The Expanse review: “Babylon’s Ashes” delivers a powerful ending

The future of the solar system

With the war between the Free Navy and the rest of the solar system at an end, all the remaining powers that be sit down to negotiate. The action for the episode may be done, but just like James Holden, The Expanse has a couple more tricks up its sleeve. After a fantastic negotiation scene where it never feels like any party is giving way just for the sake of television expedience, it’s eventually decided that an independent Transport Union must be formed to oversee transit through Rings…with Holden as its first president. The Roci captain reluctantly agrees, as long as certain assurances are made in writing which would secure the Belt’s involvement in the running of this new organization.

But then we get a press conference where Holden delivers this news to the public at large, and in a final twist, his first act as president is to resign and hand over power to the Transport Union’s legally ratified VP…Camina Drummer. This is such a James Holden move. It feels so right for the character, who would never have actually wanted that kind of powerful position anyway, and it puts a Belter in charge of a major part of humanity’s history for the first time. Avasarala is understandably frustrated that Holden deceived her, but after a heartfelt entreaty from him, she agrees to let things play out. He even used some of Avasarala’s own words during the speech to announce his faith in Drummer. It was a perfect scene and a brilliant twist.

The Expanse wraps up with the Rocinante taking off from Luna and heading back out into space. We check in with all of the crew members: Bobbie is now piloting the ship, Clarissa has made Amos a keep-sake pin to replace the one he lost while helping her escape Earth in season 5, and Holden and Naomi have one last conversation in their quarters about the ramifications of his actions. She supports the move to step down from the Transport Union, claiming that Holden “followed his conscience in the hope that others might follow theirs.”

It’s a beautiful ending sequence, made moreso by the reveal that Naomi’s son Filip escaped the Pella before it was destroyed. Filip had such a slow burn character arc this season, and his eventual break with his father was something I’d been waiting for. The show pulled it off in an incredibly satisfying way.

Holden reminds viewers there’s still more to do, that the protomolecule sample which was stolen last season (and taken to Laconia) is still out there somewhere. As with the real world, the story goes on. But for now, the Rocinante glides out into the darkness, until its drive plume is just one more star amidst the expanse.

The verdict

Whew! This was a mega-sized series finale, and necessitated a mega-sized review. But what’s the final verdict? Did The Expanse deliver an all around satisfying ending?

For my money, the answer to that question is a resounding yes…but with an interesting caveat. As far as the war with Marco Inaros went, which was really what this season was primarily about, I don’t think the show could have wrapped it up any better. “Babylon’s Ashes” was one of the best episodes in the show’s entire run, and did not have a single bad moment in any of its 63 minutes. The music was incredible, the effects were as good as they’ve ever been, and the writing was sharp as hell right down to the last.

The caveat, however, is that this doesn’t truly feel like the end of The Expanse. There are three more novels after the events covered in this episode, which occur 30 years later and conclude the series. So as much as I loved this season, I wished we saw more crossover with Laconia. The show has long set up the fact that something out in space killed the builders of the protomolecule, and while we saw that plotline tie into the finale through the “sleeping entities” by the Ring, it never came back into the show in a major way because it’s something that is addressed in those final three books.

All that said, I think it’s to The Expanse’s credit that the show stuck to its guns and told the story of Bablyon’s Ashes without trying to cram in those extra plotlines. I would not change one thing about this season…but I do sincerely hope we one day see a revival of the series that explores the last three books. Until then, this finale feels like an ending…but perhaps not the ending to what has been one of the best science fiction shows of all time.

Grade: A

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