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. 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
  3. 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.

Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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
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