"Everyone can die but Shed" - Best line of the reaction.

Lopez isn't reading minds; he's reading body language and micro-expressions, which the focus drug he takes allows him to notice. That is why he always starts with simple questions that will give truthful answers to establish a baseline reaction. Then, he delves deeper.

Anderson Dawes is the unholy love-child of Malcolm X and Don Vito Corleone, and Jarred Harris plays him beautifully.

I'd say the OPA is somewhere on the Sinn Fein IRA continuum, to put it in familiar terms. Parts of it are an organization lobbying for rights for belters, parts of it are a political party, parts of it are a community support organization, parts of it are paramilitary forces, parts of it are space pirates. Also, Outer Planetary Alliance.

Character growth is amazing in this show. This is a great journey you're embarking on.

Popular entertainment, until the advent of The Expanse, has left most people with some ridicuous ideas about the asteroid belt, with perhaps the silliest being that to traverse it in a spaceship would be extremely perilous and require constant changes of course to avoid a deadly collision with a rock. In reality, on average, an asteroid is about 600,000 miles from its nearest neighbor. If you set a straight-line course from Earth to Jupiter, the odds of hitting an asteroid along the way are so small as to be virtually non-existent. The so-called "asteroid belt" exists in three dimensions, and more accurately should be called a torus rather than a belt. While most asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter, many of them have erratic elliptical orbits, which is why, in part, you occassionally hear about one zooming by "close" to Earth. It's newsworthy because of the implied threat that maybe the next one will hit our planet. If you have a few minutes, watch this animation of the asteroids our astronomers have "discovered" and determined their orbits. My link starts at around the 4 minute mark of the clip and depicts an up-to-date view of this mapping project. The four inner planets are shown along with the millions of asteroids. They look tightly packed in the video to the degree you might need Han Solo to safely navigate them, but the vastness of space is made readily apparent when you realize the average distance between asteroids is 600,000 miles. Do you think this vast area is governable? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eLF7mpedv8XTXY0.html

The pill was a focus pill that sharpens the mind and helped Lopez read the micro expressions of Holden and Naomi. Lopez let Naomi's hands free because a hand signs are a large part of the belter language. And remember Ada did not respond to the signal Holden did.

This show goes unreasonably hard. I don't normally binge stuff but the first time I watched The Expanse, I finished the first 3 seasons in like 5 days. I just couldn't help it. Each episode would end and I'd just be left with "WTFFFFFFFFFFF.................I NEED MORE NOW, EXPLAIN YOURSELF, SHOW." And it was like that for almost every single episode of this show. Every time you think the stakes, threats, tension, etc., is at a 10, they somehow turn it up to 11.

Miller doesn't work for the Earth Embassy - he works for an Earth Corporation, Star Helix Security, a Private Security Contractor that acts as a Police Force on Ceres (and iirc also multiple other Colonies in the Belt), despite being a Corporation, not a Government Agency.

The transparent rectangles everybody carries are terminals that access the "Wi-Fi equivalent" used by a ship, station, or planet to make information available to anyone who wants it (with the proper clearances) and provide an audio-visual "phone" for every person who wants it.

" I JUST LEARNED HIS NAME! NOOOO!!" Awesome reaction. Thanks for the work you put in for a new channel we get to enjoy. Here's wishing you 10k, 100k subscribers and more. I think you're off to a great start. It's a relief to see the slander against Battlestar Galactica has died down in the comments. And I tip my cap to you for being a fan of the show. The Adama Maneuver. Chief Tyrol recounting dancing in his underwear in the Temple. Starbuck sucking from an oxygen vein inside the gooey guts of a Cylon Raider. It's all good stuff. We envy you getting to experience The Expanse first hand. There's only one time around for that. Speaking of comments...be careful reading your comment section without a moderator. As you probably know one of the reasons The Expanse is so tightly written is it is based off a series of books. I cannot be more heartfelt in suggesting to you that if you start reading in the comments and someone mentions the books, or the books in relation to the show, just skip past that comment, please. Avoid the temptation. I am not saying what you read will be literal spoilers. But they will impact your expectations of what happens in certain episodes. People will tell you information THEY THEMSELVES DID NOT KNOW ON THEIR FIRST VIEWING OF THE SHOW. And to me, spoiler or not, that's wrong. Let yourself experience the episodes organically. Knowing nothing. You will get full 100% enjoyment and maximum surprise that way. No need to be spoon fed by your audience. - Sorry to rant on my first post to your new channel. I'll try to say something of more interest in the future.

Admiral Souther is not just an Admiral; he is also Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the UN (i.e., Earth and Luna) military forces.

It is "common knowledge" that all Belters are OPA in the same way that it was "common knowledge" during the Democratic Convention in Chicago that all African-Americans were members of "The Black Panthers."

I think the interrogation pill is a hyperfocus stimulant, like Ritalin on steroids. It lets the user observe small involuntary reactions or microexpressions, hence the camera focusing on Holden's facial twitches, gaze shifts, sweat beads, etc. It turns the interrogator into a human lie detector. I don't believe there's anything extrasensorial about it. You got it that the questions were targeted to surprise the interviewee and let them reveal hidden information. When the interviewer dropped "Phoebe" into Holden's interrogation, the camerawork clearly showed that Holden had no idea what he was talking about, and that the interviewer noticed that right away.

Star Helix is an earth corporation that is responsible for security on Ceres. The pill just heightens awareness.

Star Helix is a private corporate security company owned by Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile, an Earth Corp, owned by Jules-Pierre Mao, Julie's father. Basically corporate enforcers. OPA is a loose-knit network of hundreds of factions, spread out across thousands of rock in the Belt. Some are militaristic and violent, some are simply political. All are struggling for an Independent Belt and Self-Determination, and all, or most, are considered "terrorists" by Earth and Mars, but, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. The drug that Lopez, the interrogator, took was a focus drug to help him pick up "tells" or unconscious signs of lying, like facial ticks, fidgets, sweating, eye movements, etc. You were originally correct in saying that telepathy is mind reading, although that's not what he was doing. Telekinesis is the ability to move objects with One's mind. BTW, Pheobe is an "irregular" moon of Saturn. It is not a natural satellite, but thought to have come from the Ort Cloud surrounding our solar system, and got caught in Saturn's gravity billions of years ago.

OPA stands for "Outer Planets Alliance". It's supposed to represent people who live and work in the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, and the many hundreds of moons those planets have. But Belters are such a fragmented group of people with dozens of different factions. There is no such thing as "unified" Belters. Some Belters do want peace and coexistence, many more Belters want a violent overthrow of their oppresesors. Also, the drug the Martian interrogator took was a "focus" drug. It's basically like a turbo-charged version of Aderall. It gives you a hyper-focus that lets you look at people's physical tells that they might be lying or telling a story.

Great observations and good hypotheses! Don't worry, the longer intros will return, and also gradually evolve to keep up with events in the show. More clarity on the OPA will come. The show kinda works like we've been dumped in there, learning things as we go along - a bit like Havelock moving from Earth to Ceres and trying to catch up! We rarely know much more than the characters themselves know, and they themselves are not necessarily always on the money with their deductions or opinions. The only advantage we as the viewers have is that we get to see things from multiple people's and factions' points of view. A little more on the Martian interrogation. I was in with this show right from the start as it looked very promising but those scenes were the point where I really started to see the excellence. I notice you singled it out too. Many other folks will cite Ep4 as the "hook" episode, but for me it was this one. The camera focuses in on small facial expressions on Holden and Naomi, hinting that Lt Lopez is simply getting heightened focus and awareness. Good interrogators today will observe body language and micro-expressions to try to get a read on whether somebody is telling the truth or lying. This is top military: they will have access to a lot of intel on the Canterbury and the 5 survivors (based on their DNA scan / neck ID chip / whatever it was in that first line-up, they can look up their personal histories). Present day interrogators will also use a series of baseline questions to which they already know the answers. It helps them get a read on the person, and their tells. Lopez asks the innocuous questions first to get that baseline as well as to take them off-guard with the sudden flip to a critical question. We see more than just attempts to gain information directly. He also uses idea inception to sow doubt and suspicion of each other into the Knight crew. All the rooms are bugged. They'll be listening to the crew arguing and trying to glean extra bits of info. Holden alluded to this when they were in the cells. Looking forwards to you continuing. Enjoy!

Phoebe is a moon of Saturn.

Its not a mindreading drug, but it allows the user to pick up on fine details. I think it is called a focus drug in the show. I have also read all the books so i am pretty knowledgeable of the series.

Alex turned out to be former Martian navy. If you remember, Alex had always known details about the Martian navy in the first two episodes. Lopez: You couldn't know that. Holden: But I was right! Holden tends to act rashly on what he think is right even when he doesn't have the full information on the situation.

Just as an FYI, telekinesis is moving things with the mind. You got it right the first time, when you said, "telepathy." In point of fact, neither exists in this setting -- psionic abilities are very much "rubber science" and as such have no place in The Expanse. As noted by other commenters, it's a focus drug that allowed Lopez to hone in on micro-reactions so he could better evaluate their emotional responses to his questions.

MCRN (Mars Congressional Republic Navy) Donnager (Dahn-a-jer), or informally "The Donnie."

Phoebe is the largest moon of Saturn and an astronomical anomaly.

Actually, Chrisjen DID have proof. It was aboard the ship of the Belter smuggler's ship. Recognizing that the Martians had to check on their stealth stocks demonstrated that Mars did not know anybody else had the stealth tech.

