The Expanse Season 2, Episode 5 recap: “Home”, Aired Feb. 22, 2017
We picked up this week exactly where we left off, with Miller stuck on Eros (which is hurling itself toward Earth, apparently of it’s own devices) keeping his finger on the button of a nuclear bomb. To be honest, he looks a little upset that he didn’t die. He was so ready.
The Rocinante crew is still in the neighborhood keeping an eye on all of this. They do some math/physics/complicated calculations and decide that Miller should go inside Eros and plant his bomb in there. Meanwhile, Earth has cottoned on to the fact that a massive object has set itself on a collision course with them. They estimate the death toll, if collision occurs, to be between seven and ten billion. This is not acceptable.
They begin a planet-wide evacuation and decide to unload half of their nuclear arsenal, locking it on Eros for destruction. Of course, they clear this with Mars so Mars knows they aren’t attacking. Smart.
Chrisjen, in a move that shocked no one, decides to stay on Earth. A move that could possibly end in her death. She’s going down with the ship.
But Eros, now that it has developed a mind of its own, isn’t going down without a fight. It moved out of the way of the Nauvoo, and with a bunch of nuclear missiles aimed right at it, it goes dark so it can’t be tracked and the missiles have to fly blind.
Luckily, the Roci is still there and can “paint” the target. They have a visual lock so they don’t need to rely on navigation. That is until Eros speeds up once again, setting a breakneck pace. Holden has to make the call to keep chasing it down even though the speed will push the limits of what humans can endure. That’s right, the whole crew of the Roci is willing to die for this as well. So many people ready to die. Literally all of the main characters.
But it was Miller’s experience inside Eros that stole the show this week. Viewers are treated to spectacular visuals as we discover what the Protomolecule has been up to. Tiny blue, glowing specks are flying everywhere. Miller can hear the voice loud and clear. And this time he recognizes it.
The voice belongs to…
JULIE MAO.
Because of course it does. You didn’t think we’d seen the last of Julie, did you? Miller figures out that it’s her consciousness piloting Eros. She’s the seed crystal and she wants to go home. To Earth. Her body has been rebuilt into a human form by the Protomolecule. Miller convinces her to steer the asteroid toward Venus instead of Earth. He removes all of his protective gear, telling Julie that whatever happens, it will happen to both of them.
And then he kisses her.
And then Eros slams into Venus.
Yeah, this week’s episode was a wild ride. But altogether one of the more interesting and fast-paced episodes of the entire series.
Odds and Ends:
Amos is finally coming into his own. I didn’t like him for the entire first season, but he’s really grown on me in these last couple episodes.
Earth is down half their nuclear capacity. If Mars was looking for a good time to attack, it would probably be now. And if the scenes from next week’s episode are any indication, they want war.
Basically all of our main characters have encountered one another now. Fred Johnson and his crew on Tycho Station, the crew of the Roci, and Chrisjen on Earth are all familiar with each other now that they’ve had to work together. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of rag-tag team forms from here.
(Featured Image Courtesy SyFy)
