War and Peace in the Void: Navigating the Political Landscape of The Expanse Season 3
Picking up immediately after the rather sentimental conclusion of the previous season, The Expanse Season 3 marks a major development with the unexpected movement of the protomolecule from the surface of Venus all the way to near Uranus’ orbit. But before all the recent revelations about it come to surface and start a new paradigm shift, you get to see the end of the UN–MCR war, although the underlying conflicts between Earth, Mars, and the Belt are never really resolved yet.
Behind all the exciting actions and space battles, The Expanse never fails to deliver a display of intricate political landscape among the major factions added with interpersonal conflicts among the characters to fuel the suspense. And talking about complex relationships, the very first episode of the season actually does an excellent job at summarizing a large portion of them.
Let’s begin with Errinwright who successfully convinces the Secretary-General of the United Nations to launch a preemptive strike against the Martians by destroying their missile platforms, effectively declaring war between the UN and MCR. It seems like Mars doesn’t mind the declaration at all, and war is inevitable anyway because the MCR has already put the blame on Earth for the death of their Minister of Defense Pyotr Korshunov. Keep in mind that Errinwright murdered Korshunov in Season 2, so war is indeed the outcome he wants all along. As if that’s not bad enough, he says Avasarala is responsible for the Eros Incident and working with Mao. To tie up loose ends, Errinwright has missiles fired at Mao’s Guanshiyin while she’s still aboard the ship. Draper comes to the rescue and brings her to safety.
But Errinwright and Avasarala are not the only major players in the complicated world of The Expanse. To have a better understanding of the political landscape, it might be a good idea to see where the other major characters stand in the conflict and how their interpersonal relationships might affect the larger scheme of things.
Holden: the pain from his injured leg is nothing compared to his disappointment with Naomi who betrays him by giving the protomolecule sample to Fred Johnson, her fellow Belter, instead of getting it destroyed. This betrayal (and the sample) gives the Belters a real fighting chance against the Earthers and Martians.
Naomi: without a doubt, Naomi is loyal to the Rocinante and trusted by every crew member. But being a Belter, her true loyalty remains with the Belt and her people’s struggle for independence. Naomi cannot help but feel like a loner on the Rocinante, at least for the time being.
Amos: despite Naomi’s lies and betrayal, Amos remains a good friend who sees her as a moral compass during wartime. Amos will still turn to her for suggestions on how to navigate the UN–MCR war and find safety.
Alex: Naomi is a Belter, whereas Holden and Amos are Earthers. Alex is a Martian, and a proud one at that, too. He has a family at home, but being a crew of the Rocinante means he has to stay on the sideline. Not a single one of the crew feels at ease; in fact, they might be the only people who can stay on neutral ground as they try to defuse the situation any way they can.
Draper: for a time Draper is on asylum on Earth under Avasarala following the Ganymede incident where she was betrayed by her own superiors at the MCRN. Draper has been reinstated into the Martian military, but it does feel like she is trying her best to be on neutral ground, like the crew of the Rocinante. Now all of them are trapped in a tricky political position.
Prax: the botanist who survived the Ganymede Incident is now practically part of the Rocinante crew as he continues to search for his kidnapped and protomolecule-infected daughter.
Clarissa: daughter of J.P. Mao, who sees Holden as the man solely responsible for the downfall of the Mao family. Clarissa is determined to make Holden pay for everything he has done to her father.
Volovodov: an old friend of the UN president who plays a major role in taking down Errinwright for treason. Volovodov again becomes a determining factor in defusing the tense situation concerning Clarissa among the crew of the Rocinante.
Drummer: a new big player in the OPA. Drummer is a subordinate of Fred Johnson and will be the new captain of the refined Nauvoo, which is now a fully functional battleship called the OPA Behemoth.
Ashford: a Belter mercenary, seen by many as likely a better captain of the Behemoth. His presence creates another complication among the OPA leadership.
We think a major turn of events (politically) in The Expanse Season 3 happens in episode 7: Delta-V when the protomolecule forms a Ring outside the orbit of Uranus. A random slingshot action by a brokenhearted Belter somehow activates the Ring and tells everyone of the danger of trying to go through the structure at high speed. When the Ring finally opens, mostly thanks to Miller’s apparition seen only by Holden, things get really supernatural but still sci-fi. It’s revealed that the Ring actually is a gate to an entirely different universe outside space and time. In a sense, the Ring offers much more room for human expansion into space, but then again it will almost definitely trigger an even more politically complex power struggle, conflicts over territories, war over resources, etc.
Is there a possibility that the Ring will be used as a gate for aliens to invade the Sol System? Now that the UN–MCR war has ended, do you think the Belters can take advantage of the newly opened gate in the Ring to advance their cause for independence? We’d love to hear from you.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
Which books in the novel series are used as the foundations for The Expanse Season 3?
The third season of The Expanse is based on the 2nd and 3rd books in the novel series. It’s adapted from the last half of Caliban’s War, but it centers primarily on Abaddon’s Gate.
Who started the UN–MCR war?
The war is an inevitability as a culmination of a prolonged Cold War between Earth and Mars. It’s not exactly clear who fired the first shot and where, but everybody now knows that Esteban Sorrento-Gillis, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, was the one who made the declaration of war against the Mars Congressional Republic.
What is the first major armed-engagement in the UN–MCR War?
As a defensive measure against the UN military action, the MCRN maintains five stealth missile platforms around the Sol System; all of which are aimed towards Earth. Subsequently, the UN Navy deploys several spy satellites to locate the exact positions of those platforms. Being a manipulator as always, Errinwright convinces Secretary-General Esteban Sorrento-Gillis to take the first action and shoot down the platforms with rail guns. All five platforms are destroyed, but not before the fifth one launches a missile to Earth. The missile then deploys twenty nuclear warheads. Earth’s planetary defense takes down most of them in space, but one warhead slips through the cracks and hits the surface somewhere in South America, killing over two million civilians.
