The Expanse Season 6 Episode 6 review: Marco out; peace be to the Inners and the Belt

The sixth and final episode, Babylon’s Ashes, brought the series to a close.

A scene from The Expanse Season 6 Episode 1

The Expanse

Story: The United Front, including the Inners – Earthers and Martians – and a breakaway faction of Belters lay out plans to get rid off the threat posed by the Free Navy once and for all. This time, they proceed with a Plan A and a Plan B to ensure Marco Inaros and his group are annihilated. Both both Plan A and Plan B comes with a lot of damage and casualties. Can they still get the better of Inaros?

Review: It’s been said before and I will say it again, six episodes was just not enough to end this season of The Expanse and the series itself. And yet, the pace of the first five just did not convey any urgency in trying to tie up loose ends from seasons before and now. It was up to the sixth and final episode to put all the pieces together and give the show the grand send off it deserved.

We are still nowhere with the Laconia arc, where Cara and her resurrected brother scare the sh*t out her parents. Well, why wouldn’t they, when the boy now has healing capabilities and looks eerily ghost-like. Yes, there is a protomolecule connection, but we won’t know more now that the show has ended. But here’s the thing, the makers of the show knew that Season 6 would be their last outing on Amazon Prime Video before production, so they went into it knowing there’s no coming back. And yet they included this incomplete arc, which has fans wanting more. Is a surprise announcement in the offing?

Meanwhile, the United Front, including Earthers, Martians and Camina Drummer’s faction of Belters, are plotting their war strategy against Inaros and his Free Navy fleet. It seems like a straight-forward action plan, but Holden wants them to have a trump card in the form of a Plan B. He wants to take out or seize control of the rail guns at the ring station, with a strike team led by Drapper. At first it seems that Avasarala’s Plan A is going a little too easy, when they fire at what appears to be the Pella, Marco’s ship, which doesn’t put up a fight. Strange! Turns out, it was a decoy. Marco was hiding among the supply ships and now turns the heat on Drummer’s faction, taking out almost all of the Golden Bough ships in the process. Drummer’s ship has a gaping hole, so she orders the others to retreat while she sets a collision course with the Pella. Another Golden Bough ship beats her to it, though, and the Pella sustains massive damage.

Meanwhile, the assault team’s plan to capture the railguns isn’t going well as they take on way too much fire, forcing Drapper to destroy it. Despite her heavy-duty MCRN suit, that’s no easy task for her either. As she and Amos are pinned down by gunfire, the Rocinante has to blow its cover and protect them. This scene is better seen that read about here.

The final take down of Inaros was inevitable – this bad man’s story had run its course. But after all the anticipation of a royal show down between the Pella and the Roci, the end was a tad underwhelming. It’s a particularly hard moment for Naomi; her son Filip is on board the Pella with his father. Little does she know that Filip, who has been struggling to come to terms with all the human casualties of this war, ups and leaves the Pella moments before its destruction.

With Inaros out of the picture, it is time for the United Front to sit down and talk business. Despite Camina’s protestations, the Inners want to retain control of trade routes, leaving it to Holden to figure out a solution that everyone can agree too. 

Verdict: Stream it now, if you haven’t already. Not seen the show only? What are you waiting for? The weekend’s here. Strap yourself in for some high-octane space drama!

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