The Expanse's sixth and final season will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 10. Below is a spoiler-free review of the entire season.
In one of the all too brief respites from epic space battles in the abbreviated six-episode final season of Amazon’s The Expanse, the Martian marine Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams) effectively explains the thesis of the show while downing shots. “Our grandchildren will still be killing each other over this shit 100 years from now,” she says. “In the end the only thing that matters is fighting for who’s covering your flank. It doesn’t matter if they’re saints or assholes, but they’re your people. They’ll watch your back, and you’ll watch theirs or you’ve got nothing.”
Over the course of six seasons, the faithful adaptation of James S. A. Corey’s The Expanse novels has provided deep geopolitical commentary by depicting a near future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. But the series is just as driven by its personal dramas, following the ragtag crew of the independent gunship Rocinante as they get entangled in wars and deal with unknowable alien entities, surviving through their wits and faith in each other. While the final season, which is four episodes shorter than the past two seasons, can at times feel rushed, the writers still deliver a satisfying conclusion that cements The Expanse’s place as one of the greatest science fiction television series.
Season 6 picks up right after the Season 5 finale, with Earth reeling from the asteroid attacks perpetrated by Belter leader Marco Inaros (Keon Alexander) and his Free Navy. Beyond killing millions, the asteroids have caused a climate catastrophe, leading to massive food shortages that the Belters — who have always struggled to have enough air and water — see as justice. Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is back in control of the United Nations after her successor was killed in an asteroid strike and she is working with the Rocinante and Martian forces to strike back against Marco.
Avasarala has consistently been one of the series’ best characters as she swiftly cuts through the dissembling of other politicians while strutting in her impeccable outfits. She truly shines this season as she reckons with the person she was in The Expanse’s very first episode, when she was introduced torturing a Belter with the weight of Earth’s gravity, as the more compassionate woman she’s become. Much as Marco’s attack on Earth is meant to evoke Sept. 11, 2001, this season’s conflict imagines what might have been if America truly committed to winning the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan.
That newfound softness doesn’t mean Avasarala is always on the same page as the Rocinante’s captain and perpetual reluctant savior James Holden (Steven Strait). When Holden comes to her with yet another existential crisis for humanity involving the Ring Gates, alien constructions that provide passage to habitable worlds across the galaxy, insisting that she share the information with Marco, Avasarala replies with weary exasperation, “You have to be the most naive person I’ve ever met.” Yet as is often at the core of the show, the two find a way to build a compromise on a foundation of mutual respect.
The biggest departure from the books the series has taken is the death of Rocinante pilot Alex Kamal in Season 5, a plot change made after actor Cas Anvar faced more than 30 allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Alex’s loss is felt by the characters, who take time to reminisce about his cooking and taste in music, but the writers have nimbly filled the void by adding the fugitive Clarissa Mao (Nadine Nicole) to the crew. Clarissa blamed Holden for exposing her father’s horrific experiments with alien technology and tried to kill him before being imprisoned on Earth. Now she’s seeking penance for her crimes under the gentle guidance of Amos Burton (Wes Chatham), a former crime boss who has devoted himself to the strong moral code shared by Holden and the Rocinante’s engineer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper). Every character has some form of powerful emotional catharsis this season as they look back on how far they’ve come and try to figure out where they’re going, even as the world around them seems perpetually out of control.
The quiet moments of contemplation and questions about morality and justice might be the soul of the show, but The Expanse’s final season is also powered by some absolutely incredible space battles. The fighting is both visually compelling, involving railguns and a science fiction equivalent of paratroopers, and suspenseful given the high stakes and clever ploys being used by Marco and his forces.
Alexander’s performance feels a bit more over the top this season as Marco struts around reveling in the adoration of his loyalists and pursuing ever more brazen gambits in the name of pride. Filip Inaros (Jasai Chase-Owens), the son of Marco and Naomi, can also be grating as he struggles with his father’s expectations and his own conscience. His weakness might not make him a likeable character, but he does feel like a realistic portrayal of a victim of a narcissistic, abusive father.
While most of this season’s plot is pulled from The Expanse novel Babylon’s Ashes, a snippet at the beginning of each episode is devoted to events happening outside the Solar System taken from the novella Strange Dogs. Beyond employing some mediocre CGI aliens, these segments have almost no bearing on the main plot of the season, setting up a storyline that will presumably never air. There’s a 30 year gap in the plot between Babylon’s Ashes and the next book, Persepolis Rising, which still follows many of the same characters. Even if another network were to pick up the series, it would be hard to make that work without some heavy aging makeup. It’s easy to feel like these diversions are a waste of time in such a lean season, but they do make it clear that there will always be another mystery, another war, and another faction waiting in the shadows to seize upon a moment of weakness.
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