History Recap / TheOuterLimits1995S4E17Lithia

* GenderRarityValue: {{Subverted}}. Though Major Mercer is the first men alive in generations, no one either views him as god-like or potential breeding stock. In the latter case, this is despite the fact that, while they have semen samples stored for use in artificial insemination, logically this can't last forever. Two of the women ''do'' have sex with him, but that is portrayed as simply due to fascination with him.

He surreptitiously taps into their power lines, getting the wheel running automatically. Mercer easily seduces another woman, Ariel, who's equally fascinated by him. After they have sex in the wheel room, however, he sees it stop working. Hyacinth has learned of what he did and disconnected the cable.

* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Played to its horrific extreme in the episode. It opens with a male soldier, seemingly the LoneSurvivor of the male gender, entering an all-female village, without warning or fanfare, and collapsing from exposure to the elements. Note that just moments before his arrival, the village elder was sharing stories with a room full of small children that could ''easily'' fit with the most radical of Taliban doctrine if the genders were reversed. After the entire episode shows just how badly things could go in that kind of environment, [[spoiler: the ending goes and shows that there are other men, all in cryostasis, and the narrator basically proclaims that humanity doesn't really need the male gender, aside from being a GlorifiedSpermDonor. Of course, if the other men mentioned were re-introduced into society like he was, it's a small wonder the attempts were horrific failures.]]

In a future world, no men are left alive. Most of the world's population died years ago in a war, from what was clearly nuclear warfare and its effects afterward. The men left alive were killed by a plague called "the Scourge". The young girls born since that time are told the story by an old woman who lived during the time.

Many of the women in their [[TitleDrop conclave of Lithia]], as they call it, are displeased by his presence however. To them, all men are destructive, and their acts were the source of the devastation they occurred. According to their beliefs, the Goddess destroyed all the men as punishment.

However, their elder, the old woman that told the story who's named Hera, rules that they can't turn away someone in need. They therefore accept him into their conclave. Mercer is agreeable, and begins doing his part of the work. Pela, one of the woman, is especially opposed to his presence, but grudgingly accepts the ruling.

However, the Council which governs the conclaves has restricted technology while they study its impact, presumably wary given the past destruction it caused. Mercer is unwilling to accept this, and says the conclave should take care of its own first, which Hera rebukes as the kind of philosophy which caused the war.

Because of their new relationship, Miranda goes along with Mercer's plan to steal electricity from Hyacinth after they refuse to trade for it. He had noticed that the mill wheel was equipped with a backup generator that had broken a long time ago, and the neighboring conclave had disused power lines.

Mercer is not the only man left alive anymore. Eleven others, like him, were unthawed. The Council found their pods during an excavation, then placed them near different conclaves before unthawing them, as an experiment to see what would happen. In every case, there was strife and destruction.

In a building near where they are, however, one man is left alive in cryogenic hibernation. the machinery of the hibernation capsule he's held in begins thawing him out, and the man staggers into their midst, astonishing all of them.

Many of the women in their [[TitleDrop enclave of Lithia]], as they call it, are displeased by his presence however. To them, all men are destructive, and their acts were the source of the devastation they occurred. According to their beliefs, the Goddess destroyed all the men as punishment.

Mercer opposes them having to simply accept this, proposing that they trade with them for electricity, since the wheel has a motor that is broken too, and Hyacinth still possesses a working power plant. Mercer is also dismayed at seeing that they're required to away supplies for other enclaves deemed as needing them more.

He surreptitiously taps into their power lines, getting the wheel running automatically. Mercer easily seduces another woman, Ariel, who's equally fascinated by him. After they have sex in the wheel room, however, he sees it stop working. Hyacinth had learned of what he did and disconnected the cable.

From this and his prior visit too, Hyacinth's leader had grown suspicious, so her hunters were ordered to patrol the area. Thus, when Mercer goes back to fix it with Miranda, they are approached by a female archer who orders him to get down with her bow nocked. Miranda, to defend him, shoots the woman with his pistol.

Mercer is put back into the cryogenic pod, despite his protest that he meant only to help. As they put him, Hera tearfully says farewell and calls him Jason. Mercer is shocked, asking how she knew his first name, and we see the locket in her hand displays his photo. He was her fiancee, all of those many years ago.

-->'''The Control Voice:'''Evolution teaches that the failure of a species to adapt will result in extinction. But could an entire gender fall victim to the same immutable loss?

-->'''The Control Voice:'''The differences between men and women have been debated among philosophers since recorded history began. If indeed males are by their nature the aggressor, it is this quality that may one day be their undoing.

* ThemeNaming: There are two examples of theme naming in the episode. Hera and Phoebe are named after female characters from Greek Myth/ClassicalMythology, while Lithia's neighboring enclave Hyacinth is named after a male Greek hero, in spite of the fact that this female-only world abhors men. Major Jason Mercer is presumably named after Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. The second is a more minor example which relates to
** Hyacinth may be be following a different theme, as it is also the name of a flower, and flowers are often associated more with women than men in real life culture and fiction.
''Theatre/TheTempest'': two of the other women are named Ariel (a male character in the play) and Miranda.

** Hyacinth may be an aversion however, as it is also the name of a flower, and flowers are often associated more with women than men in real life and fiction.

* ThemeNaming: There are two examples of theme naming in the episode. Hera and Phoebe are named after female characters from Greek Myth/ClassicalMythology, while Lithia's neighboring enclave Hyacinth is named after a male Greek hero, in spite of the fact that this female-only world abhors men. Major Jason Mercer is presumably named after Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. The second is a more minor example which relates to ''Theatre/TheTempest'': two of the other women are named Ariel (a male character in the play) and Miranda.

