Line #55 Recap/BlakesSevenS4E3Traitor


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blakes_7_traitor.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:New ship. New crew. [[SequelReset The Federation's strong again.]]]]
3	[[AC:Written by Creator/RobertHolmes.\
4	Directed by David Sullivan Proudfoot.\
5	Airdate: 12 October 1981.]]
6
7	When Avon discovers that the Federation has reconquered several former colonies in a surprisingly short time, he is determined to find out why. Tarrant and Dayna teleport down to the planet Heliotrix where they encounter a deadly web of intrigue, a drug with terrifying applications, and the return of an old foe.
8	----
9	!!This episode has the following tropes:
10
11	* BattleDiscretionShot: A FogOfWar arises during the hand-to-hand combat scene, to hide the fact that it's filmed in a studio.
12	* {{Blackmail}}: Leitz suggests to 'Commissioner Sleer' that she use her influence to make him the new President of Heliotrix to replace Practor. In exchange he'll keep quiet about her being Servalan. Given that Leitz already suspects that she killed Praetor to keep her secret he's TooDumbToLive, as Servalan rapidly demonstrates.
13	* BlatantLies:
14	-->'''Quute:''' Wanta?
15	-->'''General:''' That's our next assignment. Something to look forward to, eh?
16	-->'''Quute:''' Yes, sir, [with patent insincerity] I'm looking forward to that no end. [beat] [[IveHeardOfThatWhatIsIt Where exactly is Wanta, sir?]]
17	** After Servalan shoots a cripple, Leitz enters and says, "If you need a witness, Commissioner, I can swear it was self-defense."
18	* BittersweetEnding: All of last season's gains [[AllForNothing have been for naught]], what with Servalan still alive and a resurgent Federation easily taking back TheEmpire thanks to Pylene-50. The only consolation is that our protagonists have got hold of an antidote.
19	* BoringButPractical: Forbus has made an old-fashioned nitroglycerine bomb using the resources in his laboratory.
20	* BBCQuarry: Binnegar Heath Sand Pit in Dorset.
21	* CannonFodder: The General orders out a patrol to check the results of the missile strike. Rather than use their own troops, he suggests a unit of adapted Helots they've been training.
22	-->'''Quute:''' Yes, I've seen them.
23	-->'''General:''' What do you think of them?
24	-->'''Quute:''' They seem like all Helots after adaptation: suggestible, obedient, glad to follow orders. They should make excellent troops.
25	-->'''General:''' I don't know. Something missing, I think. [[HeroicResolve Fire in the belly]], Quute. You can't fight without it.
26	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Avon tells Tarrant that he's only to gather intelligence on whatever GameChanger the Federation has got hold of, even if the entire population of Heliotrix is being lined up and shot. Sure enough Tarrant refuses to teleport out when he discovers the rebels are walking into a trap.
27	* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive
28	* CompromisingCall: Avon calls Tarrant and Dayna while they're trying to hide from a Federation roundup. Fortunately they're not detected.
29	* DeadlyHug: Servalan stabs Leitz while snogging him.
30	* DeadManSwitch: Unfortunately Forbus doesn't have it in his hand when Servalan pays him a visit.
31	* DiabolusExMachina: The Federation changes from a VestigialEmpire to GalacticConqueror, and Servalan returns from a NoOneCouldSurviveThat fate to become the main antagonist for our heroes.
32	* DissonantSerenity
33	** After being given Pylene-50, Igin casually informs his interrogator of the resistance plans, and has no reaction to the news that his hometown and [[CrushingThePopulace most of its inhabitants]] had been obliterated when they refused to surrender.
34	** Quute and Tracer play chess, have a meal or drink some tea while planning a ruthless pacification program.
35	** 'Adapted' Helot soldiers don't bother taking cover when they are ambushed.
36	* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: Leitz.
37	* EasilyConqueredWorld: Last time it took the Federation years to conquer Heliotrix. Thanks to Pylene-50, they've conquered it and several other planets in weeks.
38	* EyepatchOfPower: Colonel Quute
39	* EvenEvilHasStandards: The General isn't happy about the rebels being LuredIntoATrap and destroyed by remote-controlled charges as he respects the Helots as {{Worthy Opponent}}s, having once commanded a squadron of them.
40	* FauxActionGirl: Despite Soolin's much-hyped skills as TheGunslinger, Soolin remains on Scorpio while Tarrant beams down with Dayna. This is because she's taking a role originally allocated to Cally[[note]]This had to be rewritten when Creator/JanChappell declined to return for Season 4[[/note]] -- she makes up for this in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E4Stardrive Stardrive]]".
41	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
42	** Avon wants to upgrade Scorpio's engines so they can at least run away from the Federation if needed. He gets his wish in the next episode.
