Family has always been a strong theme of The Expanse, and you can look no further than the crew of the Rocinante for proof of that. In “Tribes,” we get a look at that expanded idea, everything from a tribe of two, the crew of a ship, and in terms of The Belters, an entire group of people.
Amos (Wes Chatham) and Peaches (Nadine Nicole), after escaping what was left of the prison, decide to head to Baltimore, where Amos knows people who can hopefully help them. Along the way, circumstance leads to both of them making tough choices and Amos coming to a startling, but not surprising, revelation. The relationship between Peaches and Amos is interesting. It was fun watching the two of them slowly get to know each other better, as well as watching them alone and on their own, without civilization to tell them what to do.
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Holden (Steven Strait) gets the Rocinante off and running after narrowly avoiding its destruction, thanks to Naomi (Dominique Tipper). Strange seeing a new crew guiding the Roci now, and curious at the late addition to the crew before she headed out. Bobbi (Frankie Adams) and Alex (Cas Anvar), seemingly helpless and adrift after the events from the last episode, meet up with some unfriendlies and put a wild plan into action. These two work well together, no matter the circumstances the differences in personalities.
The big drive of “Tribes” was all about Marcos (Keon Alexander), The Belters, and the big part Camina Drummer (Cara Gee) has to play in all of this. Marcos is trying to unite all the factions, and doing well so far. He makes an offer to Drummer, who mulls over its worth and whether in fact, it is actually an offer at all. Marcos has made all Belters enemies of literally everyone, so to reject him leaves them on their own. Also, the family drama continues as Filip (Jasai Chase Owens) decides to start asking Naomi questions, both due to something Camina said and the incredible request his father, Marcos, made regarding Naomi.
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While all of these people are thrown together into different, dangerous, and unique situations Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), previously alone and basically a tribe of one, is given an incredible opportunity. Aghdashloo only had limited screen time this week, but they were powerful, both in seeing Avasarala alone and falling apart and in her trying to pull herself together. Sometimes the characters on The Expanse seem too hard or emotionally cut off, and this was yet another reminder of how the show is full of deep characters played by solid actors.
Without question, “Tribes” focus was on The Belters but the overall story was well-written, exploring how we can make different tribes with different people under some incredibly stressful situations. However, it remains to be seen if some of these alliances will be good for not only the people involved but the universe in which they are living.
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