Spoilers for Season 5 Episodes 1-3, Nemesis Games, The Churn and The Expanse Origins
The universe of The Expanse lets viewers and readers dive into a complex, futuristic world full of dangers and surprises. It also holds many fascinating and well-rounded characters that come alive on screen and the pages of each book. They will make you feel as if you have grown old with them by the time you reach Persepolis Rising. While it’s impossible not to find something to love about every single character, one of the undeniable fan favourites was and still remains Amos Burton, the mechanic of the Rocinante.
Amos has been part of the crew from the very beginning, shipping together with Jim, Alex and Naomi on the famous Canterbury, the ship whose destruction almost caused an interplanetary war. While his strange friendship with Naomi was apparent from the start, to this day, much remains unknown about the brutal mechanic and his past. While the show has been mostly silent about it apart from a few hints, Nemesis Games, the novella The Churn and the Origins comics all take a closer look at the past of the mysterious Amos Burton.
Amos Burton Past Explained
If you want to know more about the Roci’s mechanic without diving deeper into the literary sources of The Expanse, then read on:
To understand the character of Amos, it’s important to take a look at Earth and its welfare system. Due to a growing population on the planet, it’s no longer possible to provide work for every citizen, so the Basic system was invented which provides people with shelter, food and clothes. In exchange, citizens on Basic have no access to currency. They also no longer have the freedom to choose where to live or how many children to have as the planet’s resources are limited. One slim chance to escape Basic is the apprenticeship lottery. As a result, many people choose to drop out of the Basic system or simply never register to try to make a living illegally. Another consequence is that accidental births are hidden out of fear for severe punishment. In the universe of The Expanse, these people are called “Undocumented” and often have to become creative to get by, either by joining criminal organisations or through prostitution.
Amos was born in Baltimore under the name of Timothy. His mother was a prostitute, very likely an Undocumented, working without a license, who died when he was still a child. Timmy was taken in and cared for by Lydia who most likely knew his mother through their shared work. When Timmy grew up, Lydia became his lover as well. At the beginning of the fifth season, Amos learns that Lydia has passed away and returns to Earth for the very first time since he left. He faces the demons of his past in which he was forced into prostitution as a boy. Lydia was the one who helped him escape, but according to The Expanse: Origins comics, not every child received the help they needed. The comic showed young Timmy with a friend who killed himself as a result of being forced into prostitution before Timmy took revenge and pushed the child molester off a bridge.
The Origins comic in particular explains why Amos, who struggles to tell right from wrong, never hesitates to protect children in the books as well as on the show. While he is seen protecting Mei and the other children abducted by Dr. Strickland during earlier seasons, one key scene was missing from the show. In the books, Prax is accused by his ex-wife of molesting Mei before her disappearance. Amos confronts him about the accusations. Of course, Prax, being a loving father to his daughter, vehemently denies this, and Amos ends the conversation by stating that he would have thrown Prax out of the airlock if the accusations had been true. The comic also explains how Amos came by the silver brooch he is seen wearing on the show as this was a gift given to him by his friend right before he killed himself. It seems to serve Amos as a reminder to help protect those who can’t protect themselves.
Still in Baltimore, Timmy was later recruited by his friend Erich to work for Amos Burton, an Undocumented who had worked his way up the ladder to become one of the most dangerous mob bosses in Baltimore. Timmy became the muscle, a brutal and ruthless member of the gang, while Erich, small of build, became the brains, very skilled in falsifying documents and even faking identities. When given the order to kill his friend Erich, Timmy refused and killed his boss, Amos Burton, instead. Fearing for his friend’s life if he remained in Baltimore, Erich helped him steal Burton’s identity before Timmy, using the name Amos Burton, fled to Luna. From there, he went on to train as a mechanic. He soon joined the crew of the Canterbury where he met and befriended Naomi before joining the rest of the Roci crew on their shared adventures.
While the show hints at his past on multiple occasions, either through Monica Stuart or flashback scenes in season 5, Amos Burton’s past is much more thoroughly shown in the books, novella, and comics. They explain not only how Amos came by his name and went on to join the crew of the Canterbury and, later, the Rocinante, but also shed some light on his complex character. Amos’s brutal nature stems from what he was taught to do to survive on the streets of Baltimore while his need to protect children originates in his days of prostitution. It also explains why Amos is so drawn to people with strong morals, like Naomi, Jim or Anna – because, just like Lydia in the past, these people are able to guide Amos through his life on the complicated paths of right and wrong.
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