History Series / Debris

* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Finola implies that her father neglected his children after his wife's death, leaving Finola to raise herself and her sister while he buried himself in his work. Although father and daughter love each other, it's clear that there's still a rift.

** This is what happened to George Jones, as far as he knows: He did indeed die, then INFLUX took his body from the morgue and reanimated him with debris [[EyeScream inserted through his right eye]].

* EyeScream: INFLUX revived George Jones by inserting a fragment of debris into his body through his right eye, rendering it milky and potentially blind.
* FakingTheDead: Apparently the case with [[spoiler:Fin's father. His body was replaced with a convincing double, which is made apparent by missing security footage and the double wearing a watch that had been removed from the original]].

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Finola is the Responsible Sibling, having pursued an academic/scientific career and taken on the task of handling their late father's affairs, while her sister Dee is the Foolish Sibling; Finola claims that Dee was their father's favorite who "got away with everything," and she's currently living with a drug addict.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Maddox believes that George Jones' knowledge about the debris is too dangerous for him to live, ordering Bryan to ensure George's death on a mission that's ostensibly intended to rescue him.

* KidnappedScientist: George Jones, who was kidnapped by INFLUX... or rather, who died and was resurrected by INFLUX, who force him to work on some kind of machine for their master plan.
* KnuckleTattoos: The [[TattooedCrook apparent leader of INFLUX]] has a series of numbers and letters tattooed on his knuckles and across the backs of his hands.

** George Jones has a gap in his memories thanks to INFLUX damaging his hippocampus, rendering him unable to remember much of what happened after his resurrection.

* MindProbe: Maddox uses one of these on Anson in Episode 7 to acquire information about INFLUX, which involves cutting open Anson's scalp and introducing probes, then directing Anson's thoughts which are projected onto a screen.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: A variant in Episode 6, when the elderly couple surrenders their debris and disappears into the wood; they're last seen holding hands at the edge of a cliff and it's heavily implied that they jumped to their deaths rather than wait for their age, and the woman's dementia, to return.

* ParentalSubstitute: WordOfGod says that Bryan sees Maddox, ORBITAL's lead CIA representative, as a father figure, which may explain why Bryan's in ORBITAL at all [[spoiler:and is willing to keep Finola in the dark about her father despite his misgivings]].

* TheDogBitesBack: After being isolated and controlled by her Uncle Luke, who was using her to detect debris and murdered her father to retain access to her, Caroline finally uses her connection with the debris to slam Luke into a car, embedding a piece of debris into his forehead and killing him instantly.

* FightingFromTheInside: Happens several times in Episode 7, which features debris that let the episode's antagonist control people: A man visibly resists handing over a bag containing the debris and subsequently shooting himself in the head, and Bryan later resists being forced to shoot himself long enough for the antagonist to be taken out. More subtly, Finola is forced to turn around and walk away as Bryan is being controlled and is visibly trying to keep herself from moving.

* MindManipulation: The debris from Episode 7 allows the user to control a target's actions, to affect the target's memories and to put out mental signals, which Finola describes as a 'mental whisper,' that warn people away from specific places.
* MindProbe: Maddox uses one of these on Anson in Episode 7 to acquire information about INFLUX which involves cutting open Anson's scalp and introducing probes, then directing Anson's thoughts which are projected onto a screen.

* CovertDistressCode: Fin's sister, Dee, drops one into a phone conversation as she asks Fin to return to London; Dee is being coerced by Fin's [=MI6=] superior, who's watching the call, but the mention of "Michelle's country house" lets Fin know that something's wrong, as it was something the sisters used when they didn't want their parents to know what they were talking about.
* CreepyChild: Caroline, from Episode 7, is a young girl who barely speaks, stares at people just a ''little'' too long and is somehow connected with mind-controlling debris. This is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as the episode goes on: Her uncle is using Caroline in his grudge against the government/the world and her demeanor is probably due to knowing that her uncle murdered her father, prevented her mother from coming for her and may do the same to anyone else who gets involved. She's actually trying to prevent anyone else from getting hurt by hiding the debris she "finds."

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Finola is the Responsible Sibling, having pursued an academic/scientific career and taken on the task of handling their late father's affairs, while her sister Dee is the Foolish Sibling; Finola claims that Dee was their father's favorite who "got away with everything," and she's currently living with (and possibly is) a drug addict.

