Avasarala faces fallout from the failed mission to capture Marco Inaros. Fred Johnson arrives on Medina Station to speak with Drummer and Ashford. It does not go well. Casualties mount on Ilus as Holden struggles to keep everyone safe while Elvi hits on a possible solution. Bobbie starts to question her decisions. Lucia and Naomi attempt to tether the Rocinante and the Barb to save the latter from its decaying orbit. Miller returns. Sort of.

Things I Love

• We see Avasarala unsure of herself for the first time. As much as I stan the Queen, I stan Chrisjen as a human being even more. No one is perfect – not even her, and she has to accept it. Some people might like her less for it; I like her more.
• Drummer calling Fred Johnson on his bullshit. With her fist. And refusing to compromise her position to please her former boss. There was a time she would have done anything for him. Now she believes in herself.
• Ashford backing Drummer when he doesn’t necessarily agree with her decisions. She’s his commander. He’s learned to trust her.
• Holden and Amos’s relationship. We’ve never seen them without the buffer of either Naomi or Alex, and there was a time when they would have up and killed each other. Now they’re brothers. H: “Now I can say I took you in a fight.” A: “You can say whatever you want.”
• We’ve never seen Amos frightened before. We’re seeing it now. It’s heartbreaking, but, as with Avasarala, it makes him truly human for the first time.
• Yet again, Elvi is the smartest person in the room. Lady scientist power for the win.
• The ladies also solve the engineering problem.

Things I Didn’t Like

• While I still think the multiline story is, for the most part, being handled extremely well, Episode 8 felt a little choppy. There’s a lot to pull together and only two more episodes in which to do it so I get that they were going for “urgency,” but the super-short segments had me taking a step back from engaging as fully as I usually do.
• Chrisjen did what you told her to do, Arjun. She became the caring matriarch. And you didn’t like the way she did it so you used it as an excuse to have a tantrum. Ugh. I hate you and if I didn’t already know what was going to happen to you, I’d wish that fate for you.
• Bobbie being passive aggressive with the friend who is a boy. She may have learned politics from Avasarala, but dancing around issues isn’t her style. Maybe she’s doing the whole “pushing away” thing but… thanks, I hate it.

I Was Proud When

• Ashford turned down command of Medina Station so he could go after Inaros, even offering Drummer the position of mission XO. Where once he sought command, now he knows when to take a step back and look at the larger picture.
• Amos opened up to Chandra about his childhood. That’s not a thing he does under normal circumstances. It helped him unburden, but knowing that he’s as human as she is also comforted Chandra.
• Chrisjen told Arjun off. Because he’s a hypocrite.

Next up is 409: “Saeculum”