The Expanse 3×02 Review: IFF

While I definitely enjoyed the season premiere of The Expanse, “IFF” definitely drew me in in a way the first episode didn’t.

I’m not even sure if I can place my finger on why; there were some parts of “IFF” that felt lackluster, particularly some of the scenes with new character “Pastor Anna” and UN Secretary-General Sorrento-Gillis. Not because I’ve made up my mind to not like Anna; on the contrary, while she does seem a bit goody-two-shoes, I love the idea of a female Methodist reverend who is also a doctor and in a relationship with another woman. The problem is, I am used to the book series version of Anna, who – so far as I know – was never a speech writer for the UN Secretary-General, and was also something of a teetotaler. I feel like the show is humanizing the character a bit, and that’s good, but I’m withholding full judgment until I have a better idea of where they’re going with her.

(That said, at least she seems to be giving Errinwright a run for his money.)

The rest of “IFF” focused, in turn, on the crew of the Roci (sorry not sorry, I’m not ready to call it by its new name) and Bobbie and Avasarala, whose escape from Mao’s yacht on his dead daughter’s racing ship was, to me, the best part of the episode. While I understand Holden, Naomi, Alex, and Amos arguing amongst themselves about whether or not to answer Bobbie’s distress call, I was itching for them to get on with doing so, because I couldn’t wait to see these characters together. Come on, who doesn’t want a Holden/Avasarala face-off?

So yes, while I enjoyed seeing Prax continuing to become part of the Roci family (despite his pretty big screw up with not securing the tools before a hard burn), the very end of the episode was what I was really waiting for. Thankfully even though I didn’t get the meeting that I was wanted until those last moments, every scene featuring Bobbie and Avasarala on the Razorback was worth it – because despite everything going on with Earth and Mars and the Belt, it was really damn cool to have the most pressing enemy in “IFF” be gravity. (Pun intended as per the usual.)

How did you like “IFF”? Do you think season three of The Expanse will live up to the first two seasons? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

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