The Expanse Season 5 Episode 6 Tribes propels the story of this season further and gives us a whole lot of Amos — here is my recap and review!
Below is my recap and review for The Expanse Season 5 Episode 6 The Tribes. There will be spoilers of major plot points, so be warned! Read last week’s The Expanse Season 5 Episodes 5 spoiler recap and review to catch up!
Warning: SPOILERS for The Expanse Season 5 Episode 6
Tribes
This episode starts off with the acting secretary General meeting Avasarala on Luna. During their conversation we discover her husband is missing and her daughter and her family are on a shuttle on their way to her. He asks her to join his provisional cabinet, since she is the only reason they were able to beat back to attack. Of course she accepts. But it is very obvious that she is worried about her husband, and the Earth, as she wipes away tears.
Amos & Clarissa Journey Onward
Amos and Clarissa are at a UN relief camp, but they realize they cannot stay for long, since police are around. He offers to take her to Baltimore, saying that he knows people there, and she accepts. While traveling through the woods her body starts to cramp up, but she says it is just her going through the last of the implant blockers. As they walk on, they discuss their parents and Amos mentions his mom died when he was young — and that he might have a dad somewhere. She asks if he wants to meet him and he says no. This makes me think maybe, just maybe, he will end up meeting his dad at some point.
The two spot a fire up ahead and meet a man who tells them the coast is flooding. He also warns them of a man up ahead who is shooting people and seems a bit unstable. Amos drops this amazing quote – “The thing about civilization is it keeps you civil. Get rid of one you can’t count on the other.”
Amos decides they will head toward that man. They arrive at a fence and Amos warns Clarissa to run if anything goes bad, and attempts to talk to the man. He claims he wants to trade a water cycler for weapons, which doesn’t seem right at all. After the man makes Amos strip at gunpoint to prove he is unarmed, he says he is going to shoot him and take the cycler anyways.
But Clarissa uses her mods to save Amos, and kill the man (a gore-filled kill that is pretty epic). She nearly passes out and starts vomiting though, something she later admits to Amos happens every time she uses her mods.
They now have weapons, food, and transportation. Amos asks her about what she was repeating in her sleep – something about monsters and being afraid. She explains it is a poem she wrote, “I have killed but I am not a monster. Because monsters aren’t afraid.”
She goes on to open up and say how afraid she always is. Amos takes a hard look at himself when Clarissa lays it out – they went out of their way to kill someone and take their supplies and that’s not what good people would do. Amos says yes, Holden wouldn’t put up with that, and quickly adds he needs to get back to his crew.
The Free Navy
Marco and his Free Navy seem to be falling apart. Especially after what just happened with Naomi. Marco suggests spacing Naomi but Filip wants to spare his mother’s life, and tells Marco that. He then confronts his mother, who is locked in a cell, and says that she deserves to die. Clearly he is struggling with what should be done.
She explains to him what his father has done to him — that he has made him a killer, just like he had done to her. “He wouldn’t die for you, but he would let you die for him.” – talk about a powerful quote from Naomi.
Belter Factions
Finally it is time for more Drummer as she prepares for her meeting with Marco. We get a glimpse of her crew talking without her – they are worried about her and the meeting. When many Martian ships show up and surround them, they think they are being ambushed. The Free Navy sends a message asking them to dock, and Drummer and her crew realize that The Free Navy has Martian ships. A lot of them. When they board they also realize that several factions have already joined Marco.
Drummer confronts Marco about Ashford and Fred — saying that she is starting to regret her decision to let him live. She is upset that he has committed all Belters to a war with the Inners and thanks to his attacks, has gotten rid of all hope of peace. He gives them numbers on food – even mentioning the Ganymede project – and then tells them to discuss and make a decision soon, since the free Navy won’t be staying there long.
The crew debates and they seem pretty split. Not sure if they want to join Marco, but it is pointed out that with Marco they would have protection. They are worried that even if they don’t align with him, if they cross paths with an Earther, they will be attacked. Marco will unite 100 separate fractions into one nation — the only choice is to join him or die.
They exchange crew to solidify their deal, and before Drummer leaves, Marco introduces Filip to her. Marco mentions the Bohemian and that she worked with his mother, but doesn’t let her tell the full story. FIlip slips up and says that if he wanted to tell his mother something, he just could, but Marco cuts him off. Still, it seems that Drummer suspects something is up. Filip then goes to Naomi’s cell and asks her to tell the story.
What Are The Others Up To?
Meanwhile, Monica climbs aboard the Roci and wants to go after the Zmeya with Bull and Holden. Holden finds the message from Naomi labeled “if something goes wrong.” Alex and Bobbie are floating through space and almost get hit by scavengers. However, they attack them and escape. The Expanse Season 5 Episode 6 doesn’t so much more from these groups but that is OK, that just means there is likely a lot more to come from them down the line.
Overall Thoughts
Something I love about this episode is how much Amos and Clarissa we got. Not only did we see them start to journey to, hopefully, safety, we get to see them take a look inside themselves. Neither one of them is perfect. In fact, they both have done a lot of bad things, although sometimes for what they believe is the right thing. I love that Amos realizes he needs to get back to his crew, because he is a better person when with them.
I also liked getting more Drummer, especially since we haven’t seen much of her this season. She is forced to team up with Marco solely because she has no better option. However, Filip almost let it slip that Naomi is with them, and I think this will come back around in the near future.
Another great episode of The Expanse Season 5 that perfectly touched on each member of the cast, but picked only a few to focus on. With the crew all being separated this season, The Expanse has seemed to master not muddying up the story.
About The Expanse Season 5
Season five of the series picks up as multitudes of humans leave the solar system in search of new homes and vast fortunes on the earth-like worlds beyond the alien Ring, and a heavy price for centuries of exploitation of the Belt finally comes due and a reckoning is at hand.
For the crew of the Rocinante and the leaders of the Inner Planets and the Belt, the past and present converge, bringing forth personal challenges that have wide-reaching repercussions throughout the Solar System. Amos (Wes Chatham) returns to Earth to confront his past and the legacy of the life he fought to leave behind. Naomi (Dominique Tipper) reaches out to her estranged son in a desperate bid to save him from his father’s toxic influence.
Bobbie (Frankie Adams) and Alex (Cas Anvar) confront the collapse of Mars as they chase a shadowy cabal with ties to terrorists and criminals. Holden (Steven Strait) wrestles with the consequences of his own past with the Protomolecule, the aliens who built it, and the mystery of what killed them.
Drummer (Cara Gee), with a new crew, fights to escape who and what she used to be. And Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), refusing to be relegated to the sidelines, fights to prevent a terrorist attack unrivaled in history.
The first 3 episodes of The Expanse Season 5 drop on Amazon Prime Video December 16th.
