Winnipesaukee

Winnipesaukee
Season 5, Episode 9
Air date	January 27, 2021
Writer	Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck & Naren Shankar
Director	Breck Eisner
Cinematographer	Jeremy Benning
Editor	Roderick Deogrades
IMDb
Chronology
← Previous	"Hard Vacuum"
Next →	"Nemesis Games"

"Winnipesaukee" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of The Expanse. Overall, it is the fifty-fifth episode and released to streaming on January 27, 2021.

Synopsis

Amos, Clarissa, and a gang of thieves work together to leave Earth on the commandeered ship "The Reveta Bowers," which is in need of repairs. Avasarala tries to head off a brutal military strike. Drummer's new family bonds are tested as Naomi's life hangs in the balance.

Recap

In… control

On the Pella, Marco Inaros is informed of the results of a raid he ordered, in which four Golden Bough frigates were destroyed to take out a UNN Cruiser. Marco says that the Free Navy mourns their allies who lost their lives, but adds with a smile that it was worth the price. He receives a report from Karal, in which she informs him that the fake distress call he ordered to be transmitted from the Chetzemoka changed and then stopped broadcasting. Marco hears the changed audio, which repeats "This is Naomi Nagata… Tell James Holden I'm in… control," and realizes with great displeasure that Naomi is still alive.

Aboard the Razorback, Alex and Bobbie are also listening to the changed distress call, and Alex finds it hard to believe that the way the message changed was coincidental.

The crew on the Rocinante are listening to the distress call too, and Bull thinks that the message changing might be a simple malfunction, as the communications on the ship start failing and finally everything goes "dead." When Holden glares at him, he admits he made a bad choice of words.

Bobbie theorizes that Naomi might be unable to communicate directly for a long list of reasons, and there's no way to truly know until they get to her. Alex points out that the Razorback is much closer than the Rocinante, so they will get to Naomi first.

Monica wonders why the message is so cryptic and indirect if it is intentional. Holden insists that all they can do is get to Naomi as fast as possible. Bull says that they don't have much fuel to waste, but agrees to try and increase their burn.

Naomi explores her boundary conditions

On the Chetzemoka, a heaving Naomi tries to scrape some ice off of a frozen pipe in a decompressed part of the ship as her oxygen starts to run out. She returns to the cabin, and the marks she has etched on the wall show that she has not stopped making trips back and forth into the corridor, despite the great strain it brings on her weakened body. As she tries to suck the small droplets of water remaining on her sleeve, she collapses to the floor. Exhausted and worn out, she stares up at the cables leading to the explosive mechanism rigged to the Chetzemoka, and smiles when she notices that one of the cables has a hole in its rubber exterior.

Lake Winnipesaukee

A chopper flies over Lake Winnipesaukee, which is frozen over and covered in snow, landing near a seemingly uninhabited mansion. Amos, Clarissa, Erich and Hutch lead a group of henchmen holding weapons through the empty property, coming upon the hangar with the sub-orbital shuttle, where they find three people hiding. They explain that they are the house's winter staff and hid in the hangar after they saw the chopper fly above, as they thought the group was there to rob the house. While the rest of the group is apprehensive, Clarissa introduces herself to the scared staff members, and they recognize her, remembering that she and her sister had come for thanksgiving once and spent the entire day arguing with each other. Clarissa remembers the time fondly, but they are interrupted by Erich who wants to focus on business. After Amos questions them, the staff say that the owners of the house haven't returned and that the shuttle is capable of flying to Luna, but has some problem with its reactor. Erich orders his people to keep an eye on the staff as he, Amos and Clarissa survey the luxurious shuttle. They find the batteries still work, but Amos points out it is not enough to get them into orbit.

