Originally aired July 27, 1998
Written by Marc Scott Zicree
Directed by Jerry O'Connell
Quinn and Colin decode the coordinates to Kromagg Prime and the Sliders attempt to travel there, only to be blocked by a device that keeps anyone—human or Kromagg—from traveling to Kromagg Prime. The Sliders then find themselves in a labyrinth inhabited by humans and Kromaggs fighting one another.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Abusive Dad: Kolitar, to Kaldeen, though it's shown he truly does care for Kaldeen.
- The Artifact: Thomas's reference to Beauty and the Beast (1987). Originally, Armin Shimerman was supposed to play Thomas, and this line was supposed to be an Actor Allusion (as Shimerman played Pascal). Shimerman had to back out because of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ironically to film scenes in an episode that Zicree had story credit on).
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Kolitar and Kaldeen at the end.
- Big Damn Heroes: Maggie was about to die when Thomas found her and brought her inside.
- Bittersweet Ending: Quinn can't shut the Slidecage down without leaving Kromagg Prime vulnerable to invasion, so he and Colin won't be going home this time. The best Quinn can do is send the prisoners back to whatever world they were on previously and ensure no one else gets trapped inside, but Kaldeen/Jules has to be left behind because he was born in the Slidecage. Thomas agrees to stay behind so he won't be lonely.
- Didn't Think This Through: Averted. The purpose of the Slidecage is to prevent a Kromagg invasion, but the human scientists knew there was a chance humans who used to live on Kromagg Prime or innocent travelers would be trapped there during random sliding. They just felt the alternative was worse.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Kolitar truly did love Kaldeen/Jules.
- I Choose to Stay: Thomas in the end.
- In Spite of a Nail: Kromagg Prime diverged from Earth Prime millions of years ago as two sentient species, humans and Kromaggs, evolved on that world. In spite of this, it still has Thanksgiving, Times Square and Beauty and the Beast (1987).
- Intergenerational Friendship: Rembrandt forms one with Kaldeen/Jules.
- Interspecies Adoption: Kolitar, a Kromagg, adopted Jules Konig, a human whose parents were killed in a conflict years ago.
- Manchurian Agent: Rembrandt is revealed to have been conditioned by the Kromaggs to kill Quinn once he figures out a way back to Kromagg Prime.
- Mind Rape: Kolitar does this to poor Rembrandt and learns of the conditioning his brethren inflicted upon Remmy.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Subverted. Kaldeen/Jules has to be left behind, but Rembrandt promises to find a way to save him.
- Raised by Orcs: Kaldeen/Jules, a human raised by a Kromagg.
- The Reveal:
- Humans on Kromagg Prime designed the Slidecage as a security measure to keep the Kromaggs and anyone else out.
- Rembrandt's brainwashing and his secret orders."Got the key to the Slidecage. Go with him to find it. As soon as he can unlock it, kill Quinn before he can close it."
- Sealed Evil in a Can / Sealed Good in a Can: Various humans and Kromaggs are trapped in the Slidecage. They can't escape this world, so they regularly fight with each other for supplies and territory.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Thomas fought in the civil war against the Kromaggs, but he panicked during a battle on a different world and ran. By the time he tried to go home to Kromagg Prime, he wound up trapped in the Slidecage and opted to keep to himself instead of live with the human settlement.
- The Smart Guy:Quinn: Why does everybody expect me to have all the answers?
Colin: Because you usually do. - Wham Line: As Kolitar reads Rembrandt's mind.Kolitar: Who did they order you to kill? Tell me. Tell me!
Rembrandt: Quinn.
