by 
In season 4 of The Expanse, everyone finds themselves having to do things they never thought they would do, and in so doing discover they’re stronger and more resilient than they ever knew.
When engineer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper), pilot Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar) and their crew mates James Holden (Steven Strait) and Amos Burton (Wes Chatham) land on the newly settled planet of Ilus – or New Terra as it’s referred to by Belters – they find the planet’s new inhabitants on the cusp of destroying each other when the Belters refuse to concede their claim to the planet, to Aldolphus Murtry (Burn Gorman), chief of security for Royal Charter Energy (RCE), and his security team.
Acting as mediators between two potentially warring factions is all in a days work for the crew of the Rocinante. They’re accustomed to dealing with people who find it almost too easy to choose the harder path when trying to come to a peaceful resolution, and that’s what they expect on New Terra. But for Naomi and Alex, they have more than just angry Belters and domineering RCE forces to contend with.
No one likes to be pushed out of their comfort zone. No one wants to be in a situation where they have to reveal their vulnerabilities and hidden insecurities to family and strangers. As a Belter Naomi was born, raised and worked on an Ceres in the SOL System. She has lived her life in the controlled environment of space ships, and work settlements on asteroids of the Outer Planets, but has never been on the surface of a planet and as such has never experienced it’s gravitational pull…until New Terra.
For Alex, he’s given the opportunity to create new bonds with Naomi as he becomes her confidant and support when the stress and her fears begin to be too much. Being a part of the Roci means being part of a family, and with a past that he’s not too proud of, Alex sees Naomi’s trust in him as a sign of how much he means to her.
Season 4 of The Expanse is available now on Amazon Prime Video.
I am a Freelance Film Critic, Journalist and Podcaster – and avid live tweeter. Member of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), my published work can be found on ButWhyThoPodcast, The Beat, Observer, and many other sites. As a critic, I believe my personal experiences and outlook on life, give readers and listeners a different perspective they can appreciate, and help them to see things in a new light.
I am the proud host of Beyond The Romance Drama Podcast – a podcast dedicated to discussing Korean and other Asian dramas, the co-host of So Here’s What Happened! Podcast (@SHWH_Pod), and the weekly science fiction film and TV live tweet event #SaturdayNightSciFi.