Characters / The Expanse (TV): The OPA

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Outer Planets Alliance

OPA in general

• Fighting for a Homeland: The outer planets and the belt are not viewed as their own people/nation by Earth and Mars, more like unruly colonies that have to be suppressed to be kept in line, with little if any regard for things like the human rights of Belters. The OPA is fighting to get this changed and be recognized as their own people equal to Earth and Mars. Of course, some choose bloody and unhelpful ways to go about this...
• Quality vs. Quantity: Actually, the Belters arguably have the largest total number of spaceships in the Sol system, compared to Mars and Earth...it's just that they're all civilian ships. At any one time, most Belters live and work on their small "rockhopper" ships, not on their asteroid bases. Nonetheless, they have nothing that can compare to the military-grade warships and dreadnoughts of the UNN or MCRN. Consider that The Expanse was originally conceived of as a tabletop RPG before being developed as a novel series: Mars is at the "high-quality low quantity of ships" end of the spectrum, while the Belters are at the opposite extreme of "low-quality high quantity" (with Earth balanced on the middle of the spectrum).
• Home Field Advantage / Weak, but Skilled: the formal military fleets of Earth and Mars scoff at the OPA, who are basically Space Truckers — but the Belters live their entire lives in space, used to braving the dangers of the asteroid belt and the strain of living in low-g. The Belters are playing on their own turf in space combat and can fly circles around UNN or MCRN fleets in hit-and-run attacks, flying through rough debris fields where Inner ships wouldn't dare.
• Tattoo as Character Type: Members of the OPA can be identified by the various tattoos they sport.
  • Many, such as Naomi, have a stylized tattoo around their necks that feature an off-center gap. These symbolize contact burns from faulty helmet connection collars that many older Belters, like Anderson Dawes, have on their necks.
  • Other Belters have the stylized anarchy symbol of the OPA on them in visible places.
  • Going further, the various OPA factions have their own tattoo cultures and members can be easily identified by the marks on their bodies.
• Vehicular Turnabout: Due to not having their own military shipyards, most of the ships available to the OPA are either looted Earth and Mars ships, or most often, simply civilian ships they've haphazardly retrofitted with weapons (i.e. in Season 2, a troop drop-pod is literally a refitted cargo container with the "FedEx" logo still on the side). The salvaged top-of-the-line Martian corvette Rocinante crewed by the Canterbury survivors is actually one of the most advanced ships they have access to. Not to mention, of course, the OPA affiliates at Tycho shipyard contracted to build a massive generational starship for the Mormon Church, only to commandeer it for their own uses and eventually retrofit it into a giant Belter warship, the O.P.A.S. Behemoth.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Outer Planets Alliance is more of an idea than a unified movement. A common refrain among the more hard-core believers is "There's OPA, and there's OPA". The name itself is used as an umbrella term for a variety of semi-independent groups all of which ostensibly seek to form an independent Belter nation. These groups range from what are basically labor unions and political activists all the way to active terrorist organizations. Some are incredibly violent and are willing to make targeted assassinations while others seek to foster goodwill and act through diplomacy.
  • Anderson Dawes (on Ceres) and Fred Johnson (on Tycho) have managed to band several cells to try and work together for their common goal. By presenting a unified front, they hope to set themselves up as a legitimate government for the future Belter nation. But these two groups have differing views on how to move forward with Dawes seeking legitimacy through force while Johnson seeks legitimacy through diplomacy.
  • Some divisions of the OPA, like Black Sky, are fanatical extremists to a degree that worry even other OPA members, being fully willing to do things like attempt an assassination on Aversarala in the first season and make several attempts to overthrow Fred Johnson in both the first and second season. In the second season, one attempts to use the nukes Fred has acquired to attack Earth. When Fred points out the Earth will just shoot down the nukes and destroy Tycho in response, the Black Sky leader shrugs and says that maybe a few missiles will get through and the destruction of Tycho will just inflame more Belters against Earth.
  • Although emphasized in the books more than the show, on the other end of spectrum there are groups that are more basically just organized crime groups that call themselves OPA for the sake trying to legitimize themselves and winning favor with common Belters.
  • Word of God explicitly compares the OPA to rival factions of the Irish Republican Army, among many others throughout history: loosely affiliated different cells which sometimes can be browbeaten to come together towards a unified goal.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The OPA (Outer Planets Alliance) claims to fight for the Belters, but Earth considers them to simply be a terrorist group.

Dawes' Faction

Dawes

Anderson Dawes

Played By: Jared Harris

"Usually, when a man is about to lose everything, he realizes what mattered to him most. He sees it clearly for the first time."

As a Belter, the world of politics has never been open to him, but this Ceres Liaison to the Outer Planets Alliance works tirelessly behind the scenes to rally the laborers and other less legitimate elements behind the cause.

A true Belter down to his brittle bones, Anderson Dawes' neck is scarred from early model space suits whose contact points would cook the skin beneath them. Having grown up on Belter ships in some of the worst poverty found anywhere in the solar system, he has seen the toll that exploitative corporations and debilitating taxation can take on human life. As a result, he is determined to right the wrongs visited upon Belters ... and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in the process.

After Col. Fred Johnson committed one of the worst acts of brutality in Belter history, it was Anderson Dawes who found him, saved his life, and gave him purpose advocating for Belters.

