Line #102 Recap/BlakesSevenS3E7ChildrenOfAuron


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/children_of_auron.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Drink up your nice genocidal plague.]]
3	[[AC:Written by Roger Parkes.\
4	Directed by Andrew Morgan.\
5	Airdate: 18 February 1980.]]
6
7	Servalan infects Cally's homeworld with a SyntheticPlague, to blackmail them into creating clones in her own image.
8	----
9	!!This episode has the following tropes:
10
11	* AdamAndEvePlot: One male and one female survivor establish an Auron colony on [[NewEden another planet]] using the gene stocks. How they intend to raise thousands of children on their own with no technological infrastructure [[FridgeLogic is another matter]].
12	* AmbitionIsEvil: Ginka [[TheResenter resents being passed over for promotion]] in favour of Deral. Then he's eager to seize the Liberator, only for Servalan to pick Deral for that too. So he tells Servalan that Deral replaced her embryos with his own, so that Servalan will destroy the bio-replication plant along with the rebels.
13	* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Servalan demands to use the gestation facilities in exchange for inoculating the embryos from the pathogen.
14	* AsYouKnow
15	-->'''Orac:''' Reproduction by Clinician Franton's method of group cloning has resulted in highly developed psychic faculties, telepathy being the most obvious example. These faculties are, of course, limited to the young since cloning was developed relatively recently.
16	-->'''Avon:''' We know all that.
17	-->'''Orac:''' [[SarcasmMode Since I lack sensors to assess what is or is not in your mind]], I cannot assess what is or is not already known to you.
18	* BadassBandolier: Worn by Ginka.
19	* TheBait: Servalan denies ItsAllAboutMe, because as well as babies in her own image she also wants the Liberator, as it has the strength to [[IFightForTheStrongestSide command the loyalty of all the factions]]. Servalan is counting on Cally being contracted telepathically by the Auronar and [[TheHeart persuading the others to come and help.]]
20	* BittersweetEnding: Servalan's clones won't be running the galaxy and the Auron race is to be started again on another planet, but Auron has been depopulated and Cally has lost her sister. Even the death of Servalan's 'children' is allowed a certain pathos.
21	* BBCQuarry: Averted; Auron is a long-established civilization so the action takes place inside a city, with Thruscross Reservoir Dam and Leeds Polytechnic used for location shots.
22	* BlessedWithSuck: Thanks to their policy of isolation, the younger generations of cloned Auronar have no resistance to an alien disease.
23	* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood
24	-->'''Cally:''' Some of us wanted to participate in galactic affairs.
25	-->'''Dayna:''' So what happened? Were you overruled?
26	-->'''Avon:''' The great passive majority psyched them into line. Telepathic communion is a wonderful thing.
27	* CassandraTruth: Franton warns CA-1 that the epidemic could be a Federation plot, [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil but he doesn't listen]].
28	* ClonesArePeopleToo: Averted with probably the most casual and realistic treatment of this trope in any SpaceOpera. Cally and her sister Zelda are depicted just like real-world natural twins, independent individuals with their own personalities and motivations who just happen to look identical. The episode does, however, depict one hard-SF big disadvantage of large-scale cloning -- lack of genetic variation leading to lack of disease resistance and vulnerability to epidemics.
29	* ComingInHot: With ScreenShake too. Pilot Four-Zero applies the retros just in time to land, then dies.
30	* ContinuityNod:
31	** Servalan says the Clonemasters were destroyed in the war, explaining why she doesn't just use the same people who produced a clone of Blake in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E3Weapon Weapon]]".
32	** The concealable pistol that Servalan gives Deral is the type she stole from Dayna's bedroom in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E1Aftermath Aftermath]]" (though Chel took that one off her, so she must have found another one in Mellanby's armoury).
33	* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
34	** Pilot Four-Zero's death, covered in boils and leaking yellow fluid from his mouth.
35	** Ginka and Deral die in shrieking agony as their skin glows red-hot.
36	* DeathFromAbove: Servalan uses OrbitalBombardment to destroy the Control Centre and bio-replication plant.
37	* DisasterDemocracy: When Avon is reluctant to divert course from Earth, Tarrant just puts it to the vote. This shows that Avon's role as TheCaptain is actually dependent on this RagtagBunchOfMisfits agreeing to go along with him.
38	* {{Egopolis}}: It's not enough for Servalan to use one of her manly {{Hot Consort}}s to give her children, they've got to be created in her own image.
39	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Servalan is genuinely distraught over the death of her children.
40	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Captain Deral is shocked that Servalan is willing to carry out genocide on a neutral planet [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans for aims that are purely personal]].
