Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Steve Bacic

2009-01-18T22:05:48Z

Brandon: Added information about Bacic's career.

{{Cast Data
| image=Jurgen belzen.jpg
| character= [[Jurgen Belzen]]
| born_month=03
| born_day=13
| born_year=1965
| death_month=
| death_day=
| death_year=
| nationality=
| imdb= 0045584
}}

'''Steve Bacic''' (born March 13, 1965) is an actor who portrays Colonel [[Jurgen Belzen]], the original XO of ''[[Pegasus]]'', in "[[Razor]]".

He also appears in the SciFi Channel series ''[[w:Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG-1]]'' as [[w:Camulus|Camulus]], in ''[[FlashGordonWiki:Flash Gordon (Sci Fi Channel)|Flash Gordon]]'' as [[FlashGordonWiki:Prince Barin|Prince Barin]], and in ''[[w:Andromeda (TV series)|Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda]]'' as [[w:Gaheris Rhade|Gaheris Rhade]] and [[w:Telemachus Rhade|Telemachus Rhade]].

== Notes ==
* His last name is pronounced like the word basic.

{{stub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacic, Steve}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cast]]
[[Category:Cast (RDM)]]
[[Category:Former Stargate Cast and Crew]]
[[Category:Flash Gordon Cast and Crew]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Escape Velocity

2008-12-10T04:04:02Z

Brandon: Added answer link to question "Will Roslin learn that Foster is associating with Baltar?"

{{Episode Data
| image=4x04 - Escape Velocity - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Escape Velocity
| season= 4
| episode= 4
| forumthread= 954
| guests=
| writer=[[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director=[[Edward James Olmos]]
| production=406
| rating=1.3
| US airdate=25 April 2008
| CAN airdate=25 April 2008
| UK airdate=29 April 2008
| dvd=
| population=39675
| oldpopulation=39676
| prev= [[The Ties That Bind]]
| next= [[The Road Less Traveled]]
| unbox=B0018ENBMQ
| podcast=Y
| frakr=Embrace Verbosity
}}

== Overview ==
: ''Religious freedom is debated and defended as the messianic [[Gaius Baltar]] promotes his belief in one true God. Meanwhile, [[Galen Tyrol]] tries to cope with the death of his [[Callandra Tyrol|wife]] and fails.''

== Summary ==


=== Teaser ===

* In a makeshift [[temple]] aboard ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', [[Galen Tyrol]] performs a ritual commemoration ceremony in the memory of his wife, [[Callandra Tyrol|Callandra Henderson Tyrol]]. In attendance are [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], Delegate [[Lee Adama]], [[Tory Foster]], Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and [[Anthony Figurski]].
* After the priest ends the service, Roslin (wearing a wig) tells Adama that she likes the ceremony, insinuating that she wants Adama to perform the same service for her when she dies.
* Tyrol is given condolences by people as they leave the temple. Foster asks Roslin why they have to do "these things at dawn", to which Roslin replies that they have to.
* After Roslin gives her condolences, Tyrol grabs a hold of both Foster and Tigh, who hastily offer their condolences. As they walk out, they complain that Tyrol almost attracted attention to themselves.
* Delegate Adama offers his condolences as Tyrol stares off after Foster and Tigh; Adama leaves without a response from Tyrol.
* Tigh enters the surveillance room adjoining [[Caprica-Six]]'s brig. The Marines inform him that she continues her same routine. When broaching the topic of how Six doesn't go nuts, the [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|female Marine]] replies that she probably turns off her brain, prompting interest from Tigh.
* Tigh enters the brig, informing Six that her request to see [[Hera Agathon]] has been denied. Six notes that Tigh already told her this, and asks what else he wants from her. During the discussion, Tigh sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in place of Six. Tigh, unsure of what to make of it, tells Six to stay back from him. Six notes that he visits her every day, but doesn't ask questions any more. Tigh leaves, with her saying that she'll see him tomorrow.
* In his quarters, Tyrol sits while [[Nicholas Tyrol]] cries. Foster and Tigh gruffly admonish Tyrol for his behavior at the service.
* Tigh inquires after the baby. Tyrol notes that Nicholas probably needs to be changed; Tigh goes about doing so.
* Foster asks Tyrol if he believes Cally killed herself because of him. Tyrol brings up the alleged affair between them, to which Foster replies that they didn't have one. Tyrol voices his concerns over which of his memories were real, and whether or not there was ever an action in his life that wasn't programmed. Foster espouses what, according to Tigh, is "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s crap" when she tells Tyrol that they, as [[humanoid Cylons|Cylons]], don't need guilt since they are perfect. Tigh, on the other hand, believes that Tyrol is feeling what men feel after the death of a loved one. Tigh continues by telling Tyrol that he'll see Cally every day, while referencing his own experience of [[Torn|hearing]] and [[Virtual Ellen|seeing]] his dead wife. Tigh finishes by saying that Tyrol feels what he needs to feel, but not at the expense of being outed as Cylons, while Foster says to think about what they are and embrace their Cylon attributes.

=== Act 1 ===

* [[Tory Foster]] visits [[Gaius Baltar]] in the commune. There, she wakes Baltar by pulling out a hair on his head. Baltar replies "Gods", which Foster questions. She continues by plucking another hair off of Baltar's head, asking about how he was feeling. He replies that it was an intense feeling. She then massages his crotch, then while doing so, plucks out another hair on his head. She asks if the signals of pain and pleasure get crossed, which Baltar replies in the affirmative. As Baltar tries to leave, Foster forces Baltar down on the bed. After noting her strength, she begins to engage in foreplay, running her tongue across his cheek.
* As she babbles on about her beliefs about "pain turning into pleasure" and the like (much to Baltar's testicular displeasure), members of the [[Sons of Ares]] begin their march towards the commune. Their attack on the commune begins by throwing a smoke grenade, which allows them to enter the commune and attack Baltar's cultists with near impunity, painting graffiti and wreaking havoc. They quickly try to find Baltar, but they know they have two minutes to do so before they can expect some kind of military response. At the one minute mark, an announcement over the PA announces a security alert on deck eight, section fourteen.
* During these two minutes, Baltar hides himself behind a support beam near the ceiling. After the attack, Foster looks up at him as the Sons of Ares people clear out of the commune, vowing to find Baltar.
* In the [[hangar bay]], [[Galen Tyrol]] is repairing the [[ECO]] console on [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]'s [[Raptor]]. Deckhand [[Anthony Figurski]] asks if Tyrol is almost done, Tyrol replies that he just has one more relay, which his hands have a problem in reaching. During this, he has flashbacks of Cally, including one where Cally helps him out during the construction of the [[Blackbird]].
* Tyrol's flashback of his [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I|beating of Cally after his suicidal nightmare]] is interrupted by Edmondson, who asks if he's done with his repairs. Pocketing a fuse, he morosely replies that he's done.
* Edmondson and [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] launch to the departing waves of crew members on the deck. They join up with a [[CAP|combat air patrol]] led by [[Redwing|Paolo "Redwing" McKay]], who teases them for driving "a school bus". Edmondson counters by comparing the Vipers to bicycles, to which Redwing replies that the Vipers are race cars.
* When Edmondson throttles up, she loses control of the Raptor's port lower rear [[RCS]] thruster. She requests an emergency landing and struggles to bring the Raptor back to the port landing pod deck, but they crash-land, with flaming wreckage colliding with a [[landram]].
* Meanwhile, Baltar is chastising "[[Mr. Officious]]" for his lack of speed in finding out who their attackers are. [[Virtual Six]] prompts him to look at the painted graffiti in the wall, which is written in old text. He reads it, discovering that his attackers were from the Sons of Ares. He asks about their motivations, to which Six replies that "[[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|old Gods]] die hard even among your people". He sees Six next to a woman, whose name he believes starts with an "M", until she corrects him: her name is [[Lilly]]. Baltar discovers a religious artifact belonging to [[Asclepius]] in her hand, which she prays to. She claims that she believes that Baltar will heal their people, but still has belief in Asclepius. Six then adds that the "Gods are fighting back".
* In the hangar bay, Tyrol and Figurski are looking over the remains of the Raptor, whose relays are still hot. When checking under the ECO console, Tyrol discovers the burnt-out fuse he neglected to replace, discovering the replacement in his shirt's pocket. He admits that the crash was his fault.
* McCall angrily confronts Tyrol, but is interdicted by Edmondson, who attempts to defuse the situation. McCall concedes that it's all right, and that no one got hurt. Tyrol presses on however, saying that he doesn't need to be "patted on the head" and that its all right if people told him that he [[frak|frakked up]]. He becomes more vocal when Edmondson mentions that "he's only human", but she walks away and no one else comments. He calls them all "cowards".
* Figurski offers to finish looking over the Raptor. In reply, Tyrol tells Figurski to get out of the ship.
* As Baltar looks at the pendant for Asclepius, Virtual Six tells him that people have room for only one great belief, either him or the Gods. Despite Baltar's misgivings about one man standing up to the old Gods, Six convinces him that such a man who does would surely be magnificent. Inspired by this, Baltar tells his members that they have been targeted because of what they believe in, and urges them to take a stand against Gods that have no relevance in their world.
* Baltar then leaves, with [[Jeanne]] and the others following.
* Baltar enters the temple, where the priest is performing a service. He interrupts the ceremony despite the priest's attempts to stop him. Baltar begins asking the parishioners who they serve, blaspheming [[Zeus]] by calling him a "serial rapist" and pointing out the absurdity of giving birth through one's forehead. The priest confronts him, but Baltar calls her an "ignorant witch" and continues discussing the so-called Gods, including how Asclepius heals with the blood of a [[Gorgon]], in addition to the other "invented rubbish" as he vandalizes the temple.
* As his other cultists follow his example, Marines storm the temple and forcibly extricate Baltar as the polytheists in the temple try to attack him, yelling out demands to "burn him".

=== Act 2 ===

* [[William Adama]] visits [[Laura Roslin]] in [[sickbay]] after her blood test. He's brought a different book to read named ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', a classic novel. Roslin comments that she hasn't read it in years, and Adama confesses that he's never finished the book, since he finds the book too good to finish, and is saving the ending. She suggests that she should also do that, but after an awkward realization shared between the two, she corrects herself.
* After Adama offers to take her bag, he notes that "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s back at home in the brig again". Roslin believes that Baltar's desecration of the temple was revenge for what happened to his commune that morning. Adama replies that he has people looking into the brutal attack on Baltar's cult, but no one is talking about the [[Sons of Ares]]. She replies that Baltar's knowingly provoking the hard-line religious groups from [[Dogsville]], and they agree that they can't have a religious fight in the [[the Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. Further, they both agree that Baltar is the crux of the problem, as he has an "uncanny way of stirring up all the crap". They discuss the various options, including locking him away for his own safety to removing him from ''Galactica''. However, Roslin has a better idea and goes to the brig so that Baltar can see her.
* Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] visits [[Caprica-Six]] in the brig. She notes that he didn't even make it to tomorrow. Tigh reveals that he does want something, and asks her how it feels to have the blood of billions of human beings on her hands. She replies that she cannot help but to feel it. Tigh orders the Marines to aim their weapons at her.
* On the hangar deck, Tyrol is welding as Figurski walks by and asks him if he woke up early or never went to sleep. Tyrol doesn't reply and Figurski walks off. After this, Tyrol simply walks off the job, throwing his welder's mask and gloves upon the floor.
* In the brig, Six tells Tigh that she is just as human as he is. During the conversation, he sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in Six's place, and asks her how she deals with the pain. She doesn't answer and Tigh tells the Marines to step outside. After the Marines do so, he tells her that she has nothing to offer him and that she is the same as the rest of the Cylons.
* Also in a brig, Baltar is awakened by Roslin. After Baltar makes a quip about her strip searching him, she tells him that his situation is being looked into "aggressively". She tells him that she is wearing a wig and dying from cancer, but she doesn't want his pity and is still doing her job. She assures him that she's aggressively looking into the men that attacked him. However, there is a caveat to this: she tells him that she wants a quiet little death, and insinuates that Baltar give up his crusade quietly, as she has neither the time nor the patience to indulge him.
* Roslin leaves, telling Baltar that he's being released and to stay safe.
* In [[Joe's Bar]], Adama joins Tyrol at the bar. Adama tells Tyrol that the deck crew misses him and tells him that if he needs time off, or if he wants to work more shifts, all he need to is ask. Tyrol replies that he doesn't need special treatment. In reply, Tyrol hallucinates Adama receiving a shot of alcohol and this reply: "I guess it was just more than she could take, huh? Being married to a Cylon who made her the mother to a half-breed abomination."
* The hallucination ends when Adama gets his drink and comments that Cally was a good woman. Tyrol replies that had Adama really thought that, he wouldn't have threatened to stick her up against a bulkhead and have her shot. Despite Adama's efforts to move their conversation somewhere else, Tyrol then goes into a tirade about how he was stuck with the best of limited options, describing Cally as a "shriek" with "dull, vacant eyes" and a "cabbage smell". He tells Adama that he is sick of his life, a life that he did not choose, and hating to find out that those they really loved were dead, dying, or were Cylons. He pines on his love of [[Sharon Valerii]], and notes that because he tried to stick his head in the sand, he married Cally. He tells her that she was no angel, but notes that Adama has already made her into one. He tells Adama that they are not in the same club, since he never asked the right questions.
* Adama gives him a last chance to recant, but Tyrol refuses, daring Adama to demote him and get him off the ship. Challenged, Adama does so, and orders Specialist Tyrol to report to a petty officer to get reassigned, since Tyrol is a danger to others.
* Adama leaves, while Tyrol slowly collapses into his stool at the bar.

=== Act 3 ===

* On ''[[Colonial One]]'' during a [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum]] meeting, [[Lee Adama]] argues with President Roslin over an emergency measure limiting the size of Baltar's groups so they don't provoke attacks from fundamentalist groups, steadfastly contending that "where ever Baltar is, violence happens", and assures Adama and other delgates that her goal is to keep the people safe from harm by preventing such violence. However, Lee's objections are supported by fellow Quorum members, such as [[Reza Chronides]], who are concerned that the emergency measure that Roslin "bulldozed through" may be used against other religious groups, such as the [[Mithraism|Mithraists]]. Roslin assures people that this won't happen, and the emergency measure was enacted because [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] is a special case, a claim that Lee rebukes by saying that they're making him a special case. During the conversation, [[Tory Foster]] remains silent, but is visibly concerned.
* Despite Lee's assertion that Baltar is not preaching violence and other amoral acts, and objections by the delegates, Roslin tells them to clear their heads and urges the people to remember the tragedy they experienced on [[New Caprica]]. Chronides pointedly asks if Roslin will open the resolution for a full discussion amongst the Quorum, which Roslin quickly and vehemently refuses to do.
* Lee responds by noting that the Quorum can override Roslin, and notes that he's willing to do so since he believes the resolution cannot stand.
* Incensed by this, Roslin replies with rhetoric: should they overturn her decision, the people would win, but at what cost? She implores them to remember what happened when Baltar held political power, and saying they should be terrified at the prospect of Baltar regaining such power again, even through Baltar's cult.
* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] watches [[Caprica-Six|Six]] as she sleeps. He believes he's seeing Ellen. When she awakens, Six asks if she should get familiar to waking up to Tigh's face. She notes the lack of a Marine escort. Tigh tells her that it is an informal chat between them, to which she astutely replies that they're also being watched. Tigh tells her that she hasn't answered his question. She replies that she wants the pain and learns from it. She mentions how she fell in love with Baltar, and understood that she wouldn't have him forever. She continues to discuss Baltar, which breaks Tigh out of his illusion of seeing Ellen. He angrily reacts to this, saying that he refuses to hear about "Gaius Frakking Baltar" and leaves the brig. He enters the adjoining surveillance room to dismiss the Marines and deactivate the surveillance equipment.
* Tigh reenters the brig, where he is prompted with an offer by Six to help him turn off the pain. She reveals that she learns from the pain, the guilt, and she claims that she's found clarity and wisdom from these things. Tigh sits on the cot with her, where he is told how the humanoid Cylon brain is patterned after the human brain, where she claims that the Cylons have learned things about the human mind that the humans themselves are unaware of.
* Six, who Tigh now sees as Ellen, removes his eye patch and offers to give him clarity.
* Baltar and his cultists proceed to the commune, but are stopped by a Marine who tells him of Roslin's emergency measure, [[Emergency Provision 17]], and that no group larger than twelve can be assembled at any time. Baltar insists that he lives in the commune, but the marine will have none of it, even when [[Paulla Schaffer]] offers to leave and allow Baltar to enter. When Baltar tries to make his way into the commune at the urging of his Virtual Six, he is beaten back by the Marine and begins to spit out blood from his mouth.

=== Act 4 ===

* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh]] tells [[Caprica-Six]] to get her hands off him. She punches him, throwing him from the cot. She then jumps on him and begins punishing him in the face, enjoying it in the process. After this, she asks him if he feels the pain, and the clarity that comes with it. When he does not reply, she continues to punch him.
* [[Virtual Six]] convinces [[Gaius Baltar]] to continue to defy the Marine, assuring him that the gains for doing so outweigh the initial costs. He does so, and is repeatedly beaten back to the ground in front of his followers every time he takes a move towards the commune. "Aided" by his virtual Six, Baltar gets up and continues this action, until Lee Adama arrives with a [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine lieutenant]]. He informs them that the provision has been rescinded and right for full public assembly is restored.
* [[Tracey Anne]], [[Jeanne]] and [[Paulla Schaffer]] rush out to help Baltar into the commune. Before entering the commune, Baltar thanks Adama for helping him. Adama replies that he doesn't know why he does these things for Baltar. Baltar says that Adama does such things because "your God compels you".
* In [[sickbay]], [[Laura Roslin]] tells [[William Adama]] (who is holding ''[[Searider Falcon]]'' in his hand) that Lee has no idea of what he's doing, believing that there are "pragmatic realities" that Lee refuses to face. Adama agrees to this, saying that Lee's only doing what he thinks is right. Roslin does agree to that, but says that "sometimes the right thing is a luxury" and has its own set of dangerous consequences that Lee doesn't want to be true. She stops herself from continuing, since she realizes that shouldn't get upset during her [[diloxin]] treatment.
* Adama tells her that he's about to get into the part of the book he hasn't read yet and, when asked if he can continue, Adama starts reading. Roslin goes to sleep and Adama continues from the reading, despite having closed the book and apparently knowing the words by rote.
* In the brig, a beaten Tigh begs to Six to continue her assault. However, she changes tactics, saying that being beaten is not what he needs. She then kisses him.
* In the commune, Baltar makes his speech where he notes that while he isn't a perfect man, he believes that something in the universe loves him despite his flaws and faults. Urged on by Virtual Six, he calls this "spark", which dwells in the soul of every living being, "God" and moves the crowd when he says that each and every person is perfect, and that they can love others once they love themselves.
* During Baltar's speech, Lee Adama sees [[Tory Foster]] in attendance. Elsewhere on the ship, [[Galen Tyrol]] stares at [[Nicholas Tyrol|Nicholas]], who is playing in his crib.
* On the ''[[Demetrius]]'', [[Kara Thrace]] is sleeping at a table when [[Samuel Anders]] comes in, watching over her.
* Baltar finishes his speech by saying that God loves that which is perfect, and that people are perfect as they are. Foster is smiling, while the other cultists begin to weep and give him a standing ovation. Lee Adama moves to leave the commune while Virtual Six looks over at Foster.

== Notes ==
* [[w:Escape velocity|Escape velocity]] is the minimum initial velocity an unaccelerated object needs to escape a body's gravitational field.
* [[Cally Tyrol]]'s full first name is Callandra. The spelling is confirmed in [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246 Bear McCreary's blog post] for this episode. The episode also marks the first onscreen mention of her birth name, Henderson.
* The [[survivor count]] now accounts for Callandra Tyrol's death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]".
* A costuming error in the teaser shows [[Saul Tigh]] wearing the rank insignia of an [[Military Ranks (RDM)|admiral]]. This is noticeable in the scene where Tigh and [[Tory Foster]] confront [[Galen Tyrol]] in Tyrol's quarters after the memorial service.
* The [[diloxin]] treatment [[Laura Roslin]] receives has forced her to wear a wig, since her hair loss began more than 22 days ago in "[[Six of One]]".
* Another of the [[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|Lords of Kobol]] is revealed: [[Asclepius]]. Asclepius is known to the Colonials as the god of healing.
* Unlike "[[The Ties That Bind]]", [[Tom Zarek]] is not present at the [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum of Twelve]] meetings on ''[[Colonial One]]'' in this episode. The reason for his absence is unexplained.
* Tory Foster confirms that the [[Final Five]] are stronger than humans.
* [[Redwing]] previously appeared in "[[Exodus, Part II]]" as [[Hot Dog]]'s wingman.
* The Raptor accident was the third such incident for the pair of [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] and [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]. The first occurrence being their FTL malfunction causing their mis-jump to the [[New Caprica]] system in "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]", and another incident with the RCS thrusters occurs in "[[Dirty Hands]]".

