History Series / TheExpanse

** More or less an EnforcedTrope, but the show does go for a more [[DownplayedTrope subdued version]], with scenes set in space featuring muffled sounds. There's one scene that is played completely silent to emphasize the shock and danger the characters are experiencing.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theexpanse4shot__1450599548_11010243175.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Season 1 Promotional Poster (Clockwise from top left: [[WrenchWench Naomi Nagata]], [[HardboiledDetective Josephus Miller]], [[LivingMacGuffin Julie Mao]], [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Jim Holden]]).]]

* GenerationShips: Said to be the largest and most complex ship ever constructed, the Mormon Church is funding construction of the colossal LDSS ''Nauvoo'', a ship designed to make a 100-year journey to another solar system (the setting's hard sci-fi limits prohibit anything faster) in hopes of colonizing a new world. Since life expectancies commonly exceed 100 years in this setting, many crew members may live to see their destination, but they'll still spend the majority of their lives on the ship.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: Julie Mao after she [[spoiler:was infected by the protomolecule]] and Miller after he [[spoiler:got radiation sickness from being exposed to radioactive radiation used to sterilize the corpses of the victims of the (deliberate) protomolecule outbreak on Eros.]]

AdaptationalHeroism: Ashford is probably the most prominent example. He's far more well-meaning and reasonable, and even when he takes a directly antagonistic role at the end of season 3, he's a WellIntentionedExtremist at worst, as opposed to the incompetent InsaneAdmiral of the book.

** Martians are known derisively as "Dusters" for the aridness of their home-world, though Bobbie Draper freely calls a fellow Martian "one of the toughest Dusters I've served with" in "Static". The term "Mickie" is also thrown around in reference to Martian Navy personnel, likely derived from the first two letters of MCRN.

* ShownTheirWork: The show loves to demonstrate the hard sci-fi limits of the setting, such as showing how the Coriolis effect changes how things flow and fall on Belter stations. The show is also quite meticulous in depicting gravity in space travel.
** The show goes well beyond “hard sci-fi.” Some of the wall markings on the ships are real-world ratings. Example: In S2E13, inside the elevator of Mao’s ship, there’s the marking “ISO K9.” ISO is the “International Standards Organization,” which is a real world repository for engineering standards. K9 is a reference to ISO 2531 K9, which is a classifier for water-proofed structures. This means the elevator is sealed against potential flooding, if a waterline breaks.

** A large proportion of Earth's population cannot find paid work owing to extensive automation of the economy and subsist on a welfare scheme called Basic Assistance. Given that Martians tend to stereotype Earthers as indolent "takers", this is apparently not the case on Mars. Even though their technology is supposed to be generally more advanced than Earth's, and so the Martian economy should probably be automated to at least the same degree. It could be that Mars exiles or executes their unproductive citizens, but if they do it has never been mentioned in the show.

** An implant can reverse the effects of lethal radiation poisoning, but has to be kept in indefinitely for it to work. If such an implant could make all the cells in a human body function properly after being dosed with radiation, then the patient would be healed and the implant would be superfulous from then on.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Getting impaled through the solar-plexus should result in death ''very'' quickly given the number of important arteries in the region, not to mention the nerves and tissues that control breathing. Hyper-advanced medical treatment doesn't mean much when you should be dead long before you could receive any. This is mitigated by the fact that Ceres has lower gravity.
** When a super medical device gets implanted into a character to keep their body from rotting after lethal radiation exposure the character is told they’ll be fine, but they have to keep the implant in for the rest of their life. The thing is, any device that can enable the human body to heal itself after that kind of damage wouldn’t need to be permanent, because its somehow getting all the cells to work properly again.

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: A large proportion of Earth's population cannot find paid work owing to extensive automation of the economy and subsist on a welfare scheme called Basic Assistance. Given that Martians tend to stereotype Earthers as indolent "takers", this is apparently not the case on Mars. Even though their technology is supposed to be generally more advanced than Earth's, and so the Martian economy should probably be automated to at least the same degree. It could be that Mars exiles or executes their unproductive citizens, but if they do it has never been mentioned in the show.

* TheWarOfEarthlyAggression: This is something Martians fear or they wouldn't have such a powerful fleet, and Belters fear Earth and Mars basically equally.

** 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.

** Given how much the series makes of the dangers or radiation and of its importance to the Protomolecule, it oddly completely ignores how much radiation there is in space just from the Sun when you do not have a planetary magnetic field pushing high-energy particles aside.[[note]]To give some point of reference, spending one year on the International Space Station would expose a person to almost ten times what the U.S. Department of Energy recommends as the maximum annual radiation exposure for people working with radioactive materials.[[/note]] Radiation exposure is currently the greatest single health risk associated with extended stays in space.