41	* EveryoneLaughsEnding: One of the more infamous examples of this trope in ''Blake's 7''; Avon cracks a lame joke and everyone laughs after almost every member of Cally's race gets killed with biological warfare, including her sister.
42	* EqualOpportunityEvil: British-Asian actor Ric Young plays Ginka.
43	* ExplosiveLeash: Servalan pushes a BigRedButton in her control room to kill Ginka and Deral.
44	* {{Foreshadowing}}: For "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E8RumoursOfDeath Rumours of Death]]" -- the Liberator is heading for Earth because Avon wants to settle accounts with a Federation [[DeadlyEuphemism para-investigator]] called Shrinker.
45	* FriendOrFoe: A Federation mook accidentally shoots his friend as our heroes push him out the door.
46	-->'''Avon:''' [[BondOneLiner Nice shot.]]
47	* GoodCannotComprehendEvil
48	-->'''CA-1:''' I just can't believe it. I can't believe that anyone can be so--
49	-->'''Servalan:''' Successful?
50	* GoodIsNotNice: Having seen the Federation commit genocide, no-one spares any sympathy for Captain Darel. Despite his help he's sent back to a certain death at Servalan's well-manicured hands.
51	* HeelFaceTurn: Knowing that Servalan regards him as expendable anyway, Deral decides to look out for Number One.
52	* HiddenWeapons: Though as Darel obviously has his gunhand in his pocket, it's not that hidden.
53	* HollywoodHealing: [[MagicalComputer Orac comes up with a cure]] to save our heroes, though not quickly enough to save everyone else on the planet.
54	* HostageForMacGuffin: Ginka's squad seize Avon, Tarrant and Cally. Servalan offers to spare their lives if Vila surrenders the Liberator.
55	* HumanAliens: There's still confusion over whether the Auronar are aliens or humans; here the writer assumes the latter, with their PsychicPowers being a result of their cloning experiments.
56	* HypocriticalHumour:
57	** Servalan sympathises with the Auronar pilot about all those "unscrupulous fortune-seekers" out there.
58	** Avon complains about the superiority complex of the Aurons, so Vila quips that he should get on well with them.
59	* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Averted; the children are stated to be the first to die from the disease. The gene bank only survives because it's in isolation and Servalan agrees to provide the cure.
60	* LieDetector: Knowing Servalan's reputation for treachery, Vila pretends that he wants someone to teleport up so Orac can verify Servalan is telling the truth.
61	* MakingUseOfTheTwin: Twins are used for Auronar extras.
62	* MeaningfulName: Pilot Four Zero is PatientZero.
63	* MegaMawManeuver: Servalan's crocodile-like spacecruiser scoops up the Auronar patrol vessel after disabling it with an ionic ray.
64	* MexicanStandoff: Servalan has her hostages, so Vila takes Deral hostage when he teleports up to the Liberator. Vila threatens to destroy Servalan's spacecruiser, but that's where the cure is. And after they escape our heroes hide in the replication plant, knowing that Servalan won't destroy her own clones.
65	* MuggedForDisguise: A lethal version when Servalan orders Ginka to kill several Auronar who've come in for treatment, just to get their {{Hazmat Suit}}s.
66	* MultipleChoicePast: Cally had previously stated that she was sent by the Auronar to aid LaResistance on Sauron Major, and she couldn't return because she had failed her mission. Here she reveals the real story is that she was part of a dissident faction that didn't agree with her people's neutrality, and was made an exile after she left to fight the Federation.
67	* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling
68	** Cally senses the mass death on Auron and goes catatonic.
69	** Servalan senses the death of her offspring, perhaps because they are telepathic.
70	* NegativeSpaceWedgie: Servalan tells the Auronar pilot that he struck an ionic [[SpaceIsAnOcean reef]], apparently a residual effect of the weapons used during the Intergalactic War (actually they fired an ionic weapon at his vessel).
71	* NoKillLikeOverkill: Servalan blows up Control Centre to stop our heroes escaping. Fortunately they've already left the building. Averted when she realises they're getting close to the replication plant, and so has to reduce the yield of the missiles used. She then orders Ginka to lead a squad inside, but Ginka persuades her to blow up the plant instead.
72	* PlagueEpisode: The Federation unleash a deadly plague on Auron.
73	* ProperlyParanoid
74	** Avon thinks they're being LuredIntoATrap and refuses to dock the Liberator or take Orac down to the planet's surface. The group that teleports down is captured, but the attempt to seize the Liberator fails.
75	** Servalan has her CoDragons implanted with some kind of SelfDestructMechanism, presumably to avoid KlingonPromotion. Given that she's fighting other factions of the Federation, trust is likely in short supply.
76	* {{Pun}}: As Dayna takes Deral's weapon off him, Vila quips, "Disarming, isn't she?"
