Originally aired June 28, 1996
Written by Tracy Tormé
Directed by Richard Compton
The Sliders arrive on a world in the midst of an alien invasion. After Quinn shoots down one of the ships, he and the others soon learn the invaders are called Kromaggs, who can slide at will and plan to conquer every parallel Earth.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Alien Invasion: The Sliders land in the middle of one. Subverted in that the "aliens" turn out to be Kromaggs and therefore not actual aliens.
- Armor-Piercing Question: During her interrogation, Wade defiantly says that even if she did know her home's coordinates, she would never tell the Kromaggs even to save her own life."What if Quinn Mallory's life were at stake? Would that make a difference to you?"
- Batman Gambit: Convinced the Sliders don't know the location of Earth Prime, the Kromaggs had one of them implanted with a tracking device and manipulated their escape.
- Being Watched: The Gate Haven patient stops himself from telling the Sliders anything more, out of fear the Kromaggs are watching.
- Black Market: According to the prisoner, human eyes are quiet expensive on the Kromagg black market.
- Continuity Nod: Although the protagonists don't acknowledge his identity, the eyeless prisoner is none other than Conrad Bennish, Jr.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Despite his ramblings, the Gate Haven mental patient actually knew that the Kromaggs are interdimensional travelers.
- David Versus Goliath: Quinn is able to cause the manta ship to crash due to some technobabble involving the timer. Rembrandt likens the whole thing to the biblical David and Goliath.
- Divide and Conquer: Quinn observes how the Kromaggs have actively kept the entire group from being together during their captivity.
- Downer Ending: The Kromaggs implanted one of the Sliders with a tracking device and Mary aided in their deception.
- The Dreaded: The mental patient the Sliders encounter describes the Kromaggs thusly:"They're marauders, killers, and they eat eyes—human eyes. They came here to vanquish us—riding a wave of manta ships to our world and so, our Earth dies screaming."
- The End... Or Is It?: As the Sliders reflect on this adventure, the lead Kromagg says that they will be waiting for the day the Sliders find their home Earth.
- Eye Scream: The Kromaggs eat human eyes. A prisoner that the Sliders come across is revealed to be eyeless.
- Faking the Dead: Mary is seemingly killed by the Kromaggs. Of course, being their agent, she doesn't actually die.
- The Final Temptation: Rembrandt is prodded for information by a double of his father (essentially a symbol of the world he so badly wants to get back to). Arturo later says the Kromaggs repeatedly offered him whatever he desires in exchange for the coordinates to Earth Prime.
- French Jerk: The French waiter is actively antagonistic towards the English Arturo.
- From Bad to Worse: Being in Kromagg captivity is bad enough, but Arturo seeing the depths of their mental tricks makes him realize just how dire the group's situation is and dread what their endgame is.
- Gay Paree: San Francisco on the French world has accordion music, mimes, and more French clichés.
- Godzilla Threshold: In the last act, Arturo says they have no choice but to try to escape even at the risk of their lives. Wade and Rembrandt fully agree.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The eyeless prisoner calls guards on the Sliders simply because they can escape, and he can't.
- Imposter Forgot One Detail: Rembrandt meets a simulation of his father, who mentions his sister. Problem is, Rembrandt doesn't have a sister; this allows Remmy to figure out this isn't his father.
- Interrogated for Nothing: The Sliders repeatedly insist they don't know the coordinates to Earth Prime, but the interrogations continue. While the Kromaggs did want that information most of all, it should be noted that the interrogations served other purposes: learning everything possible about the group and their Earth, as well as pushing them into being desperate enough to attempt an escape.
- Irony: The mental patient sees the irony of the Kromaggs effectively coming "from right here."
- Lesser of Two Evils: Played for laughs. After returning to New France, Arturo admits it's at least preferable to a Kromagg prison.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Quinn is a little remorseful that his actions got the Kromagg pilot killed.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Arturo takes a dog tag off a deceased Kromagg so he and the others will have concrete evidence of the Kromaggs' existence. Unfortunately, doing so allows the Kromaggs to track down our heroes and capture them.
- "Not So Different" Remark:Wade: They remind me of some kind of hideous ape.
Arturo: What's disturbing about that face is not so much the ape in it, but the man. - Nothing Is Scarier: Rembrandt is troubled by the thought of what the Kromaggs will do to his father's double.
- Oh, Crap!: Arturo initially talks to a hallucination of Rembrandt, only to be quite stunned when the real one returns to the cell.Rembrandt: You look like you've seen the Devil.
Arturo: I think maybe I did. - Only Sane Sliders: Both Wade and Rembrandt advocate leaving the crashed manta ship be and getting out of there before someone comes looking for it.
- Organic Technology: The Kromagg manta ship is made of organic metal.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The Kromaggs could've simply killed the Sliders, but they wanted to learn everything they could about them and their world. Their interrogations also rely more on mental tricks than physical harm.
- Properly Paranoid: Before the Imposter Forgot One Detail, Rembrandt notices how nervous his "father" looks and gives him a suspicious glance.
- Psychic Powers: Kromaggs have them, as does Mary.
- Real After All: Arturo admits he thought the eyeless prisoner was just another Kromagg illusion.
- Tracking Device:
- Arturo takes a dog tag off a deceased Kromagg, not knowing that it can act as a tracking device. That's what allows the Kromaggs to track the Sliders down.
- It is revealed at the end of the episode that a tracking device has been planted on one of the Sliders before they escaped. "Common Ground" later reveals that the relevant Slider was Quinn.
- Translation Convention: Despite Mary's insistence that Kromaggs don't bother learning human languages, the final scene shows one speaking English.
- Underestimating Badassery: Arturo seeing that he was tricked into talking to a hallucination of Rembrandt causes him to realize they have seriously underestimated what the Kromaggs are capable of.
- Wham Episode: All of the group's Kromagg troubles begin here.
- Wham Line:
- Quinn at the amusement park: "Wade, the Kromaggs—they're Sliders!"
- In the last scene, the lead Kromagg speaks perfect English.
- Wham Shot:
- A second Kromagg manta ship emerging from a vortex.
- The neighboring prisoner turns out to be an eyeless double of Bennish.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Based on Rembrandt's interrogation, the Kromaggs believe it was Arturo that built the timer and not Quinn.
- You Did the Right Thing: Double subverted. When Quinn expresses remorse for accidentally killing the Kromagg pilot, Arturo says he killed an invading soldier. Mary casts doubt on this soon afterwards with a claim the Kromaggs were invited by the locals to quell a dispute, but she later admits this was a lie and that it was an invasion effort.
