The EXPANSE The Belters and Fred Johnson Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
- The Expanse Fred Johnson, the Butcher of Anderson Station and the Belters. How this Earther became the leader of a large faction of the OPA. Please subscribe! - bit.ly/PetePeppers
Season 5 of the Expanse will be the last for Fred Johnson (Chad Coleman). Fred has run the moderate faction of the Outer Planets Alliance from Tycho station, and represented the Belts interests when dealing with the Inner Planets. Fred was born on Earth and rose to the rank of Colonel as a UN Marine. In the Expanse novella “The Butcher of Anderson Station”, by James S.A. Corey, we learn how he was recruited for the OPA by Anderson Dawes (Jared Harris).
Link for The Butcher of Anderson Station Book - amzn.to/3px5RgC
This video explains how Fred Johnson became known as the Butcher of Anderson Station in the Belt, and the Hero of Anderson Station back on Earth. It talks about how he did his duty, but was deceived by his superior officers. They let him order the assault on the station even though they had received a message saying that the striking miners and their families were surrendering. They let Fred follow through with the strike to make an example of the workers. Over 1000 civilians were killed, and the footage from the security cameras was broadcasted throughout the Sol system.
We also take a deep dive look at the history of the Belt, and how it was colonized. We look at where the first Belters came from, and how they adapted to low gravity. In just five generations Belters have become viewed as others because their bodies develop differently in space. They are taller, thinner, and their bones have become too brittle to spend too long in gravity. People from Earth and Mars tend to view Belters as second-class citizens. They are an exploited labor class that are viewed with suspicion.
After Fred Johnson resigned from the Marines he spent time being a drunk in bars in the Belt. Anderson Dawes believed he was suicidal, and was worried that he would provoke a belter to kill him. This would reflect badly on the OPA because even though Fred was known as the butcher in the Belt, he was a hero to the inner planets. After questioning him about what happened during the Massacre of Anderson Station, Dawes recruited Fred for the Outer Planets Alliance.
Let us know what theories you have about season 5, and how you think his story will end. If you’ve read ahead in the book series, please make sure to mark any book spoilers when you comment.
This Expanse Fred Johnson video explains everything you need to know about the head of the OPA at Tycho Station. It explains his origin story, and explains the history of the Belters.
The Expanse stuff:
First three books box set - amzn.to/36A2HPv
Cibola Burn - amzn.to/38BKq6f
Nemesis Games - amzn.to/2JXUkr6
Babylon’s Ashes - amzn.to/37GjFOl
Persepolis Rising - amzn.to/39LiH6d
Tiamat’s Wrath - amzn.to/2IsbjBu
Leviathan Falls - Coming soon...
Seasons 1 - 3 - amzn.to/2PIsgXU
Seasons 4 - 5 - amzn.to/30L6R6Q
About The Expanse:
The disappearance of rich-girl-turned-political-activist Julie Mao links the lives of Ceres detective Joe Miller (Thomas Jane), accidental ship captain James Holden (Steven Strait) and U.N. politician Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Amidst political tension between Earth, Mars and the Belt, they unravel the single greatest conspiracy of all time.
Season five of the series picks up as multitudes of humans leave the solar system in search of new homes and vast fortunes on the earth-like worlds beyond the alien Ring, and a heavy price for centuries of exploitation of the Belt finally comes due and a reckoning is at hand. For the crew of the Rocinante and the leaders of the Inner Planets and the Belt, the past and present converge, bringing forth personal challenges that have wide-reaching repercussions throughout the Solar System. Amos (Wes Chatham) returns to Earth to confront his past and the legacy of the life he fought to leave behind. Naomi (Dominique Tipper) reaches out to her estranged son in a desperate bid to save him from his father’s toxic influence. Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Alex (Cas Anvar) confront the collapse of Mars as they chase a shadowy cabal with ties to terrorists and criminals. Holden (Steven Strait) wrestles with the consequences of his own past with the Protomolecule, the aliens who built it, and the mystery of what killed them. Drummer (Cara Gee), with a new crew, fights to escape who and what she used to be. And Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), refusing to be relegated to the sidelines, fights to prevent a terrorist attack unrivaled in history.
