Red Dwarf: The Promised Land (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The three cat clerics recognize Lister as their god because, according to their religious prophecy, their deity is a three-eyed human who arrived on their homeworld. Lister matches this description, and the clerics have been waiting for his arrival. When they meet him aboard the Iron Star, they immediately pledge their allegiance to him.

• cat clerics
• lister god
• felis sapiens
• worship

The Anubis Stone appears to be polished beetle dung on the outside, which Kryten correctly identifies early on. However, this outer layer is just a shell covering the real Stone, which contains immense power capable of recharging Rimmer's Diamond Light form and reviving Kryten. Lister discovers the true power source by removing the beetle dung coating.

Foreshadowing: Kryten's initial analysis of the stone as beetle dung turns out to be only partially correct.

• anubis stone
• beetle dung
• power source
• crystal

Rimmer loses his Diamond Light powers because he ignores all safety precautions and uses the technology recklessly before running any tests. This destroys his Light Bee's battery, leaving him with only a few minutes of power. He becomes dependent on being plugged into a mains power supply to survive, forcing him to stay connected to Kryten for sustenance.

• rimmer
• diamond light
• light bee
• battery
• superpowers

Rimmer, reduced to a black-and-white low-energy form to conserve power, contacts Holly aboard Red Dwarf. He convinces Holly to upload his last saved backup files from the original Holly. This restoration brings back Holly's old personality and previous memories, allowing him to help the crew by launching a mining torpedo that destroys the moon and clears their escape path.

• holly
• memories
• backup
• restore
• computer

When Rodon leaves a bomb aboard Red Dwarf to kill the crew, Lister realizes the Anubis Stone's beetle dung shell hides the real power source. He transfers this power to Rimmer, recharging his Diamond Light form just in time. Rimmer takes the bomb out into space and detonates it harmlessly, saving everyone aboard.

• bomb
• anubis stone
• rimmer
• detonation
• red dwarf

After Lister helps the clerics and shows them the truth about their prophecy, they realize their original beliefs were misguided. They decide to follow Rimmer as their new god because of his heroic actions in saving the crew and defeating Rodon. Rimmer's sacrifice of his superpowers to revive Kryten cements his status as their new deity.

• clerics
• worship
• rimmer
• religion
• cat fleet

During the battle, Lister and Rimmer use a laser pointer aimed at Rodon. This causes Rodon's own crew to think he's being attacked, triggering them to attack him in return. This confusion causes Rodon's ship to lose control and crash into an asteroid, destroying him and his entire fleet.

• rodon
• laser pointer
• battle
• asteroid
• defeat

Kryten becomes Rimmer's power supply after Rimmer's Light Bee battery is depleted by his reckless Diamond Light use. Rimmer must stay plugged into Kryten to exist, which drains Kryten's systems and eventually causes him to shut down completely. To save Kryten, Rimmer must sacrifice his Diamond Light powers entirely.

• kryten
• power supply
• rimmer
• battery
• diamond light

Rodon arrives at the Iron Star to claim the Anubis Stone and immediately orders the ship destroyed. The Dwarfers and clerics flee back to Starbug just before the Iron Star is destroyed by Rodon's fleet. The debris from this destruction subsequently causes Starbug to crash land on a desert moon.

• iron star
• destruction
• rodon
• debris
• crash

When Lister reboots Holly from the original startup file, Holly doesn't recognize the crew and sees the ship as obsolete and serving no logistical purpose. Following his pre-programmed instructions to dispose of abandoned ships, Holly decides to destroy Red Dwarf, forcing the crew to flee in Starbug.

• holly
• red dwarf
• destroy
• abandoned
• ship