History Series / TheExpanse

* GenerationShips: LDSS ''Nauvoo'' is a generation ship funded by the Mormons to make a 100-year journey to another solar system in the hopes of colonizing a new world.

* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler: Ade]] dies along with the rest of the crew right after saying "Jim, there's something you should know", just before their ship is blown up (likely that she loves him-maybe that she's pregnant).

** In a list of personal ads that Miller scrolls through during his investigation on Ceres, about half of the Belters that appear are listed as pansexual, indicating, if they're are generally representative of the 2200s-era human population, then approximately 50% of the general population identifies as pan. That being said, most of the attractions seen so far are between males and females.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Granted, we really have no frame of reference for what accent space colonists from two centuries in the future ''should'' have, but Belters speak with a very strange accent that sounds like a vague mishmash of Afrikaans, Eastern European, and Caribbean. Presuming they're descendants of "undesirables" shipped offworld, [[UnforuntateImplications this makes some sense]].

* SelfDestructMechanism: [[spoiler: At the end of "CQD" Captain Yao activates it, destroying the ''Donnegur'' and everyone onboard.]]

** In a list of personal ads that Miller scrolls through during his investigation on Ceres, about half of the Belters that appear are listed as pansexual, indicating, if they're are generally representative of the 2200s-era human population, then approximately 50% of the general population identifies as pan.

* CategoryTraitor: Miller is viewed as a traitor (in Cerean language, "welwala") because he works for Ceres' private police force, Star Helix.

* FriendsWithBenefits: Jim Holden and Ade Tukunbo had this kind of arrangement. He wanted it to escalate into a romantic relationship, but she was reluctant to let it do so. This was mooted by [[spoiler:her death when the ''Canterbury'' was destroyed]].

* ZeroGSpot: Jim Holden and his lover Ade Tukunbo are introduced this way in the first episode.

** Belter stations are dangerous places to live, with rampant crime and corruption along with strict water and air rationing (drug use is ignored while water theft is harshly punished). The Belter working class are stuck in highly dangerous jobs and forced to live in tights quarters. The average Cerean life expectancy is 68 years (just around current averages) while Earthers can expect to live twice as long while Martians are said to live even longer than that.

** The Earth's UN Ambassador to Mars is openly in a homosexual male marriage.

** In a list of personal ads that Miller scrolls through during his investigation on Ceres, about half of the Belters that appear are listed as pansexual indicating, if they're are generally representative of the 2200s-era human population, then approximately 50% of the general population identifies as pan.

* GenerationShips: LDSS ''Nauvoo'' is a generation ship funded by the Mormons to make a 100 year journey to another solar system in the hopes of colonizing a new world.

** Having spent generations living under environmentally controlled domes, Martians naturally do not need as much oxygen as Earthers in order to function. Earthers, on the other hand, are physically stronger due to Earth's higher gravity.

** Interplanetary travel is commonplace but still takes some time. However, it seems the trips take a fraction of the time it takes now. Pilots are shown sling-shooting their way across the solar system to try and break speed and distance records for un-powered flight. One man had gone from Earth to Jupiter in 12 days and was projecting that he'd make it to Uranus in 29 days before a miscalculation burns him up in Jupiter's atmosphere.

* [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} Mormons in Space]]: the LDS Church is an active and large presence in the solar system, based on Earth but with missionaries seen on Ceres, etc. Their leadership is determined to be the first group to settle a planet in another solar system (to escape PopulationControl in the books), so they have invested a fortune in developing a huge GenerationShip, the ''Nauvoo''. Given the hard scifi limits of the setting, it can't exceed the speed of light, so it is a multi-generational ship whose voyage is intended to last at least 100 years.

** Although Earthers live in comfort and enjoy long life expectancies, it is becoming harder and harder to maintain current living standards. Earth is suffering from dramatic rises in the sea level due to global warming and unchecked population growth has meant most available land has been built over. In the show's time-setting, a 22-acre farm in Montana[[note]]an average 21st-century farm in the us is 441 acres[[/note]] is considered to be an extravagant sign of wealth.

* FlaseFlagOperation: By the end of episode 3, both Earth and Mars agree that [[spoiler: the destruction of the ''Canterbury'']] was one of these meant to start a war between them, with the OPA as the primary suspects.

* GenerationShips: ''LDSS Nauvoo'' is a generation ship funded by the Mormons to make a 100 year journey to another solar system in the hopes of colonizing a new world.

* [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} Mormons in Space]]: the LDS Church is an active and large presence in the solar system, based on Earth but with missionaries seen on Ceres, etc. Their leadership is determined to be the first group to settle a planet in another solar system, so they have invested a fortune in developing a huge interstellar colony ship, the ''Nauvoo''. Given the hard scifi limits of the setting, it can't exceed the speed of light, so it is a multi-generational ship whose voyage is intended to last at least 100 years.

* BodyHorror: As she explores the ''Scopuli'', Julie Mao finds a giant, glowing purple ''thing'' that's kind of mesmerizing. [[spoiler:Then we get a close-up of a human torso being absorbed into it.]]

* BioAugmentation:

* DarkerAndEdgier: The novels are by no means all fluffy bunnies and sunshine, but the show definitely takes a darker interpretation.

** Holden, an Earther, is the product of a group marriage (five men, three women), of which all eight people were his genetic parents due to DNA splicing - this is apparently not considered particularly unusual.

** Belters, especially those whose families left Earth several generations prior, tend to have long thin bones, unless they had hormone treatments like Miller, and can't handle Earth's gravity for long. The UN uses gravity to torture a suspected Belter terrorist.

** Artificial gravity aboard spaceships is only possible when the main engines are providing thrust, pushing the deck "up" against the crew. When engines are shut off, crews must use mag-boots to keep from floating.
** Spaceships are able to execute tight turns in space, but the g-forces are so intense that such maneuvers are potentially deadly to both the ships and the crews. There is no inertial dampening so crews have to strap themselves in and put on mouth guards while being fed special drugs via IV in order to handle the stress.
** Gravity is weaker on stations located on asteroids, so Belters have grown taller and physically weaker, while requiring less oxygen, over the generations. Also, liquid flows differently due to how asteroids spin, requiring glasses to be held a good distance away when pouring drinks.

* LightWorlder: Belters tend to have long thin bones, unless they had hormone treatments like Miller, and can't handle Earth's gravity for long. The UN uses gravity to torture a suspected Belter terrorist.

** Spaceships are able to execute tight turns in space, but the g-forces are acknowledged to be intense, so crews have to strap themselves in and put on mouth guards while being fed special drugs via IV in order to handle the stress.

** Having spent generations living under environmentally controlled domes, Martians naturally do not need as much oxygen as Earthers in order to function. Earthers, on the other hand, are physically stronger due to Earth's higher gravity.
* [[Mormonism/UsefulNotes Mormons in Space]]: the LDS Church is an active and large presence in the solar system, based on Earth but with missionaries seen on Ceres, etc. Their leadership is determined to be the first group to settle a planet in another solar system, so they have invested a fortune in developing a huge interstellar colony ship, the ''Nauvoo''. Given the hard scifi limits of the setting, it can't exceed the speed of light, so it is a multi-generational ship whose voyage is intended to last at least 100 years.

** In a list of personal ads that Miller scrolls through during his investigation on Ceres, about half of the Belters that appear are listed as pansexual.