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• Adaptational Villainy: In the books, Dawes is very forthcoming with Miller, tries to persuade him in good faith to walk away from the Mao case before conspiring with Shaddid to get him fired, seems to sincerely want to get to the bottom of Julie's disappearance, and never threatens Miller's safety. In the show, Dawes misleads Miller from the jump, tries to buy him off by sacrificing one of his underlings, and, when that doesn't work, tries to have him killed.
• Ascended Extra: Dawes was a relatively minor OPA member in the original book, but here he's a very powerful OPA leader. According to invokedWord of God, he would've been a minor character in the series too, but Jared Harris's performance was so good that the writers decided to give him a bigger role.
• Anti-Villain: Of the Well-Intentioned Extremist variety. He really is entirely sincere in his beliefs, and is genuinely fighting for the freedom of his people, in what he believes is the best way. His motives are ultimately heroic — and to achieve those motives, he will do anything.
• Bad Boss: In general, he has little compunction in sacrificing others for his goals or even his own personal beefit. He sent Julie on a dangerous mission, which she undertook believing that Dawes would never willingly endanger or abandon her. When everything goes wrong and she winds up stranded on Eros, she desperately sends him a distress call which he cruelly never answers. It's heavily implied that he ignored it because her failed mission would damage his own reputation.
• Bus Crash: Marco kills him between season 5 and 6 for "talking too much."
• Cold Equation: He tells Miller the story about his sister, suffering the ill-effects of a life spent in zero gravity without access to hormone boosting medications, and having to end her life because she became too sick to travel: "an impossible burden for a dirt-poor family of rock-hoppers." While he tries to frame it as a tragic story about the hard-scrabble lives of Belters, Miller dismisses it as a sign that Dawes is willing to let others die while being unwilling/unable to make the sacrifice himself.
• Cynicism Catalyst: The death of his sister turned him into the passionate, ruthless terrorist that everyone respects or fears.
• Deadpan Snarker: The first thing he says to Miller after his own goons beat the crap out of him? "You can't do that to him. He's Star Helix!" He otherwise has a fairly sharp sense of humor.
• Distinguishing Mark: He has a prominent scar on his neck that he doesn't try to hide. These are the result of faulty space suit seals that caused burns on the wearers' skin. It is a mark shared by a generation of older Belters and the founding members of the OPA. Later generations tattoo similar marks onto their necks as a sign of allegiance.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: In Season 6, Marco casually reveals that he'd had Dawes killed because he didn't like the man's rhetoric.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: In a sense, the bad cop to Fred Johnson's good cop. It just happens that they're dealing with different groups of people.
• Faux Affably Evil: As befitting a terrorist leader, he's a very charismatic man who's able to sway people into Undying Loyalty. After the Canterbury's destruction he stops a Belter assault on a Martian deckhand, saying that Belters must try and show the rest of the Solar System that they are civilized, peaceful people to be taken seriously, not violent animals. In private, he favors openly violent methods and demonstrates the depths of his cruelty and ruthlessness. He has no qualms about summarily executing people if he believes they won't be of use to him.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Dawes was inspired to become the terrorist he is now when he was forced to kill his terminally ill sister because his family couldn't afford to take care of her. After hearing this, Miller bluntly tells him that it only proves that he's willing to sacrifice anyone for the sake of his cause, except himself. Dawes gets pretty pissed about it.
• Hypocrite: After kidnapping Cortazar from Fred Johnson, Dawes (rightfully) accuses him of intending to use the protomolecule as a weapon for the Belt regardless of the danger while flat-out proclaming that he's doing the same thing, but that the fact he's a Belter makes it okay.
• It's All About Me: Dawes is genuinely dedicated to free the Belt, but he'll only do it his way and refuses to compromise on anything or even hear anyone else out.
• Large Ham: Dawes is something of a charismatic showman, with a penchant for being dramatic whenever he's trying to talk to his followers, or just anyone in general.
• Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: Holden grumbles about how all ships docking at Ceres are forced to pay tribute to Dawes but Naomi counters that by saying that Dawes used that "Belter Tax" to better the lot of poor Cereans.
• Out of Focus: Jared Harris' increasing profile and busy schedule means that Dawes himself stops showing up in person after Season 2; for the next few seasons, he remains a powerful offscreen political force who is often mentioned but he gradually fades into the background entirely and is eventually killed by Marco during the timeskip between the fifth and sixth seasons.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Dawes is ruthless and will resort to violence without a second thought when he thinks it is beneficial to his cause, and is every bit as willing to be diplomatic, compromise, make deals, and work within the system, whenever he thinks that is beneficial to his cause.
• The Social Expert: With his silver tongue, he's easily able to manipulate crowds. He is able to make criticisms of his rivals in ways that do not alienate their supporters (like saying that Johnson and Holden are "one by one, the best Earth has to offer us are coming to our fight!", but also pointing out that their idealism is "a luxury of the inner planets"), and works up Belter nationalism with a few Belter Creole refrains at key moments during his speeches.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: By Season 3 his faction and Fred Johnson's faction have an uneasy peace and are working together to crew the Behemoth. Neither side is particularly happy about the arrangement, but it mostly works.
• Token Evil Teammate: Nominally on the same side as the heroes, much as they might wish he wasn't.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Dawes is a ruthless, manipulative user who's perfectly willing to sacrifice others either for the cause or to save himself, but to the Belters he's a hero with a lot more street cred than the much more even-tempered Fred Johnson.
• We ARE Struggling Together: With Fred Johnson, whose life he once saved and whom he mentored into becoming a powerful OPA leader. These days, they often find themselves at odds due to Johnson's more peaceful methods. Dawes sees him as soft, and takes anything less than unquestioning obedience as betrayal.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's genuine in his desire to gain independence for the Belt and elevate the Belters to a new, better life. He's also an incredibly dangerous terrorist willing to screw over anyone at any time to achieve his goals.

Ashford

Captain Klaes Ashford

Portrayed By: David Strathairn

"We're not pirates or rock hoppers any longer, we're citizens of the Belt."

A commander in the newly formed OPA Navy, appointed by Fred Johnson and Anderson Dawes to act as Drummer's First Officer aboard the Behemoth. Has an extremely shady and unscrupulous past as a violent pirate, and immediately begins making moves to undermine her.

