Ricky Church reviews the fifth episode of The Expanse season 5…
After the devastating attacks led by Marco Inaros’ Free Navy in the previous episode, The Expanse didn’t waste time elevating the danger all the characters face in their respective stories.’Down and Out’ lived up to its name as they were at an all time low and had to figure a way to climb out (for a couple of them quite literally). As the halfway mark of the season, it was a very exciting episode tying several plot threads together.
Picking up almost immediately from the events of ‘Gaugamela’, many of the characters were caught in precarious situations, most especially Alex and Clarissa as they were trapped several hundred feet below ground at the maximum security prison. It was a fairly tense storyline for them as nearly every possible way out was hindered due to the damage from above, forcing them to adapt under the extreme circumstances. It’s not very often Amos is placed in a leadership position, but he showed some pretty decisive initiative as he took the lead on finding a way out. Wes Chatham displayed this side to Amos pretty well and again shared nice chemistry with Nadine Nicole’s Clarissa along with the other guards. He also provided a few moments of levity in the grim situation, like repeatedly calling the hulking modded murderer ‘Tiny’ in the nonchalant and unworried way only Amos can.
While Amos and Clarissa’s story remained separate from the main plotline, quite a few of the others began getting tied together as Marco worked to expand his influence. Bobbie and Alex discovered the Martians were supplying Marco with military grade ships, Holden and Bull were getting ready to chase after Marco and Drummer got an invitation to likely join Marco’s Free Navy. It was all coming together in an exciting manner as the characters were being pulled one way or another in Marco’s orbit. While the individual stories have been great on their own, it was necessary at this point in time to draw them all together now that Marco has emerged as the new big villain they all must face.
One of the best aspects to ‘Down and Out’ was seeing more of how Marco thinks and operates. He is a pretty slimy villain with the way he manipulates people and tries acting ‘nice’ to Naomi. His conversation with Filip just shows how skilled he is as he uses a combination of insults and flattery to get through to Filip, though his son hardly recognizes the veiled insults Marco makes because of how ingrained his fealty to his father is. There’s a real cult-like presence Marco cultivates, perhaps best seen by Naomi’s friend Cyn who she thought was the most kind-hearted of the bunch. Cyn’s grievances with the Inners may not be without cause considering what we’ve seen of their treatment of Belters, but Marco’s ability to turn those grievances into ammunition for his ambition and cause makes him a great and dangerous manipulator.
Naomi played a pretty integral role in pulling some of the stories together. Her perspective is vital not only because the audience has gotten to know her for the last five years, but she is the only one who truly knows how much of a threat Marco can be, now more than ever since he has a much bigger and committed movement behind him. Her knowledge is what helps her realize the way he planned on blowing up the Roci and much of Tycho while also letting Holden know where she is. Dominique Tipper is getting a lot of great material this season as she tried prevailing on her friend’s conscience and attempted to take Marco’s life at the expense of her own. Even though she’s trapped on a ship, Naomi’s storyline is one of the more compelling because of the people around her.
‘Down and Out’ was another excellent episode that only raised the momentum gained from Marco’s attacks. The plot remains intriguing and fast-paced and the work to pull the characters back together is deftly handled. The balance of the characters and tension is well done and it will be exciting to see where the season goes from here as the groups plan their next moves.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
