Recap / The Expanse S 01 E 01 Dulcinea

Season 1, Episode 1:

Dulcinea

We begin with a glorious title sequence, showing the growth of human civilization on Earth, the impacts of climate change, and then humanity's colonization of the Moon, Mars, the Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, and Saturn. At the end of the titles, we're shown the opening text:

In the 23rd Century, humans have colonized the Solar System. The U.N. controls Earth. Mars is an independent military power. The Inner Planets depend on the resources of the Asteroid Belt. Belters live and work in space. In the Belt, air & water are more precious than gold. For decades, tensions have been rising. Earth, Mars, & the Belt are now on the brink of war. All it will take is a single spark.

Cut to a closeup of a woman's face. She's on a ship, and from the sounds of the PA system and of running crew, they're going into combat. The little room she's in shakes with the mechanical sounds of something firing, as we see that she's currently floating in zero gravity. The ship shakes again. Some time passes. The woman is pounding on the door, begging to be let out of the compartment. More time passes. She's down to her last few drops of water. Still more time passes. Bracing herself using some convenient handles, the woman slams her back into the door several times, until finally it breaks loose, flinging her out into a darkened hallway.

She takes a moment to orient herself, kicks on her mag boots, and stands up. The camera lingers on the text on her jumpsuit. Scopuli, it says. She walks past an airlock, bloodstains marking the walls. She hefts a wrench near a hatch and is startled by a floating EVA suit. She cuts her way through the hatch, into the reactor core—which is covered in... something, glowing bright blue and making an ominous hum. She spots what looks like the upper torso of a person, flailing and in pain. She screams.

At some other place and time, we are shown our first view of Ceres Station, the largest object in the Asteroid Belt, now a human colony and UN protectorate, hollowed out and spun up to create gravity through centrifugal force. A voice narrates as we see ships docking at the "lowest" levels, documenting how Earth and Mars harvested the ice on Ceres for themselves, making Ceres a vital port in the Belt, but denying its wealth and resources to the people who call it home. We follow the tunnels of Ceres to the the Medina marketplace on the poorest, uppermost levels.

We see that the voice is that of a protester, the camera lingering on an older man wearing a porkpie hat and a younger man watching the crowd. The two men — obviously cops — discuss running the protester in, until the older man is called out by the protester. He asks whether the cop knows which side he'll be on "when the blood is on the wall." He responds in the affirmative, and the protester says, "see you then, welwala." His partner asks what that means and the cop responds, "Traitor to my people."

Cut to the cops — Josephus Miller and Dimitri Havelock — questioning a prostitute about a john who was murdered. Miller, the older one, and the witness converse in Belter Creole and sign language. Havelock is fascinated by the physical differences between the corpse, a Belter, and himself, an Earther. As they leave, Miller and Havelock converse and trade barbs— Miller about how Havelock will never pass for a Belter, and Havelock asks why Miller wears a hat needlessly on a space station. Miller responds, "keeps the rain off my head."

Miller and Havelock grab drinks in a bar, as Miller explains to Havelock the telltale physical signs of Belters from growing up in low gravity— physical tremors, elongated proportions, and, in Miller's case, as one obnoxious patron points out, spinal deformities on the base of his neck from cheap bone growth meds from being a ward of the state. When the man makes the mistake of putting his hands on Miller, Miller responds by restraining him and frog-marching him out of the bar, remarking that their break is over.

Afterward, Miller and Havelock are on a tram ride going somewhere, when Miller bumps into Vargas, an acquaintance of Miller's. Miller asks whether Vargas changed the air filters. Vargas responds, "full compliance," and hands Miller a stack of chips, and Miller says that there's no need for him to check on the filters. The tram reaches Miller and Havelock's stop, and they disembark, entering the station for the Star Helix private security firm. Inside, one of the cops, Octavia Muss, is having some issues getting a suspect being booked to cooperate. Miller starts to get physical with the suspect before Muss tells him off. Havelock asks whether there are laws against what Miller did. Miller responds, "No laws on Ceres, just cops."

