The Expanse

:

Season 5
Season #: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 79
  3. Negative: 15 out of 79
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User Reviews

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  1. Bashmarda
    Feb 3, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have read all The Expanse books and have been an avid follower of the show.

    Admittedly, Season 5 was going to be difficult to pull off owing to how the books had everyone off in a different place, but the execution was just so poor

    SPOILER ALERT

    The devastation of earth was watered down so, so, so much. Hardly the civilization upending event that it was supposed to be. Then, very critical plot lines were just poorly explained, rushed, or ignored, while excessive times was spent on various individual characters and their relationships.

    The Expanse stopped being a sci-fi epic and started becoming a space soap with the requisite crying, emotions, and romances

    Moments of brilliance were there; such as Naomi's unforgettable space jump... but the rest of the season was just a disappointment, and if I was just a TV viewer I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, especially the season finale when the Laconians are unveiled.

    Tiamat's Wrath was incandescently exciting to read, and that's where Season 6 should start. I wonder if it will make up for Season 5.    … Expand
  2. grammarye
    Feb 9, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A remarkable show suddenly becomes boring filler commentary. This season dragged significantly, and advanced the plot very little. We spend hour after tedious hour watching repeats of the same scenes, characters engage in actions that are just plain stupid & not in character with their previous seasons; the actual interesting plot advancement is compressed into short minutes here and there. That the show's owners decided to kill one of their most interesting characters off for their own petty reasons just adds more annoyance to the overall theme. The immense complexity of prior seasons is replaced with one-dimensional plot points and badly written exposition.

    I'm honestly a mix of shocked and disappointed, which speaks to the regard I held the Expanse in. I fell in love with the show during the early seasons. Season 4 had a few rocky moments (Holden holding a metal plate against a tsunami I'm looking at you) but was still a fun sci-fi experience. Season 5 has fully transitioned to soap opera and political commentary in space. The sci-fi bit is pretty much killed off. There's no more discussion of actual space or interesting alien mystery or even geopolitics.

    What a lot of Hollywood doesn't seem to grasp is that if I wanted to watch the same boring commentary on humanity transposed to yet another setting to ruin with unimaginative writing, I have plenty of existing failed shows to watch. The Expanse had the rare promise to actually be sci-fi and deal with the many challenges posed by that. It's not that the existing issues of humanity aren't present, but the point is that they should be backdrop, not the main theme. That's been done, and done better.

    A few spoiler-worthy highlights: we spend more time watching Naomi crying or breathing with difficulty (and doing so astonishingly poorly for someone who allegedly lives and works in space) than almost any other part of the season. It doesn't even advance her character much, since the audience is left wondering most of the time what the hell she is doing or why she's acting so stupidly. Maybe the books provide more context but it's all been lost by whatever halfwit director put these scenes together. She flits about emotionally so much that by the end of the season you wonder whether a personality transplant was also included.

    The big plot point of the season is Marco Inaros and his fight against Earth, one of the few characters who actually shines in creating a really irritating villain. Yet even here we don't actually get to explore much. The scenes are a mix of him psychologically manipulating his son and looking broodily into the camera while one of his one-dimensional sidekicks does something. We get a certain amount of ship porn with a few battles, yet the big mysteries of the Expanse's prior plotlines aren't advanced at all, or worse, are hand-waved off-screen.

    By the end, finishing off with a brief almost apologetic space battle and boring scenes that do a terrible job of conveying the real reasons why parts of Mars acted the way they did, it's hard to care. Killing off Alex was bad enough, but the way they did so was perfunctory and did the show and their own reputations a disservice. Indeed the bulk of activities of most of the characters seems to be have been heavily cut in favour of specific screentime, and the show's pacing suffers for it.

    It's not a gripping season. It feels forced, badly written, and attempting to appeal to a different audience to prior seasons. The interesting parts could almost be condensed into one or two episodes, and you'd have several hours of your life back. A great pity.    … Expand
  3. CodyYoung
    Jan 1, 2021
    3
    There are quite a few factors one might consider when distinguishing between good cinema and poor. Individual variables such as writing, acting, directing, production value et cetera et al are all invaluable in determining where the major faults may lie, but ultimately they are utterly immaterial if the most base aspiration is ignored: whether or not the production is convincing.There are quite a few factors one might consider when distinguishing between good cinema and poor. Individual variables such as writing, acting, directing, production value et cetera et al are all invaluable in determining where the major faults may lie, but ultimately they are utterly immaterial if the most base aspiration is ignored: whether or not the production is convincing.

