# The Expanse season 2 episode discussion (spoilers as it airs) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787 "2017-02-01T23:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MHaas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MHaas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaas)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/61 "2017-02-17T13:36:35Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > What exactly is Chrisjen Avasarala’s role in the UN government? I know she’s the “Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Administration” and immediate boss is, logically enough, the “Undersecretary of Executive Administration”. So is she basically the Secretary-General’s deputy chief of staff, or the 2nd or 3rd highest official if the government? 😕 One would think there would be a Secretary rank in between Secretary-General and Undersecretary (& presumable other departments besides Executive Administration). It sure seems like her and Sadavir are in charge of homeworld security and/or the military. If you’re a West Wing fan, I always had her in my mind as the Josh Lyman to Errinwright’s (her boss) Leo McGarry. ---
**Author:** ![MHaas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MHaas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaas)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/62 "2017-02-17T13:38:12Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Best line in the series so far, possibly the best line in Sci-Fi: > > “Man, the Mormons are gonna be pissed.” That was good. Also, the perpetual adolescent in me got a laugh out of Diogo’s “you no sa sa nothing, I crush @@@ to dust…”. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/63 "2017-02-17T13:51:58Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Best line in the series so far, possibly the best line in Sci-Fi: > > “Man, the Mormons are gonna be pissed.” I’m partial to Amos’s line: “Bombs away! … I always wanted to say that.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/64 "2017-02-17T14:54:32Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > I’m partial to Amos’s line: > > “Bombs away! … I always wanted to say that.” I liked, “Most pirate ships medbays are mainly just open airlocks.” Love it. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/65 "2017-02-17T17:48:23Z")
I noticed a few nifty details during the Nauvoo’s departure. First, the tug/thrusters were a nice touch. After all, the Nauvoo’s only going to need to turn two or three times during its entire voyage: for the departure burn, the flip for the deceleration burn, and maybe for the final orbital insertion burn. Why build in multiple redundant “thrusters” that are the size of the main drive of large ships? Second, the remaining scaffolding that was behind the Nauvoo’s main engines was glowing from the heat of the exhaust. Realistically, anything behind an interplanetary torch drive should be instantly vaporized, but the heating is at least a nod towards real physics. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > What exactly is Chrisjen Avasarala’s role in the UN government? I know she’s the “Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Administration” and immediate boss is, logically enough, the “Undersecretary of Executive Administration”. So is she basically the Secretary-General’s deputy chief of staff, or the 2nd or 3rd highest official if the government? 😕 One would think there would be a Secretary rank in between Secretary-General and Undersecretary (& presumable other departments besides Executive Administration). It sure seems like her and Sadavir are in charge of homeworld security and/or the military. I think they’ve said that she’s one of the most powerful people that nobody’s heard of. The Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General are merely the elected figureheads, while Errinwright is the de facto head of the executive. In the contemporary UN, there are Under-Secretary-Generals in charge of high level departments like Peacekeeping Operations. Perhaps the Executive Administration originated as a similar high-level department that turned into the real seat of power when the UN became a world government. That places Avasarala nominally at the 4th highest level of government (or 5th if there’s another figurehead Under-Secretary-General above Errinwright), but effectively she’s in the 2nd highest level of people who wield real power. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/66 "2017-02-17T19:16:44Z")
In the “small touches” category, after watching this episode, I realized I really liked how Thomas Jane makes Miller’s hand gestures while using those holographic displays look quite natural and casual. Most of the time when you see such stuff in movies, it looks quite forced and exaggerated, but Jane makes if feel like something Miller has actually been doing his whole life, and it’s just not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/67 "2017-02-17T19:29:48Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > What exactly is Chrisjen Avasarala’s role in the UN government? I know she’s the “Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Administration” and immediate boss is, logically enough, the “Undersecretary of Executive Administration”. So is she basically the Secretary-General’s deputy chief of staff, or the 2nd or 3rd highest official if the government? 😕 One would think there would be a Secretary rank in between Secretary-General and Undersecretary (& presumable other departments besides Executive Administration). It sure seems like her and Sadavir are in charge of homeworld security and/or the military. The “Secretary rank” is the Secretary-General himself. Undersecretaries are kind of like Cabinet members in US politics. This is how it works in the current Earth-based, not all the powerful UN: > **[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under-Secretary-General_of_the_United_Nations)** > > An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-secretary-general is the third highest rank in the United Nations, after the secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general. The rank is held by the heads of different UN entities, certain high officials of the United Nations Secretariat, and high-leve... However, being an Undersecretary for Executive Administration means you control the entire executive branch - so basically like a Chief of Staff I think. In the books, they mention that the Undersecretary for Executive Administration is responsible for finances and the health system and things like that in addition to security. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/68 "2017-02-17T19:32:22Z")
> [@MHaas](#): > > That was good. Also, the perpetual adolescent in me got a laugh out of Diogo’s “you no sa sa nothing, I crush @@@ to dust…”. Is Diogo the same kid that was on the rock scavenger ship with his uncle. Got left adrift in space when the Martian’s (?) stopped them? If so how’d did he get rescued? ---
