Submitted by icedrift t3_zu2dix in television
Just watched 30 minutes of the season 6 finale FML. I knew something was up because I heard the first 3 episodes are slow exposition and this episode was nuts. Starting from the first episode now but I feel like a moron. I hope the rest of the show can live up to those space fights and that I didn't ruin too much of the plot.
Absolutely, by the time you get to what you spoiled you'll remember none of it.
In the middle of watching S3 for the first time and these early seasons are tense and really well constructed imho.
Agreed. I caught the very first ep on YT when it was fist released as a teaser. And man from that first high G burn it had me hooked. the almost total lack of magical mcgubbins (I am looking at you Star Trek inertial dampers) with the minor exception of the juice just cemented it for me
The first half of season 3 is my favorite part of the series. I mean I love it all and everything, but Season 6 and the first half of season 3 are just great. I wish we got more.
Ngl, have just met the proto-molecule ‘ring’ and I’m getting like ME vibes from it. Like it’ll somehow allow them to achieve interstellar travel (further dividing the politics) but I bet the hive has some like reaper/marker vibes that’ll show up later 😂😂
Aw man, I don't want to tell you anything other than keep on keeping on.
I accidentally watched the season 1 finale of The Knick as my first episode. I was incredibly impressed by the bold, uncompromising narrative choices the show made. It was barely telling me character names, much less why they were doing things. After that, the actual pilot felt like child's play.
oh fucking thank you, i'm writing this down. i keep forgetting about the knick.
i caught like 3 episodes of it when it was live and loved it, then completely forgot about it. historical dramas are my shit.
I did this with Fargo Season 3. Somehow the first episode I watched was episode 5 where >!one of the Ewan McGregor’s kills the other!<. I thought it was the first episode since Fargo seasons always begin with >!a character killing someone!< so imagine my surprise when I realised my mistake.
When I read the Southern Reach trilogy (those books that the Alex Garland movie "Annihilation" is based on), I accidentally read them out of order and didn't even realize it until long after I'd finished it all. I read the second book first, then the first one, then the third. They weren't numbered and, at least on those editions, it was really strangely unclear about the reading order. Weirdly enough, I think the books actually work better the way I read them, lol.
I remember messing up and watching a season 1 episode while watching season 2 of Daredevil and going "wow this is bold, really showing a character's trauma staying that long". The actual episode was far less interesting, compared to that excitement.
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I started from and finished the second season of "Vice Principals" and sort of felt like that too.
Years earlier I had watched s01e01 and still remembered the characters and main plot points, so I started s01e02, or so I thought... I thought it was bold of them to reference so many past events, really built their character well, as well as dropping the viewer in certain conflits without proper context.
Only after finishing the season (episodes autoplayed and this was before HBO Max, either they didn't display season number or I didn't realize) and was sent to the menu did I notice that by default they always feature the latest season. It think that's terrible UI.
On other instances I've fell for the same but realized within 5 minutes.
You got such a long way to go to get there; you haven’t spoiled anything for yourself that you will remember. Just start from the beginning and enjoy the ride
Oh man, you got yourself one of the best sci-fi shows to exist a head of you. Some didn't like the last two seasons, but that's because they're based on the least interesting of the book series. Season 3 is my personal favorite, but the show in general is just amazing.
I'd also recommend the books, also amazing. And the books absolutely stick the landing on the ending, too.
i would highly recommend listening to the audiobooks. the narrator is the same and does a pretty good job overall. there's a few short stories too and one audiobook compilation of all of them.
Gonna add the caveat that book 4 and a couple of the novellas were originally recorded by a different narrator than Jefferson Mays, and people disliked them so much that Mays went back and recorded those as well. Make sure you get the right copy if you're hopping on the audiobook train, I couldn't make it through book 4 with the other guy so I ended up just reading it myself.
i finished the tv series a few weeks ago. it's some of the best sci-fi ever made for tv no doubt. the last couple seasons are still better than most of what's out there but they are absolutely a let down compared to what came before. i found myself doing the 10s skip ahead quite a bit.
hopefully it gets a chance to be finished but who tf knows
General spoilers ahead:
I mean, the last seasons introduce a side plot that is totally and utterly meaningless unless the series gets picked up again. Like...there's almost an entire episode of runtime that exists for no purpose as the series currently sits.
