I have been pushing on this one lately and now Im past half way of this season, its actually getting better and Episode 6 kept the same momentum as Episode 5 because the crisis on Mars finally has more than one side capable of making a terrible decision, but I still think the episode holds back too much when it should let the damage feel immediate. The people inside MOCC control Happy Valley and a handful of hostages, but they do not really have a plan beyond stopping automation and protecting the life they built there, which tracks after a violent protest, like what else you going to do besides taking control of the place? I mean its not worth killing anyone, thats not how things going to get sort out, this is not a ransome. I like that the show does not suddenly turn them into skilled leaders because they took a building, Gerardo can take control of a room but it is Miles who gets that threats alone will not keep anyone alive, anger pushed these people into action but anger cannot run a base, protect hostages or make Earth listen. I got to mention that the episode spends so much time moving groups around the board that it doesnt really show how all this violence is starting to affect them, people got killed and hurt, the base is damaged, and everyone is stuck inside a political fight that can get worse fast, but the episode plays calm about it. I get why, the characters need time to figure out what comes next, but the result feels more like preparation, giving the season direction without giving this chapter enough weight to make a difference or be that important to the story.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/
- Platform: PRIME VIDEO
Boyd is the best part of the episode because she refuses to pick a side and trust it blindly, so she helps Miles get into MOCC and works with peacekeepers who stopped backing Palmer, but she will not hand the hidden weapons to the protesters because their anger makes sense to her. She knows those guns could stop Palmer from taking full control, but Gerardo has no real plan for using them and handing weapons to scared, divided people makes everything worse and can backfire very quick. That keeps the protesters from becoming another armed group and gives the episode one person thinking past the next five minutes. Miles gets better once he is inside MOCC, he sees that keeping workers tied up and treating everyone like an enemy only proves Earth right about who they are, so he pushes for something more reasonable. He is useful without becoming some perfect leader, he is still taking a big risk and his history with the peacekeepers could be used against him later. His idea to stop the iridium shipments is smart, it gives Mars leverage without hurting hostages, but it is dangerous since Earth can cut off the food, medicine and equipment that keeps Happy Valley alive, and that risk becomes real the second Bragg answers with his own embargo, then Miles basically end up giving Mars something real to bargain with but he also gives Earth a reason to use force instead of talking, as they go everything they do just push closer and closer for Earth to choose violence.
Aleida brings the common sense here, she understands winning MOCC means nothing if the systems fail and everyone dies anyway. She walks in knowing the protesters might not let her leave and makes clear the workers need to get back to their jobs and keep the fusion systems under control, no matter how anyone feels about the takeover. She cuts through the noise fast, she is not there to back Gerardo or defend the governor, she is there because Happy Valley cannot run on anger and the Titan crew needs real information about what happened, which makes her way more useful that on the people in the room, she realize someone has to make some sense and keep the show running. On the other hand Dev situation is a lot more complicated, his first instinct is worrying about Alex, but separating from security feels careless since everyone already blames him for the automation mess so he is a target and can get in hot water real quick. There is in fact an attack on him but it happens so fast it feels more like a way to force Dev to change than a moment that makes any impact to the story. He comes back beaten up and orders the Helios doors locked, and that is the part I care about, Dev has spent years talking about a future for people on Mars and now those same people see him as the guy trying to cut them out of it, the truth is that he has always been blind by his ego, yes he has done some genious stuff in the past because cant denied that but, you live long enough to watch your hero become the villain. Locking the doors could be a safety call or the first sign he no longer trusts the workers he claims to support, I am not sure and the episode ends before Dev explains what this really means.
Finally Earth cutting everyone off is effective, but it does makes the conflict bigger, but it also shows the episode needed more time with the people caught in the middle. Bragg refuses to negotiate and cuts off supplies to Mars, punishing the whole settlement for what a small group inside MOCC did and while that makes sense politically once the governor announces the iridium shipments are stopping, it is still reckless. Happy Valley has families, injured people, workers who never joined the takeover and kids who had zero say in any of it. The embargo gives the season a real threat to build toward but the episode barely takes the time to develop what that means before something new comes up. The scenes with Avery and Marcus hint that military action is coming as expected, their training is prepping them for it and Marcus admits he liked the friends he made up there even though the planet never won him over. Avery telling Marcus that Danny Stevens was her biological father adds more weight to the idea of her being sent to Mars, after all her father caused the drilling disaster there and later died on the planet, but I wish the episode spent more time showing how she or Marcus feels about possibly being sent against people they know, they have gone through a lot and got some skin in the game. The Alex and Lily stuff is sweet but small next to everything else, and Lee coming back is interesting but so sudden it feels inserted by convinience or to fill up some space, they might save something for later and might matter when we get there, but right now it adds to the feeling everyone is being pushed toward the next crisis instead of the one already happening.
I like the direction this season is heading more than I like this episode, honestly I dont know how the episode starts a bit exciting because finally we were getting some chaos with more than one side but its like they pull the brakes. The politics finally make sense and nobody in this fight has a clean way out, like the protesters cannot surrender without risking punishment and losing their homes, Earth cannot give in without handing Mars real political power, and Dev cannot keep acting like the guy building a better future while the workers think his plan is to replace them, we have come to a path with multiple directions almost like the episode needs to choose and but there is no right answer. Boyd still has to figure out what she does with those weapons if Palmer tries to retake MOCC and the Titan crew gets pulled in because the people they care about are stuck at Happy Valley. That gives the rest of the season plenty to work with and the best part is one bad choice can blow up into a problem for everyone, so I think this episode needed to be more than a bridge between the riot and whatever Earth does next, the attack on Dev needed more room, more chaos, the embargo needed more reaction from the people who will suffer and the peacekeeper split needed more attention since that could decide who controls the base. Instead the episode gives every problem enough time to point at the future before moving on, almost like in some way the script is falling into a "what if this, what if that" but nothing really concrete happens that moves or takes a clear desision, nobody wants to be the one that pulls the trigger, yes there is preassure form all sides but still noone has the upper hand or a desisive win of this battle. I was never bored watching it and the handful of choices they put out worked for me, its a lot to process, especially Boyd refusing to hand over those weapons and Aleida taking charge of the practical stuff inside MOCC while everyone else argued, but by the end I felt the same way I felt through most of the hour, this episode does the job of setting up something bigger, it does not fully deliver on the crisis already happening.
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Rating: 75/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.