I had to laugh so hard, you just grabbed Havelock's name and he got pinned to the wall. Bad timing! 😂😂😂

You are right on about Miller wearing an Earth hat. Everyone asks about it because: 1) You don’t need a cloth hat on a space station, and 2) he’s a Belter wearing the clothes of the oppressor. Think of it like a Black cop policing his own people in a redlined district and wearing not just a well cut suit, but like, a cravat. We find out Miller is Belter born twice in the first episode. The first scene has the street agitator call him “wellwalla,” which he defines for Havlock as “traitor to my people.” And then later at the noodle bar the Belter points out that Miller had bone spurs at the top of his spine from cheap bone-density juice as a kid, meaning he was probably a “ward of the station.” Miller was born on Ceres, is probably an orphan, was raised by the government which is nominally Earth-based, and now works for the Earth-funded police to take down his fellow Belters. For the OPA, think PLO or IRA (as you are Irish). Outer Planetary Alliance is what it stands for. There are different cells. Some move through politics, but don’t get far. Some are much more violent. Most of the colonizing Earthers and Martians assume some level of participation, support, or familial connection to the organization. Most Northern Irish hated the English. Not all of them set bombs. See how it works?

Great reaction! They killed him!? I just learned his name!! 😂😂 Nobody is safe in this show! As you already know!!! OPA O- Outer P- Planetary A- Aliance Looking forward to the next one!

I'm sure you're already aware of this but, episode four. Yeah.

Outer Planets Alliance

laughing with you at your timing, and now to enjoy your love of Shed in the next episode ;-)

They bring the intro back later.

Full intro at episode 8 or 9 and beyond

I suppose with the small font, the "C" looked like an "O." Its not "Morn Donnager," it's "M.C.R.N. Donnager." Mars Congressional Republic Navy. OPA Is Outer Planets Alliance.

That wasn't an embassy. It was police headquarters on Ceres. Police work has been sub-contracted by the controlling Mars-UN government coalition to a private company, Star Helix, who seems to recruit most of its rent-a-cops from Earth. Both Mars and Earth are heavily reliant on the raw materials being mined in The Belt. Earth needs them to support its massive population. Mars needs them for the terraforming project. As a result, neither is willing to cede official control of the Belt to the other side, or, apparently, let the other side control policing.

The OPA is a loose "organization" of a number of groups working for what they see as the best for the belt. They have no unified leadership or agenda and various OPA groups are more or less aggressive or radical. That's the problem here. some people see the OPA as the face of the belt but it's not really that and there is no one leader or anything you can pin things to. A lot of people have OPA-tattoos more as a sign of support or patriotism, not for being actual OPA members. The drug the martian interrogator took does not give him any actual supernatural abilities like telepathy. it's just a focus drug that inproves his concentration and perception. Take note of how sharply he keeps an eye on everyones tiniest ticks and reactions during the interrogations. That's also why he commands Naomi to keep her hands on the table where he can see them when she tries to hide her reactions from him. He also is an officer on the martian navy's flagship so obviously has all the info martian intelligence can provide backing him up (well maybe not all but a lot). This is how he got all this background info on them. He is just a highly trained interrogator with a drug that improves his awareness of things he learned to keep an eye on when questioning people. And yea.... I had to grin a slightly painful grin, too when you went "Everyone can die but Shed" 😁

The pedantic part of me wants to point out, it's Nay-o-me, vs Ny-o-me. Answers to your Q's will come at the rate the writers intended, so be patient. This is a dense show and every line/scene has meaning. Sometimes you don't know what that meaning is until later. Glad you're enjoying this. I'm along for the ride... ☝

Picture the OPA as a very broad coalition of political forces fighting for Belter rights and freedoms. To make a real world comparison, you had the Civil rights movement in the USA during the 60. Under that Umbrella, you had a spectrum of groups, you had peaceful activisits like MLK, but then you had the likes of Black Panthers etc.

As kirkdarling said: the OPA is a lot like nationalist European "terrorists" that also have / *are* a political party... think ETA in Spanish Basque Country or the IRA during the Troubles. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz

So, the big issue with the OPA is representation. Ceres doesn't have an official government. It's more akin to an oil rig or a fishing fleet - it's a company project on 'international waters' but unlike the examples sbove, the Belt has prople born snd die there who don't, who can't come down the gravity well to Earth or Mars. Whose citizens are they? What laws are they subject to? On Ceres the law is company law, enforced by Star Helix, an earth security firm. Their legal framework is shaky though - where do earth's borders end? as Miller said in E1, there's no law on Ceres, just cops.

I admit I did not like Amos for quite a while, but he did grow on me.

The full intro for the show will return and stay come episode 10!

Maybe if you stop learning people's names they'll stop dying?? Just sayin'...😂

OPA: Think of the Irish Republican Army or the Palestinian Liberation Organization. You're right that the Martians overracted to Frank's information. Frank did exactly what he should have done, as Earth's ambassador to Mars. Martians are extremely petty.

We haven't been shown any of the internal politics of the OPA as of yet. I'm not sure "politics" is the right word. Political power flows from the barrel of a gun. In The Belt, there appears to be two main industries: Mining and Piracy. Based upon that minimal info, I assumed that the OPA was, more than anything else, a very weak alliance of convenience between pirate lords with a common interest of fighting the efforts of the UN and Mars to stop the piracy. Most of the mining is done by mega-corporations located on Earth or Mars. To the extent those pirate lords might believe an independent Belt and outer planets would help their piracy industry, I'd expect there to be at least some lip service for indedpendence.