Resurrection Ship, Part II

"Resurrection Ship, Part II" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 2, Episode 12
Writer(s)	Ronald D. Moore Michael Rymer
Story by
Director	Michael Rymer
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain
Production No.	212
Nielsen Rating	1.9
US airdate	2006-01-13
CAN airdate	2006-04-01
UK airdate	2006-03-21
DVD release	19 September 2006 US 28 August 2006 UK
Population	49,604 survivors ()
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Resurrection Ship, Part I	Resurrection Ship, Part II	Epiphanies
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
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Listing of props for this episode
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Galactica and Pegasus engage in an all-out battle to destroy the Cylon Resurrection Ship.

Summary

Teaser

• Lee Adama is floating in a planetary body of water. He sees something approaching him—it is a Cylon Raider with a Viper in hot pursuit, and we return to reality to see Adama floating in space in his ejection seat.
• 48 hours earlier, Kara Thrace asks Lee Adama for backup on her mission to assassinate Admiral Cain. Adama accepts, and reassures Thrace of the importance of trust as he embraces her.

Act 1

• Karl Agathon and Galen Tyrol are bound and beaten in the brig by upset Pegasus officers, aided again by their Marines, until executive officer Jack Fisk arrives to break it up.
• Helena Cain and Kara Thrace have a drink together, and Cain asks Thrace to promise not to flinch when she has to commit a "terrible sin."
• Lieutenant Lee Adama makes a courier run to Galactica, taking the opportunity to ask his father about Thrace's special mission. Commander Adama is uninterested in discussing the issue, but young Adama is surprised to know that President Roslin is involved in the assassination plot.
• Thrace and Pegasus XO Jack Fisk both prepare for their assassination missions, as well as the attack on the Resurrection Ship.

Act 2

Cylon basestar under attack.

• Before Commander Adama proceeds with his assassination plan on Cain, he solicits advice from the cooperative Cylon captive, Sharon "Athena" Agathon, asking her why the Cylons hate humanity as they do. She reminds him of a portion of his decommissioning speech ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}, asking whether humanity has asked itself if it is deserving to survive despite its failings.
• The Battle of the Resurrection Ship takes place with Galactica and Pegasus circling one basestar which is apparently nearly defenseless without its Raiders and bombarding it with their gun batteries, destroying it before turning their attention to the second.
• During the battle, Lee Adama successfully uses the Blackbird stealth fighter to disable the Resurrection Ship's FTL drive with a missile, but collides with a downed Raptor while distracted. The collision destroys the Blackbird and forces Adama to eject.
• Floating in space, Adama finds that his flight suit has sprung a leak. Communications officer Dualla tries frantically to contact him, but Apollo does not respond by choice.
• As Adama watches, all the Vipers of both battlestars assault the Resurrection Ship, firing their guns through the windows and destroying it.
• On Galactica, Lieutenant Gaeta reports that the surviving Cylons are jumping away, meaning victory for the Colonials.
• Eventually, apparently giving up, Adama releases the last of the air in his flight suit and says, "I'm sorry, Kara," losing consciousness just as a SAR Raptor appears in the nick of time to save him. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson manages to revive Adama and reports the good news to Galactica.
• Gaius Baltar's feelings for Number Six transfer to the copy once known as Gina Inviere, who is tangible and more human than his internal Number Six. He repeats to Inviere a story told to him by Six about going to watch pyramid games, finally taking her hands in his as Baltar's internal Six disappears in sadness. As Inviere senses the destruction of the Resurrection Ship, she takes a sidearm from a Marine she kills, with Baltar's help, and asks Baltar to kill her, noting that suicide is a sin. Baltar refuses, gives her the sidearm, and tells her she needs justice, ostensibly referring to Admiral Cain and her tyranny.

Act 3

• Commander Adama and Admiral Cain both speak over wireless to conspirators Jack Fisk and Kara Thrace, respectively, but neither commander gives the order to assassinate the other.
• After the battle, Inviere encounters Cain in the her quarters, where Cain is taking off her uniform, and shoots her in the head (this time, with little reluctance). Cain is challenging to the last, unrepentant for the treatment that Inviere has received. Inviere soon disappears from Pegasus, with Baltar's help.

