Naren Shankar also says he is hoping this is not the end for the show.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about theseason 6 series finale ofThe Expanse.
The Expanseended (maybe?)
The cast of ‘The Expanse’.Amazon Prime Video
its six season saga with a bang.
And a really big one at that.
Or so she thought.
The cast of ‘The Expanse’.Amazon Prime Video
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let’s talk about how you wanted to approach this finale.
You’re adapting these books.
There are obviously three more books out there.
Keon Alexander on ‘The Expanse’.Shane Mahood /Amazon Prime Video
And there is this kind of an off-ramp at the end of book six.
And all it would take is a spark.
We then provide the spark in terms of the protomolecule.
The crew of the Rocinante on ‘The Expanse’.Amazon Prime Video
And season 6 is the culmination of that and it’s the resolution of that.
But the time gap between book six and book seven is almost 30 years.
So it’s a natural place and a natural ending in many ways.
And if you watch the end credits really closely, we even put a little something in there.
If you notice, the Ring entities are sort of coming to life at the very end.
I did notice that!
Okay, let’s get into some of the specifics of what you did in your final episode here.
Everyone on the Roci sort of has their hero moment.
Then Holden and the Roci come in to save Amos.
Tell me how you wanted to stage that big final battle.
Well, it’s actually kind of going even further back in the episode.
You feel like you could lose any of them at any moment.
And so, what happens is the way we built the last episode was it really escalates.
You think, “Oh my God, Drummer’s going to die!
And then, oh my God, Clarissa’s going to die!
Then, oh my God, Bobbie’s going to die!
Then, oh my God, Amos is going to die!”
Yeah, none of those things happen, but they feel like theymight.
In that moment, that is the dramatic moment.
We really wanted it to feel like you could lose any of these people at any moment.
I think tonally that’s its own thing.
And I hope to get to do it.
I want to talk about the Naomi and Filip thing a little bit.
They come up with this plan.
They’re going to throw everything at the Ring to wake the entities up.
Naomi ultimately is the one to press that button that shethinksat the time has just killed her own son.
Why does she press that button?
Obviously, it goes back to Holden and him disarming that missile, but what is going on there?
That’s a gut-wrenching decision to make.
And I can’t deal with that."
He chose his father."
And so, she is forced to make this terrible, terrible decision to end life of her child.
It was actually one of the changes from the novel, but I think worked really, really nicely.
In the book, Filip’s not on the ship.
So, it doesn’t quite have the same weight.
Oh my God, that scene is just gut-wrenching and beautiful.
When she pushes that button, and just before that, she’s imagining Filip as a baby.
And then Dominique in that moment with that howl of anguish.
It’s such a great moment.
I love thatchange from the book.
If memory serves, I don’t think he’s ever heard from or seen again in the books.
He only comes in in the novella,Auberon.
So what’s your take here in your TV universe?
What’s Filip’s future?
Where is he off to and what is he going to end up doing?
We talked a little bit about it.
The issue is not even so much what is he going to do, is that heisgoing to do.
And so, that’s the important thing.
And there’s maybe a chance for him to redeem a little part of his soul.
Let’s talk about the Transport Union.
We didn’t feel that Holden would be the guy that proposed it.
We felt like there was a better way in that conference scene to have emerge.
And Holden looks at Drummer, and she gives him permission to.
And then he just kind of steps down.
That felt like the most interesting way to do it because Holden, he’s not that guy.
He never wanted to be that guy.
And Avasarala goes, “No, I can only promise you that I won’t.”
And then there they are in that room.
And Drummer is like, “You guys just clashed with us.”
It’s kind of a fun moment.
The story of Kara and Xan becomes super important in the later books.
What made you want to incorporate their back story via theStrange Dogsnovella here?
It’s Miller’s vision.
So, suddenly the audience knows that.
I mean, there are all these little bits and pieces in there.
Tell me about how prominent you wanted him be in this story.
Again, it looks like you’re laying some stepping stones out there.
I mean, we are.
It’s pretty clear.
And it’s tricky.
Why did they come here?
Why did they risk all of this?
What is the mission?
And that’s what Duarte tells her.
We know there are three more books.
We know you’ve set a few things up.
We know this has been announced as your last season on Amazon.
What are your plans?
Well, I mean, look, this has been such a delightful experience.
We love the show and we love making the show.
It would be a remarkable thing to complete the whole book series that way.
And I certainly hope we get to do it.
All right, I’ve saved the most important question for last.
Did Amos and Bobbie hook up in the brothel at Ceres?
He offered her an invitation…
Oh my God!
I can’t give you a definitive answer.
That scene is deliberately constructed.
Because look at this way: Both of these characters in the show have used sex a little transactionally.
I mean, is it possible?
I can’t say for sure.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