** Given how much the series makes of the dangers or radiation and of its importance to the Protomolecule, it oddly completely ignores how much radiation there is in space just from the Sun when you do not have a planetary magnetic field pushing high-energy particles aside.[[note]]To give some point of reference, spending one year on the International Space Station would expose a person to almost ten times what the U.S. Department of Energy recommends as the maximum annual radiation exposure for people working with radioactive materials.[[/note]]

** Given how much the series makes of the dangers or radiation and of its importance to the Protomolecule, it is odd how it completely ignores how much radiation there is in space just from the Sun when you do not have a planetary magnetic field pushing high-energy particles aside.[[note]]To give some point of reference, six months on the International Space Station exposes a person to four times as much radiation than what the U.S. Department of Energy recommends as the maximum annual exposure for people working with radioactive materials.[[/note]]

** Also, if you like keeping your brains inside your head, don't even think about harming a child with Amos in the ''system''. He will not hesitate go across the solar system, fight through an army, all to steal the kill from a PapaWolf to make that point really clear.

** Katoa gradually starts to look more inhuman and horrifying as [[spoiler:he's turned into a Hybrid by the protomolecule growth in his body]]. And in one of the worst examples in the whole series, he ''completely rips apart'' his nurse offscreen; we see the mans insides and guts strewn out all over the floor.

** Played straight: [[spoiler:Melba/Clarissa Mao]] is left feeling deeply remorseful for all of her actions in the second half of season 3, which include framing, hurting, and brutally killing numerous people in order to [[spoiler:get revenge on Holden for her father, Jules-Pierre Mao]]. Her guilt, combined with a ReasonYouSuckSpeech from Anna and overhearing a conversation between [[spoiler:Holden and Naomi]] that made her realize she was wrong about him, convinces her to give up on her revenge and change her ways, and she [[spoiler:saves the two of them from being killed by Ashford and stops him from firing at the Ring Station, essentially saving the day and all of humanity.]]

** [[spoiler:Drummer]] attempts this on two separate occasions (once to save Ashford, and once to try to [[spoiler:take Diogo down with her so he can't stop Holden and Naomi]]); however, she survives the first one (though badly injured), and Naomi manages to take care of the problem before she goes through with the second one.
** [[spoiler:Clarissa]] also has an attempted one that she ends up surviving (though she does get shot in the stomach) in "Abaddon's Gate" to [[spoiler:stop Ashford and his men from killing Holden and Naomi and firing the laser at the Ring Station (which would lead to it destroying the entire solar system)]].

** Bobbie has to attempt this very carefully with the missiles that [[spoiler:a UN ship working for Errinwright]] are firing at [[spoiler:her and Avasarala on the ''Razorback'']]; if she goes too slow, the missiles will hit them, but if she goes too fast to try to get away from them, the G-forces from going that fast will [[spoiler:kill the elderly Avasarala]]. Luckily for them, [[spoiler:the Rocinante shows up to defend them]].
** In "It Reaches Out", two different ships from two different navies fire on the ''Rocinante'' after Holden is framed for a terrorist attack on a UN ship. On instructions from [[spoiler:"Miller" (a manifestation of the protomolecule that only Holden can see), Holden has Alex enter the ring at a slow enough speed to not trigger the "speed limit"]] to avoid the missile.

** [[spoiler:Dr. Strickland]] has one of these when Amos stops Prax from killing him, thinking he is saving his life. Instead, Amos was preventing Prax from dirtying his hands, and [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork does it himself]].

** Manéo Jung-Espinoza gets this when he travels into the Ring, entering the Slow Zone; since his ship is traveling way too fast at the time, it's forcibly decelerated, and the inertia and sudden g-forces tear his body completely apart, leaving him as nothing more than a [[MemeticMutation red splat]] left of him.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Holden and Miller bear the brunt of the storytelling together throughout Season 1 and the first half of Season 2, with Avasarala and others providing a ThirdLineSomeWaiting. Afterwards, storylines from other major characters, such as Bobbie, Prax, and Anna, become deuteragonists and tritagonists to the ''Rocinante'' crew.

** In the first season, the UN Secretary-General (basically, the leader of Earth), Sorrento-Gillis, is TheGhost, and his second-in-command, Undersecretary-General Sadavir Errinwright, basically acts like the Dragon-in-Chief. Come Season 2 and onwards, Sorrento-Gillis is a major onscreen character who sometimes overrules Errinwright's decisions and doesn't always take his advice, making it weirder in hindsight that Errinwright had as much autonomy as he did with the decisions he made in Season 1.

