Last month SYFY shared a surprisingly effective but low-key teaser for The Expanse season 3 that hinted at the conflict to come, and now the network has delivered an action-packed full trailer that puts the crew of the Rocinante in the midst of all-out war. The discord between Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance has been steadily intensifying since the series began, and after the events of season 2 saw Martian soldiers attacked and the OPA armed with the protomolecule, it looks as though the days of tension-filled brinksmanship are over.
In addition, Holden, Amos, and Alex are forced to confront the idea that one of their own has played a part in the bloodshed that will undoubtedly result, after Naomi admitted to handing over the deadly protomolecule to Fred Johnson despite having previously sworn to its destruction. That decision is just one of many that will impact the course of events in what looks to be the biggest season of the series yet, one that will see its characters “Divided by hate. Ignited by love. United by war.”
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Like the first teaser, the new trailer is interested in the notion of consequence and how the various characters will choose to deal with the ramifications of their past actions and mistakes. That goes for everyone across the solar system, as it appears a barrage of protomolecule-powered missiles are launched at one point, causing Holden to announce, war had just been declared on Earth.
Perhaps the most striking bit from the trailer is the amount of action on display, as there are numerous shots of extensive (and expensive-looking) battles unfolding in space. Throughout its first two seasons, The Expanse has shown a knack for stretching a basic cable TV effects budget to impressive lengths, and it appears as though that knowhow will yield some impressive set pieces in season 3, as the story jumps into the deep end with plenty of futuristic space battles.
But the show typically goes well beyond effects-driven action sequences. One of the reasons the series has earned the praise it has is due to the depth of its characters and the breadth of their individual storylines set within the overarching narrative of a colonized solar system. And while the crew of the Rocinante fuel much of The Expanse’s primary story, it looks as though Shohreh Aghdashloo’s Chrisjen Avasarala and Martian expat Roberta “Bobbie” Draper (Frankie Adams) are set to see their roles expanded as the former reaches out with a message of peace and unification just as rising tensions spill over into full-on conflict. The trailer even shows Chrisjen seemingly aboard the Rocinante at some point, which suggests there might be hope for the solar system after all.
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The Expanse season 3 premieres Wednesday, April, 11 @10pm on SYFY.