== Analysis ==

=== General ===

*The [[Sons of Ares]] act with military precision, have access to gas grenades and knowledge about the ship's security procedures. From this it is likely that many of them are soldiers and not civilians. This may be expected from a group dedicated to the [[Ares|god of war]].
* When facing down the Marines, the way in which Baltar is standing up appears as though he is being lifted up, which puzzles the Marines and Baltar's followers. This marks the first time where virtual Six does something to Baltar that isn't clearly presented like Baltar is doing it to himself. While it is possible that he moves like that all by himself, and his feet are never shown, it is implied that virtual Six can actually affect things physically. This, along with the [[virtual Baltar]] appearing to Baltar in "[[Six of One]]", and both virtual beings consistently knowing information that neither Baltar or Caprica-Six could actually know, hints that there may be something more to them than simply being illusions. What they are, of course, remains a matter of debate.
**In the [[Podcast:Escape Velocity#Act 4|podcast]], Ron Moore points out that such an interpretation was never intended by the writers. He concedes that the way it is shot goes into that direction, which he considers too far, but believes that none of the characters present would think of it any other way than Baltar moving around by himself.
* The scene where Baltar violently confronts the Colonials during their prayer service seems based on the biblical narrative of [[Wikipedia:Jesus and the money changers|Jesus and the money changers]].

=== Characters ===
* [[Galen Tyrol]]'s insubordination that leads Admiral Adama to demote him may have been a deliberate act, conscious or unconscious, to maintain the safety of the ship. While not stated explicitly, Tyrol has been implied to have fears of working against the interest of the Fleet. This fear is almost certainly magnified when he forgets to swap out a burned out component for a new one on [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]]'s Raptor, which subsequently crashes. While his memory lapse may have been innocently brought on by the continuing stress of discovering himself to be a Cylon, the resulting subterfuge, and his wife's death, the experience of [[Sharon Valerii]] with her memory lapses, unconscious acts of sabotage, and the attempted murder of then Commander Adama, are probably on his mind. This is indicated during the tirade against Cally, Adama, and his life in general in [[Joe's bar]]. A demotion in disgrace and transfer could ensure the safety of the ship, without raising any unwanted questions as an official resignation probably would.
* Neither Tyrol nor, apparently, Tigh have been told the full truth about [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s death; Foster has not seen fit to tell Tigh, possibly as a result of the suicide pact made in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]". The official story surrounding her demise has not been disclosed to the audience, however all ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> crew knows is that she did die. What has not been disclosed thus far is how Nicholas was found, despite the fact that Cally was seen by several crewmembers carrying the child before her death.
* Tyrol continues to have feelings for Sharon Valerii, as he admits to [[William Adama]] and everyone else present in Joe's Bar. Tyrol notes many of [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s weaknesses, including her nagging, nosy nature (which lead to her death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]"), and grows annoyed at Adama's willingness to turn Cally into an angel, when he believes that she is unworthy of that. His feelings for Valerii were likely renewed upon realizing that he is a Cylon, which makes a possible association with Valerii much more acceptable to him.
* Tyrol's tirade about Cally and his reasons for marrying her also have a double meaning in regards to Adama. As it becomes more obvious, especially ever since "[[A Day in the Life]]", Adama's feelings for Roslin have become more apparent. Unfortunately, with her cancer re-appearing and her possible upcoming death, Roslin, like Valerii to Tyrol, is unattainable to Adama. Ironically, though Tyrol believes that Adama wants him to join his "club" in lamenting for Cally, it may very well be that it is Adama who wants to join Tyrol's club.
* Foster continues to embrace her Cylon nature and Baltar's teachings. She tells Tigh and Tyrol to turn off the guilt, that they are perfect and different from humans. Tigh, however, can't turn off his feelings and spends much of the episode wondering if [[Caprica-Six]] can.
* A part of the book that Adama reads to Roslin, ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', has some deeper significance to both of them, just like ''[[Love and Bullets]]'' in the previous episode: "I wasn't afraid to die. I was afraid of the emptiness that I felt inside. I couldn't feel anything. And that's what scared me. You came into my thoughts. I felt them. It felt good." This is emphasized by the fact that he closes the book and recites the passage, almost as if the words are his. It is also possible that the passage has additional significance for Adama, since by his admission he normally stops reading after it.
* Roslin's wig is strikingly reminiscent of [[Helena Cain]]'s hairstyle in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] and [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]". This is a visual counterpoint to her increasing ruthlessness as she confronts her impending death.
* Roslin's wig is also reminiscent of the hairstyle and look that she has in the vision she shared with Athena and Caprica-Six ([[Crossroads, Part I]]). This may indicate that the vision was a foretelling of future events to come in the season.
* Roslin's body language during and after her speech to the Quorum portrays several nuances to the audience. First, it is apparent, besides the hair loss, that the cancer treatments are weakening her body tremendously. Second, her previous statements to Baltar of having less and less patience is more evident in how she dealt with the Quorum's request. Third, as she leaves, the nuance of Roslin, with a hunched back and slowly sulking away indicates that there may be future consequences for the Quorum in standing up to Roslin.

=== Religion ===
* Delegate [[Reza Chronides]] mentions [[Mithraism]], thus further establishing the existence of other religions in the Twelve Colonies. The [[Sons of Ares]] are another religious group, described as [[w:fundamentalism|fundamentalist]].
*This is particularly notable in the context of Baltar's cult, because [[w:Mithraism|Mithraism]] had many things in common with [[w:Christianity|Christianity]]. Yet Christians were prosecuted far more by the ([[w:polytheism|polytheistic]]) Romans, while Mithraism spread throughout the empire and particularly the army, before Christianity became the official religion and [[w:Paganism|paganism]] illegal. This furthers the connection of the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)#The Lords of Kobol|Lords of Kobol]] to the Roman/Greek gods and of Baltar to [[w:Jesus Christ|Christ]].
*In Baltar's theology people are perfect and God loves things that are perfect. Perfect things have no faults, therefore God loves one including one's faults. Hence, there is nothing wrong with one despite the questionable things done in life. This is similar to the Calvinist and Free Grace Christian theologies that hold that those truly saved by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ can not lose their salvation. In other words, regardless of faults or sins past, present or future a true believer in Christ's complete salvation at the Cross would never be rejected by God. This is similar to Baltar's theology in which God would never reject a person under any circumstance because he or she is perfect regardless of their faults or sins. Under this world view God would regard [[Tory Foster]] as perfect and guiltless despite her murder of [[Cally Tyrol]], which she has convinced herself that she is.
*Furthermore, according to conventional Protestant Christian theology, one need only accept Jesus as savior and confess once. The confession must be heartfelt and true for Christ's salvation and redemption to be in effect in God's eyes. To use the example of Tory Foster once more, it is likely that Foster is truly embracing Baltar's teachings and perhaps her Cylon nature in that she truly believes they are perfect as is and forgiven as they are. This differs from what is required under conventional forms of Christianity in that Christ has paid for the sinner's salvation.
*Baltar's speech about loving one's self, and using that understanding to love and understand others seems thematically aligned with Virtual Six's initial remark in the Miniseries that "God is love." Ironically, Baltar's sinful past now seems to enhance his credibility and provide evidence that someone as sinful as him has been given fortune by God. In Christianity, to be redeemed from sin does not mean that one will stop sinning, but to live in constant reminder of God's love and favor because of Christ's sacrifice. Furthermore with that understanding that one is loved, one's behavior will change gradually and in certain circumstances miracles occur. Likewise, Baltar has repeatedly repented to God and had seemingly divine providence intervene in his favor several times. Since Baltar is now using his own sinful life as an example, it seems that this dynamic of Christianity is consistent here as well.

== Questions ==

* Will Lee Adama grow more sympathetic towards Baltar's group?
* Will Roslin learn that Foster is associating with Baltar? ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?|answer]])
* Will Tyrol seriously consider Foster's words?
* Will Foster clash with Tigh and Tyrol, as their different attitudes towards their Cylon nature develop?
* Are Tyrol and Tigh's hallucinations merely the result of grief and guilt, or are they using [[projection]]?
* Do Tigh and Six have sex? ([[Sine Qua Non|answer]])
* Are Tigh and Six the "enemies brought together by impossible longing" spoken of by the [[First Hybrid]] in "[[Razor]]"?
* Are Tyrol's statements about Cally's negative attributes heartfelt, or merely a result of rage and anger?
* What of [[Nicholas Tyrol]]? Will his father take care of the child?
* Now that it is clear that Foster lied to Tyrol about the death of Cally, how will Tyrol react should he discover the truth?
* What will Tyrol's new duties be after his demotion to specialist?
* Further, what is his status within the [[Colonial Workers Alliance]]? Has he abandoned this union's leadership position or been forced out?
* Will Baltar's religion end up helping the people of the Fleet, or will it lead them into a dangerous state which compromises them, as Laura Roslin appears to fear?
* What influence will the new religion have on Roslin's beliefs and actions? Will she convert, will she be proven right, or will she be on the wrong side?
* Does Baltar's facial expression of seeming shock when he sees Virtual Six standing next to her and smiling, mean that he realizes that Tory Foster is a Cylon? Does he connect that with Foster's display of strength to him during their sex play?

== Official Statements ==
* ''[[Mark Verheiden]] discusses [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] being "lifted" by [[Virtual Six]]:''
: "I would argue that Baltar’s gyrations were still him contorting himself, as if Number Six were hoisting him from the floor. I am reminded of Church services where people, in the throes of religious fervor, can evidence remarkable physical contortions, 'speaking in tongues,' etc."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/04/28/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-tyrols-guilt-and-baltar-the-traitor/|title=Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Tyrol's Guilt and Baltar the Traitor|date=28 April 2008|accessdate=1 May 2008|last=Ullrich|first=Chris|format=|language=}}</ref>

* ''Verheiden talks about [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]]'s animosity towards Baltar:''
: "This starts to get a little complicated, I think, which of course means you’re watching ''Battlestar Galactica''! But Laura’s emotions about New Caprica have to be a swirl of righteous resentments and animosity.

: "Remember that she [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|was removed]] as President by the will of the people (in a squeaker of an election), replaced by a guy she knew would be a poor leader. That proved to be true even before the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] arrived and the [[Cylon Occupation Authority|occupation]] began.

: "So she would have watched the political machine on [[New Caprica]] flounder under Baltar’s rule, then see the Government’s total capitulation when the Cylons arrived and he immediately surrendered.

: "While Baltar more or less cooperated with the Cylons (regardless of whether his reasons were pragmatic and practical, as pointed out in his trial), humans were rounded up, imprisoned, eyeballs were gouged out, people were tortured, the nightmare went on and on.

: "After all that, Baltar [[Crossroads, Part II|managed to evade]] Laura’s idea of justice AND he falls into a [[Cult of Baltar|sect]] of acolytes who look to him for spiritual guidance.

: "Is it any wonder that the guy gets under her skin? And that she fears for the [[The Fleet (RDM)|fleet]] should he find another power base?"

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''[[William Adama]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]'s argument at Joe's Bar:''
: '''William Adama:''' [[Cally Tyrol|She]] was a good woman.
: '''Galen Tyrol:''' If you ''really'' believe that, you wouldn't have [[Dirty Hands|threatened]] to stick her up against a bulkhead and shoot her. It's OK though, thought about doing it a few times myself. Believe me.
: '''Adama:''' Chief...
: '''Tyrol:''' How many of us ended up with the people we wanted to be with? Got stuck with the best of limited options. And why? Because the ones we really want, that we've really loved, are dead, dying, turned out to be [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and they didn't know it. And if [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] had...
: '''Adama:''' Let's go. Let's go.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. ''No.'' I didn't know—
: '''Adama:''' Let's go home.
: '''Tyrol:''' ''I didn't know.'' So I buried my head in the sand, and I took it, and I settled. I settled for that shriek. Those dull, vacant eyes. Boiled cabbage stench of her. And why? Because this is my life. This is the life I picked! And that's fine. But you know what, it's not! I didn't pick this life! This isn't my ''[[frak]]kin''<nowiki>'</nowiki> life!
: '''Adama:''' What the hell's gotten in to you? Don't do this. Don't do this to her memory.
: '''Tyrol:''' You know what? I'm sorry if I'm not doing this the way you want me to, the way you might, but I'm not making an angel out of someone who wasn't an angel. But I can see you have. And now you've come down here to be in my club. But you're not in my club. You don't know what frakkin' club I'm in because you never ask the right questions.
: '''Adama:''' Chief, let's get out of here.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. Why don't ''you'' go, take care of your ''precious ship''.
: '''Adama:''' Stop it! Stop all of this! Because if you don't, I'll have to act on it. Now shut up!
: '''Tyrol:''' ''Great!'' Do it! Please! For the love of Gods, please demote me! ''Get me off your frakking ship!''
: '''Adama:''' Specialist Tyrol, I want you off my hangar deck before you endanger another pilot. You're to report to Petty Officer [[Basim]] at 0600 for reassignment. Do you understand?

* ''[[Caprica-Six]] tells [[Saul Tigh]] about her feelings:''
:"I want the pain. It's how I learn. I was instrumental in the destruction of humanity, but at the same time I learned, because...because I fell in love...with a human man, and he was mortal and fallible. And he had this incredible pride in himself. He thought he knew everything there was to know. And I loved him, with my whole heart. And then one day, I realized I wouldn't have him forever. I understood what I'd done. How I betrayed him and humanity. And that pain taught me to understand death. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] could die. And I loved him. Baltar's heart was ephemeral. Baltar's body was fragile in my hands."

* ''[[Laura Roslin]] about [[Lee Adama]] and his understanding of politics:''
:'''Roslin:''' Lee has no idea. He really has no idea. [...] There are pragmatic realities he refuses to face.
:'''William Adama:''' Well, that's a problem of course. He'd say what he thinks is right.
:'''Roslin:''' Well yeah. He is Lee. Thing is, it probably is the right thing, but...sometimes the right thing is a luxury. And it can have profoundly dangerous consequences. And it's almost as if he doesn't want that to be true.

* ''[[Gaius Baltar]] speaks to his [[Cult of Baltar|followers]]:''
:"I am not a priest. I've never even been a particularly good man. I am in fact a profoundly selfish man. But that doesn't matter, you see. Something in the universe loves me. (smiles) Something in the universe loves the entity that is me. I would choose to call this something "God", a singular spark that dwells in the soul of every living being. If you look inside yourself you will find that spark too. You will. But you have to look deep. Love your faults. Embrace them. If God embraces them, then how can they be faults? Love yourself. You have to love yourself. If we don't love ourselves, how can we love others? And when we know what we are, then we can find the truth out about others, seek what they are; the truth about them. And you know what the truth is? The truth about them? About you? About me? Do you? The truth is, we're all perfect. Just as we are. God only loves that which is perfect and he loves you. He loves you because you are perfect. You are perfect. Just as you are."

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as Ensign [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Kate Vernon]] as "[[Virtual beings#Saul Tigh's Virtual Ellen|Virtual Ellen]]"
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lieutenant [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Colin Lawrence]] as Lieutenant [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Donna Soares]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Gemenon Delegate|Speaking Delegate #1]] (Gemenon Delegate)
* [[Andrew McIlroy]] as [[Jacob Cantrell]]
* [[Judith Maxie]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Picon Delegate|Picon Delegate]]
* [[Iris Paluly]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Speaking Delegate #2|Speaking Delegate #2]]
* [[Marilyn Norry]] as [[Reza Chronides]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Leela Savasta]] as [[Tracey Anne]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as Sergeant [[Brandy Harder]] (credited as "Surveillance Marine")
* [[Laara Sadiq]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Priestess|Priestess]]
* [[Karen Austin]] as [[Lilly]]
* [[Steve Lawlor]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine guard|Marine at Baltar's]]
* [[Hector Johnson]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine Lieutenant]]
* [[Lee Jefferies]] as [[Redwing|"Redwing" McKay]]
* [[Rob Hayter]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Sons of Ares leader|Sons of Ares leader]] (uncredited)
* Unknown as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#"Mr. Officious"|"Mr. Officious"]] (uncredited)

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos]]

[[de:Escape Velocity]]
[[ms:Escape Velocity]]

Escape Velocity

2008-12-10T03:41:32Z

Brandon: I identified the specific Christian theologies that Baltar’s doctrine of sin, salvation, and perfection are similar to.

{{Episode Data
| image=4x04 - Escape Velocity - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Escape Velocity
| season= 4
| episode= 4
| forumthread= 954
| guests=
| writer=[[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director=[[Edward James Olmos]]
| production=406
| rating=1.3
| US airdate=25 April 2008
| CAN airdate=25 April 2008
| UK airdate=29 April 2008
| dvd=
| population=39675
| oldpopulation=39676
| prev= [[The Ties That Bind]]
| next= [[The Road Less Traveled]]
| unbox=B0018ENBMQ
| podcast=Y
| frakr=Embrace Verbosity
}}

== Overview ==
: ''Religious freedom is debated and defended as the messianic [[Gaius Baltar]] promotes his belief in one true God. Meanwhile, [[Galen Tyrol]] tries to cope with the death of his [[Callandra Tyrol|wife]] and fails.''

== Summary ==


=== Teaser ===

* In a makeshift [[temple]] aboard ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', [[Galen Tyrol]] performs a ritual commemoration ceremony in the memory of his wife, [[Callandra Tyrol|Callandra Henderson Tyrol]]. In attendance are [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], Delegate [[Lee Adama]], [[Tory Foster]], Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and [[Anthony Figurski]].
* After the priest ends the service, Roslin (wearing a wig) tells Adama that she likes the ceremony, insinuating that she wants Adama to perform the same service for her when she dies.
* Tyrol is given condolences by people as they leave the temple. Foster asks Roslin why they have to do "these things at dawn", to which Roslin replies that they have to.
* After Roslin gives her condolences, Tyrol grabs a hold of both Foster and Tigh, who hastily offer their condolences. As they walk out, they complain that Tyrol almost attracted attention to themselves.
* Delegate Adama offers his condolences as Tyrol stares off after Foster and Tigh; Adama leaves without a response from Tyrol.
* Tigh enters the surveillance room adjoining [[Caprica-Six]]'s brig. The Marines inform him that she continues her same routine. When broaching the topic of how Six doesn't go nuts, the [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|female Marine]] replies that she probably turns off her brain, prompting interest from Tigh.
* Tigh enters the brig, informing Six that her request to see [[Hera Agathon]] has been denied. Six notes that Tigh already told her this, and asks what else he wants from her. During the discussion, Tigh sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in place of Six. Tigh, unsure of what to make of it, tells Six to stay back from him. Six notes that he visits her every day, but doesn't ask questions any more. Tigh leaves, with her saying that she'll see him tomorrow.
* In his quarters, Tyrol sits while [[Nicholas Tyrol]] cries. Foster and Tigh gruffly admonish Tyrol for his behavior at the service.
* Tigh inquires after the baby. Tyrol notes that Nicholas probably needs to be changed; Tigh goes about doing so.
* Foster asks Tyrol if he believes Cally killed herself because of him. Tyrol brings up the alleged affair between them, to which Foster replies that they didn't have one. Tyrol voices his concerns over which of his memories were real, and whether or not there was ever an action in his life that wasn't programmed. Foster espouses what, according to Tigh, is "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s crap" when she tells Tyrol that they, as [[humanoid Cylons|Cylons]], don't need guilt since they are perfect. Tigh, on the other hand, believes that Tyrol is feeling what men feel after the death of a loved one. Tigh continues by telling Tyrol that he'll see Cally every day, while referencing his own experience of [[Torn|hearing]] and [[Virtual Ellen|seeing]] his dead wife. Tigh finishes by saying that Tyrol feels what he needs to feel, but not at the expense of being outed as Cylons, while Foster says to think about what they are and embrace their Cylon attributes.