Creating partisans

Exiting a lift onto a balcony in the atrium of the UN at Lovell City on Luna, Avasarala notices a man adding the name of a loved one to a memorial of the attack on Earth, a slowly swirling column composed of virtual displays of victims' names. When she finds out through a news screen that Paster ordered an attack on Pallas Station, she confronts Admiral Delgado for going behind her back, but he says that he just gave his professional opinion when Paster asked him. They walk into the Security Council meeting room, where Paster is looking at possible targets for follow up strikes. Avasarala says that they should try to mitigate the fallout and make clear that they are not at war with the Belt, stressing that they must stop murdering civilians and focus on diplomacy, to ally themselves with any factions that oppose Marco. Paster and Delgado continuously and repeatedly dismiss her ideas and concerns, saying that they need to take the fight back to the people who started it. This causes Avasarala to have an outburst, saying that she also wants to punish Marco and watch him suffer, because he murdered her husband, but that everyone who had loved ones on Pallas now feels the same exact grief as herself, and that for every extremist that they killed, their choice to attack Pallas radicalized ten more. Her speech leaves the other cabinet members shaken, but Paster, though sorry for her loss, tells her that they must make choices based on logic and objectivity, and not on emotion. Delgado proposes that they attack Ceres next, which is the biggest port in the Belt, as a way to disrupt Marco's supply routes and force him to spread his forces thin. Avasarala protests that there are millions of people on Ceres, hundreds of thousands of children, but is completely ignored by Paster and Delgado who continue to discuss among themselves. Seeing that she is unable to reason with Paster, Avasarala rises from her chair and declares she will not be a part of this. Though shocked, Paster accepts her resignation. As Avasarala turns to leave, Dahane stands up and resigns too, followed by Yilmaz and Cebotari, who leave the room in indignation.

Karal and Oksana talk privately

Aboard the Tynan, Karal enters a room with Oksana, and orders everyone else to leave. When they are alone, Karal, slightly stressed out, observes that Naomi doesn't appear to have control of the Chetzemoka as it is still on its intended course, but curses when Oksana says it might not last long, as Naomi is, according to Drummer, the smartest person she knows. Oksana knows that, when Drummer finds out, she will want to save Naomi, to which Karal replies that they will not tell Drummer any of this. Oksana doesn't want to keep something this important from her lover, but Karal says that she has other loved ones on the ship that she needs to protect. She states that Marco is in charge, he will give them their orders, and Oksana and her crew will follow them, and if they don't, what comes after will be Oksana's fault. Oksana agrees to keep her silence.

Peaches's hospitality

At Lake Winnipesaukee, the staff have made a meal for the crew, who are thankful for the hospitality. Amos and Clarissa explain that the ship is in good condition and has enough fuel, but there is something blocking it from starting up. Erich indicates that, with no backup generators and the food supplies running thin, the islands are soon going to become a bad place to be. He asks if they should try to keep going on the chopper as long as the fuel will last, but Amos thinks they shouldn't yet and explains that the reactor's problem is either mechanical, electrical or software. He and Clarissa can cover the first two, but they would need a software engineer for the latter. Erich reveals he has some know-how, suggests it could be a security protocol and that he can tamper with the ship to convince it that they are its rightful owners. When Clarissa asks him if he can fake an ID that easily, Erich and Amos smile at each other. Their meal is interrupted when Erich gets a notification on his phone, calling them outside.

The group walk outside the mansion to find a gathering of people led by an old woman, who asks them if they are with relief services. They saw Erich's helicopter and thought they might finally be evacuated, as they have been waiting for weeks and are low on supplies. While Erich and his crew are hostile and tell the people to fuck off, and Amos apologizes but refuses to help, Clarissa says that they are just harmless off-season staff and offers them a place in their shuttle to Luna. This angers Erich, who doesn't want them to come along, and Amos agrees with him as if word spreads of their endeavor, they could get in trouble. Clarissa says that if they want her help fixing the ship, they won't leave people who want to come behind. While Erich doesn't care and tells her to stay on Earth, Amos stares at her for a while and ultimately takes Clarissa's side. The people are very relieved, and follow Clarissa as she leads them inside the mansion.

