210 Cascade – The Expanse Podcast – Tales From The Rocinante

Apr 1, 2017 | The Expanse Podcast - Tales From The Rocinante | 0 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:52 — 53.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Cascade

This episode Timestamps

[0:50] News
[4:15] Episode Recap
[10:24] My Observations
[15:52] Feedback
[1:27:22] Book Discussion

I want to hear from you! Send me your feedback at 1-805-910-7656 or feedback@solotalkmedia.com

This week we continue season 2 of The Expanse with the episode titled “Cascade”.

In this week’s podcast after sharing some news from The Expanse, I talk about the most recent episode. I end the podcast with some great listener feedback.

News

Sci-Fi Show ‘The Expanse’ Preps Us For The Future

Why Is Earth’s Unemployment Rate So High On ‘The Expanse’?

Why Are There So Many Mormons On ‘The Expanse’?

Why Can’t The People Of Mars Handle Earth’s Atmosphere On ‘The Expanse’?

Only You Can Stop The Expanse From Becoming the Next Canceled Sci-Fi Classic

If you would like to read The Expanse book series or order season 1 on DVD or Blue-ray you can purchase them via Amazon. USA or Canada.

Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible

Episode Recap

Cascade

The episode opens on Ganymede. While Alex is passing away the time aboard the Rocinante, Holden and crew start looking for Doctor Strickland and Mae, Prax’s daughter. The botanist is questioning his decision of following the group in the aftermath of the shootout on the Weeping Somnambulist but he sticks with them.

There’s a gleam of hope in that Mae and Strickland are not listed amongst the dead or missing on Ganymede. They track down some of Strickland’s co-workers from the paediatric clinic to ask for his whereabouts but nobody seems to know where he is.

Holden and Naomi are questioning whether or not the events on Ganymede are linked to the Protomolecule. So far there’s no evidence to say they are.

Prax recognizes someone he knows. A friend who’s missing son Katoa is suffering from the same disorder Mae has. The man directs them to Roma, a man with eyes and ears all over Ganymede and their best chance of finding the missing children.

On their way to see Roma they notice how dire the situation is on the station. With a lack of food, people have taken to eating the plants intended for air purifications even though they have no nutritional value.

They find Roma, the belter wants to extort them for his own gains. He doesn’t care about finding a sick girl but he’ll do it in exchange for food, particularly chicken. No chicken, no girl.

Amos snaps and attacks Roma. Prax pleads with the big man to stop. Roma can’t help them find Mae if Amos bashes his head in. Terrified, Roma agrees to help them.

Amos tries to justify his actions to Prax by telling him about bullies where he came from and what they did to children.

Prax in turn, confesses that a small part of him was relieved when he thought Mae was dead. Because of her genetic disorder, he feels helpless in caring for her.

The botanist goes for a walk and discovers that Ganymede is dying. He explains to Amos that in any artificial ecosystem there are only so many pathways to compensate when something goes wrong. As they become over stressed and begin to fail there are fewer and fewer pathways to take over. He calls it the cascade. It’s already begun on Ganymede. The station is already dead, they just don’t know it yet.

Roma manages to track down Mae and Stickland to an old part of the station that doesn’t have camera feeds. None of them knows what’s down there but it’s where they need to go to find the girl.

——

On Earth, the U.N. delegation has deemed Bobbie Draper’s testimony as a lie but they see no point in questioning her again since she was just following orders. The Mars delegation just wants to get things over with and leave the planet.

Afterwards, Errinwright reviews the report on Bobbie Draper’s armour. By all accounts, the suit corroborates the story put forth by the Martians. Unsatisfied, he orders the analysis team to go over the armour again looking for any biological agents that shouldn’t be on Ganymede.

—

Later Errinwright confesses to Avasarala his involvement with Jules-Pierre Mao but she already knew. He’s had no recent contact with the man but he was aware of Mao’s weapon’s research. It all started out as a quest for peace but had he known what the protomolecule was capable of he would have put a stop to it and Jules-Pierre Mao.

He realizes his career is over but he wants to help put and end to it all before what happed on Ganymede spreads and becomes unstoppable.

Later when questioned by Cotyar as to why she hasn’t turned Errinwright in she says the man is more useful to her where he is, for now.

—

In her quarters, Bobbie get’s reprimanded by Sgt. Martens and starts questioning if what she saw on Ganymede was real or not. She wants to see the ocean before she heads back to Mars but Martens informs her she’s under restrictions and will be shipped out the day after tomorrow.

Left on her own, Bobbie manages to disengage the glass pane from the window and escapes from her quarters.

Earth isn’t what she thought it was. As she makes her way towards the ocean she sees the poverty the citizens are forced to live in.

She encounters an Earther who recognizes her as a Martian. In exchange for her bone density drugs, he’ll direct her to the ocean. He tells her how he put his name on the vocational training list to become a doctor when he was 17 years old. He’s 52 now and he’s still waiting for his slot. In the meantime, they do what they do to survive.

Bobbie makes her way to the ocean and steps in it fulfilling a lifelong dream.

——–

When Cotyar informs Avasarala about Bobbie’s disappearance they make a point to find her before the Mars embassy does.

They track her down to the ocean’s edge.

Avasarala shows Bobbie proof that what she saw on Ganymede was real. It was a new type of weapon being tested by Mars.

Bobbie is upset at the thought and doesn’t believe the woman.

Avasarala presses saying she needs Bobbie’s help if she’s going to get to the bottom of what’s really going on and who is doing it. They can’t afford to be enemies anymore.

Before Bobbie can respond. Avasarala and Cotyar are forced to leave before the Martians arrive for Bobbie.