Here There Be Dragons (S0211)
Airdate: April 5th 2017
Written by: Georgia Lee
Directed by: Robert Lieberman
Running Time: 43 minutes
Following the relatively quiet, almost meditative lull of the previous episode Cascade, The Expanse decisively snaps back into its signature rhythm with Here There Be Dragons. Eschewing contemplation for fractured urgency, the episode masterfully reignites multiple narrative engines simultaneously, delivering the series' customary blend of intense action, profound revelation, and labyrinthine political intrigue across its dispersed storylines.
The episode’s title, drawn directly from a line of dialogue spoken by Colonel Janus (Conrad Pla), operates with a delicious, almost cruel irony. While the phrase "Here There Be Dragons" traditionally marked the terrifying unknown on ancient maps, the storyline it references – the UNS Arboghast's cautious research mission orbiting Venus – is, at this precise juncture, the least eventful and certainly the least violent of the episode’s concurrent arcs. Janus, the pragmatic commander, invokes the historical parallel to counsel extreme caution against Dr. Iturbi’s desire to deploy yet another probe into the Venusian cauldron, where previous devices have met mysterious, violent ends. He frames their mission as one of modern-day sea-faring explorers venturing into cartographic blank spots, where the dragons were placeholders for unimaginable peril. Iturbi, driven by scientific fervour, successfully argues for one final gamble. The resulting probe data delivers the episode’s most staggering revelation: the protomolecule is not merely present on Venus, but demonstrably alive and actively transforming the previously hellish, uninhabitable planet. This moment transcends mere plot advancement; it reframes the entire cosmic scale of the threat, shifting it from a contained biological weapon to a potentially planet-altering, intelligent force. The true "dragon" is not lurking in the unknown depths of space, but is actively reshaping a world right before humanity’s eyes, rendering Janus’s historical caution simultaneously prescient and utterly inadequate.
On Earth, the political chess game reaches a fever pitch. Avasarala, in a display of consummate power, appears to have UN Undersecretary Errinwright firmly ensnared. She dangles the spectre of imminent UN Security Council hearings specifically focused on the Eros incident, promising to expose his deeply unsavoury collusion with Jules-Pierre Mao and Protogen. The mere suggestion of this public reckoning visibly rattles Errinwright. Avasarala’s threat is framed as a path to potential atonement, a chilling reminder that her mercy is conditional upon his absolute co-operation. This scene crystallises Avasarala’s methodology: leveraging the system’s own mechanisms, however corrupt, to achieve her ends, always one step ahead in the shadow war.
Simultaneously, Sergeant Bobbie Draper’s Earth-bound predicament explodes into action. Avasarala, desperate for Bobbie’s firsthand account of the Ganymede incident, employs a cynical ruse – falsely reporting OPA sabotage – to prevent Bobbie’s departure. This enforced delay proves pivotal. Bobbie’s subsequent conversation with the increasingly hostile Captain Martens escalates rapidly from tense confrontation into a brutal physical altercation. Utilising her unparalleled Martian Marine combat skills, Bobbie doesn’t merely subdue her superior; she dismantles his resistance to extract the truth. Martens, cornered and overpowered, reveals the horrifying reality: the Ganymede incident was a deliberate Protogen test, "Project Caliban," designed to prove the viability of human-protomolecule hybrids as supersoldiers, subsequently marketed to entities like Mars. Bobbie secures irrefutable evidence, flees the Martian Embassy, and successfully claims political asylum, delivering herself directly into Avasarala’s waiting hands. While this sequence delivers immense catharsis and crucial plot advancement, it warrants critique for its narrative convenience. The showdown, though viscerally satisfying, leans heavily on Cold War thriller tropes. Martens, the archetypal Martian villain, improbably possesses and readily accesses the very evidence that serves as Bobbie’s asylum ticket, making his downfall feel somewhat simplistic and overly revelatory. The ease with which the truth is pried from him, amidst such high stakes, stretches credibility, even within the show’s generally grounded framework.
The Ganymede storyline delivers relentless tension and profound horror. Holden, Amos, Naomi, and Dr. Meng persist in their desperate search for the protomolecule and Meng’s immunocompromised daughter, Mei. Through recovered surveillance footage, they trace Mei’s abduction by Dr. Strickland to a sealed-off Protogen research section. This leads to a fierce firefight with the section’s commander, the chillingly pragmatic Umea (Allisson Hossack), and her mercenaries. The subsequent discovery is deeply disturbing: Protogen used immunodeficient children like Mei as test subjects, attempting to create stable human-protomolecule hybrids. One such hybrid turns on its creators, slaughtering Umea and the scientists. Undeterred by this horror, Holden and Meng pursue the hybrid, believing Mei might still be alive within its grotesque form. Their mission is enabled by Alex Kamal’s audacious, visually spectacular slingshot manoeuvre through the Martian blockade – a sequence showcasing the Rocinante’s capabilities and Alex’s piloting genius.
However, this iconic moment is later revealed to be scientifically flawed, a point of noted embarrassment for producer Naren Shankar, who would meticulously correct the physics for a similar manoeuvre in Season 3’s Delta-V. Meanwhile, Naomi makes a pivotal, emotionally charged decision to part ways with Holden, choosing to aid Ganymede’s refugees. Holden, recognising the moral imperative, instructs Amos to follow her – a subtle but significant fracture in the crew’s unity.
Crucially, this episode marks a significant departure from James S.A. Corey’s novels. Naomi’s revelation to Meng about her lost son, a deeply personal trauma previously unexplored in the narrative, is an original creation for the series. This addition, while enriching Naomi’s character depth and motivations, fundamentally alters her backstory and emotional landscape compared to the source material, representing one of the show’s earliest and most impactful narrative divergences.
Here There Be Dragons functions exceptionally well as a narrative engine. It successfully lifts the veil on the protomolecule’s true nature (Venus), exposes the horrifying depths of Protogen’s conspiracy (Ganymede), forces critical character realignments (Bobbie’s defection, Naomi’s choice), and intensifies the political stranglehold (Avasarala vs. Errinwright). It masterfully complicates allegiances – Bobbie turns against Mars, Naomi against the immediate crew mission, Holden grapples with the monstrous reality of the hybrid – and blurs moral lines, particularly within Protogen’s amoral experimentation. The episode excels in transforming the abstract "dragon" of the title from a metaphor for the unknown into the terrifyingly concrete reality of the protomolecule’s agency and humanity’s willingness to weaponise it. Despite the minor quibble regarding the slightly contrived Martian confrontation and the later scientific quibble with Alex’s flight, the episode stands as a pivotal, densely plotted turning point.
RATING: 7/10 (++)
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