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• The Ace: Of a sort. Ashford is a brilliant fighter (in the absence of an organized military, his past as a legendary pirate makes him the closest thing Belters have to a war hero), a highly effective leader, and a shrewd politician. He seems to follow Dawes out of a shared vision, but by Season 4, he seems to be more of a Dragon with an Agenda, as he’s more focused on creating a brighter future for humanity as a whole rather than just the Belt.
• Adaptational Badass: He's much more intimidating and manipulative than his book counterpart, who's introduced as more of an uptight, incompetent control freak.
• Adaptational Expansion: In the books, he does not appear after the events of Season 3. In the show, he gets his own storyline exclusive to the show with Drummer in Season 4.
• Adaptational Heroism: He's also much more benevolent than his book counterpart, squashing a proposed mutiny, adamant about saving Drummer after her Heroic Sacrifice, and offering the Behemoth as a sanctuary for any injured requiring gravity to heal. Though he is the antagonist of the season finale, he's motivated out of a genuine desire to save lives, whereas his book counterpart was just trying to get petty revenge against Bull and Pa for stealing his command.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Unlike his power-obsessed book counterpart, Ashford is genuinely invested in The Belt becoming a peaceful, dominate power, and his brief Sanity Slippage comes not from losing his command, but because the Ring Gates and the hell everyone finds themselves trapped in scared him shitless, and thought he was trying to save everyone.
• Ambiguously Evil: He comes across as a very slippery figure. He has a pirate past, Drummer clearly distrusts him, he's far too comfortable with casual violence and there's a general air of menace about him. That said, he does seem sincere in his motivations to see the Belters achieve a better life. His actions in "Fallen World" — namely, risking his life to save Drummer's and offering the Behemoth's Centrifugal Gravity to the wounded UN/MCR personnel — go a long way toward painting him as a Knight in Sour Armor.
• The Atoner: He was once a ruthless pirate, but is now trying to create a more peaceful world for the next generation.
• Badass Boast: When Diogo starts making mutinous statements, Ashford puts the younger Belter back in his place.
  Ashford: Tread carefully, my good boy.
  Diogo: You been bossmang from da time before me or half the Beltalowda on this ship was born.
  Ashford: Yeah, that's true. I have. And I've drunk real Earth whiskey out of a UN Admiral's mug and then scuttled her ship. I flew dark past a Martian battle group, and they never even knew I was there. And I've seen friends breathe vacuum, and watched my only child burn. So when I tell you to tread carefully, you would do well to stop talking.
• Deadpan Snarker: One of the best. One feels that he's just about the only character who can verbally spar with Avasarala.
  Ashford: (on Maneo) Ah, they'll be naming babies and ships after him for 50 years.
  Drummer: If the galaxy is still here in 50 years.
  Ashford: Your optimism makes me feel young again.
• The Dreaded: The most feared pirate in the System, even the Earth and Martian officers are visibly nervous in Ashford's presence. He didn't earn the badass nickname "The Ghost Knife of Callisto" for nothing.
• Establishing Character Moment: In retrospect, his first meeting with Drummer establishes his personality far more than its initially apparent. He strolls onto the Behemoth with confidence and swagger, snarking at Drummer's command, with a dark history and an alliance with Dawes. Then, when Diogo steps too far out of line, he immediately and publically reprimands the kid and makes a point of noting that Naomi has done far more for the Belt than Diogo ever has, that Drummer is Diogo's commanding officer and will be respected, and that his new position in the OPA Navy is not an excuse to throw his weight around. He's dramatic, sarcastic, and demands respect but despite his checkered past, he's ultimately interested in the Belt's future and respects those who have earned it.
  • Another one takes place when Ashford is watching an old video of him singing to his infant daughter, showing his softer, more nurturing side and establishing just how deeply losing his child affected him.
• Face Death with Dignity: When Marco airlocks him, Ashford refuses to bargain for his life, instead choosing to calmly flip Marco off and sings a song about being executed as he dies.
  • He uses the opportunity to try to get Marco to explain his plan so that whomever comes looking for Ashford will be able to stop Marco. Drummer discovers Ashford’s final log (an audio recording of Ashford’s conversation with Marco) and figures out the plan; it’s too late to prevent the attacks, but it does allow the UN to intercept the remainder.
• Failed a Spot Check: He would have had Marco dead to rights had he checked his peripheral and noticed Filip.
• A Father to His Men: After ordering his crew to report to the medbay for mandatory blood donations to help with a medical emergency, Ashford immediately departs for the medbay for his mandatory blood donation, because he won't subject his crew to something he isn't willing to go through himself.
• Final Boss: Of Season 3. The season had multiple Disc-One Final Boss characters with Errinwright, Mao and Clarissa, but Ashford is the last threat of the season and instead of being the Big Bad, he's a Hero Antagonist.
• Fire-Forged Friends: He and Drummer start out at odds with one another due to the rivalry between their factions, but they become friends after spending several hours crushed beneath a crane together.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: His motives were always good and he was never really an outright villain, but he's quite firmly on the side of the heroes by Season 4 after spending much of Season 3 as an antagonist.
• Hero Antagonist: Is technically an antagonist for a couple episodes, but has genuinely heroic motives and is just operating off incomplete information. He gets off fairly lightly as a result, and Drummer even offers to share a drink with him (which he declines) after the conflict is resolved. By season 4 the two of them are good friends.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Attempted. Though it could be Villainous Sacrifice — depends on your point of view. When all the ships were trapped by the Slow Zone as the Nucleus was ramping up an electromagnetic discharge to destroy the entire Sol system, Ashford made the call to use the Behemoth's comm laser to slice and destroy the ring. It would've doomed everyone inside to a slow and agonizing death, but the system would be safe and no one else would get stuck in the ring space. Thankfully, Holden and Anna managed to convince everyone there was a better way.
  • Played with in Seasons 4 and 5. He goes on what he knows will probably be a suicide mission in order to stop Marco. Rather than kill Marco, he successfully gets Marco to reveal his plans. Ashford's recording allows Drummer and Avasarala to piece together Marco’s plan and bring a premature end to the attacks on Earth.
• Incoming Ham: He announces himself with quite the flourish.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Slimy, dishonest, manipulative, rude, sarcastic, and entirely genuine in his desire to build a peaceful and united future for humanity.
• Lean and Mean: Ashford is a menacing, ruthless, and experienced pirate who is highly competent as a pilot, marksman, and hand-to-hand combatant.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He's visibly horrified when it turns out his stint as the season 3 Final Boss was All for Nothing, having at this point killed his second-in-command and sent several others to their death, believing it to be for the greater good of protecting the human race.
• Mythology Gag: In a conversation with Naomi about how he came to be in command of the Behemoth:
  Ashford: You were expecting mutiny?
• Noodle Incident: We never get any details on how Ashford got burned. It's reasonable to assume (from what he tells Diogo) that he was burned in the same accident that killed his child.
• No Sense of Personal Space: He tends to get very close to people, especially Drummer, as a method of intimidation.
• Number Two: He's meant to act as one to Drummer, but he wastes no time undermining her authority. By Season 4, though, after they've become friends, he has become this to her for real.
• Old Soldier: Ashford is in his older years (especially since it was established in Season One that the average life expectancy for a Belter is around 65 years), but he's as sharp and dangerous as ever. When an old enemy (and much younger man) throws a punch, Ashford easily dodges it and lays his opponent on the floor.
• Outliving One's Offspring: He tells Diogo that he witnessed his only child burning to death, and later is seen watching a home video of himself singing to and playing with his baby daughter in zero-g. It becomes clear that his grief over the loss of his child plays a very important role in his overall motivation.
• Parental Substitute: May be this to Drummer. She and his daughter would be about the same age. He acts as a mentor to Drummer in Season 3, and in Season 4, Ashford treats her like a daughter or niece. After his death, Drummer inherits both his ship and his role as the foremost pirate in the Belt, carrying out a guerilla war against Marco, partly motivated by avenging Ashford. She admits to Naomi that she tries to keep his ship the same way that he left it.
• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: During Season 3, Ashford engages in some sharp verbal back-and-forth with Drummer; their hatred for each other is downright palpable. Every other word is a thinly-veiled insult.
• Pragmatic Villainy: He tells Diogo off for suggesting that he replace Drummer as captain. As Drummer suggests later, it's not because he doesn't want to replace her, but he doesn't want a mutiny on his hands when he does it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: When the OPA gets a chance to move up as an equal player in the solar system, he's quick to temper Drummer's more violent methods with the reality that they need to present themselves as civilized people, which means not spacing morons for a dumb decision. Even though Naomi doesn't trust him, she agrees he's in the right, convincing Drummer to play along. He makes an apparently-genuine effort to reconcile with Drummer despite their mutual animosity, even quashing the beginnings of a mutiny that would have put him in the captain's chair (especially noteworthy as his book counterpart actually let the mutiny happen and took over the ship). During a disaster situation, he also offers the Behemoth as a medical facility to all the surrounding ships, regardless of factional affiliation, because it's the only vessel currently capable of generating gravity.
• Space Pirates: He ran a pirate crew before rejoining the OPA after the Time Skip. It's a source of friction between him and Drummer.
• Token Evil Teammate: Subverted. Ashford is set up as this, with an extremely violent criminal past and ties to Anderson Dawes' radical militant faction of the OPA, but turns out to be rather even-tempered and moderate.
• The Starscream: Drummer accuses him of thinking he should be in command, and he easily admits so with a side helping of snark. He insinuates that Drummer was chosen as a political move, whereas he has the right experience. It doesn't take him long to start undermining her authority in clever little ways.
• Two-Faced: One side of his face and a decent chunk of his chest is badly burned.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: When he realizes Holden was telling the truth about the risk the protomolecule station poses to humanity, he tries to destroy the Ring so it will never again pose a threat, even though this would strand everyone already inside it and doom them to a slow death. As he sees it, even if they were to somehow avert disaster now, humanity could never be trusted not to screw up and get everyone killed. Ironically, doing this would have caused the very disaster he hoped to avert, but he was stopped in time.
  • It's worth remembering that the Ring Station was charging up for an attack on Sol System, and Ashford had limited time to get the Behemoth's laser powered up enough to damage the Ring. He did not have time to try Holden's method of shutting down the reactors because the Station was minutes from destroying Sol System.
  • Ashford later attempted to execute Marco Inaros despite knowing that it could lead to a rift among the OPA leaders, as he knew the danger that Inaros posed was to humanity as a whole, not just the Belt.
• What You Are in the Dark: While he and Drummer are trapped and slowly dying, Ashford holds firm to his convictions that it's their duty to bring peace and build a better future for subsequent generations. This is what convinces Drummer that Ashford is genuinely a reformed man.
  • Also, the first thing he does after getting free is call for help to save Drummer's life. He could've easily let her die or killed her himself and no one would have ever known.
• The Worf Effect: He's regarded as one of the best fighters and captains in the Belt. Sadly, he's ultimately outfoxed and spaced by Marco Inaros.
• You Are in Command Now: Unlike his book counterpart, who takes command of the ship through a mutiny, Show-Ashford is thrust into the captain's chair when Drummer is medically incapacitated. This is just temporary, as she's back in command by Season 4, though by now he's actually okay with it.

Julie

Juliette Andromeda Mao

Played By: Florence Faivre

"Can't take the Razorback. Catch me if you can."

The high-society daughter of one of Earth's wealthiest and most powerful people, Julie was never content with the life of a socialite or cutthroat enough for business. A champion light spacecraft pilot, she became well-known after garnering a number of wins on the Near Space Regatta circuit. After a falling out with her father, she rejected all of his wealth and support in order to start a new life out in the Belt. Joining a student organization — The Far Horizons Foundation — with ties to the Outer Planets Alliance, she worked tirelessly for the betterment of Belters... right up to the day she went missing.

