The Expanse

The Expanse is an American science fiction television series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the series of novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey. The series premiered on December 14, 2015 and was ended on January 14, 2022.

Plot
The series follows a disparate band of protagonists—United Nations Security Council member Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), police detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), ship's officer James Holden (Steven Strait) and his crew—as they unwittingly unravel and place themselves at the center of a conspiracy that threatens the system's fragile state of cold war, while dealing with existential crises brought forth by newly discovered alien technology.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The show's intro song is an incredible combination of Orchestral Bombing and One-Woman Wail that perfectly fits the intro's Time Lapse of mankind's expansion throughout the solar system.
 * 2) Fantastic acting.
 * 3) * While his performance was never seen as necessarily bad, Steven Strait's performance as Jim Holden was often seen as being the comparative "weak link" out of the Rocinante crew. However, his surprisingly captivating depiction of someone undergoing rapid Sanity Slippage in "It Reaches Out" was widely praised and seen as some of his best work on the show.
 * 4) * Wes Chatham's performance as Amos Burton has been one of the most consistently praised aspects of the series, with his genuinely convincing depiction of a near-sociopath attempting to find a moral compass being both surprisingly engaging, genuinely unsettling, and weirdly endearing. Many fans have even favorably compared his "I am that guy" line from "Immolation" with "I am the one who knocks!"
 * 5) * While initially seen as just an unlikable jarhead, Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper got a much better reception as Season 2 went on and she was able to show more of her own impressive acting range beyond the generic "tough guy" marine persona originally shackled to her.
 * 6) The series remains faithfully of the sci-fi novel series by James S. A. Corey while parts of the book have been changed to fit it better.
 * 7) Awesome visual effects.
 * 8) * The effects used for the spaceships and space battles are pretty cool to look at, but the opening sequence for episode 1 (and the entirety of Season 2) deserves special mention. It shows the progress of humanity over the next two hundred or so years and is simply gorgeous.
 * 9) * The inside of Eros after the protomolecule has fully taken over in "Leviathan Wakes" is truly a sight to behold, and it gets ever more gorgeous the closer Miller draws to its core.
 * 10) * The slingshot maneuver in "Here There Be Dragons" may be Artistic License – Physics, but it's absolutely stunning to look at.
 * 11) * The fate of the Arboghast, which takes a seemingly simple shot and turns it into something intricately beautiful.
 * 12) * The climax shot of Caliban's War where The "Caliban" Protomolecule creature is crawling over the hull of the Rocinante is just breathtaking.
 * 13) * The show is generally amazingly good at making the audience believe that characters are floating in Zero G whenever she ships aren't under thrust and the characters couldn't lock down to the floor with magnetic boots. Case in point: the forced-slowdown situation in the Season 3 episode "Fallen World".
 * 14) Through underdeveloped, the minor characters are likable.
 * 15) * MCRN Lieutenant Lopez underwent such rapid character-development that it made him very likable and memorable despite only appearing in two episodes.
 * 16) * After casually executing two of her previous captors while having a bullet lodged in her stomach in "Pyre", OPA member Drummer became a fan favorite. As a result, her screentime and plot relevance is vastly expanded in the TV show compared to her book-counterpart (Samantha Rosenberg), she gets many scenes that were part of Bull's plotline in Abbadon's Gate (instead of Sam's function in the plot of that book, which is given to Naomi and a mauve shirt OPA member), and she even survives Bull's death scene from the book.
 * 17) * Klaes Ashford, having been a particularly unlikable antagonist in Abbadon's Gate, has turned into a fan favorite as well. Unlike his book counterpart, Ashford in the series is a competent, respected leader who doesn't let politics get in the way of common sense, and has a greater vision than most of the OPA leadership except perhaps Fred Johnson.
 * 18) ** It also helps that he gets parts of Bull's characterization and plot from the books, doesn't start out as the ship's captain, and gets a new backstory as a space pirate who tragically lost a child.
 * 19) The characters from the sci-fi novel series have been changed into likable characters, because of development.
 * 20) * Some fans found Bobbie Draper to initially be incredibly annoying for her frequent gun-ho behavior on the Earth/Mars conflict, viewing her personality as largely flat outside of this trait. However, after the Ganymede disaster, learning about Mars' experiments, and getting a healthy dose of Character Development, Bobbie began to convince non-book fans that there was more to her character, and has now become a fan favorite.
 * 21) * Klaes Ashford went from being a largely unlikable and unsympathetic mutineer in the books to an incredibly likable Reasonable Authority Figure in the series, to the point that some fans have argued that he honestly might actually be a better fit for the captain of the Behemoth than Drummer.
 * 22) * Elvi Okoye was The Scrappy in Cibola Burn due to her over-the-top Celeb Crush on Holden that gets resolved too quickly. When adapting this novel into Season 4, the show wisely does away with this; instead, Holden and Elvi start off not completely seeing eye-to-eye, but gradually gain increasing respect for each other and become Fire-Forged Friends as they work together to save everyone on Ilus, culminating in Elvi playing a very important role in the climax. All throughout, their camaraderie remains completely platonic on both sides, and Elvi instead gets Ship Tease with Fayez (the guy she rather-suddenly ends up with in the books). As a result, she is much less annoying and more likable in this version.
 * 23) Tons of intense moments. For example, we see what killed Julie repeated, en masse, with the entire population of Eros (later explicitly stated to have been over one hundred thousand) falling victim to it. The Rocinante crew managed to save a few people, but everyone else — including many children — are consumed... and it is clear the conspirators who unleashed it aren't finished yet. This is just the beginning.
 * 24) Some funny moments in the show, like Bobbie trying out the cucumber sandwiches on Mao's ship and having an incredibly satisfied expression, much to Cotyar's transparent incredulity/affront and her rampant unrepentance thrown right back. She is later seen hoarding them for later.
 * 25) * Furthermore, when Avasarala growls at Mao to just "get to the fucking point!", Bobbie can be seen in the background raising her eyebrows in surprise.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some fans of the novels series were disappointed with the mid-Season 3 time skip that shifted the show's focus to the Ring, as they felt that not only were the intervening events (i.e. the uprooting of the Protogen conspiracy) on both Earth and Mars) interesting enough to watch in their own right, but also that trying to then stuff all of the third novel into just half a season left that material feeling rushed as well.

Reception
The Expanse has received critical acclaim, with particular praise for its visuals, character development and political narrative.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a score of 78% with an average rating of 7.10 out of 10 based on 46 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The Expanse blends sci-fi elements and detective noir into a visually compelling whole, though it takes a few episodes for the story to capture viewers' intrigue." The first season received a rating of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a score of 95% with an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 21 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse ' s second season offers more of the show's excellent signature production values while increasing character development and politically thrilling narratives." On Metacritic, it has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 5 reviews.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 26 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Building on earlier potential and extending character arcs throughout a solidly crafted third season, The Expanse continues to impress – and shows no signs of abating."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 34 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart and thrilling as ever, The Expanse's fourth season doesn't miss a beat, successfully navigating network changes without losing any of its rich character work or narrative complexities." The season received a rating 91 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 4 critics indicating "universal acclaim".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the fifth season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 8.7 out of 10 based on 32 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's many threads come to a head in an excellent fifth season that expertly capitalizes on everything that makes the show work while setting the stage for an epic final season." The season received a rating 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 5 critics indicating "universal acclaim".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 94% with an average rating of 8.4 out of 10 based on 17 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's truncated final season honors the series' characters and themes with a graceful conclusion."