Season 1, Episode 5:
Back to the Butcher
The Canterbury survivors try to figure out what to do with the Tachi - to make it harder to identify, they brainstorm a new name for it. Miller keeps trying to put together what happened to Julie, despite a Star Helix directive to look for the man who attacked Havelock instead.
In a series of flashbacks, we see the events which caused Fred Johnson to be dubbed "the Butcher of Anderson Station."
Tropes:
- Adaptation Explanation Extrication: In both this episode and the short story "The Butcher of Anderson Station," UN Colonel Fred Johnson massacres a group of mining insurgents who had already surrendered. The episode omits the explanation that Fred's superiors prevented him from seeing their surrender, giving Johnson the impression that the miners had forced his hand and given him no other choice. This is explained in Season 2.
- Bag of Kidnapping: At the end of the episode, Miller gets kidnapped off the street like this.
- The Butcher: Col. Johnson is labeled "The Butcher of Anderson Station" because of the way he stopped a strike there 11 years ago.
- Giver of Lame Names: Nobody likes any of Alex's name suggestions to replace the Tachi.
- Gonna Need A Bigger Warrant: Miller refuses to kick the Mao case upstairs even when he realises it's connected to the wider events taking place.
- Hidden Depths:
- Amos recognizes the name "Rocinante" and knows its literal meaning. He mentions knowing somebody by that name, but it's not clear if he recognizes the literary reference.
- Amos second guesses Naomi, something we've never seen him do. This in turn gets Naomi to change her mind about going to Tycho Station.
- It's Personal: Subverted; Miller is more interested in the Mao case than hunting down Havelock's attacker. When he's offered Kothari on a plate if he tells what he knows about the case, he refuses to bite.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Downplayed; Captain Shaddid makes it clear that if Kothari gets "accidentally" pushed out an airlock while they're trying to capture him, that's just fine.
- Meaningful Rename: The Tachi gets renamed the Rocinante.
- Must Have Caffeine: Holden is overjoyed to find the Tachi is well-stocked with coffee.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: In addition to "The Butcher of Anderson Station", Miller gets data on a ship called the Anubis which seems to have been involved with the incident on Phoebe.
- Powder Keg Crowd: Miller has an Oh, Crap! when he's on a tube train during a power cut and everyone starts staring at him. Fortunately the power comes on before things get ugly.
- Renegade Splinter Faction: Anderson Dawes claims that the rioters in the Medina sector are part of one of these, rather than actual OPA members.
- Shout-Out: Tech Noir.
- Spy Speak: To talk to the data broker, go to a particular shop and ask for a sherpa.
- Water Wake-up: Holden is awakened by a droplet of blood that's floating in zero gravity until it strikes his face.
- Worst Aid: In-Universe; with Shed dead the others have to work out how to treat the compound fracture in Amos' leg. Amos points out that Shed wasn't a real medic either, so they can hardly do any worse.
- You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: Holden points out that they're now the sole survivors of two different mysterious attacks, and even he wouldn't believe their story if he hadn't been there.Holden: We look like terrorists.
- Zipping Up The Body Bag: Alex to Lopez.
