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Talk:Revelations/Archive2

2008-08-10T05:46:54Z

Hexagon1: nevermind, i can't be bothered with this right now anyway

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A "Lt. Gonzo Pike" is also listed on the [[:Image:GoBetween260607.jpg|casting sheet]] for "[[The Ties That Bind]]" for what it's worth. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 06:01, 18 November 2007 (CST)

The convention report attributes the forest scenes to episode '''11'''. Since other reports state that they have shut down after episode 13, this like means that they are the same by episode numbers. "Revelations" is episode 10 however! --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 01:57, 20 November 2007 (CST)
: Here's the thing though... is Katee counting "Razor" as one episode? If so, then that makes "Revelations" episode 11, by her count. Also, about 4.13... it seems that there are only 10 episodes "in the can", as far as I can determine. Also, production numbers can be taken out of order; it's happened before to series such as ''Babylon 5'' and even the original BSG. So, 4.13... Is ''that'' episode 11, or is that part of episode 10, which may be extended? Plus we have two missing episodes that are unaccounted for, 4.07 and 4.09.
: To be honest, it's a bit confusing. LOL -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [http://www.sanctuarywiki.org Sanctuary Wiki — ''New''] 09:55, 21 November 2007 (CST)
::Right. Counting "Razor" as one episode makes this correct again. That's probably the case. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:36, 21 November 2007 (CST)

== 4.0 finale? ==

Is this the finale to the first half of the season? [[User:OTW|OTW]] 21:44, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

:I'd venture a "yes". Not only is the episode #10 out of 20 (excluding "Razor"), but the SciFi Channel doesn't list it either on the site in general or on their schedule. --[[User:Mars|Mars]] 12:13, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

:It's the mid-season cliffhanger... Should add that to the notes. :) -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 16:08, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

== Advance screening ==

Since the episode apparently has an [http://syfyportal.com/news425104.html advance screening] tomorrow, maybe we should lock the article. I vaguely I recall that a similar screening resulted in the episode summary or analysis to be written. That's not so bad, but we have no way to verify the stuff. Plus, I don't think we should spoil it for everyone just because a handful of people have seen the episode already. It's probably not that likely that there will be massive edits, but taking precautions doesn't hurt. Someone might also read spoilers somewhere else and try to add them here. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
: I believe you are referring to "Razor". And, well, despite the advanced screening any content from it is still considered a [[BW:SP|spoiler]], since it hasn't made a nation-wide airing. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 18:28, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
::Ah yes, Razor. That was just an internet leak though and we could easily obtain a copy as well. That's not the case with a theater screening. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:30, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
:::Actually, if you recall, it was also screened in certain markets about a week before the air date. :) -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 18:46, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

== Location on earth ==

To me the location on earth looked a bit like the ruins of Ellis Island with New York City in the backround. Am I way off? --[[User:Laisak|Laisak]] 10:31, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

It's Brooklyn. [http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/913/bsgbrooklynbridgeyx0.jpg Check it out].--[[User:Werthead|Werthead]] 11:50, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

You are right. I didn't think that was a bridge, just a girder. --[[User:Laisak|Laisak]] 12:02, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

== 5th Cylon ==

<blockquote>“Is Number Three honest in her claim that there are only four of the Final Five in the 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?”</blockquote>

Perhaps the 5th is already on the Basestar? [[User:Nerull|Nerull]] 13:39, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Were there any other major characters except Baltar and Roslin? Roslin is pretty much ruled out by the joke Five made. --[[User:Laisak|Laisak]] 13:59, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
: Karl Agathon was still on the baseship, but he's human, as far as we know. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 16:06, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

:Yes, this is weird. Are there any major characters anywhere else? I mean, there are three Cylon models + Boomer in the Cylon fleet but they're not exactly good candidates. Did we leave someone behind somewhere? Surely, the final Cylon isn't dead. It has to be a major character. I guess it has to be one of Helo/Roslin/Baltar. I think that Roslin would be the most likely of those. The 3's question could have been meant in earnest. [[User:Haukurth|Haukurth]] 15:19, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm stretching this, but the five are supposed to find the way to earth. Chief, Sam and Tigh find the Viper (this could also make Starbuck a Cylon) and Roslin gives the final go for jump. There is a problem with Tory, she does nothing. --[[User:Laisak|Laisak]] 14:09, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

: Tory can't do anything because the call summons her to ''Galactica'', where Starbuck's Viper is. Obviously, she's disconnected from the rest of the Four, so she has the adverse reaction. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 16:06, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

What about Hera? D'anna was only "interested" in the four, and that way opened the door for another less important (for now) cylon......

My thoughts were, D'anna says four are in the fleet. She also freaks out and apologizes to what is presumably the fifth cylon in her vision in a way that suggests it's personal. What if the fifth cylon is someone in the fleet who was killed either by her or the cylons as a group that she then recognized? Any people who were previously killed off by D'anna or the cylons in general that could fill that slot? I wanted to say Ellen Tigh, but Baltar did the test on her and if she'd come up positive he wouldn't be wondering who the fifth is like everyone else. --[[User:Ssiixx|Ssiixx]] 23:46, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Though this would be an anti climax I assume that the fifth final five is none of the caracters we already now. I think he is located on earth, maybe waiting in some bunker or whatever. He could also be on his own ship, not too far away from the cylons and humans, watching.
Since there is a lot more to explain about the time that passed from the end of the cylon war to their reappearing, I assume that the last cylon is also the link between the twelve human cylon models and the rest of the cylon race. Even if he IS the rest. [[User:Lincore|Lincore]] 02:03, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

:From a narrative perspective, it is improbable that D'Anna was being absurdly literal, excluding a character who happened to be on the basestar at the moment she said "There are four in your fleet." Since her goal was to get the final five to the basestar, it would make little sense for her to ignore one that was already there.
:I think the living human characters are fairly effectively ruled out, but that doesn't necessarily entail an anti-climactic revelation to come. On the contrary, revealing Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, Roslin, or Baltar to be a Cylon is exactly what is expected, and this is a show which is built on defying expectations. What is needed to create a suitable climax for the series as a whole is not simply a revelation of the sort, "____ was a Cylon all along!" Instead, it needs to be a revelation that lays bare the show's mythology, that explains what happened three thousand years ago and why all of this seems to have been manipulated into occurring today. To fulfill that function a non-central character that played a crucial role in the past actually works better.
:Of course, it could all be foilers, and it could just be Roslin.--[[User:Hylas|Hylas]] 19:27, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

== Earth - Speculation ==

Kara Thrace is the harbinger of death, according to the hybrid. She is also the only character we know has been to Earth. What if she triggered a series of events that led to the destruction of the 13th tribe? She probably isn't the 5th, but she's something else. I think she's playing the character of Krishna for those of you who've read Bhagavad Gita, but at the same time her connections to the arrow of Apollo make me think she might be Arjuna. In either case, her counterpart would be the 5th.

What is hard to explain is her viper. How does it explode visibly and then come back in mint condition in the nebula? Vipers don't have FTL either, so everything seems weird.

