Clarissa “Peaches” Mao is officially a member of the Rocinante crew in The Expanse season 6, but gets a pretty frosty reception from Naomi.
The Expanse season 6 begins with Peaches’ fruitless attempts to win over Naomi Nagata – but their tension isn’t merely a consequence of Clarissa’s past crimes. The Expanse season 5’s finale marked the show’s first permanent change to the core Rocinante crew. Alex Kamal suffered a fatal stroke during a risky operation to protect Naomi, leaving the Roci one pilot lighter. Redressing the numbers, Amos returned from his eventful shore leave on Earth with Clarissa “Peaches” Mao in tow, announcing her as the ship’s new apprentice mechanic – whether Holden and Naomi liked it or not.
And The Expanse‘s season 6 premiere (“Strange Dogs”) proves Naomi most certainly doesn’t like it. Whenever she and Peaches come within eye-locking distance, the Rocinante’s atmosphere becomes colder than an ice cream dessert and, in many ways, Naomi’s attitude is entirely understandable. Amos found Peaches in prison, serving time for a mass murder that she deliberately pinned on Holden. Committed in season 3, Peaches also came perilously close to killing Naomi on her way to getting revenge, so it’s not hard to see why grudges might still linger in The Expanse season 6.
With that said, the stink-eye Naomi sends Peaches’ way is much more than just residual 3-season-old resentment. Holden has obviously forgiven Peaches – more or less – and he was the actual target of her original revenge mission in The Expanse. Since Naomi doesn’t exactly fit the “overly-protective girlfriend” stereotype, why is she still fighting a battle Holden long let go? The explanation behind Naomi’s distaste for Peaches seems to be motivated by two factors – guilt over Alex’s death, and the accumulating mental toll of the Free Navy conflict.
Naomi fully realizes Alex not only died saving her life, but that the ill-advised sojourn into Free Navy territory was why her life needed saving in the first place. The Expanse season 6 finds Naomi shouldering the weight of Alex’s absence, blaming herself, even if no one else does. Naomi lets slip her true reason for hating Peaches when Amos points out how diligently his new recruit has been working, only for Naomi to respond with, “As if that could replace Alex.” Naomi secretly knows Peaches joining the team is completely unrelated to Alex dying, and even if the pilot had survived, Amos still would’be brought a companion to help loosen nuts aboard the Rocinante. Would Naomi have been so passive-aggressive toward another Alex replacement – Bull, maybe? Likely not, but given her past crimes, Peaches represents a convenient punching bag for Naomi’s guilt.
It’s also worth taking the Rocinante’s current mission into consideration. When The Expanse season 6 begins, the war against the Free Navy is in full swing, with the Roci wholeheartedly aligned to Team Earth, taking down any Marco Inaros Belter ships they encounter. Not only is Naomi effectively shooting down her “own people,” but any of these Free Navy ships could contain her son Filip, who she was unable to wrench from Marco’s grasp. The constant combat is draining Naomi when ship morale is already rock bottom. Peaches adds yet another Earther to the Roci crew and, even worse, she’s an Earther who enjoyed the most privileged upbringing possible thanks to a wealthy father. Peaches is the antithesis of Belter culture, and with Naomi’s allegiances already torn, that makes her an even bigger target for a Nagata tongue-lashing.
Despite Naomi’s icy reception, Peaches is making an earnest attempt to earn her stripes in The Expanse season 6. If she continues on that path, even Naomi won’t be able to maintain the cold shoulder treatment forever.
The Expanse season 6 releases every Friday on Amazon Prime.
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