77	* {{Retcon}}: Cally's BackStory.
78	* RevengeBeforeReason: Cally thinks that Avon going to Earth to avenge TheLostLenore is pointless.
79	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: The rebels smugly teleport Deral back to Servalan, knowing what she does to those who fail her. She barely gives him time for a BigNo before sending Deral to join Ginka in hell.
80	* SeriesContinuityError
81	** Servalan already knows that Dayna has joined the Liberator crew, having met her in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]".
82	** Tarrant's WhatTheHellHero speech to Avon about Cally deserving their support because she's a member of this crew is less impressive given the way he treated Vila in the previous episode.
83	* ScareChord: Happens just about every time Servalan does something evil.
84	* [[ShinyNewAustralia Shiny New Earth]]: Servalan offers Vila a governorship if he hands over the Liberator. "Earth, if you like."
85	* ShipTease: After arguing with Avon over why she left Auron, Cally snaps to the others, "Why do you imagine I've never gone back? Affection for ''him?''" Cue ReactionShot from Avon.
86	* SingleTear: Wept by Servalan of all people.
87	* SpaceClothes: Pilot Four-Zero wears a silver spacesuit.
88	* SpannerInTheWorks: Dayna points out that Servalan probably thinks that Vila is alone on the Liberator, not knowing that she's joined the Liberator crew, and that Pater has been brought up for treatment. Deral teleports up with a hidden weapon and captures Vila, only to be captured in turn.
89	* TheSpock: After Cally persuades the others to head for Auron, Avon (who suspects a trap) consults Orac for a more objective viewpoint.
90	* StatusQuoIsGod: Zelda dies and Cally decides to stay on board the Liberator, instead of helping to rebuild the Auron race.
91	* SubspaceAnsible: The Liberator is out of range of the DistressCall, but Zelda contacts her sister Cally via TwinTelepathy.
92	* SuicidalPacifism: The Federation has played along with Auron's neutrality because it's never been in their interest to conquer it. Now that Servalan does have an interest, the Auronar are easy prey.
93	* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Pilot Four Zero [[INeedAFreakingDrink needs a drink]] after his near death experience. Servalan gives him one laced with the pathogen, her crew having already been immunized.
94	* TantrumThrowing: Servalan crushes a metal cup and shouts, "[[YouFool Fool!]]" throwing it at the guard who let the hostages escape. He flees before she has time for [[YouHaveFailedMe anything more permanent]].
95	* TeleportationRescue: Dayna teleports down with some bracelets to rescue the others. Unfortunately Zelda takes off her bracelet because she insists on fixing a fault, and dies when the missiles strike.
96	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Ginka hates Deral for being promoted over him while Deral hates Ginka for trying to undermine his authority.
97	* TooDumbToLive: Zelda dies because she stays back to adjust the feed banks, even though Avon points out that the fetuses are going to die anyway.
98	* VariantChess: Avon and Tarrant are playing on a triangular board with pyramid-shaped pieces.
99	* VillainsActHeroesReact: The Terran Federation is conflicted by rebellion and civil war, a prime opportunity for forging alliances with some of these rebels or breakaway factions to oppose Servalan. Yet the crew is going along with Avon's quest for personal vengeance because they're bored and there's nothing else to do. Meanwhile Servalan is working to establish a dynasty and increase her [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership strength and authority]] by seizing the Liberator. According to the next episode, there's a rebellion brewing on Earth that will be quashed because of Servalan's quick response in mustering her forces, without any opposition from the Liberator. One can't help thinking that our heroes lost their drive along with Blake.
100	* VisualInnuendo: While exchanging BelligerentSexualTension with Cally, Avon is pointing a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything long buzzing device at a red cup]].
101	* WeNeedADistraction: Franton raps on the hatch window and flees when the TriggerHappy guards start pursuing her, [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy enabling our heroes to jump them from behind]].
102	* [[IShallReturn We Shall Return]]: Not that Deral lives long enough to deliver the message.
103	-->'''Avon:''' Tell Servalan she missed us.
104	-->'''Pater:''' It was for nothing. [[AllForNothing All of it was for nothing.]]
105	-->'''Franton:''' And tell her Auron's children will return.
106	* WidowsWeeds: Servalan starts wearing black from now on. Creator/JacquelinePearce requested this to indicate Servalan mourning for her children, although the change in colour actually occurs from the start of the episode.
107	* WindowLove: Cally and Zelda on either side of the DecontaminationChamber press their hands against the glass.
108	* YouAreNumberSix: Pilot Four-Zero, C.A.-1 and C.A.-2.
109	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: And when Cally does, there's soon no home to come back to. She doesn't even elect to stay and help raise a new Auron species.

Context Recap / BlakesSevenS3E7ChildrenOfAuron