* International Space Station and satellites probably wouldn't be affected by nuclear war
* They can't all be dead - there's got to be somebody alive from the 13th tribe.
* New York, sure, but who would waste a nuke on New Jersey? (*grin*)

--[[User:Smari|Smari]] 14:45, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

ISS and other spacecraft in low-earth orbit will see their orbits decay within a decade (or even less) due to atmospheric drag without periodic reboosts (the demise of Skylab in 1979 is a perfect example of this). Even satellites in pretty high Earth orbit will fall back to Earth within a few hundred years - assuming that a significantly long time has elapsed since whatever happened on Earth, the only stuff left in orbit will be stuff out at the Clarke (geosynchronous) orbit.

--[[User:Qprmeteor|Qprmeteor]] 15:10, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps, but not much time has passed in the fleet, yet the plants growing on the ruins suggest the event was a long time ago. However, there was a time discrepancy associated with Kara's previous visit.

--[[User:Xlynx|Xlynx]] 16:15, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

The article states that "[...] the series is set in the future and not the past [...]." This is not necessarily true. That - what was his name again - hybrid in razor said, that this happens "again, again, again...", so I came to the conclusion, that this might as well be our past. Maybe next time, it goes the other way round and people are escaping from earth after it was nuked by cylons or - whatever is next in line - and the human race is looking for an ancient world called... caprica for instance. This would make the Galactica Noah's Ark. Just my two cents... [[User:Lincore|Lincore]] 01:51, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

== Locating Earth based on just a bearing ==

There's a comment made in the main article stating that making a precision jump based solely on a bearing seems unlikely. It doesn't seem to me like this would necessarily be the case. Based on the bearing, Galactica should be able to scan in that direction, looking for solar systems. From there, they could scan for inhabitable planets. Assuming they truly are in our solar system, that narrows it down to one planet. We know that Colonial FTLs are capable of some extremely precise jumps, so jumping into orbit doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility.

The part that seems unlikely to me is that the fleet has been haphazardly stumbling around all this time jumping from point to point, several hundred jumps from the 12 Colonies. Now the Fleet is within jump range of Earth, without even knowing exactly where they were going.

--[[User:Scionic|Scionic]] 16:55, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
:I don't think the Fleet jumped from their position to Earth in one jump. Getting to Earth probably took many jumps, which is what Lee meant when he said his course would have to be corrected as they went. The writers just skipped all these intermediate jumps and cut straight ahead to the final one. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 22:00, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
::Even given that, it would be more believable to jump somewhere into the solar system rather than directly into orbit on the final jump. That's really just dramatic license. However, as said above, it makes sense that they would use astronomical readings to determine the location of star systems in the direction. But, it wouldn't be the usual generic, faster-than-light sci-fi scans. BSG's stellar navigation is mostly more in line with real astronomy, i.e. using passive readings -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 23:05, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
:::In watching the episode again, it looks like they very well might be inside the Sol System for their final jump, presumably to save time/fuel instead of slogging their away across the system at sublight. The last establishing shot of the fleet before the final jump shows a yellow star, fairly close. This is presumably our Sun. Plus, I have to say I disagree on the method of stellar navigation. For general in-system navigation and plotting, passive systems would make sense, but for FTL jumps (which have been indicated to be many light-years long), sci-fi faster-than-light scans would almost be necessary. Otherwise they'd be jumping into a region of space based on a scan that is many months or even years old. It would be like mounting an FTL drive on my car, and jumping into the middle of a busy freeway based on a picture I took a couple weeks ago - I could very well jump into the middle of another car, jump into a location that no longer exists, etc. --[[User:Scionic|Scionic]] 06:09, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
::::Better sure, but such magical technology simply doesn't exist. And all serious works of sci-fi deal a bit with the lightspeed information lag. True, BSG makes jumps next to planetary bodies and especially ships way too easy sometimes, but now and then, it's also pointed out how dangerous such jumps are. And that whole thing is the reason behind the term [[Red Line]]. A limit behind which jumps can't be plotted (e.g. stellar movement extrapolated from known data) accurately enough to have a certain margin of error. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:54, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
:::::The Universe is a very big and empty place... Using normal tools they indeed see outdated images, the way things were months maybe years before... But the movement of stars and planets can be easily observed and predicted accurately enough to jump in space and not inside a star or planet. Remember, they don't have to jump directly into orbit around Earth, probably not even in the solar system, just close enough to get a closer look and get more accurate coordinates... -- [[User:Evilforce|Evilforce]] 11:59, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
::::::I'm not just talking about the episode specifically, but the series in general. For planets that surely works. That's what I meant above. But they also jump extremely close to ships without problems. And their movement couldn't be predicted. That part is unrealistic. But never mind; it's pretty pointless to discuss this at such length. We kinda agree anyways :) -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:07, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
:::::::About jumping close to ships: I've got a little theory about that which I brought up in some long forgotten thread at Battlestar Forum: distance between ships is preserved through a jump. By this, I mean that the distance between e.g. ''Galactica'' and ''Colonial One'' after the jump will be equal to the one before it, because they made the exact same jump. For the same reason, you should be able to jump close to or even in the middle of the Fleet, provided you jumped away from that same spot. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 13:13, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

== Is it Earth at all? ==
Is the planet actually Earth? No recognisable land masses are visible from orbit, unlike in "[[Crossroads, Part II]]". The ruins look vaguely like Brooklyn and the Temple of Aurora, but it's inconclusive. The only thing conclusive is the star patterns match. Perhaps this is another pointer along the way. -- [[User:Xlynx|Xlynx]] 16:15, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
:The scriptures say the dying leader wasn't supposed to survive to see their new home, although that's making two assumptions - that the dying leader is Roslin and the new home is the planet. --[[User:Xlynx|Xlynx]] 23:27, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
::"Inductive reasoning is the death of philosophy". You can never prove anything definitively based on observed evidence, but I'd be willing to bet my house (if I owned one) on that being Earth. Aside from the many, many on-screen things, it would be a huge slap in the face to viewers if this was just [[Terra]] or something. Consider that the writers have set up this exquisite concept that in the near future civilisation is destroyed, only for it to be revealed that this is just some arbitrary planet. (Plus a few spoilers for episodes ahead do say this is Earth). Sometimes a spade is just a desolute, lifeless and radioactive spade. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 23:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
:::The discussion about the lack of recognisable land masses made me realise something - there's no sign of the Moon. I thing the writers have been very clever hiding any definitive traces that this is indeed Earth - there are after all 3 other Sun-like stars nearby to us, and the Fleet may be elsewhere. If we saw a recognisable land form or Luna herself, there would be no doubt - but an interesting door has been left open, I think. [[User:Qprmeteor|Qprmeteor]] 13:30, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
::::It's curious, but the destroyed city is clearly New York. And you don't necessarily see the moon even in a wide shot of space. That depends on the direction of the view. Besides, there are only 10 episodes left. There isn't really much point in such an elaborate deception when there are other story and character arcs to tie up. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:58, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
:::::Maybe it's clearly NYC to you, but only vaguely to me. But there's also the possibility they added so much cloud to keep the condition of the surface hidden until the revealing moment, and to have enough debris in the atmosphere for consistency with a nuclear winter. -- [[User:Xlynx|Xlynx]] 11:07, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
::::::We won't resolve this one until the rest of the season. Starbuck made a big deal about the moon, photographed it, oddly called it a "yellow moon" and said that was a key clue from Pythia. We don't yet know why the moon would be yellow, but we can be pretty sure if the moon from Starbuck's photos and Pythia's legend were not there, they would have noticed it. "Uh, hey, where's the giant moon?" It's the yellow part that is interesting.--[[User:Bradtem|Bradtem]] 02:02, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

