The Roci vs the Pella was one of the best space battles in all of sci-fi. The tension, the tactics, the stakes, were all played to perfection.

In a world of morally grey, backstabbing, and just plain evil, Prax just seems like a really good dude, and a breath of fresh air.

As a book reader, the 360 no scope railgun shot has to be in my top 3 moments of all 9 books. Just incredible.

it was such a treat to see a lot of characters from older episodes come back for this final season; not just Anna and Prax, which are wonderful to see again, but even the Martian lady captain with Avasarala, who was the one back in Season 3 who kept the martians from firing on Earth ships while Souther did his mutiny. Even though this is such a short season, I really do feel they nail the ending of this journey perfectly!

@14:23 the books make it clear that Bobbie notices that they keep dodging the rail gun the exact same way.. so they fire a bunch of PDCs into that empty space, then fire the railgun again and make them unknowingly dodge into a hail of bullets.

Did you notice how Marco moved out of the camera’s view so the Roci crew could see Filip? Basically; “If you shot me, you’ll shot Niomi’s son too.” Marco is slime. Using his own son as a human shield.

On Laconia, Cara's teacher asked the kids to report anything new or different over the next few weeks. Remember Alex had told Lt Babbage that when their active sample of Protomolecule was brought to Ilus, Protomolecule on the planet began to "wake up." Now that they've brought a sample of Protomolecule to Laconia, they expect things to "wake up." Cara had known the names of all the native Laconian animals, but the "strange dogs" were new to her. In an earlier episode, a reckless vehicle driver had almost hit the kids earlier. Did you recognize Martian Captain (now Admiral) Kirino who was the MVP of the battle in Season 3? I don't think anyone on the Roci (besides Holden and Nagata) knows about Filip.

2:22 “I don’t do space [because of things like this]! … I like Earth! I like Canada” Poor kid was hit by a vehicle. Earth, and indeed Canada, has got plenty of those. So stop throwing shade at space unfairly, and start worrying about vehicles. They’re everywhere. Waiting. Probably one right outside your door as we speak. But seriously, it’s the sort of thing rarely seen in sci-fi. Colonizers on a new planet always run into exotic stuff trying to kill ‘em, forgetting all the completely prosaic tragedies that happen anywhere because we take them with us, like drunk drivers, fights, workplace accidents…

Great reaction, I agree with what you're saying about relationships in the show (and books) they just handle relationships really well! Everything is earned through seasons of getting to know each other. Last episode when Naomi says, "im ok" and Holden doesn't pull her up on it, just says "really OK? Or not ready to talk about it OK?" And then knows to back off. No relationship drama for the sake of it😊

There is a reason that Roberta Draper was a Gunnery-Seargent in the MCRN.

I love the way Bobbie analyzed the Pella fight almost like you would as a boxer. As a boxer, you look for things like when the opponent defends one punch do they drop their opposite hand a bit opening them up to a hook in combination. The Pella did exactly that, when dodging the rail gun they moved in a predictable way opening themselves up to a combination attack. Those are skills that a marine trained in hand-to-hand combat would have.

The girl on Laconia was almost run over by a speeding cart in the last episode, setting up his death. 😯

As we continue closer to the conclusion of this masterpiece I take measure of the high praise you both have expressed to our beloved show! ❤ We are forever grateful for you both reacting and showing The Expanse so much love! Such a great episode! Everything from Anna, Prax making appearances and the rest of our wonderful cast acting their asses off! God I miss my show, I miss my family 😭 Looking forward to the next one!

i'm surprised there wasn't any more reaction for the reappearance of Admiral Kirino . Understandable the some might not notice her since the last time we saw in Season 3 episode Tipple Point, she was still just a MCRN Captain who sent that message to Admiral Souther.

The way *Gunnery sgt* Bobbie Draper leads the PDC shot on the Pella is perfection.