    Whether it is compelling, how well it is executed, these are distant and secondary considerations which will not matter if the audience can not be convinced of the reality - of the setting, of the characters, of the stakes. If they cannot be convinced it is real, or at the very least that they should want it to be real, then they will never be convinced they should care.

    I don't enjoy writing this. I discovered this show before I knew there were books. I roped a lot of friends into watching it after seeing the very promising first season and we would get together every season that followed for the first aired episodes, My friends got into the books and passed them back to me. All of which is to say I was very much invested. All of us shared a lot of enthusiasm concerning this series even as Amazon acquired the rights and believed Amazon would provide the only two things the series had ever seemed to lack: A spotlight and a larger market.

    Season 4 was really rough, but there was a lot of confidence that showed through. Season 5, however, is listless. Nothing sells the tensions or the stakes, none of the narrative archs track well, the production value is very thin, with messy, indistinct sets and tight framing which seems as though the directors and showrunners were more concerned with concealing what was not present rather than showcasing what was. The acting has always been inconsistent, some of the talent this season is much better than in previous seasons while inhabiting the same roles (special emphasis Wes Chatham and Chad L. Coleman) while a few of the new additions are also supremely competent despite still trying to find greater comfort with the material. It is good to see greater strides on this front it is simply a pity forward progress isn't obvious anywhere else.

    This season feels tired and as a result it absolutely fails to be convincing in any meaningful way and I feel confident that if nothing changes it will be put to sleep after another season if not sooner. The only thing worse would be if it were to be allowed to continue as it is now on life support.    … Expand
  4. flowirin
    Feb 3, 2021
    2
    This is not the same show anymore. It has morphed from an interesting character led scifi / astropolitical /thriller / mystery into a grindingly boring psychodrama with extra emoting, with all the other stuff resolved off screen or in very short segments.

    The showrunners have declared their colors on social media, attacking anyone who doesn't like their change in direction as sexist or    This is not the same show anymore. It has morphed from an interesting character led scifi / astropolitical /thriller / mystery into a grindingly boring psychodrama with extra emoting, with all the other stuff resolved off screen or in very short segments.

    The showrunners have declared their colors on social media, attacking anyone who doesn't like their change in direction as sexist or racist so the thing is pretty much done.

    One of the actors has been accused of off-screen impropriety, but instead of recasting, they literally killed him, off screen, then made us watch the actor they've been shoving into our faces at every opportunity (2-3 minutes of nothing but their face and emoting at a time) emote about how it is her fault. Not once, either. I think they have a fetish for the actress or something.

    At any rate, the show has jumped the shark. The actual plot is reduced to tiny slots and the episodes that should have been devoted to it is instead wasted on dramatic, emotional nonsense and bad acting that is probably supposed to make us feel something. I'm not their target audience anymore, they seem to have pivoted towards the reddit/twitter ever-adolescents instead.

