Naomi makes a desperate attempt to save her son from Marco. On the Roci, Holden battles for the last sample of protomolecule.
This episode provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Marco is, again, emotionally abusive towards Filip, castigating him for failing to destroy the Rocinante, which in turn prevented the destruction of Tycho Station and has imperiled the Zmeya, all because he brought Naomi to the Pella on a whim. He then abruptly shifts to praising Filip as being part of Marco's victories and that Filip will inherit Marco's empire.
- Character Death: Cyn dies after Naomi opens the airlock to escape the Pella.
- Character Development: Holden learns that the Chetzemoka is among the ships in Marco's fleet and considers abandoning the search for the protomolecule aboard the Zmeya to save Naomi. However, he acknowledges that the protomolecule is more important and instructs Alex and Bobbie to keep an eye on Marco's fleet to help Naomi.
- Despair Event Horizon: Naomi appears to cross this after Filip rejects her pleas to stop committing atrocities against Earth and Mars. It's then subverted when she hardens her resolves and engineers her own escape on the spot, since she remembered that, the last time she lost Filip, allowing herself to succumb to despair wouldn't change anything.
- Flashback: Naomi reminisces on happier times with Marco and Filip.
- Foreshadowing: Marco is plotting the orbital trajectories along which they will later throw stealth pebbles at the ships guarding the Ring.
- Internal Reveal: Holden tells Monica that the crew of the Rocinante did recover a sample of the protomolecule, but they were unable to destroy it because Naomi gave it to Fred.
- Kick the Dog: Marco decides to release Naomi... but only after he's blown up the Rocinante and made sure she has nowhere to go to.
- Macross Missile Massacre: The Zmeya launches close to a dozen missiles at the Rocinante in an attempt to destroy her. Unfortunately for them, a weaponized Belter transport is no match for a Martian gunship, and the Rocinante's point defense cannons take out every missile.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Cyn catches Naomi in the airlock, having rightly suspected she might be driven to space herself given no other option after losing Filip. He's half-right; she's going to space herself at the Chetzemoka, surviving just long enough to board it. Unfortunately, she can't wait for him to leave the airlock and he dies as a result.
- No MacGuffin, No Winner: The Zmeya self-destructs rather than let Holden board and recover the protomolecule, plus whatever else he might learn by raiding the ship.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Cyn guesses correctly that Naomi intends to get out of the ship without a space suit. He's wrong, however, about why she wants to do this.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: Naomi does this to herself to escape the Pella, using a hypo with hyper-oxygenated blood to keep herself conscious and alive long enough to jump to the Chetzemoka and commandeer it before Marco can send it out as a booby-trap for the Rocinante.