** Anna Volovodov becomes this after she plays a crucial role in [[spoiler:exposing Errinwright's treason and getting him arrested]]. When [[IntrepidReporter Monica]] needs to send out a broadcast to reassure the people in the Ring, she chooses Anna to do so because she's a known, trusted public figure whom others will listen to.

** The protagonists have to do this again in the Ring, and in particular, in "Abaddon's Gate", [[spoiler:it's taken UpToEleven when they have to stop Ashford from firing at the Ring Station, which will cause it to see humanity as a threat and not only kill everyone ''in''the Ring (including nearly all the major characters), but destroy the entire solar system, killing ''all of humanity'']].

** Olivia arrives just in time to save Miller from being ThrownOutTheAirlock in "Rock Bottom".

** Captain Yao of the ''MCRN Donnager''.

* ChekhovsSkill: {{Subverted}} by Havelock's practice with Belter Creole and gestures. Worse than useless, it's ''comical'' to the thugs who ambush him in "Remember the Cant".

** Inverted with Col. Janus, who doesn't appear in the books, but exists in the show as a counterpoint to Dr. Iturbi, providing the viewer with an interesting character dynamic instead of just stale reports to Avasarala.

* TheConspiracy: The ultimate culprit for everything in Seasons 1 and 2 is one of these involving [[spoiler: billionaire Jules-Pierre Mao and UN Undersecretary-General Sadavir Errinwright]].

* ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind: Octavia saves Miller this way in "Rock Bottom".

** Exasperated by her overbearing security detail in "Windmills", Avasarala declares, "No, I wasn't murdered in the last 30 seconds."

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Holden and Miller bear the brunt of the storytelling together throughout Season 1 and the first half of Season 2, with Avasarala and others providing a ThirdLineSomeWaiting.

* DrivenToSuicide: The Belter smuggler who commits suicide during his transfer from Earth to Luna to avoid further interrogation using Earth's own gravity as his CyanidePill.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first episode features a man who is extremely tall and fragile due to being raised in low gravity. The episode implies that this is not uncommon, but no other such character is ever seen again. While in the book, everyone raised outside of Earth's high gravity is very tall, the show's PragmaticAdaptation does away with this detail.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Deep down, Jules-Pierre Mao does on some level love his daughter Julie.

** The Belter smuggler interrogated in "The Big Empty" knows who Avasarala is and says he's heard "many interesting tales" about her.
** Holden becomes this after his face is put on the placards and graffiti of the "Remember the Cant" protests across the Belt. Amos snarkily offers to rearrange his face for him.

** The SinkingShipScenario in "The Big Empty", which requires a lot of MacGyvering

* TheGhost: The UN Secretary-General is referred to but never shown in Season 1, though this is later {{subverted}} when he does show up in Season 2.

* GoLookAtTheDistraction: Anderson Dawes escapes with [[spoiler:Cortazar]] by having Diego fly off in his ship so the ''Rocinante'' will give chase, while Dawes and his men escape in a smaller shuttle during the commotion.

%% * HappilyMarried:
%% ** Chrisjen Avasarala and her husband Arjun.
%% ** Frank [=DeGraaf=] and his husband Craig.

* 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. It's then darkly subverted when it soon becomes clear that he only intends to fan the flames of war between Earth and Mars in order to help cover his own tracks.]]

** Done on a massive scale when the generation ship ''Nauvoo'' is taken from the Mormons to deal with the Eros crisis.

* HopeSpot: Someone picked up the ''Knight's'' signal! Oh wait, it's a Martian battleship, presumably coming to finish the job their stealth ship started.
* AHouseDivided: Holden's crew don't exactly see eye-to-eye during their desperate situation in "The Big Empty", leading to some tense moments including Amos holding a gun to Holden's head. They get along [[FireForgedFriends much better afterward]].

* {{Hypocrite}}: Jules-Pierre Mao. His daughter Julie [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him on it]] in a message found in "The Big Empty". He proves it beyond a doubt in "Critical Mass" when he [[spoiler: wipes away a tear for his dead daughter, then immediately orders the same MutagenicGoo that killed her injected into thousands of people]].

** Miller nearly suffers this in "Rock Bottom", but Olivia rescues him.

** Also, if you like keeping your brains inside your head, don't even think about harming a child with Amos in the ''system''. He will not hesitate go across the solar system, fight through an army, all to steal the kill from a PappaWolf to make that point really clear.