== The possible finale? ==
Back before the season started and during the Writer's Strike, Sackhoff made a comment that the last episode they'd filmed might have acted as a series finale if the strike had gone on long enough that they couldn't return to work. Now, according to the Wiki, it's the next episode that she was referring to, but I was wondering how sure we were of that. There seems to have been a lot of confusion about which episodes production people are talking about. And I feel, after watching Revelations, that it seems like a likely candidate for the episode she was talking about. Thoughts? [[User:Alpha5099|Alpha5099]] 02:27, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
:I think we're pretty much certain. Sometimes a Great Notion was the last episode written before the strike and the last episode filmed before the break, and the scenes mentioned [http://roadrunnerdm.livejournal.com/84288.html here] take place after the end of Revelations. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 07:04, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

== Far fetched Jehovah's Witnesses connection? ==

To summarize: The Landing party appears to be on a plot of land that is very reminiscent of Brooklyn Heights looking out over to a land mass that has a similar topography of Manhattan Island with a structure to the extreme right that looks vaguely like a wrecked Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge Meanwhile in real life in that same area they appear to be in happens to have the Watchtower Building. The word "Watchtower" is part of the title of a Bob Dylan song in which four Cylons heard in their heads. Is it true for a fact? I don't know, but there is evidence for it and it would be a HUGE coincidence. Oh, I almost forgot: There is also the the fact that a off-shoot branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses has the word "Dawn" in its name and there is supposed to be a Temple called the Temple of Aurora for the The Goddess of Dawn? Hey, it could be all wrong, but at least I have evidence for it. To be clear I am not saying that RDM is bearing direct comparison to the Colonial situation but I think he using the JW as clues of some kind.[[User:Hunter2005|Hunter2005]] 08:46, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
:I agree that the Watchtower connection could be notable, but the Dawn connection is going too far in my opinion. Thoughts? --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 10:58, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
::Agreed. Also it's just too verbose for not adding much at all. At least it should be cut down. It's a tenuous connection to begin with and there is no reason to extrapolate so much from it. Just noting the fact should be fine. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:23, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
:::I agree with the cut down, however I don't agree that it is tenuous. This show is heavy with religion and deliberately so. I am NOT saying that RDM has a specific religious agenda, Jehovah's Witnesses or otherwise, he is a lapsed Catholic who is into the Eastern Asian Faiths, but it is hard to believe that the "Watchtower" building in real life being where the landing party is is a coincidence. It is meant as clue that it is ''really'' New York. I, as a New Yorker born, raised and lived my entire life take it as a HUGE slap-in-the-face-hint. [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/166/story_16650_1.html Anyway, here is a link to an interview on his use of religion in his version of BSG and the Mormon influences of the original.]The Watchtower building, where it is and Bob Dyan's song thing was NO accident or coincidence. And I don't think the Dawn thing between the Greek Goddess and the Jehovah's Witnesses faction is either although I admit there is much less objective evidence for it. [[User:Hunter2005|Hunter2005]] 04:18, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
::::It's clearly supposed to be in the same place as New York, but the timeframe of the series has not yet been established. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 07:34, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
:::::My 2 cents is that, unless we see further JW links, this is probably a coincidence. It may be of note to say what currently stands on the bank where the crew are though. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 09:41, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
::::Like I said earlier, the Watchtower note is not disputed. Regardless of whether it's deliberate, it deserves to be noted on this page. The JW/Aurora connection is much weaker, and I agree with OTW that unless more references to the Jehova's Witnesses pop up, it's too weak to be noted. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 10:33, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
::::::To be clear again, I am not saying there is an actual JW/Cylon connection or RDM having an agenda. I think it is a clue as to where they are in New York if they are in New York. In a show that is heavily religously themed; to have a Bob Dyan Song with the word "Watchtower" in it and then show the Landing Party what could be an area around the East Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge which happens to be in the area where the Religous sect owned Watchtower building is in real life is VERY suspicious to me as a New Yorker, as to show that it is New York City. If it is a coincidence it is a '''''HUGE''''' one, a struck-by-lighting-three-days-in-a-row type of coincidence. 10:02, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
:::::As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't see a real connection aside from the name of our buildings; based on what I know of BG's religious inspiration, and comparing them to our beliefs, I think I can safely say that this is a surprisingly coincidence . That said, here is a footnote from our of our publications in regards to the origin of the name: The expression "Watch Tower" is no unique to Russell's writings or to Jehovah's Witnesses. George Storrs published a book in the 1850s called The Watch Tower: Or, Man in Death; and the Hope for a Future Life. The name was also incorporated in the title of various religious periodicals. It stems from the idea of keeping on the watch for the outworking of God's purposes - Isa 21:8,11,12; Ezek 3:17; Hab 2:1 - Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 48. Take that as you will. As for me, I may just stop by here every once in a while and giggle. :D -- [[User:Ibmjones|Ibmjones]]
::Note that if it's the Brooklyn bridge, it is an error because it has metal rods sticking out of it. Leaving aside the fact they should be r usted after so long, the Brooklyn bridge was built before reinforced concrete was used in the USA. The one to the right could be the Manhattan bridge, which was built later.--[[User:Bradtem|Bradtem]] 02:05, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
:::Who says they are reinforcing rods? The whole thing is black as if it is in shadow. You cannot tell details like that. I doubt from a dramatic point of view that they will use the [[W:Manhattan Bridge|Manhattan Bridge]] Who the hell knows about the Manhattan Bridge except New Yorkers like me who took the "D" and "N" subway trains over it LOL! The Brooklyn Bridge is iconic. Anyway it is undoubtedly a bridge. RDM says so in his podcast of ''Revelations.'' It contains a lot of oblique answers to questions. [[User:Hunter2005|Hunter2005]] 08:49, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

== Pardon? ==

I don't recall any pardon Lee Adama issued, and I couldn't find the word "pardon" in his article or in the episode guides for the episodes in which he was President. Am I missing something?
*It is not mentioned whether or not Lee Adama's pardon means the Final Four Cylons will, or can, remain in the Colonial military in crucial positions.
--[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 18:32, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
:He gives them an "amnesty" - "free to go, free to stay". It's right after he announces that he hands all the information over to the Cylon rebels, when they stand around Starbuck's Viper. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:42, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
::Right, now I remember. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 19:14, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

The question of the pardon, and whether it extended to Caprica-Six, is answered here: http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/18/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-cylon-amnesty-and-finding-earth/?cid=9445 -- [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 02:08, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

== Starbuck's expression ==

I just re-watched the last scene, I'm fairly sure that Kara's smirking, she's the only one in the scene who doesn't seem disappointed. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 22:45, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
: Neither does Tyrol, apparently. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 23:00, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

