employed elite that get a higher education and do jobs and have income, the registered second class citizens that are only basically educated, unemployed, but do get basic income from the government, and lastly the undocumented that for some reason don't want to be registered or lost their documented status (for example criminals), often because they didn't want to live under UN control. The undocumented are pretty much left to their own devices in slums and the ruins of destroyed places like Baltimore where crime and poverty are rampant. Places like this are where Amos grew up, and where Anna runs her clinic. I guess the idea that people could live decent lives on a government provided basic income on a future earth was just too far fetched for American audiences to be believable, so they changed that for the show and in the show the people on basic and the undocumented are shown as the same or being one and the same group.

[@xCPTxNEMO]

Love that you’re loving this, it’s clearly keeping you in engaged and not in a passive way. In regards to the clever use of a roof box as prop, I think the first time I saw it implemented in such a way was in Firefly.

[@LeeCarlson]

Every time the ship changes attitude, the direction of "down" changes abruptly.

[@ems7448]

Pinus Contorta is also commonly known as a Lodgepole pine or twisted pine. In Canada you can usually find these in higher elevations in the Cascades, inland British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. And now you know more about this than you ever wanted to know. :p I was so stoked the very first time I watched this and knew that the Roci-aka-P. Contorta crew were teaming up with Bobbie and Chrisjen. Also, "IFF"... did you never play Mass Effect?! If you haven't, you really should BTW if you like this show so much.

[@gemsdirtykitchen3658]

In this particuler instance Amos's words reminded me a line from Discworld book Witches Abroad. "You see, when Esme Weatherwax using words like "everybody" and "nobody", she doesn't include herself to that mix."

[@RocketToTheMoose]

FWIW, the blue battle lighting is inspired by the blue lighting used in US Navy ship combat information centers. It's supposed to reduce glare.

[@zach.0]

I was so excited to see Elizabeth Mitchell!

[@richard2371]

The missiles arnt nukes per say, they call them plasma torpedoes. Nukes like those that killed the Cant exist, but theyre more of a strategic weapon for disrupting whole fleets or killing moons/planets. As far as I remember a plasma torpedo is just a nuclear fusion reaction contained in a magnetic bottle with one end open to create thrust, and then the magnetic bottle keeping the reaction steady is destroyed for the plasma detonation. In theory any ship with a fusion drive could be used in the same way as it has all the same parts.

[@lyannastark628]

I'm so excited for your excitement Neil!!

[@mascan7905]

I've been waiting for that "Wha . . . ? Juliet?!?" moment.

[@gregdesouza17]

20:10 That is a nuclear explosion, that liberates enough radiation to basically function as an EMP blast and probably trigger the detonation in nearby missiles.

[@reverance_pavane]

Not to mention blinding any sensors (both visual and radar) trying to see through it.

[@DrEsky914]

Not sure that the torpedoes are nuclear; they could be just conventional warheads but the main idea is to divert the drive seeking missiles into the blast of the torpedoes thus saving the Razorback. Then exploding the 6 missiles as you point out creates a huge "smoke screen" to allow the Roci (PC) to speed through without detection and blast off the UNN ship's engines. G forces become another character in this episode which is so awesome! Great Reaction, can't wait for more!

[@MattNolanCustom]

The title theme is by Clinton Shorter, with faux Norwegian lyrics written and sung by Lisbeth Scott. Clinton is responsible for the vast majority of the music on The Expanse. If you listen carefully, you will hear elements of the main theme re-formatted and re-purposed in much of the incidental score throughout all the seasons.

[@cheekychappy1234]

IFF = Identification Friend or Foe - It's an electronic system for identifying which are your friendly craft and therefore by exclusion which are those of your enemy. It works by sending out a signal and friendly craft will respond correctly.

[@VSFStrange]

Always the Roci, you don't see any Contorta shirts out there :)

[@alcor4670]

11:41 IIRC, most (or all?) of the plants Prax was setting up were genetically modified to scrub CO2 a lot more efficiently than any normal plant we'd find here on Earth. Pretty much every place aside from Earth had them. Having a good plant setup in and around the house is always a good idea though. Best look for local/regional plants, and avoid foreign and invasive ones. Edit: 15:28 If I'm not mistaken, the "Evolution of Flight" decal is something out of Richard Branson's _Virgin Galactic_ -- the rocket plane space tour company that's going to send clients up to space.

