Season 1, Episode 6:
Rock Bottom
The Canterbury survivors go to Tycho Station, and bargain for their future position with Fred Johnson. Miller escapes from being kidnapped, then has to figure out the meaning of some new evidence. Avasarala takes steps to spy on Johnson.
Tropes:
- Almost Kiss: Miller and Octavia have one, before Miller breaks the moment to look at the data chip that he found in Julie Mao's apartment.
- Big Damn Heroes: Octavia shoots Dawes' men and saves Miller in the middle of an attempted airlocking.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Diogo, seemingly a two-bit Belter criminal in his last appearance, gets his own subplot. His life goes considerably downhill since Miller let him go.
- *Click* Hello: The OPA member sent to breach the Rocinante's airlock gets one in the form of the vessel's nearest PDC popping out and spinning up while aimed directly at him.
- Due to the Dead: Holden drinks a toast to Shed and even the Space Marines, and asks Johnson to make sure Lopez is taken care of. Johnson promises to get Lopez's body back to Mars (though searches the body first and finds the data chip from the Donnager.)
- Failed a Spot Check: Dawes has Miller's clothing searched but fails to realise the data chip is tucked in the sweatband of Miller's hat, which he's actually holding at one stage.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: When Miller tells Captain Shaddid about his investigation. It's a downplayed example, as she doesn't actually kill him; she just locks up all his evidence and then fires him. Of course, Miller has told someone else, because Octavia was in the room when he looked inside the data chip.
- I Made Copies: The data chip is encrypted so you can't.
- Internal Reveal:
- Holden tells Alex and Amos that he was the one who logged the distress call that got the Canterbury destroyed.
- Avasarala finds out that Holden survived the Donnager attack and is on Tycho.
- It's Personal: Avasarala's son was killed by the OPA.
- Loving a Shadow: Dawes mocks Miller for being in love with Mao, a woman he's never met who would despise him if she ever did meet him.
- Male Gaze: While panning through a pickup bar, the camera lingers on two beautiful women getting intimate.
- Mexican Standoff: Holden and Fred Johnson are in a metaphorical one. Johnson could at any time sell the crew out by broadcasting their position and letting the major powers catch them, but he'd lose the Roci and witnesses to a larger conspiracy. Holden, meanwhile, has control of the Roci (specifically, its weapons) and Johnson can't simply take it from him. Holden even comments that they "both have a gun to each other's head."
- Unproblematic Prostitution: Amos grew up as a rent boy — or at least in close proximity to prostitutes — but for adults he regards this as a perfectly acceptable profession and nothing to be ashamed of.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dawes gives one to Miller, pointing out that he's everything Julie Mao would have hated.
- Sherlock Scan: Fred Johnson is able to deduce the situation on the Roci moments after Holden and Amos step out. There aren't any Martian marines on the ship because they wouldn't send Holden out in their place, there's no more than a half-dozen crew because Holden only has one guy as backup, and Holden must be in charge because he's the one that came out.
- Shoot the Dog: Dawes killed his sister so the rest of his family could survive.
- Suicide by Cop: Mateo flies his mining ship into a restricted area where he knows the Martian Navy is going to shoot him down, rather than pay a punishing tax bill or die trying to get there. However, he doesn't subject Diogo to that fate, throwing him out in a space suit with enough air to last him until he's picked up by another rockhopper.
- Rescue Sex: Averted; Octavia is upset over killing two people, and no-one would blame Miller if he wanted Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex, but he turns away when Octavia goes to kiss him, being more interested in what's on the data chip from Mao's apartment.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: Anderson Dawes tries to do this to Miller. Inverted when Mateo throws Diogo out in his spacesuit to spare his life.
- True Companions: Holden makes a deal to go out with an OPA crew while the others stay on Tycho Station, but the others decide to come along anyway.
- Turn in Your Badge: This happens to Miller when he tries to share his evidence with Captain Shaddid.
- We Are Everywhere: Captain Shaddid is in the pay of Dawes, and there's an OPA tattoo on the Star Helix guard who escorts Miller off the premises.
