THE EXPANSE Season 6 Episode 6 "Babylon's Ashes" SERIES FINALE Reaction/Review

[@Yesquire0]

1. The big bad guy is not gone. Marco is dead and gone, but he was a pawn brutally put in his place by Duarte. 2. We were shown by Naomi's failure to withstand the normal gravity on Ilus that most Belters will not benefit at all from the 1300 new habitable systems. They were, instead, turned into vesigial humans by the opening of the rings, and Marco's death in no way resolved that problem. The formation of the "Transportation Union" was the creation of a monopoly in space transport that would employ Belters and compensate them at rates which would give all of them willing to work a decent life for themselves and their children. On the other hand, the monopoly would be very painful for Earth and Mars due to the added labor cost involved. The Holden we have come to know and love would never willingly put himself in the position of mediating those interests, and the UN would never willingly agree to put a Belter in charge of enforcing that monopoly. Holden was basically forced into the head position by a press gang of politicians. In order for the Union to work as supposedly intended, it had to be headed by a Belter, and not a James Holden who never wanted the job in the first place. Unlike the two of you, I wouls have thought the series had ended badly and improbably if Holden had placidly agreed to be the Union head. He's always been a reluctant leader with the sort of moral compass that wouldn't allow him to engage in all the gray compromises politicans are forced into daily.

[@KevinLyda]

I think them not seeing the X-ray episodes is a bit of a context loss.

[@aaronia8092]

Yes, the point is that with the unknown entities acting so devastatingly in the rings, now supposedly in a predictable way, everybody gets aware of the need to control the passage through the ring space (a unitary control, so that a monopoly is needed), and a lot of people is also needed to do the transportation between systems (it takes several months to travel from each planet to their ring and then from another ring to the inhabited planets in another system). On the other hand we have the majority of Belters who will never be able to live on a planet and they have lost their niche as the explorers/miners of the Asteroid Belt in the Solar System, because the new planets are the new places to mine all required resources. The Belters had lost their old way of life (so Inaros was trying to give them agency and power, in his characteristic egotistical way), but now it's discovered this new niche, the "Trasport Union", that would be the way for the Belter population to live a good life, and use their skills and life style so that it's useful for everyone. This new niche for Belters, which is the only chance for them, and a great service which is going to be required and respected by the hundreds of 'inner' planets could not be run by an 'earther'. The leader needed to be a Belter, so that this new agreement could be accepted peacefully by everyone, and with new trust among alll parties involved. Drummer finally finds her 'place' in the Universe, and she is really very apt for the position, so that Belters don't have to be mistreated nor feel oppressed or discriminated against any more.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Yes, nobody but Drummer was in position to keep the Belter factions in line, or to deal with them if they were not. But she'd been in the role of "beat cop in the Belt" for the sake of the Inners, and that job was not successful. As Holden alluded, if it hadn't been Inaros, it would have been someone else.

[@kidgforce1]

Remember: Holden started off with refusing the position of the XO of the Cant 🙂

[@wagnarokkr]

the expanse, episode 1: destroy an old ice hauler to start a war the expanse, episode 62: destroy an old ice hauler to end a war

[@jayburn00]

Little Easter egg, but the names of the assault team with Amos and Bobbi on the railguns in the drop pods were listed on the Rocinante computer, and were names of action heroes and protagonists from different sci-fi franchises as well as sci-fi writers (commander shepherd from mass effect, will riker from star trek, bowman from 2001, Ripley from aliens, Jack O'Neill from stargate, to name a few).

[@kleingrrmpf]

Holy shit, I completely forgot to mention this because they cut it out!

[@rowaystarco]

@@kleingrrmpf And the BFG on the one guy that was flying in to attack Bobbie.

[@jayburn00]

Another name I remembered being on the screen was J. Rico, for Johny Rico from starship troopers. Actually here are some of the other names: J. Cooper (Joseph Cooper) from interstellar, G. Ackbar (Gial Ackbar) from star wars, K. Thrace (Kara Thrace aka Starbuck) from the 2000s remake battlestar galactica, D. Idaho (Duncan Idaho) from Dune, E. Buck (Edward Buck) from Halo. There are a few others I still left out.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Throughout the show they buried Scifi authors in various lists of names

[@wagnarokkr]

20:28 steven strait said at one point that naomi's scream was totally unscripted but they've been working together long enough that he just rolled with it

[@LeeCarlson]

In the books, Camina Drummer IS the President of the Transport Union, because Holden is correct when he says that Belters must control Belter's destiny, rather than being at the whim of the Inner Planets. And Holden did it correctly by making certain that all of the stipulations were set down in writing and approved by the leaders of Earth and Mars. And remember that Camina bought the Belt's loyalty to speak for them. And while Holden's a good guy, too many Belters still see him as "an Inner" (do you remember Sakia in Tycho). I'm curious as to why you think that Camina Drummer has "ulterior motives?"

[@observationduty]

Well Holden has never been into politics , it's shown throughout the entire show. Him being in charge of that position would make him anchored to a place where he always have to be reachable, and that is not in Roci's style. He would have to step down as a captain of the Roci. I don't think he could do both , meaning - going on adventures with the crew and at the same time manage such a responsibility. Can you imagine Holden being in a chair all day , lol , that's not him. About the switcheroo thing , I don't think they would go back to the table , because the moment they agreed that Drummer's gonna be the VP , they accepted the possibility that something could happen to Holden at any time , and she would be the leader - meaning that they have to trust her at least that much. Going back would only prove that she was just "put there" as a face , and nothing more. Belters are more than happy with Camina running things , and any backlash about Holden's decision would be only inners. But they put him there as the best man for the job , so if they doubt his first act , it would only mean it was their mistake for putting him in charge in the first place. So Holden basically tied their hands real nice with this thing , I thought it was brilliant if you stop and think about it for a bit.

[@naynay3710]

Yeah, there's no way Holden could remain as Captain of the Roci AND the head of the Transport Union. That job is going to be a 24/7 job. I agree, too, that it was a brilliant play that Holden pulled off, taking the job, having Camina be his V.P. and then stepping down. There's only one way that Transport Union would work and that's if it was run by a belter. Drummer was made for the job.

[@peadarruane6582]

Marco's ending was perfect for him in my mind in the sense he didn't get some glorious death, but rather a death in a whimper as he get wiped out of existence.

[@lyannastark628]

So happy you enjoyed this show. I hope viewers continue to find your channel and enjoy watching along with you. Good discussion throughout.

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Thank you for watching!

[@durere]

First of all, the "big bad guy" is still kickin' - Admiral Duarte. He's the big mastermind behind all of the events in the series, or so I'm led to believe. Second, Holden is a ship captain, you can't expect the story to make him a beaurocrat, else it wouldn't really be a happy ending, since it's contrary to his character.

[@misterkite]

Technically, the big bad guy is the thing that eats Marco's ship.

[@durere]

@@misterkite Ah, well played. But now you got me wondering if that thing can eat satan.

[@Daneelro]

Regarding why giving the Transport Union to the belt being the only stable solution: think about the future balance for the moment. Earth & Mars will have 1,400 planets to settle - the Belt will have none, because most Belters aren't suited for that. Without a strategic role, Belters are doomed to be a permanent underclass doing side jobs for much more numerous & wealthier planet-dwellers who do not depend on them in any way. In other words, Holden's decision here wasn't for Drummer the person but the Belt as polity. You're concerned such a move would have led to re-negotiations but that's why Holden got the agreement in writing.

[@aldocassola]

I get what you're saying about Holden's resignation putting the Transport Union legitimacy at risk. I like to think that's one of the things they may have thought about with Drummer when negotiating, and put in place some safeguards about. Fact is, also the Belt rallies to Drummer (see how Marco's ex-ally Nico Sanjrani was sitting next to her). In any case, you can't deny this is a Holden kinda move. Much like declining the Canterbury's XO badge, and going through life pushing buttons.

