Exclusive Interview: Steven Strait and Dominique Tipper Discuss the Final Season of The Expanse

The Roci crew is back for one final mission. After six enthralling seasons, the beloved sci-fi series is coming to an end.

The final season of The Expanse picks up with the solar system at war. Marco Inaros and his Free Navy continue to launch devastating asteroid attacks on Earth and Mars. As the tensions of war and shared loss threaten to pull the crew of the Rocinante apart, Chrisjen Avasarala makes a bold move and sends former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper on a secret mission that could turn the tide. Meanwhile in the Belt, Drummer and what’s left of her family are on the run and hunted for betraying Marco. And on a distant planet beyond the Rings, a new power begins to rise.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Steven and Dominique about the final season of The Expanse and the effect their characters have had on their lives.

PC: With this being a shortened season, every episode is jam-packed with revelations and action. Could you all feel that excitement and intensity during filming? And what can you tease about your characters’ arc in season six? Dominique, do you want to kick us off?
Dominique: We were all impressed. I know this crew; we always strive for excellence. But having six episodes, I wondered, “Are we going to be able to tell this story? Could we do the justice it deserves for our final season?” I can safely say we have. I don’t think it feels rushed at all; the story still has a lot of breath in it. It’s gorgeous.

In terms of what I can tease, we find the Roci crew at the end of their tether in a middle of a war. It really takes a toll on them. Naomi is deeply dealing with the ramifications of her action and making this choice to go and save her son, which she feels she failed at, and her role in Alex’s death is eating away at her.

Then we have Amos, who brought Clarissa onto the ship. We’re all trying to get by. This is the point where it plays out from. The season as a whole is great. I don’t want to spoil anything, but that’s where you find us all. That’s all I’m teasing. [laughs]

Steven: This season is such an earned payoff for everything that we’ve been building up to. It’s the ultimate climax to so many different arcs, storylines, macros, all the way through and to what Dom was saying—it grabs you and doesn’t let go all the way through, yet the emotional and character beats never feel rushed. Those scenes really do breathe. They’re lengthy. They’re emotionally packed and the time is taken with them. It’s this very fine balance that’s struck. We’ve always had the privilege of superb writing. I’m incredibly grateful that we were able to do that.

We all were committed to capping this off the right way. I feel like we have. This is our best year, and I’m really proud of it. I’m grateful we actually were able to get here. I’m thrilled that they’re going to be able to see what we made.

PC: Speaking of the writing, there’s this beautiful moment this season where Naomi tells hold Holden, “You never know the effect you’ll have on others.” With this being the final season, what effect has playing your respective characters had on you both personally and professionally?
Dominique: Oh, wow. I don’t know if that’s actually quantifiable because I’ve spent so long with Naomi. Seven years is such a long time to play a character. It’s rare that you get to be with someone that long. And then, also with this wonderful group of people, working with them, making this show, and crafting these characters—I know for sure the whole experience has had a profound effect on me in terms of who I am as an artist, what I’ve learned, how I conduct myself on set. I really, really learned a lot.

Naomi, as well, has had a profound effect on me. I was talking about earlier where your morals and beliefs intersect with the characters and where they start to veer away from each other; you still have to find an understanding and empathy, and not judge this person that you’re playing. She challenged me, in a way, to look at certain things in different ways than I had before. That’s actually the wonderful thing about what we always explore in the different roles that we play. At its core, it is empathy. I’ve had a wonderful time making the show. It’s bittersweet that it’s ending, but I’m really proud that we got to tell the story in its entirety.

Steven: Likewise. It’s an exceedingly rare thing to be able to portray an arc for six years, with the writing that we have, with the people that we have, to show the evolution with each earned beat of these folks. Like Dom said, I mean, there’s really no way to measure how much playing these characters, playing Holden, has affected me over the years. What I deeply respect about Holden is that he learns through his failures, and he always acts through a sense of empathy and humility. It’s something that I try to bring to my life as best I can. It’s been a really amazing privilege to play that hero over these last bunch of years. It’s quite unique as a hero arc; it’s not something that’s seen quite often. It was an amazing journey.

Make sure to follow Dominique on Instagram. Watch the final season of The Expanse on Amazon Prime today. New episodes drop every Friday.