And the final season is so rushed that it seems pretty obvious that the writers got blindsided.
Also, the interpersonal drama got a bit weak IMO.
Well, no, it's not meaningless. Its showing what the people who caused season 5&6 are up to. It would be stupid if the show pretended they didn't exist. It would also be stupid if Marco randomly came up with those railguns on his own.
There are some epic space fights with the Rocci. You're going to love it.
I've never watched The Expanse but I'm putting it on my list. I love sci-fi so I don't know how I missed this one.
It’s so good
I tried watching this about 3 times and I just couldn't get into it the first couple episodes. Eventually I forced myself to watch the first season and holy crap! It's one of my favorite shows!
its great but the first few episodes are a little slow so if you like the concept but find it slow, stick with it for a bit. It was necessary worldbuilding
#rememberthecant
Best sci-fi show of our modern era.
It's been the only sci-fi; everything else is fantasy.
Honestly the first few seasons are the best. You'll be fine. Some shows even start with the ending and then flash back to how we got here. So just think of it like that.
This is how I'm coping lol. I'm gonna pretend the first episode starts with this massive final battle and cuts right as some crew members land in the ring.
Same for me, imo the series hit its peak in the first half of season 3. The tension provided by the Cold War background of the first seasons is something that the later ones never quiet managed to recreate. I’m thankful Amazon revived the series but the politics got a lot more 1-Dimensional as the seasons progressed (which might not be a negative for most viewers).
Is this a great show? Does it go anywhere? I'm into scifi, should I get into it? I'm scared to be hurt again after countless mediocre shows and dropped series..
I felt season 1-3 are really solid sci-fi with excellent worldbuilding and fun mystery plots. Season 4-6 have peaks but overall I felt it lacked what made 1-3 interesting. YMMV, of course, some people think it was good all the way through.
What genre of scifi is it? Soft, down to earth? Star wars space magic? Grim and dark?
Not the person you asked, but I've seen The Expanse described as "hard" sci-fi. It's heavy on space technology, warfare, flight mechanics, things like that. A bit grim and dark at times.
Overall, The Expanse is the single greatest piece of sci-fi that I've ever personally seen. The show is so. Fucking. Good. It's hard to even explain it. The writing, the filming, the pacing, the way they shoot scenes... it's just a marvel to witness.
I'd say it is 'hard-ish' and grim, the setting at the start explores the social, labour, and warfare effects based on the premise of a hyper-efficient space ship drive. So it takes travel times, gravity, economics, etc, serious, there's some heart-rending stuff in there.
I think people tend to call it hard sci-fi mostly because it is pretty rare for tv sci-fi to really explore the mechanics of space travel to this type of degree but there's also a lot of stuff it omits. I think the show is really good at taking a slightly fanciful premise and exploring it in quite a thorough way. Maybe I'm cooled on it now that it's been a while since I watched it but I remember when it came out it was just amazing to have a ship dock with a spinning space station and realise it thought it through more than I had.
very politcal. Ive only read the book but it is probably the most 'realistic' depiction of humanity in space. I know some described the book as Game of Thrones in space but id argue its half that and half its own amazing thing.
no space magic. no warp drives, transporters. if you want to land on something you flip the craft around via RCS and hit the rockets while also strapped into chairs that keep you from stroking out from the g-forces kind of sci-fi.
The show is fantastic. The creators stick the landing! Worth checking out. The details and foreshadowing are pretty amazing which I didn’t realize until future seasons.
Is it done? Like, start to finish?
The expanse is based on a 9 books series. Basically seasons 1- 6 are books 1-6. Books 7-9 take place after a substantial time jump in the story and it makes sense to end the tv show there. The writers were involved in the series. I ended up reading the whole series after watching the show. The show makes parts of the books better and the books make parts of the show better. They really compliment each other well. The overall story line is exactly the same.
They left room to go back but yes the story is concluded.
Thanks (= I feel like checking it out now!
Yes, it's one of the best Sci Fi shows around. First few episodes are slow, but it helps to put you into their Universe. Most people start to realize their hooked around Episode 3 or 4.
