Recap / Eureka Of Mites And Men

Pictured: two astronaut tests.

Fargo: Sheriff, you ok?
Carter: I am in deep ship.

The preparations for the Astreus mission are in full swing. Jo, Zane, Fargo, Holly and Parrish are given a test, while building robots malfunction.

Tropes

• Actor Allusion: Dr. Parrish enjoys calling Jo "Number One."
• Artistic License – Space: Dr. Saint-Augusta describes Dr. Fung's project as an "interstellar communications system". The Astreus is going to Titan, which is in the same solar system as Earth, so that should be "interplanetary communications." The correct term is used at other times.
• Call-Back:
  • The heart condition that blackballed Henry from Astreus becomes focal when Allison's stand-in creates an experimental procedure that could cure him.
  • Zane's criminal record making him ineligible is a factor as he was persuaded to act as The Mole in exchange for getting his crimminal record expunged, making him a candidate.
  • When his criminal record is expunged, Zane trolls Jo that he doesn't want to go to space after all; "done that."
• Chekhov's Gun: The tie Senator Wen insists Carter wear gets caught in a door created by the mites and makes it almost impossible to reach the device to turn the mites off.
• Everyone Has Standards: Zane is happy to undermine Jo by implying her high test score was due to his hacking, but after she announces that once the test is over she'll withdraw her candidacy he finds a way to tell her the truth.
  Zane: Wow, Jo Lupo a quitter. I did not see that coming.
  Jo: No. But I'm not gonna steal a place from someone who earned it.
  Zane: [Heel Realization face]
• In Medias Res: The episode opens with Jo being abducted from bed by a team of commandos... who are taking her to an exam for the Astreus mission.
• Innocent Innuendo: When someone has to squeeze through a tiny gap.
  Jo: How are we going to get out? That opening is only eight inches!
  Holly: Oh, me, me! I can manage eight inches, no problem.
  Fargo: [Gasps]
  Holly: I have really limber joints.
  Fargo: [Whimpers]
• The Mole: Zane is part of the test simulation. He breaks in through the disposal chute, annoys everyone as much as he can and implies that Jo only passed because he hacked her test. The others aren't happy with that.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • The mites are damaged by Dr. Fung's communication system, rendering them unable to receive the order to stop eating tungsten and building the Astreus' hull. Unfortunately, most of the structural components of GD are made of tungsten...
  • When Zane realises his mites are causing the trouble, he laments doing too good a job making them indestructible.
• Noodle Incident: When he's trying to convince everyone the continuing power failure is a real problem and not part of the test, Zane mentions that he's crashed three other tests.
• Oh, Crap!: Holly tries to get through a door the team have managed to wedge open a crack. Unfortunately, her skull isn't as limber as the rest of her, and she's soon wedged.
• Rewatch Bonus: Senator Wen's attitude to Allison takes on a new dimension when You know she's The Mole. She blocks Allison's return without setting any conditions for it to happen ("There's no timetable for these things...") not because Allison is compromised, but because she isn't. Allison is more than brilliant enough to realise what Wen is up to, plus her absence puts additional pressure on everyone else who could bust her. It's only when Allison takes charge of the situation that Wen is no longer able to believably throw doubt on her recovery, and is forced to let her back.
• Running Gag: 70's song "Car Wash" is played at the Astreus candidates and sung by Zane to further piss them off.
• Secret Test of Character: Parrish thinks all the malfunctions are this, and it turns out some are, but most are real, serious problems. Parrish assumes the test is to stick to an assigned task even as everything goes wrong, which to be fair could be important: that task might be keeping things from getting worse. Everyone else assumes the test is about prioritization, knowing when yo deviate from an assigned task because there's something more important, as well as teamwork, improvisation, and problem-solving. And of course, it soon becomes clear it's not all just a test.
• She's Back: After an episode of being shoved aside due to questions over her recovery, Allison takes charge of the mite problem, proving she's recovered.
• Shout-Out:
  • Carter and Allison have been watching Smokey and the Bandit movies together during her recovery. This may be partly why she's so keen to get back to work.
  • The title is from Of Mice and Men, itself named for a Robert Frost poem.
  • When Carter's about to activate the sonic device to kill the mites, Fargo tells him, "OK, kid, let's blow this thing and go home!"
• Shown Their Work: The origami crane test is an actual training assignment used in Japan's space agency.
• Skewed Priorities: While Fargo, Jo, Holly and Zane are fixing the power and preventing the ceiling from collapsing, Dr. Parrish continues making origami cranes, because that's the assignment. Holly points out that a power outage on the Astreus mission could be fatal, so dropping the official assignment to fix the problem is probably part of the test.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: Allison is back at GD. To be fair, she really was under Mind Control and tried to fight it as hard as she could.