In a private meeting, Juliette supports Warner’s plan to use Rosabelle’s vulnerabilities by having James befriend her, but James rejects the idea as messy and strange. Warner reminds James that his unauthorized mission created the situation and insists they exploit any advantage while they are in the discovery phase. James refuses, saying it feels wrong.

Kenji mocks James’s objection and points out that everyone has done uncomfortable things to survive, citing Juliette’s past when Anderson mind-controlled her into becoming a weapon. The mention unsettles Warner, who looks stricken, while Juliette gently reframes the trauma as having revealed the scope of Operation Synthesis and how destroying it severed the network. She adds that Warner suspects a new neural network has been deployed on the Ark and praises James for retrieving a chip that could prove it, jolting Warner out of his spiral.

James basks briefly in the acknowledgment, while Kenji continues with light teasing, and Warner protests the exaggerations. The conversation derails into banter about snacks and movie night, with Kenji and Juliette lounging amid junk food and Kenji advising James to prepare for “romance” as part of the plan. Warner and Kenji bicker about sharing popcorn, further undercutting the seriousness of the meeting.

The tone shifts when Kenji, after joking about heartbreak, admits lingering pain over Nazeera’s departure to West Asia, characterizing it as effectively being dumped due to distance and duty. Juliette and Warner try to respond, but Kenji shuts down the topic, then endorses Warner’s plan, arguing that James should pretend to be Rosabelle’s friend despite her having killed him and vomited on him, because it could yield useful results.

As James prepares to respond, Juliette suddenly doubles over with a sharp cry of pain. Warner reacts instantly, panicked, and the room’s mood flips from casual to urgent, leaving the plan unresolved and Juliette’s condition in question.