The Expanse A Telltale Series Episode 4 Review

The Expanse A Telltale Series returns with the penultimate episode to this 5 part mini-series, and what a series it has been so far. As I said before, The Expanse A Telltale Series episode 3 really kicked things off by being the bridge point in the story of Camina Drummer, but it’s this episode where the story really ramps up.

So we left off the last episode with Drummer’s crew turning on her in favour of keeping the ‘treasure’ and you and crew mate (for me Mia) left for dead on the station after being blasted out of the Artemis’s airlock.

The Expanse A Telltale Series Episode 4 picks up straight away.

The past choices that you made and the consequences of those choices (which came to a head in The Expanse A Telltale Series episode 3), really impact this episode emotionally for Drummer.

*SPOILERS

For me, this consequence was Mia sacrificing herself in order to save Drummer and give her a fighting chance at survival.

This gives Drummer the emotional drive to push forward in trying to get a distress call out to plead for help to come and save her. However, you need to re-align the antenna array in order to send a clear message. This means making your way through the depths of the dead station to reach the controls in order to do this.

Before embarking on this journey, however, you must first solve a puzzle to gain access to the mining tunnels. Now the first part of the puzzle is similar to the last episodes where you have to turn on junction boxes in the correct order, in order for the power to flow to the control box that operates the mining tunnel entrance.

The next part of the puzzle though is where things get a bit harder. You have to input a password by correctly drawing a shape to unlock the system. A bit like the old Android lock screens.

When I said it was hard I meant it. The only clue you are given is to look around the area for a shape that could be the password. After spending 10 minutes going around the entire room 3 times checking each picture or plaque that I could find and incorrectly inputting the wrong password over and over again, I took a step back and realised that the answer was literally staring me right in the face.

Looking back it was simple to find, however a better clue here would have been more helpful. Once you’re in the mining tunnel though, things start to get a bit strange.

This episode is focused solely on Drummer and delves a bit into her backstory. A plot device that initiates this is that Drummer’s suit is running out of oxygen and instead filling up with carbon dioxide and causing Hypoxia. Drummer starts to hallucinate during her journey through the depths of the station. Hearing voices from coffins, but most notably she hears and has conversations with the voice of Anderson Dawes, a prominent character from both the Expanse series and from Drummer’s past.

It’s through these conversations and hallucinogenic sequences that you learn a bit about their relationship and the type of person Drummer was before joining the crew of the Artemis.

It’s a good use of character development set out in a unique way that is both personal to Drummer’s character and different (in a good way) to the bog-standard flashback method of showing character backstory.

The episode ends with you leaving the station and on-board Toussaint’s ship. There is a great cameo here from a prominent character of season 1 of the show which is a nice tie in from the game to the series.

The episode closes with Drummer and Toussaint’s number 1 preparing to board the Artemis to retrieve the treasure.

I’ve got to admit I was expecting it to cut to black here and the credits roll, which it did, but what a way to build suspense by leaving you on a cliffhanger for two weeks waiting for the final episode and to see what the hell breaks loose back on board the Artemis. We shall know very soon with The Expanse A Telltale Series Episode 5 Europa’s Folly on September 21st.

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