Hologram Janeway introduces herself and the ship to the newly formed crew, but Dal isn't willing to trust her.
Tropes:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Dal allows being captain to go to his head, after rejecting the idea of joining the Federation. Nearly getting everyone killed seems to humble him a bit.
- Artistic Licence – Physics: Gwyn disables Artificial Gravity to stop Rok from attacking her, causing Rok to suddenly lose momentum and float away. The loss of gravity does not mean momentum suddenly evaporates; since she was running at Gwyn at the time, Rok's momentum should have carried her right into Gwyn and sent them both sprawling around the vehicle bay.
- Binary Suns: The location Dal sets course for is a binary system in which the white dwarf star is currently consuming the red giant star.
- Blatant Lies: After Dal is clearly awestruck by the size of the captain's stateroom, he tries to pretend that it's a burden to him. Zero isn't fooled.
- Commander Contrarian: Literally; Dal proclaims himself captain of the ship to Holo Janeway and, not trusting her speech about the Federation, deliberately ignores and goes against all her advice. This puts the team on a course towards the gravity well of a collapsing star and facilitates the plot, because they don't immediately head to the Federation for help.
- Continuity Nod:
- Janeway's lecture on the basics of the Federation includes a number of familiar starships: there are four variations on the Enterprise (the NX-01, the TOS-era 1701, the 1701-A, and the 1701-C), the USS Defiant, the USS Voyager, a Crossfield-class starship (like Discovery, though not explicitly labeled), and two shuttlecraft (a Class-F from TOS, and the Type-6 and 7 from TNG).
- The vehicle replicator makes a point of announcing the fabrication of a blast shield. Becket Mariner improvised a song about that piece of shuttlecraft equipment on Lower Decks.
- Emergency Cargo Dump: Dal orders this so the ship can escape the gravity well of the star. Unfortunately, the Prodigy is a rather spartan ship as-is, so the only things that Jankom can dump on remote happen to be the escape pods Gwyn is currently trying to steal, and the action accomplishes nothing other than forcing her to improvise.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Holo Janeway observes the disheveled appearance of the crew and, combined with their total ignorance of Starfleet and the Federation, concludes they must be cadets. Which is odd, since one of the things she points out is "no uniforms", and Starfleet cadets have always been depicted in uniform.
- Escape Pod: Gwyn tries to use an escape pod to flee in the confusion, but is foiled when Dal orders them ejected at the same moment to lighten the ship.
- Glad I Thought of It: When Zero comes up with the Spaceship Slingshot Stunt, Dal claims Zero read his mind. Zero immediately points out the lie.
- Humans Are Ugly: None of these kids have seen a human before, and Jankom Pog is definitely not impressed by holo-Janeway.Jankom: Ugh, she's hideous. Why is her forehead so smooth? Ugh.
Janeway: You're no summer peach either, Tellarite.
Jankom: Ha! Jankom Pog likes her! - Hypocrite: Dal dismisses Janeway's exposition of the Federation under the belief it's sweet words to veil more self-serving authority like they've been getting on Tars Lamora. After assuming the position of Captain, he dismisses the question that he could be as self-serving and proceeds to throw around his authority while enjoying the perks.
- Invisibility Cloak: When the Diviner leaves Tars Lamora, he triggers a chimerium cloak which renders the entire asteroid invisible.
- Just Following Orders: When Rok asks why Gwyn was willing to stand by as they were forced to work, Gwyn insists she was just doing as her father told her and believed they were all criminals. This is partially a lie, as the Kazon slaver made it clear in the previous episode that he was kidnapping orphans and vagrants in addition to criminals, so she knew even if she didn't necessarily approve.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Dal is adamant about refusing Janeway's help, even as the situation becomes increasingly dire. When the Artificial Gravity fails, however, he finally relents and asks for help.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Gwyn morphs her weapon into a shield to block a strike from Rok. After a few strikes, Rok manages to knock it aside, forcing Gwyn to look for an alternative way to stop her.
- Mythology Gag:
- Janeway’s description of Starfleet directly quotes the famous “To Boldly Go” monologue from the opening of the Original Series.
- The holographic depictions of Federation citizens are drawn in a style similar to the 1970s animated series.
- The vehicle replicator, though this is the first time we've heard of it, is likely a retroactive explanation for how Voyager never ran out of shuttles despite losing one practically every few episodes.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Dal refuses to trust Hologram Janeway, believing the Federation to be another example of a self-serving organization despite Janeway's rosy description. He nearly flies the ship into a collapsing star as a result.
- As part of his frantic attempts to escape the star, Dal orders all power diverted to the impulse engines. This includes the shields and brig forcefields, releasing Gwyn to cause trouble while the ship is now vulnerable to debris.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Gwyn's attempt to fabricate a shuttle alerts the crew to her location, so Rok is sent to stop her. When Gwyn disables artificial gravity to defeat Rok, it's the last straw necessary to get Dal to ask for help, inadvertently saving the ship by making the situation worse even faster. The sudden return of gravity also drops Rok right on top of her, ending her escape attempt on the spot.
- No Gravity for You: Gwyn shuts off the ship's artificial gravity to get the upper-hand against Rok, who she can't overpower. It works, but the moment is short-lived because Janeway instructs the crew on how to restore it when Dal finally asks for help, causing Rok to fall right on top of her.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Gwyn attempts this on Rok when Rok is trying to stop her from leaving, saying she was only following orders on Tars Lamora just like Rok is following orders to stop her. It falls on deaf ears.
- Ominous Floating Castle: The Diviner's base of operations doubles as a starship.
- Pardon My Klingon: Gwyn mutters a frustrated "Qu'vatlh!" after her escape attempt fails.
- Rubber-Forehead Alien: Inverted — Jankom is shocked by holo-Janeway's lack of a rubber forehead.
- Spaceship Slingshot Stunt: Since the star's gravity is too strong to escape on a direct flight path, Zero instead suggests flying towards it, so they can use the shockwave to propel themselves free. The first half involves a gravity-assisted slingshot to get them far enough away so the shockwave doesn't kill them.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: When Hologram Janeway concludes that the crew are cadets based on their lack of uniforms and knowledge, Dal runs with it to ensure her cooperation.
- Too Dumb to Live: Dal doesn't trust Janeway at first, so his response is to find the brightest red spot on the map and point the ship at it, refusing to heed her warnings. You'd think someone who's been working on a dangerous mining asteroid would know to equate red with danger.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Dal is distrustful of the Federation and Starfleet, despite Janeway’s rosy description of them. He assumes it to be another miserable society like the one on Tars Lamora. This might be true in a YA dystopia story, but this is the bright and optimistic Star Trek universe, so Janeway’s description is mostly accurate.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Janeway assures the crew that, whatever their faults, they do have the potential for greatness.
