The plot is developing slower... but the story is still as awesome as always, through each episode
8 Reviews
Crew of the Rocinante is rewarding patience
sheva03010 January 2020
More Polarization
Hitchcoc21 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
We have an attempted suicide. We have a missing daughter. But most of the episode involves a kind of "Gangs of New York" face off between a lot of tough guys. I see Naomi becomes instantly stronger when she gets back on the ship. I wish that Holden could simply explain his connection to Miller by lying just a bit. The minute he tells people he is talking to a ghost, he looks like an idiot. Why not attribute it to analysis of events.
Avarasala...
rutger-845-6373975 November 2020
In the previous seasons I didn't care much about her hoarse voice. But together with her lines and cussing? Cringe. The rest is good, I still like the realism and the nature about the different factions. Interesting to see also what happens if there are easy inhabitable planets available to the terraforming of Mars. Fact described a lot in many sci fi books.
Questionable Changes
AJ_Blanc3 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I've been revisiting the show as I read through the books, and since season/series 4 was my least favorite I was looking forward to checking it out again after reading what it was based on. That isn't to say I didn't like what I watched, just that it was less organized than other seasons. I know that I should review shows and movies on their own merits, just as I am well aware adaptations almost never line up with their source material, but this time around I am left wondering what they were thinking in some of their changes.
What I remember most about S4 is how unbalanced it felt; shifting between Ilus, Avasarala, Bobby, and Ashford. I can only guess that this was so other storylines could begin while what's supposed to be the main plot on New Terra moves along. What I find strange is most of that doesn't occur in the books, and didn't need to here either. All the election stuff with Chrisjen? Didn't happen. The stuff with Bobby and her nephew? Didn't happen. The part where Miller has Holden cut a root that turns on a spinning alien spire (which we never find out the purpose of)? Didn't happen. What should've happened and didn't was giving us some of the alien mechanoid beasts (rather than the metal bugs) and more of the subplot in space over Ilus/New Terra which was almost completely cut out.
I recognize how difficult it must be to pack all we got in only ten episodes, and how likely very expensive this show is, but cutting out all that unnecessary filler would free up more time and money to give people more of what they want to see; plus S4 is where Amazon took over the show so its budget probably doubled anyway. Don't get me wrong; I think Bobby and Chrisjen are great characters (their actors are very nice as well), but their entire arc this season could've been covered in one scene, just like it was in the book.
I chose this episode specifically for my rant because Oppressor is where we see first hand what Dr. Lucia Mazur's involvement was in the shuttle explosion. While blowing up the landing platform does happen pretty much the same way in the book, it's her husband who's involved and wracked with guilt, not her. Lucia is the settlement's only doctor... that whole philosophy of 'do no harm.' She's also a loving wife and mother who cares about her family and community. This switch makes no sense and has zero story-driven purpose, especially since her husband is still a character with spoken lines, so it renders both of them useless because now she isn't tending to anyone's medical needs, and he's not helping to save the orbiting colony ship in later episodes.
What I remember most about S4 is how unbalanced it felt; shifting between Ilus, Avasarala, Bobby, and Ashford. I can only guess that this was so other storylines could begin while what's supposed to be the main plot on New Terra moves along. What I find strange is most of that doesn't occur in the books, and didn't need to here either. All the election stuff with Chrisjen? Didn't happen. The stuff with Bobby and her nephew? Didn't happen. The part where Miller has Holden cut a root that turns on a spinning alien spire (which we never find out the purpose of)? Didn't happen. What should've happened and didn't was giving us some of the alien mechanoid beasts (rather than the metal bugs) and more of the subplot in space over Ilus/New Terra which was almost completely cut out.
I recognize how difficult it must be to pack all we got in only ten episodes, and how likely very expensive this show is, but cutting out all that unnecessary filler would free up more time and money to give people more of what they want to see; plus S4 is where Amazon took over the show so its budget probably doubled anyway. Don't get me wrong; I think Bobby and Chrisjen are great characters (their actors are very nice as well), but their entire arc this season could've been covered in one scene, just like it was in the book.
I chose this episode specifically for my rant because Oppressor is where we see first hand what Dr. Lucia Mazur's involvement was in the shuttle explosion. While blowing up the landing platform does happen pretty much the same way in the book, it's her husband who's involved and wracked with guilt, not her. Lucia is the settlement's only doctor... that whole philosophy of 'do no harm.' She's also a loving wife and mother who cares about her family and community. This switch makes no sense and has zero story-driven purpose, especially since her husband is still a character with spoken lines, so it renders both of them useless because now she isn't tending to anyone's medical needs, and he's not helping to save the orbiting colony ship in later episodes.
DAMN YOU AVARASALA! WHAT A HORRIBLE CHARACTER!
mastiff-man26 January 2020
I swear she was this refined, elegant well spoken women in first 3 seasons. Now she is a temper tantrum throwing, wrinkly old cuss-bag that is about as far from what we are used to as possible. I can't believe they changed her so much since she's been more in power. (She was pretty much in charge of the UN before, never an unwatchable character then.
boring!
nalwro8 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Half way thru and so far nothing new about aliens, protomolecure or those new worlds. all we got is boring elections on earth, boring bobbie plot on new poor mars (some drugs, stolen equipment, corrupt cop and few other cliches) and same old already boring conflicts between belters and inners.
i feel like i just watched half seas. of some drama not sci-fi.
hope second half would be much better or its game over 4 me.
edit: so u switch one bomb planting women who later regret it from season 3 into another1 in season 4 who has exactly same issue? let me guess in seas. 5 we gonna see a botanist in search of his daughter.
edit: so u switch one bomb planting women who later regret it from season 3 into another1 in season 4 who has exactly same issue? let me guess in seas. 5 we gonna see a botanist in search of his daughter.
Cut cut cut
zatarra_zer027 June 2022
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