Based on the collaborative science fiction novels by James S.A. Corey, Prime Video’s The Expanse is a masterclass in storytelling, performances, and visual effects. While the show initially aired on Syfy before Prime Video’s pick-up and development, the narrative continuity made the series one to be revered. The Expanse is set hundreds of years into the future, where space is now inhabited by humans. Earth still exists, making it one of the reigning planets alongside Mars, Luna (the moon), and Outer Planets Alliances.
While there are some things directly taken from Corey’s books, the series also took various liberties with the adaptation, allowing it to be more nuanced and layered for television. The TV series takes its core characters through various missions to ensure the safety and well-being of their people while at tireless wars from external forces. For six seasons, The Expanse has driven its characters through various plot points by bringing their growth and desires center-stage while they fought against forms of dictatorship and external threats wanting to terrorize or colonize their homes. And while various shows like The Expanse exist, it differs significantly because of how grounded its character journeys are, making the series a quiet excavation and celebration of humanity. Through astounding, nuanced writing, riveting performances, and some of the most astute visual effects on the small screen, the series is an underrated gem in the world of genre television worth watching by everyone.
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A Character-Driven Series
Prime Video
Often, genre television focuses too intently on driving a narrative forward while its character arcs remain on the back burner. Viewers will get one, maybe two, if they’re lucky, brief scenes that show proper character development, only to go through lulls later. But even with its high-stakes overarching narratives, The Expanse is entirely character-driven. It carefully utilizes every person on-screen, including those who might not seem as though they’re going to be significant initially. The series is one of the few on television that seamlessly threads together the lives of people who could not be more different while permitting us to get to know every corridor of that character’s personality.
While many shows move from point A to B after the choices characters make, The Expanse stands out in its way of showing us how and why those decisions are made. Where some characters begin the series at war with one another, they end with an unyielding loyalty forever residing in them. The writing team allows the characters moments with lengthy conversations with minimal movement to showcase why the next big thing is as crucial as it is, making the wars feel that much more personal and human. In this regard, getting to know the characters on intimate levels also permits viewers to invest more heavily into each of the different dynamics.
The Plot Honors Worldly Subjects Naturally
Like most shows, The Expanse takes a world we’re unfamiliar with, but mirrors it to the struggles we’ll all understand. The battles between Inners and Belters are that of class, wealth, and societal prejudices. The series makes a clear statement about the importance of unity despite our differences, and it does so by ensuring that the battles still feel honorable to the immensity of the solar system inhabited by our characters. Politics on The Expanse often bleed through corruption to exhibit why it’s imperative that the people elect their leaders, using the final episode to showcase this message boldly.
Additionally, despite the series taking place years into the future, the humanity attached to the characters and their struggles often makes the series feel more relatable. While they were streaming from one space to another, colonization, dictatorship, and all sorts of terrible acts occur in their path. Neither space nor time differences matter because the universal heartaches and joys experienced by the people in the series were easily one of its most vital overarching themes. In this sense, though the narrative spins to heavy places at times, the endgame and the good fight are always clear, making the series one to stand in the echelons of timeless stories like Star Wars and Star Trek — a showcase of the battles for a better world than the one people were in.
The Expanse is Well-Written
Continuity on The Expanse was yet another one of the show’s strengths. From Season 1 to the final episode in Season 6, the show’s structure is carefully executed to guarantee that every arc makes sense. Despite critical changes from the books specific to the show, it all fits together pristinely like a puzzle piece. Where relationships could sometimes go through unnecessary breakups strictly to provide viewers with drama, The Expanse allows its characters to deal with struggles like adults. While occasionally a character’s death can feel like writers are trying to subvert expectations, on The Expanse, it’s easy to understand why it had to happen.
The tension the series delivers with the ongoing battles between Earth, Mars, and The Belt work even when the arcs get messy and complicated. But perhaps, best of all, The Expanse is about chosen families and what it means to have people by your side who’d do anything to protect the underdogs. It begins with an explosion breaking a not-so-close ship of different people apart, and it ends with the people who’ve chosen to fight by each other’s side celebrating the detail that light in humanity is found in the people willing to keep going. And because of everything each of the seasons set up, the growth the characters experience in sticking with their chosen family feels profoundly earned.