Act 4

• At Cain's funeral, Kara Thrace speaks admiringly of her, saying the Fleet would have been safer with her than it is without her. This statement raises a stare from Commander Adama.
• As Lee Adama confides to Thrace that he didn't want to survive the mission, Anastasia Dualla stands outside Adama's quarters eavesdropping, visibly worried about young Adama.
• Commander Adama reports to President Roslin about the failed assassination and their relief over his failure to go through with it. He also reports that Gina has gotten away clean. To his surprise and gratitude, Roslin uses her presidential power to promote him to Rear Admiral, citing that someone with the rank of Admiral commands more than one battlestar and joking about her lack of knowledge of military protocol. Now-Admiral Adama thanks her, admitting he'd long given up on being an Admiral though he never lost hope. Before Billy takes Roslin to bed, he gives her a sweet kiss that leaves both smiling.
• Roslin is now visibly weakened by her fight with cancer, and her composure and strength are failing. Her end appears near.

Notes

• Vireem and Gage's beating of Tyrol and Agathon with bars of soap stuffed inside towels used as slings is an homage to the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket, in which a similar thing happens to "Pvt. Pyle" in the Marine barracks at night. RDM points this out himself in the podcast. This is known as a "blanket party," where all the members of the squad take part so that the person who is "disciplined" cannot single any one out as the attacker.
• Lee Adama was demoted to lieutenant by Cain when she revoked his flight status. At the beginning of Part I, he is referred to as "Captain," but after Cain mentions that she revoked his flight status, Adama addresses his son as "Lieutenant". The official Scifi.com website was updated the week after this episode aired showing the new ranks of characters--Captain Kara Thrace, Admiral William Adama--but it also was changed to list Lee Adama as a lieutenant.
• Adama's experience of ejecting in the middle of the battle and watching it unfold around him is, according to the podcast, based on the real life experience of Ensign George Gay, sole survivor of his torpedo bomber squadron, during the Battle of Midway. Ens. Gay's plane was shot down and he witnessed the entire battle while floating in the ocean.
• The battle in this episode shares many similarites with the Battle of the Resurrection Hub in "The Hub:" both targets are the main sources of resurrection known at the time, both have two basestars being engaged by the main capital ship the episode takes place on (in that case the Rebel basestar), both have a trick being used on the Cylons, both have the FTL drive of the enemy being targeted and both have the Vipers deliver the final blow, in that case with nuclear missiles presumably supplied by the Cylons and both have at least one enemy basestar destroyed for sure with the other one possibly being destroyed but having an unclear fate. Both also deprive the Cylons of resurrection technology.

