The Crimson Light find the stolen dimensional keys on a planet being absorbed into a dark zone. Meanwhile, AVA and HUE grow closer in their relationship.
Tropes:
- 11th-Hour Superpower:
- After having spent the entire season with a less than ideal body, AVA gives HUE an upgrade so he can fly.
- Mooncake reveals he can create vacuums with his mouth, something he never did before. Lampshade by Little Cato, who remarks "That's new".
- Ambiguously Evil: A monkey wrench is thrown into Bolo's direction if Sheryl's claims are true. It turns out that they are not true
- Beware the Silly Ones: Tribore, with all of his obnoxious quirks, truly is a more capable hero than he lets on. Not only do we know he is the resistance leader, but he also effortlessly takes down Todd in a fight and shoots him flying into space!
- Black Holes: The Dark Zone is essentially a black hole, slowly sucking the planet Rugaro in.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: At one point, Sheryl has a defenseless Gary completely at her mercy and threatens him with a knockoff lightsaber. Instead of seizing him for Todd right then and there, she mostly just monologues about her(evil)plans, giving Nightfall enough time to swoop in with her own saber sword to provide backup for Gary.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Sheryl’s defense for her negligence towards Gary in taking care of him after John death was that Gary caught her “on an off day” only for Gary to reply that he never saw an on day from her.
- Calling Your Attacks: Tribore shouts "Roundhouse Kick" when using said move against Todd.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Gary richly tears into his mother for blaming him for all of her own problems. While he initially felt good about it, he retracts what he said when he saw her cry.Gary: An off-day? I've never seen an on-day! I'm done being the excuse for all your mistakes! Things went the way they did with Dad because of you! You did that! And you're gonna have to live with it!
- The Cavalry: Tribore and his resistance, as they arrive just in time to help defeat Todd.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good/Dramatically Missing the Point: Gary saves his mom from the collapsing planet, even after ALL the crap she has put him through. He also tears into her for trying to blame him on the loss of John, when it was rather obviously her doing. Of course, Sheryl doesn’t care, and seems to hate her son even more than she already did(he wounded both her arm and feelings in the episode), and vows to make Gary pay and presumably steal back the keys.
- Fate Worse than Death: Instead of killing Sheryl for all that she put them through, Gary and his crew imprison her on the ship and Gary sicks an insane KVN on Sheryl to annoy her tremendously.
- Given Name Reveal: The Titan that was first shown in "Arachnitects" and whom Sheryl was speaking to in the previous episode is named Oreskis.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Since they are about to go up against both Todd and Sheryl, and are already 1 man short since Fox is still recovering, Gary contacts Tribore and his new resistance to help them out.
- Gory Discretion Shot: When Ash really begins to cut loose against the Fluffles, most of the carnage happens off screen, but we get to see body parts flying around.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: The Beforians guarding the final key are laughably ineffective at their job, as Sheryl dispatches them all single handedly with hardly any effort.
- Inevitable Waterfall: Made of lava! The Dimensional Key ends up on a rock floating in a river of lava, and H.U.E. has to get it before it goes over the lava-fall.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Gary, Nightfall and HUE/AVA go after Sheryl on Rugaro to get the final key, while Little Cato, Ash, Mooncake and KVN, later backed up by Tribore and his resistance, attack Todd's ship to get the other four keys back.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Sheryl uses an energy shield in her fight with Gary and Nightfall.
- No Body Left Behind: The Beforians all disintegrate into nothing when they die.
- No More for Me: In a flashback, when a wasted Sheryl is contacted by Oreskis for the first time, she assumes it's a hallucation caused by the booze.
- Plot Hole: Gary and Nightfall seemingly forget about the Arachnitects and what they told them about Bolo when they confront Sheryl as they suddenly start to doubt Bolo when Sheryl claims that he is evil and they fail to tell Sheryl about the Arachnitects to counter her arguments. It is not explained why they failed to do this.
- The Reveal: We learn Sheryl's motivation for finding the keys: free Oreskis in return for getting John back.
- Sharing a Body: HUE and AVA after AVA downloads herself into HUE's body so she can experience what it is like to have a body.
- Ship Tease: This episode is filled with moments between HUE and AVA. While AVA had slowly been gaining respect for HUE over the season, the two of them spend most of the episode Sharing a Body, acting like it is a date between them and flirting during the mission.
- So Much for Stealth: As Little Cato and his team try to think of a way to board Todd's ship unnoticed, KVN suggests Mooncake should blast a hole in the hull, and Mooncake obeys before the others can stop him. Naturally, this alerts Todd and his alien mooks.
- Techno Babble: Played with when Sheryl steals the fifth key, seemingly causing the souls of an entire species to merge into a Negative Space Wedgie, and Gary asks H.U.E. what's going on.H.U.E.: Do you want me to throw the word quantum in, or skip straight to the part where we're screwed?
- Title Drop: H.U.E. mentions the episode's title when explaining to Gary how the Dark Zone works.H.U.E.: First, it absorbs the complete spectrum of light, and then comes the [chuckling.] descent into darkness.
- Vacuum Mouth: Mooncake inhales KVN and the dimensional keys this way to keep them from flying about the place.
- "You!" Exclamation: Done by Todd towards Tribore when the latter confronts him on the bridge of The Happy Place.
