One issue I had with Nemesis Games, the book this season is based on, is that it really loses some momentum in the second half. This has also happened with season five, but not really to the same extent thanks largely to the addition of strong storylines for Chrisjen and Drummer.
EARTH
Our two apocalypse buddies are leisurely making their way across the new American wasteland on their little bikes, stopping only for the occasional mutual pee break (now there's an image I won't be forgetting any time soon). The blockers are all out of Clarissa's system which means she finally has her sense of taste and smell back. This means she finally enjoys food again, but it also means she smells all the dead bodies people are leaving lying around. The cute bonding moment is cut short when they stumble on a pile of dead bodies.
THE ROCINANTE
Holden's storyline this season has suffered from the fact that all the best bits were used up by episode four. After the attack on Tycho nothing much really happens to Holden. He just gets hired by Fred to be a glorified taxi service to Luna. With Fred dead that storyline had to go and was replaced with the pursuit of the protomolecule, which was obviously never meant to succeed. It was just a means of keeping the character busy until it was time to go and get Naomi. Still, it was rather frustrating how quickly everyone on the Roci just decides that “Yep, the protomolecule is gone. Let's move on.” Come on, guys, be a bit more thorough than that.
THE PELLA
Marco seems to be genuinely sad about Cyn's death, but he wouldn't be Marco Inaros if he didn't then use it as another excuse to lash out at his son and bring him down.
LUNA
The new Secretary General is settling in by giving a very post-9/11 speech about how great Earth is, how they'll endure, and that they'll make those responsible pay. But they don't know where Marco is so the military decides the next best thing to do is blow up Pallas, killing thousands of innocent civilians in the process. It is a blatant act of revenge and shows that they are really no different than Marco. Delgado is leading the charge here, no doubt overcompensating for his earlier failure to do more to prevent the attack.
THE RINGOS
Pulling this story forward from the sixth book and giving it to Drummer has been one of the best decisions the writers have made. Marco has the Ringos doing the shit job of picking clean the ships of Belters who stood against him. Tensions are high and everyone is snapping at each other. None of them are happy with this new normal and they're taking it out on each other. We did get one adorable as hell scene of them all mucking about with the “spilled” water, but it was far too brief, offering them only a short break before reality set back in.
This has to be the last straw for her. I cannot see her going back to being Marco's lapdog after this. She hasn't killed Karal yet, but it can't be that far off. And what about Oksana? Her willingness to support Marco and make their new alliance work has caused her relationship with Drummer to fracture. Will she damage it even further by hiding from her that Naomi might still be alive?
THE CHETZEMOKA
But as amazing as Gee was here, this episode still belonged to Dominique Tipper. This episode was practically a Naomi solo showcase. I think it might've worked even better if it had been the show's version of 'Heaven Sent'. I'd happily watch an hour of just Naomi Nagata alone on a small ship, using every trick she can think of to stay alive and save those she loves.
Her suit-less spacewalk had done one hell of a number on her, but that turns out to have been the easier part. She's now trapped on a ship that is little more than a glorified missile. Marco's people have stripped the Chetzemoka of almost everything useful. She has no controls, no communications, no food, no water, no meds to help with the constant pain she's in, and no air for the spacesuits. She only still has life support in most of the ship because they need Holden to think there's someone alive onboard.
Ch-Ch-Changes
--Drummer's relationship with Naomi is taken from a different character in the books, Sam Rosenberg. Sam was an engineer on Tycho who befriends Naomi and becomes her roommate when she briefly leaves the Roci in 'Caliban's War' after falling out with Holden. She later served as Chief Engineer on the Behemoth where she was killed by Ashford, who was a lot more villainous than he was in the show. Sam only appeared once in the show way back in season 1 where she was played by Alli Chung.
--Karal, who was originally male and grey haired, stayed on the Pella.
--No mention is made of Charles, Lydia's husband. This is consistent with the book, which left the character's fate unknown, but Amos had no way to checking on him there since he lived in Philadelphia rather than Baltimore.
Notes and Quotes
--Karal is measuring Drummer's office for curtains.
--I really feel for Frankie Adams having to spend almost the entire season strapped into the same chair.
--Loved Clarissa's shocked reaction to learning Amos's real name.
--Drummer, who only drinks when she's angry, completely drowned that bottle.
--I liked how they mirrored the establishing shot of Baltimore from 'Churn' to show how damaged the city now was.
Drummer: “WATCH ME!”
Naomi: “Fuck!”
Pastor: “These are times that will try our souls, but make no mistake. We will prevail. We must. This is the beginning of the reckoning, the first step towards justice, and this journey will not end until we are victorious!”
Oksana: “If we had said no to Marco, someone else would be salvaging this ship and looking at our dead bodies. We are still together. We will get through this.”
Drummer: “I'm not sure I can.”
Three out of four John Boltons
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
What a fantastic episode for Dominique Tipper. I had no idea what she was doing until it got to the end and I realized how clever it was.
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