Drummer receives new orders

Marco sends a transmission to Drummer, ordering that her faction will join two other Belter ships and hunt for the Rocinante with the purpose of destroying it. After the message is over, Karal enthusiastically salutes Marco, but glares around at the crew who half-heartedly repeat the salute, while Drummer doesn't repeat it at all. She insists to Drummer that they have their orders, but Drummer retorts that the orders make no sense as the Chetzemoka is supposed to be a trap to destroy the Rocinante, so it is a nonsensical risk to attack it before it reaches the trap. Karal approaches her and reminds her that she placed her loyalty and the lives of her people with Marco, threateningly asking if she wants to withdraw that. Drummer looks at her crew, and reluctantly accepts the orders. As Karal organizes coordination with the other ships, Oksana approaches Drummer and discreetly asks her to give over her gun, implying that she is doing it to prevent Drummer from shooting Karal. Drummer says there's no need, but Oksana replies that if so, then there is no reason not to. She pleads with Drummer to do this for her, and Drummer gives over her gun, which Oksana walks away with.

Chrisjen lets go

Avasarala stares at the memorial with the floating names of the asteroid attack's victims and, after a moment of emotional silence, adds Arjun's name to the now towering monument. She is approached by Admiral Tesfaye, who offers her condolences. Avasarala thanks her, and tells her to speak freely, so Tesfaye informs her that three more cabinet members resigned, and she believes Paster will lose the no-confidence vote scheduled to be held, while times are too uncertain to hold a snap election. Avasarala thinks Tesfaye is proposing to start a coup against Paster, but she explains that she was sent by the ministers, who thought it would be more impartial for Tesfaye to deliver their offer. She asks Avasarala if she would accept to serve the Earth once more and become its leader again.

Delgado enters his office, to find Avasarala waiting for him. He laughs and then congratulates her, realizing that Avasarala was picked to succeed Paster, and she jokes it was mostly for the name recognition. He is surprised when Avasarala asks him to join her cabinet, saying that she trusts him and likes that he isn't afraid of her. Delgado, however, refuses her offer, as he has decided to join a task force and personally go out to find and kill Marco himself. Avasarala says that losing the war to Marco is a very real possibility, so she needs his help to stop him, but Delgado insists that someone is going to kill Marco Inaros, and he would like that person to be himself. Avasarala, dejected, turns to his bottle of liquor, and starts repeating a joke that Delgado once started to tell her, in which an Earther, a Martian and a Belter walk into a bar. The Belter drinks the best Martian whiskey and the Martian drinks the best Earth tequila. As she pours a glass of Delgado's liquor for each of them, she repeats the line from the joke: "drinking like my enemy helps me think like my enemy." She gives him one of the glasses and asks him to finish the joke, as he didn't manage to when he started telling it. The joke's punchline is that the Earther orders the best Belter drink, not because he wants to think like his enemy, but because he wants to quit drinking, as the best the Belt has to offer is terrible. Avasarala doesn't laugh, and Delgado ponders for a moment, saying that the joke used to be funnier. They clink their glasses and drink in silence.

New lakefront authority

Amos and Clarissa are coordinating to repair the shuttle's reactor, but nothing they do works. He is called outside by Erich, where they find a group of security officers who are asking them to give over all their food, citing "efficient distribution" as their reason. Amos and Erich call out the security guards for the obvious shakedown, but the guards keep insisting, saying they also will need to take the crew's helicopter. The officer in charge taunts them with the fact that there are no authorities to stop him, so they will have to do what he says, which prompts Erich and his crew to pull their guns on the officers. Clarissa intervenes and begs everyone to put down their guns, and as she stands between the two groups, Amos yields and lets the officers walk away. He tells Clarissa that they will definitely be back, but she reasons that enough people have died already, which Erich and Hutch think is a stupid strategy. Amos tells everyone to get back to work so that they are finished before the officers return.

