Yeah, you’re asking the right questions. No idea what the show will do, but the book answers them.
While I thought that the episode was overall pretty good, there were some places (especially the Earth UN cabinet scenes) where the expository writing was just horrific. I mean really, really bad.
There were several such lines, but the one that really made me wince was the line Avasarala shares with the assistant out in the hallway. After hearing the news that the Rosi will be accelerating at some ludicrous G-force, she looks towards the camera and says something like: “The crew is risking death to keep up with Eros!” That’s terrible writing anyway, but it follows a scenes where Fred Johnson’s lieutenant has just informed him of the risk to the crew and THAT following a scene on the Rosi where Holden has to grimace into the near-distance at the thought of subjecting his crew to the G-forces and the risks they entail after Alex explains the risk to him (and the audience).
And that’s just one example. There were plenty of others where one of the interchangeable general/admiral/ministers in the room have to announce something ridiculously portentous that no human would ever say, like a bit player in a 1930s Buck Rogers serial. I half-expected the orchestral cue to come in after each one:
“At it’s current trajectory, it’s on a collision course towards… EARTH!”
DUH-DUH-DUUUUUUN!!
Those scenes aside, I liked how most of it went down, with a few quibbles:
They’ve done a better job of portraying heavy acceleration before. I can understand why they didn’t want to shoot a leaf-blower at everyone’s faces, but their grimacing and the tasteful rivulet of blood from Naomi’s nose didn’t do as good a job as the similar scenes from the first episode.
Julie was much prettier in her second life than I recall from the books. I didn’t much care for presenting her as an angelic creature of light rather than a barely-human mass of proto-molocule.
They didn’t do a great job with the reveal that Eros was redirected due to Miller’s efforts with Julie. I think they wanted that as kind of a head-fake to the audience, but I think it really gave Miller (and Julie) short shrift.
With all these complaints, I guess I should at least praise the episode too. I enjoyed Miller’s trudge through Eros and his coping with all the strangeness. I liked the little throw-away scene with the young belter getting the neck-tattoo after returning from the mission. The banter between Fred and the second-in-command.
As others have noted, at this point in the books none of those questions have been answered, so the show seems to be taking the same course. You are appropriately confused.
The answer is that Venus has the last remaining Carl’s JR, and Miller wants to treat Julie to a $4 lunch combo. Well, split one, actually. The books never answer whether or not it’s Miller that gets chicken sandwich and Julie the burger, or the other way around.
I don’t want to live in such an awful, awful future.
I know. Carl’s Jr. hangs on way too long in that universe. Practically a horror story.
Is Carl’s Jr. that good? We used to have a Hardee’s (which I gather is the same company) in downtown Portland about a million years ago (ca. 1980, when I was but a youth), and it was all right then, but I haven’t eaten there since.
I do always hear people raving about White Castle for some reason (we don’t have those here).
It’s not the same as Hardees at all, it’s a billion times better.
And I miss White Castle so, so much.
It’s laxatives in burger form. Whitey One Bites, Fast Food for a Fast Poo
It varies immensely from one location to another depending on the franchisee. Most are just generic fast food joints maybe one step up from Wendy’s or Jack in the Box but well below In-N-Out, but some are way better.
Well, c’mon now, that’s EVERY burger joint.
They’re the best of the ubiquitous chains, but I’d rank The Habit and Shake Shack about on par with them, and Super Duper Burger higher.
And I’m about to piss off the entire west coast, but In-n-Out is entirely overrated. Culvers is superior. In-n-Out is only mediocre. Red Robin blows it away, as do Culvers and Chishack.
As I just showed, despite being from the west coast, I don’t think In-n-out is the be-all end-all of burgers. I’ve never heard of Culvers, but saying Red Robin is better is just pants-on-head crazy. Every time I’ve tried them it’s been a complete disappointment – mediocre in every way, not even on the level of a decent fast food burger like Carl’s Jr., let alone coming close to justifying their higher prices and sit-down service necessitating a tip. The Counter is better in every way if you want to pay a premium for a high-end burger.
Culvers is a Wisconsin based chain, and extends much of the midwest. It’s pretty damn tasty, and their frozen custard is worth the trip.
And funny what you say about Red Robin is my In-n-Out experience. Perhaps the Red Robins by me are simply better than yours. But decent service and some very tasty burgers.
All this talk of burgers is making me nostalgic for this great local place (Pause) right near my house that closed recently because one of the partners died, which made amazing grass-fed beef half pound cheeseburgers and even more amazing fries. Le sigh.
I swear we’ve had this burger conversation more than once before!
And White Castle is total garbage by the way, so those of you who do not have one (or it’s southern state counterpart, Krystal) are missing nothing.
I find differences in opinion mostly revolve around if you actually like the taste of hamburger.
Red Robin is fine if you don’t really care about the meat.
In-n-Out is considerably better if you like actually fresh ingredients, but is otherwise a generic burger.
Agreed. These guys have served me consistently great burgers.
If I really want the best I hit Umami burger. It makes The Counter look cheap, but everything is just top notch, especially the quality of the patty.
Wait, wtf, this is the Expanse thread?! Man I really liked the last episode, but some of the lines were indeed worthy of an eye roll.
We have a local chain (kind of) called Herfy’s. Their burgers are so-so, but oh my god lord above those twice-fried crinkle fries make me feel so funny in the trousers.
But as for burgers go, geez, they’re all either fast food, or on the (decent) level of Red Robin/Fatburger. There’s this little joint by the freeway just north of me that has superior burgers, but they cost dear. Hmm, to think about it, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers in Woodinville is really good, too.
Can someone rename this the burger thread with Venus special sauce.
He started it!