Over three seasons on Syfy, The Expanse built an avid fan following. Each season was better than the last, as the scientifically accurate sci-fi series developed a challenging vision of the future while refraining from holding viewers’ hands through its complex, serialized story. Despite critical acclaim and fan fervor, however, Syfy canceled the series due to low ratings and high costs.
To fans' relief, Amazon Prime picked up The Expanse for a fourth season, which is coming to the streaming service on Dec. 13. Although Amazon has put a lot of marketing muscle behind the show, the switch to the service hasn’t changed the trajectory of the story being told, or the characters we know and love.
Season 4 begins right after the events of Season 3, when a ship full of Belter refugees create an intergalactic incident by traveling through the Ring Gate so they can settle on one of the newly discovered planets on the other side. The planet on which they land, dubbed Ilus, has Earth-like properties, lucrative deposits of lithium, and some inexplicable odd structures. As Season 4 continues, it becomes clear the planet isn’t as benign as it seems -- but would we expect anything less from a place the protomolecule opened up to humans?
If that weren’t enough, a UN envoy from Royal Charter Energy shows up to study the planet. This group is led by a fascinating new addition to the story, Murtry (Burn Gorman), who does everything in his power to oppress the Belter settlers and use the land for his own ends.
The struggle over this new planet is a clear metaphor for the exploration and colonization that’s occurred throughout Earth's history, and Murtry is a conquistador who believes might makes right. Ilus (or New Terra, as Murtry and the Earthers prefer to call it) is like the Wild West: unsettled land that's fair game for anyone ruthless enough to take it, no matter how many downtrodden immigrants they have to roll over to possess it.
Into this tense situation comes the crew of the Rocinante, which Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), now the Secretary General of the UN, has asked to monitor and report back on what's happening there. While some see opportunity in the new planets opened up by the Ring, Avasarala is more cautious. Yet, while Holden (Steven Strait) and crew may have a lot of experience with the protomolecule at this point, Proto-Miller (Thomas Jane) is still appearing to Holden and ordering him around -- and he may not have the humans' best interests at heart when it comes to Ilus.
The six episodes of the 10-episode season made available for review present a compelling story that takes the characters of the Roci into uncharted territory. The strange, new planet is fascinating, and only deepens the mystery of the protomolecule. And while many elements will be familiar to fans of The Expanse, the focus on the frontier-like Ilus changes the feel of the series.
In addition, the new season features a separate storyline centered on a post-military Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams) as she attempts to scratch out a living on Mars -- and makes some surprising choices to do so. This allows the series to explore more of that planet than it has before, a rewarding development after years in space.
All of this deepens and enlarges the world of The Expanse. But through it all, the characters fans have gotten to know over the past three seasons remain consistent, even as they come up against new challenges. Avasarala is characteristically impatient as she runs for office for the first time in her career. Meanwhile, Amos (Wes Chatham) navigates a new romance in a classically Amos way. For the first time, we’re also given a glimpse of Proto-Miller’s perspective. It’s weird and not quite understandable, but it provides some insight into the very different way the protomolecule sees the world.
The series has only changed in subtle ways with the move to Amazon Prime. There’s more cursing, and certain scenes are more graphic -- a sequence in which Alex (Cas Anvar) performs surgery in zero G is especially cringe-inducing. The show is also no longer required to bring each episode in at a tidy 42 minutes. Yet even with the run-time reins off, the longest of the first six episodes of Season 4 is 48 minutes.
Fans of The Expanse will find a lot to love in this new batch of episodes, an especially sweet outcome considering the show came so close to ending before it was able to complete its story. New viewers, however, may find it challenging to jump in with Season 4. The mythology the show has established over its first three seasons is complex, and things will get confusing quickly without at least a working knowledge of the story so far. Luckily, Amazon Prime has those first three seasons available, so newcomers can quickly catch up and then join the Season 4 binge. Even better, Amazon has already renewed the series for Season 5, so fans old and new can watch with confidence knowing that they’ll be treated to even more of The Expanse in 2020.
An adaption of the novel series of the same name by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse stars Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Frankie Adams. Season 4 arrives Dec. 13 on Amazon Prime.
NEXT: Kevin Smith Summarizes Three Seasons Of The Expanse In Under 15 Minutes