43	** The assassin [[StabThePicture destroys Servalan's portrait]]. Rather than a [[SmashTheSymbol gratuitous act of violence against the memory of a hated dictator]], it turns out to be Servalan destroying her own image so that no-one will recognize her.
44	** The General mentions the Helots ability in hand-to-hand combat. Colonel Quute finds this out the hard way.
45	* FullCircleRevolution: The forces that Servalan used to seize control back in Season B have been deposed, but that only means the old power structure is back in place and [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression determined to regain control of the newly-independent colonies]].
46	* GenderConcealingWriting: Commissioner Sleer's sex is never mentioned.
47	* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: Pylene-50 prevents the body from producing adrenaline. It's hard to rebel when you can't get angry or upset.
48	* GoodOldWays: The General isn't impressed with this brave new world of drug pacification and push-button warfare, saying there are times when you need to go in and do the job personally. Sure enough the Helot resistance avoid the missiles and tunnel trap, and defeat the Federation troops in hand-to-hand combat once they have immunity to their medical lasers.
49	* GovernmentDrugEnforcement: Federation troops are shown rounding up Helots in the city and shooting anyone who isn't 'adapted' with medical lasers.
50	* HandOfDeath[=/=]ShadowDiscretionShot: The mysterious assassin of the President-Elect.
51	* HumanAliens
52	-->'''Dayna:''' I didn't know Helots were originally from Earth.
53	-->'''Vila:''' Everyone came from Earth originally. That's a well-known fact.
54	-->'''Soolin:''' [[LostCommonKnowledge It's a well-known opinion]], actually.
55	-->'''Tarrant:''' Most well known facts are.
56	* HumansAreWhite: Apparently whoever cast the extras missed the note about the racial diversity of Helotrix.
57	* ItsProbablyNothing: The General thinks that Orac's hacking is just commercial espionage, until Quute informs him that anyone capable of hacking into their communications with Earth could access their military secrets.
58	* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Servalan goes into action wearing...[[WTHCostumingDepartment feathers?]]
59	* KickTheDog: Thinking that Forbus tampered with the Pylene-50 after the rebels aren't effected, Servalan decides to cut off his antidote for a few days, bringing him closer to death. In a PlotHole, she then shoots Forbus for no apparent reason (in the script it's because he tried to set off his bomb).
60	* LeaveNoSurvivors: Neither rebels or the Federation are much into taking prisoners; it's only averted when the medical injection lasers are used.
61	* MakeupIsEvil: Servalan is done up with [[ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow Egyptian goddess-like eye makeup]].
62	* MeaningfulName: The Helots were slaves of the Spartans in Ancient Greece. Here the Helots are a ProudWarriorRace who have been turned into slaves.
63	* {{Microts}}: Averted; 'miles' replaced the usual 'spacials' from this point due to ExecutiveMeddling.
64	* MrExposition: Quute and Tracer in the B7 tradition provide [[GreekChorus exposition on what's going on]].
65	* MuggedForDisguise: Tarrant and Dayna [[ChangedMyJumper stealing some local clothes]], leaving two Helots BoundAndGagged.
66	* MulticulturalAlienPlanet: Dayna is informed she won't stand out on Helotrix (ironically the [[EqualOpportunityEvil only black soldier we see is a Federation one]]).
67	-->'''Avon:''' When Helotrix was first settled, the old Stock Equalization Act was still in force. Every Earth race had to be represented.
68	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Orac can't be bothered working on Scorpio's drive modifications, so it delegates the task to a Federation computer. The hacking is intercepted and the Federation start searching for the source.
69	* NoNameGiven: The Federation general. There's also the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Tracer]], the soldier who is monitoring the TrackingDevice.
70	* NoSell:
71	** Forbus gives the rebels the antidote, so they're not affected by the medical injection lasers.
72	** The General relates an incident where aliens were impervious to DeadlyGas because they were gill-breathers.
73	* NothingUpMySleeve: Servalan hides a crystalline injector up her sleeve, that she uses to kill Leitz.
74	* PercussiveMaintenance: Vila says it’s the only way to deal with [[TechnologyMarchesOn solid-state circuitry.]]
75	* PickYourHumanHalf: Avon notes that Orac is likely sulking because he made it work on upgrading their engines, and the computer doesn't like to work any more than a human does.
76	* PlayingPossum: Hunda and his men pretend to be bodies killed by the missile strike. The adapted Helots placidly walk into the ambush, as they're not scared enough to look for traps.
77	* PoisonAndCureGambit: Servalan has poisoned the inventor of Pylene-50 leaving him a cripple, giving Forbus a SadisticChoice of working for her to produce a weaponised version (it was originally a muscle relaxant) or dying in agonizing pain because she's withholding the antidote.
78	* PowerPerversionPotential: Quute muses that he should take some Pylene-50 with him the next time he goes on leave.