Oksana opens up to Drummer

As Oksana is preparing her gear inside an airlock, Drummer approaches and tells her she doesn't understand why Marco wants them to take this risk. Oksana tries to deflect, but Drummer realizes that she is keeping secrets from her, adding that Oksana is not good at lying. Oksana says that she has a good reason for not telling her, but Drummer thinks she has earned the truth after she has put up with her grief over Marco murdering her beloved friends Ashford and Naomi, and now being told to murder Naomi's friends, all just to protect Oksana and the rest of their family. She angrily bangs her fist against the door, and asks Oksana how much shit she has to eat before she is treated with some respect. Oksana opens the door separating them, and asks Drummer if she loves them too, which greatly perplexes Drummer. Oksana asks her to say out loud that she loves their family as much as she loves Naomi. When Drummer acquiesces and says it, Oksana reveals that Naomi might still be alive on the Chetzemoka, and the reason Marco wants them to destroy the Rocinante is to stop them from helping her. Drummer immediately turns to leave, but Oksana grabs her and says that she can't save Naomi, because if they don't obey Marco, he will murder all of them. She begs Drummer to respect that, and closes the door between them once more, as Drummer watches her through the glass.

Amos has a breakthrough

Clarissa sits in the shuttle's cockpit with Erich, reporting that their work on the ship is done but it is still not starting up. He asks Clarissa why Amos calls her "Peaches," which she doesn't know, and she in turn asks why Erich calls him "Timmy," which he replies is his name. Clarissa wonders if she should ask more, but Erich tells her that he wouldn't.

Amos is taking a break outside, as night has fallen over the mansion. He notices that no one is keeping watch and tells a henchman who is flirting with one of the staff members to go back to the roof, which angers the henchman, but he is sent to do his job by Hutch. Hutch sits with Amos, saying that he should stop picking fights with the henchmen, but he says they can hug and make up after they get off the planet. Hutch offers Amos some liquor she took off the mansion, and asks him if he was happy to leave Earth the last time he left. He says he wasn't at first, but eventually found his place. Hutch confesses that she is unsure of her future, as she has built her entire life as a street crook in Baltimore. Amos relates to that feeling, but says that, coming back to Baltimore, he realized that no one truly starts over, as no one truly leaves anything behind. As the two of them sit in silence together, Amos realizes what is wrong with the reactor and takes off to fix it. Hutch is confused, but he explains that sometimes you need to stop thinking about something to figure it out.

Dusting the mudball

Erich is unsure the shuttle can take off with the added weight of all the people Clarissa has invited over, but she says that they are just growing the tribe. She explains Amos's theory that humans are tribal, and that when things are bad, the tribe gets small. Erich agrees with Amos, but Clarissa thinks there is right and wrong in his belief, as Amos originally said that he and Clarissa were a tribe of two, but they would have been unable to get where they are without Erich and his people. Erich asks what use the "butlers and maids" that she collected will bring, but Clarissa doesn't think it matters. Maybe it is enough that they were people who needed help. She ponders that maybe, if they just accepted others into their tribe without demanding that they prove their usefulness, then people might not have felt the need to throw rocks at the Earth in the first place. Erich jokingly asks where Amos found her, and she gravely replies that it was in a prison serving life sentence for multiple homicides. Just then, they get a message from Amos who managed to fix the reactor, and they rejoice when they manage to successfully start up the ship.

Amos, Erich and Hutch go outside to bring the other henchmen to the shuttle, but something appears to be out of order. The lookout reports movement in the trees before he is shot in the head by a sniper. A large group of security officers descend on the mansion and a battle ensues, in which many of Erich's people are killed, while Clarissa herds the scared but grateful staff members into the shuttle. She stands guard outside it, as she hears voices behind a door saying to shoot anyone who resists. Amos is temporarily incapacitated by dust hitting him in the eyes, but is pulled into the mansion by Hutch. The group runs towards the hangar, as Clarissa's screams echo through the corridors. They get to the shuttle, finding Clarissa among a pile of security guard corpses whom she seemingly killed with her bare hands. The activation of her implants has left her weakened so, despite her protests of not leaving Amos behind, Erich drags her into the shuttle.

