History Series / TheExpanse

* RousingSpeech: Drummer gives one in "Intransigence", to drive up morale as the ''Behemoth'' prepares to pass through the Ring.

** Belter stations like Ceres and Eros are asteroids that have been "spun up" to create gravity through centrifugal force. The show occasionally shows how liquid and dust fall in unusual ways due to the high rate of spin required to achieve the effect.

* ShoutOut:
** The pilot episode, "Dulcinea", and Holden's frigate ''Rocinante'' are named after Literature/DonQuixote's presumptive lover and horse, respectively. Holden's early exposure to Cervantes is explored in the (appropriately-titled) episode 'Windmills' when his mother Elise explains the FreudianExcuse behind his ChronicHeroSyndrome. Then there's the obvious parallels between Miller's obsession with Julie Mao and Don Quixote's [[TheDulcineaEffect obsession with Dulcinea]].[[note]]The book also extends this to Holden, who gets a WhatTheHellHero from Naomi because he can't distinguish love from desire, but the show hasn't gone into this.[[/note]]
** "Rocinante" also works as a reference to both Alexis A. Gilliland's ''Rosinante'' trilogy, a book series similar to ''The Expanse'', and the two-part song "Cygnus X-1" by {{Music/Rush}}, in which the protagonist's spaceship is also called the ''Rocinante''.
** Writer Mark Fergus explained at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 that Paj's severed arm spinning end over end in "Dulcinea" was a reference to the bone that does the same in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', but admitted it was so abstract that almost nobody got it.
** While Avasarala receives reports of the on-going attack on the ''Donnager'', her husband Arjun can be seen and heard in the background reading Creator/RobertLouisStevenson's ''{{Literature/Kidnapped}}'' to their grandson and his friends.
** The design of Mateo's rock hauler from "Rock Bottom" was clearly inspired by the Starfuries from ''Series/BabylonFive''.
** A public transit map of Ceres in "Dulcinea" includes a stop at "Cutty Station", named after Creator/ChadLColeman's (Fred Johnson) character "Cutty" Wise on ''Series/TheWire''.
** A shop Miller visits in "Back to the Butcher" shares the name Tech Noir with the bar in ''Film/TheTerminator''.
** The list of ships docked in "Salvage" has a ''lot'' of shout-outs, including the ''[[Series/{{Firefly}} Serenity]]'' and the ''[[WebAnimation/HomeStarRunner Burninator]]''.
** The scenes of Eros station and its inhabitants being [[spoiler:taken over by TheVirus are straight out of ''[[Videogame/DeadSpace Dead Space]].'']]
** The [[spoiler: Protomolecule-infected people]] look just like Husks from ''VideoGame/MassEffect''

** Amos is basically one, but he's self-aware about it and compensates by following [[TheConscience ethical people]], using them as his aftermarket moral compass.

* SociopathicSoldier: Type 1's (i.e. Jingos) are everywhere on all sides, but particularly in the Martian military. The two primary traits of MCRN Marines are being aggressively stupid and stupidly aggressive, and will almost invariably make any situation worse when they're introduced into it.
* SonOfAWhore: In a conversation with Prax, Amos strongly hints that he was this, and likely also a child prostitute.

** In season 1, Holden and Miller's stories get the most focus, with others fitting in around the edges. Avasrala's plot is mostly a GovernmentProcedural about uncovering TheConspiracy.

** Belter stations like Ceres and Eros are asteroids that have been "spun up" to create gravity through centrifugal force. The show occasionally shows how liquid and dust fall in unusual ways due to the high rate of spin required to achieve the effect.