It's also one of the more grounded Sci Fi shows when it comes to space travel and combat, actually feels like it could be a real thing in the future. Their ships are designed like Skyscrapers, they do a hard burn w/ constant acceleration to create the sense of gravity, then they do a 180 halfway to their destination and start slowing down to keep it up. Machine guns on ships have thrusters that fire to counteract the force so it doesn't change the ships trajectory. No gravity defying technology or space lasers. It's easy to miss out on some of the details if you're not looking since most people are used to all the crazy stuff and handwaving in most Sci Fi shows.
I wouldn't call it great. More like a Starz type level like Spartacus or Black Sails. Imo no, it doesn't really go anywhere.
If you can limit your expectations and put up with some bad plot and writing you can have a lot of fun with it.
Other people here seemed to be much more into it. What would be your grievances, if you can say without spoiling the specific?
It is very corny at times, the casting was very different to the books, some of the main actors are not great. While the overall plot is cool (Earth v Mars v Belters), what actually happens each season is fairly silly and disjointed.
An example of a much better modern SF show is For All Mankind and... that show is maybe a 7 or an 8/10 compared to The Wire or whatever TV benchmark you want to use.
Unfortunately there is not a huge amount of spaceflight SF so people lap up what content we can get.
Edit - strongly ecommend reading the series before watching, or even just the first book.
Wow. I never thought I'd see For All Mankind compared to The Wire but here we are.
I don't mean that in a good way, FAM had a good first season and then committed one of the biggest trainwrecks into a B-tier soap opera I've ever seen. It's genuinely so bad I wouldn't even recommend someone watch the first season for fear that a person might suffer the fate of watching the other two. That's not something I'd want to inflict on anybody.
If you had compared The Expanse to The Wire, I'd say you might be overreaching a little, but only a little bit.
I didn't compare them favourably. I referenced The Wire as a benchmark neither of them come close to.
>An example of a much better modern SF show is For All Mankind and... that show is maybe a 7 or an 8/10 compared to The Wire or whatever TV benchmark you want to use.
I don't see any universe in which this is neither a favorable comparison, nor a close one. Being 7 or 8/10 compared to The Wire is a high accolade by any metric, and quite close on a scale of 10. You even went so far as to say FAM is "a much better modern SF show."
Overall, I'd say it's a very good show worth watching. Some seasons are better than others, but they are all pretty solid.
If you re into sci-fi then The Expanse is mandatory viewing.
Hey nice, check out the expanse sub reddit. It's one of the best communities around :)
I accidentally watched Mindhunter on 1.25 speed while I was deep cleaning and was surprised and impressed that Fincher had decided to go Amy Sherman-Palladino on it.
I did a re-watch before starting season 6 after it finished. Glad I did, as there were many little things I never picked up on the first time watching it over the period of years, and also not knowing of things to come.
I read the first book and want to start the show, but it seems so amazing. Im glad it gets such good reviews- I was worried it wasnt faithful to the series
The authors remained heavily involved in the show. There were some changes that aren't exactly faithful to the books, but they're mostly for the better. I think the authors have actually said that the bigger changes were made because they went back and thought about what they would do differently if they were writing the books again.
Every season has its own tone and arc, that is an all time great show and 100% worth watching
I didn’t really like the last 2 seasons. I wasn’t super interested the civil war stuff going on.
It's too bad because all of that builds up to what goes on in the last 3 books which is sort of its own trilogy. There is a 30 year time jump from book 6 to 7 which would be hard to adapt. I hope we do get the last 3 books at some point.
I did the same thing with Fargo. When I went to watch it, Hulu just decided to start with the Season 1 finale. I watched the whole thing like an idiot, just thinking it was a show with a complex backstory.
What you heard about those first episodes is correct.
I actually had to start the show three times before I could get to episode 2, as I just didn't want to continue after episode 1.
So, I ended up actually watching episode 1 three times but with a gap of a few months between each time.
Season 1 is definitely a slow burn. But once it kicks into gear you're in for a ride.
Oh, my son and I watched the entire thing, it was getting started that was difficult, after those first couple of episodes we steamed through it.
I'm Sorry OP, I laughed out loud when I read your post. And I feel horrible for laughing now :(
Hope you'll enjoy the show regardless of what happened
I once tried to watch archer. I couldn’t follow the plot at all and couldn’t understand why someone had recommended it to me. Turns out I was watching the T-Rex pilot
You're in for a fantastic ride. Season 3 is one of my favorite season of television ever.
