Marco Inaros' Free Navy and the many, many people he's recently upset takes center stage in The Expanse season 6. Among the ships aligned against him is the Rocinante, which Marco holds a special hatred for. Not only does the ship contain his son's estranged mother, Naomi Nagata, but her new boyfriend is captain. So when an opportunity to ambush the Rocinante presents itself in The Expanse season 6, episode 3 ("Force Projection"), he doesn't need a second invitation.
As one of the biggest moments from Babylon's Ashes - the book The Expanse season 6 is based on - the Rocinante vs. the Pella was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated scene of the Free Navy arc. And, generally speaking, Amazon's space scrap doesn't disappoint. No expanse is spared on the CG visuals, and the Rocinante's turn-and-shoot railgun tactics look genuinely spectacular. The back-and-forth between opposition decks heightens tension, and Holden's dilemma over whether or not to destroy the Pella feels fully earned when it eventually comes. But something's missing from The Expanse's big battle - and we don't just mean Marco's dignity.
For the most part, events play out almost identically - the ambush begins, the Rocinante takes down Marco's ships, Bobbie Draper wins the day, and Holden declines to go for the kill. In the books, however, the Rocinante is carrying an additional crew member in Fred Johnson, who's being escorted to an OPA negotiation. Once the conflict ends and the Roci emerges victorious, Fred is tragically revealed to have suffered a stroke from the high-gravity maneuvers. Played by Chad Coleman, The Expanse's live-action Fred Johnson died back when Marco's spies stole the Protomolecule in season 5, leaving him sadly unavailable to attend his book series demise in season 6.
Missing Fred Johnson's death as one final exclamation point hurts The Expanse's Rocinante vs. Pella scene. The books' Rocinante winning, but at steep cost, adds a bittersweet note to the victory, conveying the peril of interplanetary warfare far better than Holden's crew escaping unscathed. The action, visuals, tension and drama are all executed to perfection, but without Fred paying the price, Marco's ambush lacks that emotional icing on the cake. Additionally, Fred's book death made Marco Inaros appear less of an idiot for recklessly charging into battle. Though it wasn't his intention, Marco's book attack successfully removed one of his foremost threats from the board. In The Expanse season 6, neither Marco nor the Roci crew take anything of value from the confrontation - as impressive as it may be to witness the flying PDC bullets and deft dodges. In the same vein, Fred's death meant Babylon's Ashes' landmark battle left a lasting influence upon The Expanse's wider story. On TV, there's no great shift in The Expanse's landscape after the Rocinante and Pella disengage.
Chad Coleman's Fred Johnson farewell in The Expanse season 5 worked perfectly well, and established the Free Navy as a genuine threat early, while also freeing up the "high-g death" storyline for Alex Kamal after actor Cas Anvar was removed due to sexual misconduct allegations. But after borrowing with one hand, The Expanse needed to give back with the other, and replace Fred's final moments with another post-battle tragedy in season 6. Perhaps if The Expanse hadn't been cornered into killing off Alex unexpectedly, another major character would've felt the grim side-effects of high-g in season 6's Roci vs. Pella battle.
The Expanse season 6 airs Fridays on Amazon Prime.