Analysis

• The beating of Helo and the Chief was edited so that in the teaser, all that is seen is the "Sunshine Boys" entering the cell with their Marines, about to tie the two up while making threatening comments. Given that they were involved in the gang rape of Gina, many viewers left the teaser fearing that far worse was going to happen to Agathon and Tyrol than simply being beaten with soap wrapped in towels.
• The basestar/battlestar battle is epic, although viewers do not see a great deal of it from a play-by-play standpoint. The pairing of an advanced battlestar such as Pegasus with the oldest battlestar, Galactica, likely illustrates why the Cylons used sabotage instead of all-out war to defeat the Twelve Colonies. With proper planning, battlestars working in tandem will obliterate a basestar in a close-range attack, which uses missiles and fighters, but appears to have no gun batteries itself.
• Lee Adama's collision with the downed Raptor occurs partly because Adama is looking behind him, examining the damage he dealt to the Resurrection Ship. This may be symbolic of one of young Adama's character flaws: he is always looking backward, always examining what he has done instead of keeping his attention on the here and now. For example in "Water," where he agonizes over firing on the Olympic Carrier while his father warns him specifically about not second-guessing himself. This theme also parallels Cain's words - which Starbuck echoes at her funeral - about not flinching or second-guessing when terrible things have to be done.
• Obviously, the writers felt that the battle is less important than the events planned immediately after - the mutual attempts by Cain and Adama to kill each other. Viewers enter the battle scene at the stage where the battlestars tackle the destruction of the basestars, although there was a ruse earlier involving the entire Fleet. This quick segue was also likely done in light of the cost for the visual effects, since the shots of the battlestar attacks would be new VFX and therefore expensive.
• The pregnant Sharon Valerii again shows that she has the memories of the 'original' Boomer, which was previously shown in the season opener when she started to tell Starbuck of the time they met. She also displays this in "Home, Part II" where she tells Tyrol she has some of Boomer's memories of him and in "Scar" where she displays some of Boomer's memories of Starbuck to the other's obvious discomfort.
• A new love triangle is formed as Gaius Baltar seems more fixated on the notion of Gina and her pain rather than the feelings of his virtual Number Six, who unsuccessfully pleads him not to aid Gina in killing herself. As he takes Gina's hand, the virtual Six disappears from view in the scene. Perhaps Baltar needed to touch a "real" Six copy, and is also swayed by her "humanity"--her vulnerability and weakness, as well as her differing interpretation on how she thinks God will forgive the Colonials for the destruction of the Cylon fleet.
• In another example of Baltar's ability to multi-task, he relates to Gina as his own the anecdote that Six told him (about purchasing two tickets when she went to see Pyramid games, as the extra ticket permitted her to imagine Gaius watched the game with her). The anecdote serves two conversations at once. The anecdote reinforces his bond with Gina and indicates to Six that flesh-and-blood Gina is of far greater importance to him than (presumably non-corporeal) Six, or the tens of thousands of Cylons who are about to die, permanently, with the destruction of the resurrection ship. Baltar's relationship with Six in the future will likely be a strained one.
• Admiral Adama's affectionate kiss with Laura Roslin, although not necessarily romantic in nature, opens up all kinds of new story possibilities and complications for the characters and the Fleet. It might have been considered by some viewers to be the most surprising part of the whole episode since no information on this scene was noted in advance of the show's airing. As noted by Ron Moore in the podcast commentary, the kiss was improvised by Olmos. Seasons 3 and 4 advance their mutual fondness, as shown in "Unfinished Business" and "The Hub," (where Roslin admits she loves Adama) leading up to a romantic relationship between the two that lasts until Roslin's death when she succumbs to her returned cancer.
• Lee Adama's motivation to die isn't fully explained. One reason could be that he learns that both his father and President Roslin, two of the persons closest to him, sanction the assassination of Cain, thus shattering his world view. But there are probably other factors involved too.
• Although its not clear, Cain's conversation with Thrace about not hesitating when forced to make a terrible choice and her calmness when Thrace was clearly nervous after the battle indicate that Cain may have anticipated Adama's plans and offered advice to Thrace in case she did go through with it as a subtle way of telling her she knew or encouragment of some sort.
• Thrace must have known that her mission to kill Cain would result in her death, as she would be in the middle of Pegasus' CIC, surrounded by armed Marines who would undoubtedly shoot her the instant Cain fell. This suggests that like Lee, she too had briefly lost the will to live.
• Despite her lack of knowledge of military protocol, which she even jokes about, Laura Roslin knows enough that Adama must be an Admiral to command two battlestars and promotes him to that rank. This also shows that in Colonial society, the President possesses the power to promote military officers, at least in lieu of higher ranking officers able to do so. It may also have been done so that the Pegasus crew would acknowledge Adama's authority over them. As Roslin seemed confused by the fact that Admiral Cain was now senior officer in "Pegasus," the fact that Adama now needed to be an Admiral may have been something she learned because of Cain's presence in the fleet and not prior knowledge.
• Adama tells President Roslin that he had long given up on becoming an Admiral despite never losing hope of attaining that rank. Given his long and distinguished history in the Colonial fleet, this may have been due to politics, especially given the incident with Bulldog and the Valkyrie which was damaging to his career as shown in "Hero."

Questions

• Why doesn't Cain issue the order for Adama's execution? Is it a change of heart or does she suspect that her life was in jeopardy by Thrace?
• Subsequent to Inviere's killing of Cain, Gina disappears from Pegasus and Colonial military imprisonment (as promised by Baltar). Where is she being hidden? (Answer)
• Baltar hands Gina a weapon in the ante-room of the Pegasus brig. Wouldn't a high-security area be equipped with surveillance cameras? Has Baltar disappeared as well?
• Viewers only see one basestar destroyed. Is the other destroyed as well, or is it able to jump away with the surviving Raiders and support ships?
• Is Lee Adama becoming depressed and unable to command his pilots? (Answer)
• How many new Viper squadrons and pilots have been added to the Fleet?
• How will Adama deal with the mob-level brutality that appears throughout Pegasus? (Answer)
• How closely have the Cylons studied the memories of Boomer aboard Galactica, and the other spies in the Fleet?
• How will Kara Thrace's comments at Cain's funeral affect her relationship with now-Admiral Adama? (Answer)
• In "Resistance," Baltar forces Boomer into revealing that eight Cylons are still in the Fleet. However, this obviously does not take into account the introduction of Pegasus. Thus, are there any more Cylon agents are aboard Pegasus? If so, what do they number?
• Will these agents be more careful in what they do, knowing that resurrection is no longer possible? (Answer)
• Will another Blackbird be constructed?
• Will Adama stay aboard Galactica now that he's been promoted? (Answer)
• Are there going to be any other promotions? (Answer)
• Who will become the CAG of Galactica as Starbuck and Apollo were assigned to Pegasus at the time Admiral Cain was assassinated? (Answer)
• What changes in the Cylon strategy will we see, now that the Resurrection Ship has been destroyed? (Answer #1, Answer #2)

Noteworthy Dialogue

• After the rescue of Helo and Tyrol by Fisk.

