by Kbear! on March 22, 2017
Dad always liked you best
After the battle in Ganymede, Sadavir Errinwright (Shawn Doyle) wants to retaliate against Mars. He assumes Mars attacked first. Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is the calm voice in the room. She wants to hold a peace summit on Earth, giving Earth home field advantage. Chrisjen’s plan is to deescalate the tensions between the two planets and prevent an all-out war. The UN chief agrees with her and tells her, “You’re father was smart, you are smarter.” Errinwright looks like a kid hearing his dad praise his much smarter sister once again.
Give me the good drugs
Red snowflakes are falling on a badly injured Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams). There are dead bodies and destruction all around her. The Martians arrive and rescue her. Bobbie awakens in the sickbay of the M.C.R.N. Scirocco. I thought it was destroyed during the battle, but obviously, it wasn’t. Lt. Commissioner Thorsen (Clé Bennett) enters the sickbay to check in on Bobbie. He informs her that she is the only survivor from her team, so she is the only person who can tell them what happened down there. Bobbie says there were six blues (UN Marines), but there was a seventh person too. She asks for her CO but Thorsen informs her that Sutton is dead too. This is too much for her to handle.
Bobbie is out of sickbay and Thorsen begins his official interrogation. He takes that pill they took in season one when they interrogate someone. Bobbie now remembers that the seventh man was behind the six blues. There was also a stray drone above them. She is sure earth started the attack and jammed their comms. In a later scene Bobbie is exercising, she looks at the damage the Scirocco sustained in the battle. She goes in another room and sees the damage her suit took. The chaplain, Captain Martens (Peter Outerbridge) enters the room. He served with Bobbie’s father. We find out her brothers went to engineering school instead of entering the military like she and her father. Martens tells her they can speak off the record. They did not detect a drone on radar.
Thorsen begins his new rounds of questions, but this time Bobbie takes the pills. (They must help you focus.) Bobbie remembers that the blues were firing at the seventh man, and that the seventh man was not wearing a vac suit. She still remembers the drone. Captain Martens is listening to the interrogation in another room and tells Thorsen to end the interrogation. Later Thorsen awards Bobbie the Purple Heart. She will attend the Earth summit to tell them her troops fired first. She tells Thorsen that isn’t what happened but he doesn’t want to hear the truth. Mars also wants to prevent an all-out war.
Meanwhile at the Tycho station, refugees arrive from Ganymede. The Rocinante crew is helping. Anderson Dawes (Jared Harris) is passing out goods and making a big production out of it. Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper) and James Holden (Steven Strait) are disagreeing about Dawes. Holden thinks he is a crook while Naomi sees him more as a Robin Hood for belters. Amos Burton (Wes Chatham) is passing out food to the refugees, a woman reaches for extra food and Amos slightly pushes her, the woman’s son pushes Amos and tells him to leave his mother alone. Amos is visibly shaken by this. Diogo (Andrew Rotilio) is outside looking at Amos talk to Cortazar (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio). Amos asks him about the medical procedure on his mind. Cortazar wonders if Amos is asking about it for himself. Cortazar starts talking about his favorite subject, the Protomolecule rewriting the entire story about humanity.
Vote for me and I’ll set you free
The OPA is having a conclave. Fred Johnson (Chad L. Coleman) is conducting it. He wants to use the missiles he has to buy a ticket to the Earth summit. He proposes Dawes represent the Belt. Dawes can’t pass the chance to make a speech. He agrees to go and give the missiles back to Earth. He fears though that a Mars and Earth at peace will turn their attention back to the Belt. That is not a good thing. He recites an old Belter saying everyone in the room knows, “The more you share, the more your bowl will be plentiful, and those that will not share will die.” Earth and Mars look down on Belters. Fred doesn’t share all he knows about Eros. Holden jumps in to help Fred, he tells them the Euros threat is over. Dawes cleverly dismisses him and he asks Naomi if she thinks it is over now. She can only say she hopes it is. After the conclave, Naomi tells Holden he should have stayed out of it.
Dawes comes on board the Rocinante. He wants to know the part they left out. (This would be the Protomolecule.) Dawes knows the danger isn’t over yet. (The man is right. He must have read the book.) He figures that Fred has another card to play if he is willing to give up the missiles and have him go to the summit. Holden demands Fred get off his ship; Dawes tells him he reminds him of Miller. It is clear that Fred is in trouble.
Dawes runs into Drummer (Cara Gee) outside a shop. He reminds her of the good times they used to have. He is trying to find out Fred’s secret from her. Holden and Fred are looking at the secret, Cortazar. Fred tells Holden that Cortazar is getting new data. There is more Protomolecule out there, and if they can find it, they can study it. If the Belt has it, no one will try to use it against them again. Holden looks confused; he thought his crew has destroyed it all. Dawes is complementing Diogo on the legend he is becoming. Diogo tells him about the scientist they took from the station. He convinces Diogo to join him.
Now you see me, now you don’t
Holden is in bed with Naomi; he decides to go for a walk and grabs his gun. He is heading to Cortazar’s cell. When he gets there it is empty, someone has broken him out. Diogo, Dawes and his gang have Cortazar. Holden informs Fred and Fred orders a lockdown. Dawes’ ship takes off from the dock. Holden calls Naomi and Alex (Cas Anvar) on the ship to go after Dawes. The Rocinante catches up with Dawes’ ship and they shoot the thrusters out. Guns at the ready, they order the passengers aboard Dawes’ ship to exit. Only one person is aboard, Diogo. Dawes got away with Cortazar.
***
Bobbie survived the attack, but everyone she was close to in her unit died. At first the gung-ho Martian Marine wanted to blame Earth and get the war started. As things started getting clearer she realizes the Earth Marines didn’t shoot at them, they were shooting at something behind them. It is clear the Protomolecule is on Ganymede and has taken a human form. Protogen must have been doing experiments on Ganymede, unless some of the Protogen from Euros somehow migrated there. I guess if you can move an entire asteroid, going to another planet can’t be that hard. Bobbie superiors want her to lie. I wonder if they know something about this Protomolecule monster and want to keep it quiet for their own purposes. It looks like Bobbie and Chrisjen will meet, I can’t wait.
Things are tense on Tycho. Fred is in trouble for commandeering the Mormon spaceship and Anderson Dawes is on the station causing trouble. Dawes knows something is up and he keeps turning over rocks until he gets some answers. Dawes getting hold of some Protomolecule is a scary thought. Naomi and Holden’s relationship is tense. He keeps trying to be the savior of the system while Naomi is keeping secrets from him. They are from very different backgrounds, and can’t agree on anything, but the sex is probably still great. Amos is starting to have a breakdown, that isn’t safe for anyone. This episode wasn’t as action heavy as other episodes have been, but the personal struggles everyone is having to attain or hold on to power, whether it be in the UN or Tycho station was interesting. There are a few levelheaded people in the system, but nearly everyone else wants to throw down. They should be looking out for that seventh man.
Grade: A-
- Moon Knight: Steven Grant of the Giftshop - April 6, 2022
- Eternals: Through the Ages - April 3, 2022
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Slackers - March 12, 2022