0:00 Intro/Excerpt from The Butcher
1:37 History of the Belters
4:44 The Massacre at Anderson Station
8:15 Anderson Dawes' Offer
#theexpanse #theexpanseseason5 #screamingfirehawks #theexpanseseason4 #expanseonprime - บันเทิง
Let me know your favorite Fred Johnson moments. What's your favorite Belter fact?
The actor does such a great job portraying him. Just wish he and Anderson Daws got a little bit more time on screen together.
The Physiology of Belters I think is pretty cool, long term effects on the human body in 0 G
Stacy Holden Darn! I was just about to pick that as my favorite "fact" or aspect. I think you expressed it better than I would have. :-)
It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be dependent on so many different things to keep you alive every moment of every day.
Fred with the Mormons
Fred was such a complex character, I for one, will miss him a lot. Any soldier who has thrown a grenade in a house thinking the enemy was in there, only to find a mangled family will understand the many layers of conflicting emotions Fred goes through. The writers did a great job showing how a person, who has their idealistic world shattered can move that idealism over to a different cause. The problem being, is they often have blind spots towards the mission they have accepted and in the dedication to that mission by those around them. It's easy to believe others want the same ideal outcome they dream of.
On the show Bull said to Fred "your problem is that you assume the underdogs are always the good guys". In the moment this served largely as foreshadowing (sorry about the mild spoiler!) but it also works to tell us something about Fred. His idealism was a major issue and contributed to his downfall.
Holden: There was a button, I pushed it.
Fred: Jesus Christ! Thats really how you go through life, isn't it?
I loved that line too!
ditto!
So glad they kept this line from the books.
Fred Johnson is a case of “Don’t know what you’ve got, ‘til he’s gone.” He’s always been a character for the Roci crew to interact with at key points, but; looking back; he’s been in the middle of a lot of key events. He absence will be a character the rest of the cast is going to have to interact with. There’s a big vacuum atop the largest faction of moderate Belters. Weird circle of events, where Drummer cast the deciding vote to let Marco go, Fred criticized her for it, she quit over it, and a mole from Marco’s faction literally shot him in the back.
Fred was also the only character who had leverage enough to lobby for the interest of the Outer Planets with the Inners.
@@PetePeppers1 I just thought of the exchange in the S5 premiere between (IIRC) Naomi, Bull, and Sakai, where Bull is bitching about how much the Roci overhaul is costing, how Naomi is taking advantage of Fred’s nice guy discount, and Naomi tells him off saying their arrangement is with Fred, and it predates Bull showing up. Ep4 is a harsh reminder that there ARE NO “throwaway lines” on this show. There isn’t a lot of room for anything that isn’t important when they’re adapting a novel into 10 TV episodes. Screen time is too valuable. But it’s only now that we can recognize that as foreshadowing Fred’s assassination.
@@Briandnlo4 yeah, unfortunatelly for Fred, as Daws said: the Belt will never unite under Fred, and as Sakai said: he was a tourist..he hurt the Belt, and he tried to make up for it, but that dosen't mean much in overall situation, but I also, as many others, really liked Fred..
Pete, your videos are significantly helping me get through the withdrawal between episodes. Thanks! :^)
No problem, we'll get through this together haha
Ha! Very true
*between seasons
@@marko46srb That too.
I've not read any of the books so this background on Fred Johnson makes the show better for me. Thank you.
They make for a fantastic audiobook experience.
Good to hear. Will be doing more videos like this one throughout the season.
@@kobathedread I second this sentiment.
The absolutely best of the best sci-fi show ever. If it doesn't make you tear up you don't have a heart or a soul
The story of the butcher of anderson station gives a really unique perspective of Marco's motivations to attack earth.
Definitely. Makes me want to see Anderson Dawes again too.
Nice video! I would have loved to see belters depicted like they were in the books but I cannot fathom how much that would have costed. Things gotta change for TV adaptations and I think the team over there have done a great job. Even with the character merging and storyline shuffles. I'm super please with the whole thing.
Yeah, I can live with them all not looking like the guy in the pilot did. They do such a great job of showing what it's like to live in the small spaces of a ship or a station, and the considerations of gravity that go along with that.
Fred & Dawes both were very complex characters & that short story gives you more insight into them both then you really get from the show. It was such a shock when the show killed Fred off last episode. Now I'm wondering if that means Dawes will play a more prominent role? The show kinda made him a baddie but he really wasn't.
