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This week we discuss the tenth and final episode of season 4 of The Expanse titled “Cibola Burn”.
You can purchase The Expanse books via Amazon. USA or Canada or the UK
Or listen to the audiobook version through Audible
Episode Recaps
NOTE: I write these recaps fast while watching the episodes. I have not taken the time to edit them for grammatical or spelling errors.
Exodus
The episode opens in space. Following the progression of Rock #9. As it passes by the sun it breaks up into smaller fragments.
The U.N.S. Hasami, a science ship near venus is tracking the mysterious fragments that appeared from nowhere. They’re having a hard time getting sensor readings from them.
All of a sudden the ship is boarded. A team of Marco Inarus’s people, lead by Filip demands their data about the rock. Once they have what they came for they kill the crew, destroy the ship and are on their way.
————-
On Tycho Station, the Rocinante is undergoing much needed repairs after their adventure on Illus.
Tycho’s chef of operations, Bull isn’t happy with the special treatment given to the ship.
When Naomi encounters Fred, he gives her information on the whereabouts of her son Filip.
She immediately acquires a ship to travel to Palace station to find her son.
Meanwhile, Holden runs into Monica Stewart. She’s working on a story about secret experimenting on the Protomolecule and wants to know what Jim knows. He doesn’t tell her anything but immediately goes to question Fred.
Fred doesn’t deny the fact but assures Jim the Protomolecule is secure.
Jim shows Fred classified footage from Dr, Okoye experimenting on the device found on Illus aka New Terra.
He tells Fred the entities that created the artifact killed the Protomolecule and are a threat to humankind.
Fred questions, Holden’s imagination. As far as he’s concerned, everything Jim is telling him is pure speculation.
Back at their quarters on the station, Naomi tells Jim she’s leaving Tycho to find Filip but she has to do this alone, without him.
Naomi is torn up with guilt over abandoning her son. If he’s killed, she’ll never be able to live with herself.
Of course Holden protests, he’s worried for her safety, especially with Marco Inarus involved. But in the end agrees to let her do alone.
She boards the freighter and leaves as Jim watches her go from the bridge of the Rocinante.
—————
On board The Lazy Songbird, a Belter ferry en route to Luna, Amos runs into a bit of trouble from a group of belters strong-arming the passengers.
They’re trying to extract a passenger insurance but the big man puts them in their place.
Once on Luna, Security asks Amos to accompany them to see Avasarala.
She wan’t to know why he’s going back to earth.
She’s not sure she buys his story about taking care of a dead friend’s affairs.
———
Still on Luna, Admiral Delgado informs Avasarala about the investigation into the Hasami, the destroyed science ship. Investigators found something suspicious that could possibly be one of Marco’s ships. Which makes them question why Marco would want to destroy a science ship?
————
On Mars, Bobbie acquires a stolen Marine power armor from a dealer. She enquires about stealth torpedoes but he blows off her question.
She informs Avasarala of her progress in discovering the roots of the black market ring. She’s getting close but feels like time is running out.
Meanwhile, Alex discovers how bleak life on Mars has become. He tries talking to his ex-wife but she blows him off. She doesn’t want to hear whatever he has to say.
He calls Melas, his son who is on a school trip, the conversation is a bit awkward.
Bobby meets up with him at a bar. Alex tries to catch up but Bobbie is very defensive. She snaps at him for no apparent reason and storms off.
The episode comes to an end with Christjen is studying a propoganda video of marco. while the scene cuts to Inarus looking at the rocks heading towards earth. Time to impact 12 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes.
That’s the episode
Churn
The episode opens with a mayday from the colony ship Sulaiman Al Mahri, they’ve been attacked and are in the process of being boarded. They’re asking for immediate assistance.
Drummer contacts the attacking ship and demands her dues as faction leader. When they refuse, she disables their ship with a missile. Humbled the pirate concedes and gives Drummer her cut of his bounty.
Without any remorse, Drummer leaves the Sulaiman Al Mahri dead in space waiting for another ship to rescue them.
Drummer and her crew celebrate their victory. Not only did they get their cut of the bounty, solidifying her claim as head of the faction. But they did so without anyone getting hurt.
When word arrives that the Tynan, Klaes Ashford’s ship has been found, Drummer orders a new course
———
On Earth, in Baltimore, Amos remenises about his youth in the city. Experiencing memories of Lydia and growing up there.
He arrives at Lydia’s house and is met by Charles and we find out that Amos’ real name is Timothy.
Once Amos is satisfied that Lydia’s death was natural and that Charles was good to her he relaxes.
We find out that Thimothy was protituted out as a kid, but once he outgrew his cuteness he was used as an enforcer.
