Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Expanse: Season Five Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker January 19, 2024

'The Expanse: Season Five' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. The season's ten episodes are spread across two Blu-ray discs, with five episodes found on each disc. An English DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 accompanies the 1080p image, but no special features are included. Neither a slipcover nor a Digital Code are included.

When The Expanse debuted on the SyFy channel in 2015 it quickly demonstrated that it was possible to find a high-quality space- bound science fiction series with a title that didn't begin with the words "Star Trek". Season Five continues that trend. While great leaps forward in technology are evident in virtually every scene, great leaps forward in humanity are harder to find. Unlike the Star Trek universe, poverty disease, classism, racism, pettiness, and virtually every other flaw currently found in our contemporary world have unfortunately persisted several hundred years into the future setting for this series. Fortunately for the viewer, however, these flaws, mixed with all the trappings of a space opera, make for very compelling plotlines where there's nary a bug-eyed monster to be found, and the only aliens and enemies are us.

The Expanse: Season Five provides us with a new mystery to solve: is someone behind the destruction UNS Hasami and does it constitute a larger threat to Earth? It doesn't take very long for the answer to both of those questions to be revealed; of course someone is behind its destruction and of course, it is part of a larger threat. Shohreh Aghdashloo's Avasarala finds herself relatively neutered as the season opens, and while she believes she has the evidence to support her theory, she struggles to get those now in power to even return her calls. Naomi (Dominique Tipper), however, is concerned with a much smaller crisis - reuniting with her son Filip and hopefully saving him from the influence of his radical father, Maro Inaros. While seemingly independent at first, as the season progresses, the two storylines become all too connected.

Family continues to be a central theme in this season's episodes. Naomi spends much of her time trying to locate the son she abandoned, create some sort of relationship with him, and hopefully rescue him from his father's negative influence. Her struggle to break through his feelings and emotions after years of neglect is heartbreaking, especially with what is at stake. Alex also tries to repair the damage done by years of absence from his family, though he can very easily blame his military service for his situation, even though some of his actions could easily be cast in a heroic light. The blood-family relationships don't fare very well, with forgiveness and redemption proving to be very difficult to come by. Found families, here, perform much better. While Amos and Clarissa journey through a ravaged Earth, their family, or "tribe" as Amos refers to it, works within its parameters, albeit in fits and starts, to keep its members secure and accomplish their stated goals.

Tipper, as Naomi, is the unexpected high point of the season. Her raw emotion is frequently on display as she recounts her decision to leave Filip, a choice she so clearly regrets, and attempts to regain his love and trust. Every time he reaches out to her, the hope seen in her eyes is immense. Every time there is a setback, her heartbreak is obvious. Even more significant and impactful, however, are the moments where she is alone on the screen which often play out with little to no dialogue. In these lengthy and relatively wordless scenes, she holds our interest and advances the narrative as she faces a seemingly insurmountable task. While other characters grow and develop as well, Naomi's journey is the most satisfying.

The following ten episodes comprise The Expanse: Season Five and are spread over two discs. The summaries found below are reproduced from the interior art and may contain spoilers, so proceed with all due caution.

Disc One:

Exodus: Holden tries to convince Fred Johnson to destroy the last sample of the protomolecule. Naomi gets an important lead on her son. On Luna, Avasarala begins to hunt for Marco Inaros.

Churn: Holden and Fred deal with altercations on Tycho. Drummer's past comes back to haunt her. Amos returns to Baltimore. Alex and Bobbie's investigation on Mars leads to rogue soldiers.

Mother: Naomi comes face to face with Filip. Holden and Fred turn the tables. Avasarala closes in on Marco's plot.

Gaugamela: Marco's grand plan shocks Earth, Mars, and the Belt.

Down and Out: Amos and Clarissa are trapped in a collapsed building. Naomi contends with her old family. Holden assembles a new crew on the Roci. Alex and Bobbie make a dangerous discovery in the Belt.

Disc Two:

Tribes: Holden and the Roci go on the hunt. Amos and Clarissa seek shelter on a devastated Earth. Bobbie and Alex fight a desperate battle. Marco makes Drummer an offer she can't refuse. Avasarala returns to a position of power.

Oyedeng: Naomi makes a desperate attempt to save her son from Marco. On the Roci, Holden battles for the last sample of protomolecule.

Hard Vacuum: Amos returns to Baltimore with Clarissa. On Luna, Avasarala's alliances begin to shift. Alone and adrift, Naomi becomes a deadly lure.

Winnipesaukee: Amos, Clarissa and a gang of thieves work together to leave Earth. Avasarala works to head off a brutal military strike. Drummer's new family bonds are tested as Naomi's life hangs in the balance.

Nemesis Games: Holden and the Roci face off against Marco's forces and Drummer, while Alex and Bobbie attempt a dangerous rescue of Naomi, and the balance of power in the Solar System shifts.

The Expanse: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Visually, The Expanse: Season Five looks very good. Fabrics display excellent textures and fibrousness, ship interiors are loaded with detail and signs of wear and use, and facial close-ups, particularly those of Naomi and Avasarala, allow us to see lines, tears, and expressions with enough clarity to add volumes of raw emotion to their heartwrenching performances as they move through their emotional struggles. Season five looks as dark as its emotional tone as we travel through the void and wander through dimly lit ships and stations. Depth is quite good, especially in broader establishing shots, and black levels are typically quite absorbing without crushing. Banding, as has reared its head in prior releases, continues to nag here, but on a very limited and hardly impactful basis. The Expanse has its own unique look when it comes to color, and colors look universally good within that scheme, with a few instances in each episode for certain technological elements to brightly burst through the typically gloomy veneer. It may not be showy, but this overall look is an integral part of The Expanse's identity.

The Expanse: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As the Rocinante and its crew hurtle through space, they do so with the benefit of an English DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 track that once again proves to be completely competent and dependable. For as often as fighting breaks out, The Expanse is a drama, and as such dialogue is the main focus. It is universally properly prioritized and clear, and typically front and center focused. Immersive moments are frequent, as the surrounds place us in the middle of crowded stations and hectic battles. This outing is noteworthy for several season-defining explosions that benefit greatly from the track's deep bass and room-filling sound. Smaller sounds are reproduced authentically as well as doors whoosh open and shut, consoles and readouts beep, and oxygen hisses back to acceptable levels. Subtle when it needs to be, rambunctious when it can be, the track delivers. English SDH subtitles are also available.

The Expanse: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The list of special features is as empty as the vast void of space itself.

The Expanse: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Expanse: Season Five raises the stakes and sets up what is sure to be a powerful and impactful sixth, and for now, final season. Anchored by the always entrancing Shohreh Aghdashloo, who lends her singular brand of gravitas to every scene she's in and the series as a whole by default, this season leaves the viewer in a universe that is significantly changed from where we started. Production values remain high and tension remains taut as our heroes search first for answers and then a way to save the fractured Solar System. Technical merits are extremely solid and The Expanse: Season Five comes Highly Recommended to those who have made the journey thus far.