    The review sites are flooded with 2 line "best show evah!" and "Season 5 is action packed", and "season 5 is the peak" bogus reviews, so you know that they know that it is an absolute stinker. Be interesting to see if 6 actually gets made now. If it does, i'm not paying to watch it.,    … Expand
  5. Kims
    Feb 6, 2021
    1
    Love Seasons 1-4.
    This season felt more like a soap opera than Action & Adventure.
    It lacks all the elements that make the past seasons great.
  6. Babaman
    Dec 17, 2020
    10
    The best sci-fi series of all time. And Amos is an incredible character! I recommend everyone to see this series, it's worth it. A fantastic series, I hope the specialized critics realize it!
  7. ryanfukyouall
    Jan 12, 2021
    0
    Weak acting, 1950s comic-book dialogue, and boring plot - the fault is my own - I knew I should have stopped watching this show after the 1st season. Shame on me.
  8. georgievich
    Feb 12, 2021
    2
    Boring, weak dialogs, bad script, caricature antagonist, too much Naomi and her family.
  9. ruarpax
    Feb 10, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I rated this season so low not because it is in any way a bad show, but because of a noticeable decrease in creativity and believability since last season. Watching them back to back it is clear how the show has changed a lot in terms of the world building and believability. Both the character writing and acting has taken a turn for the worse this season, with the witty and explanatory dialogue that carried the show often vacant in places it should have been, and character motivations not explored to their full potential because of it.Some of the new characters feel two dimensional, and the complex ones speak less than they used to. The story seemed quite empty and drawn out, and the overall tone of the show was a more simple and stoic one than seasons 1-3 (season 4 taking a more atmospheric approach that filmmaking). This was probably an effort on the part of the writers to write subtle, impactful dialogue and story, but sometimes it just came across dull, with bad guys being two dimensionally evil and good guys seeming overly righteous. Some of the characters behaviour also changed from previous seasons, for instance Naomi was positively hysterical this whole season when she has always been depicted as a cool headed expert who stays calm in any situation, I found this jarring and the constant screaming and crying was hard to watch. I did not like the lack of any alien, unknown or cosmic horror element to the plot, this has always been a huge part of the expanse and has been in every season, it’s what the show is about and not including it was the wrong decision. I found the scenes on earth pre-disaster lacked creativity and world-building, but I suppose it was taking inspiration from the barren brutalist city scapes of from Blade Runner 2049 and the filmmaking of Denis Villeneuve, post disaster was however much more believable, with snow and ruins being pretty all that would be left in the wake of such a catastrophe. The unceremonious end of Alex was to be expected, but I would have wished the show had payed more respect to the audience and correctly portrayed the effect that his death would have had on the rest of the crew. I mean, they didn’t even look sad...

    But my biggest gripes with this season BY FAR (and last season to a lesser extent) are the cinematography and the lack of more in depth world building. The show lacks enough of the little moments seen in previous seasons that explain and flesh out the intricacy of this world and make it believable for me. I know it’s hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice let alone 6 times but i worry the last season will end up being even more mediocre. However, the show still has legs and this season was certainly not a mere 5, but that’s what it’s getting because it is standing on the shoulders of giants (season1 1-3)    … Expand
  10. onurcan
    Jan 11, 2021
    9
    Going great so far, much better than Season 4, and close to the quality of the first 3 seasons. I only wish that Inaros drama wasn't so time consuming in the show time.
  11. cylun
    Feb 4, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's one of the better seasons of this show without a doubt. The acting keeps impressing for the most parts, especially for Naomi's character (Dominique Tipper). However, Holden's character and acting don't appear to progress. He keeps his incompassionate attitude, even towards Naomi. It might be justified by the sacrifices but we don't get to see any progress. I'm more impressed as we get to understand more of Amos's arc and background story and why he is as messed up but straight-forward as he used to be in previous seasons. Chrisjen's arc and subplot are thrilling as well. The viewer really feels her struggle and drive. The writers play with ambiguous character attributes and motivations where appropriate, giving the viewer room for interpretation and narrowing it down sufficiently to justify character consequences and plot consequences. Obviously, credit should also go to the book and RPG writers, but this adaptation keeps surprising me in a positive way (after a lamely-paced season 4). I would give it more points if there wasn't this one thing. Cas Anvar hasn't done anything legally offensive. It's a shame how the producers treated him. I think he deserved more fairness. Especially his character (Alex Kamal) deserved better. His write off appears completely manufactured.… Expand
  12. TwiTu
    Feb 8, 2021
    0
    This is not The Expanse anymore. Its completely turned around. Not only are the new actors almost all really bad, but also the existing ones had their characters partly rewritten/reassigned and obviously cant or wont deal with it. Ive never seen that much bad acting in any show or movie. There are such ridiculous situations of bad acting, that sometimes I just sunk my face into my handsThis is not The Expanse anymore. Its completely turned around. Not only are the new actors almost all really bad, but also the existing ones had their characters partly rewritten/reassigned and obviously cant or wont deal with it. Ive never seen that much bad acting in any show or movie. There are such ridiculous situations of bad acting, that sometimes I just sunk my face into my hands and left them there for a whole minute, because it really was that bad.

    The story is completely uninteresting now. Not to mention it was mainly just about saving one person (whos character is completely irrelevant to everything and unlikeable anyway - and the actress untalented).

