As The Expanse rolls towards the season and series finale, it remains to be seen if all of the storylines will be brought to a satisfying conclusion. However, before we get there, “Redoubt” gives us another lesson about the consequences of actions, or lack of actions in some instances. While the episode is light on action, it is emotionally heavy.
The explosion on Ceres Station has a ripple effect, but when Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) uses Monica Stuart (Anna Hopkins) to try and make a usable news piece to show what really happened, she is surprised at the results, which may benefit them all in the long run. Trying to make both Belters and humans look weak in each other’s eyes is bold play, but it might save many lives.
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Peaches (Nadine Nicole) discovers that Holden (Steven Strait) disarmed the missile that spared Marco(Keon Alexander) and informs Amos (Wes Chatham). He then confronts Holden in classic Amos fashion, blunt and to the point. Holden is forced to tell Naomi (Dominique Tipper), and it’s clear that while the crew of the Rocinante are still on the same page, there will be a need to change the approach. Holden has shown time and time again that while incredibly empathic, is also quite naive as to the long-term consequences of some of his decisions. It remains to be seen if this particular one will come back to haunt them all.
Drummer (Cara Gee) takes center stage for a couple of reasons. First, with her new Belter allies, she leads a successful raid of one of Marco’s supply depots. However, there is a cost as one of her crew is severely injured. Still, it is a success, which leads to Drummer making a broadcast to all Belters, standing her ground and calling Marco out as a coward. She needs more people and ships to help her and while initially looking like a desperate move, it is quite calculated and done with purpose. She is a very capable leader, and standing up to Marco should bring more people to her side.
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However, it has an interesting effect on Filip (Jasai Chase-Owens). After hearing the message, he makes a big speech, not to his father Marco, but to the crew. It is the first time he has stood up and tried to rally people to his father’s cause but in reality, it looks more like a ploy on his part. Earlier in the episode, he discovered that the Rocinante spared the crew’s life, and his, by disarming the missile. He doesn’t know if Holden, Naomi, or both mad the call, but the look on his face says it all. This bravado speech seems like a misdirect on his part, but to what end, I’m not sure.
The storyline on Laconia continues, with a young girl making a decision on what to do about her recently deceased brother. Normally, there is not much to do but try and grieve but this is no ordinary planet/system, especially when the protomolecule is involved. It is an odd choice to include this arc in this season, as it is still quite a separate storyline from what is going on. It does seem like the time could be better spent on what is an already short final season but I will wait and see how it all plays out.
With only two episodes remaining now, “Redoubt” is an episode that gave the final season pause, a chance to catch its breath. As the endgame is still unclear, this is not a bad thing and it sets the stage for some interesting conclusions.
