The Expanse Is The Greatest Space Opera You’ll Ignore Forever
Hello everyone. Let’s talk about The Expanse, the so-called “masterpiece” of modern space opera that apparently slipped under half the planet’s radar while the rest were busy rewatching paint dry on endless Marvel sequels. It’s been over three years since it wrapped up, yet people are still stumbling into it like a forgotten loot crate in the back of Steam’s discount bin. After 62 episodes spread across six seasons, the fact that new viewers are still discovering it says less about the show’s marketing and more about how tragically allergic audiences are to anything that requires two functioning neurons.
An Odyssey That Refuses to Die
Premiering in 2015, The Expanse somehow survived the corporate purge of Syfy – a network famous for giving birth to cult gems and then immediately leaving them on someone else’s doorstep like an unwanted baby. When the guillotine came down after season three, Prime Video swooped in like a reluctant foster parent. Yes, Amazon saved the day, but let’s not pretend they turned it into a household name. Jeff Bezos can build a rocket, but apparently can’t launch a show into cultural orbit. Funny, isn’t it?
Still, Prime did at least carry the torch long enough to end the show properly, rather than pulling the plug mid-sentence like Syfy’s usual style. The series wrapped nicely at the sixth book’s conclusion, sparing us the war crime of incompletion while conveniently dodging that massive timeline jump the novels indulged in. A rare case of TV remembering basic narrative medicine: finish the story before the patient flatlines.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (But the Audience Did)
| Season | Episodes | Rotten Tomatoes Score |
| 1 | 10 | 79% |
| 2 | 13 | 95% |
| 3 | 13 | 100% |
| 4 | 10 | 100% |
| 5 | 10 | 100% |
| 6 | 6 | 96% |
Look at those numbers. Near-perfection plastered across multiple seasons, yet the show’s mainstream impact was about as noticeable as a side quest in Skyrim that no one bothers to finish because they’re too busy hoarding cheese wheels. Critical acclaim through the roof – audience adoption barely scraping the ceiling tiles. It’s the TV equivalent of curing a disease in the lab but no one wanting the vaccine. Modern entertainment in a nutshell: clap loudly for mediocrity, ignore actual greatness.
The State of Space Opera: Endangered Species
Back in the day, you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a space opera. Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, half a dozen spin-offs that could fill your backlog quicker than Steam’s summer sale. Now? A barren wasteland. Sure, we have For All Mankind and Foundation trying to hold the line, but asking those shows to keep the flame alive is like giving one medic a bandage and expecting them to heal a battlefield. The genre isn’t dead, but it’s definitely on life support, and someone unplugged the ventilator to charge their iPhone.
“The Expanse is still the best modern space opera you’ll probably ignore until ten years from now.”
Final Diagnosis
So what’s the verdict, Doctor? The Expanse is a beautifully executed, meticulously crafted show that never got the recognition it deserved. It’s rare in medicine and media to find such clean execution with so few complications. Yet mass audiences treated it like kale: good for you, full of nutrients, but ultimately ignored in favor of greasy trash that clogs your arteries faster than another cookie-cutter superhero flick.
My prescription: Watch it. All six seasons. Don’t argue. It’ll cure your chronic case of “nothing good on TV.” But don’t come crying when you realize you ignored it during its prime airing years because Netflix overlords shoved something shinier in your queue. Too little too late, humanity – you had the answer and still failed the quest.
Final impression? Absolutely superb show, criminally underappreciated. Worth every second of your time.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article source: The Expanse Is A Sci-Fi Masterpiece Still Gaining Fans 10 Years Later