::Tyrol is clearly chuckling to himself; Starbuck to me looks like she has her mouth pursed as part of an overall expression of concern.--[[User:Hylas|Hylas]] 23:15, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
::: I don't think he was "chuckling" to himself out of humor, but in a cynical "of course it would turn out this way..." attitude. Rueful, just like when he was taken to the launch tube and he looks at Tigh and smiled because he '''knew''' Tigh gave them up. He smiled at Anders in a similar fashion because he knew that Tigh gave them up even then. On Earth Tyrol just had a non committal attitude because he is already cynical as hell probably thinking of the absurdity of the situation. Starbuck had somewhat the same attitude especially with the "harbinger of death" prophecy ringing in her head. [[User:Hunter2005|Hunter2005]] 09:48, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

== Goof ==

In the scene in CIC where Felix gets up to retrieve the pills he knocked over, you can briefly see the shadow of his 'missing' leg and foot (tucked up behind him) cast on the floor just between him and his chair. . . oops! [[User:Centurion 51773|Centurion 51773]] 09:37, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
: Yep, big oops. Or is it a shadow from his [[Virtual beings|Virtual Leg]]? :P -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 10:05, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
::Yeah. Gaeta's leg is definitely the final Cylon. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:26, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
:::Well, other than Baltar's Baltar, nobody else has a virtual ''self'', so I think it's more likely that Gaeta has a virtual ''Tigh's'' leg. . . (Actually an eye disguised as a leg. Cylon projection. Wink wink nudge nudge.) :D [[User:Centurion 51773|Centurion 51773]] 14:54, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
----
::I believe that's already mentioned on our [[Continuity errors (RDM)#VFX Gaffes|continuity errors page]]. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]]) 10:49, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
:::So it is. Hadn't seen it. Here I thought I was being clever. Frak! ;D[[User:Centurion 51773|Centurion 51773]] 13:08, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

==Temple of Aurora Mistake==
I see that there's an ongoing mistake with the Temple of Aurora picture. Lee is looking at the picture of the Opera House on Kobol. Starbuck walks over and says it's the Temple of Aurora, but as she does so you can see Lee turning the page over. You catch [http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e4/Werthead/?action=view&current=AuroraBook.jpg a very brief glimpse of the image he is looking at]: an open square structure inside a much larger chamber. It 100% resembles [http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e4/Werthead/?action=view&current=AuroaWreckage.jpg the structure] at the end of Revelations. However, I keep seeing that people think the Opera House and the Temple of Aurora are one and the same and it's an error, which it isn't. It's actually slightly mistimed editing.--[[User:Werthead|Werthead]] 00:34, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
: Having rewatched my digital copy, I can see that you're correct. Lee does turn the page to what appears to be the structure on Earth in "Revelations", at least to an extent... What extent, I'm not entirely sure though, because, again, the picture that we see on closeup before panning upward towards Thrace is the exact same page used to depict the depiction of the Opera House on Kobol in Season 1 and 2. Which casts doubt on the intentions of that scene. It could be a simple editing mistake, or it could very well be an attempt to remove all reference to that page for some reason we don't yet know. While I'm up in Vancouver, I'll figure out what the frak is up with it, because that scene—and the sudden introduction of this so-called Temple—rankles my researching ass, personally. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 02:24, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
:I changed the note on the Aurora page to make it more clear where the real picture is. And I uploaded the picture above to BSWiki. It's now linked to in the same note. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Talk:Revelations/Archive2

2008-08-10T05:37:30Z

Hexagon1: +ps

Talk:Revelations/Archive2

2008-08-10T05:21:37Z

Hexagon1: /* Are you insane? */ new section

Revelations

2008-08-10T05:11:22Z

Hexagon1: rephrasing first point of Earth section, it doesn't necessarily mean those things

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] 
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=1.4
| 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 [[D'Anna Biers]], 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. Biers 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 Biers step out of the Raptor. [[Galen Tyrol]] and [[Samuel Anders]] look on from the catwalk, wondering whether Biers can or will identify them. While William Adama greets his son, Biers 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 Biers 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 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. Biers announces that one of the Final Five has arrived. [[Number Two|Leoben]] expresses doubt, but Biers 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 Biers 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 Biers 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 Biers, 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 Biers 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|Thrace's Viper]]. Tyrol suggests that something about the Viper has changed, and Anders suggests they get Thrace. 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 Biers will back down if he is used as a hostage.

=== Act 2 ===

*As [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] escort Tigh through the hallways, William Adama suffers a nervous breakdown. He rampages through his office, smashes his fist into a mirror and drinks heavily. As Adama cries, his son finds him and tries to comfort him. Adama says that he can't kill Tigh and Lee tells him that he will handle it.
*In a [[Launch tube (RDM)|launch tube]], Lee Adama interrogates Tigh, demanding to know who the other Cylons are. From the control room, [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] announces that Biers is on the line. Adama threatens to kill Tigh if she harms one of the hostages, and says that she has ten minutes before he kills him. From Tigh he again demands the identities of the rest of the Final Four in order to save the Fleet.
*Standing next to her Viper, Thrace expresses doubt about Anders's and Tyrol's suspicion regarding the Viper. Marines come in and arrest Anders and Tyrol. When Thrace asks what's going on, Sergeant [[Brandy Harder|Harder]] replies that they are Cylons. Shocked, Thrace questions Anders, who confirms that it is true. As he is dragged away, Anders insists that something is different about the Viper.
*On the basestar, an [[Number Eight]] and two [[Cylon Centurion|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.
*Anders and Tyrol are brought into the launch tube to join Tigh. Lee Adama orders Dualla to get the baseship on the line again.
*On the hangar deck, Thrace climbs into her Viper's cockpit.
*On the baseship, Roslin and Baltar hear the hostages and Centurions. A Number Two walks in and Roslin asks what's going on. The Two says that Biers is about to start executing more hostages. When Roslin requests that she be taken to Biers, Baltar insists that she 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 Adama tells Biers that he has Anders and Tyrol in the airlock, and demands that she stand down.
*Thrace begins activating her Viper's systems.
*Tory Foster tells Biers that she knows Adama and that he will back down if pressure. Biers orders to target nuclear weapons on the civilian fleet when Baltar walks in and begins begins talking to her.
*Thrace continues activating her electronics and suddenly detects a signal with one instrument.
*Baltar argues that coercion won't work with Lee Adama because he is too similar to his father, while Foster argues that he is bluffing.
*Dualla tells Adama that the baseship's nuclear missiles have gone hot. Both conclude that the Fleet couldn't spool up their [[FTL|jump drives]] quickly enough to escape before the Cylons fire. Adama orders that everyone except Tigh be removed from the tube.
*On the basestar, Baltar suggests that [[God (RDM)|God]] may have brought Biers back for a different purpose, to end the conflict peacefully. She argues that the Colonials will never forgive the Cylons for [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they did to the Twelve Colonies]], and gives the order to proceed.
*As the launch tube door closes, Thrace runs through the ship.
*Baltar argues to Biers that brute force did not work for the Cylons on [[New Caprica]] or the [[algae planet]], and that it will not work now.
*Adama asks Dualla for the key and begins the process of de-pressurizing the launch tube.
*An Eight announces that they have weapons lock on the Colonial ships.
*Tigh tells Adama to stop hesitating and flush the airlock. As Adama is about to push the button, Thrace runs in, telling Adama to stop. She says that the Cylons just gave them [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].