[@rdkirk3834]

That was definitely "being him."

[@scottdorfler2551]

The ring entities did wipe out the protomolecule builders. Holden says so a couple of times. Most notably in season 5 episode 1 while talking to Fred Johnson in his office.

[@Daneelro]

Also, proto-Miller said it multiple times. This mystery has already been buried.

[@andif8]

Admiral Duarte to Marco: “… but I have gods to kill.” What a clifhanger⚡️

[@snarflcat6187]

It’s been a great ride, guys. And now the Books!

[@scottdorfler2551]

Had a great time with you guys for the last year! You guys should definitely watch the series again on your own. You miss a lot of things while you're taking. The show is definitely worthy of a rewatch.

[@rdkirk3834]

That was Holden "being him." Avasarala shook his hand and deliberately smiled for the cameras. If she's going along with it, she can make Mars and Earth go along with it. Sandrani sat beside Drummer...between the two of them, they'll keep the Belt in line. That the Builder-killers were occasionally making ships going through rings vanish was foreshadowed 'way back in the first episode of Season 5. It was at Nancy Gao's cabinet meeting when one official reported that not all the ships that entered the Sol Ring were reported as arriving by Medina. At the time, they attributed it to sloppy Belter accounting. Naomi had finally calculated just how much mass could transit a ring before the Builder-killers got angry enough to obliterate the next ship.

[@Yannakis1999]

It's nice that you have enjoyed the show and have appreciated its quality, it's been a good ride. I love the Mass Effect references. The 30 years jump it's not the only reason for stopping the story here. I just can say that the 7th book (Persepolis rising) and specially the 8th one, are my favorites in the whole series. Plenty of incredible material full with enough great moments and twists for three more seasons, but scope goes up several notchs, and it makes it difficult to film with the budget they have. They try to make clear that Marco Inaros, the main antagonist of the last three seasons, has been just a puppet of Almirante Duarte, the mastermind behind everything that has happened, as a distraction to be able to come to Laconia with its fleet, and begin a new society in Laconia, a new Mars, more pure than Mars ever was. The ending of Marco is exactly like in the book, just that they don't know that they awake any creatures, they just know, that when enough mass and energy cross the gates in a period of time, the next ship is "going dutch" and disappearing. They were aware that some ships were dissapearing under transit, but they were blaming Marco for that.

[@deanadewall8400]

It's hilarious that u guys were saying a belter should control the ring gates earlier, but when Holden and Drummer work out a deal behind Chrisjen's back, you're upset. Chrisjen would have done the same thing lol. Besides, who has the most experience running Medina and knows the ship/ring space better than anyone...Drummer! Still can't wait for the book(s) discussions!

[@catch-uppackets2664]

We were not upset that Drummer is in charge, it just seemed like the way Holden went about it would annoy some important people.

[@deanadewall8400]

@@catch-uppackets2664 The only other important person in the room is Avasarala. It makes more sense in the book because Mars is still reeling from Duarte taking 1/3 of their fleet to Laconia and had given ships to Marco. Not a spoiler, because all of this is in the show (blink and u miss it though lol). Holden is always annoying someone, so that's nothing new lol.

[@jamesholland5761]

Well guys as bad as I hate to say it, this wild ride is finally over! I personally can't thank you enough for reacting to our beloved show! It's been a pleasure and I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Oyedeng Beltalowda! Yam seng!

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Thank you for watching!

[@TheLostBear78]

They put the strange dogs stuff in, to setup the continuation of the series. As those two children and the planet they are on, feature heavily in the last 3 books. They want to continue the series, but haven't talked a company into footing the bill yet.

[@alcor4670]

Amazon couldn't shell out enough for Seasons 7-9 (?) at the time mainly because a large chunk of their production budget was reserved for the _Rings of Power_ and _The Wheel of Time,_ and there were still other popular Amazon shows like _The Boys_ to fund. In any case, there's a chance that Amazon'll set aside a budget for the final seasons when their rights to the show lapses in the near future. Either that, or some other streaming service or cable network would pick it up -- rumor has it that Netflix's interested. I wouldn't hang my hat on that personally, but yeah, anything can happen. _The Expanse_ is already known enough among a lot of people that it'll be hard not to cash in on it, especially since books 7-9 imho outshine the first 6.