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• Advertised Extra: Despite the character being the primary motivation for most of the cast, especially Miller, she makes very brief and sporadic appearances and never directly interacts with anyone else before Miller finds her controlling Eros.
• Big Bad: In an unusual manner, she takes the role briefly early on in Season 2. See Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds
• Daddy Issues: Julie always chafed under her father's hypocrisy and impossibly high expectations. The fact that she was still his favorite by a long shot in spite of this (or rather, because of this) ensured she would never have any kind of healthy relationship with her sister, either.
• Defector from Decadence: Her family is so wealthy that the mere mention of their name raises eyebrows. She became involved in promoting Belter rights while in university and decided to dedicate herself to that cause, to the shame of her family. Messages between herself and her father show that spite plays a huge role in her decision to turn her back on wealth and privilege.
• Determinator: She spends almost a week in zero G on the Anubis without food or water. After becoming infected with the Protomolecule, she still finds a way to fly an emergency craft to Eros to complete her mission.
• Dying Alone: Played with. Her original body dies alone, begging for her mother, but after becoming the core personality of Eros, when she crashes into Venus, she impacts with Miller beside her.
• Eye Scream: Not that she's alive to feel it (probably) but by the time Miller and Holden find her on Eros, her left eye has been destroyed by an outcropping of crystallised protomolecule.
• Fan Disservice: Normally, a nude Florence Faivre would be rather hot, but here, she is nude and infected by the protomolecule.
• Living MacGuffin: She's primarily a plot device and not a character in her own right until "Leviathan Wakes" when she gets the opening narration, which gives her some characterisation. Later on she's shown to be directly piloting the protomolecule-controlled Eros, and Miller has to reach out to her to get her to steer it away from Earth.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: Thanks to some bizarre circumstances involving the protomolecule, she nearly wipes out all life on Earth by setting Eros on a collision course with the planet, under the mistaken belief she is flying her ship there. When Miller gets through to her, she changes course and hits Venus instead.
• Missed Him by That Much: The last shot we see that is implied to be from Julie's perspective is a shot of Miller entering her hotel room. She's never seen him before that point, which implies that she is, in fact, seeing him then. Given the timing, it's implied she died less than a minute before he arrived — or indeed may still be in the last seconds of life.
• Morality Pet: She's Miller's main motivation for trying to reform himself.
• Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: She was born into one of the wealthiest families on Earth but had no interest in the lavish lifestyle of her peers. In college she joined a student activist group called the Far Horizons Foundation, which eventually led to her joining the OPA.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: The search for her, whether the ones searching know it or not, drives the plot of the first eight episodes. They find her dead in the shower of a crappy hotel on Eros, consumed by the protomolecule which had infected the Anubis. But later Miller surmises that her consciousness melded with the protomolecule and he's able to meet her on those bizarre terms.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: If she'd just been a little more careful getting off the Anubis, the protomolecule would have been destroyed for good when Amos nuked the ship in "Salvage". Since she got infected on the way out, those behind the conspiracy were able to extract a viable sample of it from her body, allowing them to complete their original plan of infecting Eros.

Diogo

Diogo Harari

Played by: Andrew Rotilio

"INVINCIBLE ME!"

A rock hopper who tried to set up a graywater theft operation on Ceres before being busted by Miller. After a rough encounter with Martian border patrol left him stranded in deep space, he joined up with the OPA as a soldier. And, despite how they first met, he harbors no ill-will towards Miller and cheerfully attaches himself to the former detective when the two meet by happenstance in the middle of an OPA operation.

In Season 3, he's joined the brand-new OPA Navy as a lieutenant and is serving beneath Ashford aboard the OPA Behemoth.

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• Ascended Extra: In the books, he's just a young OPA grunt that Miller has a couple of friendly conversations with. The series gives him a multi-season story arc.
• Asteroid Miners: He used to work as one with his uncle before the mounting tensions in the solar system ended this career and forced him into the life of a small-time gangster on Ceres instead.
• Born Lucky: In the first season, he happens to be caught stealing water by a merciful Miller rather than a more spiteful cop or gangster. Then he's thrown out the airlock in the middle of deep space with nothing but the air in his suit tank to sustain him, yet he's eventually picked up by a passing ship. In the second season, he's shot in the head and survives because his opponent was using a gel gun designed for crowd control. Then he survives a shrapnel storm with nary a scratch even as Miller, who was nearby, suffers a suit puncture. Dawes uses him as a diversion when kidnapping Cortázar, which results in his arrest and imprisonment, only for him to get a pardon after the Time Skip and end up under Ashford's command. His luck runs out when Naomi drops an elevator on him in "Abaddon's Gate".
• The Bus Came Back: He returns after the Time Skip, now a full-fledged member of the OPA under Ashford's command.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Seems to be just a hapless criminal that clues Miller in on the fact Ceres gangs are leaving the station. Then he gets a subplot later in the season and turns up again in Seasons 2 and 3.
• Due to the Dead: Parodied. Miller's last words to Diogo are insisting he get laid; while Diogo fudges the details of this in public, he is later seen being led through a bar by an attractive young woman and saying "Miller, I do this for you!"
• Dumb Muscle: Basically his entire character condensed into two words. Diogo is about as bright as the asteroids he used to mine with his uncle, and whoever he's currently working for is constantly exploiting this to let him do the dirty work without asking questions or understanding his bosses' true agendas.
• Ironic Echo: The first thing he says to Miller when they're reunited? "Stay away from da aqua!" Same words Miller shouted at him when he cut him loose after stealing water.
• Large Ham: Goes up several levels of ham after joining OPA, including shouting at Miller across a room and proudly proclaiming that he's "Invincible Me!" after getting shot with a gel gun.
• Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Diogo's relationship with his Uncle Mateo was largely vitriolic in life. After his death, Diogo idolizes Mateo and his Senseless Sacrifice against the Inners. He repeats the process after Miller tries to sacrifice himself for Diogo, despite Miller's distaste for Diogo's philosophy on life. He later claims (or misremembers) Miller's final words as "Continue the fight for the Belt! You must live. Just Live!" instead of a teasing "Go get laid, kid."
• Odd Friendship: He and Miller become friends after meeting again in season 2, with Miller providing a moderating voice for Diogo's boundless enthusiasm.
• Oh, Crap!: His face is screaming this for the split-second he has between realizing he's about to be turned into paste by a falling elevator, and the moment the cabin hits him.
• Rank Up: Goes from small-time criminal on Ceres to being part of Fred Johnson's assault teams, and then even further to joining the newly formed OPA Navy as a lieutenant under Ashford's command.
• Smug Snake: When Naomi encounters him again in "Delta-V", Diogo snidely taunts her about Cortázar, showing no remorse for his actions. It's clear that he's as stupid and easily led as ever. Ashford at least puts him in his place, pointing out that Naomi's done more for the Belt than he ever will.
• Surprisingly Sudden Death: He's set up for an epic battle with Camina Drummer in the Season 3 finale, only to abruptly be turned into roadkill by a large elevator Naomi dropped on him from way above.
• Too Dumb to Live: More than a few people have this opinion of Diogo. Miller considers him to be a naive idiot for attempting to steal water from right under the nose of the Governor of Ceres in the middle of the territory of the Loca Greiga, one of the station's most vicious gangs.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: After Dawes massively inflates his ego following the Eros incident, he starts genuinely living up to his In-Series Nickname of "Little Shit." Ashford (who had earlier stopped Drummer from spacing someone because he considered it barbaric) even gets so annoyed with Diogo that he threatens to space him when Diogo slacks off (and may have been stealing medical supplies) during a crisis. Fittingly, no one mourns his death.
• Unwitting Pawn: His eagerness to live for the Belt makes him distrust Johnson and leads Dawes to use him for his own ends.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He was much less of a Jerkass when under Miller's wing. Showrunner Naren Shenkar wanted Diogo to have a more prominent role in the show to demonstrate to the audience how the events of Seasons 1 and 2 can turn naïve young Belters into violent extremists.

Staz

Staz

Played by: Alden Adair

A particularly vicious and antagonistic OPA officer stationed at Tycho Station who orchestrates a coup in an attempt to radicalize Belters.

