The Expanse affords Steven Strait’s James Holden a more affirming season 6 ending compared to the original book series. Book-to-TV adaptations are hardly in short supply these days, but among the deluge of onscreen translations, Amazon’s The Expanse undoubtedly counts among the most faithful. Even as The Expanse season 6 concludes its narrative ahead of schedule, the live-action story has remained mostly true to James S.A. Corey’s Babylon’s Ashes (the sixth entry in the series). Nevertheless, changes have been made. Filip Inaros’ defection is given more punch, Camina Drummer continues to walk in place of Michio Pa, and Peaches’ future is fast-tracked into the present.

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Perhaps the biggest change in The Expanse‘s series finale concerns James Holden. Esteemed captain of the Rocinante, Holden is present when Earth, Mars and the Belt begin negotiations to found the Transport Union – an official regulatory body for the Ring Gates. Each side disagrees over whom should lead this Transport Union, but all three eventually turn to Holden – a morally unimpeachable character that has lent helping hands to Earth, Mars and the Belt since The Expanse‘s timeline began. Holden accepts on the condition Camina Drummer can take the vice-president slot, but the Roci captain then shocks everyone by publicly announcing his resignation and installing Drummer as a successor – bypassing the politics of the negotiating table to ensure justice is done.

The Expanse‘s ending for James Holden is inspired by – yet still quite different from – James S.A. Corey’s original Babylon’s Ashes. As in Amazon’s TV version, the Sol system’s main players sit down to discuss a Transport Union, and all three come to the conclusion that Holden should be its president. At this point, however, Holden simply turns down the job offer and vouches for Michio Pa (Drummer’s book counterpart) in his place. At Holden’s suggestion, Michio is duly sworn in by the Inner planets, signifying peace finally attained. There’s no subterfuge, no dramatic resignation, and no seething Avasarala deciding which combination of insults would best convey her displeasure.

And it’s the live-action sequence that serves James Holden’s character better. By turning down the Transport Union gig and putting forward Michio’s name, the Babylon’s Ashes ending demonstrates Holden’s humble selflessness and steadfast motivation to do the right thing. The Expanse‘s TV interpretation highlights those traits too, but also reminds viewers of Holden’s maverick nature – how his determination to be “good” so often means rubbing folk the wrong way. James Holden’s entire story began because he couldn’t bring himself to ignore a distress signal while travelling on the Canterbury. Defying his crew and captain, Holden answered that call, and set galaxy-changing events into motion. Now, in The Expanse‘s final episode, Holden is once again defying authorities and risking their wrath to follow through on his ethical beliefs. On this occasion, that means ensuring a Belter leads the Transport Union… one way or another.

Adding that deceptive element brings Holden back to where he began in The Expanse season 1, and represents his core characterization far better than simply telling Avasarala to pick Drummer. Furthermore, Holden’s TV ending portrays with more realism how tensions between Earth, Mars and the Belt haven’t vanished overnight. It takes skillful backhand maneuvering to land Drummer the Transport Union’s top job, even though anyone can see (even Avasarala by The Expanse‘s final scenes) that giving the Belt power will signal trust and promote peace.

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Perhaps this story deviation happened because The Expanse season 6 marks an ending for the show as a whole, whereas 3 more novels released following Babylon’s Ashes. To give The Expanse‘s protagonist a fitting farewell (for now?), Holden’s final act on TV needed to resonate with his past, while summing up his personality. By tweaking the book scene where Holden suggests Michio Pa lead the transport union into a full-on rug-pull that blindsides the Sol system’s biggest politicians, The Expanse achieves exactly that.

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Craig Elvy
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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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