Recap / Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water E 15 The Nautilus Faces Its Biggest Crisis

Tropes in this episode:

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Nadia's been trying to bring Jean around to her way of thinking re: Nemo and the Nautilus. She finally gets it...in the worst, most cruel way possible.
• The Bus Came Back: Captain Melville, Holland, and Ayerton all return for the first time since Episode 03.
• Broken Pedestal: Jean's faith in the science and technology Nautilus gets hit *hard* by Fait's death.
• Call-Back: Nadia refuses the artificial flowers because they remind her too much of Gargoyle's artificial garden.
• Continuity Nod: The Gratan is still undergoing repairs for the events of Episode 10 (and the specialized diving equipment has been removed and is off to the side in the episode's opening shot). Considering the entire tank was flooded and nearly sank (not to mention Hanson's own crewman duties to the Nautilus), it makes sense he's still at work.
• Dramatic Irony: Melville, Holland, and the rest of the American Naval flotilla think they're stopping the Sea Monster(s) when they're actually attacking the very people who've been trying to stop the true perpetrators. Likewise, Ayerton thinks they're avenging Nadia and Jean (who he believes died when they went overboard in Episode 03) without realizing they're not only still alive, but on board the submarine his countrymen are currently shelling.
• EMP: Kinda. The Garfish mines are, for all intents, a steampunk version of the technology meant to disrupt the Nautilus' engines.
• Face Death with Dignity: Brutally deconstructed. Fait tries to do this and initially is resigned to his death if it means the ship survives. But, then reality ensues and the prospect of dying so young and like this finally overwhelms Fait's stoicism and rationality. He has an emotional breakdown over the intercom (which then triggers one from Jean).
• False Flag Operation: Gargoyle sets up one as part of his latest Xanatos Gambit. He easily suckers Melville into attacking the Nautilus. By sending a Neo-Atlantean agent in a mask and a pirate hat to drop an "anonymous tip about the 'Sea Monster' (i.e. the Nautilus).
• Foreshadowing:
  • The Nautilus Craftsman's Plate is another major clue for the Ancient Astronauts reveal, stating the craft was 'launched into the stars'. Electra even intentionally plays coy when Jean asks her about the translated message.
    • Similarly, Nadia is able to translate the plaque's unknown language without difficulty and seemingly out of nowhere. She is reading ancient Atlantean and for all intents and purposes, this is a knowledge that is inherent in her even when she was taken out of Tartessos when she was barely a toddler — meaning that she is not an ordinary human being.
  • While the Nautilus has taken some hits and damage here and there, this is the first episode to definitively demonstrate it's not the invincible vessel Jean and the audience have come to think of it since Episode 04. This episode's ass-kicking in many ways sets the stage for the fateful events of Episodes 21-22.
  • Ayerton vanishes following his cameo and we don't see him in the battle's aftermath. We'll find out why come Episode 27.
• From Bad to Worse: The half-crippled Nautilus survives the Garfish attack and surfaces to make repairs...only to find an American flotilla waiting for them.
• Hero Antagonist: Melville and the American Navy this time around.
• Heroic BSoD: Jean.
• Hope Spot: Again, the Nautilus surviving the Garfish attack, only to get hit with the American flotilla. Jean even remarks just as the attack opens that he thought they were out of danger.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Nadia breaks into tears after Grandis slaps her. Jean does the same after Fait dies.
• Internal Reveal: Melville and Holland finally learn the 'Sea Monster' is a submarine, but they don't learn anything else beyond that.
• It's Personal: Melville is out for revenge for the Abraham crewmen he lost to the 'Sea Monsters' during Episode 03.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Downplayed. With the Abraham either still under repair or decommissioned, Melville has transferred his flag to a similar class of battleship.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Despite ostensibly being a kids show, Fait's death is potent Nightmare Fuel. It's not depicted on-screen. We only hear it over the intercom, forcing our minds to fill in the blanks and visualize his death throes.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Grandis slapping Nadia after she calls Nemo a monster for being willing to sacrifice Fait and the others. However, the slap is less shocking than Grandis' words afterward. Grandis isn't defending Nemo out of her infatuation for the Captain. She's defending him, because Grandis understands (likely based on having lost everything and everyone herself) how much having to sacrifice Fait and the others is tearing Nemo apart inside.
• Playing Possum: How the Nautilus tries to escape the American flotilla. Unfortunately, it leads into the Sadistic Choice.
• Remember the New Guy?: Ensign Fait. He's never seen amongst the existing Nautilus crew in the preceding episodes and his purpose is pretty much to just be the first on-screen Nautilus Red Shirt — and to break Jean's idealistic view of science and technology. This can be semi-justified based on Jean and Nadia realizing during Episode 12 that there are more people aboard the Nautilus than they thought and they haven't met/interacted with all of them.
• Sadistic Choice: The Nautilus springs a reactor leak while playing possum, which will kill Fait and two other crewmen trapped in the compartment (and they can't vent it due to the damage and safety measures). If they don't surface, they'll die...but if they do surface, the American flotilla will resume their attack — and with the damage they've sustained, the Nautilus is in no shape to fight back.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The Abraham is either still undergoing repairs after the events of Episode 03, or has been deemed not salvageable. Its exact fate is left unknown, but either way, Melville and Holland have had to transfer their flag to a new vessel.
  • Similarly, after one battleship got its ass kicked by the 'Sea Monsters', Melville's brought in reinforcements this time to try and overwhelm the 'beastie' with numbers and firepower.
• Taught by Experience: Again, Melville adjusts his tactics against the 'Sea Monster' after the harsh lessons of Episode 03.
• Unwitting Pawn: Melville and the American Navy to the Neo-Atlanteans.
• Wham Line: "The Eritrium. Launched into the stars Sidereal Year 7962." This is a Wham Line for both characters and audience, but it plays two different ways. In-universe, Nadia's translation is one for her and Jean, but they're focused on the translation (and that Nadia possesses this linguistic talent) rather than the actual meaning of the words. Only the audience recognizes the full significance of this dedication (especially 'launched into the stars') since Jean and Nadia don't recognize the conventions of the science fiction genre.
• Worf Had the Flu: Even if engaging the American flotilla was an option, the Nautilus is simply in no shape thanks to the battle minutes earlier with the Garfish and the ensuing damage.
• Xanatos Gambit: Gargoyle has one of his Garfish lure the Nautilus into a trap wherein new depth charges outfitted with an electromagnetic disruptor cripple the submarine. If the Garfish can destroy Nemo and company, great. If by chance they fail, Gargoyle still wins... because the Nautilus will have to surface to make repairs and will find an American Naval flotilla waiting for them (having suckered the Americans into being unwitting pawns in a False Flag Operation). The plan only fails because the Americans weren't able to finish the job before the Nautilus dove and forced Nemo to play possum.