In Chief Shahdid's office, Miller gets assigned a new job— off the record, on his own time. Someone high up is doing a favor for a shareholder. The daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao, owner of the Mega-Corp Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile, has gone missing. We get a name: Juliette Andromeda (Julie) Mao, and a face— it's the woman we saw earlier. Miller's job: Find Julie Mao, and if she's on Ceres, detain her and ship her home, or, as Miller puts it, "Kidnap job."

Elsewhere, in the rings of Saturn, the ice hauler Canterbury is harvesting massive chunks of ice for sale at Ceres, when one of the chunks breaks apart, smashing into one of the operators, Cameron Paj, and severing his arm at the elbow. Meanwhile, on the ship, Second Officer James Holden is currently engaging in zero g relations with the ship's navigator, Ade Nygaard— or at least he is until the ship gets back under thrust and the gravity slams them into the floor. Holden is summoned to help see to Paj. Holden arrives to see ship's physician Shed Garvey patching Paj up as Holden laments the terrible "coffee" onboard. Paj asks Holden to make sure the company doesn't screw him out of a proper prosthetic, throwing imprecations towards Earth's limb-regrowth "magic Jello" — no offense, Holden - -but Holden says he's just a clock-puncher.

Holden walks off to find the XO, running into Belter engineer Naomi Nagata and Earther mechanic Amos Burton. Naomi asks Holden about signing off on some paperwork to get the Canterbury overhauled before it breaks up — Amos confirms that if Naomi says it'll happen, it's a guarantee — but Holden counters that it's cheaper for the company to pay to settle with bereaved loved ones. On the bridge, Martian pilot Alex Kamal makes a boisterous entrance in a thick Texas drawl, before strapping into the pilot's seat to plot a course back to Ceres. Holden borrows a crowbar from Amos to open up the XO's quarters, finding the XO in a complete breakdown, having smashed his potted plants and shooting a hole in one of the viewscreens.

With the XO unfit for duty, Captain McDowell promotes Holden to XO. Holden is very reluctant to accept the responsibility, but McDowell points out that Holden has been aboard for years and turned down multiple transfers, despite being from Earth— the Cant is his home. McDowell presses Holden about his past but backs off when Holden asks about his porcelain cat collection. Alex tells the senior staff they found something— a distress call from a ship moored near a charted asteroid. Ade points out they're obligated to check it out, but everyone else agrees it's probably pirate bait, and delaying means they lose their on-time bonus. Holden orders the crew to purge the logs and forget about the signal.

Later, Ade and Holden are talking about the distress signal, and the conversation turns to the two of them. Ade tells Holden she's going to be transferring off the ship when they pull in. Holden is quietly upset. Some time passes, and Holden walks into the bridge, relieving the watch officer and fixing himself some coffee (with the head of a match). Holden digs out the deleted log, running some signal analysis on it. After fiddling a bit, Holden picks out a voice, begging for help.

On Earth, UN assistant undersecretary of executive administration Chrisjen Avasarala is playing with her grandson while her husband Arjun watches, when they're interrupted by a UN aircraft. Avasarala says she has to leave.

Cut to New York City, with several new and much taller buildings and sea walls surrounding both Manhattan and Liberty Island, keeping the swollen New York Bay from inundating Lady Liberty. At a UN Black Site on Hamptons Island, a Belter prisoner, normally held in a water tank to mitigate the effects of Earth's gravity on a body adapted to much less, has been restrained out of the tank for the past ten hours. He's suspected of being an agent of the Belter advocacy/protest/terror organization, the Outer Planets Alliance, and was captured illegally ferrying Martian stealth technology. When he refuses to talk, Avasarala says to give him another ten hours.

On Ceres, Miller arrives in one of the tunnels, meeting Muss, who explains that the cheap air filters in the tunnel failed, sickening everyone who lived there. We see that the local landlord is none other than Vargas, the guy who bribed Miller. Havelock has some pointed words for Miller, but Miller brushes him off and leaves.

