The Expanse Ending & Credits Tease Explained: What Happens Next

The Expanse finale delivers intense space battles, political drama, and extra-terrestrial teases – here’s how season 6’s ending shakes out, and what comes next for the Rocinante crew. Debuting on Syfy in 2015, The Expanse ran for 3 seasons before a brush with cancellation saw Amazon swoop in. The live-action adaptation of James S.A. Corey’s novels is now ending all over again, this time with season 6. “Babylon’s Ashes” (following the tradition of naming finales after book titles) not only draws a line under Marco Inaros’ shenanigans, but waves farewell to The Expanse as a whole… maybe.

Despite its short 6-episode length, The Expanse‘s final run has packed a behemoth-sized chunk of story into that slender sextet. Season 6 began with Marco Inaros’ Free Navy in full control of the Sol system, pinning down Earth and Mars with asteroid attacks. The Rocinante crew (complimented by new additions Clarissa “Peaches” Mao and Bobbie Draper) brought the rock showers to an end, moving the conflict to Ceres, where the Inners finally shook hands with the Belt – represented by Camina Drummer. The Expanse‘s penultimate episode set up one final battle for the system’s future – Marco Inaros vs. the Consolidated Fleet of Earth, Mars, and Drummer’s Belters.

The Expanse season 6 adapts to the end of James S.A. Corey’s “Babylon’s Ashes,” albeit making a few adjustments along the way. And though most major points are resolved when the (suspiciously ominous) final credits roll, big questions remain unanswered.

The Expanse’s Last Laconia Scene Sets Up A Future

Each entry in The Expanse season 6 begins with a sequence set on Laconia, following young sibling colonists Cara and Xan. Having previously called upon the strange Protomolecule dogs for help, Cara proudly presents her resurrected brother to their parents, expecting delighted reactions all around. Instead, Cara’s father grabs a knife and locks his zombie son in a closet. The slash he leaves upon Xan’s hand heals immediately, confirming the dogs didn’t just bring Cara’s brother back, they’ve improved him. Xan is now one with the Protomolecule – as evidenced by the bright blue POV shot as he looks toward Cara – and any physical wounds are stitched together instantaneously. Xan is reminiscent of The Expanse‘s Protomolecule hybrids (artificially created by Jules-Pierre Mao), which were extremely difficult to kill and possessed inhuman abilities. Xan seems more advanced compared to those Project Caliban proto(molecule)types – unsurprising, since Laconia’s dogs know their onions more than Mao’s Protogen scientists.

Terrified of the dark-eyed boy claiming to be his son, Xan’s father calls Laconia’s military – a decision that could have dire consequences down the line. In the Expanse book series, Admiral Winston Duarte experiments on Cara and Xan to further his own connection to the Protomolecule. Sending soldiers after Laconia’s runaway kids knocks over the first domino toward that future. Note also how Cara says, “It’s okay… if I die, the dogs will fix me” – another sign pointing toward her and Xan becoming Duarte test subjects.

The Expanse season 6 continues to foreshadow Dylan Taylor’s Winston Duarte as a major future villain. He’s shown eagerly eyeing up the Protomolecule warship station from season 5’s finale, and the vessel is now powering into life after Paolo Cortázar proudly declared in episode 4 that the Protomolecule sample (stolen from Fred Johnson by the Free Navy and traded to Laconia) had begun responding. The message is clear – Duarte, Laconia, and this giant shipyard will become a major force in The Expanse‘s future.

How The Roci Seizes The Ring Gate (& Why)

With the naval forces of Earth and Mars no longer playing target practice with asteroids, Marco Inaros retreats to the Ring Gate, which he took control of in The Expanse season 5’s finale. Occupying the pathway between Sol and its 1300 colonies, Marco would hold the upper hand against the Inners, and prove extremely difficult to unseat. The Expanse‘s series finale turns into something of a race – if Marco reaches the Ring, he wins; if the Consolidated Fleet intercept him, their combined might can end the Free Navy.

Working in Marco’s favor are the six railguns he acquired from Laconia previously in The Expanse season 6. These cutting-edge weapons already wiped out a Martian fleet, and would swing any battle for the Ring Gate wildly in Marco’s favor. The Rocinante’s role in The Expanse‘s final episode is to seize the Ring Gate (and its new railguns) – just in case the Consolidated Fleet can’t blow Marco up before he arrives. To avoid being mowed down by railgun shots straight away, the Giambattista ice hauler (a neat nod to The Expanse season 1’s Canterbury) is packed with 2000 pods – some containing soldiers, others empty. Railguns can’t tell these pods apart, allowing most of the strike team to land safely on the Ring Station’s surface, while the Rocinante buzzes around taking out Medina’s targeting and communication systems with its own railgun.