I think we can all agree that we're hoping Dawes comes back. They certainly haven't given any indications that he'd be returning this season, and the fact that he was working on the Foundation series at the same time makes it seem less likely. Will be happy to be surprised if he pops up though.
Another quality post !! I loved the way that in the show, we can see Fred’s hard earned level-headedness steaming from years of experience in his reactions vs Holden’s more “0 to 100” reactions. It’s that kind of dynamic that I was missing in the books up to the point we are in the show. Later, in the books, this comes out but it’s latent.
Rest In Power Fred Johnson
With just the one POV chapter early on Fred definitely sneaks up on you in the books.
I'm starting to think I look forward to Pete's amazing commentary more than the episodes themselves!!
That was great Pete. I liked Fred and it’s such a pity that he got killed off but killing him certainly added a lot of weight to the story.
Interested to see where they do with it.
thank you for making The Expanse videos, it's always a joy to watch.
No problem, thanks for the comment.
I've just finished watching The Expanse and it is a fantastic show. I'm getting ready to read the books. Your video was very helpful-I never understood the connection Fred had with the OPA till now! Thanks!
Nice Job, Pete. I always enjoy your insight. :)
Thanks for the background on Fred. I really like the stuff from the books and it reveals great insight into the characters you don't get in the show. Chad Coleman did an amazing job as Fred and it's too bad his time's done.
Fred's one of those characters that I think the show and book versions compliment each other really well. Chad Coleman's performance brings a lot to the show version, and of course we learn a little more in the books.
Great observations
Fred: What did you do?
Holden: There as a button; I pushed it.
Fred: Jesus Christ, that's really how you go through life isn't it.
I adored Fred and wish we'd gotten more of him in the show (Fred in the books is one of my favorite characters, along with Naomi, Clarissa, and Bobbie) In the show, I loved his relationship with Drummer. Their relationship was complex, because while she respected him, I think she always had the nagging sense that an Earther shouldn't be leading the fight for Belter rights. That said, I think Drummer inherited both Fred's idealism (she sent Ashford's message to Fred in hopes that it would make a difference) and his pragmatism (for example, deciding to throw in with Marco)
Sounds like the book’s version of Fred’s character was way more interesting than the shows. Nice vid
He only has a few POV chapters in the main books. The short story/novella fills in the details.
Muy interesante el origen de los belters y es muy posible que así ocurra
I used to read Larry Niven's books. he had alot of stories about belters and earthers in his syfy. I really liked the Man K'zinti wars short stories and the Ring world series. Ringworld would be a fun syfy series on screen
This explains why Marco attacked 🌍....to send a message....
that was sweet, thank you, a little normalization and de"S"ing would step it up one more notch, Audacity basics lessons are available on TH-cam and the program is free and used by allot of people so down the road if you start working remotely with others creators your audio can easily be combined in a team project . Again great show , don't know of anybody else doing this with The Expanse, love the book exerts, the out show rolls out very well too .
Bro, you are straight carrying expanse content atm, you keep the hype train rolling when i wait each week for a new episode. Please just don't burn yourself out ;)
Thanks, I will try not to.
Why Chad must you always die on me! lol I lost him in TWD & now here but he plays his characters so well. I was lucky to meet him a couple of years ago at a convention in Stockholm. He was ofcourse nice as they usually are but he had a warmth about him & such kind eyes & he called me sweetheart which Im sure he said to alot of women that day lol but hey made my day :D it was a hoot to meet him. Gonna miss him as Fred!
Always delivers a great performance.
Spoilers plus speculation for books/seasons 5 + 6...