On the Canterbury, McDowell explains to the crew that some anonymous do-gooder logged the distress call with company headquarters, obligating the Canterbury to respond to avoid legal liability for the company. McDowell orders Holden to put together a shuttle team. When Naomi confirms that the Knight, the ship's shuttle, is in working condition, Holden taps Naomi for the team, then orders Alex to set a course for the ship. This will require a high-g maneuver — flip the ship over and burn like hell — so Holden orders everyone to strap into their crash couches, activate the acceleration drug ("juice") dispensers, and secure the ice in the hold to keep it from breaking loose. The crew braces as the Canterbury cuts thrust, flips over, and lights the engines.

Later, the Canterbury has reached its destination, so Holden and Naomi board the Knight. Naomi and Holden discuss the captain's continued insistence on trying to get Holden to take the XO position, but they both know he's wasting his time. Naomi points out if Ade logged that distress call, she's never going to live it down, and Holden fesses up that it was him. Naomi advises him to keep that bit of information to himself. Alex, Amos, and Shed arrive, all having drawn the short straws on this mission and none of them wanting to be here. Alex pastes a picture of his family on the console as the rest get settled and the Canterbury waves them off.

Back on Ceres, Miller is pondering his new case while having a few drinks, before spotting Muss in the bar with one of the other cops. Miller inserts himself to get Muss's help, trying to figure out what a rich girl on Ceres would do to piss off her father. Muss isn't interested in trying to help, especially once it's clear that Miller was doing it more to hit on her than anything else.

At Charted Non-Belt Asteroid CA-2216862, the Knight is decelerating towards the distressed ship— the freighter Scopuli. She's dead in space, reactor off. Holden asks about what looks like a big hole in the side. Naomi responds that the LADAR says it's a big hole in the side, to some chuckles from the rest. Holden orders Alex to take them in, and if anything pops up to run like hell and fry anything behind them with the engine exhaust. Holden says he'll go into check the ship out— Amos volunteers to go with him after a look from Naomi.

Aboard the Scopuli, Holden and Amos look at the hole in the ship from the inside. Amos says it wasn't a torpedo, but a breaching charge that made the hole. They reach the reactor, and Amos notes that the reactor was shut off, not damaged, so someone else turned it off, and they left the pressure doors open. Holden finishes the thought: so nobody could hide. Holden orders Naomi and Shed to meet them on the bridge. Shed notes there aren't any bodies. Holden tries to access the computer, but the panels are dead— so how is there a distress beacon?

Under one of the consoles, Amos spots a small, black object. Holden asks if that looks like a— but doesn't finish his sentence before Amos reaches out and yanks it off. Amos points out that if it was a bomb, they'd already be dead. The box is a transmitter — the distress beacon — which means the signal was planted; in other words: pirate bait.

Just then, Alex radios the team, forwarding them a top-priority signal from the Canterbury. A ship has just appeared near the asteroid that wasn't there before. McDowell orders the team back, and they begin scrambling back to the Knight. The Knight disengages from the Scopuli, and when Holden asks how this thing just appeared, Naomi says it has to be stealth technology. When Amos asks who has stealth like that, Alex realizes the answer: Mars.

On Ceres, Miller is heading back to his apartment, stopping to talk to one of his neighbors, whose little girl is currently playing with a bird that's made its home on Ceres. Miller spots the bird hovering near his apartment in the low gravity, as he sips his drink and broods. Miller hears something, and spots the little girl from earlier, trying to play with a couple of older boys, but coughing heavily. Miller's face darkens. Cut to Vargas, protesting frantically as Miller drags him to an airlock, tosses him in, seals the doors, and begins venting the atmosphere. After a few seconds, Miller halts the process and reopens the airlock. As he looks down on Vargas, he remarks:

Miller: Air is good, don't you think? Air is nice. Keep those filters clean, asshole.