Jack Fisk: I don't want your thanks. I owe Lieutenant Thorne my life, as do many people on this ship.

Helo: He was trying to rape a prisoner!

Fisk: You can't "rape" a machine, Lieutenant.

• Sharon responds to Adama's question on survival.

Sharon Agathon: It's what you said at the ceremony before the attack, when Galactica was being decommissioned. You gave a speech, it sounded like it wasn't the one you prepared. You said that humanity was a flawed creation, and that people still kill one another for petty jealousy and greed. You said that humanity never asked itself why it deserved to survive. Maybe you don't.

• Helena Cain talking to Kara Thrace

Helena Cain: I know you're very close with Adama.

Kara Thrace: Yes, sir.

Cain: And I know he's a good man. And I know he's had to make some very hard choices over the last few months. Lord knows I have.

Thrace: Well, then maybe you can understand why he did what he thought he had to do when you said you were going to execute Helo and Tyrol.

Cain: Let me tell you something. I've had to watch a lot of kids be put into body bags. They're covered with flags and they float out that airlock. You think I don't understand his feelings towards his men? Sometimes terrible things have to be done. Inevitably, each and every one of us will have to face a moment where we have to commit that horrible sin. And if we flinch in that moment, if we hesitate for one second, if we let our conscience get in the way, you know what happens? There are more kids in those body bags. More kids floating out that airlock. I don't know why, but I have a lot of faith in you. And I want you to promise me that when that moment comes you won't flinch. Do not flinch.

• Speaking to Starbuck over wireless.

William Adama: I've been thinking about what we talked about before. It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of surviving. That's all.

• Before Gina's escape.

Gina: Suicide is a sin. But I need to die!

Baltar: What you need is justice. I know a place where you can stay, where you can be safe, where I can look after you.

Gina: Why—Why would you do that?

Baltar: Because I love you.

• In Cain's quarters after Gina's escape.

Gina (confronting Cain with a gun): Tell me, Admiral. Can you roll over? Beg?

Helena Cain: Frak you.

Gina (right before shooting): You're not my type.

• Kara's eulogy at Admiral Cain's funeral.

Kara Thrace: I, um, only knew Admiral Cain for a short time, so what I have to say about her will be short. She faced things. She looked them right in the eye and she didn't flinch. That's something that we do a lot around here. We second-guess. We worry. When I think about what she went through after the attack—all alone, one ship, no help, no hope—she didn't give up. She didn't worry. She didn't second-guess. She acted. She did what she thought needed to be done, and the Pegasus survived. Might be hard to admit, or hard to hear, but I think that we were safer with her...than we are without.

• Kara talks to Lee after his rescue.

Kara Thrace: Lee. Lee, you okay? Are you okay?

Lee Adama: No, not really. Um...I broke my word to you.

Thrace: What are you talking about?

Adama: I let you down. I wasn't there when you needed me.

Thrace: Look, a close call like that? That'd mess with anybody's head. Alright? You know, it turns out I didn't need you anyway, so... Let's just be glad that we both came back alive, alright?

Adama: That's just it, Kara. I didn't want to make it back alive.

• Laura discusses Adama's new job after Cain's funeral.

Laura Roslin: Rumor has it that I know very little about military protocol, but I do believe that someone who commands more than one ship is called an admiral. Congratulations, Admiral Adama.

William Adama: Thank you, Madame President. Thank you, Billy. I um, never gave up hope, I just stopped trying to get these a long time ago.

Roslin: Just goes to show you, Bill. Never give up hope.

Adama: Same goes for you, Laura.

Cast

• Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Paul Campbell as Billy Keikeya
• Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Felix Gaeta
• Kandyse McClure as Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla
• Graham Beckel as Colonel Jack Fisk
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Vincent Gale as Chief Peter Laird
• Peter-John Prinsloo as Lt. Mei "Freaker" Firelli
• Brad Dryborough as Louis Hoshi
• Mike Dopud as Specialist Gage (uncredited)
• Derek Delost as Specialist Vireem (uncredited)