=== Act 1 ===

* [[Tory Foster]] visits [[Gaius Baltar]] in the commune. There, she wakes Baltar by pulling out a hair on his head. Baltar replies "Gods", which Foster questions. She continues by plucking another hair off of Baltar's head, asking about how he was feeling. He replies that it was an intense feeling. She then massages his crotch, then while doing so, plucks out another hair on his head. She asks if the signals of pain and pleasure get crossed, which Baltar replies in the affirmative. As Baltar tries to leave, Foster forces Baltar down on the bed. After noting her strength, she begins to engage in foreplay, running her tongue across his cheek.
* As she babbles on about her beliefs about "pain turning into pleasure" and the like (much to Baltar's testicular displeasure), members of the [[Sons of Ares]] begin their march towards the commune. Their attack on the commune begins by throwing a smoke grenade, which allows them to enter the commune and attack Baltar's cultists with near impunity, painting graffiti and wreaking havoc. They quickly try to find Baltar, but they know they have two minutes to do so before they can expect some kind of military response. At the one minute mark, an announcement over the PA announces a security alert on deck eight, section fourteen.
* During these two minutes, Baltar hides himself behind a support beam near the ceiling. After the attack, Foster looks up at him as the Sons of Ares people clear out of the commune, vowing to find Baltar.
* In the [[hangar bay]], [[Galen Tyrol]] is repairing the [[ECO]] console on [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]'s [[Raptor]]. Deckhand [[Anthony Figurski]] asks if Tyrol is almost done, Tyrol replies that he just has one more relay, which his hands have a problem in reaching. During this, he has flashbacks of Cally, including one where Cally helps him out during the construction of the [[Blackbird]].
* Tyrol's flashback of his [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I|beating of Cally after his suicidal nightmare]] is interrupted by Edmondson, who asks if he's done with his repairs. Pocketing a fuse, he morosely replies that he's done.
* Edmondson and [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] launch to the departing waves of crew members on the deck. They join up with a [[CAP|combat air patrol]] led by [[Redwing|Paolo "Redwing" McKay]], who teases them for driving "a school bus". Edmondson counters by comparing the Vipers to bicycles, to which Redwing replies that the Vipers are race cars.
* When Edmondson throttles up, she loses control of the Raptor's port lower rear [[RCS]] thruster. She requests an emergency landing and struggles to bring the Raptor back to the port landing pod deck, but they crash-land, with flaming wreckage colliding with a [[landram]].
* Meanwhile, Baltar is chastising "[[Mr. Officious]]" for his lack of speed in finding out who their attackers are. [[Virtual Six]] prompts him to look at the painted graffiti in the wall, which is written in old text. He reads it, discovering that his attackers were from the Sons of Ares. He asks about their motivations, to which Six replies that "[[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|old Gods]] die hard even among your people". He sees Six next to a woman, whose name he believes starts with an "M", until she corrects him: her name is [[Lilly]]. Baltar discovers a religious artifact belonging to [[Asclepius]] in her hand, which she prays to. She claims that she believes that Baltar will heal their people, but still has belief in Asclepius. Six then adds that the "Gods are fighting back".
* In the hangar bay, Tyrol and Figurski are looking over the remains of the Raptor, whose relays are still hot. When checking under the ECO console, Tyrol discovers the burnt-out fuse he neglected to replace, discovering the replacement in his shirt's pocket. He admits that the crash was his fault.
* McCall angrily confronts Tyrol, but is interdicted by Edmondson, who attempts to defuse the situation. McCall concedes that it's all right, and that no one got hurt. Tyrol presses on however, saying that he doesn't need to be "patted on the head" and that its all right if people told him that he [[frak|frakked up]]. He becomes more vocal when Edmondson mentions that "he's only human", but she walks away and no one else comments. He calls them all "cowards".
* Figurski offers to finish looking over the Raptor. In reply, Tyrol tells Figurski to get out of the ship.
* As Baltar looks at the pendant for Asclepius, Virtual Six tells him that people have room for only one great belief, either him or the Gods. Despite Baltar's misgivings about one man standing up to the old Gods, Six convinces him that such a man who does would surely be magnificent. Inspired by this, Baltar tells his members that they have been targeted because of what they believe in, and urges them to take a stand against Gods that have no relevance in their world.
* Baltar then leaves, with [[Jeanne]] and the others following.
* Baltar enters the temple, where the priest is performing a service. He interrupts the ceremony despite the priest's attempts to stop him. Baltar begins asking the parishioners who they serve, blaspheming [[Zeus]] by calling him a "serial rapist" and pointing out the absurdity of giving birth through one's forehead. The priest confronts him, but Baltar calls her an "ignorant witch" and continues discussing the so-called Gods, including how Asclepius heals with the blood of a [[Gorgon]], in addition to the other "invented rubbish" as he vandalizes the temple.
* As his other cultists follow his example, Marines storm the temple and forcibly extricate Baltar as the polytheists in the temple try to attack him, yelling out demands to "burn him".

=== Act 2 ===

* [[William Adama]] visits [[Laura Roslin]] in [[sickbay]] after her blood test. He's brought a different book to read named ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', a classic novel. Roslin comments that she hasn't read it in years, and Adama confesses that he's never finished the book, since he finds the book too good to finish, and is saving the ending. She suggests that she should also do that, but after an awkward realization shared between the two, she corrects herself.
* After Adama offers to take her bag, he notes that "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s back at home in the brig again". Roslin believes that Baltar's desecration of the temple was revenge for what happened to his commune that morning. Adama replies that he has people looking into the brutal attack on Baltar's cult, but no one is talking about the [[Sons of Ares]]. She replies that Baltar's knowingly provoking the hard-line religious groups from [[Dogsville]], and they agree that they can't have a religious fight in the [[the Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. Further, they both agree that Baltar is the crux of the problem, as he has an "uncanny way of stirring up all the crap". They discuss the various options, including locking him away for his own safety to removing him from ''Galactica''. However, Roslin has a better idea and goes to the brig so that Baltar can see her.
* Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] visits [[Caprica-Six]] in the brig. She notes that he didn't even make it to tomorrow. Tigh reveals that he does want something, and asks her how it feels to have the blood of billions of human beings on her hands. She replies that she cannot help but to feel it. Tigh orders the Marines to aim their weapons at her.
* On the hangar deck, Tyrol is welding as Figurski walks by and asks him if he woke up early or never went to sleep. Tyrol doesn't reply and Figurski walks off. After this, Tyrol simply walks off the job, throwing his welder's mask and gloves upon the floor.
* In the brig, Six tells Tigh that she is just as human as he is. During the conversation, he sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in Six's place, and asks her how she deals with the pain. She doesn't answer and Tigh tells the Marines to step outside. After the Marines do so, he tells her that she has nothing to offer him and that she is the same as the rest of the Cylons.
* Also in a brig, Baltar is awakened by Roslin. After Baltar makes a quip about her strip searching him, she tells him that his situation is being looked into "aggressively". She tells him that she is wearing a wig and dying from cancer, but she doesn't want his pity and is still doing her job. She assures him that she's aggressively looking into the men that attacked him. However, there is a caveat to this: she tells him that she wants a quiet little death, and insinuates that Baltar give up his crusade quietly, as she has neither the time nor the patience to indulge him.
* Roslin leaves, telling Baltar that he's being released and to stay safe.
* In [[Joe's Bar]], Adama joins Tyrol at the bar. Adama tells Tyrol that the deck crew misses him and tells him that if he needs time off, or if he wants to work more shifts, all he need to is ask. Tyrol replies that he doesn't need special treatment. In reply, Tyrol hallucinates Adama receiving a shot of alcohol and this reply: "I guess it was just more than she could take, huh? Being married to a Cylon who made her the mother to a half-breed abomination."
* The hallucination ends when Adama gets his drink and comments that Cally was a good woman. Tyrol replies that had Adama really thought that, he wouldn't have threatened to stick her up against a bulkhead and have her shot. Despite Adama's efforts to move their conversation somewhere else, Tyrol then goes into a tirade about how he was stuck with the best of limited options, describing Cally as a "shriek" with "dull, vacant eyes" and a "cabbage smell". He tells Adama that he is sick of his life, a life that he did not choose, and hating to find out that those they really loved were dead, dying, or were Cylons. He pines on his love of [[Sharon Valerii]], and notes that because he tried to stick his head in the sand, he married Cally. He tells her that she was no angel, but notes that Adama has already made her into one. He tells Adama that they are not in the same club, since he never asked the right questions.
* Adama gives him a last chance to recant, but Tyrol refuses, daring Adama to demote him and get him off the ship. Challenged, Adama does so, and orders Specialist Tyrol to report to a petty officer to get reassigned, since Tyrol is a danger to others.
* Adama leaves, while Tyrol slowly collapses into his stool at the bar.

=== Act 3 ===

* On ''[[Colonial One]]'' during a [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum]] meeting, [[Lee Adama]] argues with President Roslin over an emergency measure limiting the size of Baltar's groups so they don't provoke attacks from fundamentalist groups, steadfastly contending that "where ever Baltar is, violence happens", and assures Adama and other delgates that her goal is to keep the people safe from harm by preventing such violence. However, Lee's objections are supported by fellow Quorum members, such as [[Reza Chronides]], who are concerned that the emergency measure that Roslin "bulldozed through" may be used against other religious groups, such as the [[Mithraism|Mithraists]]. Roslin assures people that this won't happen, and the emergency measure was enacted because [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] is a special case, a claim that Lee rebukes by saying that they're making him a special case. During the conversation, [[Tory Foster]] remains silent, but is visibly concerned.
* Despite Lee's assertion that Baltar is not preaching violence and other amoral acts, and objections by the delegates, Roslin tells them to clear their heads and urges the people to remember the tragedy they experienced on [[New Caprica]]. Chronides pointedly asks if Roslin will open the resolution for a full discussion amongst the Quorum, which Roslin quickly and vehemently refuses to do.
* Lee responds by noting that the Quorum can override Roslin, and notes that he's willing to do so since he believes the resolution cannot stand.
* Incensed by this, Roslin replies with rhetoric: should they overturn her decision, the people would win, but at what cost? She implores them to remember what happened when Baltar held political power, and saying they should be terrified at the prospect of Baltar regaining such power again, even through Baltar's cult.
* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] watches [[Caprica-Six|Six]] as she sleeps. He believes he's seeing Ellen. When she awakens, Six asks if she should get familiar to waking up to Tigh's face. She notes the lack of a Marine escort. Tigh tells her that it is an informal chat between them, to which she astutely replies that they're also being watched. Tigh tells her that she hasn't answered his question. She replies that she wants the pain and learns from it. She mentions how she fell in love with Baltar, and understood that she wouldn't have him forever. She continues to discuss Baltar, which breaks Tigh out of his illusion of seeing Ellen. He angrily reacts to this, saying that he refuses to hear about "Gaius Frakking Baltar" and leaves the brig. He enters the adjoining surveillance room to dismiss the Marines and deactivate the surveillance equipment.
* Tigh reenters the brig, where he is prompted with an offer by Six to help him turn off the pain. She reveals that she learns from the pain, the guilt, and she claims that she's found clarity and wisdom from these things. Tigh sits on the cot with her, where he is told how the humanoid Cylon brain is patterned after the human brain, where she claims that the Cylons have learned things about the human mind that the humans themselves are unaware of.
* Six, who Tigh now sees as Ellen, removes his eye patch and offers to give him clarity.
* Baltar and his cultists proceed to the commune, but are stopped by a Marine who tells him of Roslin's emergency measure, [[Emergency Provision 17]], and that no group larger than twelve can be assembled at any time. Baltar insists that he lives in the commune, but the marine will have none of it, even when [[Paulla Schaffer]] offers to leave and allow Baltar to enter. When Baltar tries to make his way into the commune at the urging of his Virtual Six, he is beaten back by the Marine and begins to spit out blood from his mouth.

=== Act 4 ===

* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh]] tells [[Caprica-Six]] to get her hands off him. She punches him, throwing him from the cot. She then jumps on him and begins punishing him in the face, enjoying it in the process. After this, she asks him if he feels the pain, and the clarity that comes with it. When he does not reply, she continues to punch him.
* [[Virtual Six]] convinces [[Gaius Baltar]] to continue to defy the Marine, assuring him that the gains for doing so outweigh the initial costs. He does so, and is repeatedly beaten back to the ground in front of his followers every time he takes a move towards the commune. "Aided" by his virtual Six, Baltar gets up and continues this action, until Lee Adama arrives with a [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine lieutenant]]. He informs them that the provision has been rescinded and right for full public assembly is restored.
* [[Tracey Anne]], [[Jeanne]] and [[Paulla Schaffer]] rush out to help Baltar into the commune. Before entering the commune, Baltar thanks Adama for helping him. Adama replies that he doesn't know why he does these things for Baltar. Baltar says that Adama does such things because "your God compels you".
* In [[sickbay]], [[Laura Roslin]] tells [[William Adama]] (who is holding ''[[Searider Falcon]]'' in his hand) that Lee has no idea of what he's doing, believing that there are "pragmatic realities" that Lee refuses to face. Adama agrees to this, saying that Lee's only doing what he thinks is right. Roslin does agree to that, but says that "sometimes the right thing is a luxury" and has its own set of dangerous consequences that Lee doesn't want to be true. She stops herself from continuing, since she realizes that shouldn't get upset during her [[diloxin]] treatment.
* Adama tells her that he's about to get into the part of the book he hasn't read yet and, when asked if he can continue, Adama starts reading. Roslin goes to sleep and Adama continues from the reading, despite having closed the book and apparently knowing the words by rote.
* In the brig, a beaten Tigh begs to Six to continue her assault. However, she changes tactics, saying that being beaten is not what he needs. She then kisses him.
* In the commune, Baltar makes his speech where he notes that while he isn't a perfect man, he believes that something in the universe loves him despite his flaws and faults. Urged on by Virtual Six, he calls this "spark", which dwells in the soul of every living being, "God" and moves the crowd when he says that each and every person is perfect, and that they can love others once they love themselves.
* During Baltar's speech, Lee Adama sees [[Tory Foster]] in attendance. Elsewhere on the ship, [[Galen Tyrol]] stares at [[Nicholas Tyrol|Nicholas]], who is playing in his crib.
* On the ''[[Demetrius]]'', [[Kara Thrace]] is sleeping at a table when [[Samuel Anders]] comes in, watching over her.
* Baltar finishes his speech by saying that God loves that which is perfect, and that people are perfect as they are. Foster is smiling, while the other cultists begin to weep and give him a standing ovation. Lee Adama moves to leave the commune while Virtual Six looks over at Foster.

== Notes ==
* [[w:Escape velocity|Escape velocity]] is the minimum initial velocity an unaccelerated object needs to escape a body's gravitational field.
* [[Cally Tyrol]]'s full first name is Callandra. The spelling is confirmed in [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246 Bear McCreary's blog post] for this episode. The episode also marks the first onscreen mention of her birth name, Henderson.
* The [[survivor count]] now accounts for Callandra Tyrol's death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]".
* A costuming error in the teaser shows [[Saul Tigh]] wearing the rank insignia of an [[Military Ranks (RDM)|admiral]]. This is noticeable in the scene where Tigh and [[Tory Foster]] confront [[Galen Tyrol]] in Tyrol's quarters after the memorial service.
* The [[diloxin]] treatment [[Laura Roslin]] receives has forced her to wear a wig, since her hair loss began more than 22 days ago in "[[Six of One]]".
* Another of the [[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|Lords of Kobol]] is revealed: [[Asclepius]]. Asclepius is known to the Colonials as the god of healing.
* Unlike "[[The Ties That Bind]]", [[Tom Zarek]] is not present at the [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum of Twelve]] meetings on ''[[Colonial One]]'' in this episode. The reason for his absence is unexplained.
* Tory Foster confirms that the [[Final Five]] are stronger than humans.
* [[Redwing]] previously appeared in "[[Exodus, Part II]]" as [[Hot Dog]]'s wingman.
* The Raptor accident was the third such incident for the pair of [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] and [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]. The first occurrence being their FTL malfunction causing their mis-jump to the [[New Caprica]] system in "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]", and another incident with the RCS thrusters occurs in "[[Dirty Hands]]".

== Analysis ==

=== General ===

*The [[Sons of Ares]] act with military precision, have access to gas grenades and knowledge about the ship's security procedures. From this it is likely that many of them are soldiers and not civilians. This may be expected from a group dedicated to the [[Ares|god of war]].
* When facing down the Marines, the way in which Baltar is standing up appears as though he is being lifted up, which puzzles the Marines and Baltar's followers. This marks the first time where virtual Six does something to Baltar that isn't clearly presented like Baltar is doing it to himself. While it is possible that he moves like that all by himself, and his feet are never shown, it is implied that virtual Six can actually affect things physically. This, along with the [[virtual Baltar]] appearing to Baltar in "[[Six of One]]", and both virtual beings consistently knowing information that neither Baltar or Caprica-Six could actually know, hints that there may be something more to them than simply being illusions. What they are, of course, remains a matter of debate.
**In the [[Podcast:Escape Velocity#Act 4|podcast]], Ron Moore points out that such an interpretation was never intended by the writers. He concedes that the way it is shot goes into that direction, which he considers too far, but believes that none of the characters present would think of it any other way than Baltar moving around by himself.
* The scene where Baltar violently confronts the Colonials during their prayer service seems based on the biblical narrative of [[Wikipedia:Jesus and the money changers|Jesus and the money changers]].

=== Characters ===
* [[Galen Tyrol]]'s insubordination that leads Admiral Adama to demote him may have been a deliberate act, conscious or unconscious, to maintain the safety of the ship. While not stated explicitly, Tyrol has been implied to have fears of working against the interest of the Fleet. This fear is almost certainly magnified when he forgets to swap out a burned out component for a new one on [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]]'s Raptor, which subsequently crashes. While his memory lapse may have been innocently brought on by the continuing stress of discovering himself to be a Cylon, the resulting subterfuge, and his wife's death, the experience of [[Sharon Valerii]] with her memory lapses, unconscious acts of sabotage, and the attempted murder of then Commander Adama, are probably on his mind. This is indicated during the tirade against Cally, Adama, and his life in general in [[Joe's bar]]. A demotion in disgrace and transfer could ensure the safety of the ship, without raising any unwanted questions as an official resignation probably would.
* Neither Tyrol nor, apparently, Tigh have been told the full truth about [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s death; Foster has not seen fit to tell Tigh, possibly as a result of the suicide pact made in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]". The official story surrounding her demise has not been disclosed to the audience, however all ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> crew knows is that she did die. What has not been disclosed thus far is how Nicholas was found, despite the fact that Cally was seen by several crewmembers carrying the child before her death.
* Tyrol continues to have feelings for Sharon Valerii, as he admits to [[William Adama]] and everyone else present in Joe's Bar. Tyrol notes many of [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s weaknesses, including her nagging, nosy nature (which lead to her death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]"), and grows annoyed at Adama's willingness to turn Cally into an angel, when he believes that she is unworthy of that. His feelings for Valerii were likely renewed upon realizing that he is a Cylon, which makes a possible association with Valerii much more acceptable to him.
* Tyrol's tirade about Cally and his reasons for marrying her also have a double meaning in regards to Adama. As it becomes more obvious, especially ever since "[[A Day in the Life]]", Adama's feelings for Roslin have become more apparent. Unfortunately, with her cancer re-appearing and her possible upcoming death, Roslin, like Valerii to Tyrol, is unattainable to Adama. Ironically, though Tyrol believes that Adama wants him to join his "club" in lamenting for Cally, it may very well be that it is Adama who wants to join Tyrol's club.
* Foster continues to embrace her Cylon nature and Baltar's teachings. She tells Tigh and Tyrol to turn off the guilt, that they are perfect and different from humans. Tigh, however, can't turn off his feelings and spends much of the episode wondering if [[Caprica-Six]] can.
* A part of the book that Adama reads to Roslin, ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', has some deeper significance to both of them, just like ''[[Love and Bullets]]'' in the previous episode: "I wasn't afraid to die. I was afraid of the emptiness that I felt inside. I couldn't feel anything. And that's what scared me. You came into my thoughts. I felt them. It felt good." This is emphasized by the fact that he closes the book and recites the passage, almost as if the words are his. It is also possible that the passage has additional significance for Adama, since by his admission he normally stops reading after it.
* Roslin's wig is strikingly reminiscent of [[Helena Cain]]'s hairstyle in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] and [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]". This is a visual counterpoint to her increasing ruthlessness as she confronts her impending death.
* Roslin's wig is also reminiscent of the hairstyle and look that she has in the vision she shared with Athena and Caprica-Six ([[Crossroads, Part I]]). This may indicate that the vision was a foretelling of future events to come in the season.
* Roslin's body language during and after her speech to the Quorum portrays several nuances to the audience. First, it is apparent, besides the hair loss, that the cancer treatments are weakening her body tremendously. Second, her previous statements to Baltar of having less and less patience is more evident in how she dealt with the Quorum's request. Third, as she leaves, the nuance of Roslin, with a hunched back and slowly sulking away indicates that there may be future consequences for the Quorum in standing up to Roslin.