Bobbie FUCKING Draper!!!! The War Goddess of Mars!!!! This episode had one of the most epic space battles in this show, the battle between the Roci and the Pella. This show has done such a great job of world-building, and things like ship-board weapons work in a consistent way that we can understand. Which makes this battle comprehensible. Which, in turn, makes it even more exciting. PDC's are consistent and rapid-fire but they move VERY slowly at longer ranges. They're basically just machine guns like we have today. Missiles/Torpedoes are limited in their quantity compared to other weapons, but they can move VERY fast, and are capable of maneuvering and evading, and can deliver payloads far more destructive than a mere kinetic projectile. But they can be shot down by PDC's or other missiles before they reach their target. And railguns can deliver a totally unavoidable projectile at shorter ranges. But railgun shots move in an extremely straight and predictable path, and they're extremely easy to dodge provided you can detect them before they actually hit you. (The way they describe it in the books is that railgun shots move at a "measurable fraction of C", where C=the speed of light, which is very, very, very, very fast) This is what made Bobbie's tactics during the battle between the Roci and the Pella so brilliant. She recognized that the Pella was far enough away to dodge their railgun shots, but they always dodged in the same direction. Chalk that up to human error or a flaw in their computers or whatever. But she recognized that she could put out a massive cloud of PDC fire towards the Pella, and then trick the Pella into running into it by firing multiple railgun shots that they were already dodging in a predictable way. By the time the hailstorm of PDC rounds reached their position, the Pella was already exactly where Bobbie wanted them to be. ...BRILLIANT!!! As a sci-fi tech nerd, this battle pushes all of my buttons! And it's cathartic to see Marco lose so badly for once!! Bobbie FUCKING Draper!!!!

This series is up with Band of Brothers, Breaking Bad, and the Wire as one of my favorite dramatic series of all time. I've been thrilled to enjoy your reactions from the beginning, watching you grow to love the characters I love (I remember when Drummer was introduced, and Ashford). As you near the end, I just want to say thank you for your honest, intuitive, and intelligent reactions - you guys dig into the meat of the story that the show is presenting, rather than just taking everything at face value, but you also have genuine reactions to the amazing things we're seeing on-screen! Love your channel!

Regarding everyone not having rail guns-in a “normal” battle the rail guns would be mounted on the capital ships, where they’d be even more effective. The Roci is like a small frigate with a gun from a battleship’s main battery strapped to it.

God this battle is the best. I've seen it 3 times now, plus watching people react to it, and I still freakin love it.

Love the battle in the episode, the spin and boom is just one illustration of just how good the Roci crew is. It makes sense they could hold their own 3v1 under intense pressure, they've been doing that or worse for years. They started out as competent already, now they're basically hero character status each giving unique buffs to the whole team.

I have so Enjoyed your jouyney through this series. It is such a great Series it is fun watching people appreciate it. Your commentary thoughtful and great, and I like that you do tackle real world antidotal similarities.

Yes. Marco is having another manic episode where he cant confront the possibility that he made a mistake and took an L

Worth noting, the MCRN officer that's with Crisjen, advising it feels like its a trap, was the one who smartly avoided falling for the trap that Nguyen/Mao/Errinwright set up in Season 3.

“Doglike repair drones that made no distinction between mechanism and flesh” 😂

Yes, the good place such a light show that shows us how all humans are complicit in a system that is evil and we just ignore that and act like we're good people. No but I agree more shows like the good place would be nice.

Nerdy: "damn this dude has a voice" Avasarala: 😐

I appreciate all of the post-episode commentary, for sure. You covered a lot of topics, and I think you're spot on in so many ways! That said... I'm surprised you didn't offer any thoughts about Holden disarming the missile that would have dusted the Pella, killed Marco, and probably ended the war. When I first saw this episode, I was PISSED at him for that! In the midst of a war that has already and will continue to cost lives, Holden pulled the punch that would have ENDED it. But, it also got me to consider his motivations and his perspective, really question 'why' he might do that, and spawned conversations with friends about it as well. I'm still curious what you think - or perhaps what you both thought at the time you watched the episode (in case you already finished the series by the time this one hit youtube). Cheers

I love the 360 no scope scene so damn much. It very much lived up to the book description ^^

9:37 he played a vulcan admiral on star trek discovery and I remember thinking the same exact thing when I first saw him there

Usually the 'leave/send the non-combatants to eat up your enemy's resources' is something you do with ENEMY non-combatants after you have defeated the troops.

