‘The Expanse’ is the “best science fiction series of this century”

Last week, “The Expanse” — the best science fiction series of this century and possibly all centuries — came to an end. There is plenty to admire about the show. “The Expanse” is an exemplar of “hard” science fiction — meaning that almost everything that happens in it is grounded in real physics. It also deftly handles representation in its 23rd-century setting, imagining a future in which diversity across race, gender, religion and sexual preference is so ordinary that it hardly warrants mention. In one scene in the series finale, all the major military powers in an alliance are led by women. That fact is not remarked upon in any way, which makes it no less compelling in 2022.