=== Act 3 ===

*Lee Adama sits in Thrace's Viper, recognizing a Colonial emergency locator signal, and notes that no other [[wireless]] in the Fleet is picking it up. Thrace argues to a skeptical Adama 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.
*Thrace, Lee Adama, the Final Four, Biers, Marines and Centurions stand around the Viper and an Eight sits inside. They discuss the signal. Adama says that he decided to share the information with the Cylons rather than jump away, because it would only lead to another confrontation down the road. He argues that peace is possible and says that he has granted the Final Four an amnesty. Biers agrees to release the hostages.
*Adama 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 Adama talks to Roslin about stepping down, and she praises him on resolving the crisis, saying the Fleet will need that kind of leadership in the years to come.
*Admiral Adama returns in uniform, saying they should find Earth. His son says that he has been working on a recon mission with Thrace. Admiral Adama replies 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 [[List of terms (RDM)#hard six|roll the hard six]].

=== Act 4 ===

*In the 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. After some seconds, Gaeta announces that the [[Tomb of Athena|constellations]] match. The Fleet has jumped into orbit of a blue/white planet - Earth.
*Adama makes a speech to the whole Fleet, announcing that they have arrived at Earth. All over ''Galactica'' and throughout the Fleet people rejoice ecstatically.
[[Image:Ruinedcity.jpg|thumb|right|A city found in ruins.]]
*A detachment of Vipers, [[Raptors]], [[Heavy Raider]]s, [[Cylon freighter (RDM)|Cylon freighters]], as well as several civilian ships fly towards 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. Biers is stunned.
*Many others, including [[Karl Agathon|Karl]] and [[Sharon Agathon]], Gaius Baltar, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, the Final Four, and the Cylons are on the surface as well, walking and standing around on a riverbank near the ruins of a city, which was apparently destroyed. The mood is dismal, with everyone probably wondering what happened to Earth and what they will do next.

== 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 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 as yet unknown number of copies of the four Significant Seven Cylon models who have now joined them.
* The page from the [[Book of Pythia]] depicting the Temple of Aurora is the same two page spread used to represent the [[City of the Gods]] on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] from "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]".
* The rhythm of the beacon signal matches the rhythm of [[the Music]].
*It remains to be seen if the rebel Cylons will be counted in the Survivor Count now they have joined the Fleet. So far only Sharon Agathon and Caprica Six, arguably rebel Cylon themselves, have been counted despite never being considered human.

== Analysis ==

=== General ===

*The survivor count drops by 8 from the previous episode. Allowing for the fact that Pike's death has been counted already and assuming no deaths in the Fleet, these eight Colonial deaths occur as a result of the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub]]. Two of these casualties at least seem to be Viper pilots given the wrecked Vipers seen derelict at the battle site ([[Sine Qua Non]]). Pike's ECO is also one of the dead. However a possible continuity error occurs in the count between the episodes "Sine Qua Non" and "The Hub", as the episodes take place concurrently, yet the population drops by one in between (possibly Pike's death).
* When Thrace says to Lee Adama (while he is looking at the drawing of the Temple of Aurora) "We'll get there, and walk those halls together", Adama says "Yeah, pretty to think so." This could be a reference to the last line of Ernest Hemingway's ''[[w:The Sun Also Rises|The Sun Also Rises]]'' when Jake Barnes says "Yeah, isn't it pretty to think so?" about the idea that he and Brett Ashley could have been in love.
*There is one flaw in Biers's hostage plan: It is not explained how she believes the Final Four would be able to make it onto her basestar without being detained first by the Colonials. One of them could always be taken as a hostage by the Colonials as a counter-move. Though, presumably they would try to find a covert way to leave the ship, much like [[Tory Foster]].

=== Characters ===

* 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.
* Roslin's plan to hold Biers and her knowledge to herself is shown to have already failed at the start of this episode. Biers has already made it clear she will not co-operate and is walking freely around the basestar. The plan was never likely to succeed given that the Colonials on the rebel basestar are totally outnumbered and cut off from the Fleet. In fact, Roslin and Adama's decision to double cross the Cylons ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]]) may well have precipitated the entire hostage crisis, as the rebels decided to return to their original plan only after learning that the Colonials have no intention of turning over the Final Five.
* [[Tory Foster]] actively advises Biers in her test of wills with Lee Adama, pressing for more aggressive tactics. She appears to be embracing her Cylon nature, including the antagony towards mankind. In doing so, she parallels the origins of the Cylon War, rebelling against those she had earlier served.
* [[Sharon Agathon]] appears to have been released from the [[brig]] despite her shooting of [[Natalie]], although there is no explicit on screen explanation given for this. Her involvement in planning the rescue mission could be part of her parole, or it is possible Roslin confirmed to Admiral Adama that they have been experiencing and sharing powerful visions that have affected their behavior. Curiously, this is not the first time that the Agathons have escaped severe punishment for potentially mutinous actions. It is also in Admiral Adama's character to be forgiving of the actions of the officers and crew, most notably Kara Thrace, if there is compelling reason.
* Admiral Adama has apparently reassigned [[Galen Tyrol]] to the hangar deck. In previous episodes Tyrol often worked in other areas of the ship. This may be another example of Adama's forbearance toward his crew. However, he has not as yet restored Tyrol's old rank. Instead, [[Peter Laird]] is shown as the chief of the deck, having likely occupied that position since Tyrol's demotion.
**This is Laird's first chronological appearance since "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]". He appeared in "[[Razor]]" in flashback scenes, and was mentioned as an active deckhand in "[[Sine Qua Non]]".
* The Six walking up to Saul Tigh on Earth appears to be [[Caprica-Six]]. This indicates that Adama's general amnesty extends to her as well and that she is free to join the Cylon rebels on their baseship; a fact that is confirmed by [[Mark Verheiden]] in [http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/18/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-cylon-amnesty-and-finding-earth/?cid=9445 this] interview.
* With the destruction of the Hub, Biers becomes the closest a Cylon has come to being human —- along with mortality, she, as the last of her model, is unique in all the universe.

