Earth Below, Sky Above

And so it's time for John Scalzi's Earth Below, Sky Above, the finale of season one of The Human Division, in which the Colonial Union try a wheeze and the Conspiracy finally shows its claws.

Having arranged a summit to address its differences with Earth, the Colonial Union can't resist trying to game the process by offering to lease their terrestrial space elevator to the highest bidding state or bloc. This, predictably, throws the negotiations with Earth's nations into chaos even though some of diplomates are clearly able to see the deal for the self-interested trick that it is.

With the diplomats of the B-Team busy with the negotiations and Clarke monitoring perimeter security, Lieutenant Harry Wilson finds himself furthering relations between the Colonial Defence Force and Earth's military forces. Since this primarily involves drinking beer, getting in a bar fight, and performing a tandem parachute jump from orbit, Wilson is pretty much in his element. But when things inevitably go to hell, Wilson, Schmidt and Lowen find themselves forced to fall back on their own resources to survive.

Earth Below, Sky Above brings the series to a suitably action-packed close, bringing the Conspiracy out into the open without revealing the mystery of who is behind it. Not being a TV series, with actors whose contracts may be up for negotiation during the down-season, Scalzi is able to push his characters to their limits and show the results without splitting the finale between seasons.

The episode features some nice comic moments — Wilson's dismissive, bantering fight with a group of bellicose terrestrial soldiers is particularly fun — but it was nice to see some of the more minor characters getting a chance to show their metal: Lowen is insightful and active without being omnicapable; Hart Schmidt proves he's more than just a spoilt rich kid and Wilson's bag man; while Sophia Coloma proves that her behaviour in The B-Team wasn't a one off.

Happily Scalzi has announced that The Human Division has been renewed, so all my questions about the Conspiracy may yet be answered in season two...