=== Religion ===
* Delegate [[Reza Chronides]] mentions [[Mithraism]], thus further establishing the existence of other religions in the Twelve Colonies. The [[Sons of Ares]] are another religious group, described as [[w:fundamentalism|fundamentalist]].
*This is particularly notable in the context of Baltar's cult, because [[w:Mithraism|Mithraism]] had many things in common with [[w:Christianity|Christianity]]. Yet Christians were prosecuted far more by the ([[w:polytheism|polytheistic]]) Romans, while Mithraism spread throughout the empire and particularly the army, before Christianity became the official religion and [[w:Paganism|paganism]] illegal. This furthers the connection of the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)#The Lords of Kobol|Lords of Kobol]] to the Roman/Greek gods and of Baltar to [[w:Jesus Christ|Christ]].
*In Baltar's theology people are perfect and God loves things that are perfect. Perfect things have no faults, therefore God loves one including one's faults. Hence, there is nothing wrong with one despite the questionable things done in life. This is similar to the Calvinist and Free Grace Christian theologies that hold that those truly saved by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ can not lose their salvation. In other words, regardless of faults or sins past, present or future a true believer in Christ's complete salvation at the Cross would never be rejected by God. This is similar to Baltar's theology in which God would never reject a person under any circumstance because he or she is perfect regardless of their faults or sins. Under this world view God would regard [[Tory Foster]] as perfect and guiltless despite her murder of [[Cally Tyrol]], which she has convinced herself that she is.
*Furthermore, according to conventional Protestant Christian theology, one need only accept Jesus as savior and confess once. The confession must be heartfelt and true for Christ's salvation and redemption to be in effect in God's eyes. To use the example of Tory Foster once more, it is likely that Foster is truly embracing Baltar's teachings and perhaps her Cylon nature in that she truly believes they are perfect as is and forgiven as they are. This differs from what is required under conventional forms of Christianity in that Christ has paid for the sinner's salvation.
*Baltar's speech about loving one's self, and using that understanding to love and understand others seems thematically aligned with Virtual Six's initial remark in the Miniseries that "God is love." Ironically, Baltar's sinful past now seems to enhance his credibility and provide evidence that someone as sinful as him has been given fortune by God. In Christianity, to be redeemed from sin does not mean that one will stop sinning, but to live in constant reminder of God's love and favor because of Christ's sacrifice. Furthermore with that understanding that one is loved, one's behavior will change gradually and in certain circumstances miracles occur. Likewise, Baltar has repeatedly repented to God and had seemingly divine providence intervene in his favor several times. Since Baltar is now using his own sinful life as an example, it seems that this dynamic of Christianity is consistent here as well.

== Questions ==

* Will Lee Adama grow more sympathetic towards Baltar's group?
* Will Roslin learn that Foster is associating with Baltar?
* Will Tyrol seriously consider Foster's words?
* Will Foster clash with Tigh and Tyrol, as their different attitudes towards their Cylon nature develop?
* Are Tyrol and Tigh's hallucinations merely the result of grief and guilt, or are they using [[projection]]?
* Do Tigh and Six have sex? ([[Sine Qua Non|answer]])
* Are Tigh and Six the "enemies brought together by impossible longing" spoken of by the [[First Hybrid]] in "[[Razor]]"?
* Are Tyrol's statements about Cally's negative attributes heartfelt, or merely a result of rage and anger?
* What of [[Nicholas Tyrol]]? Will his father take care of the child?
* Now that it is clear that Foster lied to Tyrol about the death of Cally, how will Tyrol react should he discover the truth?
* What will Tyrol's new duties be after his demotion to specialist?
* Further, what is his status within the [[Colonial Workers Alliance]]? Has he abandoned this union's leadership position or been forced out?
* Will Baltar's religion end up helping the people of the Fleet, or will it lead them into a dangerous state which compromises them, as Laura Roslin appears to fear?
* What influence will the new religion have on Roslin's beliefs and actions? Will she convert, will she be proven right, or will she be on the wrong side?
* Does Baltar's facial expression of seeming shock when he sees Virtual Six standing next to her and smiling, mean that he realizes that Tory Foster is a Cylon? Does he connect that with Foster's display of strength to him during their sex play?

== Official Statements ==
* ''[[Mark Verheiden]] discusses [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] being "lifted" by [[Virtual Six]]:''
: "I would argue that Baltar’s gyrations were still him contorting himself, as if Number Six were hoisting him from the floor. I am reminded of Church services where people, in the throes of religious fervor, can evidence remarkable physical contortions, 'speaking in tongues,' etc."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/04/28/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-tyrols-guilt-and-baltar-the-traitor/|title=Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Tyrol's Guilt and Baltar the Traitor|date=28 April 2008|accessdate=1 May 2008|last=Ullrich|first=Chris|format=|language=}}</ref>

* ''Verheiden talks about [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]]'s animosity towards Baltar:''
: "This starts to get a little complicated, I think, which of course means you’re watching ''Battlestar Galactica''! But Laura’s emotions about New Caprica have to be a swirl of righteous resentments and animosity.

: "Remember that she [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|was removed]] as President by the will of the people (in a squeaker of an election), replaced by a guy she knew would be a poor leader. That proved to be true even before the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] arrived and the [[Cylon Occupation Authority|occupation]] began.

: "So she would have watched the political machine on [[New Caprica]] flounder under Baltar’s rule, then see the Government’s total capitulation when the Cylons arrived and he immediately surrendered.

: "While Baltar more or less cooperated with the Cylons (regardless of whether his reasons were pragmatic and practical, as pointed out in his trial), humans were rounded up, imprisoned, eyeballs were gouged out, people were tortured, the nightmare went on and on.

: "After all that, Baltar [[Crossroads, Part II|managed to evade]] Laura’s idea of justice AND he falls into a [[Cult of Baltar|sect]] of acolytes who look to him for spiritual guidance.

: "Is it any wonder that the guy gets under her skin? And that she fears for the [[The Fleet (RDM)|fleet]] should he find another power base?"

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''[[William Adama]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]'s argument at Joe's Bar:''
: '''William Adama:''' [[Cally Tyrol|She]] was a good woman.
: '''Galen Tyrol:''' If you ''really'' believe that, you wouldn't have [[Dirty Hands|threatened]] to stick her up against a bulkhead and shoot her. It's OK though, thought about doing it a few times myself. Believe me.
: '''Adama:''' Chief...
: '''Tyrol:''' How many of us ended up with the people we wanted to be with? Got stuck with the best of limited options. And why? Because the ones we really want, that we've really loved, are dead, dying, turned out to be [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and they didn't know it. And if [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] had...
: '''Adama:''' Let's go. Let's go.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. ''No.'' I didn't know—
: '''Adama:''' Let's go home.
: '''Tyrol:''' ''I didn't know.'' So I buried my head in the sand, and I took it, and I settled. I settled for that shriek. Those dull, vacant eyes. Boiled cabbage stench of her. And why? Because this is my life. This is the life I picked! And that's fine. But you know what, it's not! I didn't pick this life! This isn't my ''[[frak]]kin''<nowiki>'</nowiki> life!
: '''Adama:''' What the hell's gotten in to you? Don't do this. Don't do this to her memory.
: '''Tyrol:''' You know what? I'm sorry if I'm not doing this the way you want me to, the way you might, but I'm not making an angel out of someone who wasn't an angel. But I can see you have. And now you've come down here to be in my club. But you're not in my club. You don't know what frakkin' club I'm in because you never ask the right questions.
: '''Adama:''' Chief, let's get out of here.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. Why don't ''you'' go, take care of your ''precious ship''.
: '''Adama:''' Stop it! Stop all of this! Because if you don't, I'll have to act on it. Now shut up!
: '''Tyrol:''' ''Great!'' Do it! Please! For the love of Gods, please demote me! ''Get me off your frakking ship!''
: '''Adama:''' Specialist Tyrol, I want you off my hangar deck before you endanger another pilot. You're to report to Petty Officer [[Basim]] at 0600 for reassignment. Do you understand?

* ''[[Caprica-Six]] tells [[Saul Tigh]] about her feelings:''
:"I want the pain. It's how I learn. I was instrumental in the destruction of humanity, but at the same time I learned, because...because I fell in love...with a human man, and he was mortal and fallible. And he had this incredible pride in himself. He thought he knew everything there was to know. And I loved him, with my whole heart. And then one day, I realized I wouldn't have him forever. I understood what I'd done. How I betrayed him and humanity. And that pain taught me to understand death. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] could die. And I loved him. Baltar's heart was ephemeral. Baltar's body was fragile in my hands."

* ''[[Laura Roslin]] about [[Lee Adama]] and his understanding of politics:''
:'''Roslin:''' Lee has no idea. He really has no idea. [...] There are pragmatic realities he refuses to face.
:'''William Adama:''' Well, that's a problem of course. He'd say what he thinks is right.
:'''Roslin:''' Well yeah. He is Lee. Thing is, it probably is the right thing, but...sometimes the right thing is a luxury. And it can have profoundly dangerous consequences. And it's almost as if he doesn't want that to be true.

* ''[[Gaius Baltar]] speaks to his [[Cult of Baltar|followers]]:''
:"I am not a priest. I've never even been a particularly good man. I am in fact a profoundly selfish man. But that doesn't matter, you see. Something in the universe loves me. (smiles) Something in the universe loves the entity that is me. I would choose to call this something "God", a singular spark that dwells in the soul of every living being. If you look inside yourself you will find that spark too. You will. But you have to look deep. Love your faults. Embrace them. If God embraces them, then how can they be faults? Love yourself. You have to love yourself. If we don't love ourselves, how can we love others? And when we know what we are, then we can find the truth out about others, seek what they are; the truth about them. And you know what the truth is? The truth about them? About you? About me? Do you? The truth is, we're all perfect. Just as we are. God only loves that which is perfect and he loves you. He loves you because you are perfect. You are perfect. Just as you are."

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as Ensign [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Kate Vernon]] as "[[Virtual beings#Saul Tigh's Virtual Ellen|Virtual Ellen]]"
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lieutenant [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Colin Lawrence]] as Lieutenant [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Donna Soares]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Gemenon Delegate|Speaking Delegate #1]] (Gemenon Delegate)
* [[Andrew McIlroy]] as [[Jacob Cantrell]]
* [[Judith Maxie]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Picon Delegate|Picon Delegate]]
* [[Iris Paluly]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Speaking Delegate #2|Speaking Delegate #2]]
* [[Marilyn Norry]] as [[Reza Chronides]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Leela Savasta]] as [[Tracey Anne]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as Sergeant [[Brandy Harder]] (credited as "Surveillance Marine")
* [[Laara Sadiq]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Priestess|Priestess]]
* [[Karen Austin]] as [[Lilly]]
* [[Steve Lawlor]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine guard|Marine at Baltar's]]
* [[Hector Johnson]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine Lieutenant]]
* [[Lee Jefferies]] as [[Redwing|"Redwing" McKay]]
* [[Rob Hayter]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Sons of Ares leader|Sons of Ares leader]] (uncredited)
* Unknown as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#"Mr. Officious"|"Mr. Officious"]] (uncredited)

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos]]

[[de:Escape Velocity]]
[[ms:Escape Velocity]]

Revelations

2008-06-16T03:38:25Z

Brandon: Added question about Lee Adama's future

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] <br/>
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=
| US airdate=13 June 2008
| CAN airdate=13 June 2008
| UK airdate=17 June 2008
| dvd=
| oldpopulation= 39673
| population=39665
| prev= [[The Hub]]
| next= [[Sometimes a Great Notion]]
| imdb=0993911
}}

== Overview ==

: ''Led by [[Number Three]], the band of rebel Cylons hold President Roslin and ''Galactica''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> pilots hostage while attempting to lure the "Watchtower Four" out of hiding. Meanwhile, [[Kara Thrace]]'s Viper may hold a previously undiscovered clue to finding [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].''

== Summary ==

=== Teaser ===

*[[Lee Adama]] is in [[William Adama|William Adama's]] quarters, looking up an illustration of the Temple of [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn|Aurora]] on Earth, as described by [[Pythia]]. [[Kara Thrace]] walks in an greets him, and they briefly discuss the temple, and the absence of William Adama and [[Laura Roslin]]. Lee comments on how both he and Tigh are intimidated by Adama's chair. Thrace talks about how [[Leoben Conoy|Leoben]] stated that, for children to reach their full potential, their parents have to die.
*In the [[Basestar command|basestar control room]], Roslin, William Adama, [[D'Anna Biers]] and Leoben discuss the plans to return the [[Final Five]]. Biers mentions that there are only four in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] and refuses to provide answers when Roslin questions her about the fifth's location. When Adama asks for their names, she expresses skepticism, suggesting that the Colonials may kill them. Roslin points out that the Colonials need them because they know the way to Earth, while Leoben recommends co-operation and D'Anna refutes him, citing the [[Exodus, Part II|failure]] of [[Occupation|co-operation]] on [[New Caprica]].
*Biers announces that she will hold the Colonials on the ship hostage until the Final Four are safely aboard the basestar. When a standoff between the Colonials and the Centurions ensues, Roslin tells Adama to stand down and he repeats the order to the other pilots. Three tells Adama to accompany her to ''[[Galactica]]'' on a Raptor. He initially refuses, but Roslin tells him to go. She embraces him and whispers in his ear that if the Cylons get the four, they get [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], and he can't allow that to happen, even if he has to destroy the basestar with them aboard.
*In [[CIC]], [[Felix Gaeta]] - having returned to duty despite still having problems with his [[Guess What's Coming to Dinner|amputated leg]] - accidentally knocks over a bottle of pills. [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him by picking up the pill bottle. Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] asks Gaeta if he wishes to be relieved, but he declines and takes a drink to numb the pain.
*Gaeta then announces the arrival of the rebel baseship and that a Raptor launched from it. On the [[hangar deck]], Adama and Three step out of the Raptor. [[Galen Tyrol]] and [[Samuel Anders]] look on from the catwalk, wondering whether Three can or will identify them. While William Adama greets his son, Three steps off the Raptor and looks at each of the Final Four.
*William Adama and Biers explain the situation. Biers claims that she is already in contact with the four, that they would come to her willingly and that all the Fleet needs to do is not interfere with shuttle traffic. The Adamas agree to her terms. As Three is about to leave, [[Tory Foster]] steps forward, asking to bring Roslin her medication and see if she is alright. Knowing that she wants to defect, Tigh tries to prevent her from going by saying that they shouldn't give the Cylons more hostages, but he is overruled by the Adamas.
*In the Adama's quarters, William and Lee Adama, Tigh and Thrace discuss a plan to rescue the hostages. The admiral mentions Roslin's recommendation, but tells his son that it is his call. President Adama agrees.

=== Act 1 ===
*In the [[Situation Room]], [[Sharon Agathon]] and Kara Thrace officially present their rescue plan. Tigh expresses skepticism at the expected high losses of boarding the basestar, saying there have to be other options. Thrace sarcastically comments that the four could just give themselves up.
*On the basestar, Foster is led to the control room. Three announces that one of the Final Five has arrived. [[Number Two|Leoben]] expresses doubt, but Three attests that she saw her in her vision. Foster smiles as the Cylons gather around her in amazement.
*In another room, Roslin bandages [[Gaius Baltar]], who thanks her for not killing him, but Roslin confesses that she told Adama to destroy the basestar should the Cylons get the four. Foster walks in with a [[Number Six|Six]], greeting them and bringing Roslin her medication. Roslin thanks her, and asks how she was able to do so, and Foster says that she came with Three to be with her people. Baltar attests that he subconsciously knew, that she was one of the Final Five. When asked if she had any idea, Roslin says no, and Foster tells her it might be worth pondering other things she has been wrong about, then starts to walk out. Roslin tells her to stop, and asks her to convince Three to release the hostages. Foster coldly replies that she's done taking orders from her.
*A body flies out of the baseship. In CIC, Lee Adama receives a transmission from Three, who announces that there has been a change of plans. She has executed the first hostage and will continue to execute hostages every quarter hour until they have the four. Adama tries to reason with her, telling her that she did not giving them a chance and that they are co-operating, but Dualla states that Three has terminated the transmission. As a result, Adama authorizes the rescue mission and to destroy the baseship should it fail
*On the hangar deck, as the pilots and deck crew prepare for the mission, Tyrol begins hearing the [[The Music|strange music]] again, heavily distorted by screeching and static. In a [[pilot ready rooms|pilot ready room]], as Starbuck and Athena brief the pilots, Anders likewise hears the music, as does Foster on the basestar.
*On ''Galactica'' Anders, Tigh and Tyrol are drawn to [[Starbuck's Viper]]. Tyrol suggests that something about the Viper has changed, and Anders suggests they get Starbuck. Tigh agrees, then walks out.
*Tigh walks into William Adama's office, telling him to scrub the mission. When asked if he has another option instead, Tigh confesses that he has known that he is a Cylon since the [[Ionian nebula]]. Adama expresses doubt and can't believe that his decade-long friend could by a Cylon. He suggests that Tigh could have been brainwashed on [[New Caprica]] and says they should see Doctor [[Cottle]]. Tigh says that he should have killed himself when he found out and suggests that Three will back down if he is used as a hostage.

=== Act 2 ===
{{cleanup}}
*As [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] take Tigh to the airlock, William Adama rampages through his office and drinks heavily.
*As Adama cries, Lee attempts to comfort him. Bill says he can't kill Tigh, and Lee promises to handle things.
*In the airlock, Lee interrogates Tigh, demanding to know who the other Cylons are.
*Dualla announces that D'Anna is on the line. Lee threatens to kill Tigh if she harms one of the hostages, and says that she has ten minutes before he kills him.
*Lee tells Tigh to give him the identities of the rest of the Final Four in order to save the fleet.
*Around Starbuck's Viper, Kara expresses doubt about Anders and Tyrol's suspicion regarding the viper. Marines arrest Anders and Tyrol, when questioned by Starbuck, Sergeant Harder says that they're Cylons like the XO. Kara questions Anders, Tyrol tells him to tell her, and Anders tells her it's true. As he is dragged away, Anders insists that something is different about the Viper.
*On the basestar, an [[Number Eight|Eight]] and two Centurions force the captured pilots down a hallway, [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]] tells the pilots to fall back, and the Eight threatens to shoot them if they don't keep moving.
*In the airlock, Anders concludes that Tigh told Lee that they were Cylons. Lee orders Dualla to get the baseship on the line.
*Starbuck gets into her Viper.
*On the baseship, Roslin and Baltar hear the hostages and Centurions. A [[Number Two|Two]] walks in and Roslin asks what's going on. The Two says that D'Anna is about to start executing more hostages, Roslin requests that she be taken to D'Anna. Baltar insists that D'Anna won't listen to her, and that he be taken instead because he was with her when she had the vision in the [[Temple of Five]]. Roslin agrees.
*Lee tells D'Anna that he has Anders and Tyrol in the airlock, and demands that D'Anna stand down.
*Starbuck begins activating her Viper's systems.
*Foster tells D'Anna that she knows Lee, and he will back down if pressured. D'Anna gives an order to target nuclear weapons on the civilian fleet. Baltar walks in and begins begins talking to D'Anna.
*Starbuck continues to activate her Viper, and detects a signal.
*Baltar argues that coercion won't work because he's too similar to his father, while Foster argues that he's bluffing.
*Dualla tells Lee that the baseship's nukes have gone hot, Lee and Dualla conclude that the fleet couldn't spool up their [[FTL|jump drives]] quickly enough to escape before the Cylons fire. Lee orders that everyone except Tigh be removed from the tube.
*Baltar suggests that [[God (RDM)|God]] may have brought D'Anna back for a different purpose, to end the conflict peacefully. D'Anna argues that the Colonials will never forgive the Cylons for [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they did to the Twelve Colonies]], and gives an order to proceed.
*As the launch tube door closes, Starbuck runs through the ship.
*Baltar argues to D'Anna that brute force did not work for the Cylons on [[New Caprica]] or the [[algae planet]], and that it will not work now.
*Lee asks Dualla for the key and begins the process of activating the launch tube.
*An Eight announces that they have weapons lock on the Colonial ships.
*Tigh tells Lee to stop hesitating and flush the airlock.
*As Lee is about to push the button, Kara runs in, telling Lee to stop, saying that the Cylons just gave them [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].

=== Act 3 ===
{{cleanup}}
*Lee sits in Starbuck's Viper, recognizing a Colonial emergency locator signal, and states that no other [[wireless]] in the fleet is picking it up. Kara argues to a skeptical Lee that it must be a signal from Earth, insisting that some higher power is orchestrating events for a purpose and wants the Colonials to find Earth with the Cylons.
*Kara, Lee, the Final Four, D'Anna, marines and Centurions stand around Starbuck's Viper and an Eight sits inside.
*They discuss the signal. Lee says that he decided to share the information with the Cylons rather than jump away because it would only lead to another confrontation, and argues that peace is possible and says that he has granted the Final Four an amnesty.
*D'Anna agrees to release the hostages.
*Lee shows his father the location of Earth, asking for orders, Roslin walks in and says she wants to see him pick up the first fistful of earth, he walks away saying that he'll be back.
*Lee talks to Roslin about stepping down, and she praises him on resolving the crisis, and says the Fleet will need that kind of leadership in the years to come.
*Admiral Adama returns in uniform, saying they should find Earth, Lee states that he has been working on a recon mission with Kara, the Admiral says that everyone should go together, that they don't have anywhere else to go, and that the alliance will fall apart if they hesitate too long. In his view, they need to [[The Hand of God (RDM)|roll the hard six]], again.

=== Act 4 ===
{{cleanup}}
*In CIC Dualla announces that the Fleet is ready to jump. Admiral Adama tells Roslin that they wouldn't have made it without her and asks her to give the order. She does so. Dualla counts down and the Fleet jumps.
*The entire Fleet - now including the rebel Basestar - successfully jumps. Adama tells Gaeta to take his time with confirming their location.
*Gaeta announces that the constellations match.
*Indeed, the Fleet is in front of a blue planet, namely Earth.
*Adama makes a speech to the fleet, announcing that they have arrived at Earth. There is celebration throughout the fleet.
*A detachment of Vipers, Raptors, and Heavy Raiders fly into the atmosphere, escorting two [[Gemenon Traveler]] type ships to the surface.
*On Earth, Adama lifts up a handful of soil. Someone next to him reads the dirt with a [[w:Geiger counter|Geiger counter]]. The soil is irradiated.
*Laura Roslin stands next to Adama, disappointed. D'Anna stands beside Roslin, stunned.
*Many others, including [[Karl Agathon|Karl]] & Sharon Agathon, Gaius Baltar, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, the Final Four, and the Cylons are on the surface as well, walking and standing around what appears to be the ruins of an unknown city, apparently having been destroyed as a result of a nuclear holocaust. The question they are probably asking themselves is, "what happened to Earth?"

== Notes ==

* This episode is the mid-season cliffhanger for the first ten episodes of [[Season 4 (2008-09)|Season 4]]. The conclusion to the cliffhanger, "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", will not air until 2009.
* The episode was given an advance screening in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 11th, in order to draw attention for the upcoming Emmy Award nominations. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://syfyportal.com/news425104.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' Hosting Free Screening In L.A.}}</ref>
* As D'Anna Biers executes one prisoner during the course of the episode, the population of the Fleet when it arrives at Earth is 39,664, not counting the Significant Seven Cylons who have now joined them.

== Analysis ==
* D'Anna Biers holding the Colonial personnel hostage isn't aimed so much as to President Adama and the government, as it is to the remaining three of the Final Four who choose to remain behind. When Foster moves to defect under the guise of giving Roslin her medicine, Colonel Tigh speaks up to prevent her from going. This earns Tigh and the other two who refuse to come forward Biers's enmity and she begins killing their crew mates until they join the Cylons
* [[Tory Foster]] actively advises Number Three in her test of wills with Lee Adama, pressing for more aggressive tactics. She appears to be combining embracing her Cylon nature with misanthropy.
* How [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] came to the state which the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] found it in is uncertain. Given that the landing party tests the soil with a Geiger counter, and the ruins they come across appear to be from a nuclear blast, it is likely that some nuclear event occurred on Earth. Together with the clear remnants of a modern civilization, this means that the series is set in the future and not the past (barring that is is set in an alternate universe).
* Assuming that a nuclear event was responsible for the current condition of Earth, it appears that it happened a considerable number of years, if not decades or hundreds of years, ago. Less than a week after the Cylon bombardment, the planet [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]] had turned yellowish-brown from dust blasted into the atmosphere, creating a [[w:nuclear winter|nuclear winter]] ([[33]]). Nine months later, someone on Caprica would have still seen yellow skies ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]). Although the soil of Earth at the landing site is radioactive, the skies are a natural foggy/cloudy gray, and the view from orbit is of a blue-white world.
* The area the landing party arrives at appears to be the Brooklyn side of [[w:New York City|New York City]]. The landing party is next to a broad river and across that river to the left is a wide bay. The other shore appears to be the edge of Lower Manhattan with a destroyed skyline of buildings. The camera pans to the right over what is ostensibly the [[w:East River|East River]] until the last two seconds of the episode, where at the far right edge of the screen stands a wrecked structure with a heavily abbreviated roadway. It appears to be the East Tower (Brooklyn side) of the [[w:Brooklyn Bridge|Brooklyn Bridge]]. However, it should be noted that the information on this is incomplete. For instance, many speculations as to the gas giant that [[Kara Thrace]] sees in her journey from Earth (as first explained in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]") claimed that the giant was [[w:Jupiter|Jupiter]], when this was [[Faith|later disproved]].
*The landing area actually appears to be the Temple of [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn|Aurora]], thus bookending the episode. When the episode begins, [[Lee Adama]] is looking up an illustration of the Temple in [[Pythia]]'s book. It shows a dome structure near a body of water. As the episode closes on Earth, the landing party appears to be at the ruins of a domed structure by a body of water, as described by the illustration.

== Questions ==

* Which pilot did [[Number Three]] airlock?
* Is [[Number Three]] honest in her claim that there are only four of the Final Five in the [[Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]? If so, where is the fifth and last Cylon? If she's lying, is it because she still harbors distrust for her compatriots and the humans?
* What of the other [[Number One|Ones]], [[Number Four|Fours]], and [[Number Five|Fives]]?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* What condition is the rest of Earth in?
* Will the other Cylons find the Fleet and the rebels, as well as Earth? If so, will they finish [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they]] [[Cylon Civil War|started]]?
* Does the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] still exist? If so, where are they now?
* Will the Colonials and their Cylon allies settle on Earth, or will they move on in hopes of finding a more suitable planet?
* Will Tigh, Anders, and Tyrol continue their duties on ''Galactica'' despite having been exposed as Cylons?
* Now that his brief presidency has come to an end, will Lee Adama resume his duties on the Quorum? If not, what will his new role be?

== Official Statements ==

  

<br>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[William Adama]] has a nervous breakdown after the discovering that his decade-long friend [[Saul Tigh]] is a Cylon. [[Lee Adama|His son]] finds him and drags his father's sobbing form to a bulkhead where he cradles his father from behind.''
:'''William Adama:''' [Crying, Sobbing, despair...]
:'''Lee Adama:''' [voice quavering]: Dad listen...No one suspected, no one! Not with his record. Not what he did on New Caprica. His eye... What happened to his wife... Come on, let's get up.
:'''William:''' What have I done? [breathlessly] All of the people I've sent to die? For what? For what!?!
:'''Lee:''' [quietly] For Earth...
:'''William:''' [angrily]: There is no Earth. [sobs] It is a frakkin' joke! There is no Earth! [sobs]
:'''Lee:''' Okay dad, listen to me...[firmer and takes his father face between his hands] Listen to me!! Pull it together!!
:'''William:''' I can't...
:'''Lee''' [frustrated]: Yes you can! Come on!
:'''William:''' I can't....
:'''Lee:''' [frustrated] Yes you ca...
:'''William:''' I can't.... I can't kill him... I can't kill the bastard! I can't....
:'''Lee:''' Okay, okay dad [he cradles his father's face]
:'''William:''' I can't....
:'''Lee:''' It's....It's gonna be okay....It's gonna be okay... I'll... I'll take care of it.. I'll take care of it [kisses his father's forehead].

*''[[Tory Foster]] to [[Laura Roslin]] after confessing that she is a Cylon:''
:'''Foster:''' You had no idea, did you?
:'''Roslin:''' No.
:'''Foster:''' Might be worth pondering what else you've been wrong about.

*''Upon confirmation of their position in orbit of Earth, [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]] makes an announcement to the Fleet:''
:"Crew of ''Galactica''. People of the fleet. This is Admiral Adama. Three years ago I promised to lead you to a new home. We've endured a difficult journey, we've all lost, we've all suffered, and the truth is I questioned whether this day would ever come. But today our journey is at an end. We have arrived, at Earth."

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Number Two]] / [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lieutenant [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
* [[Alexandra Thomas]] as [[Hera Agathon|Hera]]
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as Sergeant [[Brandy Harder]]
* [[Leo Li Chiang]] as [[Tattooed pilot]] (uncredited)
* [[Vincent Gale]] as [[Peter Laird]]
* [[Don Thompson]] as Specialist [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Sonja Bennett]] as Specialist [[Marcie Brasko]]
* [[Barry Nerling]] as Adama's Corporal

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=396]

== References ==

<div style="font-size: 85%;"><references /></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:Episodes_written_by_Bradley_Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes_written_by_David_Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Revelations

2008-06-15T18:32:36Z

Brandon:

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] <br/>
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=
| US airdate=13 June 2008
| CAN airdate=13 June 2008
| UK airdate=17 June 2008
| dvd=
| oldpopulation= 39673
| population=39665
| prev= [[The Hub]]
| next= [[Sometimes a Great Notion]]
| imdb=0993911
}}

== Overview ==

: ''Lead by [[Number Three]], the band of rebel Cylons hold President Roslin and ''Galactica''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> pilots hostage while attempting to lure the "Watchtower Four" out of hiding. Meanwhile, [[Kara Thrace]]'s Viper may hold a previously undiscovered clue to finding [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].''

== Summary ==

=== Teaser ===

*[[Lee Adama]] is in [[William Adama|William Adama's]] quarters, looking up an illustration of the Temple of [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn|Aurora]] on Earth, as described by [[Pythia]]. [[Kara Thrace]] walks in an greets him, and they briefly discuss the temple, and the absence of William Adama and [[Laura Roslin]]. Adama comments on how both he and Tigh are intimidated by Adama's chair. Thrace talks about how [[Leoben Conoy|Leoben]] stated that, for children to reach their full potential, their parents have to die.
*In the [[Basestar command|basestar control room]], Roslin, William Adama, [[D'Anna Biers]] and Leoben discuss the plans to return the [[Final Five]]. Biers mentions that there are only four in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] and refuses to provide answers when Roslin questions her about the fifth's location. When Adama asks for their names, she expresses skepticism, suggesting that the Colonials may kill them. Roslin points out that the Colonials need them because they know the way to Earth, while Leoben recommends co-operation and D'Anna refutes him, citing the [[Exodus, Part II|failure]] of [[Occupation|co-operation]] on [[New Caprica]].
*Biers announces that she will hold the Colonials on the ship hostage until the Final Four are safely aboard the basestar. When a standoff between the Colonials and the Centurions ensues, Roslin tells Adama to stand down and he repeats the order to the other pilots. Three tells Adama to accompany her to ''[[Galactica]]'' on a Raptor. He initially refuses, but Roslin tells him to go. She embraces him and whispers in his ear that if the Cylons get the four, they get [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], and he can't allow that to happen, even if he has to destroy the basestar with them aboard.
*In [[CIC]], [[Felix Gaeta]] - having returned to duty despite still having problems with his [[Guess What's Coming to Dinner|amputated leg]] - accidentally knocks over a bottle of pills. [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him by picking up the pill bottle. Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] asks Gaeta if he wishes to be relieved, but he declines and takes a drink to numb the pain.
*Gaeta then announces the arrival of the rebel baseship and that a Raptor launched from it. On the [[hangar deck]], Adama and Three step out of the Raptor. [[Galen Tyrol]] and [[Samuel Anders]] look on from the catwalk, wondering whether Three can or will identify them. While William Adama greets his son, Three steps off the Raptor and looks at each of the Final Four.
*William Adama and Biers explain the situation. Biers claims that she is already in contact with the four, that they would come to her willingly and that all the Fleet needs to do is not interfere with shuttle traffic. The Adamas agree to her terms. As Three is about to leave, [[Tory Foster]] steps forward, asking to bring Roslin her medication and see if she is alright. Knowing that she wants to defect, Tigh tries to prevent her from going by saying that they shouldn't give the Cylons more hostages, but he is overruled by the Adamas.
*In the Adama's quarters, William and Lee Adama, Tigh and Thrace discuss a plan to rescue the hostages. The admiral mentions Roslin's recommendation, but tells his son that it is his call. President Adama agrees.

=== Act 1 ===
*In the [[Situation Room]], [[Sharon Agathon]] and Kara Thrace officially present their rescue plan. Tigh expresses skepticism at the expected high losses of boarding the basestar, saying there have to be other options. Thrace sarcastically comments that the four could just give themselves up.
*On the basestar, Foster is led to the control room. Three announces that one of the Final Five has arrived. [[Number Two|Leoben]] expresses doubt, but Three attests that she saw her in her vision. Foster smiles as the Cylons gather around her in amazement.
*In another room, Roslin bandages [[Gaius Baltar]], who thanks her for not killing him, but Roslin confesses that she told Adama to destroy the basestar should the Cylons get the four. Foster walks in with a [[Number Six|Six]], greeting them and bringing Roslin her medication. Roslin thanks her, and asks how she was able to do so, and Foster says that she came with Three to be with her people. Baltar attests that he subconsciously knew, that she was one of the Final Five. When asked if she had any idea, Roslin says no, and Foster tells her it might be worth pondering other things she has been wrong about, then starts to walk out. Roslin tells her to stop, and asks her to convince Three to release the hostages. Foster coldly replies that she's done taking orders from her.
*A body flies out of the baseship. In CIC, Lee Adama receives a transmission from Three, who announces that there has been a change of plans. She has executed the first hostage and will continue to execute hostages every quarter hour until they have the four. Adama tries to reason with her, telling her that she did not giving them a chance and that they are co-operating, but Dualla states that Three has terminated the transmission. As a result, Adama authorizes the rescue mission and to destroy the baseship should it fail
*On the hangar deck, as the pilots and deck crew prepare for the mission, Tyrol begins hearing the [[The Music|strange music]] again, heavily distorted by screeching and static. In a [[pilot ready rooms|pilot ready room]], as Starbuck and Athena brief the pilots, Anders likewise hears the music, as does Foster on the basestar.
*On ''Galactica'' Anders, Tigh and Tyrol are drawn to [[Starbuck's Viper]]. Tyrol suggests that something about the Viper has changed, and Anders suggests they get Starbuck. Tigh agrees, then walks out.
*Tigh walks into William Adama's office, telling him to scrub the mission. When asked if he has another option instead, Tigh confesses that he has known that he is a Cylon since the [[Ionian nebula]]. Adama expresses doubt and can't believe that his decade-long friend could by a Cylon. He suggests that Tigh could have been brainwashed on [[New Caprica]] and says they should see Doctor [[Cottle]]. Tigh says that he should have killed himself when he found out and suggests that Three will back down if he is used as a hostage.

=== Act 2 ===
{{cleanup}}
*As [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] take Tigh to the airlock, William Adama rampages through his office and drinks heavily.
*As Adama cries, Lee attempts to comfort him. Bill says he can't kill Tigh, and Lee promises to handle things.
*In the airlock, Lee interrogates Tigh, demanding to know who the other Cylons are.
*Dualla announces that D'Anna is on the line. Lee threatens to kill Tigh if she harms one of the hostages, and says that she has ten minutes before he kills him.
*Lee tells Tigh to give him the identities of the rest of the Final Four in order to save the fleet.
*Around Starbuck's Viper, Kara expresses doubt about Anders and Tyrol's suspicion regarding the viper. Marines arrest Anders and Tyrol, when questioned by Starbuck, Sergeant Harder says that they're Cylons like the XO. Kara questions Anders, Tyrol tells him to tell her, and Anders tells her it's true. As he is dragged away, Anders insists that something is different about the Viper.
*On the basestar, an [[Number Eight|Eight]] and two Centurions force the captured pilots down a hallway, [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]] tells the pilots to fall back, and the Eight threatens to shoot them if they don't keep moving.
*In the airlock, Anders concludes that Tigh told Lee that they were Cylons. Lee orders Dualla to get the baseship on the line.
*Starbuck gets into her Viper.
*On the baseship, Roslin and Baltar hear the hostages and Centurions. A [[Number Two|Two]] walks in and Roslin asks what's going on. The Two says that D'Anna is about to start executing more hostages, Roslin requests that she be taken to D'Anna. Baltar insists that D'Anna won't listen to her, and that he be taken instead because he was with her when she had the vision in the [[Temple of Five]]. Roslin agrees.
*Lee tells D'Anna that he has Anders and Tyrol in the airlock, and demands that D'Anna stand down.
*Starbuck begins activating her Viper's systems.
*Foster tells D'Anna that she knows Lee, and he will back down if pressured. D'Anna gives an order to target nuclear weapons on the civilian fleet. Baltar walks in and begins begins talking to D'Anna.
*Starbuck continues to activate her Viper, and detects a signal.
*Baltar argues that coercion won't work because he's too similar to his father, while Foster argues that he's bluffing.
*Dualla tells Lee that the baseship's nukes have gone hot, Lee and Dualla conclude that the fleet couldn't spool up their [[FTL|jump drives]] quickly enough to escape before the Cylons fire. Lee orders that everyone except Tigh be removed from the tube.
*Baltar suggests that [[God (RDM)|God]] may have brought D'Anna back for a different purpose, to end the conflict peacefully. D'Anna argues that the Colonials will never forgive the Cylons for [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they did to the Twelve Colonies]], and gives an order to proceed.
*As the launch tube door closes, Starbuck runs through the ship.
*Baltar argues to D'Anna that brute force did not work for the Cylons on [[New Caprica]] or the [[algae planet]], and that it will not work now.
*Lee asks Dualla for the key and begins the process of activating the launch tube.
*An Eight announces that they have weapons lock on the Colonial ships.
*Tigh tells Lee to stop hesitating and flush the airlock.
*As Lee is about to push the button, Kara runs in, telling Lee to stop, saying that the Cylons just gave them [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].

=== Act 3 ===
{{cleanup}}
*Lee sits in Starbuck's Viper, recognizing a Colonial emergency locator signal, and states that no other [[wireless]] in the fleet is picking it up. Kara argues to a skeptical Lee that it must be a signal from Earth, insisting that some higher power is orchestrating events for a purpose and wants the Colonials to find Earth with the Cylons.
*Kara, Lee, the Final Four, D'Anna, marines and Centurions stand around Starbuck's Viper and an Eight sits inside.
*They discuss the signal. Lee says that he decided to share the information with the Cylons rather than jump away because it would only lead to another confrontation, and argues that peace is possible and says that he has granted the Final Four an amnesty.
*D'Anna agrees to release the hostages.
*Lee shows his father the location of Earth, asking for orders, Roslin walks in and says she wants to see him pick up the first fistful of earth, he walks away saying that he'll be back.
*Lee talks to Roslin about stepping down, and she praises him on resolving the crisis, and says the Fleet will need that kind of leadership in the years to come.
*Admiral Adama returns in uniform, saying they should find Earth, Lee states that he has been working on a recon mission with Kara, the Admiral says that everyone should go together, that they don't have anywhere else to go, and that the alliance will fall apart if they hesitate too long. In his view, they need to [[The Hand of God (RDM)|roll the hard six]], again.

=== Act 4 ===
{{cleanup}}
*In CIC Dualla announces that the Fleet is ready to jump. Admiral Adama tells Roslin that they wouldn't have made it without her and asks her to give the order. She does so. Dualla counts down and the Fleet jumps.
*The entire Fleet - now including the rebel Basestar - successfully jumps. Adama tells Gaeta to take his time with confirming their location.
*Gaeta announces that the constellations match.
*Indeed, the Fleet is in front of a blue planet, namely Earth.
*Adama makes a speech to the fleet, announcing that they have arrived at Earth. There is celebration throughout the fleet.
*A detachment of Vipers, Raptors, and Heavy Raiders fly into the atmosphere, escorting two [[Gemenon Traveler]] type ships to the surface.
*On Earth, Adama lifts up a handful of soil. Someone next to him reads the dirt with a [[w:Geiger counter|Geiger counter]]. The soil is irradiated.
*Laura Roslin stands next to Adama, disappointed. D'Anna stands beside Roslin, stunned.
*Many others, including [[Karl Agathon|Karl]] & Sharon Agathon, Gaius Baltar, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, the Final Four, and the Cylons are on the surface as well, walking and standing around what appears to be the ruins of an unknown city, apparently having been destroyed as a result of a nuclear holocaust. The question they are probably asking themselves is, "what happened to Earth?"

== Notes ==

* This episode is the mid-season cliffhanger for the first ten episodes of [[Season 4 (2008-09)|Season 4]]. The conclusion to the cliffhanger, "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", will not air until 2009.
* The episode was given an advance screening in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 11th, in order to draw attention for the upcoming Emmy Award nominations. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://syfyportal.com/news425104.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' Hosting Free Screening In L.A.}}</ref>
* As D'Anna Biers executes one prisoner during the course of the episode, the population of the Fleet when it arrives at Earth is 39,664, not counting the Significant Seven Cylons who have now joined them.

== Analysis ==
* D'Anna Biers holding the Colonial personnel hostage isn't aimed so much as to President Adama and the government, as it is to the remaining three of the Final Four who choose to remain behind. When Foster moves to defect under the guise of giving Roslin her medicine, Colonel Tigh speaks up to prevent her from going. This earns Tigh and the other two who refuse to come forward Biers's enmity and she begins killing their crew mates until they join the Cylons
* How [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] came to the state which the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] found it in is uncertain. Given that the landing party tests the soil with a Geiger counter, and the ruins they come across appear to be from a nuclear blast, it is likely that some nuclear event occurred on Earth. Together with the clear remnants of a modern civilization, this means that the series is set in the future and not the past (barring that is is set in an alternate universe).
* Assuming that a nuclear event was responsible for the current condition of Earth, it appears that it happened a considerable number of years, if not decades or hundreds of years, ago. Less than a week after the Cylon bombardment, the planet [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]] had turned yellowish-brown from dust blasted into the atmosphere, creating a [[w:nuclear winter|nuclear winter]] ([[33]]). Nine months later, someone on Caprica would have still seen yellow skies ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]). Although the soil of Earth at the landing site is radioactive, the skies are a natural foggy/cloudy gray, and the view from orbit is of a blue-white world.
* The area the landing party arrives at appears to be the Brooklyn side of New York City. The landing party is next to a broad river and across that river to the left is a wide bay. The other shore appears to be the edge of Lower Manhattan with a destroyed skyline of buildings. The camera pans to the right over what is ostensibly the East River until the last two seconds of the episode where at the far right edge of the screen stands a wrecked structure with a heavily abbreviated roadway. It appears to be the East Tower (Brooklyn side) of the Brooklyn Bridge. However, it should be noted that the information on this is incomplete. For instance, many speculations as to the gas giant that [[Kara Thrace]] sees in her journey from Earth (as first explained in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]") claimed that the giant was [[w:Jupiter|Jupiter]], when this was [[Faith|later disproved]].
*The landing area actually appears to be the Temple of [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn|Aurora]], thus bookending the episode. When the episode begins, [[Lee Adama]] is looking up an illustration of the Temple in [[Pythia]]'s book. It shows a dome structure near a body of water. As the episode closes on Earth, the landing party appears to be at the ruins of a domed structure by a body of water, as described by the illustration.
* That the Fleet can plot a jump directly into Earth's orbit with just a bearing is likely dramatic license. With no clear idea about the origin and full nature of the signal, they shouldn't be able to determine the exact distance to its source.

== Questions ==

* Is [[Number Three]] honest in her claim that there are only four of the Final Five in the [[Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]? If so, where is the fifth and last Cylon? If she's lying, is it because she still harbors distrust for her compatriots and the humans?
* What of the other [[Number One|Ones]], [[Number Four|Fours]], and [[Number Five|Fives]]?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* Will the other Cylons find the Fleet and the rebels, as well as Earth? If so, will they finish [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they]] [[Cylon Civil War|started]]?
* Does the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] still exist? If so, where are they now?
* Will the Colonials and their Cylon allies settle on Earth, or will they move on in hopes of finding a more suitable planet?
* Will Tigh, Anders, and Tyrol continue their duties on ''Galactica'' despite having been exposed as Cylons?

== Official Statements ==

  

<br>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[William Adama]] has a nervous breakdown after the discovering that his decade-long friend [[Saul Tigh]] is a Cylon. [[Lee Adama|His son]] finds him and drags his father's sobbing form to a bulkhead where he cradles his father from behind.''
:'''William Adama:''' [Crying, Sobbing, despair...]
:'''Lee Adama:''' [voice quavering]: Dad listen...No one suspected, no one! Not with his record. Not what he did on New Caprica. His eye... What happened to his wife... Come on, let's get up.
:'''William:''' What have I done? [breathlessly] All of the people I've sent to die? For what? For what!?!
:'''Lee:''' [quietly] For Earth...
:'''William:''' [angrily]: There is no Earth. [Sobs] It is a frakkin' joke! There is no Earth! [Sobs]
:'''Lee:''' Okay dad, listen to me...[firmer and takes his father face between his hands] Listen to me!! Pull it together!!
:'''William:''' I can't...
:'''Lee''' [frustrated]: Yes you can! Come on!
:'''William:''' I can't....
:'''Lee:''' [frustrated] Yes you ca...
:'''William:''' I can't.... I can't kill him... I can't kill the bastard! I can't....
:'''Lee:''' Okay, okay dad [he cradles his father's face]
:'''William:''' I can't....
:'''Lee:''' It's....It's gonna be okay....It's gonna be okay... I'll... I'll take care of it.. I'll take care of it [kisses his father's forehead].

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Number Two]] / [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lieutenant [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
* [[Alexandra Thomas]] as [[Hera Agathon|Hera]]
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as Sergeant [[Brandy Harder]]
* [[Leo Li Chiang]] as [[Tattooed pilot]] (uncredited)
* [[Vincent Gale]] as [[Peter Laird]]
* [[Don Thompson]] as Specialist [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Sonja Bennett]] as Specialist [[Marcie Brasko]]
* [[Barry Nerling]] as Adama's Corporal

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=396]

== References ==

<div style="font-size: 85%;"><references /></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:Episodes_written_by_Bradley_Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes_written_by_David_Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Revelations

2008-06-15T03:41:58Z

Brandon:

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger<br/>Extra Act
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] <br/>
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=
| US airdate=13 June 2008
| CAN airdate=13 June 2008
| UK airdate=17 June 2008
| dvd=
| oldpopulation= 39673
| population=39665
| prev= [[The Hub]]
| next= [[Sometimes a Great Notion]]
| imdb=0993911
}}

== Overview ==

: ''Lead by [[Number Three]], the band of rebel Cylons hold President Roslin and ''Galactica''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> pilots hostage while attempting to lure the "Watchtower Four" out of hiding. Meanwhile, [[Kara Thrace]]'s Viper may hold a previously undiscovered clue to finding [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].''

== Summary ==

=== Teaser ===

=== Act 1 ===

=== Act 2 ===

=== Act 3 ===

=== Act 4 ===

=== Act 5 ===

== Notes ==

* This episode is the mid-season cliffhanger for the first ten episodes of [[Season 4 (2008-09)|Season 4]]. The conclusion to the cliffhanger, "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", will not air until 2009.
* The episode was given an advance screening in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 11th, in order to draw attention for the upcoming Emmy Award nominations. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://syfyportal.com/news425104.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' Hosting Free Screening In L.A.}}</ref>

== Analysis ==
* How [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] came to the state which the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] found it in is uncertain. Given that the landing party tests the soil with a Geiger counter, and the ruins they come across appear to be from a nuclear blast, it is likely that some nuclear event occurred on Earth. Together with the clear remnants of a modern civilization, this means that the series is set in the future and not the past (barring that is is set in an alternate universe).

* The area the landing party arrives at appears to be the Brooklyn side of New York City. The landing party is next to a broad river and across that river to the left is a wide bay. The other shore appears to be the edge of Lower Manhattan with a destroyed skyline of buildings. The camera pans to the right over what is ostensibly the East River until the last two seconds of the episode where at the far right edge of the screen stands a wrecked structure with a heavily abbreviated roadway. It appears to be the East Tower (Brooklyn side) of the Brooklyn Bridge. However, it should be noted that the information on this is incomplete. For instance, many speculations as to the gas giant that [[Kara Thrace]] sees in her journey from Earth (as first explained in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]") claimed that the giant was [[w:Jupiter|Jupiter]], when this was [[Faith|later disproved]].

* As D'Anna airlocks one prisoner during the course of the episode, the population of the Fleet when it arrives at Earth is 39,664, not counting the Significant Seven Cylons who have now joined them.

== Questions ==

* Is [[Number Three]] honest in her claim that there are only four of the Final Five in the [[Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]? If so, where is the fifth and last Cylon? If she's lying, is it because she still harbors distrust for her compatriots and the humans?
* What of the other [[Number Two|Twos]], [[Number Four|Fours]], and [[Number Five|Fives]]?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* Will the other Cylons find the Fleet and the rebels, as well as Earth? If so, will they finish [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they]] [[Cylon Civil War|started]]?

== Official Statements ==

  

<br>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

 

*''Admiral Adama is in a high degree of distress to the point of breakdown and has passed out drunk onto the deck of his quarters. he has just ordered Colonel Saul Tigh, now known publicly to be a Final Five Cylon after his confession to Adama to be used as a bargaining chip in the hostage crisis with the Rebel Cylons; and to his possible death. Lee finds him and drags his father's sobbing form to a bulkhead where he cradles his father from behind.''

:'''Adama:''' [Crying, Sobbing, dispair...]

:'''Lee''' [voice quavering]: Dad listen...No one suspected, no one! Not with his record. Not what he did on New Caprica. His eye... What happened to his wife... Come on, let's get up.

:'''Adama:''' What have I done? [breathlessly] All of the people I've sent to die? For what? For what!?!

:'''Lee''' [quietly] For Earth...

:'''Adama''' [angrily]: There is no Earth. [Sobs] It is a frakkin' joke! There is no Earth! [Sobs]

:'''Lee:''' Okay dad, listen to me...[firmer and takes his father face between his hands] Listen to me!! Pull it together!!

:'''Adama:''' I can't...

:'''Lee''' [frustrated]: Yes you can! Come on!

:'''Adama:''' I can't....

:'''Lee''' [frustrated] Yes you ca...

:'''Adama:''' I can't.... I can't kill him... I can't kill the bastard! I can't....

:'''Lee:''' Okay, okay dad [he cradles his father's face]

:'''Adama:''' I can't....

:'''Lee:''' Its....Its gonna be okay....Its gonna be okay... I'll... I'll take care of it.. I'll take care of it [kisses his father's forehead].

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Number Two]] / [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lieutenant [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
* [[Alexandra Thomas]] as [[Hera Agathon]]
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|Surveillance Marine]] 
* [[Leo Li Chiang]] as [[Tattooed pilot]] (uncredited)

== References ==

<div style="font-size: 85%;"><references /></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:Episodes_written_by_Bradley_Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes_written_by_David_Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Number Three

2008-06-12T04:17:01Z

Brandon:

{{cleanup}}
: ''For other articles with subjects containing the number "three", see: [[Three (disambiguation)]].''

{{Character Data
|photo=Number Three.jpg
|age=
|colony=
|birthname=
|callsign=
|seen=Final Cut
|death=All copies [[boxing|boxed]] ([[Rapture]]), all but one copy presumed lost with the destruction of the [[Resurrection Hub]] ([[The Hub]])
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role=Cylon Infiltrator/Journalist
|rank=
|actor=[[Lucy Lawless]]
|cylon=Y
|name=D'Anna Biers
}}

"'''Number Three'''" is a model of humanoid Cylon, female, brunette and marked by a religious curiosity which sets her against the other Cylon models. The model was first encountered as an infiltrator in the Fleet under the alias "[[D'Anna Biers]]" posing as a reporter for the [[Fleet News Service]]. She appears to be more of a tabloid rumor-and-innuendo format news journalist and less of the conventional Fleet journalist types such as [[James McManus]].

The D'Anna name is also used to refer to the model as a whole.

==Fleet Copy==

Biers is investigating the shootings of four civilians during a military intervention authorized by Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] in what she dubs for sensationalism's sake as the "[[Gideon]] massacre". However, her efforts to interview ''[[Galactica]]'s'' crew are thwarted by military protocol and stonewalling by Commander [[William Adama|Adama]], who privately acknowledges Tigh's mistakes, but seems adamant not to render any punishment.

Biers is initially given a tour of the battlestar by [[Anastasia Dualla]], but finds the nuts-and-bolts technology and layout information boring. She and her photographer, [[Bell]], prefer to record and interview the candid moments of ''Galactica's'' crew, going so far as intruding into the private areas of the pilots. She begins in-depth personal interviews with many of the crew, including Dualla, Lieutenants [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]], [[Margaret Edmondson]], [[Kara Thrace]] and [[Karl Agathon]], as well as attempts to interview command staff such as Colonel Tigh. Of all the interviews, she desperately wants to ask Tigh many questions on his decisions in the ''Gideon'' incident, even exploiting his weaknesses when trying to loosen him up with alcohol.

[[Image:CylonThree.jpg|thumb|left|Number Three model on ''Galactica'' ([[Final Cut]])]]
Biers appears to be in the right place at the wrong times throughout her documentary filming. She captures the growing behavioral problems with Lieutenant [[Louanne Katraine]], and the sabotage to a [[Raptor]] that was intended to shuttle Colonel Tigh to ''[[Cloud Nine]].

As Biers passes through [[sickbay]] during her documentary, she find [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon Valerii]] to be alive and receiving medical treatment. The existence of this second copy of the known [[Humanoid Cylon|Cylon infiltrator]], who was thought to be dead by the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], is too much for Biers not to document. However, Commander Adama intercepts Biers and demands that she gives him the footage of Valerii. She surrenders a tape to Adama, but unknown to him, Biers retains the actual footage of Valerii in secret for herself.

Biers realizes a connection between her documentary footage on [[Joe Palladino]] and the threat left in Tigh's quarters to a poem by [[Kataris]], a book which Palladino had in his possession, citing Palladino as the source of the Tigh's death threats.

Bier's final documentary is reviewed by Tigh, Adama, and President Roslin. While Tigh is initially perturbed at the documentary's unshiny look into Colonial military life, Adama finds it a good story, "warts and all." The documentary is broadcast to the Fleet, with Biers concluding the documentary with a [[Colonial anthem|rousing]] monologue.

The Cylons use two Raiders to relay the broadcast (which apparently included Bier's illicit footage of the pregnant Valerii) back to Caprica, where a number of Cylons watch it in a movie theater. One of them is a Number Three, who is revealed to the viewers as a Cylon ([[Final Cut]]).
<div style="clear: both;"></div>

=="[[Downloaded]]" copy==
[[Image:Biers Downloaded.JPG|thumb|right|Number Three model on Caprica ([[Downloaded]])]]
Another version of Number Three is in charge of downloading [[humanoid Cylon]]s, and presides over the returns of both [[Caprica-Six]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]. Like her counterpart in the movie theater, she is assisted by a Five, Six, and Eight.

Yet another Three (or possibly the same one) enlists Caprica-Six to help reintegrate the Sharon Valerii model known to humans as "Boomer" (Three and Six are already friends from Six's own reintegration). Though her motives are outwardly altruistic, her conversation with them is filled with double meanings, trying to subtlety nudge both into exposing that they were corrupted by their close interaction with humans. Three's real goal is to assess the risk factor of these "[[Hero of the Cylon|Heroes of the Cylon]]" to the status quo, due to their different perspectives on the war and the genocide, and contemplates [[boxing]] Caprica Six.

Three is later trapped with both Caprica Six and "Boomer" Valerii beneath a garage after capturing resistance fighter [[Samuel Anders]]. With a hint from her [[Virtual beings#Caprica-Six's Virtual Baltar|internal Gaius Baltar]], Six deduces the truth. Shortly thereafter, Three resolves to kill Anders in spite of her previous agreement. But Caprica-Six proves Three's assessment correct, and smashes her in the skull with debris ([[Downloaded]]). She is later [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrected]] and would become a part of the [[Cylon Occupation Authority]] on [[New Caprica]] ("[[Occupation]]" through "[[Exodus, Part II]]"), as well as the primary Number Three to lead the search for the [[Final Five]] ("[[Torn]]" through "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]").

On New Caprica, Number Three visits an oracle after having strange dreams that caused her to question her faith. These dreams, which focused on [[Sharon Agathon]] and her baby [[Hera Agathon|Hera]], lead her to seek out more information about the death of the child. After speaking with Doctor [[Cottle]], she becomes convinced that the child is still alive. She confronts Agathon with this information after discovering her on the planet, only to be shot once in each knee so that she can't raise the alarm with nearby Cylons ([[Exodus, Part I]]).

After the human population escapes into space, a resurrected Number Three takes in her arms Hera, who was found next to the body of her [[Maya|adoptive mother]] by [[Gaius Baltar]] ([[Exodus, Part II]]).

After leaving New Caprica, Three visits an imprisoned Baltar in his room aboard a Cylon baseship. She gives him his pills, at the same time as she acts in a seductive manner with him. Baltar however, seems to reject her, asking about what will be done to him. Three tells him that the Cylons are unsure of his vote, and that they are even split on what to do with him, with only one model missing from the vote and on whom the decisions rests, the Sixes ([[Collaborators]]).

After returning to the main fleet, Three learns from Caprica Six that Baltar lied to them about what he saw on the infected ship. She then proceeds to torture Baltar, first through body-wide electroshocks, and then with a sonic device which damages his eardrum, hoping to learn more about the disease. Near the end of the interrogation, Baltar tells Three (calling her "D'Anna") that he loves her, which makes her stop and presumably feel something for him, for she caresses him as he falls unconscious ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

Later, she is getting out of a bed with a still sleeping Baltar and Caprica-Six, indicating that she has started a relationship with at least Baltar, and possibly Caprica-Six as well. This copy continues to experiences prophetic dreams and visions, resulting in her ordering a Centurion to kill so she may experience further visions in the time between death and rebirth ([[Hero]]).

She continues doing this daily, which attracts the attention of Baltar, who confronts her about it. She tells Baltar that when she dies she sees the faces of beings who she believes to be the [[Final Five]]. Later on, the two decide to go to the [[Hybrid]], to learn more about the Final Five from it. Instead, they manage to learn the location of a planet which is said to hold the [[Eye of Jupiter]], an artifact which is supposed to point the way to Earth ([[The Passage]]).

[[Image:Three FOG.jpg|thumb|left|Three sees the faces of the Final Five.]]
Coincidentally, the Colonials arrive at [[algae planet|this planet]] at the same time, which leads to a tense standoff. At its height, Three and Baltar and a [[Cavil]] depart their basestar in a Heavy Raider and head for the planet ([[The Eye of Jupiter]]). They enter the [[Temple of Five]] and manage to disarm explosives set by a the Colonials. When the system's star goes nova the interior of the temple is illuminated and a column of light shines down from above. Three believes that this is what she has been looking for and steps forward towards the light.

[[Image:Boxing.jpg|thumb|right|"End of line"]] Realizing that she's only there for a selfish purpose, Cavil pulls a gun on her and threatens to shoot but he is killed by Baltar before he can. She steps into the light and finds herself in the Kobol [[Opera House]] standing before the Final Five. She approaches and sees their faces clearly for the first time, recognizing one of them in particular she says with a surprised look on her face, "You... forgive me... I had no idea." She is pulled back to the temple and collapses in Baltar's arms. She tells Baltar, "You were right," but dies in his arms before answering about what.

Some time later, Three awakens on a [[Resurrection Ship]] with a Cavil looming over her [[resurrection tank]]. He informs her that the decision has been made to [[boxing|box]] her consciousness and her entire model line as punishment for their rogue actions. She tells Cavil that she has seen the faces of the last five Cylons and that one day he will too. Cavil then removes a device from the side of the tank and she collapses dead. Simultaneously, other Cavils are performing the same act to other Number Three models in resurrection tanks around the ship ([[Rapture]]).

== Other copies ==

A Number Three demonstrates her oratorical skills by giving a speech at the graduation ceremony of the [[New Caprica Police]] and is blown up shortly afterwards, along with many of the other attendees, by [[Tucker Clellan|Tucker "Duck" Clellan]], whom she has just congratulated ([[Occupation]]).

Later on, two Threes form part of the Cylon counsel in the command center of a baseship, where they first learn of the virus which threatened to infect their ship. After Baltar returns with further information from the baseships, one of the Threes makes the decision to abandon the infected baseship to its fate, angering the [[Hybrid]] ([[Torn]]).

A Number Three on another baseship repeatedly taunts and tortures [[Daniel Novacek]] prior to his Cylon-planned "escape". Novacek "kills" this copy, which is allegedly diseased, and makes his "escape" to the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] ([[Hero]]).

==Unboxing the Threes==

[[Natalie]]'s faction in the [[Cylon Civil War]] desires to unbox the Number Three line and hear what she has learned about the Final Five, so that the seven and the five may be united. The Threes' core consciousness is stored at the Cylons' central [[Resurrection Hub]] ([[The Ties That Bind]]). After coming into contact with the rebels, [[Kara Thrace]] meets their [[Hybrid]], who repeats the [[first Hybrid]]'s prophecy and assigns her the next task: join the Cylons to unbox Number Three to learn what she knows of the Final Five ([[Faith]]). Natalie's faction eventually forms a fragile alliance with the Colonials in order to unbox the Threes and destroy the Resurrection Hub ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]]).

The Number Three who saw the Final Five is eventually unboxed by Cavil and [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] in an attempt to get her to convince the rebels to stop the fighting. However, when learning that the rebels are about to destroy the Hub, making their deaths permanent, she kills this Cavil model by snapping his neck. Boomer escapes while she does this. As she gets dressed, [[Karl Agathon]] and a Number Eight run into the room and take her off the hub before it is destroyed. On the baseship, Three is taken to see Roslin and jokingly tells her that she is one of the Final Five. Knowing that that Roslin plans to betray the deal with the Cylon rebels and aware of her new mortality, she tells Roslin that she won't reveal anything until she is safe in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] ([[The Hub]]).

==Notes==
*Since Biers has not appeared in past episodes that feature the Fleet-wide press, it can be speculated that prior to the [[Cylon Attack]], she was more of a tabloid investigative reporter than a mainstream journalist. She may also simply be a social commentator along the lines of [[w:Michael Moore|Michael Moore]] or [[w:Ann Coulter|Ann Coulter]], though her status prior to the holocaust was never revealed.
*In behind the scenes interviews, Lucy Lawless has said that to contrast her character with ''Galactica's'' crew, Biers still wears fashionable clothes, make up, and jewelry, probably because she has access to some form of [[black market (organization)|black market]] in the Fleet.
*[[Lucy Lawless]]'s more renowned TV character, [[w:Xena|Xena]], originates from [[w:Amphipolis|Amphipolis]]; an actual village situated between the Greek provinces Macedonia and [[wikipedia:Thrace|Thrace]]. See also: [[Kara Thrace]].
*A few scenes on the basestar (particularly those in "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]") imply that Number Three is in a senior position to at least some of the other models. For instance, she refers to the landing of Centurions on the algae planet as "need-to-know". On the other hand, the reactions of the other Cylons to this behavior indicate that she might have exceeded her authority.
*Number Three (or at least some models) appears to be a strict devotee of the [[Cylon Religion|Cylon religion]].
:''In Lucy Lawless' words "She's like the ultimate narcissist. She believes that she is the pure form, so she is constantly trying to bring everyone else in line with her world view".
*D'Anna Biers was supposed to appear in a subplot of "Downloaded" in which she conspired with [[Gina Inviere]] to kidnap [[Hera Agathon|Hera]]. The episode ran overtime and the scenes, which were indeed filmed, [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)#Downloaded|were cut]].''

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Main Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Nummer Drei]]
[[fr:Numéro Trois]]

Escape Velocity

2008-05-11T21:07:13Z

Brandon: Edited the analysis of religion to reflect the diversity found in Christian tradition

{{Episode Data
| image=4x04 - Escape Velocity - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Escape Velocity
| season= 4
| episode= 4
| forumthread= 954
| guests=
| writer=[[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director=[[Edward James Olmos]]
| production=406
| rating=
| US airdate=25 April 2008
| CAN airdate=25 April 2008
| UK airdate=29 April 2008
| dvd=
| population=39675
| oldpopulation=39676
| prev= [[The Ties That Bind]]
| next= [[The Road Less Traveled]]
| hulu=y
| unbox=B0018ENBMQ
}}

== Overview ==
: ''Religious freedom is debated and defended as the messianic [[Gaius Baltar]] promotes his belief in one true God. Meanwhile, [[Galen Tyrol]] tries to cope with the death of his [[Callandra Tyrol|wife]] and fails.''

== Summary ==


=== Teaser ===

* In a makeshift [[temple]] aboard ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', [[Galen Tyrol]] performs a ritual commemoration ceremony in the memory of his wife, [[Callandra Tyrol|Callandra Henderson Tyrol]]. In attendance are [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], Delegate [[Lee Adama]], [[Tory Foster]], Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and [[Anthony Figurski]].
* After the priest ends the service, Roslin (wearing a wig) tells Adama that she likes the ceremony, insinuating that she wants Adama to perform the same service for her when she dies.
* Tyrol is given condolences by people as they leave the temple. Foster asks Roslin why they have to do "these things at dawn", to which Roslin replies that they have to.
* After Roslin gives her condolences, Tyrol grabs a hold of both Foster and Tigh, who hastily offer their condolences. As they walk out, they complain that Tyrol almost attracted attention to themselves.
* Delegate Adama offers his condolences as Tyrol stares off after Foster and Tigh; Adama leaves without a response from Tyrol.
* Tigh enters the surveillance room adjoining [[Caprica-Six]]'s brig. The Marines inform him that she continues her same routine. When broaching the topic of how Six doesn't go nuts, the [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|female Marine]] replies that she probably turns off her brain, prompting interest from Tigh.
* Tigh enters the brig, informing Six that her request to see [[Hera Agathon]] has been denied. Six notes that Tigh already told her this, and asks what else he wants from her. During the discussion, Tigh sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in place of Six. Tigh, unsure of what to make of it, tells Six to stay back from him. Six notes that he visits her every day, but doesn't ask questions any more. Tigh leaves, with her saying that she'll see him tomorrow.
* In his quarters, Tyrol sits while [[Nicholas Tyrol]] cries. Foster and Tigh gruffly admonish Tyrol for his behavior at the service.
* Tigh inquires after the baby. Tyrol notes that Nicholas probably needs to be changed; Tigh goes about doing so.
* Foster asks Tyrol if he believes Cally killed herself because of him. Tyrol brings up the alleged affair between them, to which Foster replies that they didn't have one. Tyrol voices his concerns over which of his memories were real, and whether or not there was ever an action in his life that wasn't programmed. Foster espouses what, according to Tigh, is "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s crap" when she tells Tyrol that they, as [[humanoid Cylons|Cylons]], don't need guilt since they are perfect. Tigh, on the other hand, believes that Tyrol is feeling what men feel after the death of a loved one. Tigh continues by telling Tyrol that he'll see Cally every day, while referencing his own experience of [[Torn|hearing]] and [[Virtual Ellen|seeing]] his dead wife. Tigh finishes by saying that Tyrol feels what he needs to feel, but not at the expense of being outed as Cylons, while Foster says to think about what they are and embrace their Cylon attributes.

=== Act 1 ===

* [[Tory Foster]] visits [[Gaius Baltar]] in the commune. There, she wakes Baltar by pulling out a hair on his head. Baltar replies "Gods", which Foster questions. She continues by plucking another hair off of Baltar's head, asking about how he was feeling. He replies that it was an intense feeling. She then massages his crotch, then while doing so, plucks out another hair on his head. She asks if the signals of pain and pleasure get crossed, which Baltar replies in the affirmative. As Baltar tries to leave, Foster forces Baltar down on the bed. After noting her strength, she begins to engage in foreplay, running her tongue across his cheek.
* As she babbles on about her beliefs about "pain turning into pleasure" and the like (much to Baltar's testicular displeasure), members of the [[Sons of Ares]] begin their march towards the commune. Their attack on the commune begins by throwing a smoke grenade, which allows them to enter the commune and attack Baltar's cultists with near impunity, painting graffiti and wreaking havoc. They quickly try to find Baltar, but they know they have two minutes to do so before they can expect some kind of military response. At the one minute mark, an announcement over the PA announces a security alert on deck eight, section fourteen.
* During these two minutes, Baltar hides himself behind a support beam near the ceiling. After the attack, Foster looks up at him as the Sons of Ares people clear out of the commune, vowing to find Baltar.
* In the [[hangar bay]], [[Galen Tyrol]] is repairing the [[ECO]] console on [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]'s [[Raptor]]. Deckhand [[Anthony Figurski]] asks if Tyrol is almost done, Tyrol replies that he just has one more relay, which his hands have a problem in reaching. During this, he has flashbacks of Cally, including one where Cally helps him out during the construction of the [[Blackbird]].
* Tyrol's flashback of his [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|beating of Cally after his suicidal nightmare]] is interrupted by Edmondson, who asks if he's done with his repairs. Pocketing a fuse, he morosely replies that he's done.
* Edmondson and [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] launch to the departing waves of crew members on the deck. They join up with a [[CAP|combat air patrol]] led by [[Redwing|Paolo "Redwing" McKay]], who teases them for driving "a school bus". Edmondson counters by comparing the Vipers to bicycles, to which Redwing replies that the Vipers are race cars.
* When Edmondson throttles up, she loses control of the Raptor's port lower rear [[RCS]] thruster. She requests an emergency landing and struggles to bring the Raptor back to the port landing pod deck, but they crash-land, with flaming wreckage colliding with a [[landram]].
* Meanwhile, Baltar is chastising "[[Mr. Officious]]" for his lack of speed in finding out who their attackers are. [[Virtual Six]] prompts him to look at the painted graffiti in the wall, which is written in old text. He reads it, discovering that his attackers were from the Sons of Ares. He asks about their motivations, to which Six replies that "[[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|old Gods]] die hard even among your people". He sees Six next to a woman, whose name he believes starts with an "M", until she corrects him: her name is [[Lilly]]. Baltar discovers a religious artifact belonging to [[Asclepius]] in her hand, which she prays to. She claims that she believes that Baltar will heal their people, but still has belief in Asclepius. Six then adds that the "Gods are fighting back".
* In the hangar bay, Tyrol and Figurski are looking over the remains of the Raptor, whose relays are still hot. When checking under the ECO console, Tyrol discovers the burnt-out fuse he neglected to replace, discovering the replacement in his shirt's pocket. He admits that the crash was his fault.
* McCall angrily confronts Tyrol, but is interdicted by Edmondson, who attempts to defuse the situation. McCall concedes that it's all right, and that no one got hurt. Tyrol presses on however, saying that he doesn't need to be "patted on the head" and that its all right if people told him that he [[frak|frakked up]]. He becomes more vocal when Edmondson mentions that "he's only human", but she walks away and no one else comments. He calls them all "cowards".
* Figurski offers to finish looking over the Raptor. In reply, Tyrol tells Figurski to get out of the ship.
* As Baltar looks at the pendant for Asclepius, Virtual Six tells him that people have room for only one great belief, either him or the Gods. Despite Baltar's misgivings about one man standing up to the old Gods, Six convinces him that such a man who does would surely be magnificent. Inspired by this, Baltar tells his members that they have been targeted because of what they believe in, and urges them to take a stand against Gods that have no relevance in their world.
* Baltar then leaves, with [[Jeanne]] and the others following.
* Baltar enters the temple, where the priest is performing a service. He interrupts the ceremony despite the priest's attempts to stop him. Baltar begins asking the parishioners who they serve, blaspheming [[Zeus]] by calling him a "serial rapist" and pointing out the absurdity of giving birth through one's forehead. The priest confronts him, but Baltar calls her an "ignorant witch" and continues discussing the so-called Gods, including how Asclepius heals with the blood of a [[Gorgon]], in addition to the other "invented rubbish" as he vandalizes the temple.
* As his other cultists follow his example, Marines storm the temple and forcibly extricate Baltar as the polytheists in the temple try to attack him, yelling out demands to "burn him".

=== Act 2 ===

* [[William Adama]] visits [[Laura Roslin]] in [[sickbay]] after her blood test. He's brought a different book to read named ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', a classic novel. Roslin comments that she hasn't read it in years, and Adama confesses that he's never finished the book, since he finds the book too good to finish, and is saving the ending. She suggests that she should also do that, but after an awkward realization shared between the two, she corrects herself.
* After Adama offers to take her bag, he notes that "[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s back at home in the brig again". Roslin believes that Baltar's desecration of the temple was revenge for what happened to his commune that morning. Adama replies that he has people looking into the brutal attack on Baltar's cult, but no one is talking about the [[Sons of Ares]]. She replies that Baltar's knowingly provoking the hard-line religious groups from [[Dogsville]], and they agree that they can't have a religious fight in the [[the Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. Further, they both agree that Baltar is the crux of the problem, as he has an "uncanny way of stirring up all the crap". They discuss the various options, including locking him away for his own safety to removing him from ''Galactica''. However, Roslin has a better idea and goes to the brig so that Baltar can see her.
* Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] visits [[Caprica-Six]] in the brig. She notes that he didn't even make it to tomorrow. Tigh reveals that he does want something, and asks her how it feels to have the blood of billions of human beings on her hands. She replies that she cannot help but to feel it. Tigh orders the Marines to aim their weapons at her.
* On the hangar deck, Tyrol is welding as Figurski walks by and asks him if he woke up early or never went to sleep. Tyrol doesn't reply and Figurski walks off. After this, Tyrol simply walks off the job, throwing his welder's mask and gloves upon the floor.
* In the brig, Six tells Tigh that she is just as human as he is. During the conversation, he sees [[Ellen Tigh]] in Six's place, and asks her how she deals with the pain. She doesn't answer and Tigh tells the Marines to step outside. After the Marines do so, he tells her that she has nothing to offer him and that she is the same as the rest of the Cylons.
* Also in a brig, Baltar is awakened by Roslin. After Baltar makes a quip about her strip searching him, she tells him that his situation is being looked into "aggressively". She tells him that she is wearing a wig and dying from cancer, but she doesn't want his pity and is still doing her job. She assures him that she's aggressively looking into the men that attacked him. However, there is a caveat to this: she tells him that she wants a quiet little death, and insinuates that Baltar give up his crusade quietly, as she has neither the time nor the patience to indulge him.
* Roslin leaves, telling Baltar that he's being released and to stay safe.
* In [[Joe's Bar]], Adama joins Tyrol at the bar. Adama tells Tyrol that the deck crew misses him and tells him that if he needs time off, or if he wants to work more shifts, all he need to is ask. Tyrol replies that he doesn't need special treatment. In reply, Tyrol hallucinates Adama receiving a shot of alcohol and this reply: "I guess it was just more than she could take, huh? Being married to a Cylon who made her the mother to a half-breed abomination."
* The hallucination ends when Adama gets his drink and comments that Cally was a good woman. Tyrol replies that had Adama really thought that, he wouldn't have threatened to stick her up against a bulkhead and have her shot. Despite Adama's efforts to move their conversation somewhere else, Tyrol then goes into a tirade about how he was stuck with the best of limited options, describing Cally as a "shriek" with "dull, vacant eyes" and a "cabbage smell". He tells Adama that he is sick of his life, a life that he did not choose, and hating to find out that those they really loved were dead, dying, or were Cylons. He pines on his love of [[Sharon Valerii]], and notes that because he tried to stick his head in the sand, he married Cally. He tells her that she was no angel, but notes that Adama has already made her into one. He tells Adama that they are not in the same club, since he never asked the right questions.
* Adama gives him a last chance to recant, but Tyrol refuses, daring Adama to demote him and get him off the ship. Challenged, Adama does so, and orders Specialist Tyrol to report to a petty officer to get reassigned, since Tyrol is a danger to others.
* Adama leaves, while Tyrol slowly collapses into his stool at the bar.

=== Act 3 ===

* On ''[[Colonial One]]'' during a [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum]] meeting, [[Lee Adama]] argues with President Roslin over an emergency measure limiting the size of Baltar's groups so they don't provoke attacks from fundamentalist groups, steadfastly contending that "where ever Baltar is, violence happens", and assures Adama and other delgates that her goal is to keep the people safe from harm by preventing such violence. However, Lee's objections are supported by fellow Quorum members, such as [[Reza Chronides]], who are concerned that the emergency measure that Roslin "bulldozed through" may be used against other religious groups, such as the [[Mithraism|Mithraists]]. Roslin assures people that this won't happen, and the emergency measure was enacted because [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] is a special case, a claim that Lee rebukes by saying that they're making him a special case. During the conversation, [[Tory Foster]] remains silent, but is visibly concerned.
* Despite Lee's assertion that Baltar is not preaching violence and other amoral acts, and objections by the delegates, Roslin tells them to clear their heads and urges the people to remember the tragedy they experienced on [[New Caprica]]. Chronides pointedly asks if Roslin will open the resolution for a full discussion amongst the Quorum, which Roslin quickly and vehemently refuses to do.
* Lee responds by noting that the Quorum can override Roslin, and notes that he's willing to do so since he believes the resolution cannot stand.
* Incensed by this, Roslin replies with rhetoric: should they overturn her decision, the people would win, but at what cost? She implores them to remember what happened when Baltar held political power, and saying they should be terrified at the prospect of Baltar regaining such power again, even through Baltar's cult.
* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] watches [[Caprica-Six|Six]] as she sleeps. He believes he's seeing Ellen. When she awakens, Six asks if she should get familiar to waking up to Tigh's face. She notes the lack of a Marine escort. Tigh tells her that it is an informal chat between them, to which she astutely replies that they're also being watched. Tigh tells her that she hasn't answered his question. She replies that she wants the pain and learns from it. She mentions how she fell in love with Baltar, and understood that she wouldn't have him forever. She continues to discuss Baltar, which breaks Tigh out of his illusion of seeing Ellen. He angrily reacts to this, saying that he refuses to hear about "Gaius Frakking Baltar" and leaves the brig. He enters the adjoining surveillance room to dismiss the Marines and deactivate the surveillance equipment.
* Tigh reenters the brig, where he is prompted with an offer by Six to help him turn off the pain. She reveals that she learns from the pain, the guilt, and she claims that she's found clarity and wisdom from these things. Tigh sits on the cot with her, where he is told how the humanoid Cylon brain is patterned after the human brain, where she claims that the Cylons have learned things about the human mind that the humans themselves are unaware of.
* Six, who Tigh now sees as Ellen, removes his eye patch and offers to give him clarity.
* Baltar and his cultists proceed to the commune, but are stopped by a Marine who tells him of Roslin's emergency measure, [[Emergency Provision 17]], and that no group larger than twelve can be assembled at any time. Baltar insists that he lives in the commune, but the marine will have none of it, even when [[Paulla Schaffer]] offers to leave and allow Baltar to enter. When Baltar tries to make his way into the commune at the urging of his Virtual Six, he is beaten back by the Marine and begins to spit out blood from his mouth.