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• Arc Villain: Briefly becomes one in the post-Eros episodes of the second season.
• The Brute: His imposing physique means he's the perfect candidate for high-risk missions, such as the assault on Thoth Station.
• The Coup: Leads his own group of rebels—mostly comprised of Black Sky members—and tries to overthrow Fred Johnson.
• Evil Mentor: It's subtle, but he serves as one to Diogo Harari.
• Mauve Shirt: Spends most of his early appearances as a soldier of the Red Shirt Army before finally being promoted to this.
• Those Two Guys: He frequently hangs out with Diogo.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Like Diogo, he spends most of his initial episodes forming an Odd Friendship with Miller, culminating in the attack on Thoth and the Eros assault. Following Miller's death, he becomes a full-tilt asshole as he turns on Fred Johnson and very nearly kills Drummer.
• War for Fun and Profit: He wants to launch several nukes against Earth in hopes that the retaliation will start a "great Belter revolution".

Kothari

Filat Kothari

Played by: Ted Ludzik

An OPA thug aboard Ceres who left Havelock hospitalized during a Belter uprising.

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• Asshole Victim: Miller takes advantage of the chaos on Eros to blow his brains out. Given that Filat was just an unpleasant thug, it's no great loss.
• Bald of Evil: He doesn't have a hair in his head, and he's shown to be a smug and unpleasant thug.
• Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of Miller.
• Hated by All: According to Dawes, not even his fellow OPA members like him. Given that Dawes is never the most reliable source of information, it's impossible to tell whether or not it's true, though him joining up with CPM likely didn't endear him to Dawes's faction at all.
• Jerkass: He's shown to be a rather smug bastard, who even Dawes admits to loathing.
• Smug Snake: He puts on a show of being tough and swaggering and clearly enjoys tormenting Havelock, but he only goes after him because he had a cushy job waiting for him on Eros and he wouldn't have to face the consequences of his actions.

Sanjrani

Nico Sanjrani

Played by: Joanne Vannicola

Dawes's successor as Ceres's administrator.

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• Adaptational Gender Identity: Sajnrani is a man in the books and non-binary in the show.
• Fantastic Racism: Despite being let go without being tortured by the UN and Mars, and despite the UN and Mars feeding Ceres while their own citizens are starving, Sanjrani still whips the Ceres Belters up to reject imperialism from the Inners with the implication that rule under Marco Inaros, the man who robbed them and abandoned them to starve, is still preferable.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Sanjrani is displeased with how Marco's lack of concern for the wellbeing of Ceres and his willingness to violate the station's laws, but they work with him because he is the de-facto ruler of the Belt.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Their modus operandi seems to be to antagonize, and be as uncooperative as possible, towards anyone trying to help the people of Ceres Station. To point: Marco steals all food and water from Ceres, then rigs it to blow. When Drummer arrives with supplies that she stole from Marco herself and delivers it to Ceres, Sanjrani's immediate reaction is to accuse Drummer of being a "pet" of the Inners. It's a genuine miracle anyone let them keep their job in the series finale.

Johnson's Faction

Johnson

Frederick "Fred" Lucius Johnson

Played By: Chad L. Coleman

"I thought I was done with all this — sending people to their deaths."

The Chief of Operations at Tycho Station's colossal mobile construction platform, Frederick Lucius Johnson oversees the construction of space stations, the spinning up of asteroids, and in recent years the construction of mankind's first generation starship: the Nauvoo.

A retired Colonel with the UN Marines, Fred is notorious for his involvement in a UN military action that will live on in infamy. Since his disgrace he has sought solace and penance working to better the life of Belters all over the system.

Fred is an outspoken advocate for the Outer Planets Alliance, a Belter advocacy group who seek legitimacy, but are often accused of terrorism.

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• The Atoner: The events at Anderson Station troubled him so much that he turned his back on the UN and Earth and joined the OPA, becoming one of its leading figures.
• Awesome by Analysis: When Holden tries to bluff his way into a strong bargaining position, Johnson instantly and smoothly dismantles his power play.
  "That's a Corvette-class Martian frigate that typically crews thirty. I only see two of you. That tells me that you're trying hard to hide your numbers. Tactically, if there were more, as a show of force, you would've brought them out. I'm guessing there are two to four people left on your ship, and I'm confident there's no Martian Navy on board. If they were, they'd be out here speaking with me now. You walked off that ship because you're in charge. At least you think you are..."
• Berserk Button: It is alright to disagree with him. He won't take too kindly, however, to people actively trying to undermine him or advocating open violence. He's thrown people out of airlocks for that.
• Big Good: Depending on whether or not someone agrees with his political stance. People almost always agree that Johnson is focused on the bigger picture and has one of the best understandings of the current situation in the solar system.
• The Butcher: Some people know him as the "Butcher of Anderson Station" from when an indiscriminate UNN assault on a Belter station resulted in the deaths of all those on board, including young children. Season 2 reveals that he wasn't aware that the Belters had surrendered since the UNN fleet was jamming all signals from the station, and his disillusionment at being manipulated resulted in his defection to the Belt.
• Colonel Badass: During his UN days; although he's no longer a colonel, he's a very formidable figure.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Fred is shot dead during Marco Inaros' coup of the OPA. In the books, he survived this attack, only to later die of a stroke brought on by a high-g burn during a battle with the Free Navy.
• A Father to His Men: He tries to make sure that the OPA factions aboard Tycho all get fair access to corporate contracts and will only send people into harm's way if he thinks there is no other choice and the decision weighs heavily on him.
  Johnson: I thought I was done with this...sending people to their deaths.
  Drummer: Everybody here is a volunteer.
  Johnson: That was the old trick. Getting them to believe it was their own idea.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Of a non-lethal sort. He approves the plan to use the Nauvoo to knock Eros into the Sun, which everyone knows will be an end for his career. Fred is visibly holding back tears as he sends his greatest creation to what he believes to be its destruction.
• The Men First: When the Black Sky faction's attempt to take over Tycho Station ends with Drummer bleeding out from a gutshot and Johnson himself almost suffocating, he refuses to accept the rescue team's help until Drummer has been stabilized first.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: He's known as the Butcher, and although he's ashamed of the incident that led to him gaining that name, he isn't above using that reputation to intimidate his enemies.
• Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Subverted. He describes Miller as "a depressed, suicidal ex-cop... who got the job done."
• No-Respect Guy: Just about every faction has a reason to hate him. The Belt hates him for what he did to Anderson Station, Earth hates him for joining the OPA, and many members of the OPA stifle under the command of an Earther who committed a war crime against the Belt.
• Out of Focus: After playing an important supporting role in Seasons 1 and 2, his screentime in Season 3 amounts to about three minutes in total. He gains more screentime in Season 5, only to be killed early on.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to Dawes, his approach to the OPA is much more diplomatic and more willing to hear people out.
• Scary Black Man: Downplayed. Johnson happens to be black (which doesn't appear to carry very much meaning in the setting) and his history as 'The Butcher' is something he doesn't hesitate to lean on if necessary. While he doesn't shy away from violence if necessary, his intimidation factor comes mainly from the power Johnson has as manager of Tycho Station (and its very skilled, OPA-affiliated construction and repair crews) rather than any overt threats of violence. Don't cooperate with him or his faction and something might "accidentally" happen to your ship in transit (as the Mormons learned when they tried to pressure him to remove OPA workers from the Nauvoo).
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: His ultimate goal is justice for the Belters and strives for peace between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. Doesn't mean he won't throw an OPA agent out the airlock when they interfere with that peace. Or capturing nukes and a protomolecule sample to use as deterrents.

Bull

Carlos c "Bull" de Baca

Played by: José Zúñiga

Tycho's security chief following Drummer's departure. A curmudgeon and a racist, Bull is an old comrade of Fred Johnson's from his days in the UNN who regardless joined the OPA out of loyalty to Fred despite his vehement distrust of Belters.

