Line #20 Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blakes_7_power.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Avon meets the biggest, meanest, toughest [[HoldYourHippogriffs son of a seska]] on the planet.]]
3	[[AC:Written by Ben Steed.\
4	Directed by Mary Ridge.\
5	Airdate: 5 October 1981.]]
6
7	While his colleagues try to get through the hanger door to ''Scorpio'' before a SelfDestructMechanism destroys Xenon Base, Avon is caught in a war between [[MulticulturalAlienPlanet two gender-divided societies]], the primitive male Hommiks and the technologically-advanced female Seska.
8	----
9	!This episode has the following tropes:
10
11	* {{Accidental Hero}}ine: Dayna gets some covert telekinetic assistance from the Seska when fighting Gunn Sarr.
12	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: When Gunn Sarr asks why she didn't escape when she had the opportunity, [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther Nina plants a kiss on his head]].
13	* AmbiguousSyntax:
14	** Vila and his friends are hauled before Gunn Sarr, who growls, "What do you want?" Vila replies, "A second chance?"
15	** Avon is his usual terse self.
16	-->'''Avon:''' [[VerbalTic Well]], Orac?
17	-->'''Orac:''' 'Well' is not a question.
18	-->'''Avon:''' You know what I mean.
19	* AnnoyingArrows: Averted when a Seska has to yank the crossbow quarrel out of her thigh. Fortunately [[GoodThingYouCanHeal thanks to her special ointment]] she's able to fix herself up without issue.
20	* ApocalypticLog: Tarrant finds a video log by a Seska detailing how they're [[MenAreStrongWomenArePretty losing the war]]. It ends when a large axe slams down on the table in front of her.
21	* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership
22	-->”I am Gunn Sar, chief of the Hommiks. I rule by right of challenge, which means I'm the biggest, toughest, meanest [[UnusualEuphemism son-of-a-Seska]] on this planet.”
23	* AuthorTract: Another Ben Steed episode, another cack-handed tale about the BattleOfTheSexes and how those pesky Women's Lib types [[SpaceWhaleAesop are going to lead to the collapse of civilisation]]. Thankfully, this one's his last.
24	* BadassBoast: Subverted. Gunn Sarr is about to fight Avon in a duel, prefaced by the appropriate BadassBoast of his deeds. Only he has to consult his HypercompetentSidekick on how the challenge goes, then they get into an argument over his bodycount (the man who [[DisneyVillainDeath fell off a cliff]] didn't count because they didn't find the body). On finishing the spiel the chief mutters apologetically to Avon, "I have to say all that. Tradition."
25	* BagOfKidnapping: Used on captured Seska, along with a grab pole.
26	* BehindEveryGreatMan: Nina, a former leader of the Seska, is implied to be running the Hommiks through her strong but dimwitted husband. After he gets killed, she announces they're going to leave and start a new society, presumably involving a bit more cooperation between the sexes. Or [[TheSimpleLifeIsSimple back-breaking toil]] and StayInTheKitchen? It's not quite clear.
27	* BearHug: Dayna gets caught in one from Gunn Sarr.
28	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Pella
29	* BodyCountCompetition:
30	-->'''Gunn Sarr:''' Twenty-five men lie dead who tried to stand against me. And one, [[DisneyVillainDeath if he's not still falling]], is no more than a greasy spot on the rocks, right?
31	-->'''Avon:''' Impressive.
32	-->'''Gunn Sarr:''' You killed two men.
33	-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Avon]]:''' If I'd known we were keeping score, I would have brought more ammunition.
34	* BottomlessMagazines: Averted, which is how Avon gets captured.
35	* BreastPlate: Nina is wearing one, either to symbolize that she's SilkHidingSteel or that [[DarthWiki/WarpThatAesop you can't burn your bra without ruining good steel]].
36	* BrickJoke: Gunn Sarr argues with Cato over his bodycount. Later when he thinks Avon has just challenged him...
37	-->'''Gunn Sarr:''' So, you want to be number twenty-seven!
38	-->'''Avon:''' ''(smirks)'' Don't you mean, twenty-six?
39	* CargoCult / ClarkesThirdLaw: The Hommiks decided to [[LuddWasRight destroy all their technology]] and start again from the beginning. The HypercompetentSidekick of local chieftain Gunn Sar has found a MasterComputer room they missed, that he uses to secretly keep things running for their barbarian descendants.
40	-->'''Cato:''' It's self-maintained. Powered by our sun, [[RagnarokProofing it will last forever]]. This generation, even Gunn Sar, believes it to be some kind of magic that keeps the chambers light and warm. [[MachineWorship A computer is like some ancient god to them!]]