[@timdouglas2056]

A Belter had to lead the third pillar of humanity (Transport Union), and Earth and Mars would never put a Belter in charge. This is the only way to put Drummer in that position. And how many times has Holden done what he thought was right with no regard for the consequences? I would say his maneuver was peak Holden.

[@LeeCarlson]

If you remember back to her introduction the first time we saw Bobbie she was charging an unassailable target.

[@artboymoy]

CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING THE EXPANSE!!!! Looking forward to your book reviews. I haven't read them yet but I'll tune in. Looking forward to Andor. I love the series but don't let that influence your viewing. LOL. But if you like The Expanse, I'm guessing you'll probably like Andor. Just watch the first 3 episodes together. I feel it was a longer premiere episode that was split into 3. I never heard that spoiler so I'm guessing it comes from the books. I don't know if you guys noticed the building of the rail gun structure on the ringspace station over the course of the opening credits over the last few episodes. The battle was extremely hectic. I was pacing around the living room when it was going on. So well done and intense. Dominique Tipper's acting and scream was heartwrenching for me as well. Holden being a clever prick was great and Avasarala tipping her hat was nice. She looked fabulous in that last scene too! I think Holden made the right decision. The Belt has some real power now, where they had none at all. Having Drummer as the head is great, because she has that dream for the Belt that Fred and Ashford had. And we get a Start Trek send off for our crew on the Roci... I too was surprised that none of the cast died in this episode. You're right, you would expect it. Did you watch the end credits? The ring turning red... Great watching you guys on this! I'll catch you on the flipside.

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Thanks for being here with us! Hope you’ll stick around for what’s next!

[@kleingrrmpf]

I think I need to watch the intros! I have not noticed the building of the railguns! Thanks for that detail :)

[@jasonharrison601]

Regarding @24:18 history has shown us that they (the Inners) would've never been able to agree on giving the Belters an equal seat at the table. That was the only way for this to have been legitimate to the Belters. If not, in another few decades, you'd have another Marco,

[@berlindude75]

Watch what happens to the Ring in the background of the rolling end credits... -- Anyways, thanks for the ride, guys!

[@kleingrrmpf]

