The Expanse S1E07 Windmills Review

The Expanse S1E07 Windmills Review

Last week The Expanse set out to increase the scope of the story. The crew of the Rocinante set out from Tycho station, their Martian ship disguised as freighter, to Eros to try and uncover who attacked the Scopuli and The Canterbury. The trip was difficult to begin with, but with the Martian fleet on patrol and a stowaway spy transmitting messages it is almost made impossible. When a Martian skiff demands to board the ship the crew of the Rocinante need to devise a plan. After failing their bluff Alex Kamal suggests they try to recover the codes used by Martian ships to state they are undercover.

With the help of the stowaway Alex and Naomi find the codes, but not before Amos and Jimmy Holden enter a serious disagreement about what to do when the Martians do attempt to board the ship. Amos is all for killing them, while Jimmy is visible shocked. The disagreement between them and Jimmy’s demand of Naomi that she abandon Amos on a station felt rather contrived. While Alex and Naomi tried to recover the codes it felt like the writer’s were forcing more drama into the script by including the confrontation between Amos and Jimmy. Series such as The Expanse often include characters that do completely stupid things to increase tension, but at the cost of alienating viewers. As Holden is a key character I think the show’s creators need to be careful.

After Avasarala’s role in the series was diminished for a few episodes she is back. In this episode she meets with the mother of Jimmy Holden. Jimmy was the one who first announced Mars had a hand in the destruction of the Canterbury. Quickly he realizes his mistake, but he can’t announce that now everybody is looking for him. Avasarala wants to know what makes him tick and discovers his mother’s libertarian upbringing has given him some self-destructive traits: a quick temper and a heart of gold. Avasarala’s role keeps the series grounded. She is grounded, analytical and of course manipulative. The latter makes her a delight to watch.

Meanwhile on Ceres Miller deals with the aftermath of his firing. He tries to confront Anderson Dawes, the leader of the OPA on Ceres, but to no avail. Slowly he begins to accept his obsessive behavior regarding Julie Mao. He makes plans to travel to Eros to find out what Mao was doing on the Scopuli and how she fits into the greater mystery. He has a difficult moment with Octavia before he departs. The storyline of Miller this week felt like filler, but it was necessary.

After the first four episodes concluded the opening storyline of the show The Expanse needs to prepare for the long-haul. That means laying down a lot of groundwork and only revealing small pieces of the puzzle. So far it has been an enjoyment and I am beginning to appreciate this show ever more. This week was heavily laden with drama, which sometimes devolved into melodrama. This was The Expanse S1E07 Windmills Review. I hope you enjoyed it.