In a newly released trailer, The Expanse season 6 may have answered a big Alex Kamal question and revealed its replacement as the Rocinante's pilot. Alex's death in The Expanse season 5 finale "Nemesis Games" left a vacancy in the pilot's chair, as captain James Holden and remaining crew members Naomi Nagata and Amos Burton reside on their salvaged Martian warship in season 6 with the new additions of Clarissa Mao and eventually, Bobbie Draper. Season 5's Roci pilot, Bull, appeared primed to take over the position permanently in the wake of Alex's demise, but he does not appear in either of The Expanse season 6's two trailers. A closer look indicates that instead, Holden will occupy the Roci's pilot's chair in season 6.
The Expanse found itself in search of a new pilot for the show's most eminent warship after Alex sustained a fatal stroke while performing a high-G maneuver during his and Bobbie's rescue of Naomi in season 5's final episode. The shocking twist, a deviation from the novels, resulted from the showrunners' decision to fire Cas Anvar after launching an independent investigation into over 30 sexual misconduct allegations against the actor. Accordingly, The Expanse season 6, the final season, promises to adapt Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham's sixth book Babylon's Ashes with a different character flying the Roci.
The official identity of the Rocinante's new pilot remains unconfirmed, but Holden is a worthy bet considering a brief shot in The Expanse season 6's official trailer. The shot showed Holden engaging in combat aboard the Roci with a background identical to that of the pilot's seat on the ship's upper deck. Holden would be the most fitting choice as the pilot for what, at this point, stands as the Roci's last journey. He may not possess Alex's skills from a piloting career in the Martian navy, but Holden knows the Roci better than almost anyone and has extensively engaged with the vessel's weapons and navigations systems throughout the series.
There are a few other slightly less fitting options to become the Rocinante's pilot in The Expanse season 6. As a former Martian gunnery sergeant, Bobbie would suit the role, but her season 6 endeavors will take her elsewhere on a secret mission before finally uniting with Holden and crew on the Roci. Clarissa could work, as she showed her flight capabilities in season 5 when helming a shuttle taking off from Earth, bound for Luna. However, in the books, Clarissa principally serves as a mechanic on the Roci alongside Amos. Additionally, Holden and Naomi aren't entirely pleased with Clarissa's presence on the Rocinante. It's implausible to believe that they would agree to her flying their ship after her attempt to sabotage the vessel and murder its crew in season 3.
After The Expanse season 5's conclusion, one might have guessed that Bull would be the new pilot. The former Tycho Station Chief of Ops boarded the Roci in season 5 as the ship's temporary pilot while Alex traveled home to Mars on a personal mission. The show's writers seemed to deliberately foreshadow Bull's future by including a scene depicting him in the Roci's pilot's chair sipping from a mug inscribed with the name "Kamal," signifying the passing of the torch from one pilot to the next. Bull's presumed absence from season 6 indicates an alternate offscreen outcome for the Earth-born military man, perhaps taking over as the head of Tycho Station in place of the now-deceased Fred Johnson.
It's unlikely that after two trailers, the show would leave the Roci's new pilot a complete mystery, making Holden's acquisition of the role increasingly realistic. At the same time, Holden's main conflict with flying the Roci stems from his compulsion to confront conflict head-on when necessary instead of confining himself to his ship. Thus, he also appears in the trailer on foot wearing combat gear. Given that both The Expanse's Alex and Bull before him generally did not stray from the pilot's seat, it's possible that another character could take over for Holden at some point and that he will not be the Roci's sole pilot in The Expanse season 6.