The Expanse‘s season finale gives one last reprisal of a classic mystery – the Protomolecule hybrids. Much has changed since The Expanse season 2. The Rocinante contains new faces, there’s a giant portal sitting at the end of the solar system, and Earth isn’t looking too good. Amazon’s sci-fi yarn has come a long way since those Syfy days too… but we’ll always have the Protomolecule hybrids. Developed by Jules-Pierre Mao under “Project Caliban,” the experiment deliberately infected children (usually ones that had weakened immune systems) with samples of Protomolecule. The alien slime would adapt to its host, creating a hybrid with superhuman powers, which Mao, naturally, tried selling to the highest bidder.

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Project Caliban was duly shut down by James Holden’s Rocinante crew, and the Sol system has since gone Protomolecule-free. That’s not the case for colony planets such as Laconia, however. Young Cara Bisset – the daughter of two colonist researchers – discovered Protomolecule repair dogs deep within the Laconian forest. When her brother, Xan, dies in a tragic accident, Cara has the dogs bring him back to life, but there’s a catch. The Expanse‘s series finale reveals more, and connects Xan to season 2’s all-but-forgotten Protomolecule hybrid mystery.

First returning in The Expanse‘s penultimate episode, Xan has already showed certain… changes. Those dark, glazed eyes weren’t there before, and Xan didn’t talk like the possessed kid in a horror movie. But only in season 6’s finale does The Expanse demonstrate the true extent of Xan’s alterations. Cut by his father’s knife (not the nicest welcome home), Xan’s palm immediately heals itself, confirming a powerful regenerative capability. And not only have Xan’s eyes changed color, he also perceives the world in bright blue, similar to what The Expanse has shown previously with Julie Mao. Rather than just viewing physical matter, Xan’s eyes can now see Cara’s biology and the inner workings of Laconia’s forest – like an x-ray for nature.

In one sense, Xan represents a perfected version of what Jules-Pierre Mao was trying to achieve with his Protomolecule hybrids. Mao’s creations benefited from the Protomolecule’s power, but only certain children suited his purposes. Even then, the success rate was incredibly low, and any hybrid children Mao did create became semi-mindless energy-eating monsters. Differences aside, Xan’s predicament still bears a close similarity to Mao’s hybrid kids from The Expanse season 3. His subjects became more resilient and durable than normal humans, and one (Katoa) even dissected a lab assistant to examine how her biology worked, suggesting he could “see” natural process similar to how Xan can.

Xan is clearly far superior to the man-made Protomolecule hybrids from The Expanse‘s early seasons. He hasn’t transformed into a beast, isn’t ravenous for energy sources, and has retained a semblance of his usual self – even if he’s not the Xan Cara knew before. Katoa died taking a minigun blast from Bobbie Draper at point-blank rage; it’d be fascinating (in purely scientific terms, of course) to see whether the same attack would finish off Xan, or whether he’d simply reassemble.

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The Expanse doesn’t clarify precisely how Xan differs from Jules-Pierre Mao’s hybrids, but two solid guesses can be made as to why the young Laconian colonist is more progressed in his relationship with the Protomolecule. Mao’s Protogen scientists were flying blind trying to harness the Protomolecule, whereas the dogs on Laconia appear intuitively familiar with it. Also, Mao infected living children, whereas Xan was rebuilt by the Protomolecule after death. Nevertheless, Xan’s enhancements prove Mao was onto something when he concocted the idea of using humans as vessels for Protomolecule, and The Expanse finale’s Laconia storyline also confirms a higher evolution of Protomolecule hybrid is attainable. For The Expanse‘s viewership, however, Xan’s transformation picks up a storyline many thought ended 3 seasons prior, highlighting how this ending was foreshadowed from the very beginning.

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About The Author


Craig Elvy
(3630 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.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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