Naw...you're good. I just started watching it again with my daughter while they are visiting. Excellent, in fact, there is a character who has an unexpected story arc that is fascinating.
Ahh man!
I assume you did this on prime.. they really do have a terrible UI.
I hope you like it, it is truly a great show! I love how they actually acknowledge gravity in space! Watching the first season convinced me to read the books! The series has a good attention to detail, and it truly is something special!
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My brother did the same with big little lies first season.
I started by accidentally watching the season finale in season 3, lmao.
That’d probably be a worse spot to start than the finale of 6. Kind of spoils the big twist.
Ha that happened with us kinda with snowpiercer. We thought it was interesting how “in media res” it started but then got suspicious and realized we’d started with season two premiere.
Why does Prime have this problem? I once tried watching Veep on Prime. Something was missing, I couldn't get into the comedy and I felt like it was already in the middle of some arc. Turns out I started watching the final season or something. Nothing landed for me because I wasn't properly introduced to any of the characters. It took me a couple years to give Veep another proper go. Always gotta make sure that Prime is starting you on the pilot.
I haven’t even started the last season. Is it worth it?
Absolutely
Wouldn't worry, start again you'll have forgotten that episode by the time you get back to it.
I did this with The Morning Show season 1. I just figured they'd introduce the characters more in epiidoe 2 and were starting with the major scandal, then would back track. It wasn't a bad way to watch, actually.
The expanse is one of my favorite shows. Man I wish I could watch it again for the very first time
How does The Expanse compare to the BSG reboot?
Not OP, but had a manager at a previous job who was a major sci-fi nut like me. He told me if you like BSG, you'll like Expanse
This happened to me years ago with the first season of The Leftovers. I streamed it on some sketchy website back before HBO max was a thing and somehow ended up watching the finale first lol. Made it through the whole episode confused as fuck before I realized what I'd done lol.
I did this with DCI Banks
Last season of expanse was pedal to the floor all season. Quality of season 3 went under, once the show was supposed to be cancelled. After, every season was better and better.
Did the same with Dark started at like middle of the season. Nothing made sense.
Reminds me of when I turned on the TV to first see The Leftovers episode International Assassin. I only saw about 20 mins and had no idea what was going on but I was instantly mesmerised and knew it was a 10/10.
Damn, I wish they hadn't canceled this show, it was so good. I'd take Expanse over Rings of Power any day,
Yeah you’ll probably forget a lot of it. Unfortunate. Enjoy though, it’s pretty good.
As someone who has read the books, you can still get immense enjoyment out of this show, even knowing what happens.
Nah you’re good. That show is awesome. Enjoy bro
Same thing happened to me!
Beltalowda! The expanse was the best show.
Go ahead and press play on season 1 - you’ll understand once you get there, but it’s really not that big of a deal to have some of season 6 spoiled
It wont ruin the plot. Season 3 is my favourite. Many scenes I still should “whoaaa!” “Wowww!”
Amazon is the worst with that shit done it for multiple shows . Interface is garbage
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Well, one of the things you need to check. When I suggested we watch The Expanse at work, there's a sex scene in episode 1…
It's also one of like 3 sex/nudity scenes throughout all 6 seasons
I think there's 6 total?
Jim/Ade in S1 (sex/nudity)
Jim/Naomi S2 (sex)
Jim/Naomi S3 (sex/nudity)
Jim S3 (nudity)
Amos/Wei S4 (sex)
Polyam Belter Fam s5 (post sex, slight nudity)
Yeah. Let's just hope that's egg on my face…
Seasons 1–3 are great (after the first one or two episodes), season 4 is just good, and seasons 5–6 are dogshit.
I think season 4 was the worst season, but it was setting up a lot of the turmoil to come. I think season 5 and y were great but you could tell that the plot was a little off especially with the drama that was going around with one of the characters, as well as the push to get this show done as well as set up the next arc in case the show was ever revisited.
I liked what they did with that character, I thought it felt real and unexpected. I’m with you, I couldn’t stand season 4, but really liked 5 and 6.
Screamingholt t1_j1gpq51 wrote
Trust me given how far everything/one comes from where they start in ep 1 vs finale, you should be fine. I just finished rewatching it myself for reference.