This review is for not only the first episode, Dulcinea, but for the entirety of season one. Also, I'm judging the episode and series as a reader of the books. The books were always ripe for television adaptation. They were gritty, fitting in with today's trend toward darker and dirtier television entertainment. They were thrillers, with a limited cast of characters easily distinguished from one another and steadfastly exhibiting their stereotypes. They have an overarching diabolical protagonist against which the heroes can vie. And ultimately they are simple, easy to follow, and episodic; perfect for television. What made the books better than average was the attention to some of the mechanics of and limitations within space - treating what is taken-for-granted in so many space operas as problems and details for the story. And the characters, while straightforward, were all flawed, easily relatable people.
Each episode and season one do a good job of splitting up the material entertaining bits. The CGI looks good. The camera work is acceptable, and the sets are nice. There are some nice technological details scattered throughout the show that remind you that this is the future, and the mechanics of everything seem to work out right. The Expanse is a disappointment with regard to its ambitions, however. It never aspired to be better than the books. Those were never great, but the show does not deal with the physics of space flight as well nor does it accurately give us the characters from the book. My biggest complaint is with the casting. Everyone cast for the show is just a little too handsome, too fit, too clean for the characters from the book. The grit and flaws were the best part of the book series, and it is a shame that the producers decided to readjust the appearance and personalities and turn them into younger and prettier stars. With the exceptions of Naomi and Avasarala, none of the main characters quite fit their book appearances or personalities. The biggest change is for Holden, who is treated with much more sympathy and far less cynicism than than he earned in the books. They've done strange things to Amos as well, presumably in anticipation for some of the events in the later books. But the Amos here is not the Amos in Leviathan Wakes. Alex and Miller are recognizable, but conformity with the book was obviously not a priority. And as a book reader, that ultimately is a burr throughout. The book was good enough. Stick with it and only depart from it when you can improve on the story. Most of the departures however, are to make the plot or scene a little simpler, to create a little more drama, to make things more readily understood. Most of the effort that went into deviating from the book went into making this a dumber version of the book. The directing, the cinematography, the editing - everything else about it proceeded by playing it safe. Nothing especially artistic or creative is added to the story. It all is told competently, but it is a shame for the result to be so bland.