The Expanse season 3 episode 3 review and recap: 'Assured Destruction' (Amazon)

Breaking down The Expanse season 3 episode 3 upon viewing it for the first time! (Amazon)

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[shep-celsus]

"I didn't always work in space, " is Amos' second best line of the series. You'll know the first when you hear it.

[krbkrbkrbkrbkrb]

The friendship between Amos and Prax is interesting. I think it might be the first time that Amos has had somebody just *talk* to him. Most of his social interaction with other people tends to be "fix this, " "hit that person, " or "OMG, why did you just do that!?!?!?!" But Prax actually asks him questions and listens to Amos' responses. And for Prax's side, he seems like the sort of "nerdy" person who gets lost in their work and doesn't have many friendships.

[davidhart]

Remember, Cotyar was in the back of the bar when Chrisjen & Souther were having their little chat over beer & Lagavulin. It was Souther's words that convinced Chrisjen to reach out to Fred Johnson.

[Awol]

Remember Admiral Souther resigned from head of earth defence (or whatever that position was) because he was not willing to head into war following Erinwrights suggestion.

[nokta]

I don't think it's fair calling Erringwright "evil". He has an agenda and he's willing to go to any length to pursue it. In a way, it's Avasarala's fault. "You burned into my mind that Earth must come first" he says to her in the recorded message. And to the Secretary General he says how in a decade Mars will have the necessary resources to finally cut off the umbilical cord and be completely independent from the resources of the Earth. Due to their position in the Sol system, Mars would be able to cut off Earth from the resources of the Belt and "at that point WE might as well be THEIR colony" he says to the S.G.
At this point in time, Earth would still have the upper hand in a conflict with Mars, so he's hell bent in making that conflict happen because if it were to happen in ten years, Earth might come out as the loser. Is really that being evil or just pragmatically patriotic? To me it's an open question. Not much different from what Cotyar had to do in this episode: he had to murder an innocent man to protect the bigger picture. He had to do what he had to do. Erringwright probably feels the same.
Good thing about this show is that even the antagonistic characters are not evil villains straight out of a comic book: that just want to watch the world burn. Their motives and goals are somewhat relatable even if the actions supporting them might be against the common sense of morality. It's the reason why Miller shot Dresden in the head "I didn't kill him because he was crazy, I killed him because he was making sense".

[SingWhileYouMay]

The show incorporated "Drive" (the Epstein flashback) and will apparently be including elements of another of the novellas in season 4. So, it's not completely out of the question they'll do a bit of "The Churn" eventually. If the seasons keep abreast with the books from now on, season 5 would be a fitting place for it.

[ranialian]

Despite still being mad at Naomi, Alex extends an olive branch the moment he realizes they're driving her away. He is the sweetest and my love for him knows no bounds.

*I don't want you looking like Frankenstein when Mei sees you*
As far as Amos is concerned, not only is Prax reuniting with his daughter, he's also gonna look his best when it happens. It melts my heart.

*Are you someone's dad?*
You're right about J.P. Mao knowing what he's doing so I think this runs deeper than merely looking at the faces of those children. Mei's question makes him instantly susceptible to noticing similarities between her and Julie. I thought it was brilliant. He's still a horrible person but it was nice to see some genuine emotion from him.

[LeeCarlson]

Anna's strength is her faith, which has a better temper than titanium.

[kualarompin]

"I would say cry me a river if I thought you knew what was one" - Damn Chrisjen, she just roasted Naomi bad. I laughed so hard.


In my opinion, by the previous episodes, suffice to say, a master spy like Cotyar would know Admiral Souther reputation back on Earth. He might not be on Chrisjen's side, but he is alsp not on Erinwright's side. He is a man of principle. He defied a direct order from Erinwright to bomb a Mars facility, because he does not believe in escalating tension with Mars, after Mars bombed Phoebe station, caused him to get demoted. So, at this moment, to Cotyar, Admiral Souther is the best ally he has. I think that is why Cotyar telling the secret to Souther.


