"Excuse me madam, were are you going with this..."

July 18, 2024 6:36 PM

"Wherever I goddamn like." (slyt, 1:11) Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala in a key diplomatic scene from the series The Expanse. Aghdashloo in a interview: "Well, my major is political science and international relations. I studied political science in the UK, forty-two years ago I started, and got my BA in 1984. As of then, like any other political student, I used to call myself a student, the fact that I was coming from a revolution in Iran, made me believe that leaving Iran, there was no place for a young outspoken actress like myself". 'The Ethics of Avasarala'
posted by clavdivs (10 comments total)

Her casting in that role was just so perfect. She's charming, she's intense, she's terrifyingly capable. At the beginning of the series, she's happy not being the President because then she can actually get shit done. But seeing the quality of people who actually get elected these days, her character seems downright archaic at times.
posted by thecjm at 7:35 PM on July 18 [3 favorites]

Goddamn I miss this show.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:42 PM on July 18 [8 favorites]

One of the smartest choices they made in the adaption was moving up the introduction of her character cause she's such a force.

And Shoreh is another one of those people who I could listen talk about anything because her voice is so captivating.
posted by drewbage1847 at 7:44 PM on July 18 [3 favorites]

I rewatched the first few seasons recently, and she's still one of the best things about the show. I declined to rewatch the Marcos seasons since I found him to be annoying to watch (no slight to the actor, who I think was doing a great job of being a smug asshole, I just can't stand it).
posted by axiom at 7:45 PM on July 18

GODDAMMIT YOU SCARED THE HELL OUTTA ME

... too many obituaries lately...
posted by lapolla at 7:58 PM on July 18 [1 favorite]

I'm watching The Expanse for the first time now and I saw this episode a few days ago, and Chrisjen Avasarala has great moments, but this one was the greatest. The acting is great: Aghdashloo playing Avasarala says the line forcefully, but carefully calculated in a way that can't be twisted into "hysterics", and with a confident smile that can equally telegraph the threat of bared teeth. Avasarala has authority (she's the UN Deputy Undersecretary, which I believe means she's basically Vice-President-of-Earth) and asserts it when it's being directly challenged.

It's something we wish we'd see more of in real life for women in positions of authority, but we're not really there yet.

And it is being directly challenged: Korshunov is the Mars Minister of Defense and at this point is hiding a secret that the Martian marine being questioned could inadvertently reveal. Avasarala knows Korshunov is hiding a secret. Korshunov knows that Avasarala knows he's hiding a secret. The "With all due respect, where are you going with this?" isn't a question of curiosity; it's a derailment tactic. And Avasarala knows this and responds accordingly.

It's not a perfect show, but this scene was.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:16 PM on July 18 [2 favorites]

... too many obituaries lately...

That was my first thought too when I saw this.

The wife and I just recently rewatched House of Sand and Fog, the first thing I saw her in. I guess it's a good movie (good acting and directing and a pretty tight story) but I still don't like it any more than when I first saw it. But Aghdashloo gained many accolades when it was released, and after watching The Expanse and keeping a closer watch on her role in HoSaF this time I understand why.
posted by Pedantzilla at 9:23 PM on July 18

Avasarala manipulates her friend by lying to him in order to monitor certain Martian stealth ships. When DeGraaf’s superiors find out about this, they accuse him of revealing secret information, which leads to his banishment from Mars, a place that he considered a home and wanted to retire to.

Having just rewatched, I happen to know this is not quite right. She leaks the information that stealth ships are being used in the attacks on the Cant etc. to DeGraaf, a diplomat to Mars, knowing he will in turn leak it to Martian government types (b/c he loves Mars so much). This makes Mars freak out and take stock of their stealth ship capacity, which is what tells Avasarala that they were not the source of the ships (presumably, had they been the source they would not have freaked out and taken stock since they'd already know it was their own ships).

But one side-effect is that it reveals the location of Martian stealth ships/shipyards to Earth intelligence, which results in the revocation of DeGraaf's diplomatic credentials and banishment from Mars by the Martians as a retaliation for the intelligence coup.
posted by axiom at 9:33 PM on July 18 [1 favorite]

She also has the ability to wear the most ridiculously fantastic outfits and making them look completely natural. One of my favorite little bits of dialogue from the show is when Holden tells the crew that he saw Avasarala (whom they had all met a few episodes earlier):

Amos: "How'd she look?"

Holden: "Fine."

Amos: "No I mean like, what was she wearing?"

My boy Amos, getting straight to the important stuff.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:46 PM on July 18 [4 favorites]

I fell in love with Avasarala a bit while watching that show.

The relationship between Amos and Avasarala (now that'd be a hell of a sitcom) was explored a tiny bit more in the books. I'm pretty sure she knew exactly whom she was dealing with in the end.

And I'm pretty sure he annoyed the shit out of her every time she had to consider him.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 1:37 AM on July 19