Another Bad Day for Belters

I did get some Wrath of Khan vibes from Friday's new episode of The Expanse. I'd be surprised if Keon Alexander isn't basing his performance of Marco Inaros on Ricardo Montalban. But while I can believe Khan as the leader of a group of genetically engineered radicals, I still don't buy Marco Inaros as the leader of the whole Belter civilisation.

Even Filip (Jasai Chase-Owens) stood up to him after his embarrassing failure to destroy the Rocinante. I'll admit, that was pretty satisfying, but I still remember when this show's big selling point was its realism.

The whole trap Inaros set up for Ceres station doesn't quite make sense, either. Sure, it is now the responsibility of Earth and Mars to care for the people Inaros abandoned, and this looks again like allegory for occupying U.S. forces in the Middle East. But once again, the analogy doesn't quite work. There's no religion tying the people on the station to Inaros' mission so he's just going to look like what he is, a madman who promised them victory and then scarpered. Even if Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) can't get supplies to the people, the Earthers will have to work extra hard at being assholes for Inaros' PR plan to work.

It felt a little out of place, but I liked Peaches (Nadine Nicole) expressing remorse for the mentor she murdered a few seasons back. And Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Amos (Wes Chatham) eating together was cute. I still don't want to see them fight.

The Expanse is available on Amazon Prime.

Twitter Sonnet #1506

Departing feathers speak of frozen birds.
Beyond a veil of static crawled the sky.
Assorted lights reflect in liquid words.
Distinguished bells adorn the bold and shy.
A question formed in strings of Christmas light.
To step beyond a sleigh we need a boot.
We never ask the snow to win a fight.
We never grew a man from twisted root.
Our stars engaged the liquid fabric coat.
Recalling paint, the model plastic grew.
Replacing trees, we built a giant boat.
Across the seas, we taught the natives blue.
On morning three the puppy played a horn.
Beneath the douglas fir a cup was born.