The last season of The Expanse premieres on Prime Video in just a few short days. As a refresher before season 6, we’ve compiled the most important storylines and moments from season 5 which premiered last December.
In season 5, humans are making the trek beyond the Ring network in search of a better life. Meanwhile, the Protomolecule is still putting a major wrench into the lives of those in space. Plus, additional threats emerge.
Naomi Tracks Down Her Estranged Son
The end of season 4 revealed Naomi has an estranged son with none other than Marco Inaros. At the beginning of season 5, she leaves Ceres, alone (much to the dismay of Holden), to track him down before he gets hurt because of his father’s actions. She enlists help to get in contact with Filip (Jasai Chase Owens). When she does, he wants nothing to do with her because of her abandoning him as a child. Naomi attempts to give him a ship she’d purchased for him as well as any money he needed to get away from Marco, causing a heated argument between them.
Filip kidnaps his mother to take her to Marco. Naomi is less than ecstatic upon seeing him and once she finds out what he has done “for the good of the belt” she becomes nauseated. Not only had he killed millions of people, but Filip also helped him, putting just as much blood on their son’s hands as his own.
Once Filip realizes Naomi is trying to turn him on Marco, Marco catches wind of it and Filip picks his side by slapping his mother in the face. Naomi realizes her only means of escape is to hitch a ride on her ship, needing to go into orbit to do it. She climbs aboard and readjusts the distress call that Marco is using to lure the Roci into his trap.
Marco Inaros Ignites a War
Like most of the Belters, Marco (Keon Alexander) has a great disdain for the Inner Planets. The treatment of the Belt fuels his hatred and attacks that he believes are “heroic” wanting to lead humanity into the future. Marco devises an elaborate plan to conspire with Martian rebels to obtain stealth tech he can use to launch weapons at Earth without them having a clue.
The asteroids he launched hit their intended targets, and Marco announces that he’s the person behind the attacks. Not all the launches were successful, however, enough of them landed to kill millions of people and wipe out Earth’s infrastructure.
Drummer’s New Crew
Drummer is mourning the loss of Klaes Ashford whom she had grown incredibly close to. This season, Drummer finds herself attached to the crews on the Dewalt and Mowteng Belter ships. The exploration of polyamory isn’t a new concept in The Expanse. Holden is the son of three mothers and five fathers who all contributed to his genetic makeup. It makes complete sense that a fleet that is confined to their ships would have an unexplainable and unbreakable bond. Although a side plot to the overall story, it builds onto Drummer’s character.
She was first introduced as stoic and tough, with trouble opening up. All the people who helped her unleash that sense of vulnerability are gone, so she’s retreating to her old ways. Oksana (Sandrine Holt) is the first to step up and stand side by side as she slowly breaks down those barriers, reminding her she has an incredible support system by her side.
Marco doesn’t give her much of a choice on aligning with the Free Navy. But it doesn’t mean she’s forgotten the bloodshed and hurt he’s inflicted on her. This causes a rift; Drummer knows Oksana is keeping secrets from her. Oksana confides Naomi may be alive, but they can’t turn on Marco now or they’ll all die next. By the end of the season, Oksana feels betrayed by Drummer who inadvertently got one of their own killed. She takes the Dewalt and they go their separate ways.
Amos’ Past
Everyone on the Roci split off to handle their own life problems. Amos returns to Baltimore upon hearing about his foster mom Lydia’s death. He finds out she had someone that really cared for her and sets his sights on Erich to convince him to leave the guy alone. A tense meeting at first, Amos’ real name (Timothy) comes to light, and it’s revealed that he killed the real Amos Burton and stole his identity to leave the planet.
On Amos’ trip to Earth, he visits “Peaches” otherwise known as Clarissa Mao. Another Asteroid has hit and the prison has essentially collapsed. Amos helps the both of them escape and the pair voyage back to Baltimore to get Erich’s help. They plan on making the trip to Luna to safety.
Holden’s Fixation on the Protomolecule
To understand why Holden is hyper-focused on the Protomolecule, we must reference the events of season 4. Miller, in part, became the Protomolecule when he died. Holden has visions of “The Investigator,” a mental image of the Protomolecule that holds all of Miller’s memories and features. It targeted Holden to help uncover what happened to its creators.
In season 5, Holden works with Fred Johnson, aiming to convince him to destroy the Protomolecule sample he has. Sakai makes her allegiance to Marco Inaros known by shooting Johnson multiple times. Holden instructs the others to take him to gravity to treat his wounds.
Before he leaves, he tells Holden, “it’s in my quarters.” Only then does Holden realize what they are after. A bot escapes with the sample of the Protomolecule to the Zmeya. Later, Holden visits med bay only to discover Johnson tragically succumbed to his injuries. With the help of Johnson’s crew, Holden destroys the sample and the ship (or so he thinks anyway).
Chrisjen’s New Role
Chrisjen may have lost her Secretary-General position but she still has some unfinished business to attend to, as Draper and her team up to shake down the system and expose the operation they’re really running.
Questioning the Hasami findings, Chrisjen enlists the help of Admiral Delgado to gain access to the Watchtower satellites that can trace stealth tech. On Luna, she desperately tries to reach out to anyone who will listen to her findings linking Marco to the asteroid collisions on Earth. Once she reaches Nancy to tell her this, UN One goes down as she falls witness to the horrific tragedy.
As David Paster (the former Transportation Secretary) steps in to fill the Sec. General position, he asks Chrisjen to join his provisional cabinet. Soon after, Chrisjen resigns from her position only to be appointed acting Secretary-General once again.
The Laconia System
In the final moments of the season, yet another piece to Marco’s puzzle is revealed. In exchange for the Mars warships, he traded a sample of the Protomolecule. With the Martians building anew inside the Ring, they’d no longer need their ships.
However, it seems the Ring’s Unknown Aggressors still aren’t fond of the Protomolecule. As Barkeith traverses through the gates, Admiral Sauveterre and Lt. Babbage mysteriously poof out of existence without a trace. Just before this happens, the ship receives a transmission from Paolo Cortázar, the Protomolecule researcher, on Laconia. Cortázar tells them he’s received the sample which will move construction into the next phase. Much like Ilus, Laconia too has ancient technology that they’re desperate to activate.
Season 6 of The Expanse premieres on December 10 on Prime Video. Running for six episodes, they will release weekly onto the platform. Stay tuned for our spoiler-free season 6 review, weekly recaps, and other related content.
