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"Oyedeng" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of The Expanse.[1] Overall, it is the fifty-third episode and was released to streaming on January 13, 2021.
Synopsis
Naomi makes a desperate attempt to save her son from Marco. On the Roci, Holden battles for the last sample of protomolecule.
Recap
On the Pella, Naomi relives blissful memories in the distant past of herself, in love with Marco Inaros and holding their baby son, Filip.
In the present, Filip is in his quarters reading about Naomi's heroic actions during the Slow Zone Incident. Marco arrives, asking what he's reading, and Filip says that he's reading reports of their victory on Pallas, though Marco sees through the lie. He sits down with his son and reminisces about himself and his friends being orphans on Ceres and dreaming of a better future, while now they are all bitter and fractured. He looks at Filip, so young yet so accomplished, and Filip states that he wants to make his father proud. He then asks Filip for permission to make use of the Chetzemoka, and Filip accepts as he is eager to help the cause. Marco asks Filip if he's got any sentimental attachment to it, as it was his mother's gift, but he insists that he doesn't.
Marco then visits Naomi in her cell, where they have a tense conversation. Marco accuses Naomi of being weak and cowardly for abandoning their son, but Naomi retorts that it was him who forced her to do that. He explains that he did it because it was the only way to make her stay with him, and claims he wouldn't have destroyed the Augustin Gamarra if he'd known it would ruin their family, but Naomi points out he is doing to Filip exactly what he did to her. Marco says Filip is the fighter Naomi couldn't be, but she says Filip is his own person and doesn't deserve to die for Marco's dreams. He returns to accusing Naomi of leaving their family, and she admits she's felt guilt for it, but mostly great relief for managing to get away from Marco. He proceeds to mock Holden, but Naomi asserts that Holden is everything Marco pretends to be, and that the only reason he hasn't killed her yet is because he knows that, if he does, Filip will see him for what he really is. Marco lets Naomi freely roam the ship again, warning her that if she tries anything again, he will execute her.
On the Rocinante, Holden is leading the chase after the Zmeya, but the ship has gone dark and they are unable to positively identify it. He convenes with Bull and Monica, and they all agree it will be best to destroy the Protomolecule sample when they retrieve it. Monica has a source on Ceres who can help them find the sample as a backup plan, which Bull dislikes as he feels it's preparing themselves to fail, but she points out they already have, or else they wouldn't be in this situation. Bull and Holden talk about Fred Johnson, who they both had many disagreements with but who they agree ultimately was a good and honorable person. Holden regrets that he never trusted Fred, who was always honest with him, and Bull points out that Holden and Fred are very much alike as people, joking that it's probably why Bull doesn't like Holden. They are interrupted by a video message from Alex, who tells him that he is with Bobbie on the Razorback and that they should meet on Tycho soon, as they have a lot to talk about. Holden realizes that the delay on the transmission is very small, which means that Alex must be nearby, and not on Mars where he is supposed to be.
Naomi enters Filip's room and finds he isn't there, so she roams around and lovingly examines his things. Filip finds her there, and they have an awkward chat, with Naomi pondering on everything she has missed and that there's a lot she doesn't know about Filip. He admires her actions during the Slow Zone Incident, saying she saved a lot of Belter lives, but she replies that it was done by many people, together, despite what his father may have told him. She tries to make small talk about their shared interest in engineering, but Filip shifts the conversation to the day they met on Pallas and she told him that she understands what he is going through. Naomi explains that she understands Marco's allure, and how he makes people crave his attention and blinds them to his true nature. While Filip sees the Free Navy's actions as great victories and thinks it make him strong, Naomi sees it as a tragedy, and tells him that her only wish is for him to eventually regret all the futile death that he has caused. She shares that she didn't find her true strength until she left Marco and realized she meant nothing to him, that she was just a pawn to serve his ego and that everything in her life revolved around pleasing and obeying him. Filip retorts that he isn't Naomi, he is his own person and isn't being controlled by anyone. She sits down with him and admits that he isn't a boy anymore, assuring a startled and emotional Filip that she believes him. She extends her arms toward him and he hesitates for a moment, but eventually leans in, and Naomi cradles her son for the first time in many years. Both of them start to tear up, as Filip asks her why she left him behind. She cries as she explains that she didn't want to, that Marco hid Filip from her and that she searched for months to no avail, until she almost committed suicide through an airlock, but decided not to as it wouldn't change the fact that Filip would grow up without a mother. She wipes Filip's tears and says "walking away is the only choice anyone ever has".
Avasarala sends a message to the Screaming Firehawk, saying that Earth's fleets are returning to protect the Inner Planets, but that they will detach task groups to use the information that Alex and Bobbie gathered and destroy the ships of Inaros agents. They both smile when Avasarala tells them to "get [their] asses somewhere safe". Bobbie nonchalantly pulls a bullet from her suit which was left as a result of their last skirmish, and the two of them exchange friendly jabs until they get a reply from Holden, surprised that their message got to him so fast. Holden informs them that he left Tycho to retrieve Fred's protomolecule sample from Inaros, and Bobbie decides to send him the profiles they collected on the Free Navy ships.
On the Roci, Holden, Bull and Monica receive the message, and are shocked when Alex tells them that Mars is selling warships to Inaros. Holden finds the Chetzemoka among the profiles gathered by Alex and Bobbie, but Bull and Monica tell him to focus on the protomolecule, which is more important than helping Naomi. Holden reluctantly agrees but sends a message to Alex and Bobbie, telling them Marco kidnapped Naomi and asking them to keep an eye on Marco's fleet in hopes of finding her. Bobbie immediately begins to plot a new course, while Alex assures Holden that they won't lose her.
The Chetzemoka returns to Marco's fleet and docks with the Pella. Cyn gets off and carries a crate of supplies to the galley, where he finds Naomi sitting. The two of them are awkward at first, but Naomi apologizes for hitting Cyn and he sits with her, sharing a drink and remembering their past on Pallas. He tells her that the last time they spoke, she left late at night for a walk and the look on her face worried Cyn, who followed her and saw her get inside the airlock, but then walk back out. The next day he went to find her and she was gone. Cyn starts to cry, saying he didn't know it would have come to that and that he would have helped Naomi if he knew. Naomi tries to comfort him, but she is shocked when he confesses that he helped Marco hide Filip from her. She begins to cry too, and says she thought that Cyn loved her. He apologizes, explaining that he loved all of their family and he thought it was the only way to make Naomi come back. When he found her in the old canteen in Pallas, he saw it as his chance to make amends with her. Naomi replies that it actually is his chance, and pleads for his help, but he doesn't reply.
Holden is drinking coffee in the galley, frustrated that they still can't find the Zmeya. Monica arrives and sits with him, and they discuss Marco's acquisition of supporters on Mars. She reasons that it's relatively easy to get technology and weapons, but entire warships aren't just simply vanished and sold on the black market. They both concur that someone very powerful is helping Inaros, but Monica wonders why they would do such a thing. Since Marco doesn't have the money to buy an entire armada of the best warships in the system, it must mean that the Martians who gave them over either have the same political goals, or he's offering something else to them as payment. Holden's mind goes to the Protomolecule, while Monica believes it's both the sample and Cortázar, as they were both taken at the same time and one needs the other to be useful. Holden confesses to Monica about the sample that they had, and how Naomi gave it to Fred who kept it as leverage until the Belt had an army. Monica points out it was a bad idea, as now Marco is the one with the army and the sample. He also informs Monica about Naomi's past with Marco and their son, and is about to tell her about Naomi's emergency message when Bull calls them to the command deck.
Bull has managed to find something along the flight path, and it turns out to be the Zmeya. The entire crew straps down and a chase begins, during which the Zmeya shoots rockets at the Roci but they manage to evade the attack, and they immobilize the Zmeya with a precision railgun shot.
Marco oversees the battle from the Pella, though he is careful not to reveal their position by engaging in any way. He admonishes Cyn for not executing Naomi, which Cyn points out wouldn't have changed anything, but Marco says it would have taught Filip the price of failure. Cyn tries to persuade Marco to let Naomi leave and asks him why he keeps trying to hurt her, but Marco lashes out that Cyn used to be strong and that he helped Marco keep Filip from Naomi, but now he is turning soft with his guilt. He firmly states that Naomi isn't going to leave again, and tells Cyn that if he has a problem with that, he is free to go.
Bull and Monica want to destroy the Zmeya, but Holden wants to board them to look for clues that might help them find Naomi. They hail the Zmeya to turn off the reactor, but they get no response and, moments later, the ship explodes, destroying itself.
Marco looks over a tactical display of a blockade by the MCRN and the UN over the Sol Gate. Filip arrives and asks Marco for command of his own ship, to do more for the cause and prove who he is to the rest of the Free Navy while making a name for himself throughout the Belt. Marco hostilely retorts that Filip has failed at destroying the Rocinante and Tycho, at protecting the Zmeya and the protomolecule sample and at killing Naomi after her assassination attempt against Marco. He barks at Filip that his weakness nearly undermined everything they've fought for, and that Filip is nothing without Marco, showing him footage of their supporters, who he points out are chanting Marco's name and not Filip's. He then abruptly shifts to saying that Filip played a part in their victory, and that one day he will take over Marco's empire, but only after Marco has passed. He begins a whispered chant which starts to reverberate through the command deck, until everyone is loudly chanting Filip's name, making him swell with pride.
Naomi is brought to the Pella's command deck, where Marco orders Filip to search her for weapons. Marco announces to Naomi that he is going to let her go, but before he does that, he will use the Chetzemoka to lure the Roci close and destroy it. Only after Naomi has watched her family die will he let her leave. Naomi, furious, calls Marco a monster, but he reveals that Filip is part of it as well. Naomi pleads with Filip not to do this, saying that he is not like Marco, but he angrily slaps her face and tells her she has no idea who he is, while he knows that she is a pathetic Earther-loving welwala. He attacks her for trying to make him weak and poison his relationship with his father. Naomi, in tears, turns towards Cyn, who is visibly upset but turns away from Naomi. Marco taunts her with contempt, saying that she is nothing, and that's what she will be left with. When Naomi tries to hit him, she is grabbed by Pella crewmen who start to drag her out of the command deck, begging Filip in tears to not do this. As the guards drag her off, she turns to Marco in hateful rage, screaming that she hates him.
The Pella stops so it can safely detach from the Chetzemoka. Marco has evacuated the crew and set it on remote pilot. While he is overseeing the process, Cyn discreetly asks the ship's system to search for Naomi, and finds her standing outside an airlock. As he runs towards her, Filip sees the footage of Naomi opening the airlock and walking inside.
As the two ships begin to distance from each other, Cyn joins Naomi in the airlock by squeezing past the closing inner doors. He pleads with her not to do this, and that he will make things right with Marco, but she turns to face him and remorsefully says that he shouldn't have followed her, revealing she has a syringe of oxygenated blood in her hand. She presses the release for the outer doors and leaps away from the open airlock.
Filip arrives to watch Cyn reach out after Naomi, but he is unable to catch her. As Cyn screams after her, he loses all oxygen, and asphyxiates.
Halfway between the two ships, Naomi injects herself with the oxygenated blood. As blood vessels pop in her eyes, and her face swells with burns from the sun's radiation, she manages to grab onto the Chetzemoka, release the airlock, and push herself inside with the last of her strength. The door closes automatically behind her, as Naomi floats idly in place.
Cast
Main
- Steven Strait as James Holden
- Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal
- Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata
- Wes Chatham as Amos Burton (credit only)
- Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper
- Cara Gee as Camina Drummer (credit only)
- Nadine Nicole as Clarissa Mao (credit only)
- Keon Alexander as Marco Inaros
- Jasai Chase-Owens as Filip Inaros
- Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala
Guest Starring
- José Zúñiga as Bull
- Brent Sexton as Cyn
- Anna Hopkins as Monica Stuart
- George Tchortov as Leveau
- Somkele Idhalama as Tycho Engineer
Co-Starring
- Emmanuel John as Pella Crew #2
- Hayley Pace as Pella Crew #1
- Phi Huynh as Pella Crew #3
- Wilex Ly as Serge
Media
Trivia
Science of Naomi's Leap
- Naomi's space walk at the end of the episode, while difficult to pull off in reality, is technically feasible. Contrary to popular belief, humans don't freeze or explode in the vacuum of space. Putting that aside, the main concerns instead are:
- the fact that the brain needs oxygen to function and
- the lack of external pressure causing fluids on the surface of the body to evaporate, which can cause serious damage if the exposure is prolonged.
- Naomi prepares herself for the space leap by hyperventilating beforehand which increases oxygen flow in the body. Throughout the leap, she keeps constantly exhaling air as holding her breath would have caused her lungs to rupture and killed her.
- A human being in this situation has a time window of about 15 seconds before deoxygenated blood reaches their brain, causing them to black out, but Naomi injects herself with hyper-oxygenated blood to mitigate this.
- True to the science of the vacuum, the blood vessels in Naomi's eyes burst due to the lack of external pressure, her face swells as water vapor forms under her skin, and she gets sunburns from receiving unfiltered direct solar radiation. All of this is scientifically accurate and in line with what would happen in real life, as far as human science is aware.
References
External links