6-03. "Force Projection"
Written by Dan Nowak
Directed by Jeff Woolnough
First aired 24 December 2021
SYNOPSIS
On Laconia, Cara discovers that the strange dog that took the dead bird has brought it back to life. Then she learns that her little brother was killed in an accident.
The Earth/Mars Joint Fleet finds Ceres devoid of Free Navy loyalists and stripped of nearly all resources. As the Joint Fleet begin arranging to bring relief for the Belters left on the station, an explosion rips through the docks. Avasarala questions the administrator of Ceres about Marcos.
On the Rocinante, Holden tries to determine the reason for the disappearance of ships transiting Rings. They are intercepted by the Pella, Marco's ship, and they do battle. During an exchange with Marco, Holden sees Filip with him, so Holden disables a missile that makes a direct hit. Marco withdraws from the fight.
On the Pella, Filip and Marco blame one another for their loss with the Roci; Marco relieves Filip of duty for defying him.
In the Belt, Drummer and Walker plan to seize Marco's supply depots, and are joined by more Belters.
ANALYSIS
"Everybody on this ship has something they regret... You're in good company."
I've gotten to the point that I just tune out the Laconia bits: they're borderline embarrassing to watch (save for the great CGI work) and bring nothing to the table.
Despite the season's compressed nature, the writers still take the time to do some nice navel-gazing. In this case there are a few excellent quiet moments, particularly Naomi and Holden's discussion about her freezing up. The two have such great chemistry; she makes a lovely, natural little giggle after he asks her to help him figure something out.
Oh, and wasn't it great seeing Anna Volovodov's little cameo in Monica Stuart's news feed? Even better was Prax's message to Amos. (Note that most of these cameos are presented as communications, rather than in person; I suspect this was an economical way of doing it, since the actors didn't need to be brought into the studio for a minute or two of filming—they could do it by remote from most anywhere. This should not in any way be taken as a gripe.)
Best Scene: Holden and Marco's battle is seriously intense, with some of Clinton Shorter's best music to back it up.
Best Line: Defeated in battle, Marco snarls at Holden, "I would die before I live at the end of your leash."
SCORE: 