Meanwhile, the Canterbury is burning aggressively as the Knight is trying to get clear. The bogey fires a salvo of torpedoes. In a desperate maneuver, Holden orders Alex to lead the torpedoes around the rock to shake them loose. No use, the torpedoes are still gaining. As Alex counts down the seconds to impact, the whole crew tenses, preparing for the end—

And the missiles streak right past the Knight.

Alex is the first to realize what's happened— the torpedoes weren't meant for them. Holden radios the Canterbury that they've got incoming and to burn like hell. Holden tries to offer advice, telling the captain to eject the Canterbury's ice as countermeasures. McDowell tells him they're on it and to clear the comms. As Holden tries to help Ade stay calm, she turns to him and tells him,

Ade: Jim, there's something you should know—

The screen whites out. The Canterbury is hit and blooms into a miniature sun, then cools into a glowing cloud of debris. The Knight's crew can only sit, stunned, as Holden confirms what they already know.

The shrapnel from the Canterbury's death closes in on them. Cut to credits.

Tropes:

• Asteroid Miners: In this case, ice mining on Ceres.
• Cut Apart: Viewers will assume (particularly because of the branded spacesuit) that the ship in the first scene is the Scopuli. But Holden and crew find no sign of the survivor or the Meat Moss around the reactor, what gives?! Later episodes reveal that the first scene takes place on the Anubis, where the crew of the Scopuli — and their suits — were taken.
• Death by Materialism: Holden urges his captain to dump his cargo so they can escape— he refuses, and the Canterbury is nuked.
• Distress Call: The Canterbury is legally required to follow up on it. Fearing it's a trap by Space Pirates, Captain McDowell tries to pretend they never received it. Holden makes sure it's logged officially, so they actually have to follow up.
• Doomed Hometown: The Canterbury gets blown up roughly half an hour after Captain McDowell points out that it's effectively Holden's home.
• Dramatic Space Drifting: After an accident, a miner and his severed arm float away in separate directions.
• Ghost Ship: The Scopuli is totally abandoned, with no evidence of its crew except one creepy floating helmet. Its reactor was somehow powered down manually, and there's a huge hole in its side.
• Hope Spot: The lifeboat appears to have dodged the torpedos, but it turns out they're actually aimed at the Canterbury.
• Meat Moss: A blue version of this appears to be surrounding the reactor in the initial scene.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Miller takes a bribe to ignore the faulty air filters that later end up killing people.
  • Holden secretly tips off HQ about the distress call, and they order the Canterbury to respond. But Captain McDowell was right; the distress call was a trap. There's a Martian warship waiting in ambush and everyone on the Canterbury is killed, including Holden's girlfriend.
• Opening Scroll: To establish some world-building for the series.
• Soapbox Square: The establishing shot for Ceres has a voiceover that eventually is revealed to be someone making a speech at one of these.
• Space Madness: This happens to the (unnamed) former XO of the Canterbury. McDowell offers Holden his job; Holden tries to decline.
• Space Cold War: Lampshaded; Earth and Mars exist in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust and codependence, so neither side has a motive to rock the boat. Unless there was some kind of Game Changer, like the Mars-OPA alliance that Avasarala suspects is happening.
• Stealth in Space: To everyone's surprise; a pirate vessel that doesn't appear on their sensors makes a surprise attack on the Canterbury.
• Third Line, Some Waiting: Avasarala gets one introductory scene; the rest of the episode is all Miller and Holden.
• Thrown Out the Airlock: Miller threatens Vargas with this, to get him to keep the air filters clean.
• Unwilling Suspension: A sci-fi version; a suspected terrorist is just draped on a couple of arm hooks, but having grown up in a weak gravity environment, it's a lot more torturous for him than it would be for someone who has the muscle development to withstand Earth's gravity.
• Wretched Hive: Ceres has the bright shiny pseudo-outdoors which is presumably reserved for rich inner-system types, and the crowded undercity full of Belters where most of the Miller plot actually takes place.
• Zero-G Spot: Holden is introduced in the middle of some zero-G sex. Shortly thereafter, the thrusters cut in, and he and Ade fall to the floor of their cabin.