* RecoveredAddict: Finola's sister, DeeDee, is revealed to be a recovering addict in Episode 7 and begs her to come home, afraid that she's about to relapse. [[spoiler:She's actually being forced to make the call by Finola's MI6 boss in hopes of making Finola return to London.]]

* CloneDegeneration: As the ORBITAL technicians begin to shut down the clone-spawning debris fragment, it starts rapidly producing [[BodyHorror deformed hybrid Eric-Bryan clones]] that seem aware of their surroundings but incapable of movement or speech.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Bryan was in a military prison in Afghanistan before being recruited and he carries a photo of an unknown woman he presumably met while stationed there; whatever happened left him cynical and unwilling to share his past with Fin.

* NeverMyFault: Kurt in Episode 6 blames Bryan for the death of his friend, on the logic that he would have been fine had Bryan not caught him and allowed him to leave the range of the FountainOfYouth debris. On top of that, he then threatens to ditch his other two friends, intentionally letting them die, and says that would be Bryan's fault for not letting them go. His wife eventually talks some since into him and he surrenders the debris.

* GravityScrew: The debris in the pilot levitates its victims and draws them to the ditch where the real Kieran died, where they whirl about with various other detritus like leaves in an updraft.

* InternalReveal: Finola learns in Episode 4 that [[spoiler:her father is alive, and that Bryan knew about it]].

* KeepingSecretsSucks: Bryan is forbidden to tell Finola that [[spoiler: her father might be alive]] and suffers obvious guilt as a result; later, Finola has to keep the fact that she knows about Bryan's secret-keeping a secret and tells her [=MI6=] contact in frustration that she's supposed to be able to trust her partner, but instead they're lying to each other.

* KeepingSecretsSucks: Bryan is forbidden to tell Finola that her father might be alive and suffers obvious guilt as a result; later, Finola has to keep the fact that she knows about Bryan's secret-keeping a secret and tells her [=MI6=] contact in frustration that she's supposed to be able to trust her partner, but instead they're lying to each other.

* WeAREStrugglingTogether: The US and the UK are collaborating on ORBITAL, but neither side makes any secret about the fact that both have their own best interests in mind: Finola's superior warns her to remember this, as they know the CIA is keeping secrets, one of which is that [[spoiler:they have footage of Fin's supposedly-dead father]].

* QuieterThanSilence / SuddenSoundtrackStop: Used in conjunction during Episode 5 to indicate the absolute silence that heralds the imminent teleportation of the debris' target.

** INFLUX agents have a material they can swallow to provide a one-way teleportation several miles away. They just have to be careful about where they land, lest they TeleFrag into something.

** INFLUX has been refining the teleportation technology, which Episode 5 describes as a 'wormhole creator.' Early uses, at least on a larger scale, resulted in no survivors, but their experiments - the one we see involves a bus, then later an attempt to teleport an entire city block - become at least marginally more survivable.

* PhlebotinumOverdose: The teleportation "pills" used by INFLUX has long-term consequences and one displays reluctance to use them, saying that he's "jumped too many times"; when he takes it anyway, visible scarring appears on his head and face and he may have suffered internal damage as well.

* ShellShockedVeteran: The first episode mentions that Bryan was in a military prison in Afghanistan before being recruited and the second reveals that he carries a photo of an unknown woman he presumably met while stationed there; whatever happened left him cynical and unwilling to share his past with Fin.

* UnwittingTestSubject: A busload of civilians are part of INFLUX's wormhole experiments, most of which wind up dead, and the lone survivor has samples taken from him before being executed. A previous experiment in China got the unfortunate victims [[FoldSpindleMutilation spaghettified]].

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The first several clones from Episode 2 appear to be sentient and each considers himself the "real" Eric [[spoiler:and the Bryan clone also seems self-aware, but all subsequent clones are unceremoniously dispatched via headshot immediately after spawning]].

* KeepingSecretsSucks: Bryan is forbidden to tell Finola that her father might be alive and suffers obvious guilt as a result; later, Finola has to keep the fact that she knows about Bryan's secret-keeping a secret and tells her [=MI6=] contact that she's supposed to be able to trust her partner, but instead they're lying to each other.
* KnuckleTattoos: The [[TattooedCrook apparent leader of INFLUX]] has a series of numbers and letters tattooed onto his knuckles and across the backs of his hands.