    The show feels forced now. As if they are pushing something. Propaganda maybe? Would fit, because the creators seem to favor a lot of people with full lips (not kidding - check it for yourself) and those with thin lips are mostly cast as bad guys or die quickly. The creators also seem to hate Asians. There are additional Chinese (or Japanese, not sure) words on every sign in the show (from the last seasons, obviously), yet you barely see any Asians at all, much less in lead roles. That also was much better in the last seasons, yet not very good either. That feels like its coming directly from the Critical Race Theory rulebook.

    Then they also killed off a character because the actor was accused (accused, not actually found guilty) of misbehavior. Even though there is only one more season anyway. So what could have happened keeping him? Obviously the creators feel like they are the judge, jury and executioner. Curiously also a part of Critical Theory.

    Sad to see this happening, but this is the way now. Brace yourselves. This by far wont be the last show or IP destroyed by or even completely made for woke propaganda.
    Thankfully only one more season now.    … Expand
  13. ticksmentat
    Feb 9, 2021
    1
    I would have given it a zero but it had that "lost" effect going letting you believe it was leading to something great, so I gave it a 1. This is perhaps the biggest let down and waste of time I have ever put into a season of a show ever. Why? *SPOILERS* The crew spends the entire season apart on separate missions... with the exception of Naomi they are all pretty stupid. 1. Go here,I would have given it a zero but it had that "lost" effect going letting you believe it was leading to something great, so I gave it a 1. This is perhaps the biggest let down and waste of time I have ever put into a season of a show ever. Why? *SPOILERS* The crew spends the entire season apart on separate missions... with the exception of Naomi they are all pretty stupid. 1. Go here, check out your roots, find a chick and get back... all season. 2. Alex, also go here and then get to here all season. 3. Holden, first two episodes had some stuff, then the rest of it... we flying to this place. 4. Naomi, the whole season essentially was about her and her predictament. Next problem, lame ass fight scene at end; why were they low on ammo, why were they low on fuel, a random ass missile-HEY THAT MUST HAVE THE PROTOMOLECULE IN IT! what, huh??? A major character Alex is killed off, not even on screen, with a stroke, from him piloting a reverse burn... yet the entire series up till this point they make him look like a bad ass pilot that can do anything... but slowing down in a little shuttlecraft kills him... what the hell? I want my 10 hours back... whole season was complete garbage. The fact that rotten tomatoes has it at 100% and high on this one too tells me these sites are now compromised to high hell and back. Good luck.… Expand
  14. Costs1129
    Dec 16, 2020
    10
    So far ... amazing! If they keep this pacing up for the last 2 episodes of the season, we will be looking at another slam dunk! What a heck of a cliffhanger too.
  15. mPayne980
    Dec 28, 2020
    10
    I hope that they will not stop with season 6.
    Amazing show. Thinking about going for another round from season 1.
  16. c300g97
    Dec 26, 2020
    10
    This is the only show that keeps me on the edge of the seat , every episode!
    I loved every second of it, just like i did with Mandalorian, but this time around there are no filler episodes, the story grows with each episode and the viewer can't catch a break!
  17. shoulderoforion
    Dec 23, 2020
    10
    So far leaps and bounds better than season 4, so much more space, so much more character interplay, hooray! I think The Expanse is returning to form after a personally disappointing 4th season. Hate that I can't binge it all at once, and after this first 3 ep dump, it'll be a drip drip drip weekly watch, but it's quality scifi, and I love it.
  18. SevenThunders
    Feb 17, 2021
    10
    This season the cast separates into several interesting adventures, further developing their relationship. It's about tragedy, hope, terrorism and a hair raising finale that will leave you wanting for more. Nice work.
  19. puna
    Feb 14, 2021
    10
    Another amazing sci fi show from Toronto, Canada. Could be their best season yet.
  20. SimboTheKing
    Feb 4, 2021
    10
    Another fantastic season from the expanse. Every time this show breaks up before a new season i somehow convince myself that maybe I'm overhyping it. As soon as a new season starts I immediately change my mind again.

    I've heard the criticism that this season focuses too much on family drama and politics but I point to game of thrones as a case study in what happens when you prioritise    Another fantastic season from the expanse. Every time this show breaks up before a new season i somehow convince myself that maybe I'm overhyping it. As soon as a new season starts I immediately change my mind again.

