News from the Canterbury survivors leads to instability on Earth and Ceres.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Jim Holden’s message reached Ceres station and beyond which sets up a volatile situation between Earth and Mars while also angering belters. The news of the Canterbury connects a few dots for Miller who now knows where the Scopuli, the ship carrying Julie Mao, ended up. He still doesn’t know how everything is connected but this does lead him down the path of Julie being OPA and their involvement on the Scopuli. The Miller bits have been great so far. They feel like something out of a hardboiled detective novel. All he needs is an inner monologue.
Seeing Jared Harris (Mad Men, Fringe) was a nice surprise. Anderson Dawes (Harris) is an OPA operative who is coy about his direct connection to Mao and the Scopuli but he certainly seems involved. It’s good to see the truth behind what happened to Mao finally opening up. It feels like we’re leading to a big revelation that will eventually bring Holden and Miller’s story together. Or maybe like Game of Thrones, we will keep expecting these characters to unite five seasons later. They’re definitely on two sides of the same coin though.
Chrisjen was ruthless and it was great watching her work the UN Ambassador to Mars, Franklin DeGraaf, in order to find out whether or not Mars really was really willing to risk a potential war on Earth by taking over Ceres station. It was ruthless but necessary and the fact that she was willing to damage an old friendship in order to gain valuable intel speaks volumes about her character. Who can really blame her when you consider the amount of lives that are at stake in this situation. While DeGraaf is somewhat upset he even respects the strategic mastery that Chrisjen display and understands why it was necessary. He can never trust her again and his career is ruined but I loved how he handled the situation with respect.
A few interesting things came out of the situation on the Martian ship where Jim Holden and the remaining survivors of the Canterbury were being held captive. Naomi potentially being a sleeper operative for the OPA was a curious development. Though I think a little more development on who the OPA actually are would have made that potential truth a more dramatic surprise than it actually was. The situation with Miller back on Earth is an attempt us in on the OPA backstory but there is a lot to the group but I still found myself unsure as to why it would necessarily be bad to work for them beyond the fact that she would have lied about it. The impression I get regarding the OPA though, from what we learn on the Martian ship and Ceres station, is that they are known for executing terrorist attacks to further their own agenda.
The interrogation technique used was definitely unique. It appeared to be some sort of lie detection system using a pill to heighten the senses of the interrogator so they observe acute changes in their prisoner. The episode itself doesn’t do much to explain but I found it to be kind of a neat trick.
The Martians spend most of the episode seeming like a pretty grim bunch. Of course, we really only see them from the point of view of prisoners who are dealing with guards that are generally nasty to begin with. It’s not until Holden finally gets to meet with the captain that we get to meet someone with a personality that is a little more natural and human.
By the end of the episode the impression is that Mars really wasn’t behind the attack on the Canterbury and while I think Naomi may be OPA that doesn’t necessarily mean they were behind the attack either. That leaves things open for another group that may be new on the scene.
“Remember the Cant” was a great episode with a lot of important developments and character building. My biggest complaint right now is that they need to expand on the OPA’s reasoning a little more. The destruction of the Cant turned them into quite the violent bunch. They’re a Union turned violent, that much is clear. Maybe that’s all there is to it but considering how big a factor they were this week it would have been nice to have had a little more backstory on them to justify the fear everyone seems to have.
One thing is for sure, the OPA is dangerous as evidenced by the death of Miller’s partner in quite a gruesome conclusion the episode.
“Remember the Cant” expands on what is already an intriguing mystery. It would be great to know more about why the OPA are so feared prior to the events of this episode.