41	* CurbStompBattle: Even with technology and psychic powers on their side, [[MenAreStrongWomenArePretty wimpy Women can't stand up to tough Men]].
42	-->'''Seska:''' Interim report concerning the last engagement in the battle for A-X Ridge. At 08539, defense losses numbered eighteen dead and seven taken. Estimated Hommik losses: zero.
43	* DontSneakUpOnMeLikeThat: Pella startles Vila (as he’s expecting to be shot by Soolin at any moment), causing him to burn himself with the laser lance he’s using to cut through the door.
44	* TheDeterminator: Pella uses her psychic powers to inflict pain on Avon, but he keeps on coming [[SquishyWizard until her ability fades and he can overpower her physically]].
45	* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Pella to Avon... [[TookALevelInJerkass at first]].
46	* EconomyCast: Justified, as the Seska are a DwindlingParty.
47	-->'''Pella:''' Last week we were five. This morning, three. [[LastOfTheirKind And now we are two.]]
48	* EvilLuddite: The planet Xenon used to have a highly technological society that was destroyed in a war.
49	-->'''Cato:''' Everything was lost. Industry, people. Afterwards, the [[AfterTheEnd Council of Survivors]] decreed that we should start again, [[YearZero from the very beginning]]. Wooden tools, flint arrowheads, the wheel. Ten thousand years advancement destroyed in a day!
50	* FailedAttemptAtDrama: A RunningGag with Gunn Sarr, who's [[ManChild never quite as tough and nasty as he's pretending to be]].
51	* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Sexism]]: Pella looks like she's cooperating with Avon because he'll get them off the planet, but after she knocks him unconscious she derides him as just another Hommik.
52	* ForcefulKiss: Avon to Pella after overpowering her.
53	* FumblingTheGauntlet: Avon grabs Gunn Sarr's arm to stop him hitting Nina. He views this as a [[KlingonPromotion challenge for leadership]].
54	* GirlsVsBoysPlot: Exaggerated, with society at war along gender lines.
55	* GloveSlap: Dayna punches Gunn Sarr [[ThrowingDownTheGauntlet to challenge him]]. Unfortunately she's already been shown up by Avon, who defeated Gunn Sarr ''with'' a glove!
56	* GreenRocks: [[PowerCrystal Dynamon crystals]], which Avon needs to get the teleport working. Avon is out looking for them on the surface when he's captured. Turns out they're implanted in each Seska to focus their telekinetic powers.
57	* TheGunslinger: After all the shooting is over, only then does Soolin turn up. However she makes it clear she's only joining the Seven on her own terms.
58	-->'''Tarrant:''' You want to join us, is that it?
59	-->'''Dayna:''' Why?
60	-->'''Soolin:''' Why not? Dorian's dead.
61	-->'''Avon:''' You give your allegiance easily.
62	-->'''Soolin:''' I don't give my allegiance at all. I sell my ''skill!''
63	-->''(QuickDraw's her weapon [[ImpliedDeathThreat at Avon]])''
64	* HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook: Vila got his [[MasterOfUnlocking education in lockpicking]] at CF One.
65	-->'''Pella:''' CF One?
66	-->'''Vila:''' A sort of academy, when I was a boy. They chose me as technical advisor for the escape.
67	-->'''Pella:''' Escape? From an academy?
68	-->'''Vila:''' Perhaps academy was the wrong word....
69	* HumanAliens: Pella thinks the Seska came to Xenon because it was like Earth, suggesting that they (along with the Hommiks) are the descendants of human colonists.
70	* HypercompetentSidekick: Cato, who's [[TheManBehindTheCurtain secretly maintaining]] power, light and security in the Hommik base using a hidden MasterComputer. Nina is something of this too -- she's shown doing surgery and knows about the hidden computer room.
71	* {{Hypocrite}}: Pella tries to kill everyone on Xenon Base, then blames Avon for believing that ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer.
72	* ImprovisedWeapon:
73	** When told to choose his weapon for the challenge, Avon requests a glove. They give him back his gauntlets, which he uses to pick up a [[PowerCableAttack heliofusion rod]] and disintegrate Gunn Sarr's sword.
74	** Pella uses her telekinetic powers to give people a TapOnTheHead with various handy objects.
75	* InformedAbility: Despite boasting of all the men he's killed, Gunn Sarr [[invoked]][[FightSceneFailure ineptly swings around a longsword]]. Though this may be due to the constant rain during location filming which made the BBCQuarry slippery with mud.