**Author:** ![MHaas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MHaas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaas)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/69 "2017-02-17T19:50:59Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Is Diogo the same kid that was on the rock scavenger ship with his uncle. Got left adrift in space when the Martian’s (?) stopped them? If so how’d did he get rescued? He is the same kid, he mentions being dropped in space by his uncle to Miller at one point earlier in the season. I don’t think they ever address his rescue though. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/70 "2017-02-18T07:56:17Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > In the “small touches” category, after watching this episode, I realized I really liked how Thomas Jane makes Miller’s hand gestures while using those holographic displays look quite natural and casual. Most of the time when you see such stuff in movies, it looks quite forced and exaggerated, but Jane makes if feel like something Miller has actually been doing his whole life, and it’s just not a big deal. Yeah, he almost makes it seem like he’s irritated by the interface. It’s a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/71 "2017-02-18T14:11:12Z")
Does anyone else get bored with the goverment part of the story? I like Miller and everyone up in space dealing with stuff, but hate it when they cut to the other stuff. I assume it all serves a huge purpose eventually. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/72 "2017-02-18T20:16:42Z")
I’m enjoying the political stuff. I’m also a fan of the actress who plays Chrisjen. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/73 "2017-02-19T14:18:25Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > I noticed a few nifty details during the Nauvoo’s departure. First, the tug/thrusters were a nice touch. After all, the Nauvoo’s only going to need to turn two or three times during its entire voyage: for the departure burn, the flip for the deceleration burn, and maybe for the final orbital insertion burn. Why build in multiple redundant “thrusters” that are the size of the main drive of large ships? Second, the remaining scaffolding that was behind the Nauvoo’s main engines was glowing from the heat of the exhaust. Yeah, I immediately noticed this too, thought it was a really cool touch. This show just keeps getting better and better. The political intrigue is a nice counterpoint to the stuff going down with our little band of adventurers in the belt. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/74 "2017-02-19T16:16:03Z")
> [@MHaas](#): > > He is the same kid, he mentions being dropped in space by his uncle to Miller at one point earlier in the season. I don’t think they ever address his rescue though. These was a brief mention in the scene when they were in the landing pod together, but the noted audio combined with accent issues made it easy to miss. He mentioned that he got lucky and was picked up by a belter ship before running out of air, then says he’s living on borrowed time now, which is part of why he’s so relaxed about danger. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > I’m enjoying the political stuff. I’m also a fan of the actress who plays Chrisjen. I’m waiting to see if they can pull off the Amos/Chrissy (Don’t fucking call me that!) relationship from the books. That’s one of my favorite parts. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/75 "2017-02-19T19:38:02Z")
Loved that episode! However, the science went a little wonky. The plan to change Eros’s orbit to drop it into the sun isn’t even remotely feasible. In terms of energy requirements, the sun is an incredibly hard target - you basically have to kill nearly all your orbital velocity. It would have been easier to just launch Eros completely out of the solar system. Also, the Nauvoo is about 2x1.5 kilometers in size, and hollow. Eros is 35 km long and solid. The actual result of the collision would have been a massive explosion, possibly Eros breaking apart, and the pieces staying in a slighly more elliptical orbit. Since Eros already crosses the orbits of Earth and Mars, the result would have been the creation of a shotgun cloud of debris in the orbital path of Earth and Mars. If the Nauvoo was going fast enough to completely kill Eros’s orbital speed, the result would have been the vaporization of Eros instead of dropping it into the sun. Also, the speed the Nauvoo would need to have been going would have caused it to pass Eros in the blink of an eye, not sail majestically past. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/76 "2017-02-19T23:41:58Z")
Right, this isn’t truly “hard” scifi, and the authors admit as much (though I can’t find the interview I’m thinking of right now…). After all, they’re not coding their own orbital mechanics simulations like Andy Weir or Neal Stephenson would. But I’m thrilled to have a setting where the physics is only sometimes “a little wonky”. I’m re-watching Star Trek TNG right now, and 90% of the time they don’t even bother to consider real-world science. Perhaps 9% is cringeworthy nonsense, invented by a hack writer to paste over gaps in the plot. Generously, 1% is tolerable if you don’t think too hard about it. IMO, 100% hard scifi and good stories rarely mix. After all, in space human meatbags are a fragile and obscene waste of resources. The Expanse hits a sweet spot for me, where the science is decent enough for thought-provoking human stories. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/77 "2017-02-20T00:04:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Also, the speed the Nauvoo would need to have been going would have caused it to pass Eros in the blink of an eye, not sail majestically past. That I chalked up to dramatic license. The Nauvoo is a few kilometers long, and traveling at a few tens of kilometers per second. So about a tenth of a second, which is plenty of time to perceive something moving across your field of vision, and which, if you’re about to die, probably seems like a lifetime (snert). So they slowed it down to give us Miller’s perspective. The bang it into the sun thing can’t really be handwaved away, unfortunately… I was hoping they’d land the Nauvoo on Eros gently, and use the massive engines to change its orbit to intersect Jupiter or something (way easier than the sun). ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/78 "2017-02-20T13:59:56Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I’m waiting to see if they can pull off the Amos/Chrissy (Don’t fucking call me that!) relationship from the books. That’s one of my favorite parts. Heh, heh. Me too! ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/79 "2017-02-21T03:55:47Z")
I get all worked up into a geeky state of glee whenever I discuss this show. Railguns! Cool semi-crystalline-semi-plant-looking alien life! Badass armored suits! This show is like a wonderful, unexpected gift. Season one was great; but season two is truly, truly magnificent. I think the casting is very well done, too. Lot of great performances. It’s nice having a TV show to enjoy and anticipate again. I mean, seeing as we’re still in mid super long hiatus with my other two favorite shows, Rick & Morty and Killjoys. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787/80 "2017-02-21T13:28:07Z")
I hope they’re gonna recover the Nauvoo, though. Would be a shame to loose humanity’s first interstellar ship for nothing… > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The bang it into the sun thing can’t really be handwaved away, unfortunately… I was hoping they’d land the Nauvoo on Eros gently, and use the massive engines to change its orbit to intersect Jupiter or something (way easier than the sun). Well, but if you’re gonna get out the slide rule and cry ‘foul’ regarding the physics of pushing Eros into the sun, shouldn’t you be all the more astonished by the protomolecule causing it to make an abrupt course correction without basically splitting the whole thing up and throwing half of it away…? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-2-episode-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/778787.md?page=5)