Following Marco Inaros's establishment of the Free Navy, and the subsequent assassination of Fred Johnson, Bull helms the Rocinante alongside Jim to retrieve Fred's stolen protomolecule sample.

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• Ace Pilot: While he's not quite as willing to pull any crazy stunts as Alex was, Bull is still a kickass pilot able to push the Roci to her limits.
• Composite Character: He replaces the role that Drummer had as Tycho's chief of security in the fifth book. Ironically, Bull had previously been Adapted Out in favor of giving Drummer his storyline from the third book.
• Fantastic Racism: He distrusts all Belters despite belonging to an organization that fights for the Belt.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Much like with Fred, Bull begrudgingly develops a sort of friendship with Jim as they continue to work together. And like with Fred, Bull can't get a real read on Jim — something that in his line of work is a rarity.
• Insistent Terminology: He exclusively refers to Belters as "skinnies", something that irritates Jim to no end given that his girlfriend is one. Eventually, Jim puts his foot down and Bull... attempts to be more respectful. He's a work in progress.
• Jerkass: Grumpy, racist, stubborn, and extremely suspicious of everyone, Bull is a very hard man to get along with.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though despite the above, he's still a good man who stuck by Fred even when he had no real reason to, and continues to fight for the rights and freedoms of a people...he despises. He's a work in progress!
• Jerkass Has a Point: He tells Fred his fatal flaw is his assumption that the underdog is always the good guy. It's a fair point to make in a world of Gray-and-Grey Morality.
• Odd Friendship: While Bull and Fred seemingly don't get along and are ideologically opposed to one another, the two are actually lifelong friends. According to Bull, he's friends with Fred because he doesn't understand him.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His full name is never spoken in the series. Likely on the account of how he's likely the most bullheaded man in the sol system.
• Only in It for the Money: Subverted. While he's ideologically opposed to the OPA's mission and claims that he only joined up because he needed the money and Fred was willing to give him a job, he later admits to Holden that he could have taken a job on Earth but wanted to work for Fred out of respect.
• Put on a Bus: Bull does not appear again after Season 5, and his disappearance is not explained. It's likely that he returned to Earth, possibly rejoining the military to fight the Free Navy, and his general distrust of Belters would not have led to a peaceful coexistence with the crew of the 'Roci'.
  • The character was likely written out of the show because of the limited budget of the final season (resulting in only 6 episodes) and because his addition to the 'Roci' would have made the Roci's crew too heavily skewed towards Earthers following Alex's death.
• Undying Loyalty: To Fred. Bull only agrees Holden's plan for a suicide mission against five Free Navy vessels to avenge Fred's death.

Sakai

Sakai

Played by: Bahia Watson

An OPA mechanic on Tycho station responsible for overhauling the Roci.

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• Composite Character: She has the same name as the (male) character from the books, but some of the personality of Sam Rosenberg. Like the Sakai of the books, she is also a Free Navy saboteur.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Cheerful, funny, apparently helpful, and a committed member of an extremist terrorist groups who shoots her boss in the back and sabotages the Roci in an attempt to kill Holden and the rest of the crew.
• Gender Flip: Is a man in the novels.
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: She would have been killed by her own sabotage of the Roci's drive core, if Naomi hadn't been able to send a message warning Holden in time.
• The Mole: She's a Free Navy spy on a mission to assassinate Fred Johnson and steal his protomolecule sample.
• Oh, Crap!: She retains a mocking demeanor when Holden interrogates her, up until he mentions he's taking the Roci out to pursue her allies, which would cause the Roci's sabotaged drive core to destroy the entirety of Tycho Station. Sakai almost warns Holden about the sabotage, but then decides to die for the cause and remains silent.
• Smug Snake: Despite having killed Fred Johnson, she's not quite as competent as she thinks she is. She gets caught and spends her time locked up gloating about her accomplishments, unaware that she's been used and tossed away by Marco Inaros.
• Wrench Wench: She's a young woman who is nearly always seen tinkering with machinery.

The Free Navy

See: Characters / The Expanse TV Free Navy

Drummer's Pirate Fleet

Drummer

Camina Drummer

Portrayed By: Cara Gee

"All the optimists I know are dead."

Formerly Tycho Station's Assistant Director of Operations and Fred Johnson's second-in-command. Following the Time Skip mid-Season Three, Drummer had been made commanding officer of the OPA Behemoth, formerly the LDSS Nauvoo. As of Season Five, Drummer is the captain of the Dewalt, and together with its sister ship Mowteng and later the Tynan, she makes ends meet as a powerful pirate.