76	* ItsAllAboutMe:
77	** Tarrant asks Orac what they should do with a nuclear device 16 minutes from detonation.
78	-->'''Orac:''' The most logical thing to do is [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere transport me to safety with all due urgency!]]
79	** Pella isn't trying to preserve Seska society, just save herself. In fact she shoots dead the only other remaining Seska.
80	* ItWasThereISwear: Vila's injury disappears thanks to Pella's ointment, [[YouHaveToBelieveMe so he has trouble convincing the others]] it wasn't just him seeing [[PinkElephants pink asteroids]].
81	* LiteralMetaphor:
82	** The Seska and Hommiks are fighting a BattleOfTheSexes.
83	** When ThrowingDownTheGauntlet to Gunn Sarr, Avon demands an actual gauntlet (which he then [[GuileHero uses to pick up a live power cable]]).
84	* LockedRoomMystery: Vila tries to convince Tarrant and Dayna that he saw Pella, but the hatch she claimed to come through is locked from the inside and she's not hiding on Xenon Base. Turns out she used her telekinetic powers to pull across the bolt.
85	* LowCultureHighTech
86	-->'''Avon:''' An ordinary domestic heliofusion rod. You haven't seen one, have you? All that underground heat, light, power... and you never considered where it came from?
87	* MadeOfIndestructium: The door to the Scorpio’s hanger is made of Herculanium. “Can’t cut it, burn it, blast it.”
88	* TheManBehindTheCurtain: Cato is hiding the computer room from everyone because if the Hommiks knew about the modern technology they'd want more of it, and there's none left after it was destroyed AfterTheEnd (except for the self-sustaining computer room which was overlooked).
89	* AMatchMadeInStockholm: Nina; she's even helping convert Seska into Women by removing their PowerCrystal.
90	* MenAreStrongWomenArePretty: Avon overpowers Pella, pointing out that Men will always be stronger than Women (despite the fact that Pella is using her telekinetic powers, not physical strength). "Unfair, perhaps, but biologically unavoidable." Though that doesn't explain why the Seska don't resort to the Great Equalizer -- guns! Perhaps they [[PhallicWeapon don't like the association?]]
91	* MotorMouth: Vila starts babbling when he’s getting nervous (like when a nuclear compression charge is ticking down the last few minutes).
92	* TheNeedForMead: Gunn Sarr calls for meat and ale when Avon is brought in.
93	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Pella shoots Kate; providing Avon with the PowerCrystal he needs to get the teleport working, beam onto Scorpio and shoot her dead.
94	* NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat: Gunn Sarr argues with Cato over one of his ‘unconfirmed’ kills who died a DisneyVillainDeath.
95	* NoWomansLand: The Seska are a diminishing tribe, and the only recourse for survival is taking a submissive role in Hommik society.
96	* NukeEm
97	-->'''Vila:''' Have you ever seen a nuclear compression charge go off? [[WeaponsThatSuck Everything gets sucked in.]] It’s like a mini-black hole. Looks good. From a distance.
98	** The Hommiks used a dirty bomb to destroy the Seska BabyFactory.
99	* OurDoorsAreDifferent: The entrance to Xenon Base involves a pair of revolving triangular doors.
100	* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Averted; the password to the door is 'Narcissus', which is certainly appropriate for Dorian, but it turns out Orac just made that up.
101	* PsychicPowers: The Seska have telekinesis, and there’s a brief debate over whether Pella used teleportation to get through the door (she didn’t, as it turns out). However Pella’s power is limited, so it’s not enough of a GameChanger against the Hommiks.
102	* RaceAgainstTheClock: Dorian left a nuclear destruct device in his base, which would detonate [[DeadManSwitch if he hadn’t sent a signal every 48 hours]]. No-one knows how long it’s been ticking down either.
103	* TheRadioDiesFirst: Avon's [[CommLinks bracelet]] is smashed by the Hommiks.
104	* RealMenWearPink: Gunn Sarr at his embroidery.
105	* ReducedToRatburgers: There’s only got three weeks’ worth of food in the base, unless they can get to Scorpio.
106	-->'''Vila:''' Well, there's always rodents of one sort or another.
107	-->'''Tarrant:''' I'm a growing lad, Vila. Rats are not the answer to my diet.
108	* SchizoTech:
109	** Gunn Sarr's base has blinking computers in it. Turns out it's an AfterTheEnd society that rejected technology, and [[ClarkesThirdLaw now thinks all the technology that they have is magic]].