I think it is safe to say that Jules see Julie in Mei. That probably hit his soft spot. Although he did not shed a tear when he found Julie was dead, he did drop flowers on Julie favourite tree. Since I am from South East Asia, there are plenty of fathers like that. They don't show much affection to their children or talk about feeling with their children, they still love their children nonetheless. Here, culturally, if someone like me for example need affection and talk about emotional stuff, I talk to my mother. If I need money, I talked to my dad. Hehehe.


Oh yeah, episode 5 and 6 should be watched back to back. Can't wait till you get there :)

[Moontrail]

There is one flaw in Naomi’s logic, she said earth and mars had the protomolecule, so the belt needs it to, but the thing is, they don’t... Mao has the protomolecule and is teasing both to give it to them, but he’s an independent. By giving mars a demonstration on ganymede and using ships developed by earth to protect his labs (and protogen being a company with its base offices on earth) he gave the illusion that they both have it, but (again) they actually don’t have it.

[satie]

Addicted to these videos, awesome review/analysis as always!

[ezrawyrd]

Amos coming around the ladder with that bigass wrench squaring up with bobby is one of my favorite little moments in the series, that whole scene is a real testament to the characterization and subtle dynamics this show has established and I love it.

[kirkdarling]

>When it looked like Bobbie and Amos might tangle, notice that Amos had a big wrench in his hand. He's not a man to take chances.
>"The Martians are bonding." LOL
>"I didnt always work in space." We can surmise by now that part of Amos' childhood was as a child prostitute. That's why he knows how to walk in pumps. It's a funny line until you think about the backstory.
>Alex was still operating in his "mom mode" with "The cheese ain't real, but the love that went into is" as he was essentially rebuilding bonds with Naomi.
>Bobbie was impressed that the Roci crew destroyed a hybrid.
>Mao saw some of Julie in Mei, and it touched his heart. Although Julie ultimately disappointed him, we see that he actually did love Julie. Mao was genuinely glad to see the children playing, but Strickland saw it only in terms of hybrid usefulness.
>The response Alex got from his wife was understandable but hard to take.
>It's good to hate Strickland.
>Cotyer had seen enough of Sother interacting with Avasalara to risk trusting him. He knows that Sother gave up his position to be on the right side, he knows that Avaslara has some trust in Sother. Besides, he had no choice. There was nobody else to trust besides Souther, and it was clear Nguyen intended to keep him incommunicado. If he hadn't told Souther, the information might die with him.
>Avasalara made a typical mistake that major powers make in their conception of the role of terrorist organizations among oppressed cultures. She tried to appear conciliatory by confirming that "good Belters" would not be associated with such groups, without realizing that such groups are made up of the idealistic, the pessimistic, and the opportunistic. Major powers don't take seriously any native groups except those that cause them irritation, like the OPA or the IRA or the PLO. Those groups wind up being the closest thing to "representation" the oppressed people have, so trying to divide those groups from the "good" people is a doomed effort.

[dapeach]

The solution to characters dying is obvious, you just need to stop liking all characters! Or you need to start REALLY liking Errinwright!

[jazoon]

Keep in mind that most likely Strckland has had the procedure done that Cotazar had done. Essentially, he is a sociopath.

[thx]

"I fucking hate space" - I just love the precision F-Strike bombs Chrisjen drops so casually. If you aren't in love with Shohreh Agdashloo at this point, you're dead to me.

[IanHillan]

I actually like the way the show is drop feeding us Amos' backstory, so I wouldn't read the Churn until the show is over, much as I love it. It's the best of the novellas for sure.
I can't wait for the upcoming installments of "Errinwright's a jerk." You're cracking me up.
Same with the Amos/Prax buddy movie. Your reactions to those two developing arcs are awesome. I also love this episode for the character work. More will be revealed of course.
Loving your work, guys. I laughed so much with/at you this episode 😁

[mscheese]

The nuclear strategy on display in this episode is actually really cool IMO. Except in real life the missile platforms are underwater and they're much better hidden.

[LeeCarlson]

One of the short works for The Expanse is called "The Churn" and 'tis Amos' background.

[LeeCarlson]

Cotyar is an accomplished operative (in the same way as James Bond) and he shared the knowledge that she was alive with the one person that Avarsarela had instructed him to. Remember that Cotyar was in the background when Avarsarela was talking to Sanderson in the bar.