Then Lydia found him and taught him how to save himself.
When Amos hears that Charles is being kicked out of the house because it belonged to Lydia and that the landlord is someone by the name of Erich. Amos knows him from his youth, he decides to help the old man.
—
Later, Amos confronts one of Erich’s goons to set up a meeting.
He’s directed to what appears to be an old derelict building, but the outside is just a front. Inside the building is state of the art.
Erich is wondering why his old friend is back. Timmy killed the real Amos Burton over 20 years ago for Erich, took the dead man’ name and left the planet promising never to return.
Erich thinks that with Lydia dead, Timmy is coming back to take over his operation. He calms down once he realizes that the big man is only there to ensure Charles can keep Lydia’s house.
The two reminisce before Erich says goodbye to his old friend telling him if he ever comes back he’ll kill him.
A flashback of Lydia explaining hurt and kindness to a young Timothy giving us more insight into the complicated man’s psyche.
Before Amos leaves the planet he calls Avasarala for a favour. He’s never coming back to Earth, and before he goes, there’s one more person he needs to see.
——————-
On Tycho Bull questions Fred’s motives for what he does.
On the Roci, Sakai informs Jim of the repair progress. He decides to followup on a message Monica left for him. But when he shows up at her room for the meeting there’s evidence that Monica has been abducted.
With the station shut down to all departing ships, Bull’s team investigates but they have no leads. All surveillance video has been scrubbed.
Holden is convinced her disappearance has something to do with the proof Monica said she has about the secret Protomolecule research.
Later, Holden discovers a video signal coming in from Monica. It’s a recording of what she’s seeing. They figure out she’s in a shipping container but they have no way of telling which one.
—
In the container, Monica manages to free herself from her bonds. She tries to break out, but in doing so releases the pressure in the container. She’s in space, and is losing her breathable air.
—
Using Thermal imaging, Fred discovers a shipping container that is warmer than the rest. Holden and Bull cut it open, only to discover it’s filled with fertile soil, hence the heat.
—
As the air runs out in Monica’s container, we hear a noise from outside. The hole she made allowed Holden and Bull to see the escaping air allowing them to rescue her.
———————-
On Mars, Alex tries to figure out what’s going on with Bobbie. She’s angry and snaps at everything he says. When he’s about to give up on her she comes around and confides in him what she’s been up to.
She takes him to her storage locker where she stores the contraband she’s acquired. Alex is shocked by what is going on.
Unable to turn to the police or the MPs he agrees to help her.
When he notices she’s investigating Emil Sauveterre he thinks something must be wrong, He knows the man and doesn’t think he’s capable of betraying Mars.
But Bobbie claims that everyone she knows is involved was transferred to their posts, posts they are not qualified for, by Sauveterre.
Alex decides to pay a visit to his old shipmate at the military college. He catches the end of Sauveterre’s very moving lecture about the Ring Space and Mars’ role in the future of humanity.
When Alex talks to him, the Admiral shows contempt towards Alex and dismisses him. Lieutenant Babbage, the admiral’s aide, assures Alex it’s not him. The Admiral is just jealous about his experiences going through the Ring Gate.
She says it’s an honour to meet him and asks if he’d be up to getting together.
—————
On Luna,
Ashanti, Chrisjen’s daughter says goodbye to her mother. She has to go back to earth. She encourages her mother to patch things up with Arjun. but Avasaraly says what she’s doing is important and Arjun understands that.
Later during a UN council meeting, Avasarala brings up the destroyed science ship and a possible connection to Marco Inaros but Nancy Gao dismisses her story.
Later, Avasarala and Delgado discuss Nancy over a drink and how the new secretary general treated Christjen at the meeting.
They then contemplate why the science ship was destroyed. Why would Marco take the risk?
They don’t think it was piracy, that would be too dangerous this close to the inner planets. So it must have something to do with the mission the ship was on.
And that was the episode
Mother
The episode opens with a shot of the rock’s trajectory. Time to impact 22 hours and 47 minutes.
Meanwhile, Out in the Belt, the crews of the Dewalt and Mowteng investigate Ashford’s ship. It’s been stripped clean and left for dead.
the reactor is still in tact, with water and fuel from their reserves, they can patch up the ship and take it with them adding it to their armada.
Drummer tells everyone to search the ship for a hidden data cores she knows Ashford would have secretly kept.
While investigating a malfunction in the forward airlock, Drummer discovers a fire extinguisher with a false bottom and the missing data core.
It contains the last recording Ashford made of his conversation with Marco, where the terrorist confesses to plans much larger than any Belter ever dreamt of.
With this new information, Drummer plans on going after Marco herself using the $20 million bounty as the reason.
Her crew is reluctant but doesn’t oppose her plan.
