Midshipman Horatio Hornblower is given his first assignment in the Royal Navy, and must deal with a tyrannical superior officer.
The episode is adapted from the stories "The Even Chance", "The Cargo of Rice", and "The Man Who Felt Queer", with smaller pieces from "The Penalty of Failure" and "The Man Who Saw God".
- Adaptation Expansion: Hornblower's father was said to be a doctor in the novels. This episode adds that Dr. Hornblower had Captain Keene as a patient at one point, and that was why Keene accepted his son as a midshipman.
- Adaptation Distillation: The novel's story "Hornblower and the Cargo of Rice" was followed by "Hornblower and the Penalty of Failure", a story that would have probably have taken up the rest of the episode if included because it involved capture by a French privateer which Hornblower managed to set on fire so the Indefatigable could catch up. It is reduced here to Hornblower plotting a false chart in the eventuality of the Marie Galante's crew seizing the longboat, which keeps the boat in the Indefatigable's range. Hornblower's self-inflicted penance for losing the Marie Galante remains when he decides not to reveal that he plotted a false course and lets Pellew think the French captain was a bad navigator, just as he refuses to take credit for setting the French ship on fire and lets Pellew think it started by accident.
- Artifact Title: In the short story, Hornblower compensates for his inexperience with a pistol by stipulating that one be loaded and other unloaded, without him or Simpson knowing which is which, and firing from point-blank range—thus, each duelist has an even chance of victory. He uses the phrase "even chance" here but it's more in reference to the fact that he considers his own death as desirable as killing Simpson.
- Blatant Lies: In a classic sign of abuse, Hornblower appears one morning with severe bruises on both sides of his face, and he claims he "fell".
- Blessed with Suck: Hornblower's excellent arithmetic skills make him the only midshipman to correctly solve the navigational problem Mr. Bowles gives them. Right after Keene mocks Simpson for putting the ship into Central Africa, he praises Hornblower for being the only one to get it right—and Hornblower does not look happy at all because he knows this is going to make Simpson go From Bad to Worse. (And he's right.)
- Composite Character: Archie's seizure on the way to the Papillon is taken from "Hornblower and the Man who Felt Queer", where one of the seamen complains of feeling queer (ill) beforehand and then falls into the same kind of seizure, forcing Hornblower to take the drastic step of striking him with the tiller handle to knock him out, and the jollyboat is lost by genuine accident. In the novel, Hornblower is pretty sure he inflicted a fatal head injury.
- Damage Control: Hornblower realizes that the supply ship is holed and attempts to repair the damage. Unfortunately, it's too severe and they're soon forced to abandon ship.
- Deadly Deferred Conversation: When Hornblower says that Simpson attempted to shoot him, Lieutenant Eccleston says that they will handle it once they get back to the Indy. Eccleston is killed moments later.
- Duel to the Death: After weeks of misery under Simpson's tyranny, Hornblower seizes on a thoughtless insult in a card game as an opportunity to end the problem permanently through a duel—although Hornblower can't stand the thought of flight through desertion or suicide, he could die with self-respect intact if it was in a fight, so Simpson's shooting skill doesn't worry him. Clayton knocks him out and dies instead. Pellew forbids Hornblower from getting into any more duels when Hornblower joins the Indefatigable, but he lifts it when Simpson challenges Hornblower over his accusation of Unfriendly Fire. Simpson cheats, Hornblower declines to shoot him, but Simpson dies anyway when he tries to stab Hornblower and Pellew shoots him.
- Early-Bird Cameo: A number of the Justinian's crew are mentioned to be transferred to the command of "Black Charlie" Hammond, who first appears in the next episode.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Hornblower's first scenes on the ship. On the one hand he is a very unlikely sailor, starting at a late age, unfamiliar with sailing, and seasick. On the other, he tries to fight back when subjected to Simpson's "Inquisition" and refuses to stay down even after having been thoroughly beaten.
- Pellew's first scene shows him as a hardass who considers duels of honor to be wasteful of life for no better cause than vanity, but nevertheless fair, as he gives Hornblower a fresh start and a chance to prove himself by cleaning up Simpson's old division.
- Epic Fail: Hornblower and the other midshipmen undergo navigational training. Simpson's solution apparently would have put the ship into Central Africa.
- Fate Worse than Death: The only thing that keeps Horatio from killing himself or deserting is the thought that Simpson would "win".
- Guile Hero: When the French prisoners seize control of the jolly boat, Hornblower drops his compass over the side. He later reveals to his crew that he plotted a false course on the map for just such an eventuality, allowing them to be found by the Indy.
- Mortal Wound Reveal: Midshipmen Clayton and Simpson duel. Hornblower's friend Clayton shoots Simpson and it looks like he has killed him, celebrating with "Got you, bastard!" Next moment shows Clayton with deadly Blood from the Mouth. His injury from the duel is much more serious than Simpson's injured arm and Clayton dies later that day in an inn.
- Nicknaming the Enemy: Archie refers to the French revolutionaries as "Jonny Crapaud", one of many epithets for the French.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Hornblower communicates with the Marie Galante's captain only in English and feigns ignorance when the captain tells his men to wait for the signal to seize the boat.
- Oh, Crap!:
- When Hornblower takes control of the Marie Galante, he retreats to the cabin and starts shaking with the enormity of being completely in charge of an independent vessel, muttering "what do I do now?" to himself.
- He has a second one when he suddenly recalls Pellew's admonishment to the gunners—not into the hold.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Pellew notes that Hornblower's duel does not reflect well on him, but also says that he does not judge his opinion of an officer on hearsay.
- Rule of Cool: Pellew might be an expert marksman, but the chances of him hitting a target from that distance with a musket are very low, and the chances of him shooting around Hornblower to nail Simpson in the heart are even lower. It is, however, an extremely well-timed dramatic interruption and adds that much more to Pellew's aura of being the captain.
- Tap on the Head:
- Clayton knocks out Hornblower in order to take his place in the duel.'
- Hornblower thumps Archie with the tiller to stop him from having a loud fit during the cutting-out expedition (unlike the novel, the man he hits here survives).
- Unfortunate Name: After Horatio says "my name is Hornblower", his new fellow midshipman responds "what an infernal piece of bad luck."
- Unfriendly Fire: Jack Simpson tries to kill his shipmates in the middle of a raid by setting knocked-out Kennedy adrift in a boat and shooting Hornblower (he hits him in the head and he falls from a mast into the sea). Kennedy goes M.I.A. and is presumed dead. Hornblower is saved by Finch, a lower-deck sailor from his division. Unfortunately, Hornblower has no proof that is was Simpson who shot at him. The dispute is solved with Simpson's challenge to a duel.
- Villainous Breakdown: During their final duel, Simpson shoots Hornblower in the shoulder before the command to fire is given. This gives Hornblower a free shot. However, when Simpson breaks down and begs not to be killed, he expends his shot in the air and says that he's not worth the powder.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Hornblower ducks behind a table to throw up from seasickness.
- You Are in Command Now: After Chadd is killed, Eccleston, who is severely wounded, puts Hornblower in command. While Simpson is a senior midshipman, he is not part of the Indy's crew and Hornblower had just accused him of attempted murder.