The Rocinante initially intends to take control of the Ring Stations railguns, then point them toward Marco Inaros should he reach the Slow Zone. Because Bobbie and Amos’ ground team meet tougher resistance than anticipated, however the decision is taken to destroy the weapons instead.

Naomi’s Plan To Kill Marco In The Expanse Finale

The Consolidated Fleet’s efforts to prevent Marco Inaros reaching the Ring goes spectacularly wrong. In true Belter style, Marco conceals the Pella’s drive signature to appear as a standard freighter, while simultaneously sending a decoy ship mimicking the Pella to join another fleet. His deception works – the UN and MCRN destroy a useless decoy, while Drummer’s weaker Belter ships are forced into a one-sided fight against Marco’s mighty flagship instead of the freighter they were expecting. Drummer’s Belters are incapacitated, while Earth and Mars are too far away to stop the real Pella reaching the Ring Gate in time.

This leaves only the Rocinante standing between Marco Inaros and total victory, and Naomi proposes using the Ring entities. As explained by Elvi Okoye previously, the Barkeith’s disappearance in The Expanse season 5 was caused by the Dark Gods who wiped out the Protomolecule builders millions of years prior. They don’t appreciate humanity traveling through the Ring Gates, and when the mass energy threshold of transit hits a certain level (the amount of ships, the energy mass they produce, etc), Ring entities will appear. As the Pella approaches, the Rocinante fires its entire payload through the Ring, detonating the Giambattista for added wallop. That’s enough to summon the angry entities, who afford Marco Inaros the same welcome they gave the Barkeith. The Pella, Marco, and everything else onboard are decimated without a trace.

Which Gods Does Winston Duarte Plan To Kill?

Since the Laconian railguns served him so well, Marco Inaros requests further armaments from his ex-Martian friend, Admiral Duarte. Wacky Winston says no, calling Marco a “useful distraction” before declaring, “I have Gods to kill” and signing off. The “Gods” he speaks of are the Ring entities, whom Duarte has obviously become aware of following the Barkeith’s disappearance. Believing this dark alien presence threatens all of humanity, Duarte is intending to wage war by harnessing the Protomolecule power this mysterious species is obviously so fearful of.

When Naomi suggests using the Ring entities to destroy Marco Inaros, Holden is concerned such a maneuver would risk waking up the villains permanently. Holden is one of very few Expanse characters capable of sensing the Ring entities during transit, and by suggesting there’s a “point of no return” where the Ring entities will no longer go quietly back to sleep, the Roci captain is setting up a future battle between humanity and these enigmatic aggressors. What will trigger the conflict first? Human Ring Gate activity, or provocation from Laconia?

Why Holden Resigns As Transport Union President

Marco Inaros’ downfall inevitably leads to Earth, Mars, and Drummer’s Belt faction at the negotiating table. They intend to form a Transport Union that properly monitors transit through the Ring Gates, ensuring the mass energy threshold isn’t met and the Ring entities remain inactive, but political tensions remain between all sides. As a compromise, Earth, Mars and the Belt all agree to appoint James Holden president of an independent Transport Union, since the Roci captain has repeatedly proved his friendship to all three.

But there’s subterfuge beneath the surface. As Holden later confirms, he conspired with Drummer off-screen to – as Avasarala puts it – “negotiate in bad faith.” Holden accepts the President gig under the condition Drummer becomes his vice-president. Once the arrangement is ratified, Holden resigns at his debut press conference, declaring Drummer the new President. Holden’s decision can be explained by two conflicting truths – a Belter needed to be President; and the Inners would never appoint a Belter president.

As Holden states, the Transport Union marks the first time Belters are receiving a stake in the Sol system’s future. To foster trust (and avoid another Marco Inaros), Earth and Mars must show their commitment to equality by installing a figure from the Belt to lead the new organization. After the Free Navy conflict, however, that’s something the Inners would never accept, with the Martian Prime Minister claiming his government would implode at the mere suggestion. Holden effectively takes the choice out of their hands, using his authority as Transport Union President to immediately replace himself with Drummer. Despite angering Avasarala, even she recognizes the wisdom behind Holden’s tactic. The Belt feels genuine representation, while Earth and Mars save face, since the controversy wasn’t their doing.