Alright, this is it! The last episode. I feel like I expected a longer one given the circumstance but don't judge a book by its cover, right? So, for one final time on this show, let's watch The Expanse! 0:55 I keep hoping for this just as I keep hoping for this show to continue! 2:08 I don't think this is ever really picked up on, even in this episode. It's probably just something that people (including me) have speculated on. And I wouldn't have engaged in a conversation about it if I knew that it was a spoiler. We're all just trying to make sense of what we are given ;) 2:32 Oh, it's going to be WAY cooler! ^^ 2:41 You mean like the Guardians of the Galaxy? Standing in a line, holding hands, bearing a device of mass destruction and killing the bad guy? I'd like that! ^^ 4:15 Oh, I really want to know! And when I get to the end of Leviathan Falls and don't get an answer to that, I'm going to be so mad! ^^ 5:58 Still recording with an IPhone? ^^ 7:35 I think this is it for Laconia. 7:48 An old ice hauler? That's a nice way to go full circle to the beginning of the show! 9:03 I was really expecting Nate to say "All our friends and Clarissa" ^^ 11:26 We all liked Walker! But he was successful in his mission! 12:04 Yes, this is the last push for him to change his mind. I think Ty said this himself in this episode's official aftershow. He finally saw what Naomi told him. "He's never going to sacrifice himself for you. But he's going to let you sacrifice yourself for him". There was no intention of Marco to help Rosenberg... 14:09 Nah, Amos is just as disoriented as we are. 15:43 It's just as accurate as it was in the first episode of the second season when she did the training course with her mates. Already back then she had the little torpedoes in her back! 16:20 Fighting for the people next to you! But as tense as this scene is to watch, the filming was apparently super funny. There were no shots and so on, they were all added in post. And the director just kept yelling at them that they need to wiggle and move because of being hit by the incoming fire. They couldn't stop laughing because it was so ridiculous and funny! 20:17 And more peak acting here! I think it is even more impressive knowing that they filmed episode one and six of this season at the same time. So they had to switch moods from scene to scene. And damn, it just hurts so much seeing her like this, thinking she just killed her own son. And she even came up with the concrete idea on how... 20:47 Yeah, sure, everything is just the US once again ^^ 21:34 She came forward once when she came to Ceres. Why not a second time? 22:47 Fuck, he looks so good in a suit! And can you see Josep with his prosthetic? ;) 23:22 Come on, this is classic Jim! It's just right in his spirit! And apparently this is handled better here than in the books but I don't know what happens in the book yet. Still, I think it is a fantastic scene and just so funny seeing Chrisjen's reaction to it ^^ 24:00 They can't call Camina an illegitimate leader of the Transport Union. All three factions decided unanimously on Jim for the spot of the president and he got all of his conditions in writing. So infact, Camina is the very legitimate head of the Transport Union now. 24:43 At first I didn't like Filip getting off the Pella before the transit. But after watching the aftershows and part of the podcast, it grew on me. I guess I didn't quite get enough of what was going on in Filip's head throughout the season and was worried that this was just put in for the fans to at least save Naomi's son. But after I learned that it's in the books too I felt better. That plus engaging with the episodes more, here and elsewhere. 25:00 Honestly, this is the perfect ending for them! This shot! Even her saying if they could please not worry about something for the moment. Sure, it tells us (and we know) that there is more danger out there but I feel like it also satisfies me just enough. And yes, they are a VERY sweet couple!

[@kleingrrmpf]

And yes, of course all the names on the assault team! As soon as I saw C. Shepard I paused and tried to find out where the other names came from ^^ I am kind of sad that they used C. Shepard and not J. Shepard but it makes sense because you can name your Shep whatever you want. Still, you might get some more personal dialogue if you keep it the standard name and for me, John/Jane Shepard is just lore! ^^

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Personally I always went with Leopard Shepard

[@jimreichers7196]

It's always sad to watch people react to the exspanse for the last time, zip wish this show would go on forever

[@lyannastark628]

So excited about your audio book discussion!!

[@rrcollier]

It's been a journey, and I've been following since your first or second reaction was posted. Awesome that your going to discuss the books, the expanse is i think one of the finest examples out there of how to adapt a book series to TV. Holding true to the spirit of the books, but not being brought down by trying to stick too close to the source material. As someone who's watched the show through multiple times, I found it fascinating on a recent reread of the books, just how much dialogue was lifted from the books, into completely different parts of the show (eg, a book one conversation showing up in season 3 or similar). And if your 2/3rds through book one, you'll have noticed that some of the major plot elements happen in a different order. My general feeling is that the books do better at giving a sense of scale, time and epic... But the TV show has better versions of the characters and their emotional bonds. So much juicy stuff to talk about, I can't wait!

[@AustinStarDust]

At 24:18. you asked why couldn't just a representative from Earth and a representative from the Belt just work together? Well, you forgot Mars. As far as the Belt is concerned, both Earth and Mars are the Inners. Earth and Mars could overrule the Belt in voting, and have all the power. Just like before. It would not have worked! The status quo had to change. Also, if Holden remained president of the Union, he could have been seen by some Belters as another Fred Johnson. Fred Johnson was for the Belt, but many Belters saw him only as an Earther. On another note, it is entirely appropriate that Drummer, who was a protege and served under both Anderson Dawes and Fred Johnson, became the leader of the Belt and the Union. Frankly, I thought the politics of it all was brilliant writing.

[@terrillgoodwinejr537]

THE EXPANSE Continues In The DRAGON TOOTH Graphic Novels! Pre-order the all-new story, overseen by James S.A. Corey, set in the aftermath of Season 6 and before the events of the 7th novel!

