Where does the Rocinante get its name in The Expanse, and what can this reveal about the characters who ride the ship? The Expanse's central quartet of Holden, Naomi, Amos and Alex all begin as part of the Canterbury's crew, but when the ice hauler is destroyed and its survivors become embroiled in a galaxy-spanning conspiracy, the gang are forced to commandeer a Martian gunship called the Tachi. After a hasty redesign to make the ship look a little less Mars-ish, Holden renames the Tachi the Rocinante, and even when the survivors of the Cant clear their names, they retain usage of the Rocinante as "legitimate salvage" and the ship becomes a focal point for the drama of The Expanse.
The name "Rocinante" derives from Cervantes' 17th century literary classic, Don Quixote, in which Rocinante was the lead character's horse. This connection is actually acknowledged on The Expanse, with Holden confirmed to be an avid fan of the ancient novel as a child, and Avasarala even discusses the meaning of the book to Holden when she visits his mother on Earth. The Rocinante isn't the only Don Quixote reference in The Expanse either; there are several lines about "windmills," which Don Quixote famously mistook for giants and attempted to fight, and the first episode, "Dulcinea," is named after Quixote's imaginary lover.
On a basic level, the "Rocinante" name is indicative of how Holden's crew adopt the ship as their own. Although hardly a tired workhorse (the Tachi is a state of the art warship), Don Quixote visualizes his humble animal as a noble steed worthy of a knight. The Expanse's Rocinante experiences a similar elevation - a single ship with minimal crew diving headfirst into matters that will impact the entire Sol system and beyond. More than just the ship comparison, however, if the Rocinante is Don Quixote's horse, who is Don Quixote himself?
That role appears to fall to two characters who were inextricably linked in The Expanse season 4: Holden and Miller. This issue is directly addressed in the first Expanse novel, Leviathan Wakes, where Miller seems to think Holden is the one "tilting at windmills" and certainly, there are plenty of comparisons to make between Holden and Don Quixote. Both within the world of The Expanse and among fans, "Holden" and "quixotic" go hand in hand; Cervantes' famous creation was defined by his idealistic nature, both in his delusion and his optimism. Just like Don Quixote, Holden wades into matters that aren't his concern because his perspective is different to everyone else on the board. While it's this unique vision that draws the likes of Amos, Miller and Avasarala to place their trust in Holden, that same quality often puts Holden and his friends directly in the firing line - another habit shared with Don Quixote.
While Miller seems to think Holden is the Don Quixote of The Expanse, the cop is overlooking his own similarities to the tragic character. In classic Spanish novel, Quixote falls in love with a woman and bestows the name Dulcinea upon her, all without her knowledge. In Don Quixote's delusion, Dulcinea is his beautiful, ethereal princess, which bears a striking similarity to Miller's relationship with Julie Mao. Although Miller lacks the quixotic qualities of Holden, his routine missing persons investigation on Ceres eventually becomes an obsession that first costs the detective his career and later costs his life. Miller doggedly tracks down Julie, who he has fallen for despite the pair never meeting.
By the end of his story, Don Quixote apologizes for his folly and promptly dies soon after. Miller's journey has already resulted in his (sort of) death - the character is now integrated with the protomolecule after finally meeting his Dulcinea, but will Holden's lofty ideals lead him down a similar path? The Expanse narrative has yet to conclude, even in book form, so Holden's ending remains unknown, but given his Don Quixote parallels and ties to Miller, a tragic fate seems more than likely. The bigger question is whether or not Holden will regret harboring such lofty ideals when his time does finally come, as Don Quixote did before him.
The Expanse fans will no doubt continue to debate whether Miller or Holden is the true Don Quixote of the story, but it could be argued that both share certain qualities with the famous hidalgo, and it might actually be their respective deaths that define how closely they come to mirroring the tragedy of Don Quixote.
The Expanse season 5 has completed filming. More as it arrives.