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Concluding its sixth and final season on Amazon Prime, The Expanse is broadly categorized as a sci-fi TV series adapted from the novels written by James S. A. Corey, the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The book series is an expansive space opera, consisting of 9 novels and various related short works.

I have always been inclined to space operas ever since I completed reading one of the most well-known science fiction series of all time – Dune, written by Frank Herbert. I was naturally inclined to give this a shot. This subgenre of science fiction has nothing to do with musical operas. Media that follows this theme are usually set in the near or distant future, featuring epic scale of human and/or alien civilization spread across planets, solar systems and galaxies. The focus of these stories is less on technological advancements and hardcore science fiction. The emphasis lies more on interweaving grand political and social disputes, romance, class warfare and adventurous characters in the backdrop of space. One soon realizes that the characters and themes explored still involve humans, and “human nature” is consistent across all settings, whether it be a small village, a war torn country or the grand expanse of space itself – we tend to fight the same wars, worship messianic figures and do incredible and crazy things in the name of love, avarice and prejudice.

The Expanse is set in a distant future where humanity has invented interplanetary space travel, and is halfway through colonizing the reaches of the outer solar system. Earth is a single entity, headed by the United Nations, and the next big entity is the Republic of Mars, where humanity has successfully colonized another planet, albeit with some difficulty in terms of terraforming it and making it habitable. There is a third and interesting group of people known as the Belters, who occupy various stations in the asteroid belt and mine for natural resources found in asteroids. Conditions are harsh on the belt – there is no gravity, no food or water and nowhere to roam except the confines of the space station. Mining in space is also no easy feat – there are regular mishaps due to lack of safety, poor nutrition, old damaged equipment and pressure from corporations to mine at high productivity to extract the maximum profit. These Belters are shown as angry, quirky and economically oppressed people, naturally so, as the resources they mine are not used by them but the corporate and political powers in Earth and Mars.

Climate change has affected Earth, decimating all poor coastal cities, and only the rich and powerful can afford to stay on the planet. Over generations, the poorer people have migrated to the Belt to look for work, which has caused irreversible physical change in terms of their bone structure, respiratory system, etc.

There are also outposts in the moons of Jupiter and Saturn where scientific bases are located to conduct research on flora and fauna that can be grown in space. These are nice touches that the authors have thought about when imagining how a civilization will function on such a grand scale.

One thing I observed is the agnostic way in which gender and nationalism is portrayed. Humanity seems to have progressed beyond discriminating on the grounds of gender. The UN is headed by a woman, pilots, miners, fighters are a mix of both genders who are equally capable at doing their respective jobs. It was also interesting that there is no mention of any countries. Characters from all ethnicities and countries are portrayed but they are all from one place, that is Earth or Mars or the Belt. Humanity seems to have transcended these issues, only to replace it with other tools of oppression.

Hatred and avarice now stem from the place in society, and the place in the solar system. Belters are looked down upon as fodder for the corporate class on Earth. Their rights are not recognized. There are situations where their oxygen and food is rationed to send them a warning. These are not new issues. Our current world itself is driven by corporate greed and need to make the rich richer. The natural environment is exploited with no regard to the externalities it will cause. Discrimination is based on the color of one’s skin, the country or ethnic background one is from or their economic standing.

Here, Earth is shown as a utopia – a paradise where crops can grow on the land, fresh water is readily available and where a space suit is not needed to breathe the air from the atmosphere. Since only the rich can enjoy this, the Belters and Martians start to look for their own utopia, a move that the ruling class do not like as they lose their control.

This oppression naturally pushes the Belters to form their own government, and follow their own leaders and messianic figures. It is hard to justify which side is right and which side is wrong.

They want to be liberated, and be free from the powers of earth and mars. Recognize the Belt as its own entity whose resources are for them to use. And as we have learnt from history, concentration of power, or the worship of these leaders does not always lead to peace and prosperity. The show and plot does a good job of portraying conflicts in the grey area where there is no side who is right or wrong. The introduction of Marco Inaros in the later seasons really is thought provoking, in how the revolutionary rallies the Belters to think and plan in terms of generations, and not just one lifetime, like how your typical local governments play out. There is a great monologue on this way of thinking where  the entire scene is shot with Marco Inaros floating in a zero gravity prison cell – a great and riveting piece of cinema

My standout characters include Chrisjen Avasarala, played by the incredible Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, famous for her iconic voice that is smooth like velvet but can cut through ice. She portrays power, emotion and curse words (which the fans are starting to love) in a unique way. Camina Drummer and Klaes Ashford are noteworthy mentions, and the development of Amos Burton over the seasons is one that I was pleasantly surprised by.

Even though the primary focus is on space politics and socio-economic issues, the series does not shy away from hardcore science fiction and advanced technology. Battles in space are very well imagined, and not just about guns and missiles. There is a beautiful sequence where a ship evades an enemy purely by using the gravity assist of Jupiter’s various moons which was quite amazing to watch. The visuals of earth and the various planets, space stations set against the backdrop of never-ending space are quite stunning. You can tell that Amazon has set aside a fat budget for the entire show.

My best takeaway or core lesson? Not an easy one to digest, but from what we can draw from history, every major step that the human race has taken exploration and venturing out into the unknown, discovering new lands and natural resources has always led to power struggles, destruction and unequal distribution of what the new world has to offer. This theme is followed here as well; dystopian futures are inevitable as we venture out beyond the shores of our home planet, no matter what advancements we make in terms of technology, society and human biology. Think BladeRunner, Star Wars, Elysium, Dune. As a moderately intelligent species (funny that we set this scale ourselves), it is a necessity to develop the means to leave the home planet and colonize the solar system for our long term survival, and the fact has to be accepted that it is not space that will cause the problem, but it is humanity itself.

(About the Author: Ranjith M R: Just an Ape on a flying spaceship living through moments in time pondering about science, humanity, history, and the future)