=== Earth ===

* One of the first visual cues that [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] lacks a widespread, technologically advanced civilization comes in the establishing shots of the planet when the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] arrives in orbit. The night side of the planet is steeped in total darkness, whereas the city lights of an inhabited planet with an industrialized civilization would be clearly visible on its night side, as seen in this [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/earth_night.jpg composite satellite photograph] of the Earth at night.
* How Earth came to the state which the Fleet finds it in is uncertain. Given that the landing party tests the soil with a [[wikipedia:Geiger counter|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 could mean that the series is set in the future or an alternate universe completely different from ours.
* 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 ruins shown on Earth, however, appear to be not nearly as ancient as the ruins on Kobol, given the contrast in the degradation of the buildings. This would place the destruction of Earth well within the 2,000 years period since the exodus from Kobol.
* The area the landing party arrives at appears to be the [[Wikipedia:Brooklyn|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 which appears to be 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]].
**In what may be a coincidence, not far from the Eastern approaches to the real-life Brooklyn Bridge in [[Wikipedia:Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn, New York]] and close to the northern shore of the [[w:borough|borough]], there is a building owned by the [[Wikipedia:The Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witnesses]]. It is called "[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/sedewts.jpg The Watchtower]". The relevance is that the song that the Final Four heard is actually ''[[Wikipedia:All Along the Watchtower|All Along the Watchtower]]'' by Bob Dylan, though there is no known connection between the song and the religion. Further, the building is [http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=watchtower&near=Brooklyn,+NY&fb=1&t=h&ll=40.702879,-73.994551&spn=0.003221,0.00559&z=17 situated very near if not the exact place] the landing party stands at. However, while the precise area of where they landed is still ambiguous, Ronald D. Moore's [http://media.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/mp3/412/bsg_ep412_FULL.mp3 podcast of this episode] does hint that it could be New York City. More directly, by way of conversation, he says outright that the structure at the right side edge of the screen is definitely a bridge.
**The Brooklyn bridge was built prior to the use of [[Wikipedia:Rebar|rebar]] in the USA, although the bridge in the scene shows metal rods. These metal rods are most likely the remains from side railings and cross struts of the roadway since at that scale and distance rebar, which even at its maximum diameter is only 2.257" thick (US standard sizes), could not be seen so easily with the naked eye.
**The scene shows many ruins immersed in the water, suggesting raised water levels, though the view of Earth in "[[Crossroads, Part II]]" shows normal sea levels.
**The filming location was on [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&ie=UTF8&ll=49.013815,-123.039697&t=h&z=16 Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen], south of Vancouver.<ref>http://13thcolony.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/bsg-set-damaged-in-windstorm/</ref><ref>http://bloginhood.blogspot.com/2008/01/look-what-else-washed-up-on-beach-more.html</ref>
* 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 [[:Image:AuroraBook.jpg|illustration of the temple]] in the book of Pythia (although the camera lingers on a depiction of the [[City of the Gods]]). 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 shown by the illustration.
* Throughout this episode, Earth when seen from orbit is largely obscured by cloud masses and shadows. Unlike the view of the North American continent presented at the end of "[[Crossroads, Part II]]", none of the landmasses in view can be easily identified.

== Questions ==

* Is Biers 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?
*Is the fifth Cylon amongst those held on the basestar?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* What condition is the rest of Earth in?
* Was Earth in the same condition the last time Thrace was there?
* 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]]? Or will they surrender?
* Does the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] still exist? If so, where are they now? Or was there never a Thirteenth Tribe at all?
* Is Pythia's book literally accurate history or metaphors for real historical events places and things or totally false?
* 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? Or will their hatred of the Cylons persist?
* 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?
* Will Caprica Six join the rebels or pursue further relations with Baltar or Tigh?
* In what year do the Colonials arrive on Earth?
* Who or what was responsible, intentionally or not, for the apparent holocaust on Earth?

== Official Statements ==

*''[[Jane Espenson]] about the writing and her reaction to it:''
:"Holy cow, I love this episode beyond the saying of it, and 'thank you' to the fans who have been going out of their way to tell all of us that, too. Adama's reaction to the reveal was stunning -- my gods -- and Starbuck-- her face said it all. A thunderclap. Simply beautiful. You wouldn't want more and you can't imagine less. I'm stating the obvious when I say that a more labored reaction would've attenuated the emotions, given the characters a chance to gather themselves before the big blow that was to come, which certainly would be a mistake. [...] I think the *real* reactions are yet to come, just like in life. The beauty of this episode is in its urgency, in the tumbling breathless slide that lands us on that grim gray unfamiliar beach"

:"And -- oh -- that haunting devastated city there, with the massive ruined temple and our people trying to find their footing in a strange dead city I did not recognize... that image just kills me. Every time I watch this episode, I well up with hope, and it lasts right up through that handful of soil, and then the radiation counter breaks my heart all over again."

:"[[David Weddle|David]] and [[Bradley Thompson|Bradley]] (David Weddle and Bradley Thompson, our writers) did an excellent job throughout this rocketsled of an episode - the writing had to be so delicate, precise and emotional... and they also did such a good job doing little things like dealing with the fallout from my episode the previous week. Baltar saying he loves living is such a gem of a moment among a cascade of gems -- thanks for that, David and Brad! And then, of course, the big stuff starts happening and never ever lets up." <ref name"espenson">{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/06/16/jane-espenson-on-battlestar-galacticas-mid-season-finale/|title=TVGuide: Jane Espenson on Battlestar Galactica's mid-season finale}}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[William Adama]] has a nervous breakdown after learning that his best friend of 30 years, [[Saul Tigh]], is a Cylon, and having him arrested to be executed. [[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."

*''Laura Roslin observes the vacant ruins on Earth:''
:"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 [[D'Anna Biers]]
* [[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")
* [[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 [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Adama's Corporal|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 directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Revelations

2008-08-10T05:05:51Z

Hexagon1: note on flaw in biers's plan

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] 
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=1.4
| 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 [[D'Anna Biers]], 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. Biers 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 Biers step out of the Raptor. [[Galen Tyrol]] and [[Samuel Anders]] look on from the catwalk, wondering whether Biers can or will identify them. While William Adama greets his son, Biers 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 Biers 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 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. Biers announces that one of the Final Five has arrived. [[Number Two|Leoben]] expresses doubt, but Biers 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 Biers 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 Biers 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 Biers, 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 Biers 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|Thrace's Viper]]. Tyrol suggests that something about the Viper has changed, and Anders suggests they get Thrace. 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 Biers will back down if he is used as a hostage.

=== Act 2 ===

*As [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] escort Tigh through the hallways, William Adama suffers a nervous breakdown. He rampages through his office, smashes his fist into a mirror and drinks heavily. As Adama cries, his son finds him and tries to comfort him. Adama says that he can't kill Tigh and Lee tells him that he will handle it.
*In a [[Launch tube (RDM)|launch tube]], Lee Adama interrogates Tigh, demanding to know who the other Cylons are. From the control room, [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] announces that Biers is on the line. Adama threatens to kill Tigh if she harms one of the hostages, and says that she has ten minutes before he kills him. From Tigh he again demands the identities of the rest of the Final Four in order to save the Fleet.
*Standing next to her Viper, Thrace expresses doubt about Anders's and Tyrol's suspicion regarding the Viper. Marines come in and arrest Anders and Tyrol. When Thrace asks what's going on, Sergeant [[Brandy Harder|Harder]] replies that they are Cylons. Shocked, Thrace questions Anders, who confirms that it is true. As he is dragged away, Anders insists that something is different about the Viper.
*On the basestar, an [[Number Eight]] and two [[Cylon Centurion|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.
*Anders and Tyrol are brought into the launch tube to join Tigh. Lee Adama orders Dualla to get the baseship on the line again.
*On the hangar deck, Thrace climbs into her Viper's cockpit.
*On the baseship, Roslin and Baltar hear the hostages and Centurions. A Number Two walks in and Roslin asks what's going on. The Two says that Biers is about to start executing more hostages. When Roslin requests that she be taken to Biers, Baltar insists that she 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 Adama tells Biers that he has Anders and Tyrol in the airlock, and demands that she stand down.
*Thrace begins activating her Viper's systems.
*Tory Foster tells Biers that she knows Adama and that he will back down if pressure. Biers orders to target nuclear weapons on the civilian fleet when Baltar walks in and begins begins talking to her.
*Thrace continues activating her electronics and suddenly detects a signal with one instrument.
*Baltar argues that coercion won't work with Lee Adama because he is too similar to his father, while Foster argues that he is bluffing.
*Dualla tells Adama that the baseship's nuclear missiles have gone hot. Both conclude that the Fleet couldn't spool up their [[FTL|jump drives]] quickly enough to escape before the Cylons fire. Adama orders that everyone except Tigh be removed from the tube.
*On the basestar, Baltar suggests that [[God (RDM)|God]] may have brought Biers back for a different purpose, to end the conflict peacefully. She argues that the Colonials will never forgive the Cylons for [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they did to the Twelve Colonies]], and gives the order to proceed.
*As the launch tube door closes, Thrace runs through the ship.
*Baltar argues to Biers that brute force did not work for the Cylons on [[New Caprica]] or the [[algae planet]], and that it will not work now.
*Adama asks Dualla for the key and begins the process of de-pressurizing the launch tube.
*An Eight announces that they have weapons lock on the Colonial ships.
*Tigh tells Adama to stop hesitating and flush the airlock. As Adama is about to push the button, Thrace runs in, telling Adama to stop. She says that the Cylons just gave them [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].

