I have been a fan of The Expanse from the get go - both the book series and the TV series.
Having finished the last (6th) season of the TV series I found I was underwhelmed. Three reasons:
First, no Alex. Alex was the emotional heart of the series – the energy at its core. Without him, the last season seemed dull – as if there had been a decision to strip yellow from the color palate and film only with red and blue.
Secondly, Laconia. If they intended to end the series here and now why waste time and resources starting each episode with the story of Strange Dogs (the backstory of Cara and Xan on Laconia)? It serves no purpose. Why bring Laconia into it at all.
Thirdly, the abbreviated season – six episodes, instead of ten – compressed the story into an overly dense mush. It became all action and grim intensity – a strong sense of “let’s just get this over with” listlessness radiating from the cast and the direction.
It’s really too bad. Having read the entire series, I know where it goes and it’s a shame it doesn’t get to go there – intact.
Amazon Studio’s excuse that it’s too expensive seems thin after two years of increasingly grotesque Amazon profits. A friend indicated that Amazon may have only had the rights to three years. Rights can be negotiated and acquired.
One gets the feeling that the series was sacrificed at the expense of two penises: Cas Anwar’s - compliments of cancel culture, and Jeff Bezos’ – the one he keeps launching into (near) space.
I got over Firefly, I suppose I’ll get over this as well.
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