The Expanse Season 5 Episode 5 Down and Out is a very intense episode that is sure to have you on the edge of your seat!
The previous episode of The Expanse left our characters on the bad side of things. Marco seems to be getting everything he wants, and our favorite characters are separated, and spread out all around the galaxy. The Expanse Season 5 Episode 5 is a great halfway point for the season, as our characters struggle to take control of the situation and get ahead.
Below is my recap and review for The Expanse Season 5 Episode 4 Gaugamela. There will be spoilers of major plot points, so be warned! Read last week’s The Expanse Season 5 Episodes 4 spoiler recap and review to catch up!
Warning: SPOILERS for The Expanse Season 5 Episode 5
Down and Out
The start of this episode gives us Drummer, who clearly feels awful that she had the chance to kill Marco and didn’t. She receives a personal message from Marco asking them to to discuss their factions working together for the future of Belters.
She decides for her faction that they will be taking that meeting, which has me excited for more Drummer in the future. If I were to speculate, I think she might be trying to set him up and take him down. We will see.
Prison Evacuation
We see that Amos and Mao were knocked out in the prison but when the asteroid hit, but are now waking up. The foundation is cracked and The Pit is close to collapsing. Mao is out of her chair, but still on mod blockers. Since she is not a threat of any kind, Amos is able to convince the security guard to let her evacuate with them.
This is when things get complicated. The guards are waiting for news and orders from up top, but are not able to get through. There aren’t many escape routes, this being a prison and all, and the ones they do have are blocked from debris. The group enlists the help of another modified prisoner, who Amos calls Tiny because he is anything but, to force open the escape hatch next to the elevator so they can use the maintenance ladder to evacuate.
When they make it to the top, they realize the whole prison is gone. Tiny snaps and kills one of the guards. He then holds Amos above the shaft, telling him to call him Tiny one more time and see what happens. Mao tries to use her mods but she is still too doped up on blockers. Another guard is able to stop him by shooting him using the guards dead body and gun (because the guns are biometrically coded). Amos flips Tiny down the elevator shaft, killing him in one of the coolest scenes so far this season.
Alex And Bobbie Make A Big Discovery
Alex and Bobbie are following a group of Martian ship to a suspected arms deal, but then the ships change course to go amongst some rocks that are good for hiding. They change course to follow, potentially exposing themselves. It is here they discover Marco’s Belters are on Martian ships – that’s his Free Navy, and that the frigates themselves are the weapons being sold to him.
Eventually they are spotted, but not before scanning the ships and getting their profiles. In a high speed chase, they hightail it out of there, risking their lives. It gets to the point where Bobbie’s nose is bleeding and all hope seems lost. Alex is smart enough to emergency dump their core in order to get away.
A Plan Thwarted
Back on Tycho, Holden and Bull interrogate Sakai but she won’t give anything up. Holden says its time to take the Rocinante out, and that lucky for them the Zmeya left behind a trail of where they were going.
On Marcos ship, he talks with Filip, explaining that he is not mad, but disappointed, that he brought Naomi there. Marco says he needs him on his side and of clear mind as they are in an important moment for all Belters, and Naomi could be a distraction. However, they do let her roam free around the ship, something they will be regretting shortly.
After making food in the kitchen (and staring lovingly at a coffee maker giving us a nod to the beginning of the series), Naomi hides a knife up her sleeve. She tries to get close to Marco in order to kill him, but Filip stops her. It seems like he did not see the knife or know her plan, however. Filip tells Naomi she should be grateful because he saved her life by taking her and it becomes clear Filip just wants to get to know his mother.
While roaming the ship, Naomi ends up helping her old friend make repairs, but in doing so she learns that the Rocinante reactor is sabotaged and will blow when it starts. She knocks him out with a wrench and grabs his phone, thinking quickly. She’s able to get a call out to warn Holden just in time and also let him know she’s being held captive by Marco — before she is dragged away and locked up.
Overall Thoughts
There are a lot of intense moments in this episode of The Expanse. The entire prison evacuation and discovery that it is completely gone — and so much of Earth is devastated — is one of them.
Naomi and her interaction with Marco and Filip is also interesting. There is a lot of tension there, but it also feels like eventually there could be some healing. At least between Filip and Naomi. Now that Holden knows where Naomi is, he is sure to go after her.
The Expanse Season 5 Episode 5 is a great mid-season point as it seems the tables are starting to turn. Bobbie and Alex are figuring out more of Marco’s plan, and Naomi is not willing to stand by and just let it happen. I also suspect Drummer is going to be a major part of this season once she meets with Marco.
About The Expanse Season 5
Season five of the series picks up as multitudes of humans leave the solar system in search of new homes and vast fortunes on the earth-like worlds beyond the alien Ring, and a heavy price for centuries of exploitation of the Belt finally comes due and a reckoning is at hand.
For the crew of the Rocinante and the leaders of the Inner Planets and the Belt, the past and present converge, bringing forth personal challenges that have wide-reaching repercussions throughout the Solar System. Amos (Wes Chatham) returns to Earth to confront his past and the legacy of the life he fought to leave behind. Naomi (Dominique Tipper) reaches out to her estranged son in a desperate bid to save him from his father’s toxic influence.
Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Alex (Cas Anvar) confront the collapse of Mars as they chase a shadowy cabal with ties to terrorists and criminals. Holden (Steven Strait) wrestles with the consequences of his own past with the Protomolecule, the aliens who built it, and the mystery of what killed them.
Drummer (Cara Gee), with a new crew, fights to escape who and what she used to be. And Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), refusing to be relegated to the sidelines, fights to prevent a terrorist attack unrivaled in history.
The first 3 episodes of The Expanse Season 5 drop on Amazon Prime Video December 16th.