=== Act 3 ===

*Lee Adama sits in Thrace's Viper, recognizing a Colonial emergency locator signal, and notes that no other [[wireless]] in the Fleet is picking it up. Thrace argues to a skeptical Adama 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.
*Thrace, Lee Adama, the Final Four, Biers, Marines and Centurions stand around the Viper and an Eight sits inside. They discuss the signal. Adama says that he decided to share the information with the Cylons rather than jump away, because it would only lead to another confrontation down the road. He argues that peace is possible and says that he has granted the Final Four an amnesty. Biers agrees to release the hostages.
*Adama 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 Adama talks to Roslin about stepping down, and she praises him on resolving the crisis, saying the Fleet will need that kind of leadership in the years to come.
*Admiral Adama returns in uniform, saying they should find Earth. His son says that he has been working on a recon mission with Thrace. Admiral Adama replies 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 [[List of terms (RDM)#hard six|roll the hard six]].

=== Act 4 ===

*In the 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. After some seconds, Gaeta announces that the [[Tomb of Athena|constellations]] match. The Fleet has jumped into orbit of a blue/white planet - Earth.
*Adama makes a speech to the whole Fleet, announcing that they have arrived at Earth. All over ''Galactica'' and throughout the Fleet people rejoice ecstatically.
[[Image:Ruinedcity.jpg|thumb|right|A city found in ruins.]]
*A detachment of Vipers, [[Raptors]], [[Heavy Raider]]s, [[Cylon freighter (RDM)|Cylon freighters]], as well as several civilian ships fly towards 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. Biers is stunned.
*Many others, including [[Karl Agathon|Karl]] and [[Sharon Agathon]], Gaius Baltar, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, the Final Four, and the Cylons are on the surface as well, walking and standing around on a riverbank near the ruins of a city, which was apparently destroyed. The mood is dismal, with everyone probably wondering what happened to Earth and what they will do next.

== 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 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 as yet unknown number of copies of the four Significant Seven Cylon models who have now joined them.
* The page from the [[Book of Pythia]] depicting the Temple of Aurora is the same two page spread used to represent the [[City of the Gods]] on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] from "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]".
* The rhythm of the beacon signal matches the rhythm of [[the Music]].
*It remains to be seen if the rebel Cylons will be counted in the Survivor Count now they have joined the Fleet. So far only Sharon Agathon and Caprica Six, arguably rebel Cylon themselves, have been counted despite never being considered human.

== Analysis ==

=== General ===

*The survivor count drops by 8 from the previous episode. Allowing for the fact that Pike's death has been counted already and assuming no deaths in the Fleet, these eight Colonial deaths occur as a result of the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub]]. Two of these casualties at least seem to be Viper pilots given the wrecked Vipers seen derelict at the battle site ([[Sine Qua Non]]). Pike's ECO is also one of the dead. However a possible continuity error occurs in the count between the episodes "Sine Qua Non" and "The Hub", as the episodes take place concurrently, yet the population drops by one in between (possibly Pike's death).
* When Thrace says to Lee Adama (while he is looking at the drawing of the Temple of Aurora) "We'll get there, and walk those halls together", Adama says "Yeah, pretty to think so." This could be a reference to the last line of Ernest Hemingway's ''[[w:The Sun Also Rises|The Sun Also Rises]]'' when Jake Barnes says "Yeah, isn't it pretty to think so?" about the idea that he and Brett Ashley could have been in love.
*There is one flaw in Biers's hostage plan: It is not explained how she believes the Final Four would be able to make it onto her basestar without being detained first by the Colonials. One of them could always be taken as a hostage by the Colonials as a counter-move. Though, presumably they would try to find a covert way to leave the ship, much like [[Tory Foster]].

=== Characters ===

* 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.
* Roslin's plan to hold Biers and her knowledge to herself is shown to have already failed at the start of this episode. Biers has already made it clear she will not co-operate and is walking freely around the basestar. The plan was never likely to succeed given that the Colonials on the rebel basestar are totally outnumbered and cut off from the Fleet. In fact, Roslin and Adama's decision to double cross the Cylons ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]]) may well have precipitated the entire hostage crisis, as the rebels decided to return to their original plan only after learning that the Colonials have no intention of turning over the Final Five.
* [[Tory Foster]] actively advises Biers in her test of wills with Lee Adama, pressing for more aggressive tactics. She appears to be embracing her Cylon nature, including the antagony towards mankind. In doing so, she parallels the origins of the Cylon War, rebelling against those she had earlier served.
* [[Sharon Agathon]] appears to have been released from the [[brig]] despite her shooting of [[Natalie]], although there is no explicit on screen explanation given for this. Her involvement in planning the rescue mission could be part of her parole, or it is possible Roslin confirmed to Admiral Adama that they have been experiencing and sharing powerful visions that have affected their behavior. Curiously, this is not the first time that the Agathons have escaped severe punishment for potentially mutinous actions. It is also in Admiral Adama's character to be forgiving of the actions of the officers and crew, most notably Kara Thrace, if there is compelling reason.
* Admiral Adama has apparently reassigned [[Galen Tyrol]] to the hangar deck. In previous episodes Tyrol often worked in other areas of the ship. This may be another example of Adama's forbearance toward his crew. However, he has not as yet restored Tyrol's old rank. Instead, [[Peter Laird]] is shown as the chief of the deck, having likely occupied that position since Tyrol's demotion.
**This is Laird's first chronological appearance since "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]". He appeared in "[[Razor]]" in flashback scenes, and was mentioned as an active deckhand in "[[Sine Qua Non]]".
* The Six walking up to Saul Tigh on Earth appears to be [[Caprica-Six]]. This indicates that Adama's general amnesty extends to her as well and that she is free to join the Cylon rebels on their baseship; a fact that is confirmed by [[Mark Verheiden]] in [http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/18/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-cylon-amnesty-and-finding-earth/?cid=9445 this] interview.
* With the destruction of the Hub, Biers becomes the closest a Cylon has come to being human —- along with mortality, she, as the last of her model, is unique in all the universe.

