Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 313 – Abaddon’s Gate

Here to close out the season with the discussion of yet another excellent episode are Jim and…. Levi.  They may not be the hosts the podcast deserves, but they’re the hosts the podcast needs right now.  Seriously though, we have a great conversation and a lot of fun on this guest-hosted season finale.  Thank you to Levi for filling in this week.  Tune in next week for your regularly scheduled season wrapup.

Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 312 – Congregation

The penultimate episode of SfFy’s The Expanse, “Congregation”, finds our subsection of humanity trapped within the ring station making so very hasty, and perhaps rash, decisions. Firing super powerful lasers, setting off nukes, just in general Fourth of Julying it up in there. The ring doesn’t like it, and now that same subsection of humanity has 7 hours to make things right. Aside from the end of all human life as we know it, there’s also some really good bits with Amos and Anna, Naomi and ROBODRUMMER, and we continue to be impressed with Ashford’s leadership and diplomacy. Aside from, you know, the whole Fourth of July thing. Jim and Levi will take it from here for the finale, but don’t forget, we’ll be back next week with a wrap up pod where we finalize our season three coverage, so send us some feedback and tell us what you’re thinking!

Watching Westworld - 210 – The Passenger

Reasonable people may disagree, but for Jim and I, the finale of  HBO’s Westworld season two, “The Passenger” failed to justify an ultimately flawed and uneven 10.5 hours of television. We’re not ready to write the show off by any means, it’s too well constructed with too much talent for that. But we can’t help but think of it as a misstep that is going to justify a lot of fans decisions to give up on the show. Next week, we’ll be back to discuss our overall thoughts on the season, and what we hope for and expect coming into season three. Please send us feedback if you want to join in on that discussion!

Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 311 – Fallen World

Another spectacular episode of The Expanse this week in “Fallen World”. The episode is remarkably well paced, makes zero g environments feel truly alien and threatening, and offers solid character developments, particularly in the relationship between Ashford and Drummer. Anna even gets a moment to be awesome. Anna! Can’t wait for next week’s episode, we’ll see you then!

Watching Westworld - 209 – Vanishing Point

This week’s episode of HBO’s Westworld, “Vanishing Point” does a excellent job of setting up next week’s finale. That finale has a lot riding on it, with seemingly endless permutations of possibilities of who’s a host, who’s a human, what’s real and what’s simulated that have to be coalesced down to a single possiblity. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, because if you watched this episode purely for it’s plot mechanics you missed out on a lot of wonderful writing and acting that lead to some amazing character development for most of the main cast, revealing brand new relationships we didn’t even know were there, giving more depth to the ones we had, and utterly shattering a few more. And yeah, there are just a ton of theories involving who is a host and what will happen in the Valley Beyond next episode! Can’t wait to discuss it all with you then!

Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 310 – Dandelion Sky

SyFy’s The Expanse goes full on 2001: A Space Oddity on us, and we couldn’t love it more. “Dandelion Sky” covers a lot of territory even as it’s physically constrained to the inside of The Ring. “Miller’s” nature, the origins of the protomolecule, Holden embracing his role as reluctant hero, Amos having no fear, the struggle for the command of Behemoth. We discuss all this and much more. See you next week!

Watching Westworld - 208 – Kiksuya

This week’s episode of HBO’s Westworld was truly a thing of beauty. Learning about the long and winding journey of Akecheta, exquisitely played by Zahn McClarnon, in his search for truth, meaning, and his long lost love, was as profound a watching experience as I’ve had these past few years. Along the way he unlocks his own consciousness, meets god and the devil, and learns about a path his people may take to be free forever. Will he reach The Door? What, and who, will he find there? And will Maeve make it to be reunited with her daughter currently under Akecheta’s protection? We discuss this, you feedback, and the theories and speculation everyone’s buzzing about on this week’s pod!