[@jamesholland5761]

Great reaction and analysis Neil! By gosh my man I think you really get it! Although some of your theories are a little off but very fun! But for the most part you're hitting the nail on the head! As before I will continue to press that you pay close attention to the dynamic between Amos and Prax! It will serve you well! Looking forward to the next one!

[@astrodude5222]

I think that this counts as a spoiler, and you don’t need to emphasize anything

[@jamesholland5761]

@@astrodude5222 I respectfully disagree

[@Armin-ry9rm]

In case no one's mentioned it before, S03E07 has a big spoiler in the opening credits. Make sure you skip them if you care about spoilers.

[@MrEvers]

Errinwright in black and Anna in white, on opposite sides of the Secretary-General, like the devil and angel on his shoulder.

[@kirkdarling4120]

And the secretary-general wear black and white because he vacillates.

[@astrodude5222]

Keep up the great work Neil. You do a great analysis of these episodes. Like others, my only complaint is that you are only doing one episode a week.

[@NeilTalks]

One day, astrodude, I'll be able to afford an editor. Then we can talk about more episodes per week. :). Thanks for the support!

[@efetherman]

I thiink that's a future ep.

[@jurekajzer]

Commenting in the first 5s of the vid ... i was waiting for this one, one of my favorite episodes of Expanse ... now let's watch :D

[@jimreichers7196]

BEST SHOW EVER!

[@efetherman]

Also there was bad protomolecule things happening you were right.

[@TheWandererofStarfield]

Watched all your Lost reactions, started season 3 of Expanse last year and saw Elizabeth Mitchell, so knew this episode would be a reaction to look forward to. Side note: I’ve finished season 3 but am waiting til Late March to catch Season 4.

[@efetherman]

They had to cancel "Alex" later for bad behavior and as yo9u say they "stroked him out" saving Naomi,

[@efetherman]

"The Churn"

[@alexflores7652]

I've been loving your reaction to this show and Person of Interest. But more on the factoids for this show. If you've ever seen or heard of a show out of Canada called Killjoys, you might recognize some of the actors from that show in this show. This show is one of my all time favorite shows in SciFi. The number 1 spot will always go to Babylon 5 followed immediately by Farscape. The second place spot is a tie with this show and the aforementioned Killjoys.

[@efetherman]

Caliban was Asimov's mind reading robot, right. In the new show Foundation, it'd be he's the girl robot. Cause.

[@alessandrogirotto9]

"the tought of a Martian Marine risking her life for me" best line ever

[@fairytoffee3159]

WELCOME to the awesomest space battlessss... I still feel like crying every time I re-watch any of them :D You ain't seen nothing yet. EDIT: your face says it all XD

[@efetherman]

Amos is ... that guy.

[@elvisibra]

"Bad Guys" committing a crime of Collective Punishment that "Good Guy" Avasarala initiated and started.

[@gabsrants]

This show is accelerating way beyond 2g and the ride will just keep on going - buckle your fuckles and juice up.

[@AzimovTube]

Is this the first time Bobbie has met the crew of the Roci? For some reason in my head they met at gun point in a corridor of a space station. She had other marines with her though, so should have already happened.

[@cjbroz313]

Your memory is OK, but your timeline is messed up.

[@AzimovTube]

@@cjbroz313 Yeah it kind of all runs together. Still good to know I haven't made it up or missed it.

[@cjbroz313]

@@AzimovTube - That's always my first concern in situations like that. "Am I nuts? No? Good." And move on from there.

[@efetherman]

Ok neil, whistle and clench your thighs, shit about to get 'nuclear option' next few eps. We have not yet begun to be nuclear! LOL Expanse!@

[@whtz9000]

You understand now why people went ballistic after scify canned it after s3..

[@FisherProtocol]

IMHO season 3 top to bottom is PEAK EXPANSE.

[@efetherman]

15 parents? who knows?

[@efetherman]

Alex should have whistiled.

[@brezgatnik]

👏😎🎬

[@efetherman]

Maturity is all fun and games if you don't clench your thighs and whistle.

[@robertcartier5088]

_"You know we've had a whole other testament since then, right?"_ It sounds like a good and fair comeback to what was said, but it really isn't. It's a blatant lie because in that new testament, the main character makes a point of telling everyone that he did not come to change the old laws, and that they remain unchanged... So, in essence, Anna is a manipulative little liar! ;-]