Why does nobody talk about how slow the first season of The Expanse is?

I finally started watching The Expanse last month after everyone kept telling me it was the best sci-fi show out there. But man, the first season really dragged for me. I got to episode 5 and almost quit because nothing big was happening and I couldn't keep all the space politics straight. My buddy kept saying stick with it, so I pushed through to season 2 and now I get why people love it. The action picks up a ton and the characters start making more sense once you know who's who. Has anyone else felt like they had to force themselves through the beginning of a show before it got good?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_thomas1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, hart.mark is right on the money with episode 5. That's EXACTLY where I almost tapped out too. What finally got me through was putting it on in the background while I did stuff around the house, and then suddenly I was paying attention because the political stuff started to actually mean something.

hart.mark1mo ago

Episode 5 is where I almost threw my remote.

felix8241mo ago

The panic in that scene actually shows something deeper - how the show uses sound design to mess with your emotions. That constant buzzing noise before everything goes wrong makes you feel trapped just like the character on screen. Most people focus on the jump scare but miss how the audio builds that dread long before anything happens.