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• The Ace: Drummer is a skilled engineer, a talented administrator (she is appointed by Fred for any major operation required), a leader who commands the respect of all Belters (even her enemies), and more than capable of handling herself in a fight.
• Action Girl: She proves herself to be very formidable, and wastes no time defending Fred from a rogue Belter assault on Tycho's control platform.
• All Love Is Unrequited:
  • Grows close to Naomi over the course of the series. Before attempting her (ultimately aborted) Heroic Sacrifice, she asks Holden to pass on a final message to Naomi that basically screams "Tell her I loved her."
  • And in Season Five, Drummer outright states that Naomi is "a woman [she] loved."
• Anti-Mutiny: Marco Inaros's Free Navy, originally an extremist splinter faction of the OPA, takes over all the Belters and bullies the other OPA factions into submission with hostage taking and outright assassinations of rival leaders. Drummer is briefly forced to go along with it for the sake of her small pirate fleet, but after Marco abandons Ceres to the Inners, Drummer has finally had enough and starts raiding Free Navy supply depots. Her initial forces are small, but so many of the other OPA factions loathe Marco that this quickly snowballs into a large number of ships rallying to her anti-Free Navy OPA faction.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: There's a very good reason Fred made her head of Tycho security. There's a good reason why she's the captain of the Behemoth, too.
• Big Damn Heroes: Subverted. Drummer turns on Inaros at precisely the moment Holden and the Rocinante are heading into his trap despite being low on ammunition and fuel. Her actions save the Rocinante but unfortunately her faction (and her family) splinters as a result, including an attempted mutiny aboard her own ship.
• Big Good: She becomes the icon of Belter resistance to the Free Navy. In the finale, Drummer becomes president of the Transport Union.
• Broken Pedestal: Drummer adored Anderson Dawes and even had a relationship with him, but they eventually fell out and she joined up with Fred Johnson. She also viewed Fred as a fighter for the Belt, and while she never really loses trust in him, she does come to see him as the fallible human he is. She gradually comes to regard him as having "delusions of grandeur" to an extent after a few too many questionable or amoral decisions on his part, but she does still largely trust him and consider him her boss.
• The Captain: She's made captain of the Behemoth once it's been retrofitted. She becomes captain of the Dewalt after she leaves the OPA.
• Chewing the Scenery: Her Rousing Speech in "Intransigence" includes no small amount of shouting and fist-pumping.
• Composite Character: She takes on a lot of Sam Rosenberg's role from the books. In Season 3, she also takes on most of Bull's role, since he was (at the time) Adapted Out. In Season 5, she is a pirate captain who is in a polyamorous relationship with her crew, much like Michio Pa from the books (who is present in the show as one of Drummer's crew). She also takes on Michio's role as the first^*  unless you count the approximately ninety seconds during which Holden holds the position here president of the Transport Union (her book counterpart was the fifth).
• The Cynic: As evidenced by her character quote, Drummer has a pretty dark outlook on life in general. Doesn't stop her from trying to improve the lot of her people any way she can, though.
• The Determinator: Nothing will keep this woman down for long; not a gutshot, not losing control of her legs due to a spinal injury — nothing.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Her preferred method of dealing with traitors and troublemakers is to space them while making the rest of the crew watch. This becomes a point of conflict between herself and Ashford, who believes the Belt needs to set a better example than that.
• The Dog Bites Back: After spending much of Season 5 following Marcos Inaros' every order and essentially surrendering control of her fleet to the Free Navy, Drummer finally pushes back when he orders her to intercept and destroy the Rocinante before it could rescue Naomi from the Chetzemoka. Unfortunately, her mutiny leads to Serge's death and the splintering of her fleet.
• Enemy Mine:
  • In Season 5, While she despises Marco, Drummer joins the Free Navy because she sees a war between the Inners and the Belt as inevitable after Marco's attacks and Drummer will not side against her people in that war.
  • In Season 6, Drummer sides with Avasarala, who has spent most of her career brutally opposing the OPA, in a last ditch effort to stop Marco.
• Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: She has some pretty dark eyeshadow to underscore her morally dubious side.
• Fake Guest Star: Even though Cara Gee is still billed as a guest star, Drummer is a major character throughout the second half of Season 3. She receives a Promotion to Opening Titles in Season 4.
• Flipping the Bird: Played for Laughs when she gives Fred Johnson the finger Belter-style after he jokingly ordered her to get him coffee. She's smirking the whole time, as is he, so it merely serves to reinforce how close they are.
• Foil: To Marco. By the end of the series, they are the two leading Belters in the System. While Drummer is focused on building things (she chose Fred Johnson over Anderson Dawes because he wanted to build a better future), Marco's sole role is to destroy. Drummer is an expert logistician, having effectively run Tycho Station for years, while Marco only cares about military matters and pointedly ignores the logistics of sustaining an empire. Drummer acknowledges her mistakes and tries to apologize when she feels like she's wronged someone (like apologizing to Naomi for firing on the Rocinante, even though she had to in order to save the Behemoth), Marco never takes responsibility for his actions and will always blame someone else. Drummer also does not expect special treatment and does not see herself as special, willing to sacrifice herself for a bigger cause, whereas Marco is a narcissist who encourages Belters to chant his name.
• Handicapped Badass: She gets paralyzed from the waist down in an accident aboard the Behemoth in Season 3. Her reaction? Fashion herself a set of crude robotic leg prosthetics from spare parts on her sickbed and continue being badass for the rest of the season.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • In "Fallen World", Drummer and Ashford are pinned by a survey vehicle, Drummer impaled by it against a railing while Ashford is pinned to it by a broken crane arm. Unable to deactivate the mag clamps holding the vehicle, Drummer eventually decides to force it to drive forward, crushing her so the significantly less injured Ashford will be free to move and tend to the rest of the crew. She survives, but is severely injured.
  • In "Abaddon's Gate", Drummer, Holden, and Naomi are running from a power armor-equipped Diogo in an elevator shaft. Drummer's injuries slow her down, so she decides to stay behind and use grenades to take out Diogo in a suicide attack, like Bull did in the books. Fortunately, Naomi manages to drop the elevator on Diogo instead before Drummer can go through with it.
  • In "Babylon's Ashes", After the Tynan is badly damaged and loses all of its weapons, Drummer orders her crew to ram the Pella in a last ditch effort to stop Marco's ship from escaping to Medina Station. She survives because Walker had the same idea and his ship gets to the Pella first.
• Hidden Depths: Despite being one of the toughest characters in the series, is capable of waxing poetic and philosophical:
  Drummer (after the OPA has converted the Mormon generation ship Nauvoo into its flagship): "We stole a church...bolted some guns to it and called it a warship. To protect the Belt? No, because we don't want to be left out of this party!"
• It's Personal: Her temporary alliance with Marco was simply to keep her and her family alive. For Drummer, it never could have lasted, since Marco had killed Fred Johnson (for whom Drummer had been ready to die to protect) and Ashford (Drummer's Parental Substitute).
• The Lancer: She ably assists Johnson in running Tycho as well as in handling the station's OPA operations. She also serves as an encouraging voice for when Johnson hesitates at sending people into battle. "The Seventh Man" seem to hint that her loyalty towards Johnson isn't unwavering, but she still sides with him over Dawes.
• Made of Iron: After the Black Sky's abortive attack on Tycho Station's command center leaves her bleeding out on the floor from a shot to the gut, she goes from almost dead to furiously walking it off with nothing but the most basic treatment of her wound. Granted, the 'verse's medical technology is much more advanced than ours, but that's still a damn badass thing to do.
• Mysterious Past: At some point, she used to work for Dawes instead of Fred. He's still rather cozy around her, but it's obvious from her disinterest that something happened between the two.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When the OPA has Marco Inaros captured and dead to rights, five different factions — with Drummer and Ashford representing two of them — vote on whether to accept Inaros's deal that he offers them or kill him. Drummer casts the deciding vote to spare him and take the deal, and later justifies it to Ashford by noting that, if they'd overruled the other two factions who wanted to take the deal and killed Inaros instead, it likely would have led to civil war amongst the various factions of Belters. While this is solid reasoning, them not killing Marco when they have the chance eventually results in Marco killing Ashford by the end of the season. It allows paves the way for him to become the Big Bad of Season 5, plunging the entire solar system into conflict as he launches preemptive strikes on Earth, Mars, and Tycho Station, killing millions of people. In the end, this also negates her hopes of avoiding civil war by splitting the OPA between those who support Inaros' Free Navy and those who do not.
• Nightmare Fetishist: When the Rocinante returns to Tycho Station after their battle with the stealth ship at Thoth Station, Drummer gives the crew a damage assessment. While Holden and Co. are suitably disturbed to learn that one shot missed the Roci's reactor core by mere inches, Drummer is positively bubbling over with glee at the thought of how close the others came to being melted in an instant.
• Noble Demon: As a pirate, she tries to avoid unnecessary casualties and prefers to target people who are breaking the peace of the Belt.
• Number Two: To Fred Johnson, to whom she's fiercely loyal.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When she slugs Fred for going behind the OPA's back in Season 4.
• Pirate: In Season 5, after leaving the OPA, she becomes a pirate who preys on fellow pirates who cause too much trouble, as well as their victims.
• Polyamory: She and her pirate crew are all married to one another.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Not at first—see her Disproportionate Retribution attempt above—but Drummer ultimately becomes one thanks to Naomi and Ashford's combined influence. Somewhat ironically, she replaces Ashford as the reasonable authority figure aboard the Behemoth after he turns into a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
• The Rival: She becomes this to Marco, as the only Belter with the reputation and skills to rally and lead an effective Belter resistance.
• Tattooed Crook: Tattoos are an integral part of Belter culture, so Drummer effectively becomes this following her career into piracy. Downplayed somewhat as she targets other pirates that are causing trouble for the Belt, but she still muscles in on their territory and takes ten per cent of what they steal.
  Captain Molina: (after Drummer 'rescued' her ship from pirates, only to let them steal their cargo anyway, minus 10%) How do you fucking sleep at night?
• Undying Loyalty: Even after getting shot in the stomach she refuses to betray Fred's trust. However, Fred leaking information to the UN without the OPA's permission irrevocably damages their relationship.

Oksana

Oksana

Played by: Sandrine Holt

A member of Drummer's pirate faction and polyamorous family, and the executive officer aboard (and later Captain of) the Dewalt.

