Home
Artists
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register
Partychan Telegram ThePornDude
Home Artists Posts Import Register

The Expanse: Season 1 - Episode 7 & 8 - Patreon Exclusive (Patreon)

Published:
2022-07-19 12:00:05
Imported:
2022-07

Files

The Expanse: Season 1 - Episode 7 & 8 - Patreon Exclusive

Comments

AC10

I enjoyed this reaction very much. I have not read the books.... yet. But now I will. After The Martian and Artemis and Project Hail Mary.

Anonymous

I wouldn't have made it more than a few episodes in if I hadn't read the books beforehand and known what was coming. I don't blame you guys for not really liking the show so far but I still think you'll end up loving it if you continue.

Chris Gronau

For what it's worth, I really enjoy watching Simone and George react to this show, and I hope that they continue through the rest of the seasons. But, I understand if they don't....

Tenn Seven

"OPA" is the "Outer Planets Alliance," a "Belter" concern. It's basically The Expanse's version of the IRA during The Troubles. It has factions that all want to represent the belters but do not necessarily agree on the best way to do so. Some sects (like Anderson Dawes') are more militant while some (like Fred Johnson's) seek more political or commercial strategies to further their interests.

Tenn Seven
>>87953959

The only reason I joined their Patreon is to watch their reactions to this show. I hope they continue with the seasons as well, especially since they are masterpieces.

EMB

A lot of the first season is just world-building. I really hope that you guys continue it.

Nerd Going Outside

FWIW, I watched the first season of the show first, a few months after it aired, then went and read the books that were out at the time. Watching S&G watching this has reminded me of a couple of useful concepts. First, not everyone likes feeling confused. The Expanse reminds me a lot of shows like Game of Thrones or The Wire in that it opens with a lot of characters and concepts you aren't familiar with and doesn't handhold or ease the viewer in at all - it just goes and figures you'll pick things up as it moves along. Moreover, the authors intentionally wrote Leviathan Wakes (the first book in the Expanse series) as a melding of Sci-Fi + noir - there's intentionally a gritty, hard-boiled detective vibe and the whole book (and thus the first season) is essentially a mystery. Bad things are happening, and we don't know who is behind it or why. This noir vibe is unique to the first book/season. It turns out that the combination of no handholding + noir mystery that leaves you in the dark for a long time is something a lot of people like but some people *really* don't. It seems to them to feel confusing and alienating and trying to put the pieces together isn't engaging all on its own. This is fair! Having to be on camera saying interesting things while you watch probably doesn't make this any easier. Second, first impressions really matter. I tend to think the bad-ness of S1 eps 1-3 is overstated, but it is true that they are the weakest point in the series. This is largely (IMO) due to the injection of a lot of artificial hostility between the Canterbury survivors (which isn't present in the book, as it happens) in order to generate conflict, which is pretty grating. Anyway, some folks quit right there. Others don't, become more engaged (usually by ep 4), and end up loving the series. If they were watching on their own, I expect S&G would have quit after the first few episodes. Even though they're obligated to finish the first season, that first impression was so bad that no matter what the show does at this stage I suspect it isn't recoverable for them. I mean, we're talking about a mystery here and about 5% of the episode discussion is about putting the pieces together whereas 95% is pointing out real or imagined flaws - ie Avesarala in the snow or Eros pronunciation or whatever. I don't mean this as criticism of S&G! It's just that when you dislike something but are forced to engage with it your perception will be skewed to the negative - you're more inclined to see flaws than strengths, and each flaw you find or strength you overlook compounds this. In the end, your view of the thing doesn't really resemble the thing itself. This is the downside of a really bad first impression. It's a shame, but it happens. Lots of really good TV out there! It *does* make me worried to recommend The Wire to S&G though, just because of that similar early confusion angle. Series that want you to work to puzzle them out may not be a good fit.

Jay Davis

But The Wire is SO freakin' good... season 1, at least.

Anonymous
>>87969454

It might have been a bit different, if George would have been able to keep the characters apart and concentrate on the story. Haven't seen him struggling so much to keep up with who is who. Added to that is that the show opens up with soooo many different people (most of which are side characters), but the show does not give you a lot of clues as to which are important to watch, and this adds to the initial confusion. Which is why I think after the crew is on the Rocinante things tend to get more clearer... .

Armchair Wizard
>>87978020

When someone says something is overrated, what it translates to is "I don't like a thing that is popular, and I want to go tell people who like it how i feel, so i can ruin it for them."

Drew Acheson

I have read the books and they are excellent. It's a hard science sci-fi and you really don't get the feel for the hard science in the show because it's not explicitly explained. It also has much better characterization than the show, but that is the usual for most books turned into a visual medium.

Anonymous

So glad you guys are reacting to this! It's one of the main reasons I decided to support your Patreon. I'm glad that you're at a point where things are starting to be revealed. I'll echo what other people have said regarding Season 1: its job is almost entirely worldbuilding and setting up for bigger things to come. Additionally (and others have brought this up), the events of Book 1 aren't even concluded until about halfway through Season 2. George, with other reactions, I'm frequently impressed with how observant you are, and I've noticed that you often figure things out pretty early. It therefore doesn't surprise me that you've been skeptical and/or frustrated with The Expanse so far, because they've laid it out in a way that it's pretty much impossible to figure things out beforehand. It also doesn't help that there are so many characters, ships, and simultaneous plot lines. I know captions aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth considering watching with them on. Something else that I'll say is that basically no character in this series is 100% good or 100% bad. I know a lot of characters got a slow start, and have had some awkward lines or behaviour, and you guys have said as much, but I promise that after even two seasons, these characters are rich and complex. Not to mention that the number of good characters keeps going as the show goes on. You asked which of us have read the books. I'm about 70% of the way through the fifth book. I've enjoyed them all, but this is probably my favourite so far. Looking forward to finishing out the season with you guys, and hopefully more seasons in the future!

Manuel Phelouzat

You asked how she got it : she touched some of it in the intro scene in episode 1. It's the kind of serie which put bread crumbs all over each scene. Makes it a good candidate for a rewatch !

Anonymous
>>87969454

"I mean, we're talking about a mystery here and about 5% of the episode discussion is about putting the pieces together whereas 95% is pointing out real or imagined flaws - ie Avesarala in the snow or Eros pronunciation or whatever. I don't mean this as criticism of S&G! It's just that when you dislike something but are forced to engage with it your perception will be skewed to the negative - you're more inclined to see flaws than strengths, and each flaw you find or strength you overlook compounds this. In the end, your view of the thing doesn't really resemble the thing itself. This is the downside of a really bad first impression." 100% Agree, especially the 5% and 95% part. It also seems to me they went into this with some sort of preconceived notion on how characters should behave and relate, how information should be conveyed, etc. This is not the typical cliched and tropey sci-fi (and non sci-fi) show, and for me that´s one of it´s strengths. It was refreshingly surprising the many times the show didn´t veer towards what my years of tv/film watching has conditioned my brain to expect. There are so many things to talk and discuss about this show, the very subtle non-woke, non rubbed on the nose social commentary it presents, the reflections about and projections on our planet, the again subtle way human miscegenation is implied (just pay attention to many of the characters names), the subtle nods and homages to other films, etc. It´s totally valid to say "this is not my cup of tea", but to dismiss all the good things or not even trying to find them, and to base the criticism on one or two trees and not the forest, it can get frustrating... I mean, say, one could totally not be into a song or a painting or whatever, but at the same time recognize objective qualities in it.