* ShoutOut:
** The pilot episode, "Dulcinea", and Holden's frigate ''Rocinante'' are named after Literature/DonQuixote's presumptive lover and horse, respectively. Holden's early exposure to Cervantes is explored in the (appropriately-titled) episode 'Windmills' when his mother Elise explains the FreudianExcuse behind his ChronicHeroSyndrome. Then there's the obvious parallels between Miller's obsession with Julie Mao and Don Quixote's [[TheDulcineaEffect obsession with Dulcinea]].[[note]]The book also extends this to Holden, who gets a WhatTheHellHero from Naomi because he can't distinguish love from desire, but the show hasn't gone into this.[[/note]]
** "Rocinante" also works as a reference to both Alexis A. Gilliland's ''Rosinante'' trilogy, a book series similar to ''The Expanse'', and the two-part song "Cygnus X-1" by {{Music/Rush}}, in which the protagonist's spaceship is also called the ''Rocinante''.
** Writer Mark Fergus explained at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 that Paj's severed arm spinning end over end in "Dulcinea" was a reference to the bone that does the same in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', but admitted it was so abstract that almost nobody got it.
** While Avasarala receives reports of the on-going attack on the ''Donnager'', her husband Arjun can be seen and heard in the background reading Creator/RobertLouisStevenson's ''{{Literature/Kidnapped}}'' to their grandson and his friends.
** The design of Mateo's rock hauler from "Rock Bottom" was clearly inspired by the Starfuries from ''Series/BabylonFive''.
** A public transit map of Ceres in "Dulcinea" includes a stop at "Cutty Station", named after Creator/ChadLColeman's (Fred Johnson) character "Cutty" Wise on ''Series/TheWire''.
** A shop Miller visits in "Back to the Butcher" shares the name Tech Noir with the bar in ''Film/TheTerminator''.
** The list of ships docked in "Salvage" has a ''lot'' of shout-outs, including the ''[[Series/{{Firefly}} Serenity]]'' and the ''[[WebAnimation/HomeStarRunner Burninator]]''.
** The scenes of Eros station and its inhabitants being [[spoiler:taken over by TheVirus are straight out of ''[[Videogame/DeadSpace Dead Space]].'']]
** The [[spoiler: Protomolecule-infected people]] look just like Husks from ''VideoGame/MassEffect''

** Amos is basically one, but he's self-aware about it and compensates by following [[TheConscience ethical people]], using them as his aftermarket moral compass.

* SociopathicSoldier: Type 1's (i.e. Jingos) are everywhere on all sides, but particularly in the Martian military. The two primary traits of MCRN Marines are being aggressively stupid and stupidly aggressive, and will almost invariably make any situation worse when they're introduced into it.
* SonOfAWhore: In a conversation with Prax, Amos strongly hints that he was this, and likely also a child prostitute.

** In season 1, Holden and Miller's stories get the most focus, with others fitting in around the edges. Avasrala's plot is mostly a GovernmentProcedural about uncovering TheConspiracy.

* AdaptationalBadass: In the books, despite the SpaceColdWar being ostensibly "even" between Earth and Mars, it's made very clear multiple times that Earth would easily lose any straight-up war with Mars in a complete CurbStompBattle, and would only be able to manage a PyrrhicVictory if it launched an unexpected & devastating first strike. Here, the United Nations of Earth and the [=UNN=] are generally portrayed as being a ''lot'' more formidable and dangerous, with the cold war between them being more of a traditional MutuallyAssuredDestruction scenario between the two powers.
* AdaptationalHeroism: While generally quite faithful to the novels, Avasarala's more abrasive ScrewPolitenessImASenior and SirSwearsALot traits are {{downplayed}}. It's perhaps no coincidence that "Windmills", the first episode where she exclaims "Shit!", was penned by the guys who wrote the novels.

* AscendedFanon: An interesting example. After Amazon picked the show up, the show's crew comissioned and worked with [=YouTuber=] Spacedock (an admitted fan of both the show and books) to produce [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqOEDroJnZHxf1X9LaMIk7jjUEDugPukx a series of videos fleshing out the ships]] seen in the show. As there's not as much detail about them as there are with ships from other franchises, Spacedock did have to devise some things from scratch. Most notable is a consistent scheme for how components are named by the UN and MCR.

** The GenerationShip ''Nauvoo'' is capable of generating rotational gravity through a massive drum that dominates the habitable section of the ship. This comes in handy in "Fallen World", [[spoiler:when the protomolecule station has frozen every other ship in the vicinity, making the rechristened ''Behemoth'' the only ship capable of generating gravity for the proper treatment of wounds]].

* CharacterDevelopment: BoomerangBigot Miller has a minor epiphany in "Static" when he catches himself using the word "us" to refer to all Belters, including himself.

** Julie's racing sled, the ''Razorback'', is a big one for seasons 2 and 3.

** Admiral Souther is reassigned to command UN fleet around Jupiter in "Doors and Corners" after he refuses to play a part in Earth's brinksmanship with Mars.

** The [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything vaguely anarchist "A"-like symbol]] used for the Outer Planets Alliance also bears more than a few visual similarities with a rocket in flight.

* SoundtrackDissonance: During the ice mining [[AnArmAndALeg hand injury]] scene in "Dulcinea".

* SpaceCossacks: While native Belters are physically incapable of living anywhere else, Earthers and Martians who move permanently to the Belt are often this. Holden in particular left Earth because, "Everything I loved was dying," and has little-to-no interest in returning.