Incidentally, there’s no mention of Earth recovering after Marco’s barrage of asteroid attacks. Viewers can only assume Prax’s food breakthrough (parachuted into The Expanse‘s narrative earlier in season 6) solves the planet’s biggest problems, and restores a semblance of normality.

The Rocinante’s Future Explained

With James Holden departing the Transport Union, what does the Rocinante crew’s future look like? During Holden and Naomi’s final conversation, the Roci captain strongly hints they’ll go independent once again, freelancing to make a living. He mentions protecting ships traversing the Ring Gates from pirate attacks, or “consulting” on a colony, similar to their role on Ilus in The Expanse season 4. Peaches has been accepted as one of the crew – even by Naomi, after they bonded during the Azure Dragon mission – and she’s now closer than ever to Amos, who has thawed considerably since their season 5 reunion on Earth. Tragically, Peaches only has 5 years to live due to the ongoing ill effects of her enhancement mods. Peaches doesn’t share this with Amos (or anyone on the Roci), setting up a tragically short – and frustratingly unresolved – ending for the ship’s new mechanic. Peaches’ ending leans toward her keeping quiet about the bad news, and enjoying her happy final years with a new family.

The Expanse‘s final episode also implies Bobbie Draper is the Rocinante’s new pilot moving forward. Her final scene takes place in Alex’s old chair, and Amos jokes, “Sure this is a good idea, Cap? The ride was rough enough with you at the stick.” Bobbie has seemingly inherited the pilot’s job from Holden on a full-time basis, after the captain temporarily took the wheel following Alex Kamal’s abrupt death in The Expanse season 5’s finale. This makes sense, as Bobbie continues the tradition of Martian Rocinante pilots, and enjoyed a close friendship with Alex.

Filip Inaros’ Ending Changes The Expanse Books

Since Filip Inaros reunited with his mother in The Expanse season 5, Naomi’s kind heart has slowly turned him against Marco Inaros. Filip started acknowledging guilt for the many deaths he caused, then began recognizing how Marco was more concerned about massaging his ego than truly doing right by Belters. Filip’s doubts were amplified thanks to The Expanse season 6, episode 5’s revelation that his father had secretly planted the Ceres dock bombs that took the lives of many innocent Belters, but the final straw comes in The Expanse‘s series finale. Filip is the only Pella bridge crew member who rushes to Rosenfeld’s side after she gets shot, prompting one last heart-to-heart with his father, where Marco declares he’d be proud to see Filip die for the cause, and by virtue of being his child, Filip should feel the same. That’s quite enough for the youngster, who departs on an escape pod before the Pella reaches the Ring. The name change to “Filip Nagata” symbolizes how Filip is now adopting his mother’s virtues, rather than his father’s sins.

Filip’s The Expanse season 6 ending represents a slight deviation from James S.A. Corey’s books. Experiencing the same doubts as his TV counterpart, Filip is on Calisto Station when Marco orders him to return. Filip agrees, but then runs away, signing on as a worker, also under his mother’s surname. Walking off the Pella while the other crew members chant Marco’s name arguably makes a stronger statement.

The Expanse’s Final Credits Tease Future Villains

The Expanse season 6 doesn’t feature a traditional post-credits scene, but the credits themselves tease a potential future for the show. Traditionally, The Expanse‘s end credits carry the distinctive image of the Ring Gate as their backdrop. In The Expanse‘s finale, the distinctive red ripples of the Ring entities have been added to the dark void, seemingly confirming Holden’s fear that the alien presence would keep growing stronger if they summoned the creatures against Marco. And the bad news doesn’t end there. In the center of The Expanse‘s end credits Ring Gate scene, what appears to be the outline of Winston Duarte’s Laconian Protomolecule warship station can also be spotted.

The Expanse‘s finale’s credits serve as a stark reminder to viewers that two major threats still exist in the show – the future Laconian Empire, and the ominous, godlike Ring entities. The credits of “Babylon’s Ashes” confirm these forces are burgeoning in power, and coming to universe near us sooner rather than later. This dual setup could lead to The Expanse season 7 (depending on the situation with Amazon’s rights to the show) or, more likely, a movie conclusion covering the last three books. Exactly how The Expanse plans to pay off its many hints remains to be seen, but the overt signposting of future storylines strongly suggests that reports of the Rocinante’s retirement have been greatly exaggerated.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3627 Articles Published)

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
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