[@lyannastark628]

I love seeing how you react to the actual characters. What an amazing cast. They really made these characters so real!

[@AustinStarDust]

Just one other thing -- as another mentioned, Marco was really just a puppet for Admiral Duarte. Marco may have been a good tactician with the idea of shooting rocks at Earth. But it was Duarte who masterminded the war within the Sol System while his renegade Martians established their dominance in the Laconian system. I don't think Duarte really cared who won the war. He just needed time to establish his defenses inside the Laconian system while Earth, Mars and the Belt destroyed each other's forces.

[@Dendood]

Thanks guys. It's been an amazing ride watching you both watch The Expanse. Enjoyed ever minute of your reactions. Happy I found your channel with Episode 1 Season 1. Having to bite my tongue when you picked up on "I'm afraid of people who throw rocks." Your conflicted reactions early on to Holden, Miller and Amos.Zombie Belters. And Nate's contempt for Melba, Peaches, Clarissa. Just a complete fun ride. I would order a pizza and watch something with you guys any time. Good stuff.

[@alexanderpauli2835]

Hey, it was a pleasure, watching The Expanse with you. I understand your doubts about Holden's move at the end. It twisted some things from the book. I think, you would like the original idea way more. The happily ever after feeling is nice on one hand, but on the other, it doesent feel quite fitting. That is, because it is not the end of the story. So, it is time to read the books. The fear, anyone could die, everytime (like in the beginning of the show) will be back. Promise! So, now I saw the end of your video. Good to hear, that you are already on the audio books. I would love to hear more of you about The Expanse. And I am looking forward to the videogame for myself. I will stay tuned to your channel. Greetings from Germany.

[@blackpaw29]

There's one last thing that happens in the credits that is significant...

[@hoos3014]

Great series, guys. Thanks for all the hard work and your always honest opinions. It's been an entertaining run.

[@elvisibra]

Fire! (huge salvo). Cut thrust! Broadside to incoming! All guns: free fire! Yeah, if it wasn't for plot armor, they would've fought like this vs Roci and Holden wouldn't even have "opportunity" to disarm the missile, so don't blame him..

[@Metro498]

Good job guys! You actually finished The Expanse Series🎉. 0:56 The X-ray is part of the official series. The One Ship Featurettes provide context to the episodes in season 6. You can only see them if you watch each episode. 1:40 The Strange Dogs scenes are only part of the novella of same name. The only characters and Laconia have meaning going forwarded. 3:04 definitely weird. Just stop pls 😊 My final thoughts are the Transport Union and the Belters. It seems to me Transport Union is the lawful Space transit Authority of humanity except Laconia. Also, the belters and inners can work for the “Union” and kind of Ring space park rangers and guide to the new ring systems in our Galaxy. Also, The only military forces are in the EMC (Earth-Mars coalition) in SOL system and in the Laconian system.

[@orink.1083]

Richard Nixon named Gerald Ford VP so he could pardon him when he resigned.

[@peccatumDei]

Fear, not! You now have the book series to read, and there are NINE books. In the last three you learn a lot more about Laconia, and the protomolecule builders.

[@EvilAnomaly]

That core definitely made the show in a way I'll always remember and go as the best show I ever watched in my life! Oyedeng Beltalowda!

[@misterkite]

I'm glad you guys are doing all the books. There are enough changes that it would've been confusing if you just jumped into book 7. (Like there's a different belter than drummer doing a lot of drummer things in the books)

[@LeeCarlson]

Earth is definitely facing massive die-offs, as the planet endures the equivalent of a "nuclear winter," however, they have massive relief efforts underway so this is not really an ELE.

[@chekhovslasergun9175]

It was great following you guys from the start of this series (and your other/ongoing reactions). As long as you're listening to the audiobooks, you may also be interested to check out some of the Ty and That Guy videocast (podcast and on KZbin) that Wes Chatham and Ty Franck made. They talk though each episode and Ty gives a lot of insight from a writer's perspective on why certain decisions and changes were made the way they were. Ty also gives some interesting backstory into the original tabletop RPG that eventually became the books.

