While Holden reunites with an old friend and journeys down to the heart of the protomolecule structures in an attempt to solve the issues affecting the ships, those aboard the Roci must contend with the machinations of Murtry and try to keep the Barbapiccola afloat.

Following a very intense scene showcasing most of this season so far, on Ilus, from Miller’s (Thomas Jane) protomolecule perspective, this episode starts with a reunion between Miller and Holden (Steven Strait) that is both heart-warming and rewarding for viewers. Jane is, as always, a joy to watch on screen and the return of the much-beloved character, albeit in a slightly different form, makes this whole episode a joy to watch. The rapport between Holden and Miller is stronger than ever, and you get a real sense from both sides of a strong mutual respect and trust. Strait’s acting is particularly excellent throughout this whole episode and put across the sheer exhaustion Holden is feeling after the last few episodes.

Elvi (Lyndie Greenwood) and Amos (Wes Chatham) end up following after Murtry (Burn Gorman) and Wei (Jess Salguiero) who in turn end up going after Holden, with clear ill intent. What follows is an intense showdown between Amos and Wei, with excellent acting on both sides, and your left wondering for a few moments if he really will go through with shooting Wei. Amos stays true to his character and goes through with it, with credit to the writers for sticking to the character.

Meanwhile, above, on top of the already previously established issues with keeping the Barbapiccola from falling out of orbit, Murtry has additional problems by sending an unmanned shuttle to try to blow the Rociante and Barb out of the sky. While Alex (Cas Anvar), with the help of Fayez (Zach Smadu), is able to spot the shuttle and bring it down before it causes catastrophic issues, the destruction of the shuttle still causes substantial damage to the Roci. The following rescue sequence by Naomi (Domminique Tipper), as Lucia (Rosa Gilmore) is thrown from the Roci, is breathtakingly well done, demonstrating once more The Expanse’s ability to incorporate real-world physics into some great visuals and tense action. As well as being slightly nauseating for some due to the amount of spinning!

The Chekov gun set up in the first episode (in the form of a literal rail gun) finally pays off in this episode, though delightfully in an unexpected way. Alex’s idea to use it to help stabilise the orbit of both ships currently struggling gives him a moment to shine and is an inventive way to use a gun outside of violence.

The standoff, and then shoot off, between Holden and Murtry is a very strong visual and thematic demonstration of this series’ much more Western genre. The conclusion of Murtry’s character as the self-centred villain he is would be corny in some shows, but Gorman and the writers are able to pull it off.

Verdict: An excellent return of a much-loved character, well-paced and with a truly edge of your seat cliff hanger, this is an excellent set up for the finale. 9/10

Emily Day