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• Dark and Troubled Past: Implied when she tells a mourning Drummer that she felt the same "emptiness" Drummer was feeling after they found the stripped Tynan, suggesting that Oksana has also lost people she cared about.
• The Lancer: Her role among Drummer's faction is as the Dewalt's executive officer, although when Drummer assumes command of the Tynan, Oksana is then given command of the Dewalt in her place.
• Les Collaborateurs: After Drummer's faction is forced to join the Free Navy, Oksana spends much of her time obeying Karal's (and by extension Marco's) orders and keeping Drummer from letting her temper get the better of her (and doing something rash like put a bullet in Karal). It is implied that she's only doing it to keep Drummer and the rest of her family safe, but Drummer isn't having any of it when she finally confronts her about it in Winnapesaukee, as quoted below. And after Drummer's actions in Nemesis Games, Oksana is the one who declares that there is no longer any reason to stay together, suggesting that her allegiance to the unity of Drummer's fleet was conditional on it being part of Marco's.
  Drummer: Now [Marco's] got you keeping secrets from me. [...] Don't treat me like a child! I've earned the truth. Marco killed Klaes Ashford, and I sat on my hands and played nice with him so you would be safe. He killed a woman I loved, and now he wants me and mine to murder her friends and I go along again. How much shit do I have to eat before you treat me with some respect?!
• Lethal Chef: Implied when Josep jokes that they didn't need any hot sauce with dinner because she was the one who cooked.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Decides to break up with Drummer and leave with Bertold on the Mowteng after Drummer's mutiny causes the death of Serge.
• Statuesque Stunner: Oksana's actress, Sandrine Holt, stands at five feet and ten inches.
• Voice of Reason: Tries to be this when convincing Drummer that revenge for Ashford isn't enough of a reason to go after Marco Inaros.
  Oksana: If you had gone with Ashford, you would have suffered the same fate.
  Drummer: (holding the bottle of liquor she was going to drink with Ashford after he hunted down Inaros, trying not to cry) Or maybe this bottle would be empty.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Following their departure in Nemesis Games, neither she nor Bertold are seen again for the rest of the series, nor are they discussed aside from a brief mention by Drummer.

Bertold

Bertold

Portrayed By: Stephen Tracey

A member of Drummer's pirate faction and polyamorous family, and a crewmember aboard the Dewalt.

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• An Offer You Can't Refuse: Advocates joining the Free Navy because he knows that Inaros' offer to join is one of these: Drummer and her faction can either Join or Die.
• Anti-Mutiny: When Drummer refuses to attack the Rocinante and hold Karal at gunpoint, Bertold tackles her from behind, allowing Karal to briefly escape.
• No Sympathy: He isn't particularly bothered by Marco's attack on Earth, which claimed millions of lives, because in his view the Inners had it coming.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Decides to leave with Oksana on the Mowteng after Drummer's mutiny causes the death of Serge.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Following their departure in Nemesis Games, neither he nor Oksana are seen again for the rest of the series, nor are they discussed aside from a brief mention by Drummer.

Josep

Josep

Portrayed By: Samer Salem

One of the pilots aboard the Dewalt and a member of Drummer's pirate faction/polyamorous family.

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• An Arm and a Leg: One of his arms is crushed by a crate when Drummer's faction raids one of Marco's cargo depots, forcing Michio to amputate it.
• I Choose to Stay: After Bertold and Oksana decide to leave Drummer and Dewalt after Drummer's mutiny causes Serge's death, he chooses to stay on Dewalt with Drummer and Michio.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Joins Drummer and Michio in the former's mutiny against Karal after she refuses to destroy the Rocinante. When confronted by Oksana about what he was doing, Josep responds with, "What we should have done before," launching a volley of missiles at the Free Navy heavy frigate attacking the Roci.
• Undying Loyalty: To Drummer. He clearly has no sympathy for Earth or Mars, but betrays for the Free Navy to save Drummer.

Michio

Michio

Portrayed By: Vanessa Smythe

A member of Drummer's pirate faction and polyamorous family, and a crewmember aboard the Dewalt.

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• Accidental Murder: Judging from her reaction, she didn't mean to actually kill Karal, just subdue her.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Doesn't get as much screen time as some of her other partners but what Michio gets portrays her as The Heart of Drummer's faction. She's also the one who kills Karal in "Nemesis Games". In "Redoubt", she performs an amputation on her boyfriend Josep without anesthetic.
• Decomposite Character: Just like Bull, much of Book!Michio's character has been given to Drummer in the series.
• Demoted to Extra: Has gone from a pirate captain and (relatively) major character in the books to simply one of the Dewalt's crewmen in the series.
• I Choose to Stay: After Bertold and Oksana decide to leave Drummer and Dewalt after Drummer's mutiny causes Serge's death, she chooses to stay on Dewalt with Drummer and Josep. Poor Michio looked fairly heartbroken when they all went their separate ways.
  • And again, when she chooses to remain on Ceres so that she can care for Josep and also so Drummer no longer needed to worry about either of them while she and her fleet continue to oppose the Free Navy.
• The Load: Spectacularly and gruesomely averted. After Michio hesitates in combat one too many times, Drummer wants to leave her with Liang Walker, a pirate, for Michio's safety. When Josep becomes trapped under a storage box, Michio jumps into action to amputate his arm, while Drummer can only watch in grim determination. Even the hardened Walker is impressed, with an "Oh fucking hell", and later praises her with a "Sturdy job, Cargo."
  • It's important to note that Michio is a trained medic; she is not a warrior, and her training likely caused her to think twice about killing people, unlike the rest of her crew.
• Nice Girl: She's The Heart for good reason. Loyal and endlessly kind with no shortage of sympathy for others' suffering, even if they're Inners, everyone adores Michio and are fiercely protective of her, even crusty old Walker.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Joins Drummer and Josep in the former's mutiny against Karal after she refuses to destroy the Rocinante. Michio even kills Karal, although the actual death might have been accidental.
• Sympathy for the Devil: 'Devil' is perhaps too strong a word, but considering how Belters generally feel about Inners, Michio is moved by Monica Stuart's report on the devastation of Earth and its people and agrees with Anna Volovodov's speech in said report. Josep and Drummer, on the other hand, couldn't care less about Earth.

Serge

Serge Kylo

Portrayed By: Wilex Ly

One of the pilots aboard the Dewalt until he is transferred aboard the Pella, and a member of Drummer's pirate faction/polyamorous family.

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He spends his last moments begging for his life after Marco pushed him into an airlock for Drummer's transgressions, insisting that she and her crew are loyal and would never do what Marco is accusing them of. It doesn't work.
• Enemy Mine: He advocates joining the Free Navy because having "the biggest mass murderer" in the solar system watching your back sounds pretty good when the UN eventually retaliates against Belters.
• I Have Your Wife: Voluntarily transfers aboard the Pella as a "tribute" following the absorption of Drummer's faction into the Free Navy. While Marco Inaros prefers to call it an exchange of crewmembers, it's pretty clear that "tribute" means "hostage" in this case. It comes to a tragic end in Nemesis Games, after Drummer refuses to destroy the Rocinante and mutinies, destroying two Free Navy ships in the process.
• Thrown Out the Airlock: He's blown out an airlock by Marco as a message to Drummer following her mutiny.

Walker

Liang Walker

Portrayed By: Stuart Hughes

A jovial pirate and member of the Golden Bough faction. After pissing off Marco Inaros and being relegated to crap details, he finally has enough and fully defects to Drummer's faction, eventually taking all of Golden Bough with him.

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• Affably Evil: A ruthless pirate, he is nonetheless very chummy, funny and noble.
• Composite Character: Takes cues (and bits of his name) from two separate book characters, Liang Goodfortune and Carlos Walker.
• Cool Old Guy: As old as Klaes Ashford, and definitely as jovial and salty if not as skilled.
• Deadpan Snarker: When Drummer inquires as to why he's willing to go against Marco, what was his response? "I intimidated him. Sexually."
• The Dragon: After Josep and Michio opt to stay behind on Luna due to the former's amputation, Walker is promoted to Drummer's right-hand.
• Heroic Sacrifice: After Marco pulls out a clever trap against Drummer's fleet and had her dead to rights, Walker takes his own nearly-decimated ship and rams straight into the Pella's ass. It costs him his life, but as a result, he fiercely crippled the Pella and even managed to kill Rosenfeld.
• Not So Stoic: Very few things phase him, even the prospect of death. But when he had to help Michio in amputating Josep's arm, even crusty old Walker lets out a horrified "Oh, fucking hell." as a result.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He jokes about it, but it's obvious he's a case of Even Evil Has Standards, due to Marco's increasingly extreme actions, hypocrisy and insanity. He's the first member of Golden Bough to defect, but in doing so, effectively takes the entire faction with him due to his reputation and the respect he's built up over a long career.