Every X-Ray bonus episode of The Expanse, explained

X-Ray 5 — “Remember the Cant”

When to watch: After episode 5, “Why We Fight”

"The doctrine of One Ship encompasses the physical and the abstract; the known and the imagined; space and time; the future…and the past."

And here we are, at the final X-Ray of The Expanse season 6. I’ve commented on this in my full reviews of the season’s regular episodes, but the show has done a fantastic job of reminding us how far every character has come on this journey. “Remember the Cant” takes that to a new level, serving primarily as a flashback that gives us a look at how James Holden (Steven Strait) found his way onto the Canterbury, the ice hauler he and the rest of the Roci crew were working on in the series premiere, long before they’d heard of the protomolecule.

The X-Ray episode begins with Holden gazing at graffiti of himself on the wall of Ceres station. The words “Remember the Cant” are sprayed there, which was what everyone in the Belt was saying after the ice hauler was blown up by stealth ships in the season 1 premiere. It became a mantra at the time, representing the frustration of Belters over what was initially perceived as a Martian attack against an innocent supply ship.

Journalist Monica Stuart (Anna Hopkins) comes up to Holden and asks him what his past self would say about everything that’s going on now in the solar system. “Probably keep your head down, stay out of trouble,” he replies. The two hug, part ways…and then the scene shifts to 10 years ago.

At a bar on Ceres, Captain McDowell (Joe Pingue) is trying to get a drink but is being shunted aside by the station’s Belter residents. McDowell is the captain of the Canterbury ice hauler, and since he was killed off in the season 1 premiere, it’s a real trip to see him onscreen once again. We even get a nice reference to his collection of porcelain cats when another bar patron intentionally crushes one. McDowell is from Earth, and he is not having an easy time acclimating to the culture of the Belt.

But then he hears a laugh, and we see someone who is adjusting quite well: a beardless James Holden sits drinking with a bunch of Belters, laughing about a miscommunication he had that resulted in him losing his pants. Considering that Holden is from Earth, McDowell is impressed by Holden’s easy rapport with his Belter friends. “Y’know, you’re pretty good with these people,” he notes.

“We’re all the same people,” Holden replies, and there it is: Holden and the crew of the Roci are bridging the cultural gap between all the different factions of humanity; that he views everyone as just people has always been at the heart of the series. It’s wonderful to get a nod to that before the series finale.

Despite his insistence that he’s not looking for work, Holden is eventually swayed by McDowell to join the Canterbury once the captain makes it clear that it’s a job which pays well and has basically no responsibility. The episode ends with a slow zoom out, and we see that McDowell has now finally gotten the drink he’s been struggling to get all episode as he becomes yet another person caught up in the personal gravity of James Holden.

And that brings us to the end of The Expanse’s X-Ray bonus episodes. Combined with the rest of season 6, this gives us the full picture of the show’s final outing. It’s a heartfelt way to end what has been an incredible journey. But then, The Expanse has never lacked for heart.

All six seasons of The Expanse are now available on Amazon Prime Video.

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