At San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, we had the pleasure of sitting down with a few of the folks behind Syfy’s hit show, The Expanse. Those who’re caught up, will understand why it was such a big deal. The season one finale in February was exciting, and we’ve had questions ever since. With filming under their belt already, actors Thomas Jane (Miller), Cas Anvar (Alex), and Wes Chatham (Amos) were able to tease what’s on the pipeline for their respective characters, with additional context provided by showrunners Mark Fergus, and Naren Shankar.

On season two, executive producer Naren Shankar stated, “Now we can play a lot of things in forward momentum and discovery. That’s the big difference. It’s not a shadow play, like ‘who’s doing what, and what is it about.’  It’s about this Protomolecule: what it means, what it actually does, who has it who wants it. It’s a different tone in that sense.”

With the new season, we’ll be introduced to a fan favorite from The Expanse book series: Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams). As with Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), Bobbie is being introduced much earlier than in the books. According to Shankar, the character will appear within the first five seconds of season two. “She brings a different perspective into the storyline, one that we didn’t really dwell on or drill into last season, and it gives us another set of people to play with and launches the show into a very different place. It’s kind of a mission statement for us for season two”, Shankar explained.

As he mentioned, Bobbie will provide the Mars perspective (much like Chrisjen did with Earth) of what’s been going on. Though we will see her suit, her introduction serves as more of a prologue for the character. In the season premiere, it was also teased that we’ll be seeing a massive battle, with more on the way.

“It’s a little bit like a prologue actually. It almost exists a little bit out of time. You’re meeting Bobbie on Mars. It could be happening some time earlier in season 1.” explained Fergus.

“The heart of the mystery this year is the protomolecule: what is it, how is it changing, what it means, what is it trying to do? That just runs through the entire thirteen episodes of season two”, teased Shankar.

Aside from the new character, familiar favorites will be faced with some difficult times next season. Miller, for instance, has a lot of baggage after finding Julie Mao dead. “When you’re looking for someone, and you find them dead, you feel like a failure.” explained Jane. “I think he [Miller] takes it personally.”

Miller will be pretty upset about stuff at the beginning of the season, but according to Jane, his season two arc will be something you won’t want to miss.

As for Amos’ relationship with Naomi, Chatham explained:

“You get to see it really tested. Amos relies on Naomi in a lot of ways. One of the ways he relies on her is she is his moral compass. Amos was traumatized at an early age, and lost the ability to connect and socially interact with people as a result. Naomi is such a special relationship because she showed him how to behave, how to interact with the world and decide what the right thing to do is, and he trusts that. When that relationship is challenged, we see who he really is, how he needs her, and what he becomes with out her. We really explore in season two.”

In terms of Amos’ character, basic survival is his motivation. Chatham explained that he is not caught up in concept of justice or revenge.”He is not concerned with what’s going on.” he elaborated. He cares about his family and he is willing to do whatever he has to do to take care of them.”

Alex, on the other hand, is more concerned with justice. Anvar notes, “In season two he [Alex] has to deal with the consequences of having witnessed the injustice that has happened to the Belters, and that’s going to have a profound effect on him in season two. He is very empathetic, sensitive and concerned with the impact of what’s going on with everyone around him.”

Considering how opposite their morals seem to be, Anvar takes Amos’ interest in Alex as a friend as a compliment. “He [Amos] picks his friends really selectively. For him to actually invest in someone, it says something about Alex, that Amos has found him compelling.”

We’ll be on the edge of our seat until the show returns in 2017. Stay tuned for future coverage of the show.

Hav you been watching The Expanse? If so, are you excited for next season? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Syfy