79	* PressurePoint: Tarrant knocks out the guard outside the lab this way.
80	* TheQuisling: President-elect Practor is a Helot who's a long-time member of the Federation administration. He even used to work for Servalan, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor switching sides]] while all her loyalists were purged.
81	* TheRadioDiesFirst: Due to a malfunction the crew of Scorpio can hear Tarrant, but he can't hear their replies.
82	* TheRemnant
83	** Most of Servalan's old guard fought to the death (and many of those who didn't [[MakeAnExampleOfThem were purged anyway]]).
84	** Hunda's column is the only resistance unit active in the field.
85	* ResistanceAsPlanned: Leitz is not only a DoubleAgent, he's been coordinating the resistance columns with the intention of destroying them.
86	* ResistanceIsFutile
87	-->'''Quute:''' And you might tell Hunda that resistance is quite pointless.
88	* RightUnderTheirNoses: With Federation cruisers searching for them, Vila urges Avon to RunOrDie. Avon instead takes Scorpio down beneath the planet's cloud cover, betting their lives that the cruisers will be scanning outwards, not inwards.
89	* SchmuckBait:
90	** Leitz informs Hunda of a disused monorail tunnel that the rebels can use to infiltrate the city in force. It's mined with explosives.
91	** Tarrant knocks out a guard and takes his key. Then Dayna finds a ''second'' key hidden on the guard that's the real one; the first key sets off a BoobyTrap when used.
92	* SecretUndergroundPassage: LaResistance come up with several plans to infiltrate the [[SubspaceAnsible Magnetrix terminal]]. Tunnelling under isn't practical because the flood waters are too high. Then Hunda swims into the base via the cooling tunnels for the reactor to meet with Leitz, who informs him of a disused monorail tunnel that [[LuredIntoATrap could be used to bring in their entire force]].
93	* ShoutOut: The other resistance forces have fallen back to the [[Literature/TheTripods White Mountains]].
94	* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Despite this, Avon refuses to abandon the mission.
95	-->'''Vila:''' Blake would have been proud of you, you know.
96	-->'''Avon:''' I know, but then he never was very bright.
97	* SlaveMooks: Deconstructed; lacking aggression or fear of death, the adapted Helot force placidly walk into an ambush and are easily defeated.
98	* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Quute and Tracer play chess while coordinating the missile strike to wipe out the rebel column.
99	* StealthPun: There are four rebel columns mentioned, meaning the adapted Helot force would be a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_column Fifth Column.]]
100	* SpaceX: The RebelLeader Hunda has the rank of Star Major, despite fighting a purely planetary conflict. The Federation officers sneer at this civilian adopting a pretentious military rank.
101	* TakingUpTheMantle: With Blake reported dead, Servalan apparently dead, the Liberator destroyed and a resurgent Federation on the warpath, Avon is taking up Blake's role as RebelLeader instead of the crew becoming SpacePirates.
102	* TakingYouWithMe: Forbus plans to blow up Sleer the next time she comes round for some EvilGloating.
103	* TemptingFate[=/=]RhetoricalQuestionBlunder
104	-->'''Leitz:''' How many people have you killed to keep your secret?
105	-->''(Servalan jabs him in the neck and he dies)''
106	-->'''Servalan:''' 26. So far...
107	* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself
108	-->'''Avon:''' I didn't want [Servalan] to die like that anyway. ''(surprised look from Tarrant)'' I need... ''to kill her myself.''
109	* ThisCannotBe: Avon's reaction to the news that the Federation has just conquered Helotrix, and that Servalan is alive.
110	* TrackingDevice: Igin is given a drink with a tracer hidden in it, then released to make contact with the rebels. Colonel Quute launches neutron missiles on his location after the signal hasn't moved for an hour, assuming he's reached his base. Fortunately he's only reached the rendezvous point (the rebels having decided to wait for the cover of nightfall to bring him in) so the missiles only destroy Igin.
111	* TheUnreveal: How did Servalan get off the Liberator? It's not until "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E9Sand Sand]]" that we get an explanation.
112	* UnusualEuphemism: [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul 'Adapted']] and [[CrushingThePopulace 'pacification']].
113	* VillainExitStageLeft: Servalan flees into the jungle the moment the rebels appear to be winning.
114	* YouCanRunButYouCantHide: The Federation pursuing an aggressive plan of conquest is bad news for our heroes, now that they're tied to a base and crewing a slow planethopper.
115	-->'''Vila:''' If they keep expanding at this rate, we haven't as much time as you thought. They will be knocking on the door in a couple of years.
116	-->'''Avon:''' [[ThisCannotBe How are they doing it?]]
117	-->'''Vila:''' I don't know, but maybe we should start running now! I always thought your idea of having a combat base was crazy.

Context Recap / BlakesSevenS4E3Traitor