* AdaptationalHeroism: While generally quite faithful to the novels, Avasarala's more abrasive ScrewPolitenessImASenior and SirSwearsALot traits are {{downplayed}}. It's perhaps no coincidence that "Windmills", the episode where she exclaims "Shit!", was penned by the guys who wrote the novels.

** The OPA, while disparaged by its opponents (Avasarala calls them "Hezbollah in space" and "a rugby scrum with a currency"), are actually a functioning government with an established hierarchy, court system, currency, security apparatus, and foreign policy in the novels, capable of controlling piracy and delivering disaster relief without any assistance from the Inner Planets. The series tends to portray them as a street gang writ large, relying on real and implied threats to get their way.

* AdaptationDyeJob: A minor point, but in the books Bobbie Draper's PoweredArmor is a distinctive red to camouflage against the Martian surface. In the show, it's a plain, sterile grey.

* AntiNihilist: Holden knows he lives in a CrapsackWorld, but that never stops him from trying to make it better.

* BrokenPedestal: At least two in season 3.
** [[spoiler: Naomi]] becomes this to [[spoiler: Amos]] after it is revealed that [[spoiler: she gave the protomolecule to Fred Johnson. Lampshaded by Amos.]]

** The UN Navy's ''Truman'' class also has two prominent centrifuge habs, though these are only seen in exterior shots and mentioned in the lore, not actually seen functioning yet. It's established early in season 3 that many of these ships were only just being pulled out of mothball, so it's possible that these habs weren't a priority.

*** And in the season 3 premiere, [[spoiler:Bobbie and Avasarala use the ''Razorback'' to escape Jules-Pierre Mao's yacht right before a missile strike destroys it]].
** The GenerationShip ''Nauvoo'' is revealed to be one when Miller incorporates it into his new plan in "Static". And again in season 3 when [[spoiler:Fred Johnson has it recovered and retrofitted into a Belter warship rechristened the ''Behemoth'']].

* CrapsackWorld: '''Everywhere.''' Things ''are'' better than they are in the 21st century, but the more things change the more things stay the same; [[WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture advanced medical technology]] and [[FutureFoodIsArtificial synthetic foods]] have made [[ThePlague disease]] and [[ReducedToRatburgers hunger]] less of an issue than any previous era (for ''some'' people, that is), but they've been overshadowed by [[OverpopulationCrisis overpopulation]], [[SlobsVersusSnobs class warfare]] and [[GreenAesop extreme environmental damage]] -- and off-world, that damage can be as simple as "[[CrookedContractor didn't hire an honest contractor]]."

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Holden and Miller bear the brunt of the storytelling together, with a Avasarala and others providing a ThirdLineSomeWaiting.

** As aggressively nationalistic as they are, as much as they look down on Earthers and Belters, as much as they insist that ''they'' are the future of Mankind, you could be forgiven for expecting the Martian Marines to start goose-stepping at any time.

* DudeNotFunny: In "Paradigm Shift", Alex catches Amos "fixing" the Martian flag on the ''Roci'' (painting out [[spoiler:Deimos, which the UN destroyed two episodes prior]]). He's far from amused, since seventeen Martians died in that event and Mars lost a significant cultural icon.

* EldritchAbomination: The protomolecule. In its first appearance it's [[EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopods squishy and cephalopodic]] MeatMoss surrounded by [[OccultBlueEyes occult blue]] bio-luminescent spores that runs on HumanResources. Then "Critical Mass" proves it's also [[TheVirus infectious]] via MutagenicGoo, and by "Leviathan Wakes" it has full-on CombatTentacles and can arrange its spores into a humanoid shape.

* EmergencyCargoDump: This is standard procedure when facing SpacePirates given Holden's excited plea for ''Canterbury'' to eject its load of ice when attacked in "Dulcinea".

* EvolvingCredits: Starting in season 2, the credits change to reflect in-universe developments such as [[spoiler:the destruction of Deimos, the departure of the ''Nauvoo'' from Tycho Station, and the protomolecule spreading across Venus]].

* GrenadeHotPotato: In "Here There Be Dragons", a grenade is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHhIIkhw0Zk tossed through a door]] at the ''Roci'' crew. Amos ''[[ConsummateProfessional instantly]]'' screams "Grenade!", scoops it up, pitches it back through the door, then slams it shut and ducks for cover. [[spoiler:The grenade ends up releasing the protomolecule creature that was being held in the room, which proceeds to kill pretty much every one of the aggressors save a scientist, who remains alive just long enough to explain how karmic the whole thing was before bleeding out. The creature escapes through an airlock.]]
* GuileHero: Being a BadassBureaucrat means Avasarala can get her way in just about anything with just a conversation or two.
* GutturalGrowler: Avasarala of course has Shohreh Aghdashloo's trademark rasp, and Creator/ChadLColeman adds noticeable gravel to his already husky voice to portray Fred Johnson.

* HeavyWorlder: Earthers, by virtue of the fact humanity has yet to colonize a celestial body with higher gravity. This is most pronounced in the case of Bobbie, an elite Martian Marine who is accounted as the best fighter of all the main cast, but as a native Martian she can barely walk on arrival to Earth. The trade-off is that Earthers also require more food and oxygen.
* HeelFaceTurn: In "Cascade", [[spoiler: Errinwright goes to Avasarala and confesses his involvement with Jules-Pierre Mao, providing plenty of evidence, all because between Eros and the apparent SuperSoldiers on Ganymede, things have gone too far beyond what he was expecting when he signed up to the conspiracy.]]

* TheHero: Holden, though his HeroComplex often only causes more trouble in this CrapsackWorld.

** Miller suffers one upon [[spoiler: finding the mutated body of Julie Mao]] and loses his moral compass for a while afterward, shooting a guard in the guts to use him as a [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou ploy to get past other guards]].
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Deconstructed - The rest of the Canterbury crew clearly find Amos' capacity for violence TERRIFYING, and only the fact that they are in a life-or-death situation and NEED him (as well as being scared) stop them from calling him out. As the series continues, it reveals more on more of his upbringing, which includes possibly being a victim of, but definitely witnessing, child prostitution and forced prostitution of adults. Amos himself understands that his mind does not function the same way as most peoples', and he realizes how detrimental this can be and takes measures to work around his limitations, such as relying on his friends for a moral compass. When they meet a character who has had brain surgery to remove his empathy, he is the only one able to understand his motivations well enough to interrogate him, and afterward quizzes him about whether the process might be reversible, and spirals into a depression when the answer is "no".

** Admiral Nguyen [[spoiler:remotely launches pods containing protomolecule hybrids from the secret facility on Io. One of the pods collides with the Admiral's ship, infecting it with protomolecule and ultimately leading to the deaths of everyone on board.]]

* ItCanThink: The protomolecule is able to imitate people with glowing spores, which suggests an emerging intelligence. [[spoiler:Then it's discovered that the protomolecule has somehow built engines into Eros and is directing the asteroid at Earth, presumably to finish the task it was sent for. In season 3, Katoa, who has been infected by the protomolecule and is able to access its HiveMind, mentions something called "the work" and indicates it will soon be ready.]]

** Amos is a violent man who claims to have a LackOfEmpathy, but he frequently shows a moral compass and a desire to be a better person.

* KillSat: Earth has five RailGun satellites in orbit which can destroy a starship in one shot using a heavy bullet which breaks apart into a buckshot-like spread of shrapnel that will shred anything it hits. The drawback is that the targets have to be close enough for the target to be unable to change position/course before the round hits, as there's no way to change the projectile's course once it's fired. [[spoiler:In season 3, these satellites are used to destroy Mars' planet killer ships.]]

** Earth has orbiting satellites designed to shoot down missiles. These get put to the test in season 3, [[spoiler:where they manage to destroy a large missile barrage heading toward the planet. However, one missile gets through thanks to the concentrated barrage being enough to overwhelm the defenses]].

* PortalNetwork: In the season 3 finale, [[spoiler:once the protomolecule station is convinced humanity isn't a threat, it opens all the gates, totaling 1,300 star systems for humanity to explore]].

* PreventTheWar: Avasarala's overall quest, especially in "Remember the Cant", and ultimately her rationalization for the [[PragmaticHeroism underhanded methods]] she resorts to in order to succeed.

* RecycledInSpace: The HardboiledDetective and the KnightErrant vs. the EldritchAbomination In Space.

* SequelHook Season 3 ends with [[spoiler:a PortalNetwork opened to humanity, but something is living inside the network and was responsible for destroying the protomolecule civilization]].

* SpaceColdWar: Between Earth/Luna and Mars, with the Belt adding its own third-party pressure. Avasarala even calls it one in "The Big Empty". [[spoiler:It goes hot in season 3.]]

* TooDumbToLive: A slingshot jockey in season 3 decides to make a name for himself by [[spoiler:slingshotting himself through the alien ring that showed up six months ago]]. It earns him a very messy death by extreme deceleration.