    I've heard the criticism that this season focuses too much on family drama and politics but I point to game of thrones as a case study in what happens when you prioritise events over character development. Whilst this season has a slower pace, it still masterfully weaves an intricate and engaging story. The Expanse's charms go beyond just the plot though, the acting (especially Dominique Tipper this season) is fantastic. In fact I'd say the trifecta of Marcos Inaros, Filip Inaros and Naomi were my favourite aspect of this season. The rest of the characters are similarly interesting and engaging though and I just love the complexity of the show. Everything feels so meticulously planned and foreshadowed and its a joy to watch.

    I think the only aspect of this season i didn't like was Alex's death. However, given the nature of the accusations against Cas Anwar I'm more than willing to give a pass on this.    … Expand
  21. AWESOM-0
    Feb 7, 2021
    10
    One of my favorite books turned into a fantastic season. Well done, and I hope somewhere down the line things change and seasons 7-9 get done.
  22. professorbt
    Dec 29, 2020
    10
    The plot, pacing, acting, direction, production values exceed the already excellent season 4; perhaps the best season of a sci-fi series ever made.
  23. Qgal5kap
    Mar 18, 2021
    10
    It's absolutely fantastic! I can't wait for the next season. This show is the best current sci-fi series available. From my perspective it might even be the best series overall, disregarding category.
  24. OnyxShadow
    Dec 7, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My only wish is that the turbo-lame Inaros arc gets wrapped up by like episode 3 of season 6. The Earth vs. Mars vs. Belt dynamic was a fantastic way to set up and play off the supernatural/alien elements which are by far the most fascinating parts of the show but on their own make the story feel very hollow.

    Marco Inaros is neither smart enough to outmaneuver his rivals nor charismatic enough to have reasonably turned a financially crippling and humiliating defeat into rallying nearly everyone in his entire faction overnight (other than "because the script says so"). The last part of the trailer for season 6 gives me hope that we will find our way out of his horribly mundane human vs. human war.    … Expand
  25. vassili_airton
    Apr 22, 2021
    4
    Worst performance of all seasons, I do not know why they focused only on the belters and the worst, selected tantrum characters / actors, as if all the belters were angry teenagers.
  26. Ithilfaen
    Feb 16, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not the best season but definitely a step up from most of season 4.
    It seems most of the bad reviews here are about politics or some misguided notion of what scifi should be (Science fiction bringing current issues, social and political, to a futuristic setting is as old as the genre itself; in fact that's what fantasy and science fiction were created for)
    Much much less Holden and proto molecule drama makes for a season that takes more time exploring secondary characters like Amos or Naomi, to great effect.
    My biggest issues with the season have to do with the changes made between seasons to accommodate the decision to make season 6 the last one. Namely, the brilliantly plotted and devastating attack on earth by Marco Inaros has been rendered pretty much toothless because they didn't need Earth uninhabitable to move the plot past the ring so they turned into some uber-9/11, which takes away from it all.
    My other issue is not enough Avasarala. Her scenes saved season 4 and sadly, they don't really know what to do with the character at this point with the changes to the storyline, which is a shame.

    Best scifi show ever? Not by a long shot. Best one on tv right now? You bet your skinny, copaing!    … Expand
  27. Moviessuck
    Mar 3, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was expecting so much more out of season 5. It reminds me of Walking Dead where there are long boring parts mixed with moments of intense excitement. This does create some great payoffs but I literally got bored of watching the show during the second half. Luckily I slugged through to a decent payoff I was just expecting more you know...expanse this season. Oh well. Season 6 looks to be setup to be pretty interesting so hoping for better next time.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Steve Greene
    Dec 16, 2020
    83
    Even with the protomolecule saga relatively sidelined this season, “The Expanse” draws so much strength from exposing how fragile an expansive society like this is.
    Read full review
  2. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Dec 16, 2020
    80
    The Expanse’s complexity risks turning off the casual viewer. Yet its portrayal of a multi-faceted and morally ambiguous future brimming with dozens of heroes and villains remains a stunning achievement. For those prepared to commit the necessary time and attention, it’s an absolute blast.
    Read full review
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Mike Hale
    Dec 15, 2020
    70
    If you can look past some wooden dialogue and stiff acting, however, the new season might be the show’s best as an adventure-drama delivery system — the creators have only gotten better at pacing and packaging a taut conspiracy thriller over 10 weeks.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »