Editing Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

{{Episode Data
| image = Baltarlaydownburdensii.jpg
| title= Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II
| season= 2
| episode= 20
| guests= [[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]<br/>[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]<br/>[[Dean Stockwell]] as [[Cavil|Brother Cavil]]
| writer= [[Anne Cofell Saunders]]<br/>[[Mark Verheiden]]
| story= 
| director= [[Michael Rymer]]
| production= 220
| rating= 1.9
| US airdate= 2006-03-10
| CAN airdate=2006-05-27
| UK airdate= 2006-05-16
| dvd= {{Season 2.5 NTSC DVD release date}} '''US'''<br/>{{Season 2 PAL DVD release date}} '''UK'''
| population= 49550
| oldpopulation= 49579
| extra= '''Season Finale - 90 Minute Episode'''
| syfyname= lay_down_your_burdens_part_2
| prev= [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]
| next= [[Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance]]
| podcast= Y
| goof = Y
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:''Everything turns on its head as the survivors vote for a new president&mdash;and vote for their fate.''

== Summary == 

===On Caprica===

*[[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], the [[Marines]], and the [[Caprica Resistance]] continue to take fire from [[Cylon Centurion]]s and their artillery.  They make their way up a hill, and hold their position.
*The Cylons hold fire, and [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon Valerii]] remarks that the Cylons will attempt to capture them with non-lethal weapons, such as gas.
*Eighteen hours later, they emerge to find that the Cylons have disappeared.  [[Cavil]]&mdash;who suddenly appears behind them&mdash;announces that the Cylons have left the Twelve Colonies and that humanity is spared.

===In the Fleet===

*[[Cally]] is cleared for duty by [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]], despite having her jaw wired shut.  [[Galen Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] visits her, apologizing for the attack.  Cally forgives him, saying that she's always cared for him.

*[[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]] continues to gain in the polls.  On ''[[Colonial One]]'', [[Tory Foster|Tory]] mentions an alternative victory plan.  [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] later calls a private meeting with Dr. Baltar, asking to deliver a joint statement of [[Wikipedia:Table (verb)|tabling]] the issue of colonization until after the election. Baltar rejects the idea.

*Roslin, fearing that she has indeed lost the presidential race, confronts [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] on whether he was with a copy of [[Number Six]] on Caprica before the Cylon attack.  Baltar avoids answering the question and states that he may have [[Epiphanies|saved her life]], but he will not save her political life.

*{{callsign|Starbuck}} returns to ''[[Galactica (TRS)|Galactica]]'' with the resistance fighters, much to the delight of Admiral [[William Adama]].  She mentions the Cylon retreat from Caprica as Brother Cavil, leaving the Raptor, confirms it.  He also says he has a message, but is attacked by Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], who declares a "[[Code blue]]," claiming Cavil is a Cylon. Incensed that Caprica-Valerii did not reveal Cavil's true nature earlier, Admiral Adama orders both Caprica-Valerii and the second Cavil to the brig.

*The ''Galactica''-based Cavil (from last episode) is brought to the brig, claiming he's not a Cylon, but changes his tune upon seeing his "brother," as he calls him.  Caprica-Cavil then talks about the fact that the “war heroes” ([[Caprica-Six]] & [[Sharon Valerii|"Boomer" Valerii]]) have convinced their kind that the attack of the colonies and the pursuit of the fleet were mistakes.  Caprica-Cavil's mission was to relay the message that man and Cylon will go their separate ways.  Both Roslin and Admiral Adama are less than trusting regarding the message.

*In the brig, Caprica-Valerii is completely disillusioned and nihilistic, declaring that since her [[Hera Agathon|child's]] death, nothing&mdash;not Adama's trust or {{callsign|Helo}}'s&mdash;matters to her. A frustrated Helo insists that he's not giving up on her, but she seems disinclined to listen.

*Thrace and [[Samuel Anders|Anders]] are getting extremely drunk when Apollo comes in to welcome them back.  Starbuck makes a snide remark about Apollo and Dualla and goes back to drunkenly making out with Anders.  Apollo, clearly upset with Starbuck, leaves without saying much.

*Election Day has arrived and Baltar has an apparent five thousand-vote lead over Roslin with only five ships left to tally.  On ''Colonial One'', Foster activates her alternative victory plan with a call to ''Galactica.''  

*Amazingly, Roslin initially appears to have retained the presidency.  While most are celebrating, Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]] discovers fraudulent actions in the vote, and informs the Admiral that Col. Tigh (who acts suspiciously when questioned by Gaeta) may be involved in a conspiracy to throw the election.

*Admiral Adama confronts Roslin regarding the conspiracy, saying that Tigh has confessed to rigging the vote.  Roslin admits her involvement and Adama is disappointed. The Admiral indicates that, for good or bad, the people's vote must take precedence. Adama secretly buries the conspiracy itself while announcing the startling change in events to Dr. Baltar.

*Initially Baltar vows to have a full investigation on the vote count, but after Adama suggests that Baltar take his victory and leave matters be, Baltar relents and informs Adama that he can be quite generous in victory.  President-elect Baltar then orders a course for “[[New Caprica]].”

*Baltar and Gina consummate their relationship after Gina informs Baltar that she would not be part of the colonization.

*[[Gaius Baltar]] is sworn in as the new President of the Twelve Colonies, and orders the immediate colonization of New Caprica.

*Gina activates the nuclear warhead [[Epiphanies|given to her by Baltar]] aboard ''[[Cloud 9]]''. The nuclear blast destroys ''Cloud 9'' and at least three other ships.  Admiral Adama warns that this may be a prelude to a Cylon attack, but President Baltar ignores him and presses forward with colonization.

===One Year Later===
[[image:burdens2.jpg|Thrace and Cottle on New Caprica.|thumb]]
*President Baltar's administration appears to be corrupt, lax, and unresponsive. [[Felix Gaeta|Mr. Gaeta]], now the President's aide, reports issues with a worker's union.  Baltar is upset, saying there have been no Cylon attacks but the people still complain.  He has regressed, turning to alcohol, medication, and womanizing.

*Admiral Adama, now sporting a [[Adamastache|mustache]], walks the corridors of a near-empty ''Galactica'', which is quickly falling into disrepair.  Over half of the crew have moved down onto the planet, leaving the ship so short on crew that they barely have enough pilots to fly training missions, much less form up [[Combat Air Patrol]]s.  The long absence of the Cylons has left both the remaining crews aboard the [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]] and ''Galactica'' rusty, causing them to take a long time to go to [[Action Stations]].  Adama asks Tigh to retire from duty to join his [[Ellen Tigh|wife]] on the planet. Tigh reluctantly agrees.

*[[Samuel Anders|Anders]], now Thrace's husband, has pneumonia. Dr. Cottle is unable to treat Anders because there are no [[antibiotics]] available.  He can only advise Thrace to make sure Anders gets enough rest in order to recover.

*Thrace runs into the Tighs as [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]], now a union boss, is making a speech to begin a strike, with a very pregnant Cally by his side.  Col. Tigh mentions to Thrace that ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' keeps a store of backup medical supplies and that Commander [[Lee Adama]] might spring some for her.  Thrace disagrees, which prompts Tigh to state that Lee Adama should be over her harsh neglect of Adama's friendship after Anders' arrival a year before.

*Roslin returns to her teaching roots, teaching the settlement's children, and manages to find enjoyment in her new position.  [[Maya]] is with her, as is the now one year-old "[[Hera Agathon|Isis]]".

*Thrace calls Commander Lee Adama aboard ''Pegasus'' to request the antibiotics. [[Dualla]], ostensibly the ''Pegasus'' [[XO]], notices something on [[DRADIS]], to her horror.  

*A massive fleet of [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]s arrive in orbit around New Caprica.  The Adamas discuss what to do in response, with Lee initially advocating that the remains of the orbiting Fleet [[FTL|jump]] away. Admiral Adama initially resists, but orders the Jump, vowing that they will return.  

*A [[Leoben Conoy]]-model [[humanoid Cylon]] shows up at Thrace and Anders' tent, where he asks an ailing Anders about where to find Thrace.

[[Image:Baltarsurrender.JPG|thumb|"On behalf of the People of the Twelve Colonies, I surrender."|125px]]

*Mr. Gaeta informs the President of the Cylon approach.  Later, before his assembled staff, copies of Numbers [[Number Five|5]], [[Number Eight|8]], and [[Number Six|6]] approach the President.  The Cylons declare that as long as there is no resistance, no harm will come.

*President Baltar surrenders on behalf of the colonists after learning that the Cylons - scouting a star system one light year from New Caprica - discovered the planet because of the nuclear explosion set off by Gina. As Cylon forces occupy the planet, Thrace vows to resist.

== Notes ==
* According to Ron Moore's podcast, although the SciFi Channel was willing to air this episode as a 90-minute special, there also exists an 60-minute version for international distribution. In some markets outside of the United States, viewers might only see the 1 hour version of the episode, which Moore regards as "almost incomprehensible". Many plot threads, such as the entire Cally/Tyrol subplot, were completely removed for the one hour version. However, it appears that most non-American television stations also show the full version.

*In the podcast previous episode, he says that in early drafts of this special 90 minute long episode, the writers actually tried to make it a 2 hour special, but this was soon dropped (these times are including commercials).

*The election board appears to have a definitive list of the names of all of the ships in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]].  Not all of them are clearly visible, but this means that the writers do have an actual list that they get new ship names from.
**In fact, several ships from this list are mentioned by name in later episodes. For example ''[[Faru Sadin]]'', ''[[Chrion]]'', ''[[Thera Sita]]'', ''[[Demetrius]]'', ''[[Cybele]]'', ''[[Inchon Velle]]'', ''[[Hitei Kan]]'', ''[[Aurora (ship)|Aurora]]'' and ''[[Pyxis]]''.

*There were no Quorum or other local elections. The box of fake ballots from the ''Zephyr'' and the vote tally board for all of the ships contained only the names "Roslin" and "Baltar". The names of vice-presidential candidates, if any, were not on the ballots.

*Admiral Adama watches [[pyramid (RDM)|Pyramid]] games and was a fan of the [[Picon Panthers]].

*The framed photo of President Roslin and [[Billy Keikeya]] is still on Roslin's desk during the election.

*When Roslin "won" the rigged election results, Roslin received 24,265 votes, while Baltar recieved 22,266.  This means that the eligible voters in the Fleet number at least 46,531.  In the podcast, Ron Moore explains that he quickly came up with these numbers, to try to reflect roughly how many survivors are below the voting age.

*Toward the end of the episode, President Baltar refers to a government body called the "People's Council". This may be the proportionally elected lower house mentioned by Ron Moore in his [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/01/index.html#a000016 blog post] on January 30, 2005.

*[[Hera Agathon]] is seen on New Caprica in the same white cradle that Baltar had a vision of her being in in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]" and "[[Scattered]]".  According to Ron Moore's podcast it is actually the exact same cradle.

*Tyrol's union speech is an almost word for word quote of Mario Savio's address during the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in 1964.  According to Ron Moore and David Eick in the podcast, they even got permission from Savio's widow to use it (even though, due to the way copyright laws work from back then, they could have just used it without permission, they felt they should get it).  As a result, it's even listed in the credits: "Mario Savio speech excerpted courtesy of: Lynne Hollander Savio".  Actor Aaron Douglas (Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]]) actually studied film of Savio, so all of the hand gestures Tyrol makes when he gives the speech are  gestures that Savio actually used.

*Baltar's portrait of himself does not have the 'cut corners' as seen in almost all other papers and photos in the show.  Neither do the other framed pictures in the presidential office aboard ''Colonial One'', nor the papers in the classroom on New Caprica.

*[[:Image:LDYBSchool.jpg|Visible]] on the blackboard of Roslin's school are the French verbs ''aller'', ''avoir'', and ''être''. Either English isn't the only language spoken on the Twelve Colonies, or this might be a goof by the set designers trying to make it look more like a generic school.
**French has appeared in the show before. In "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]," Six uses the French word for momentum or surge, ''élan''. In "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]," Captain [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] uses the phrase ''esprit de corps''.
**There are also [[:Image:Chinese_characters.png|Chinese ideograms]] in an episode of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance|The Resistance]]'' webisodes.
**It is later definitively established that more than one language is spoken in the Colonies, with English being equivalent to Caprican (the common Colonial language, [[CAP]]: "[[Blowback]]"), Ancient Greek being equivalent to Tauron (''[[Caprica (pilot)|Caprica'' pilot]]), and Romanian being equivalent to Old Gemenese ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]," [[CAP]]: "[[Blowback]]").
**The official merchandise ''Beyond Caprica: A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies'' establishes Leonese as equivalent to French. It can therefore be presumed retroactively that Roslin was teaching Leonese verbs to her students.
* The story of the Fleet settling on New Caprica and being overrun by the Cylons is eerily similar to the story of the first episode of [[Battlestar Galactica (SDS)|Singer and DeSanta's revival attempt]]. The shot of Roslin teaching kids the history of the Colonies is also a, possibly unintentional, reference to that.

*This is the first episode in which all five [[Final Five]] Cylons appear in one way or another.

*Many of the events of LDYB I&II seem to recall events from the miniseries, but in reverse order.  The saga begins with a rousing speech from Commander Adama and ends with the Cylons reappearing after no one had seen or heard from them in a long time.

*Admiral Adama's promise to come back to New Caprica parallels US General Douglas MacArthur's promise that "I will return" after he was forced out of the Phillipine Islands by an overwhelming Japanese force during World War II.

== Analysis ==

=== Characters ===

*[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar's]] arrogance seems to have led to corrupt rule during his year on [[New Caprica]]; he replaces [[Laura Roslin|Roslin's]] modest desk with a more elaborate one, replaces the population count whiteboard with a portrait of himself, and keeps a harem aboard the grounded ''Colonial One''.
*It is ironic that the obligations of duty keep [[Lee Adama]] aboard ''{{RDM|Pegasus}}'' while everyone else goes planet-side. He is a reserve officer, and promised to build his pilots a bar as soon as they found a habitable planet.
**It is possible the bar was built and a bar area is seen in "[[Unfinished Business]]".
*Apparently, [[Kara Thrace|Thrace's]] comments about Lee Adama and [[Dualla]] have taken their toll on their relationship.  Whether the comments escalated is unknown, but, from Dualla's expression of annoyance when she hands the receiver to Adama when Thrace calls, it is clear that the three never reconciled with each other (See "[[Unfinished Business]]" for the answer).
*The Six and Eight that are part of the Cylon delegation that greets Baltar's cabinet are almost certainly [[Caprica-Six]] and [[Sharon Valerii]]. This is implied from Six's reaction upon seeing Baltar and her intimation that she knows who Baltar is. The two are also wearing the exact same clothes as in "[[Downloaded]]".
*Dualla's commission at that time is peculiar.  She was not a flight student, nor was this a typical "battlefield commission" of an outstanding sergeant in recognition of outstanding leadership; she was a so-called "desk jockey" who rarely supervised or led anyone.  Moreover, her commission came at a time of a massive demobilization of the colonial military.  In real-world militaries, reductions in force typically result in many officers being forced to accept enlisted rank as a condition of staying in service, rather than enlisted personnel being commissioned.  There are at least two explanations.  
**[[William Adama|Adama]] could have commissioned her in order to ensure her silence about the details of the rigged election which, despite his lack of involvement in, he wished to leave forgotten and unexamined.  As a lieutenant, she had much more to lose by talking about it and was reassured that she would not be made a scapegoat.  
**Alternatively, Admiral Adama knew of the seriousness of Dualla's relationship with Lee and made her an officer before they became public.  A commissioned officer - particularly a ''commanding'' officer and the son of the supreme commander - openly and notoriously bedding a junior enlisted soldier would have been severely detrimental to discipline and morale, and not something to which Adama could have turned a blind eye as he had the the Tyrol-Valerii coupling.  
:Exactly who would have had the legal authority to grant commissions at that point is also not known.  In the real-life United States, regular commissions (vice temporary "battlefield" commissions permitted under special circumstances in war zones) are issued by the President, with the consent of the Senate (to be sure, it is essentially a "rubber stamp" processing of the list provided by the individual services, but that was not so much the case in the era of a small standing military).  It is possible that [[Felix Gaeta]], as senior advisor to the President, arranged for the commission as a gift to his former colleague; this is made less likely, however, by his disapproval of the election fraud.
*In the "one year later" segment, most of the regular characters appear more or less as they did prior to the settlement, with two exceptions: Admiral Adama now sports a moustache (possibly a nod to Olmos' famous Castillo character in ''Miami Vice''), and Lee Adama appears noticeably heavier (which becomes a plot point in "[[Occupation]]").

=== New Caprica ===

*The events of the Cylon invasion and occupation of New Caprica were, according to Ron Moore, inspired by the 1940 German invasion of France and the subsequent collaborationist [[Wikipedia:Vichy France|Vichy regime]].
*After a year, everyone still lives in tents. Shortages of medicine abound, the military is of no use, and labor conditions are apparently intolerable. Baltar's administration is apparently as incompetent as Roslin feared, when she said he was ridiculously unqualified and had no idea how to be president. It is not clear to what extent these conditions are the result of administrative incompetence or the inherent difficulties of colonizing a marginally habitable planet.
*The population of New Caprica City is given as 39,192. There were just under 50,000 people in the Fleet before establishing the settlement, with the difference being due to the people remaining on the ships in orbit (roughly 2,200 military personnel and 2,000 civilians) and those having died in the nuclear explosion on ''Cloud 9'' or later from accidents and the harsh conditions on New Caprica (calculated at about 5,700 to 6,200, offset by births during the first year). See the ''Precipe'' section on [[Survivor Count]] for details.
*Any "industrial" vessels - such as the mining ships, tanker ships, repair ships, agricultural ships - would have landed on the planet and been dismebarked, dismantled, or converted to form the foundation for industrial efforts. Some of the vessels in the Fleet that left [[Ragnar Anchorage]] were not designed for prolonged interstellar journeys, and were basically running on a hope and a prayer, and would have been rendered promptly upon finding a more permanent home. The nineteen-or-so ships seen are, more than likely, the last space-worthy vessels in the fleet that are not needed (or capable of landing) planet-side.
**After a year, people are still living in tents and using landed ships as buildings, so it does not look like much has been dismantled or converted into raw production.  Other than the miners, who are apparently extremely unhappy at how things have been run, we see little evidence of industry or production over the year.

=== Other ===

*According to Ron Moore's podcast, the events of "One Year Later" are real and were meant to solidify to the audience that the show is taking a path that cannot be reversed.  In order to make the colonization of New Caprica real, Moore felt that the show would need to jump ahead in a span of year to show that indeed Baltar has followed through with his political promise.
*In the podcast for "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]" Ron Moore comments on how everyone assumed that ''Pegasus'' would be destroyed by the end of the episode, and thus he thought it would be a good twist to keep ''Pegasus'' alive as another ship in the Fleet. Speculators mistakenly assumed that the nuke that Baltar gave to Gina in "[[Epiphanies]]" would be used to destroy ''Pegasus'' (keeping in tune with the assumed destruction of the {{TOS|Battlestar Galactica|Original Series}} ''[[Pegasus (TOS)|Pegasus'']]).
*Twenty-nine people died between this episode and the preceding one. One or two Raptors were lost, and some Marines died on Caprica, but that doesn't seem high enough to account for this loss. Even if more people died during the attack on Caprica than shown, losses should be offset by the rescued resistance fighters.
* The Cylons were slightly over a light year away, according to the Number Five at the surrender. The radiation from the nuclear explosion on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' would, of course, only be traveling at the speed of light. There is inconclusive evidence whether the Cylon download process is limited to the speed of light or not. While it is likely that it is, an FTL capability in this area would indicate that [[Gina Inviere]] didn't manage to download. It should be noted that comments by the writers and subsequent episodes point out that she is truly dead despite the fact that ''[[The Plan]]'' states that there was a new [[Resurrection Ship]] within range of the fleet not long before her suicide. It may have been out of range as the Cylons stopped pursuing the fleet or she may have been [[Boxing|boxed]] due to her emotional state.
*Initially it remains open whether Roslin's threat to 'airlock' two Cavils was actually carried out. This is answered in a [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 2 (RDM)#Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|deleted scene]]. During their drinking scene, Tyrol tells Cally that the execution happened the previous night. It is later seen carried out in ''[[The Plan]]'' where its revealed that the a new Resurrection Ship was in range and the two would download when killed. Before that it was believed that when they were killed here it was permanent.
*In the Season 3 trailer that followed the end of the episode, Six narrates, saying that humanity has finally surrendered and the war is over.  According to Six, the Cylons can finally fulfill their "''true destiny''" and take care of humanity.  They desire to show humanity the "''glory of peace''," mercy; like God, their mercy can only be matched by their power and complete control.  So apparently, the war heroes have indeed changed the Cylons' prejudices toward humans, but unfortunately this also means that the Cylons believe that the only way to care for humanity is to control it.
**This narrative sounds more like Baltar's [[Virtual Six|internal Six]] (superior, controlling, zealous) than Caprica-Six (who is more of a people person).
*During the destruction of ''Cloud 9'', debris strikes the screen and knocks it away, cracking the glass, giving the viewer the impression that they are literally watching the action through a camera floating in space. The same effect was seen at the very start of the [[Miniseries, Night 1|Miniseries]].

== Questions ==

===Answered===
*Who is Baltar's vice president? ([[Exodus, Part I|Answer]])
*Has Gaeta's view of Baltar changed since Baltar's ascension to the presidency? If so, is Gaeta planning to do anything about it? ([[Exodus, Part II|Answer]])
*Where is Caprica-Sharon? ([[Occupation|Answer]])
*Why is Leoben looking for Starbuck, specifically? ([[Occupation|Answer]])
*Baltar surrenders to copies of Six and Eight. Are these Cylons the reincarnated [[Caprica-Six]] and [[Sharon Valerii|"Boomer" Valerii]]? (see [[#Analysis|Analysis]])
*If "Galactica-Sharon" is present on New Caprica, will she attempt to rekindle ties with Tyrol? If she does, what kind of effect will that have on his relationship with Cally? (see "[[Occupation]]" and "[[Precipice]]")
*Where did the Cylon fleets go, after they left the Twelve Colonies? Cavil is deliberately vague when asked if they simply returned to the [[Cylon homeworld]].
*How many people died in ''Cloud 9'''s destruction? (See the "Precipice" section of [[Survivor Count]])
*Were the Quorum of Twelve killed on ''Cloud 9''? ([[The Ties That Bind|Possible answer]])
*When Gina was instantly vaporized due to being only two feet from a nuclear detonation, did she still transmit her consciousness?  Was she even capable of transmitting considering that any internal hardware responsible for this task would have been instantly destroyed?  (see [[#Analysis|Analysis]])
*Given Roslin's memories of Baltar with Six, why didn't Admiral Adama suspect Baltar of handing over the nuclear warhead to the cylons?  If he did suspect him, why not act on it?  (see [[#Analysis|Analysis]])
*Why have the Cylons returned after suggesting that they were willing to go their "separate ways"?([[Occupation|Answer]])
*Will the Adamas resort to Cain's tactic of conscripting civilians to fill the gaps? ([[Exodus, Part I|Answer]])
*What happened between Apollo and Starbuck?  ([[Unfinished Business|Answer]])
*What led to Starbuck's reconciliation with Colonel Tigh after the two have been in conflict since the [[Miniseries]]? ([[Unfinished Business (Extended Version)|Answer]])
*Are the Cylons that appear at the end representative of the whole Cylon race, or are they a faction that broke off after the two "Cylon Heroes" began to speak out against the war on the humans?([[Occupation|Answer]])
*If it is true that the Cylons now believe the attack on humanity was a mistake, is the occupation on New Caprica viewed by the Cylons as an act of mercy and kindness vs. oppression from the human perspective?  (see [[#Analysis|Analysis]])
*Could it be the intent of the Cylons to actually help the colonization of New Caprica, helping with the construction of infrastructure, new homes, etc., in order to make up for the holocaust?  (see [[#Analysis|Analysis]])
===Unanswered===
*Where do the remains of the Fleet escape to?
*Were [[Shevon]] and [[Paya]] killed on ''Cloud 9''?
*Who was Roslin's running mate? If Baltar hadn't announced his candidacy, would he have been?
*Why has the population (until Tyrol's recent union speech) accepted Baltar's imperious rule?  People were hardly so passive under Roslin.   
*What were the workers being asked to do which was so "odious," "so sick[ening] at heart" that Tyrol was willing to call a general strike, and so important to Baltar that he was willing to use illegal imprisonment to break it?
*Why didn't the nuclear device trigger the radiological alarms on either battlestar?
*After the [[cylon detector]] was deemed a failure, why had the military not taken back Baltar's device, or at least kept strict tabs on it?
*How did Gina commit suicide, given [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|her statement that Cylons could not do so]]?
*Given that her ally Baltar is now in power, and the Fleet has been ordered to settle on New Caprica, thereby satisfying numerous conditions of her peace movement, why did Gina decide to detonate the nuke? Her desire to die has been stated previously, but throwing herself out of an airlock or taking poison would have created less collateral damage.
*At a minimum, Baltar was grossly negligent by failing to keep the warhead secure and guilty of failing to report it missing. Why not have a public investigation to ascertain the truth, undermine Baltar's administration and push the Quorum Of Twelve to assert itself on settlement and other issues? 
*Why did Adama suspect that Cylons detonated the warhead, or did so as part of an impending attack? Why would Cylons move the warhead from Baltar's lab to a civilian ship instead of detonating it on board Galactica? 
*Did Baltar's internal Six disappear at any point during the New Caprica year? If so, when and why? If so, did the events of her disappearance contribute to Baltar's regression?
*Why is it so easy for Adama to hide the collusion of the rigged election from the press, and why are there no consequences?
*If the Cylons really left the Twelve Colonies, leaving behind a nuked-out wasteland, what happened to all of the human captives in the [[farms]]?
*When Adama informs Baltar that the nuke used to blow up ''[[Cloud 9]]'' was probably stolen from Baltar's lab, why is he not suspicious about the fact that Baltar never reported that it was missing?
*Is time after the arrival on New Caprica being measured in New Caprican days and years?
*Were the rescued Caprican resistance fighters allowed to vote in the election?
*Why did the Admiral only send a rescue mission to Caprica, and not send one to each colony or all twelve at once? Also, what stopped them from making repeated trips over the course of the following year (to say nothing of the ''four months'' of the Cylon Occupation) to Colonial space to rescue as many survivors as possible?
*Though conditions on New Caprica may have been preferable to living in space, they were nonetheless harsh. Since they could now use Cylon FTL drives on Colonial craft, why didn't they establish temporary settlements and continue scouting for better conditions elsewhere? Indeed, why didn't Roslin propose this as a compromise in the election?