110	** The Seska making the ApocalypticLog reports that the Hommiks used a 'nucleic burster', yet it's an axe that slams down on her desk moments later. It's possible that people like Cato (or the previous leader, Maravik) are [[LowCultureHighTech secretly using technology for military purposes]] as well.
111	* SpaceClothes: Despite wearing PeltsOfTheBarbarian, the Hommiks have silver clothes underneath instead of the usual black and brown leather. Justified when we find it's a once-advanced ScavengerWorld. Meanwhile the Seska slink through the BBCQuarry in [[KickingAssInAllHerFinery long flowing dresses despite being at war]].
112	* StandardFemaleGrabArea: Averted; Vila grabs Pella this way and gets thrown aside by her telekinetic powers.
113	* StrawFeminist: The BattleOfTheSexes isn't a struggle for equal rights and opportunities, but a literal battle with the Seska a LadyLand that rejects all need for men.
114	* StrawMisogynist: Gunn Sarr in his introduction. It's all TestosteronePoisoning though; unlike Pella he starts mean but is eventually revealed to be rather inept and dependant on his wife to run things.
115	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Averted; it looks like one of the Seska will join the crew to replace Cally as the resident telepath. Instead the Seska all die and [[TheGunslinger Soolin]] forces her way into their RagtagBunchOfMisfits.
116	* SycophanticServant
117	-->'''Slave:''' [[IDontPayYouToThink It is beyond my humble capacity to offer an opinion]], Master.
118	-->'''Avon:''' [smiles broadly] Oh, that's very good. You may turn out to be my kind of computer after all.
119	* TapOnTheHead: Avon gets clonked by a telekinetic keyboard. Gunn Sarr gets killed when his head slams into a power box with a bit of psychic assistance.
120	* TeleportationRescue: Avon calls for one when he’s about to get captured by the Hommiks, but Orac refuses as he hasn’t got Dorian’s teleport working reliably (in fact Avon had been searching for the Dynamon crystals that would fix it).
121	* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Inverted despite accusations of sexism directed at this episode; it's Gunn Sarr who's shown knitting.
122	* [[ThatManIsDead That Woman Is Dead]]: Nina is no longer a Seska, she's a Woman.
123	* TwoOfYourEarthMinutes
124	-->'''Pella:''' There's a switch. When the door is closed, every forty-eight hours Dorian must say a code word to reset the timing.
125	-->'''Vila:''' Is that forty-eight hours Standard Time?
126	-->'''Pella:''' Earth Standard Time. This planet is very like Earth, I think. That is why the Seska came here.
127	* VariantChess: Gunn Sarr [[FreudWasRight playing with his balls]] on a 3D board.
128	* ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer: InUniverse when Avon shoots Pella after she tries to kill him.
129	-->'''Pella:''' That always was the easy answer for the Man -- the Hommik!
130	-->'''Avon:''' If you didn't want the answer, you shouldn't have asked the question. ''(Pella dies)''
131	* VitriolicBestBuds: Avon is said to be the only one of their team that Orac will treat as an equal. Though Avon is rather glad to encounter the sycophantic Slave.
132	* WakeUpFighting: Avon goes to karate chop Pella when she wakes him up in their cell.
133	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Gunn Sarr is introduced getting a massage.
134	* WhoDares: "Who are you to address me like some joker?" asks Gunn Sarr. [[TheSnarkKnight Avon]], that’s who.
135	* WithFriendsLikeThese: Turns out Orac had supplied a false password so that no-one could steal Scorpio and leave without Avon. Which could have lost them Scorpio or got them all blown up -- instead of providing the correct password when time is running out, Orac only wants to be taken to safety himself.
136	* WouldHitAGirl:
137	** Gunn Sarr is introduced cuffing Nina and shouting for booze. He later takes a direct swing at her only for Avon to grab his fist and stop him before he can hit her.
138	** Avon twists Pella's arm and gives her a ForcefulKiss (and later shoots her dead). Although she attacked him first on both occasions, it fits Avon's habit of violence towards women that he believes are deceiving him; [[invoked]][[FridgeBrilliance likely a result of the Anna Grant betrayal.]]
139	** Pella points her gun at Dayna to get Avon to open the door -- an interesting choice of hostage, as Avon points out. She then shoots Kate, the only other remaining Seska, when the latter tries to stop her.
140	* WrittenInAbsence: Soolin vanishes for most of the episode, only reappearing right at the end to join the team. The crew ponder where she is (especially Vila, who's worried about her intentions) but no explanation for her absence is ever given.
141	* YourDoorWasOpen: Or so Pella claims.

Context Recap / BlakesSevenS4E2Power