* PhlebotinumOverdose: In Episode 5, we see that the teleportation displayed by INFLUX agents has long-term consequences when one, ordered to use the 'teleportation pills,' protests that he's "jumped too many times"; when he takes it anyway, visible scarring appears on his head and face and it may cause internal damage as well.

* UnwittingTestSubject: A busload of civilians are part of INFLUX's wormhole experiments, most of which wind up dead, and the lone survivor has samples taken from him before being executed. It's implied that INFLUX did this before in China, resulting in the unfortunate victims [[FoldSpindleMutilation being spaghettified]].

* KeepingSecretsSucks: Bryan is forbidden to tell Finola that her father might be alive and suffers obvious guilt as a result; later, Finola has to keep the fact that she knows about Bryan's secret-keeping a secret and tells her MI6 contact that she's supposed to be able to trust her partner, but instead they're lying to each other.

* LiteralSplitPersonality: Ultimately the case in Episode 2, as [[spoiler:the Eric clones embody the strongest emotions felt at specific points in Eric's life, like his anger at being passed over for a promotion and his desperation to reunite with his girlfriend]].

* MoralityPet: Maddox, the hard-nosed CIA agent, has a disabled son whom he loves a great deal: Maddox is willing to leave work unexpectedly when his son's aide has an appointment and is shown patiently trying to teach his son to catch a ball.

* InformationWantsToBeFree: The INFLUX agent in Episode 5 claims that "This technology [the debris] will be free" before he shoots himself in the head, implying that this is a major motivation for INFLUX.

* HappierHomeMovie: At the end of Episode 5, Fin's sister Dee Dee sends her one from their childhood where they're happily singing and dancing to an old song as the voices of their parents are heard. Fin and Dee Dee are estranged, their mother is deceased and their father [[spoiler:was believed to be dead but has apparently been abducted]], with the stark contrast causing Finola bringing Finola to tears.

* KnuckleTattoos: One of the main members of INFLUX has the number 4 tattooed onto his knuckle.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Fin is the Responsible Sibling, having pursued an academic/scientific career and taken on the task of handling their late father's affairs, while her sister Dee is the Foolish Sibling; Fin claims that Dee was their father's favorite who "got away with everything," and she's currently living with (and possibly is) a drug addict.

* InternalReveal: Fin learns in Episode 4 that [[spoiler:her father is alive, and that Bryan knew about it]].

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: When the debris responsible for TheLonelyDoor is found in episode 3, the lead scientist argues against using it to free those trapped within because it represents the first real proof of interdimensional and intergalactic travel, secrets that might be lost were they to deplete its remaining power in a rescue attempt. Fin counters that if they aren't willing to rescue those in trouble using it, then they don't deserve to have it at all.
* ParentalSubstitute: WordOfGod says that Bryan sees Maddox, ORBITAL's lead CIA representative, as a father figure, which may explain why Bryan's in ORBITAL at all [[spoiler:and is willing to keep Fin in the dark about her father despite his misgivings]].

* ScientistVsSoldier: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Fin and Bryan: They're partners who work well together, but Fin comes from a scientific background and is prone to musing on the broader implications of the debris, even saying that it gave her astrophysicist father his faith back, while Bryan is from a military background and seems less interested in the questions surrounding the debris, focusing on whatever problems it's currently causing.

* WomenAreWiser: Fin is the more empathetic of the main duo, trying to connect with Bryan and openly sympathizing with those involved in their cases: She tries to calm a frantic clone in Episode 2, realizing that the clones are attempts to protect the original Eric's "heart," and insists on trying to save the trapped people in Episode 3 despite the team's scientist trying to prioritize preserving the debris.

* MoralityPet: Maddox, the hard-nosed CIA agent, has a disabled son whom he loves a great deal: Maddox is willing to leave work unexpectedly when his son's aide has an appointment and is shown patiently trying to teach his son to catch a ball.

* PhlebotinumBreakdown: The debris was already broken when it was discovered out in space. On Earth, the fragments act in mysterious ways that are harmful to humans.