The Expanse: Every Clue Sakai Was A Traitor | Screen Rant
Caution: spoilers ahead for The Expanse season 5
The latest installment of The Expanse season 5 saw a Red Wedding-style betrayal, but did you spot the clues in previous episodes? In The Expanse's season 5 premiere, James Holden is dismayed to learn that Fred Johnson, leader of the OPA, is secretly continuing experiments on the alien Protomolecule. The blue goo has wreaked havoc in past seasons, leading Holden to believe there's no hope of taming the mysterious substance, and to even try is folly. While Holden trusts Fred to use the Protomolecule responsibly, The Expanse's protagonist is more concerned that less virtuous folks could swoop in and steal Fred's sample.
As usual, Holden's fears are right on the money. In the opening three episodes of The Expanse, a conspiracy unfolds with Belter rebels attempting to locate and seize the OPA's Protomolecule. Fred and Holden work together to identify who's responsible, and Fred admits there must be a mole among his ranks. Until now, the identity of said infiltrator has eluded everyone, but reality came crashing down in "Gaugamela." Sakai, the Tycho engineer repairing the Roci, shot Fred Johnson and oversaw the theft of the Protomolecule from his quarters.
Along with the audience, Holden was shocked to witness Sakai's bloody betrayal. He and Fred trusted Sakai implicitly, and her attack caught Tycho completely off guard. But across the past three episodes, The Expanse dropped a few breadcrumbs hinting towards Sakai's duplicity. Here are all the clues to The Expanse season 5's latest twist.
Sakai's true allegiance is alluded to during her very first scene, conversing with Naomi while heading back from a hard day's work on the Rocinante. Nodding to the ship's Martian origins, Sakai says "the Dusters know how to build, I give them that." Naomi is visibly uncomfortable at use of the word "Duster" and asks Sakai to say "Martian" instead. In the world of The Expanse, "Duster" appears to be somewhat of a prejudiced slur against the people of Mars, and Naomi's reaction confirms the word isn't the politically correct term to be using. The incident is quickly forgotten, but by insulting the Inners in her introductory scene, Sakai inadvertently hints toward her true extremist beliefs.
The conversation between Sakai and Naomi features yet another line that seems more significant in hindsight. Riding a Tycho elevator, Sakai tells Naomi that she'll run the day's Rocinante repairs past Alex and Amos, allowing them to inspect her work as usual. Naomi reveals that the Roci's mechanic and pilot are elsewhere, and Sakai is trusted to make the repairs without supervision. After Sakai's betrayal, this detail becomes important, as it confirms Sakai was given free reign of the Rocinante, and an opportunity to potentially sabotage the ship.
The Expanse season 5 uses Bull as a red herring to divert suspicion away from Sakai. Tycho's chief security officer is immediately aggressive in his debut scene, antagonizing Naomi and belittling Sakai. This encourages the viewer to feel empathy for the engineer, and suspect Bull as a potential enemy. Later, Bull expresses his anger toward Fred Johnson, cementing his status as a prime suspect in audience's minds. The fact that The Expanse so obviously positions Bull as an unlikable fellow who hates everyone should've been a sign that he wasn't the true mole.
Bull provides another big clue that there's more to Sakai than meets the eye. When ranting about the enormity of the Rocinante's repair bill, Bull mentions that the ship has been stocked with Martian PDC ammunition, and says he "doesn't want to know" which black market strings Sakai pulled to arrange that. This comment ties in with The Expanse season 5's Bobbie storyline. Frankie Adams' Bobbie Draper is investigating illegal weapon smuggling from Mars to the Belt, arming Marco Inaros and the Free Navy with disused MCRN weapons. Given that Sakai now looks to be on Marco's team, this could explain how she was able to refit the Roci with Martian ammo.
A tense conversation between Bull and Fred Johnson features the golden line "you think that if someone's an underdog, they're the good guy." The quote can be interpreted in many different ways, and Bull is most likely referring to Fred's unerring support for the Belt. However, the line is just as applicable to Sakai's betrayal. The Expanse initially portrays Sakai as an underdog - a hard-working young engineer with an overbearing boss, trying to do her best in a tricky situation. Because of this, the audience automatically assume Sakai is one of the good guys, but as Bull explicitly points out, this isn't always the case.
Sakai successfully lulls Holden into a false sense of security with her innocent act, but the Rocinante captain might look back on their conversations and wonder why he didn't realize she was playing him. In "Churn," Holden is pottering about his ship at a loose end, getting in Sakai's way as she continues the ongoing repair job. Sakai gently attempts to make Holden leave, telling him that the excruciating noise will last for another 18 hours. She also suggests Holden go back to his quarters on Tycho, warning that even earplugs won't stop the grinding sounds rattling his skull. Since Sakai was plotting against Tycho all along (and probably sabotaging the Roci while she's at it), it's only natural that she'd do her best to prevent James Holden peering over her shoulder.
Shortly after the above exchange, Holden makes a rookie mistake - he plays Monica Stuart's message right in the middle of the Rocinante, with Sakai and her workers in earshot. In the communication, Monica reveals she has proof that someone is making a play for Fred Johnson's Protomolecule, and gives Holden her location so they can meet. When Holden goes to find her, Monica has already been kidnapped. The previous episode's bar scene confirmed that Monica was already being tailed, but the message Holden plays on the Roci reveals the extent of her knowledge, and would've informed Sakai where the overly-inquisitive journalist could be found. Holden himself later says to Fred Johnson, "she said someone was going after the Protomolecule, then minutes later she's grabbed - that can't be a coincidence." Holden is right, but little does he know that the message to Tycho's traitor was provided by himself.
If the previous clues didn't already cause alarm bells to ring, The Expanse season 5's third episode drops another big clue ahead of Sakai's betrayal. Fred Johnson employs Sakai to track down the freighter Monica was due to be shipping in. Despite others attempting to crack the firewalls, only Sakai is able to identify where the container came from, and which ship is charted to pick it up. Of course, Sakai was orchestrating the whole conspiracy from the shadows, so of course she knew which Belters and which ship to point towards. This information kept Fred and Holden occupied while Sakai made her final moves.