* INeverToldYouMyName: This is part of the DownerEnding." [[spoiler: Set in the post-apocalyptic commune of the title - entirely populated by females due to a plague having killed all but a few cryogenically frozen men - a defrosted male is put back into freeze after his aggressive tendencies cause tragedy, and the leader of the commune (who says "Goodbye, Jason" as he's frozen, even though he never... you know) is his lost love.]]

* DirtyCommunists: The female society in the future appears to be communist, allocating resources and supplies based on need, as decided by their Council. Mercer, a man from the man, does not like this attitude one bit.

In an a building near where they are, however, one man is left alive in cryogenic hibernation. the machinery of the hibernation capsule he's held in begins thawing him out, and the man staggers into their midst, astonishing all of them.

Many of the women in their [[TitleDrop enclave of Lythia]], as they call it, are displeased by his presence however. To them, all men are destructive, and their acts were the source of the devastation they occurred. According to their beliefs, the Goddess destroyed all the men as punishment.

Miranda, one of the women that was more open to Mercer, becomes interested in him, and the two have sex. Pelé, who is her lover, reacts with rage in private at discovering this, fingering her knife and seemingly wishing to kill Mercer for doing this. Hera relates to the girls that she once was engaged to a man, keeping a locket he gave her.

She is taken prisoner, and Mercer goes to Hyacinth, offering them supplies for her return. However, their leader refuses. He then reveals that Pelé, Ariel and he have taken one of Hyacinth's hunters prisoner, threatening to kill her if Miranda isn't released. Hyacinth's leader relents, and agrees to the exchange.

* BiTheWay: Miranda, presumably, since she's Pelé's lover but [[YourCheatingHeart later has sex with Mercer]], assuming that it isn't just {{sitch sexuality}} for her (we might guess that many women have such relationships, as there are no men).

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pelé take a shower together, in which they're having sex or about to when Major Mercer interrupts them.

* TokenMinority: Pelé is the only person of color in the episode, and the sole one among her community.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Pelé, the only person of color and also a lesbian.

Miranda, one of the women that was more open to Mercer, becomes interested in him, and the two have sex. Pelé, who is her lover, reacts with rage in private at discovering this, fingering her knife and seemingly wishing to kill Mercer for doing this. Hera relates to the girls that she once was engaged to a man, keeping a locket he gave her.

She is taken prisoner, and Mercer goes to Hyacinth, offering them supplies for her return. However, their leader refuses. He then reveals that Pelé, Ariel and he have taken one of Hyacinth's hunters prisoner, threatening to kill her if Miranda isn't released. Hyacinth's leader relents, and agrees to the exchange.

* BiTheWay: Miranda, presumably, since she's Pelé's lover but [[YourCheatingHeart later has sex with Mercer]], assuming that it isn't just {{sitch sexuality}} for her (we might guess that many women have such relationships, as there are no men).

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pelé take a shower together, in which they're having sex or about to when Major Mercer interrupts them.

Miranda, one of the women that was more open to Mercer, becomes interested in him, and the two have sex. Pelé, who is her lover, reacts with rage in private at discovering this, fingering her knife and seemingly wishing to kill Mercer for doing this. Hera relates to the girls that she once was engaged to a man, keeping a locket he gave her.

She is taken prisoner, and Mercer goes to Hyacinth, offering them supplies for her return. However, their leader refuses. He then reveals that Pelé, Ariel and he have taken one of Hyacinth's hunters prisoner, threatening to kill her if Miranda isn't released. Hyacinth's leader relents, and agrees to the exchange.

* BiTheWay: Miranda, presumably, and apparently Pelé's lover but [[YourCheatingHeart later has sex with Mercer]], assuming that it isn't just {{sitch sexuality}} for her (we might guess that many women have such relationships, as there are no men).

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pelé take a shower together, in which they're having sex or about to when Major Mercer interrupts them.

Miranda, one of the women that was more open to Mercer, becomes interested by him, and the two have sex. Pela, who is her lover, reacts with rage in private at discovering this, fingering her knife and seemingly wishing to kill Mercer for doing this. Hera relates to the girls that she once was engaged to a man, keeping a locket he gave her.

She is taken prisoner, and Mercer goes to Hyacinth, offering them supplies for her return. However, their leader refuses. He then reveals that Pela, Ariel and he have taken one of Hyacinth's hunters prisoner, threatening to kill her if Miranda isn't released. Hyacinth's leader relents, and agrees to the exchange.

* BiTheWay: Miranda, presumably, and apparently Pela's lover but [[YourCheatingHeart later has sex with Mercer]], assuming that it isn't just {{sitch sexuality}} for her (we might guess that many women have such relationships, as there are no men).

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pela take a shower together, in which they're having sex or about to when Major Mercer interrupts them.

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pela take a shower together, in which they seem to be near or having sex when Major Mercer walks in on them.

* ShowerOfLove: Miranda and Pela take a shower together, in which they seem to be nearing having sex when Major Mercer walks in on them.

* OneWorldOrder: The society in the future is ruled by a body named the World Council.

* OneWorldGovernment: The society in the future is ruled by a global council as part of what appears to be a communist system.

* PrisonerExchange: Mercer tries to trade Miranda, who's being held prisoner, for a woman who is from the enclave holding her. Sadly, the exchange turns into a battle, resulting in her and Ariel's deaths.

* StrawFeminist: The women in the future heavily come off this way, outright stating all men are inherently violent as they "worship death" while women instead "worship life". Additionally they're communists and pacifists, with a Goddess religion. The plot appears to agree with them too.