* TheUnmasquedWorld: [[spoiler:The existence of the protomolecule finally goes public at the beginning of season 3, right before the UN formally declares war on Mars]].

* UselessSpleen: Amos quips, "There goes my spleen," as the ''Rocinante'' performs a high-g burn that will eventually kill the crew if they keep it up in "Home".

* WarIsHell: More or less played straight, but it's actually closer to "War Is Pointless" actually. Many characters point out that despite hostilities between the many factions war doesn't benefit anyone. That makes it all the more concerning that someone is clearly trying to start a war.

** From "Caliban's War" (the very last line of season 2, in fact):

*** [[spoiler: "I gave the protomolecule to Fred Johnson."]]

** "The Weeping Somnambulist" has the UN survey Venus to see the wreckage of [[spoiler:Eros, and there's two lifeforms down there]].

** "Abbadon's Gate". [[spoiler:Once the station has released all of the ships, everyone is seen staring in awe at something. This turns out to be footage of the ring gates reopening around the station. All 1300 remaining ones.]]

* AndStarring: Shohreh Aghdashloo (Avasarala) gets this.

* ApologeticAttacker: In "Assured Destruction", Cotyar reluctantly strangles Theo the electrician before they're picked up by the UNN, because he doesn't trust Theo not to reveal Avasarala's location if the UNN leans on him enough. He apologizes while doing it.

* AltumVidetur: AncientGrome provides many middle names in the 23rd Century: Juliet ''Andromeda'' Mao, Fredrick ''Lucius'' Johnson, and ''Josephus Aloisus'' Miller.

A four issue {{prequel}} ComicBook series called ''The Expanse: Origins'' was released digitally in 2017.

A four issue {{prequel}} ComicBook series called ''ComicBook/TheExpanseOrigins'' was released digitally in 2017.

** Although notably, her dialogue is substantially less restrained on the season 2 DVD release -- even if the original SyFy broadcasts were occasionally muted to censor.

** Mid-Season 3, a slingshot jockey attempts to "thread the needle" through [[spoiler: the Protomolecule Ring, only for its defenses to stop his ship dead and reduce him to Ludicrous Gibs.]]

--> "I didn't shoot him because he was crazy. I shot him because he was ''making sense''.

** The XO of the ''Canterbury'' has a weapons locker filled with four pistols and three rifles, some of them quite antique for the 23rd Century.

* WarIsHell: Closer to "war is pointless" actually. Many characters point out that despite hostilities between the many factions war doesn't benefit anyone. That makes it all the more concerning that someone is clearly trying to start a war.
* TheWarRoom: The UN begins deciding interplanetary strategic matters in one of these in Season 2, rather than just Errinwright's office like in Season 1.

** In the season 2 finale, the ''Rocinante's'' main engine is used to fry [[spoiler:the protomolecule soldier]].

** Avasarala has nothing but Earth's best interests at heart, but as such has doesn't hesitate to resort to threats, torture, or even utterly ruining the life of a personal friend in order to fulfill her objectives.
** Dresden is willing to commit any number of atrocities to further his research on the protomolecule, but he honestly believes that research will benefit humanity, especially if whatever sent it eventually shows up.
** Though regarded as a terrorist by Mars and Earth (and even by some other Belters), Anderson Dawes is very sincere in his ambition to create a Belt for Belters.
** Fred Johnson certainly has shades of this as well after having been [[TheAtoner radicalised by previous events he was held responsible for]].
* WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture: ZigzaggedTrope. It is indicated that the average human lifespan for Earth residents has been bumped up to 130[[note]]The oldest ever person that we have reliable documentation for lived to 122[[/note]], and one would assume that the terraformed Mars has similar stats. However, on the space colonies in the asteroid belt there are already people with debilitating physical and mental conditions due to things like low-oxygen environments. There are also signs of evolution, with some people being born with more fragile bones due to low gravity, meaning that they can't really survive on Earth anymore.

* WorfEffect: The Martian Congressional Republic Navy is constantly referenced as being the best there is. They get their asses kicked ([[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]], really) an awful lot.

-->'''Miller''': When I was homicide, there was this guy. Property management specialist working a contract out of Luna. Someone burned half his skin off and dropped him out an airlock. Turned out he was responsible for maintenance on sixty holes up on level thirty. Lousy neighborhood. He’d been cutting corners. Hadn’t replaced the air filters in three months. There was mold growing in three of the units. And you know what we found after that? Not a goddamn thing, because ''we stopped looking.'' Some people need to die, and he was one. And the next guy that took the job cleaned the ducting and swapped the filters on schedule.