"I don't do space..." but next ep we find out how very pedestrian(normal) the incident was 😉 (also ☹ of course)

Relevant to the content warning section... In well-timed legal news: the first parent (Jennifer Crumbley, her partner is up next) has recently been fount guilty of involuntary manslaughter for a school shooting committed by their child

Babylon 5 is another great one for 'down to Earth' stuff, how systems screw up and the consequences of that.

Feeling quite ill tonight and planning to go to bed early, I'm not complaining about it droping one hour earlier than usual. :)

Once you’re done with Expanse, you should check out For All Mankind. It feels so much like an Expanse prequel.

"I don't do space" Earth is in space, just like Laconia.

This was probably the best space fight I have even seen. Keon Alexander as KHAN!!!!

I call that railgun trick the Holden Kick Flip.

God I can't wait till you upload this episode's x-ray extra. I know you are both going to go nuts for it!

...interesting take on socioeconomic forces having an effect on mental illness and school shootings. It's worth noting that the US has several tiers of society. A certain amount of spoilage in the public herd can be absorbed into the prison herd. So there's plenty of buffer for systemic social issues. The trouble is the neglect of our lower public tiers with issues like homelessness, and poverty are generating issues to be enforced by law at a greater rate than incarceration can accommodate. But I wouldn't worry too much until politicians feel safe enough to float old ideas like debtors prisons again. There are plenty of small groups or concepts that can still be effectively scapegoated before addressing the issues become unavoidable.

I jumped on my chair when I saw the first railgun spin. Both Prax and Anna should have had their own storylines. But, you know, only 6 episodes...

I was never one of those fans that went crazy over spaceship and space battle scenes...until I started watching The Expanse! 🚀

yay expanse time!

I don't think it would matter if Bobbi knew or not. She had a mission and Filip is an enemy combatant.

Marcos is the poster child of what happens when you follow a charismatic leader, and the lengths that those who follow them will go to for that leader. We see it in our history and we see it in nations across the world today. We have terrorism and genocide today because of what happened in the past didn’t stay there. And then you have those charismatic leaders that give you someone to hate and a people to belong to. Once you start down that path you are willing to commit horrible atrocities because they convinced you it is justified. Dune had Paul Muad’dib, Mad Max had Immorton Joe, the Expanse has Marcos Inaros.

The tense fights are how space combat should be in shows, not WW2 dogfights. The show nailed this one but there is one huge difference in the book version *Spoiler below for the book, only for the fight in this episode* Fred Johnson is in the Roci during this fight. The high-g burn, spin, burn, of the fight combined with lower grade "Juice" gives Fred a stroke and he dies. Marco uses this to claim he "killed" Fred Johnson, which is in keeping with his style of huge claims and spinning loses into press wins. The show having Marco explicitly kill Fred through an agent shooting him kinda misses that aspect of him.

13:19 360 no scope!

As to the Inaros propaganda, have you noticed that Marco has NO Belter tattoos? Nothing shows his "solidarity" with the Belter culture.

Like A CERTAIN ITALIAN and A CERTAIN GERMAN in the 1940s, Marco at the end of the day, beneath all the charisma, confidence and tough talk, will NEVER take responsibility when things go wrong, and in the end will simply take a `if my people can´t fulfill my impossibly brilliant vision, then they´re worthless and don´t deserve my leadership` stance, just like THOSE LEADERS did when their early victories and successes started to unravel. Oh, and like those ones, there will still be plenty of people willing to follow him until he very end. Never underestimate the sheep mentality of a frighteningly large part of any population under the spell of a military strongman.

It was only some "rotten eggs" from Mars that sold there ships. Pretty sure the main part of them did not agree to the sale lol.

What we do in the Shadows the tv show can be your escapism!!

I'm guessing nerdy is continuing the pattern of not warning Clarus before they start recording

Philip is like a child soldier who was indoctrinated into war by adults.

The spin is such an amazing moment.

I kinda wish they had kept Bull around. He was a dick, but having Holden pilot and captain didn't work for me. But I get it! Bull staying would have thrown off the balance of factions they have on the Roci, and his abrasive personality likely didn't sit well with fans. C'est la vie!

