Actually what Dawes says is "I fear peace between Earth and Mars more than I fear war between them" or words to that effect. I wonder if he's taking a page out of the post-colonial playbook; independence for many countries in Asia and Africa had as much to do with their erstwhile colonial masters being exhausted by…

Ah, and it looks like they've updated the wiki too. Thanks!

Maybe, but doing away with what would effectively be a diplomatic delegate would invite attention to what Mao himself did to his daughter- and the wider project of which that was part. Not to mention he does not yet know exactly what Dawes and the OPA have learned about his little science expereiment, what they've got…

"Pampaw" is Belter for "grandfather". Sort of affectionate. Apparently, it is a little context-dependent.

"We know a little geodesic dome on Ganymede. Every July, soybeans grow there…"

I'm not sold on this approach. I do appreciate the fellow's put a fair bit of effort into it, but he seems to have started backwards, not from what Eros needs to do, and then work out the Nauvoo's flight parameters.

That's the interesting thing about Avasarala. Her motives are very opaque. Sure, "what's best for Earth", but she obviously has her own idea what that is. She's definitely ruthless, although quite sharper than Cersei (then again, The Expanse is not written by a rampant misogynist), but exactly what drives her we don't…

Shouldn't it be potato-shaped, then?

Sure, but we're not sure how good the sensors on those ships are. Plus, if they're tracking the exhaust, switching to tracking dissipated heat will need a little recalibrating, even if it's done automatically- and that's the window the pursued ship uses to switch direction.

Well, from Earth politco's perspective, after they lost missile lock on Eros the planet was doomed, and then Holden's crew did something and diverted the whole rock to Venus. So until that information gap is filled (boy, that'll be one heck of a briefing), there's really nothing to change their mind. Well, the whole…

Maybe it kinda does, though. A lot of us live in countries that were established by this kind of messy, prissy, confused bastard of a movement, so it's like watching a bratty kid but knowing it's likely to wise up when it grows up.

Ι don't have a 3D printer, actually. Well, not yet, but it's becoming a very attractive proposition.

Oh, and another one. Tying in with Zach's point about serialised storytelling, wasn't it lovely how there was a fair bit of stuff the writers did not feel compelled to explain or repeat? Like Dawes' history with Miller, or that Martian pill.

(throws chair, starts brawl)

And I can't even begin to describe how much "Just missin' the hat, that's all" made me smile.

Dear Lord in Heaven. That was superb!
This is one heck of a well-written episode. Nothing felt forced, or out of place, or happening at anything else but a natural way in its natural time. I love the parallel themes of Dawes trying to find out what Fred, Holden and Naomi saw and did on Eros and the MCRN trying to find…

Yeah, "unfair" might have been a bit too much, apologies.

Actually, they're pretty much in line with what most militant groups trying to assert indiependence have been doing for ages. Complete with internecine warfare, subterfuge, widespread mistrust, etc. From that aspect it's one of the most realistic things about the show's portayal of the Belt.

Νο, haven't read the books yet. I see young&naive, which kind of covers Holden a fair bit in my view. I'm not seeing disloyal at all, to be honest. Who should he be loyal to? Johnson? Holden? Tycho? Why them and not Dawes, who is OPA and has the scars to prove it?

Well, as Alex said, they were under the clock, so better take the chance and go in now that wait for backup (presumably there's a few Tycho shuttles coming up at top burn). He may be betting that the OPA will hesitate to kill them, since they're Eros heroes, so at worst they'll have a standoff which keeps the…