=== Act 4 ===

* In the brig, [[Saul Tigh]] tells [[Caprica-Six]] to get her hands off him. She punches him, throwing him from the cot. She then jumps on him and begins punishing him in the face, enjoying it in the process. After this, she asks him if he feels the pain, and the clarity that comes with it. When he does not reply, she continues to punch him.
* [[Virtual Six]] convinces [[Gaius Baltar]] to continue to defy the Marine, assuring him that the gains for doing so outweigh the initial costs. He does so, and is repeatedly beaten back to the ground in front of his followers every time he takes a move towards the commune. "Aided" by his virtual Six, Baltar gets up and continues this action, until Lee Adama arrives with a [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine lieutenant]]. He informs them that the provision has been rescinded and right for full public assembly is restored.
* [[Tracey Anne]], [[Jeanne]] and [[Paulla Schaffer]] rush out to help Baltar into the commune. Before entering the commune, Baltar thanks Adama for helping him. Adama replies that he doesn't know why he does these things for Baltar. Baltar says that Adama does such things because "your God compels you".
* In [[sickbay]], [[Laura Roslin]] tells [[William Adama]] (who is holding ''[[Searider Falcon]]'' in his hand) that Lee has no idea of what he's doing, believing that there are "pragmatic realities" that Lee refuses to face. Adama agrees to this, saying that Lee's only doing what he thinks is right. Roslin does agree to that, but says that "sometimes the right thing is a luxury" and has its own set of dangerous consequences that Lee doesn't want to be true. She stops herself from continuing, since she realizes that shouldn't get upset during her [[diloxin]] treatment.
* Adama tells her that he's about to get into the part of the book he hasn't read yet and, when asked if he can continue, Adama starts reading. Roslin goes to sleep and Adama continues from the reading, despite having closed the book and apparently knowing the words by rote.
* In the brig, a beaten Tigh begs to Six to continue her assault. However, she changes tactics, saying that being beaten is not what he needs. She then kisses him.
* In the commune, Baltar makes his speech where he notes that while he isn't a perfect man, he believes that something in the universe loves him despite his flaws and faults. Urged on by Virtual Six, he calls this "spark", which dwells in the soul of every living being, "God" and moves the crowd when he says that each and every person is perfect, and that they can love others once they love themselves.
* During Baltar's speech, Lee Adama sees [[Tory Foster]] in attendance. Elsewhere on the ship, [[Galen Tyrol]] stares at [[Nicholas Tyrol|Nicholas]], who is playing in his crib.
* On the ''[[Demetrius]]'', [[Kara Thrace]] is sleeping at a table when [[Samuel Anders]] comes in, watching over her.
* Baltar finishes his speech by saying that God loves that which is perfect, and that people are perfect as they are. Foster is smiling, while the other cultists begin to weep and give him a standing ovation. Lee Adama moves to leave the commune while Virtual Six looks over at Foster.

== Notes ==
* [[w:Escape velocity|Escape velocity]] is the minimum initial velocity an unaccelerated object needs to escape a body's gravitational field.
* [[Cally Tyrol]]'s full first name is Callandra. The spelling is confirmed in [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246 Bear McCreary's blog post] for this episode. The episode also marks the first onscreen mention of her birth name, Henderson.
* The [[survivor count]] now accounts for Callandra Tyrol's death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]".
* A costuming error in the teaser shows [[Saul Tigh]] wearing the rank insignia of an [[Military Ranks (RDM)|admiral]]. This is noticeable in the scene where Tigh and [[Tory Foster]] confront [[Galen Tyrol]] in Tyrol's quarters after the memorial service.
* The [[diloxin]] treatment [[Laura Roslin]] receives has forced her to wear a wig, since her hair loss began more than 22 days ago in "[[Six of One]]".
* Another of the [[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|Lords of Kobol]] is revealed: [[Asclepius]]. Asclepius is known to the Colonials as the god of healing.
* Unlike "[[The Ties That Bind]]", [[Tom Zarek]] is not present at the [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum of Twelve]] meetings on ''[[Colonial One]]'' in this episode. The reason for his absence is unexplained.
* Tory Foster confirms that the [[Final Five]] are stronger than humans.
* [[Redwing]] previously appeared in "[[Exodus, Part II]]" as [[Hot Dog]]'s wingman.
* The Raptor accident was the third such incident for the pair of [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] and [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]. The first occurrence being their FTL malfunction causing their mis-jump to the [[New Caprica]] system in "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]", and another incident with the RCS thrusters occurs in "[[Dirty Hands]]".

== Analysis ==

=== General ===

*The [[Sons of Ares]] act with military precision, have access to gas grenades and knowledge about the ship's security procedures. From this it is likely that many of them are soldiers and not civilians. This may be expected from a group dedicated to the [[Ares|god of war]].
* When facing down the Marines, the way in which Baltar is standing up appears as though he is being lifted up, which puzzles the Marines and Baltar's followers. This marks the first time where virtual Six does something to Baltar that isn't clearly presented like Baltar is doing it to himself. While it is possible that he moves like that all by himself, and his feet are never shown, it is implied that virtual Six can actually affect things physically. This, along with the [[virtual Baltar]] appearing to Baltar in "[[Six of One]]", and both virtual beings consistently knowing information that neither Baltar or Caprica-Six could actually know, hints that there may be something more to them than simply being illusions. What they are, of course, remains a matter of debate.
**In the [[Podcast:Escape Velocity#Act 4|podcast]], Ron Moore points out that such an interpretation was never intended by the writers. He concedes that the way it is shot goes into that direction, which he considers too far, but believes that none of the characters present would think of it any other way than Baltar moving around by himself.
* The scene where Baltar violently confronts the Colonials during their prayer service seems based on the biblical narrative of [[Wikipedia:Jesus and the money changers|Jesus and the money changers]].

=== Characters ===
* [[Galen Tyrol]]'s insubordination that leads Admiral Adama to demote him may have been a deliberate act, conscious or unconscious, to maintain the safety of the ship. While not stated explicitly, Tyrol has been implied to have fears of working against the interest of the Fleet. This fear is almost certainly magnified when he forgets to swap out a burned out component for a new one on [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]]'s Raptor, which subsequently crashes. While his memory lapse may have been innocently brought on by the continuing stress of discovering himself to be a Cylon, the resulting subterfuge, and his wife's death, the experience of [[Sharon Valerii]] with her memory lapses, unconscious acts of sabotage, and the attempted murder of then Commander Adama, are probably on his mind. This is indicated during the tirade against Cally, Adama, and his life in general in [[Joe's bar]]. A demotion in disgrace and transfer could ensure the safety of the ship, without raising any unwanted questions as an official resignation probably would.
* Neither Tyrol nor, apparently, Tigh have been told the full truth about [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s death; Foster has not seen fit to tell Tigh, possibly as a result of the suicide pact made in "[[He That Believeth In Me]]". The official story surrounding her demise has not been disclosed to the audience, however all ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> crew knows is that she did die. What has not been disclosed thus far is how Nicholas was found, despite the fact that Cally was seen by several crewmembers carrying the child before her death.
* Tyrol continues to have feelings for Sharon Valerii, as he admits to [[William Adama]] and everyone else present in Joe's Bar. Tyrol notes many of [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]]'s weaknesses, including her nagging, nosy nature (which lead to her death in "[[The Ties That Bind]]"), and grows annoyed at Adama's willingness to turn Cally into an angel, when he believes that she is unworthy of that. His feelings for Valerii were likely renewed upon realizing that he is a Cylon, which makes a possible association with Valerii much more acceptable to him.
* Tyrol's tirade about Cally and his reasons for marrying her also have a double meaning in regards to Adama. As it becomes more obvious, especially ever since "[[A Day in the Life]]", Adama's feelings for Roslin have become more apparent. Unfortunately, with her cancer re-appearing and her possible upcoming death, Roslin, like Valerii to Tyrol, is unattainable to Adama. Ironically, though Tyrol believes that Adama wants him to join his "club" in lamenting for Cally, it may very well be that it is Adama who wants to join Tyrol's club.
* Foster continues to embrace her Cylon nature and Baltar's teachings. She tells Tigh and Tyrol to turn off the guilt, that they are perfect and different from humans. Tigh, however, can't turn off his feelings and spends much of the episode wondering if [[Caprica-Six]] can.
* A part of the book that Adama reads to Roslin, ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', has some deeper significance to both of them, just like ''[[Love and Bullets]]'' in the previous episode: "I wasn't afraid to die. I was afraid of the emptiness that I felt inside. I couldn't feel anything. And that's what scared me. You came into my thoughts. I felt them. It felt good." This is emphasized by the fact that he closes the book and recites the passage, almost as if the words are his. It is also possible that the passage has additional significance for Adama, since by his admission he normally stops reading after it.
* Roslin's wig is strikingly reminiscent of [[Helena Cain]]'s hairstyle in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] and [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]". This is a visual counterpoint to her increasing ruthlessness as she confronts her impending death.
* Roslin's wig is also reminiscent of the hairstyle and look that she has in the vision she shared with Athena and Caprica-Six ([[Crossroads, Part I]]). This may indicate that the vision was a foretelling of future events to come in the season.
* Roslin's body language during and after her speech to the Quorum portrays several nuances to the audience. First, it is apparent, besides the hair loss, that the cancer treatments are weakening her body tremendously. Second, her previous statements to Baltar of having less and less patience is more evident in how she dealt with the Quorum's request. Third, as she leaves, the nuance of Roslin, with a hunched back and slowly sulking away indicates that there may be future consequences for the Quorum in standing up to Roslin.

=== Religion ===
* Delegate [[Reza Chronides]] mentions [[Mithraism]], thus further establishing the existence of other religions in the Twelve Colonies. The [[Sons of Ares]] are another religious group, described as [[w:fundamentalism|fundamentalist]].
*This is particularly notable in the context of Baltar's cult, because [[w:Mithraism|Mithraism]] had many things in common with [[w:Christianity|Christianity]]. Yet Christians were prosecuted far more by the ([[w:polytheism|polytheistic]]) Romans, while Mithraism spread throughout the empire and particularly the army, before Christianity became the official religion and [[w:Paganism|paganism]] illegal. This furthers the connection of the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)#The Lords of Kobol|Lords of Kobol]] to the Roman/Greek gods and of Baltar to [[w:Jesus Christ|Christ]].
*In Baltar's theology people are perfect and God loves things that are perfect. Perfect things have no faults, therefore God loves one including one's faults. Hence, there is nothing wrong with one despite the questionable things done in life. In Christian tradition, in that while God/Jesus loves sinners but hates sin, one must still accept Jesus as savior, as he died to redeem one from sin and restore one to God's grace. In other words, irregardless of faults or sins past, present or future a repentant believer would never be rejected by God, because of Jesus's sacrifice. This is similar to Baltar's theology in which God would never reject a person under any circumstance because he or she is perfect regardless of their faults or sins. Under this world view God would regard [[Tory Foster]] as perfect and guiltless despite her murder of [[Cally Tyrol]], which she has convinced herself that she is.
*Furthermore, according to conventional Protestant Christian theology, one need only accept Jesus as savior and confess once. The confession must be heartfelt and true for Christ's salvation and redemption to be in effect in God's eyes. To use the example of Tory Foster once more, it is likely that Foster is truly embracing Baltar's teachings and perhaps her Cylon nature in that she truly believes they are perfect as is and forgiven as they are. This differs from what is required under conventional forms of Christianity in that Christ has paid for the sinner's salvation.
*Baltar's speech about loving one's self, and using that understanding to love and understand others seems thematically aligned with Virtual Six's initial remark in the Miniseries that "God is love." Ironically, Baltar's sinful past now seems to enhance his credibility and provide evidence that someone as sinful as him has been given fortune by God. In Christianity, to be redeemed from sin does not mean that one will stop sinning, but to live in constant reminder of God's love and favor because of Christ's sacrifice. Furthermore with that understanding that one is loved, one's behavior will change gradually and in certain circumstances miracles occur. Likewise, Baltar has repeatedly repented to God and had seemingly divine providence intervene in his favor several times. Since Baltar is now using his own sinful life as an example, it seems that this dynamic of Christianity is consistent here as well.

== Questions ==

* Will Lee Adama grow more sympathetic towards Baltar's group?
* Will Roslin learn that Foster is associating with Baltar?
* Will Tyrol seriously consider Foster's words?
* Will Foster clash with Tigh and Tyrol, as their different attitudes towards their Cylon nature develop?
* Are Tyrol and Tigh's hallucinations merely the result of grief and guilt, or are they using [[projection]]?
* Do Tigh and Six have sex?
* Are Tyrol's statements about Cally's negative attributes heartfelt, or merely a result of rage and anger?
* What of [[Nicholas Tyrol]]? Will his father take care of the child?
* Now that it is clear that Foster lied to Tyrol about the death of Cally, how will Tyrol react should he discover the truth?
* What will Tyrol's new duties be after his demotion to specialist?
* Further, what is his status within the [[Colonial Workers Alliance]]? Has he abandoned this union's leadership position or been forced out?
* Will Baltar's religion end up helping the people of the Fleet, or will it lead them into a dangerous state which compromises them, as Laura Roslin appears to fear?
* What influence will the new religion have on Roslin's beliefs and actions? Will she convert, will she be proven right, or will she be on the wrong side?
* Does Baltar's facial expression of seeming shock when he sees Virtual Six standing next to her and smiling, mean that he realizes that Tory Foster is a Cylon? Does he connect that with Foster's display of strength to him during their sex play?

== Official Statements ==
* ''[[Mark Verheiden]] discusses [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] being "lifted" by [[Virtual Six]]:''
: "I would argue that Baltar’s gyrations were still him contorting himself, as if Number Six were hoisting him from the floor. I am reminded of Church services where people, in the throes of religious fervor, can evidence remarkable physical contortions, 'speaking in tongues,' etc."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/04/28/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-tyrols-guilt-and-baltar-the-traitor/|title=Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Tyrol's Guilt and Baltar the Traitor|date=28 April 2008|accessdate=1 May 2008|last=Ullrich|first=Chris|format=|language=}}</ref>

* ''Verheiden talks about [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]]'s animosity towards Baltar:''
: "This starts to get a little complicated, I think, which of course means you’re watching ''Battlestar Galactica''! But Laura’s emotions about New Caprica have to be a swirl of righteous resentments and animosity.

: "Remember that she [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|was removed]] as President by the will of the people (in a squeaker of an election), replaced by a guy she knew would be a poor leader. That proved to be true even before the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] arrived and the [[Cylon Occupation Authority|occupation]] began.

: "So she would have watched the political machine on [[New Caprica]] flounder under Baltar’s rule, then see the Government’s total capitulation when the Cylons arrived and he immediately surrendered.

: "While Baltar more or less cooperated with the Cylons (regardless of whether his reasons were pragmatic and practical, as pointed out in his trial), humans were rounded up, imprisoned, eyeballs were gouged out, people were tortured, the nightmare went on and on.

: "After all that, Baltar [[Crossroads, Part II|managed to evade]] Laura’s idea of justice AND he falls into a [[Cult of Baltar|sect]] of acolytes who look to him for spiritual guidance.

: "Is it any wonder that the guy gets under her skin? And that she fears for the [[The Fleet (RDM)|fleet]] should he find another power base?"

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''[[William Adama]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]'s argument at Joe's Bar:''
: '''William Adama:''' [[Cally Tyrol|She]] was a good woman.
: '''Galen Tyrol:''' If you ''really'' believe that, you wouldn't have [[Dirty Hands|threatened]] to stick her up against a bulkhead and shoot her. It's OK though, thought about doing it a few times myself. Believe me.
: '''Adama:''' Chief...
: '''Tyrol:''' How many of us ended up with the people we wanted to be with? Got stuck with the best of limited options. And why? Because the ones we really want, that we've really loved, are dead, dying, turned out to be [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and they didn't know it. And if [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] had...
: '''Adama:''' Let's go. Let's go.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. ''No.'' I didn't know—
: '''Adama:''' Let's go home.
: '''Tyrol:''' ''I didn't know.'' So I buried my head in the sand, and I took it, and I settled. I settled for that shriek. Those dull, vacant eyes. Boiled cabbage stench of her. And why? Because this is my life. This is the life I picked! And that's fine. But you know what, it's not! I didn't pick this life! This isn't my ''[[frak]]kin''<nowiki>'</nowiki> life!
: '''Adama:''' What the hell's gotten in to you? Don't do this. Don't do this to her memory.
: '''Tyrol:''' You know what? I'm sorry if I'm not doing this the way you want me to, the way you might, but I'm not making an angel out of someone who wasn't an angel. But I can see you have. And now you've come down here to be in my club. But you're not in my club. You don't know what frakkin' club I'm in because you never ask the right questions.
: '''Adama:''' Chief, let's get out of here.
: '''Tyrol:''' No. Why don't ''you'' go, take care of your ''precious ship''.
: '''Adama:''' Stop it! Stop all of this! Because if you don't, I'll have to act on it. Now shut up!
: '''Tyrol:''' ''Great!'' Do it! Please! For the love of Gods, please demote me! ''Get me off your frakking ship!''
: '''Adama:''' Specialist Tyrol, I want you off my hangar deck before you endanger another pilot. You're to report to Petty Officer [[Basim]] at 0600 for reassignment. Do you understand?

* ''[[Caprica-Six]] tells [[Saul Tigh]] about her feelings:''
:"I want the pain. It's how I learn. I was instrumental in the destruction of humanity, but at the same time I learned, because...because I fell in love...with a human man, and he was mortal and fallible. And he had this incredible pride in himself. He thought he knew everything there was to know. And I loved him, with my whole heart. And then one day, I realized I wouldn't have him forever. I understood what I'd done. How I betrayed him and humanity. And that pain taught me to understand death. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] could die. And I loved him. Baltar's heart was ephemeral. Baltar's body was fragile in my hands."

* ''[[Laura Roslin]] about [[Lee Adama]] and his understanding of politics:''
:'''Roslin:''' Lee has no idea. He really has no idea. [...] There are pragmatic realities he refuses to face.
:'''William Adama:''' Well, that's a problem of course. He'd say what he thinks is right.
:'''Roslin:''' Well yeah. He is Lee. Thing is, it probably is the right thing, but...sometimes the right thing is a luxury. And it can have profoundly dangerous consequences. And it's almost as if he doesn't want that to be true.

* ''[[Gaius Baltar]] speaks to his [[Cult of Baltar|followers]]:''
:"I am not a priest. I've never even been a particularly good man. I am in fact a profoundly selfish man. But that doesn't matter, you see. Something in the universe loves me. (smiles) Something in the universe loves the entity that is me. I would choose to call this something "God", a singular spark that dwells in the soul of every living being. If you look inside yourself you will find that spark too. You will. But you have to look deep. Love your faults. Embrace them. If God embraces them, then how can they be faults? Love yourself. You have to love yourself. If we don't love ourselves, how can we love others? And when we know what we are, then we can find the truth out about others, seek what they are; the truth about them. And you know what the truth is? The truth about them? About you? About me? Do you? The truth is, we're all perfect. Just as we are. God only loves that which is perfect and he loves you. He loves you because you are perfect. You are perfect. Just as you are."

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as Ensign [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Kate Vernon]] as "[[Virtual beings#Saul Tigh's Virtual Ellen|Virtual Ellen]]"
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lieutenant [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Colin Lawrence]] as Lieutenant [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Donna Soares]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Gemenon Delegate|Speaking Delegate #1]] (Gemenon Delegate)
* [[Andrew McIlroy]] as [[Jacob Cantrell]]
* [[Judith Maxie]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Picon Delegate|Picon Delegate]]
* [[Iris Paluly]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Speaking Delegate #2|Speaking Delegate #2]]
* [[Marilyn Norry]] as [[Reza Chronides]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Leela Savasta]] as [[Tracey Anne]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|Surveillance Marine]]
* [[Laara Sadiq]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Priestess|Priestess]]
* [[Karen Austin]] as [[Lilly]]
* [[Steve Lawlor]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine guard|Marine at Baltar's]]
* [[Hector Johnson]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Marine Lieutenant|Marine Lieutenant]]
* [[Lee Jefferies]] as [[Redwing|"Redwing" McKay]]
* [[Rob Hayter]] as [[Unnamed civilians in the Fleet (RDM)#Sons of Ares leader|Sons of Ares leader]] (uncredited)
* Unknown as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#"Mr. Officious"|"Mr. Officious"]] (uncredited)

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=246

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos]]

[[de:Escape Velocity]]
[[ms:Escape Velocity]]

Escape Velocity

2008-04-28T04:59:58Z

Brandon: