- This article is about the One Ship webisode. For the Season 1 episode, see Remember the Cant.
"Remember the Cant" is the fifth episode of One Ship, a set of bonus content shorts about the main characters of Season 6 of The Expanse. It was released to streaming on January 7, 2022.
Synopsis[]
On Ceres, James Holden remembers hiring on to the Cant.
Recap[]
In voiceover, Holden says that the Doctrine of One Ship encompasses the physical and the abstract; the known and the imagined, space and time, the future and the past.
In the docks of Ceres, Holden stands alone looking at the wall infront of him, when Monica runs into him. She looks at the same wall, then sighs and wonders what "that guy" would have to say about all this, to which Holden replies he'd probably tell them to keep their heads down and stay out of trouble. Monica smiles and gives Holden a hug before leaving him alone. On the wall ahead of them, an old graffiti depicts a young Holden, with the words "Remember the Cant" written next to him.
10 years earlier, Captain McDowell sits at a bar on Ceres with some of his porcelain cat figurines, and asks for the same drink as the gaunt belter sitting next to him. The man has a negative reaction due to McDowell being from Earth, and pushes past him, while McDowell sarcastically tells the man he is welcome for all the clean water he is bringing to the station and to have a nice day, flipping him the middle finger. Another man walks up to him and crushes one of the cat figurines with his glass, clearly trying to provoke McDowell, who just says that accidents happen and does nothing as the second man also shoulder checks him and walks away.
At a nearby table, a young, slightly inebriated Holden sits at a table full of young Belter men, telling them a funny story about one time when he was nude, trying to get another man to give him his pants back. Due to being bad at Belter Creole, he tried to pantomime in an effort to communicate, unaware that the gesture he was making meant he was propositioning the man. The group around the table bursts into laughter as Holden explains the man told him he was married, then gave him a towel and sent him on his way.
McDowell approaches the table and asks Holden if he's an Earther, which he replies he is guilty as charged. McDowell asks him what his story is, to which he replies he is making it up as he goes along. He comments that Holden is pretty good with "these people", causing Holden to stare at him in disbelief and just say that they are all the same people.
McDowell gets a hunch that Holden has experience in the navy and offers him a job aboard the Canterbury. Holden declines and insists he is not interested, until McDowell changes his mind by offering him free room and board, along with a salary and minimal responsibility. Holden agrees to give it a shot, and the Belters pour a drink for McDowell, who clinks his glass with Holden and the rest of them.
Cast[]
- Steven Strait as James Holden
- Anna Hopkins as Monica Stuart
- Joe Pingue as Captain McDowell
- Kyle Gatehouse as Gaunt Belter
- Tim Post as Surly Belter Crewman
- Oren Williamson as Belter #1
- John James as Belter #2
- Francois MacDonald as Belter #3
Media[]
Notes[]
- The flashback scene in this episode was the last thing Steven Strait filmed for The Expanse, due to the need to shave his beard.
- The Gaunt Belter is noticeably less gaunt here than years later in Season 1, illustrating the economic difficulties suffered by Belters in the years between his appearances.
- The other Belter who hassles McDowell at the bar goes on to serve on the ship that brings Prax to Tycho in Season 2.
References[]
External links[]