Season 3, Episode 13:
Abaddon’s Gate
Ashford puts his plan to destroy the Ring into motion. Meanwhile, Holden learns how to lift the speed limit from the Investigator, and tries to convince the rest of the fleet to cooperate.
Tropes:
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Drummer is prepared to blow herself up to take Diogo down with her, but just as he reaches her and she's about to detonate the grenades, Naomi makes the elevator fall on him.
- Ashford's men are about to shoot Holden and Naomi when Clarissa distracts them all by first attacking some of them, then knocking Ashford down before he can fire the laser, and finally, forcibly shutting down the reactor, taking a bullet in the gut for her efforts.
- Chekhov's Skill: Clarissa shuts down the Behemoth's reactor by plugging a particular module in backward. Ren taught her about this design flaw, which causes a cascade failure in the ship's power grid, in her first episode.
- Defector from Decadence: Bobbie once again defects from the Martian Marine Corps (saving Alex and Amos from her own squad), with the implication being that this time she's left for good, as the last time she's seen in the season, she's aboard the Rocinante.
- Heel–Face Turn: Clarissa Mao is the one who prevents the firing of the Behemoth's beam and forcibly shuts down the reactor.
- Hero Antagonist: Ashford is genuinely trying to do what he thinks is right and necessary, believing that he's sacrificing the people inside the Ring to save the rest of humanity.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. Drummer is clearly expecting to blow herself up in order to stop Diogo, but Naomi drops an elevator on him before she gets the chance.
- Hollywood Healing: Bobbie and Clarissa both take bullets to the stomach at different points in the episode and are both shown to be bleeding copiously from them (especially Bobbie) but survive none the worse for wear (though Clarissa is still in the medical bay at the end). Somewhat justified due to the better medical technology, though Bobbie in particular is lucky she didn't bleed out before receiving treatment.
- Loyal Phlebotinum: Fortunately for Holden, Naomi, and Drummer, the suit of MMC Goliath Power Armor (specifically, Bobbie's armor!) that Diogo steals won't let him operate any of its weapons.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Humans now have access to other solar systems.
- Scenery Porn: The ending shot of the Ring Network from the surface of an alien world is magnificent.
- Sequel Hook: The Ring Network, leading to some 1300 other systems, has been opened, and the speed limit of the Slow Zone has been removed.