[@Fuar11]

There is a comic series coming out in April that will detail what happens after season 6 but before the next book.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Inasmuch as the remaining story has already been written, the comic series will have to cover just "further adventures of the Roci" without impinging on the events of the books.

[@AustinStarDust]

I read the books, and I don't remember reading anything explaining explicitly what the strange dogs were. They would do their thing, and that's it. Just like in these episodes. It was all inference to my memory. I wouldn't consider that to be a spoiler, per se. I like how the book series ended. It isn't what you would expect, yet it was both a logical and satisfying ending for me.

[@davidf5097]

Sending the ❤️ from Midtown South Minneapolis. What a great ride this has been and you guys have been amazing. So many characters had mind-bending transforming arcs and so did we in our feelings about them. A few thoughts: Don't give up on Cara and Xan. How could the story stop there? The "last supper" and especially Amos risking his life for Bobbi are even more poignant if you've seen the Xray segment where Amos and Bobbi bond via recreational ultraviolence. Dominique Tipper's scream, and the interaction with Steve Strait after hitting the "destroy the Pella" button were improvised by the actors, according to Ty & That Guy. Holden is a paladin, like the holy warrior bound to a sacred oath in gaming. Remembering the Cant, finding justice for the fallen is his initial quest but his focus evolves over the years. Certainly he wants to save humanity, especially since his palatine decision to leak the SOS brought on so much ruination. But, as Naomi points out, it's not really all his fault. There was a much grander conspiracy that all the "good guys" had been blind to that nearly screwed the species. Still, through it all, he is a captive to events that emanated from leaking the SOS. In the split second decision to abort Marco's missile he abandons this archetype and becomes a man who will let the universe burn rather than be the cause of killing what Naomi loves before all else. Yes, this creates some more destruction and death. But now he is a free agent, no longer bound to his outmoded oath. Over the past 50 years I've seen Holden's final bait and switch actually used twice at political conventions IRL, once for a party officer position and once for an endorsement. There were some hard feelings both times that resulted in some reconfiguration of loyalties. And of course lots of times a losing faction has instructed its supporters to switch to a particular alternative. Lastly, despite my committed Buddhism, I still remember my bible verses. Genesis 1:6-8 reads, "And God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.' And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day."

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Thanks for watching, neighbor!

[@davidf5097]

@@catch-uppackets2664 You're welcome, neighbors! I actually live in the old Sears building, the Midtown Exchange.

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Oh nice! I'm there every time I need to go to the DMV, next time I'll have you hold a spot in line for me ;)

[@davidf5097]

@@catch-uppackets2664 👍😝😝

[@C76Caravan]

Another reaction complete. Looking forward to a little more Expanse content with books and the game at a later point in time.

[@zumzoom6368]

Looking forward to your book reviews. Also still hoping for Babylon 5 reactions sometime in the future, the writing in that show is on par with the Expanse, if not better.

[@ZakhadWOW]

Babylon 5 walked boldly, so that The Expanse could run full-out with no restraint

[@rrcollier]

Babylon 5 & The Expanse are my 2 top sci fi shows, and peak B5 is up there with peak Expanse, but B5 has a lot more variability in episode quality, which is evident from recent rewatches - is just that we long time fans only remember the good bits of each season :-) Note: you should still totally watch it if you get the chance, just please don't get put off if you hit a run of meh episodes.

[@wanderingsurvivor]

Super great run guys. Thank you. Hopefully they will do more Expanse at some point. Andor takes place as a prequel to the movie Rogue One. You may want to watch R1 before you get into Andor. Or maybe start with Andor. I think you will be surprised at how good both the movie and the show are.

[@ShasOFish]

To add to it, even though there’ll be a Season 2 of Andor, Rogue One works quite well right after it too.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Would you two consider doing a season by season re-review discussion of the show? Thoughts and opinions of the story overall?