Very nice nuanced take in the content warning section of the vid. You earned my respect as more than just another reactor channel for that.

Seriously... consider Babylon 5 as your next show investment... you'll love the world building (and you'll recognize the story elements lifted from Lord of the Rings)

This is why modern Star Trek and so much TV lately is _so bad_. It's written by 30 year old children and portrays 30 year old children. TV written by well adjusted adults is exceptionally rare these days. I've long wondered what it is about Hollywood that attracts people stuck in perpetual adolescence.

I would watch you guys react to shows like Battlestar Galactica or Fringe. Especially Fringe! Timeless is another good one.

This was a weird edit. I felt like it skipped some of the best moments.

Yeah, let's watch some uplifting shows like Arcane and The Boys... 🤣🤣🤣

The failings of the solar system is solved in 7, 8, 9? 😂 Oh man. Think about 123 vs 456 in terms of how the whole universe expanded.

This is The Gooder Place.

13:08 calling it without knowing, and yeah, this moment does take the cake. 13:17

Ah yes. We have reached the 'Pet Semetary' section of the show.

Mr and Mrs Smith is well made and has funny moments. It would give you a lot to talk about without bumming you out

Great reaction you two! Looking forward to the next X-ray and next episode.

If you want to watch something (mostly) super happy as a palate cleanser you could watch Ted Lasso.

You should watch Good Omens!

"Remember what your name is." Nagata?

26:30 If you're looking for a fun escapist Sci-Fi show, I nominate Killjoys ✋️😃💖

You guys having 1 headphone each reminds me of telegraph operators pulling in the dots and dashes. C'mon now, if you're going to spend so much time watching together get a splitter at the very least!

Bringing Prax back for the final season works for what the story is, is manipulative, so genius, and I LOVE IT. I also teared up. Prax is THE BEST.

12:43 you ain't seen nothin yet

Couples Therapy in Spaaaace -- now streaming on Depressed+!

Remember The Cannoterbury!

Is it me or are Nerdy's pupils different sizes? It's probably just the lighting but it's worth getting checked just in case.

This is Nerdy And I'm Clarus And this is.... Le Ethpanhé

agreed the american school system is awful. it failed me pretty horribly. ironically video games were my escape which prevented me from doing anything crazy when i was younger and struggling and full of all kinds of anger and frustration. it always annoyed me when those incidences of violence happen and they blame the hobby i love which literally prevented me from being one of the people they are claiming video games create. maybe if the schools cared more about the students and obviously the ease of access to guns in america i insane so thats creating a whole other issue. but sadly in my entire schooling i had one teacher actually try to give positive reinforcement in 11th grade and it was like sorry dude too little too late. also the lack of understand of people on the spectrum in the 80s and 90s sot he teachers just shuffle the kids through the school system to make them someone elses problem. now today teachers have to deal with all the karens so god forbid they fail a kid so we have 7th graders reading at a 3rd grade level because no one wants to deal with the parents and the teachers complaining about how the kids cant even read... like ok yea but YOURE THE TEACHER! its your job to hold them back and not let them skate by because thier mom is a damn karen....... make their kid read something for their parents and be like "See. you caused this by not letting your perfect little angel" get flunked.

Have you watched Resident Alien or Ghosts?

Who needs a show to make everything shiny and happy when you have Mistborn 🎉... oh wait ...

Damn, great reaction! ❤ This show is amazing and you two really get that, it's a treat to watch. 👌😊

I don't know if I have suggested this before, but you guys should do reaction to Tower Of God.

I don't think there's another show mainly "chill" but I'd wager Ted Lasso and Shrinking get close enough with their annoying way of finding resolution through understanding and comedy. On that front, almost every Apple sci-fi has been great but they're very much on the side of "the ways humans find to cause suffering". _Maybe_ if you watch For All Mankind up until S2...

TTRPG ❤🎉

I think Marco believes his own propaganda.

Depressed + ftw

I think Felipe is 18 in the show.

I tamil movie reaction please guys

☝️

Is Clarus pregnant? 🤔

23:15 Great analogy and yes engage to start acknowledging the root cause of the problems and how much parents ruin their kids and the government also has pretty lax re firearms.