It’s a sad day, but the sixth season of The Expanse is over, with episode 6: ‘Babylon’s Ashes’ bringing the story as far as we’re going to see it, to an end. *Warning! Spoilers Ahead!*
It was always going to be an emotive climax to this show and fans are no doubt going to try to savour this episode as it gave us the last look at these characters. Given how the series had developed this season it was always going to be quite a difficult task to wrap everything up, but somehow ‘Babylon’s Ashes’ delivered and gave the conclusion that everyone needed. The events on Laconia with the protomolecule were always going to be an interesting thread through the narrative and the writers have effectively chosen to leave that story as an open-ended element that we can only wonder how it would have played out.
With the community on Laconia messaging Marco (Keon Alexander) halfway through this episode and telling him that they had sealed their ring, you could almost imagine the story on Laconia continuing as a spin off show completely separate from The Expanse. Of course, there is little likelihood of us being that lucky and getting another series connected to this universe, but from a dramatic point of view it would be possible. In some regards then the narrative of this concluding episode was completely separate to the protomolecule story, although invoking the aliens as a means to an end to try to tackle Marco does bring it firmly into centre stage.
One of the great things this show does that is reflected in this episode is a gritty realism that doesn’t shy away from things getting messy, and nothing being neatly tied in a bow for any of our protagonists. With Drummer (Cara Gee) now an ally of the Earthers and Mars, a plan has come together to tackle Marco head on acknowledging the difficulties they now face. Obviously as nothing is ever easy for our protagonists, or anyone for that matter in this universe, things do not go according to plan and Drummer’s battle group encounters deception and more than they bargained for.
Drummer is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, but is beaten to it by Walker (Stuart Hughes) who rams the Pellas, damaging it significantly and killing Rosenfeld (Kathleen Robertson) in the process. Bloodied and believing for the first time that all is not as he might have hoped, we finally see Filip (Jasai Chase Owens) take action to become his own man and not follow his father’s footsteps. This is a neat little twist that gets paid off right at the end of the episode after being led to believe that Naomi has had to make an exceedingly difficult decision. This is the only outcome for one of the main characters that feels even the tiniest bit of a cheat, as you would normally expect her to suffer the consequences of that decision. In this instance you can allow them this latitude.
Throughout this episode people are making difficult choices and nothing is guaranteed, especially when it comes to the crazy plan to try to take the rail guns and Medina station. With the Rocinante using a freighter to take marines through the ring, and then try to approach the rail guns in dropships scattered amongst cargo containers, you know things are desperate. It’s a real Hail-Mary and one which comes at a high price, but also a fantastically visual sequence in the show which is realised beautifully. Throughout, it not only gives us great action, but also many great character moments including Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Amos (Wes Chatham) giving their all. During this sequence Clarissa’s position is fully solidified on the ship too as she comes to the rescue without using her enhanced powers. This allows us to see that Naomi (Dominique Tipper) has come to accept Clarissa and you can see this crew bonding, becoming very much a family.
Away from the battle the political manoeuvrings are equally satisfying, with the negotiations going as well as you would expect, but with Drummer holding our own against the Martian president and Christjen (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Once again in the middle of things Holden (Steven Strait) finds himself somewhat stitched up and forced to become the first president of a Transport Union, but then manages to find a way to ultimately have the correct outcome. This is all handled exceptionally well and it’s just a shame that we won’t get to see how this unfolds, especially how Drummer handles a more political position in the future. She has been a fantastic character throughout her time on the show and one which has just gone from strength to strength. If we’re going to talk about spinoffs, then maybe we could have one that details part of Drummer’s life? At this point that’s just wishful thinking though.
So even though this season was a shortened one with only six episodes, the writers managed to pull everything together relatively neatly at the end, but also left a certain amount still very much open. We had wondered how they were going to manage to make this satisfactory and they have made this both believable and compelling without resorting to cheap tricks. For six seasons The Expanse has consistently delivered TV of a fantastically high standard and this season has been no different. To a certain degree we couldn’t have hoped for a better conclusion, as it gives everyone some attention, wraps up the narrative in a good way, but also leaves threads hanging that give you the sense of this as a living breathing universe. Hopefully we can one day return and explore it further, but for now we can just bask in the glory that was The Expense.
