The Expanse started as a series of brilliant sci-fi novels, but the live-action adaptation managed to clear up one of the more confusing aspects of the source material. The nine-book saga by James S.A. Corey (a pen name for writing duo Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) first came to screens in 2015 when Syfy aired The Expanse season 1. Syfy canceled the show after season 3, but Amazon stepped in to make three more runs. The Expanse season 6’s ending concludes the show, but there are still more books that remain unadapted.
Although largely a faithful page-to-screen adaptation, The Expanse was forced to make certain changes to the books to better suit the saga’s new medium. For example, the Belters look different in The Expanse than they do in the novels. However, the Belters’ physical appearance wasn’t the only visual alteration the show made when bringing Corey’s books to life on the small screen. There was another aspect of the sci-fi world that Amazon chose to alter, and it worked really well.
The Protomolecule’s Blue Glow Isn’t Mentioned In The Expanse Books
Corey’s description of the Protomolecule often varied, but it was never blue
The Protomolecule is the first big high science-fiction addition to both The Expanse and its source material. Sure, the gritty space opera does boast other hallmarks of the genre, but it’s all pretty grounded in comparison to franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek. The mysterious substance has abilities that are initially beyond the understanding of the main characters, and it is described in a few different ways in the novels. However, the live-action adaptation gave the Protomolecule a startling blue glow to make it clear when it was onscreen.
The books are littered with nightmarish descriptions of what the Protomolecule has done to living, breathing creatures, but how it’s described is pretty inconsistent.
James S.A. Corey tends instead to focus on the aftermath of the Protomolecule and what it leaves in its wake rather than how it looks in the moment. The books are littered with nightmarish descriptions of what the Protomolecule has done to living, breathing creatures, but how it’s described is pretty inconsistent. Given the bizarre nature of the substance, this is perhaps understandable, as it needs to seem especially hard to understand while still having a place in the story. In a TV format, this wouldn’t have worked, So, the blue glow is a great way to solve the problem.
What Exactly Is The Protomolecule In The Expanse?
The Protomolecule isn’t meant to be weapon, but it acts like one
The Protomolecule initially seems like an advanced, experimental weapon. It’s eventually revealed that its intended purpose is not to cause harm. Instead, it’s actually an incredibly advanced form of terraforming technology that was created by a long-extinct alien race, referred to only as the Ring Builders. Its original destination was Earth, but it was supposed to reach the planet two billion years before the events of The Expanse. Upon its arrival, it would have guided the very early and simple forms of microscopic life to develop in ways that would’ve made Earth more similar to the Ring Builder’s home world.
When humans started to come into contact with the Protomolecule in the mid-24th century, this was an event that the technology was not prepared or designed for.
When the Ring Builders’ Protomolecule delivery device entered the Solar System, it was caught in Saturn’s gravity and, a very long time later, mistaken for being one of the planet’s moons – named Phoebe. Because Earth was prevented from being terraformed, the Ring Builders never lived there. When humans started to come into contact with the Protomolecule in the mid-24th century, this was an event that the technology was not prepared or designed for. It did as it was programmed and started to transform any organic matter so it aligned with blueprints given to it by the Ring Builders.
The biggest reason this went so poorly is that it was never intended for use on complex lifeforms, just microscopic organisms. So, it essentially functioned as it was intended to, just on the wrong subjects. The result was that living beings were being broken down and rearranged. This caused some very unexpected and harmful results, which is why everyone initially ᴀssumed the Protomolecule was a weapon.
The Expanse Show Did A Surprisingly Good Job Of Adapting The Protomolecule For Live-Action
The Protomolecule could have been even trippier if it hadn’t been adapted properly
The Protomolecule is a vague and shapeless concept in Corey’s books. Because of this, everyone who reads them probably imagines it differently – if they can conjure a mental image of it at all. Elements like this can be notoriously difficult to include in a live-action adaptation, but The Expanse found a way not only to give it a more consistent and recognizable physical appearance but also to make the concept itself easier to follow onscreen than it perhaps could have been.
The show could have tried to let Corey’s vision make its way directly to the screen, but I think this would have been a mistake.
As one of the biggest parts of the larger story, it was vital that The Expanse got the Protomolecule right. Thankfully, they did, and it slotted in right alongside some of the easier-to-translate elements. The show could have tried to let Corey’s vision make its way directly to the screen, but I think this would have been a mistake. Plus, with both authors heavily involved in The Expanse‘s production, I’m sure the change was approved by them beforehand.