[@Leo-jk1lm]

This show became my second favorite of all time, and even though the series has ended i hope they'll do a spin-off to continue the protomolecule storyline

[@GSFBlade]

Thanks! Looking forward to the game with Drummer and your reactions to Andor, it's like someone at Lucasfilm watched the Expanse and though, we should maybe try do a show like that.

[@davedahl4461]

Read book 7. The transport union ends up being interesting. If you can read the remaining three books. Persepolis Rising Tiamat’s Wrath Leviathan Falls are incredible.

[@ill3260]

20:54 "has a nice *ring* to it huh" intentional or not that was a good one

[@aajiv1748]

Loved this show. I like Star Trek and to some extent Star Wars, but this is science fiction TV like I have never seen before. The story and world building has been common in the prose form for more than 70 years now, but I have never seen it adapted as visual narrative like this before. This kind of dirt-under-the-finger-nails super science verisimilitude is unique to TV. I can think of thousands of pages of this kind of lived-in kind science fiction that would could be adapted, maybe it will be now.

[@kirkdarling4120]

Frankly, audio books frustrate me, except while driving long trips. Otherwise, I read much faster than Jefferson Mays narrates...so I get frustrated. You will find Andor runs neck-in-neck with The Expanse in the quality of its drama plotline and especially its character dialog. Outstanding writing. Who knew that Mon Mothma had such a fascinating past? But, if nobody has mentioned it before, Andor is best watched in three-episode sessions. Like The Expanse, it's not really slow, but it is dense.

[@lereff1382]

That was fun. Here's hoping that one day we will get the last three books adapted, and that you will be able to react to them then!

[@kleingrrmpf]

If they ever stop making reaction videos, I'll be mad if they don't reactivate their channel for the last three seasons! ^^

[@Reedstilt]

Congrats on getting through the series. There are some notable differences between how things went down here and in the book, so I'm eager to hear what you think of those difference when you read through them. For now though, I'll just say that your assessment of Holden doing a good thing in a flash and destructive way is pretty on brand for Show!Holden.

[@julius-stark]

I love the Expanse and I think season 6 is fine, but they kinda had to speedrun through the book. The book clears up all the concerns mentioned in the discussion.

[@manthroat]

Amazon would only pay for 6 episodes or there would have been more. It was going to be 8 episodes and then it got cut back to 6 because of costs

[@AL-fl4jk]

To note - this is not where the books end, this is just a nice place to leave the series. There’s a solid rationale for a movie with a time jump - just let the actors age up a little 😊

[@redd8505]

I really hope they finish the series in a show or movie format. The kids are important in those. Somethings might shock nonbook readers. It would be nice to see the ending of book 9.

[@sigzil1985]

PS The final credits are important.

[@gilserrano8301]

Marco's plan was good, except for shit he didnt know about.

[@LeeCarlson]

I've NEVER watched The Simpsons, and I'm proud of it. And if you go ahead and read the books, the "ring-entities" were awakened when the ring gates opened, however, they only respond (and destroy ships) when a certain mass-energy density is reached by ships crossing the threshold, which is what Naomi tells Holden.

[@EvilAnomaly]

Wonder if it's the same person as someone who currently just loves to put out info that gets into spoiler territory with some of the newer Expanse Reaction channels. Don't know what these folks get out of the need to make sure to tell reactors what's up. Not sure if they feel special somehow as if the rest of us also don't know that info or if they feel it gets them closer to the reactors or what. It's way too easy to not mention things that are not known by the reactor but I guess a few can't help themselves.

[@wagnarokkr]

man people are spoiling stuff for you that's in books that ain't even show yet

[@dmann05]

I skipped all of the Laconia scenes after the first couple because the acting was so bad. I get what they were trying to do but since it would never pay off I also didn’t feel too bad about skipping them entirely.

[@DongusMcBongus]

Dude you two got the absolute crap spoiler out of the series for you. That’s sucks. Sorry guys. Hey! If it was still great despite being spoiled…. It’s the mark of a great show?