Both admirals share last names with real U.S. Navy admirals, Halsey (William F. Halsey, WWII fame) and Perry (Oliver Hazard Perry, who won the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, and his brother Matthew C. Perry who opened up trade with Japan). Robert Peary, whose name is a near homonym, led the first successful North Pole Expedition in 1909.
John Fleck (Krill Ambassador) played Silik of Suliban in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). Like the Krill, the Suliban started out as an antagonist, but became later allies with Earth's fleet against a larger threat.
The episode title refers to a paraphrased quote by Thomas Jefferson which was "the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of patriots."
Gordon and Leyna watch the last scene of Planet of the Apes (1968) showing Charlton Heston exclaiming "You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!" Seth MacFarlane has parodied the same scene in numerous cartoons.
The Pelpifa from Xelaya is similar to the Holophonor featured in Parasites Lost (2001) and The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings (2003), which was also inspired by the Visi-Sonor from Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire.