6-02. "Azure Dragon"
Written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck
Directed by Jeff Woolnough
First aired 17 December 2021
SYNOPSIS
On Laconia, Cara's parents tell her the alien bird she brought in for help died because of the protein bar she fed it. She takes the bird back to the woods to bury it, but a vaguely dog-like creature takes the corpse away from her.
In the belt, Bobbie arrives on the Rocinante to coordinate their attack on the Azure Dragon. The Roci captures the spotter ship and retrieves its data core, revealing all of the planned asteroid strikes.
Aboard the Tynan, Drummer meets with Liang Walker, a pirate with loose ties to Marco, to move one of Drummer's family members to safety. But Walker soon realizes he's better off siding with Drummer, and they make plans to take on Marco.
Aboard the UNN Zenobia, Avasarala forcibly coerces Monica Stuart into producing propaganda to convince Belters to end their support for Marco.
On Ceres, Marco addresses Filip having shot a fellow crewman. He's then informed of the Azure Dragon's capture, and he prepares to engage the Inners' fleet in battle.
ANALYSIS
"Amos trusts her, and I trust him, and this is our ship, so that's the end of it."
Sadly, things go from bad to worse with the Laconia sequence, with increasingly unconvincing writing and acting. But, it's over in just a few minutes, and then we're back into the good stuff.
I'm liking Stuart Hughes as Liang Walker. Not quite in Klaes Ashford's league, but still convincing and effective. Meanwhile, Kathleen Robertson as Rosenfeld Guoliang continues to impress as she deftly manipulates Marco.
Best Scene: The Roci's capture of the Azure Dragon is kickass.
Best Line: Drummer tells Walker about Ashford's demise at the hands of Marco. "Oh, the great Marco, with his pretty eyes and his perfect hair..."
SCORE: 