** Belters are depicted as being a downtrodden proletariat oppressed by the inner planets. Which is comparable to the crews of remote science stations and offshore oil platforms being depicted as being proletarians oppressed by the corporations or government agencies that own them. The setting lacking the EasyLogistics of Casual Interplanetary Travel, ArtificalGravity and the MatterReplicator means that it makes little sense to crew mining stations with more than the minimum necessary crew, and even less sense to have them procreate and raise children in an environment where they will inevitably end up as relative cripples due to the effects of low gravity on their physiology.

** Julie Mao's most treasured possession is her space racing sled, the ''Razorback'', and judging by the videos of her popping champagne in her case file and her ability to [[spoiler: reach Eros in just a shuttle]], she must be pretty good at it.

** Medical technology, at least on the Inner Planets, has advanced to the point where severed body parts can be completely regrown with a special gel. Belters have to make do with prosthetics with force feedback and heat and pressure sensors (if their company health plan covers it).

** Though quite jaded about such things, Miller doesn't personally accept bribes or threaten to have people ThrownOutTheAirlock in the books.

* MassOhCrap: The UN WarRoom does this in "Home" when they learn Eros is [[spoiler: on a collision course with Earth]].

** Admiral Nguyen plays this role as a {{Foil}} to Admiral Souther's dove in the UN's WarRoom in "Doors and Corners".

** Earthers are effectively {{Heavyworlder}}s simply because there ''are'' no heavier gravities than Earth. They have an intense attachment to land, especially land they've grown up on; this is a result of the 20th century's environmental damage, and the following two centuries they've spent repairing it. When they look at Outers, they see people surrounded by advanced technologies, while 90% of Earthers live in shantytowns.
The common belief is that Earth is the only "real" planet and the rest of the system [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse exists to support it]].

** Earthers are effectively {{Heavyworlder}}s simply because there ''are'' no heavier gravities than Earth. They have an intense attachment to land, especially land they've grown up on; this is a result of the 20th century's environmental damage, and the following two centuries they've spent repairing it. The common belief is that Earth is the only "real" planet and the rest of the system [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse exists to support it]].

** Martians have adapted to a lower-oxygen breathing mix, and are more resistant to radiation due to Mars' lack of an atmosphere. They are equally obsessed with the terraformation of Mars; as a result, they have an almost fascistic dedication to their government and chains of command, being willing to die without a second thought if ordered to. They also consider themselves superior to those who live on Earth, given that they have had to work and dedicate their whole lives to make their planet even mildly liveable, and deplore both Earthers laissez-faire attitudes and the fact that they receive "handouts" and "free drugs" to cope with their "aimless" lives.

** Belters have long, thin bones due to lack of gravity, numerous ailments due to inconsistent nutrition, and a fraction of the lifespans of Earthers or Dusters. They are 110% focused on ''survival'' - space is such an unforgiving environment that everyone who ''wasn't'' obsessed to that extent is long dead. This means they are for most intents and purposes HumanAliens. An Earther newcomer is bewildered by the riots triggered by the destruction of the ''Canterbury'', but Miller is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality ambivalent]] -- it doesn't matter if they didn't need it at that precise moment, ''someone'' fucked with their water supplies and that means ''someone'' is getting ThrownOutTheAirlock.

** {{Deconstructed}} by being shown literally ''as a stunt'' by adrenaline jockeys looking to set records, and the only contestant we actually see on-screen makes a minor miscalculation and burns up in Jupiter's atmosphere. "Slingshot Clubs" get together to watch these pilots' exploits and make extravagant and illegal bets about their chances of success.

* DarkReprise: A much more somber version of the main theme plays over the montage that ends "[[WhamEpisode Immolation]]". Ironically, this was the first episode to air after Syfy announced the series' cancellation, which makes the sequence [[HarsherInHindsight far sadder than was intended]].

** The ''Marasmus'' contains a crew of these who came to Eros to try to provide medical and humanitarian aid in "Godspeed". It gets them all killed when they learn of the protomolecule and Holden reluctantly blows up their ship to keep them from talking.

'''Amos:''' We're pretty much fucked.

-->'''Alex''': If it breaks through the bulkhead-
-->'''Amos''': We're pretty much fucked.

The show aired for three seasons on Creator/{{Syfy}} from 2015 to 2018. Creator/AmazonStudios has officially picked the series up for additional seasons.