== Official Statements ==

From the official site (http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/):
When Baltar wins the vote, Roslin considers stealing the election because she believes he is a Cylon collaborator.

RDM's blog ([http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2006/03/#a000409 March 28, 2006]) gives details. (''Due to article size requirements, the blog entry is not reproduced here.'')

=== Interviews ===

* '''[[Paul Campbell]] discussess his thoughts on the story post-"[[Sacrifice]]":'''

:'''MB/TSFW:'''  So what do you think about the story after you left, and the trouble [[Mary McDonnell|Mary]]’s [[Laura Roslin|character]] got herself into?  After your [[Tory Foster|replacement]] came in she kind of had a fall there.  Do you think that would have happened if you were still there to watch her back?

: '''Paul:'''  You know, I don’t know if they could have.  [[Billy Keikeya|Billy]] had so much integrity, that under his watch, I don’t think that would have happened.  And maybe he would have had to step down, and Mary would have gone about that route with someone else.  But I don’t think if he would have been in the picture, that would have gone down.  Because that’s some shady crap, and I don’t think it would have cut it.  We obviously butted heads on a few things like that in the past.  In particular when I ended up leaving her at the ship.  As it turned out, I had another pilot to go shoot. As it turned out, it was more my schedule that didn’t work out, but it worked in the writing.  But no, I don’t think that would have flown had I been in the picture.  So I don’t know what they would have done.  I’m sure that was the story line from the beginning, but how they would have worked me into it, I don’t really know. [http://mediablvd.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_magazine&func=show_article&id=84 MediaBlvd]

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Starbuck returns from her succesful rescue mission on Caprica''
:'''Colonel Tigh''': There will be no living with her after this!

*''After being uncovered as a Cylon upon on arrival from Caprica:'' 
:'''Brother Cavil''': Well, this is an awkward moment…. Yes, he's right, I'm a Cylon. And I have a message. So…take me to your leader.
:'''Admiral Adama''': Take him to the brig.

*''After arrest on Galactica:''
:'''Brother Cavil''': Would you mind telling me what's going on? I'm not a frakking Cylon, I'm not…(sees the other Cavil from Caprica in the cell)…oh. Well, okay then.

*''On Caprica during the fight with the Cylons:''
:'''Anders:''' You got any great ideas in that military brain of yours?
:'''Starbuck:''' Do the same thing we always do; fight 'em 'till we can't.

*''After the Cylons occupy New Caprica:''
:'''Tyrol:''' What do you want to do now, Captain?
:'''Starbuck:''' The same thing we always do. Fight them until we can't.

*''Number Six heralds the Cylons' arrival to Baltar:''
:'''Head Six:''' Judgment day.

== Guest Stars ==
*[[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Lt. [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as Specialist [[Cally Tyrol|Cally Henderson]]
*[[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
*[[Kandyse McClure]] as Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla]]
*[[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Leoben Conoy]]
*[[Kate Vernon]] as [[Ellen Tigh]]
*[[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
*[[Alisen Down]] as [[Jean Barolay]]
*[[Erica Cerra]] as [[Maya]]
*[[Winston Rekert]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Priest|Priest]]
*[[David Kaye]] as [[James McManus]]

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Anne Cofell Saunders]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Mark Verheiden]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Das neue Caprica, Teil II]]
[[fr:Épisode:Posez votre fardeau, 2e partie]]