Weapons of The Expanse – S1-E1-3

Welcome to the first recap of The Weapons of The Expanse. I started this as a personal project back in April, during the first wave of the Pandemic, sharing my scribbles with just a few colleagues. In the months since, I have yet to find any similar kind of recap/summary for the show, and with a new season coming out, I wanted to see if perhaps someone else would be interested in my ramblings as well.

The Expanse is based on books, which again is based on the plot for an online multiplayer game that never saw the light of day – in other words, this is a massive, complex world. And though we don’t see many of them in action, the weapons of The Expanse play a huge role in the story right from the start.

Episode 1 – Dulcinea

The first weapon we see used the show is a bit of an oddity. As we join James Holden into the quarters of the ice hauler Canterbury´s rather distraught Executive Officer (who´s name we never learn) we are introduced to a man that clearly has an affinity for both Daisies and (what at that point must be rather vintage) firearms. Some googling tells me that his collection includes a Smith & Wesson Model 10 M&P, a Walther P88, a Colt Anaconda, multiple lever action rifles, and, significantly, a Colt Single Action Army, a gun he uses to blow up the screen in his quarters. I don’t know if it is deliberate, but Holden´s reaction does give us an impression of the kind of percussive shock that would be experienced from firing a large handgun a small room like this, which is perhaps also why this is the last time we see any «classic» firearms used on the show.

Next we head to Earth – and first a small non-weapons related observation – note all the lights from the settlements on the Moon…! That would be a sight to see at night!

The next weapon we see is an assault rifle carried by a soldier guarding the «black site» visited by US assistant undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala. This is supposed to be the standard assault rifle of the UN Navy (in reality it is a heavily modified H&K SL8-4, a civilian version of the G36 sold commercially in the US.)

We get a closer look at the rifle when it is carried onto the «Scopuli» by Amos Burton, the mechanic/enforcer of the crew. Note the ejection port on the upper receiver, does not seem like they were conscious of any choice on cased or caseless ammunition yet.

Later on in the season he will begin carrying a weapon just known as «Amos’s gun», a design that was apparently custom made for this character, and meant to be a combined assault rifle and a pump action shotgun – a combo I guess becomes feasible when you don’t have to worry about the weight of your weapon! You can learn more about this design in this excellent video by Adam Savage (the guy from Mythbusters.)

And finally, and significantly, we have the first, albeit brief appearance of torpedoes (which is often also referred to as missiles, a term I prefer) that the unknown attacker uses to blow up the Canterbury, leaving our heroes stranded. We will be seeing much more of these later, and they will be described being powered by a small fusion reactor with interchangeable warheads.

And we are off to an explosive start!

Episode 2 – The Big Empty

Episode 2 continues the world building of episode 1, with the rather motley crew of survivors from the Cant, who we will become much more familiar with as time goes on, doing their best to survive, along with an increase in tensions at Ceres. Not much weapons action during this episode, but we get this small gem from Detective Miller having a drink on Ceres, showing what would happen if you tried to pour any liquid in a place where gravity is created by spinning the whole place – fast…!

We only see weapons used twice – once when Amos gives us one of the first insights into his violent inclinations – and in the closing scene, with our heroes being boarded and captured by the Martians – seems laser sights are still a thing…!

And that was episode 2 – lots of character and world building – but hang in there, things are about to get good!

Episode 3 – Remember the Cant

In episode 3 we do get some more weapons action, with a couple of new ones – after all, we are introduced to the navies of both Earth and Mars (seems like its all Navy and Marine Corps on both sides.)

The first one we see used, however, is neither on Earth nor Mars, but back on Ceres. It is Miller´s Star Helix Service Pistol (in reality a heavily modified Glock 26.) Miller uses it to break up a fight in the docks, where he fires warning shots that clearly penetrate parts of the surrounding structure – but without anyone appearing to be concerned about ricochets, or him doing so a few meters from the bulkheads and glass panes separating everyone from the vacuum of space.

We also get our first look at a representative of the Martian Marine Corps (MMC) – we will be seeing lots more of them going forward, and we will get a better look at both their sidearms and assault rifles.

We see some Martian bullpup-style assault rifles carried by sentries and Marines during the episode, but we never see them completely close up – that, however, will change next time…! The choice of bullpup rifles however makes sense for Mars, given that they are far more likely to prioritize efficiency in confined quarters.

So what can we tell about the weapons of the Expanse from these first three set-up episodes?

• The writers so far seem to have paid more attention to the realism of ship-to-ship combat than to the firearms (providing we suspend disbelief on the fusion drives on ships and missiles).
• Firearms are in widespread use, with even the crew of a commercial ice hauler like the Canterbury having access to military grade assault rifles.
• Unsurprisingly, the design of firearms seems to have emphasized a gritty familiar look rather than any novel technologies. As in many other sci-fi shows they are just supposed to look the part, and serve the purpose of forwarding the story.
• Long arms such as assault rifles are predominantly used by the military – understandable given that most hand-to-hand combat happens at very close distances, and that the shooters have to operate their weapons in confined spaces where a larger weapon would not offer many advantages for anyone without substantial training.

That’s it for now! Stay tuned for Episode 4, CQB (Close Quarters Battle) which really lives up to its name…! Then things really kick off…!