Now that Fred is dead in the show, I wonder what will happen with his part of the story in the rest of season 5 and 6; his death in book 6 is a pretty major turning point in the Free Navy conflict; and helps turn more Belters against Inaros; in particular Anderson Dawes; but in the show it has come too early in the story for the writers to give it the same impact. The show has combined book characters before, so one answer is that someone else will take up his role, but I don't think there is one clear choice. This could be one reason why they decided to introduce Bull, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for him to suddenly take up Fred's role as a politician. Another possibility is Avasarala taking up some of Fred Johnson's role; as an Earther politician advocating for peace between all the major factions, and for better treatment of Belters by the inner planets; she may even be given his death which could be pretty impactful seeing as she's been a major character since season 1; except I can't imagine either of those characters dying would rally any Belters against Marco. This change would at-least give her character more to do in the rest of seasons 5 + 6 though, as her part in those books was pretty small. Whatever happens they have set things up to deviate from the books significantly in season 6; I'm not necessarily opposed to that as Babylon's Ashes was one of my least favourites in the series, but it has me both excited and nervous to see how things will change
I keep confusing events of book 5 & book 6 since it's been a while & I've read 2 books since then & re-watched the entire show twice. Keeping show & book canon straight gets difficult. But I remember Holden having to take Fred's place at the counsel meeting & Dawes advocating for him behind the scenes. Drummer is another possibility considering how they've set up her character's history. I thought she was going to basically fill Michio Pao's place considering what they have her doing now, but the kidnapping of Naomi & attack on Earth might change that since she already hates Marcos & was in love with Naomi (on the show) Naomi is another possibilty since her show character is completely different from her book character. On the show Dawes is a Baddie & has been working against Fred I think. He supplied Belters in stolen riot gear from Ceres for the protomolecule experiment on Eros & tried to space Miller. Now he & Marcos are working with the rogue faction of Mars. Fred did not know any of that. Btw, I don't think it was Fred's death that turned Dawes & the others against Marcos, it was when he used Belters as shields & left them behind as bait for the UN forces & when they all found out that the entire system was going to run out of food in 2 years. But yeah, it will be interesting to see how the show handles it all.
@@yensid4294 I think there were several factors which turned Dawes against Marco; his mistreatment of other Belters, especially those on Ceres is definitely a part of it, but he also seemed genuinely hurt by Fred's death and immediately sets about trying to finish what Fred started in regards to his plan to stop Marco. I really hope the show manages to get Jared Harris back as Dawes in season 6; they could have him start off somewhat reluctantly on Marco's side albeit clearly uncomfortable with his role in Fred's death, then have him switch sides after the Ceres stuff. In place of him attending Johnson's funeral, they could have him just visit a memorial to Johnson on Tycho and express regret over not seeing Marco for who he really was sooner.
@@robertwinslade3104 I like that idea & hope they do go that way with his character too. They've got a great actor playing him, a shame not to use him.👍
I don’t know. I thought even Drummer could come back to Tycho and/or Medina Station to be the muscle and the politician for the belt because I thought that she had a closer vision to what Fred wanted over what Dawes wanted. Just some additional speculation.
I've been having the same questions kick around in my head, and don't have much to add to this. I do think they wouldn't have changed when Fred died without a solid story reason, but it's not clear to me at this time where they're going.
The small look at how Dawes approaches things was extremely insightful. Belters don't waste things. Where is Dawes? Can we get a video on Dawes?
1:30 I always just assumed "the belt" was the asteroid belt + the kuiper belt (post neptune). As the total mass of the asteroid belt by itself is a fraction of our moon, and Ceres alone is 33% of mass of the asteroid belt, I didn't think it as important enough by itself.
Not that this matter in any way storywise ;)
Oh belter creole huh...I was wondering what that weird space accent was ...felt east asian mixed with south African and new Orleans creole
freds awesome.. great breakdown. what did Fred EJECT before he died? do a breakdown of Anderson Dawes and Ashford as wel./.. i think you should do a breakdown of all characters who play a vital role asides the roscis crew... i will certainly watch all your expanse videos. i love this show
He tried to eject the protomolecule but it failed. I'm guessing it failed because Sakai jammed all the comms.
I'd like to know how you think the final novel will end. I started a thread on it on the reddit but I'm curious to hear the thoughts of anyone who is into the Expanse. I've heard some cool unusual endings so far!
I was shocked that they killed off his character.
It was hard to believe since I was expecting him to get shot and survive it.
@@PetePeppers1 I kind of feel like the show runners decided, that Marco getting the protomolecule while also shooting him only to survive would open up too many plot holes with only 16 episodes left until the end of season 6? Maybe they figured they would just have to come back to that and close it out later, i'm assuming that any other tangles he would have been involved with in the book will be cut out, not sure how that works out since i haven't read the books, but I do have one question for you pete, since fred is dead, if the show had played out how the books did, how much longer do you think that fred would have been alive for if he died the way he did in the books? Like how many more episodes do you think would have passed, would he have survived until season 6?