Later, Oksana confronts Drummer. She tells her her grief over Ashford is not an excuse for vengeance. It’s ok for her to grieve.
Drummer confesses that she feels guilty over Ashford’s death. He had asked her to be is XO but she turned him down.
She wanted to set her own path. but her grief and pain is bringing her back to her old ways, of anger and vengeance.
Later that night, Drummer sends a message to Fred Johnson informing him they found the Tynan and that Ashford is dead. She sends him the recording from Ashford for him to do with as he pleases. It’s no longer her fight.
————
Back on Tycho, Monica shows Holden and Fred video of an attack that took place on Ceres station a few days ago. Everyone was killed except for Cortazar, the scientist who specializes in the Protomolecule and the man that Anderson Daws had taken.
According to her sources, a Belter strike team took Cortazar.
Fred later tells Holden that Daws confirms the video but doesn’t have a clue who’s responsible.
Holden thinks Fred is a target and should get off of Tycho but Fred brushes it off.
They put a plan in motion to catch Monica’s kidnappers.
With the help of Sakai they find out who sold the Shipping container that Monica was trapped in.
But when they arrive to question them, the two men are dead. But all is not lost.
The ship that was scheduled to pick up Monica’s shipping container is still inbound, and they don’t know Monica isn’t in it.
Bull wants to set up a greeting party inside the container to capture the ones who come to collect i.
————-
On Pallas Station, Naomi encounters Cyn and Karal, old friends who have mixed feelings about seeing her there.
When she mentions Filip the two get cold. They tell her Filip doesn’t want her in his life.
Naomi tells them the price on Marco’s head is going to get her son killed and she wants to see him. She pleads them to pass on the message.
Later, Filip arrives to ask his mother what she wants. He’s angry at her abandoning him.
She tells him she’ll never forgive herself for her choices, but it was never about him.
She’s not looking for forgiveness. but she loves him and wants to help him.
She’s tells him she’s afraid that whatever Marco has gotten himself into will end up hurting Filip.
She bought him a ship so that he could leave.
but he says he doesn’t need her. Everything Marco told him about his mother was true.
Later, when Filip arrives on the ship, Naomi thinks he’s reconsidered, but instead, he tazers her and with the help of Cyn and Karal takes the ship. Taking Naomi with them.
————
On Mars, Bobbie is convinced Admiral Sauveterre is the head of the black market cartel.
She wants Alex to meet with Lewtenant Babbage and dig for information on the Admiral.
However, when they do meet, Babbage is the one digging for info. She’s charming and flirtatious and Alex can’t resist answering her questions.
When Alex finally starts asking about Sauveterre, Babbage gets suspicious.
When Alex suggest they continue the date elsewhere, Babbage says she can’t. She’s shipping off in the morning on a routine resupply missing on board the Barkeith.
She doesn’t seem to interested in another date, but confuses Alex by kissing him before departing.
Back at his room, Alex is attacked by two people who inject him with a form of truth serum and ask him why he’s asking about Admiral Sauveterre. He can’t resist telling them.
Before they can kill him Bobbie arrives and quickly subdues both attackers.
The police later inform them that the two attackers are ex marines dishonourably discharged for stealing military hardware.
Knowing what they know, they decide to use the Razorback to follow Babbage and the Barkeith on their supply mission to see if it’s an arms deal.
They each make their preparations and agree to meet at the Razorback.
————————
On Luna, Avasarala and Delgado asking Dr. Alaoui about his interpretation of the rock fragments the Hasami was investigating.
Upon closer inspection, Dr. Alaoui notices that all the rocks have a higher return signatures on one side which is very strange.
He theorizes that If they were all fragments of a larger rock that broke up, and if that larger rock struck the earth, an impossibility Dr. Alaoui assures them, but if it did, it would be akin to a nuclear bomb with a blast radius of 13 kilometres.
Delgado speculates that the rock was coated with stealth tech to hide it from their spotting stateliness.
And why would Marco stop at just one rock?
Avasarala says they need to reposition the watch towers that are currently looking towards Mars, keeping an eye out for stealth technology.
She wants Delgado to make the case to the director of intelligence. But Delgado thinks the attempt will be futile.
Later, he informs Christjen that realigning the watchtowers will not happen. She wants him to find another way, but he’s backed into a corner. His career is on the line if he keeps following her.
He tells her it’s time to move on. She pleads with him, but he walks out.
That evening, Christjen records a message for Arjun. It’s a veiled admission that she misses him, but that she’s still needed on Luna.
As she’s leaving her office, she receives a message from Fred Johnson with the Ashford Marco recording. But it comes too late. The rocks have arrived.
And that’s the episode
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