The Expanse Season 1 Episode 3 The situation on Ceres is the easiest to comprehend. The frustration is understandable with water rations and filthy air endangering lives and basic human rights. Detective Miller struggles to keep the peace, but it’s actually more believable that he’s not completely successful. In fact, it’s difficult to disagree with his captain who actively encourages him to close the Julia Mao case and move on; it’s now a matter of waiting for him to succeed in spite of everyone being against him. The situation is desperate, and although the Belters are perhaps too quick to blame Mars for their woes, their response is logical despite its emotional roots. Clearly Earth has it better, trading greywater for wine, but it’s not as though the UN leaders are flying off the handle, gearing up for a fight with Mars. Chrisjen’s ploy to force the Martians into revealing their stealth development sites may have been ruthless in terms of betraying her friend, the UN ambassador to Mars, but at least it verified that Mars didn’t destroy the Canterbury. Earth may exploit the Belt, but its leaders are not hot-headed reactionaries. At least the Martian Navy was painted in broad strokes, which somewhat satisfies the thirst for information. Clearly, something is happening on Phoebe, a moon of Saturn and home of a secret facility, that the Martians don’t want anyone to know about. Additionally, their attempt to pit the survivors of the Canterbury against each other is transparent albeit somewhat successful. Who can blame them after seeing Holden’s broadcast? The most satisfying thing that came out of the interrogations, though, was a fleshing out of the ice-hauler characters. Shed’s droll spinelessness, Amos’ brutish defensiveness, and – most impressively – Holden’s checkered past with the U.N. Navy. Viewers may be reluctant to believe Naomi is an OPA operative just because she’s smart, and her accusations of prejudice against Belters hit close to home in today’s political climate: “We all know each other, and we’re all terrorists, right?”
