Season 2, Episode 19:
Liars, Guns and Money, part 1: A Not So Simple Plan
After learning that his son Jothee is being sold in a lot of slaves, D'Argo wants to go and rescue him, but Zhaan insists that Moya search a seemingly uninhabited part of space instead, believing that they'll somehow find the late Stark. Amazingly, they do find Stark, alive and well and with a plan to save Jothee. Stark's plan is to rob a Shadow Depository (a black-market bank) using codes and schematics that he acquired by crossing the Depository's architect to the other side; with the take, they'll be able to buy Jothee and the rest of the slaves in that lot (mostly Baniks, like Stark) from those who are selling him.
When the others refuse to rush in without a game plan, D'Argo does exactly that on his own and is quickly captured by the security forces, but this was part of Stark's plan: when Zhaan goes to the Depository while posing as a potential client (with Chiana, Crichton and Aeryn posing as her employees), she claims that D'Argo was testing security for her, and goads the Depository's owner, Natira, into giving her a guided tour of the facility.
The plan is for Zhaan to make a short term deposit in one of the vaults (which function like giant safety deposit boxes: request yours and it's brought to you), but among the items she deposits is Rygel, cleverly concealed. Rygel sneaks out of Zhaan's vault and scrambles the recall codes so that when Zhaan later decides to make a withdrawal, the vault summoned belongs to someone else and is full of currency. The plan almost goes off without a hitch, until Scorpius arrives: it's his vault they are robbing, so that Stark can get revenge for his torture in the Aurora Chair. Scorpius is also a "close friend" of Natira, and once it is discovered that Moya's crew are present and in the middle of a robbery, he offers to clear her considerable personal debt if she can help him capture Crichton. Despite the heavy resistance from security, a clever attempt to hack Moya's computer systems and the neural clone in Crichton's head making it difficult for him to resist Scorpius, the crew manage to escape with the currency.
But as they head for the slave auction, the currency is revealed to be anything but dead, harmless gold...
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Batman Gambit: Crichton figures out that Stark wanted D'Argo to go down to the depository all half-cocked. The security breach required scrambling all codes, so Stark would be able to link in without them knowing and gain full access. Also, having to save D'Argo from being detained forces the crew to commit to Stark's plan—something he knew they wouldn't do upon finding out it's Scorpius's deposit box they're trying to rob.
- Bullying a Dragon: The reason Scorpius came to the Shadow Depository is because Natira (hearing he was dead) took his property for herself.
- Butt-Monkey: Rygel is knocked out with nerve gas twice.
- Call-Back:
- "Scorpy. When he put me in his chair, he did something, and it's getting worse."
- Crichton asks Braca if the rematch is ever as good as the original fight before knocking him out.
- The Caper: The episode revolves around infiltrating and stealing a black-market bank to acquire the currency required to release Jothee.
- Continuity Nod: Scoripus is certain that the neurochip has helped Crichton once or twice since escaping the Gammak Base.
- Cute Monster Girl/Gorgeous Gorgon: Natira, the Shadow Depository owner, is an alien with a terrifying appearance, but still is pretty alluring (her sweet and seductive voice probably helps).
- Eyepatch of Power: Zhaan's disguise as "Aralla" has her wearing one.
- Fear-Induced Idiocy: Stark begins to panic once he realizes that his carefully planned Shadow Depository heist is spiralling out of control - especially since it means that Scorpius is now hot on the crew's collective tails - resulting in his Mission Control beginning to deteriorate. This comes to ahead when Zhaan and Chiana find themselves trapped at a doorway with guards closing in, whereupon Stark freaks out and smashes the console he was using to help the others, forcing D'Argo to knock him out, then put the whole console together again from scratch in record time.
- Freak Out: As things start going wrong, Stark panics and starts smashing the console. D'Argo has to knock him out.
- Innocent Innuendo: Scorpius needs a cooling rod replaced and Crichton is the only other one there, so he keeps telling him to "insert the rod."Crichton: You're really not my type.
- It's Personal: Crichton is eager to get at Scorpius by booby-trapping one of his cooling rods.Aeryn: Don't turn this into a vendetta, John.
Crichton: I didn't. - Late to the Realization: Constantly hearing Scorpius's voice on the planet, Crichton finally begins to suspect that Scorpy did something to him while at the Gammak Base.Crichton: [getting choked] Well, since I got ya here, tell me: what the frell did you put in my head?!
Scorpius: Some awareness. A neuro-biotracer. Call it what you like! A tiny chip, a tiny seed, that's been growing in your brain and touching every aspect of your personality, your memory.
Crichton: Didn't happen to see Luanne Johnson, did ya? - National Anthem: Crawling away, Crichton drowns out Scorpius's commands by singing the Star Spangled Banner.
- Oh, Crap!: The crew's reaction when they discover Scorpius has arrived. Natira ends up being the same way.
- Papa Wolf: D'Argo is so determined to rescue his son he rushes into the depository and get himself captured as a result. Turns out that was part of Stark's plan all along.
- Pet the Dog: As things were going wrong, Stark panicked and had to be knocked out. In the end, he apologizes for this conduct, but D'Argo says he's a worthy friend and has his gratitude.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: D'Argo is ticked that Crichton wouldn't back him on robbing the Shadow Depository to save Jothee. He's still mad when it's all over.D'Argo: Friends support one another unconditionally.
Chiana: They also forgive one another. - Properly Paranoid: Scorpius came to the depository for his own business and had no idea Moya was nearby. Then, after looking over Rygel's broken "statue," he hears Natira mention a Delvian woman and immediately gets suspicious.
- Real After All: Scorpius tells Crichton about the neuro-chip in his head. At the end of the episode, Crichton is shaken that his hallucinations of Scorpius for all these months weren't his imagination.
- Revenge: Stark wanted to steal money specifically from Scorpius as revenge for being tortured (though he says he just wants the money to free his people). When Crichton calls him on this, Stark notes he wants revenge just as much as he does. Crichton admits he wants to kill Scorpius, but he calls it justice.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted. It's too late for the crew to just bail by the time Scorpius shows up.
- Spanner in the Works: Scorpius's sudden arrival makes Stark's plan more difficult to pull off, as he wants his deposit box and brought a number of Peacekeeper soldiers to the surface.
- Super-Strength: Scorpius forces open a large door with one hand.
- Swiss Bank Account: A Shadow Depository is the space equivalent of this trope. They cater exclusively to criminals and people who would rather their accounts remain secret (such as Scorpius). Security measures are extremely high and Aeryn mentions seeing one with more firepower than most military bases.
- To Be Continued: The currency the crew stole sprouts legs and begins moving.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Averted. We see a good bit of the planning here. Also, while extricating himself from the statue, Rygel lists the various steps he has to perform in order to switch deposit boxes. Everything makes sense on a step-by-step basis, though a humorous moment notes an unexpected problem at the moment: extricating himself from the statue.
- What Measure Is a Mook?: To stop the big door from slamming shut, Braca shoves one of the depository's employees into its path. The poor guy is crushed to death, but Braca has a large enough opening to squeeze through.