Amos and Hutch are the last ones remaining outside the shuttle as the attackers advance on them, and the shuttle prepares to take off. They make a run for it but, as Amos has almost reached the door, Hutch runs out of bullets and is shot in the back, falling to the ground. Amos returns for Hutch and starts to drag her towards the shuttle, while she pulls out a pistol and keeps shooting at the attackers. They both lay on the airlock's floor and close the door, screaming at the others that they need to leave. Erich and Clarissa, covered in blood, start up the ship's Epstein drive and take off, smashing through the half-opened hangar doors, incinerating the attackers and leveling the nearby area in the fiery blast.

As they reach orbit, Hutch starts to float off the floor, unconscious, and Amos uses a medkit on the wall to take care of her wounds. He looks out the airlock's window, and sees the sun rise over the horizon of planet Earth. He stares at his home planet in silence, before turning away and leaving.

Marco apologizes

Marco asks to enter Filip's room, and the boy lets him in. He notes that Filip has been keeping to himself, and Filip explains he thought Marco didn't want to see him, which Marco admits was true. The two of them simultaneously apologize to each other, but Filip says that Marco has nothing to be sorry for, as it was Filip who brought Naomi and caused her and Cyn to die. He feels guilt and responsibility for these events, but is deeply shocked when Marco reveals that Naomi is still alive. He tells Filip that Naomi didn't walk into that airlock out of sadness or despair or remorse, but because she wanted to escape. He laments that Naomi left both of them, once again. Filip is enraged and throws all the items off his desk, but Marco holds him in a tight hug, and Filip begins to cry.

Naomi gathers more information

Naomi has extracted the cables from the explosive mechanism and hooks them up to the helmet. Naomi smiles as the helmet's screen lights up with a radar display, but her smile fades when she sees that the radar is showing the Razorback getting close to reaching the Chetzemoka. She breaks down and curses Marco, weeping but unable to shed any tears due to her dehydration. She wipes off the remains of the melted ice from the small screen on her sleeve, and a thoughtful expression overtakes her face, before she etches another mark on the wall and returns to the decompressed corridor, leaving the door open. A faint banging sound starts to echo through the ship.

Cast

Main

• Steven Strait as James Holden
• Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal
• Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata
• Wes Chatham as Amos Burton
• Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper
• Cara Gee as Camina Drummer
• Nadine Nicole as Clarissa Mao
• Keon Alexander as Marco Inaros
• Jasai Chase-Owens as Filip Inaros
• Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala

Guest Starring

• José Zúñiga as Bull
• Sandrine Holt as Oksana
• Michael Irby as UN Admiral Delgado
• Anna Hopkins as Monica Stuart
• George Tchortov as Leveau
• Olunike Adeliyi as Karal
• Somkele Idhalama as Tycho Engineer
• Jacob Mundell as Erich

Co-Starring

• Alex Hatz as Secretary Yilmaz
• Alison Smiley as Cook
• Alsseny Camara as Young Man
• Amanda Cordner as Hutch
• Andrea Davis as Tesfaye
• Christine Sahely as Dahane
• David Rosser as Cordner
• Dayton Sinkia as Theo
• Elva Mai Hoover as Older Woman
• Fereshteh Samimi as Maid
• Gabriel Davenport as Erich's Gang
• Gary Brennan as Porter
• Hayley Pace as Pella Crew #1
• Joyce Rivera as Secretary Cebotari
• Natalie Liconti as Erich's Gang
• Paul Fauteux as Pinkwater Leader
• Sam Kalilieh as Clarke
• Samer Salem as Josep
• Stephen Tracey as Bertold
• Sugith Varughese as David Paster
• Vanessa Smythe as Michio
• Wilex Ly as Serge

Media

• Images
• Videos

Notes

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