@@MrCrisisZ he would have died in season 6. Book 5 happens in a really short period of time so I don't think there would have been a way to include it in season 5 if he survived the assault on Tycho.
@@PetePeppers1 ...and in the books, as I recall, he had much less dramatic death. I think in that alternative storyline, it was an aftermath of some high-G acceleration.
@@lmamakos yes, he stroked out.
What didn't make sense to me was the death toll of the attacks. The nuclear attack and the rocks. Just looking at Baltimore where Amos was was people everywhere the death toll should have been much higher.
What's interesting to ponder about the belters is the terrible resource management decisions that have to make. If you imagine those with ships of their own.. the have some hard choices about what to do with their water? Do they crack it into O2 to breathe? Do they drink it? Do they use it as reaction mass to move their ships around? Sort of like decisions to choose to eat your seed corn.
I always find it fascinating how the culture of belters are, you can tell by their slang that they are like a mixture of Chinese, Korean etc. Like those when speaking English you can see they have similar accent to current Asians. I assume that their culture is base of that as well
I'm no expert on Belter Creole, but there's a noticeable mix of different languages from across the globe. Spanish bits always stand out to me from studying that in school. The guy who worked on it from the show talks about it here - th-cam.com/video/Eupcy0lIjsk/w-d-xo.html
@@PetePeppers1 Wow! fantastic. It's too bad the Martians doesn't seem to have a unique way of talking or slang.
@@golth haha they just brought the Texan drawl with them. Kind of fun that a super diverse group of colonists collectively settled on that.
One question I have (although it has to do with older episodes) is how the Belters kept the Nauvoo for themselves. Haven't the Mormons paid money for its construction? They didn't seem to react that much on such an arbitrary confiscation.
Ongoing litigation, what else can they do... also it’s meaningless now with the ring gates
I wish admiral Souther, Avasarela and Fred had a drink before both great charecters got deceased.
@Alex Smith Yes
I'm kind of interest to find out how the belters decide who's in charge of tyco and Fred's faction now because there going to need to put someone in charge and I want to know how they'll do that.
It's a good question. Sakai was his lead engineer, and Bull is his head of security. No other named characters on the station that we know of.
Thanks, you think they'd both be in the running for the top job but as I said I want to know how that gets decided. Who knows maybe Holden will end up being put in charge through write in balets or something like that. What ever happens though I'd wager it will be temporary because Drummer will come back at some point and I think the show is building her up for something big.
Beratna
if there are such fast ships in the Expanse, there is no reason for humans to live permanently in space.
"Ice which can be used for water"? I didn't know that one of Ice's many uses was Water.
Here I was thinking the asteroids only had water in the form of ice.
Water's many uses include; Hydration, Hydroponics, Rocket fuel, and Radiation Shielding
I'm a water enthusiast, no apologies for getting excited about it.
You haven't gotten over his death yet...still talking about him in the present😔
Haha
It's a shame they killed him off. He could have been a good resource for farther in on the project! I liked his character, other than him keeping the Protomolecule!
Did they kill off Fred Johnson because the actor signed on for another show already (including last season)
I have no idea. He dies in the books too, just a little down the road.
@@PetePeppers1 without spoiling for non book readers has the show captured the core role of Fred Johnson?
Fred shouldn't have been killing anyone but the Imperialists on Earth who sent him out to murder Belters.
I would hate to live in a world ruled by the UN.
"3 days out of the year" that'd be less than 1% not 3% lmao
In the book the Belter asks if they should go 3 days without food, without air, or without water.
116th
This is all a just fever dream of Tyrese Williams after being bitten by a walker. Nothing more.
haha that would be a twist
Actually water is common in space. And it's cheaper to get it from asteroids then from planets. One of few inaccurate things in this series.
They do primarily get it from asteroids. Mars stripped Ceres of almost all its ice to drive their terraforming project. The Canterbury and other massive water haulers would collect ice from Saturns’ rings to ship back to Ceres.
Europa is also covered in ice but it is likely quite salty and would be difficult to purify, not to mention having to rocket up and down to ship it. Much easier, as you said, to gather ice from floating rocks.
NOVELA ....lol
Just shows how little effort they put into the show. If thsy really wanted to make it realistic they would have sent like 400 actors up to space for 200 years then use their kids as the belter actors. Just shows a lack of dedication to art imo
Hahahahahaha