=== Earth ===

* One of the first visual cues that [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] lacks a widespread, technologically advanced civilization comes in the establishing shots of the planet when the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] arrives in orbit. The night side of the planet is steeped in total darkness, whereas the city lights of an inhabited planet with an industrialized civilization would be clearly visible on its night side, as seen in this [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/earth_night.jpg composite satellite photograph] of the Earth at night.
* How Earth came to the state which the Fleet finds it in is uncertain. Given that the landing party tests the soil with a [[wikipedia:Geiger counter|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 or an alternate universe completely different from ours.
* 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 ruins shown on Earth, however, appear to be not nearly as ancient as the ruins on Kobol, given the contrast in the degradation of the buildings. This would place the destruction of Earth well within the 2,000 years period since the exodus from Kobol.
* The area the landing party arrives at appears to be the [[Wikipedia:Brooklyn|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 which appears to be 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]].
**In what may be a coincidence, not far from the Eastern approaches to the real-life Brooklyn Bridge in [[Wikipedia:Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn, New York]] and close to the northern shore of the [[w:borough|borough]], there is a building owned by the [[Wikipedia:The Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witnesses]]. It is called "[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/sedewts.jpg The Watchtower]". The relevance is that the song that the Final Four heard is actually ''[[Wikipedia:All Along the Watchtower|All Along the Watchtower]]'' by Bob Dylan, though there is no known connection between the song and the religion. Further, the building is [http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=watchtower&near=Brooklyn,+NY&fb=1&t=h&ll=40.702879,-73.994551&spn=0.003221,0.00559&z=17 situated very near if not the exact place] the landing party stands at. However, while the precise area of where they landed is still ambiguous, Ronald D. Moore's [http://media.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/mp3/412/bsg_ep412_FULL.mp3 podcast of this episode] does hint that it could be New York City. More directly, by way of conversation, he says outright that the structure at the right side edge of the screen is definitely a bridge.
**The Brooklyn bridge was built prior to the use of [[Wikipedia:Rebar|rebar]] in the USA, although the bridge in the scene shows metal rods. These metal rods are most likely the remains from side railings and cross struts of the roadway since at that scale and distance rebar, which even at its maximum diameter is only 2.257" thick (US standard sizes), could not be seen so easily with the naked eye.
**The scene shows many ruins immersed in the water, suggesting raised water levels, though the view of Earth in "[[Crossroads, Part II]]" shows normal sea levels.
**The filming location was on [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&ie=UTF8&ll=49.013815,-123.039697&t=h&z=16 Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen], south of Vancouver.<ref>http://13thcolony.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/bsg-set-damaged-in-windstorm/</ref><ref>http://bloginhood.blogspot.com/2008/01/look-what-else-washed-up-on-beach-more.html</ref>
* 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 [[:Image:AuroraBook.jpg|illustration of the temple]] in the book of Pythia (although the camera lingers on a depiction of the [[City of the Gods]]). 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 shown by the illustration.
* Throughout this episode, Earth when seen from orbit is largely obscured by cloud masses and shadows. Unlike the view of the North American continent presented at the end of "[[Crossroads, Part II]]", none of the landmasses in view can be easily identified.

== Questions ==

* Is Biers 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?
*Is the fifth Cylon amongst those held on the basestar?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* What condition is the rest of Earth in?
* Was Earth in the same condition the last time Thrace was there?
* 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]]? Or will they surrender?
* Does the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] still exist? If so, where are they now? Or was there never a Thirteenth Tribe at all?
* Is Pythia's book literally accurate history or metaphors for real historical events places and things or totally false?
* 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? Or will their hatred of the Cylons persist?
* 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?
* Will Caprica Six join the rebels or pursue further relations with Baltar or Tigh?
* In what year do the Colonials arrive on Earth?
* Who or what was responsible, intentionally or not, for the apparent holocaust on Earth?

== Official Statements ==

*''[[Jane Espenson]] about the writing and her reaction to it:''
:"Holy cow, I love this episode beyond the saying of it, and 'thank you' to the fans who have been going out of their way to tell all of us that, too. Adama's reaction to the reveal was stunning -- my gods -- and Starbuck-- her face said it all. A thunderclap. Simply beautiful. You wouldn't want more and you can't imagine less. I'm stating the obvious when I say that a more labored reaction would've attenuated the emotions, given the characters a chance to gather themselves before the big blow that was to come, which certainly would be a mistake. [...] I think the *real* reactions are yet to come, just like in life. The beauty of this episode is in its urgency, in the tumbling breathless slide that lands us on that grim gray unfamiliar beach"

:"And -- oh -- that haunting devastated city there, with the massive ruined temple and our people trying to find their footing in a strange dead city I did not recognize... that image just kills me. Every time I watch this episode, I well up with hope, and it lasts right up through that handful of soil, and then the radiation counter breaks my heart all over again."

:"[[David Weddle|David]] and [[Bradley Thompson|Bradley]] (David Weddle and Bradley Thompson, our writers) did an excellent job throughout this rocketsled of an episode - the writing had to be so delicate, precise and emotional... and they also did such a good job doing little things like dealing with the fallout from my episode the previous week. Baltar saying he loves living is such a gem of a moment among a cascade of gems -- thanks for that, David and Brad! And then, of course, the big stuff starts happening and never ever lets up." <ref name"espenson">{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/06/16/jane-espenson-on-battlestar-galacticas-mid-season-finale/|title=TVGuide: Jane Espenson on Battlestar Galactica's mid-season finale}}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[William Adama]] has a nervous breakdown after learning that his best friend of 30 years, [[Saul Tigh]], is a Cylon, and having him arrested to be executed. [[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."

*''Laura Roslin observes the vacant ruins on Earth:''
:"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 [[D'Anna Biers]]
* [[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")
* [[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 [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Adama's Corporal|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 directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Valley of Darkness

2008-05-11T02:58:41Z

Hexagon1: artifacts surviving in open may be possible on Kobol, different geological system?

{{Episode Data
| image =Valley_of_Darkness-Starbuck_Helo.jpg
| title=Valley of Darkness
| series=
| season=2
| episode=2
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] [[David Weddle]]
| story=
| goof=Y
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=202
| rating= 2.0
| US airdate=2005-07-22
| CAN airdate=2006-01-21
| UK airdate=2006-01-17
| dvd= {{Season 2.0 NTSC DVD release date}} '''US''' {{Season 2 PAL DVD release date}} '''UK'''
| podcast = Y
| population= 47874
| oldpopulation= 47875
| prev=[[Scattered]]
| next=[[Fragged]]
| itunes=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewTVSeason%253Fi%253D102232258%2526id%253D102808898%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30
| unbox=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB000V22QCM&tag=battlestarwik-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
}}

== Overview ==

: ''After rediscovering the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], [[Cylon Centurion]]s board ''[[Galactica]]'' and wreak havoc, while [[Lee Adama]] and a rag-tag group of pilots and Marines attempt to thwart the Cylon's methodical plans.''

== Summary ==

===On ''Galactica''===

* After [[FTL|jumping]] successfully to the Fleet's location once [[Scattered|rediscovering their actual location]], ''Galactica'''s power systems shut down unexpectedly. [[Jammer]] reports to Captain Adama that the [[sound-powered phone]]s are working, but jammed with other communications, so they cannot contact damage control.
* After landing on ''Galactica'', pilots [[Lee Adama]], [[Louanne Katraine|Kat]], [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]], and [[Flyboy]] walk through the corridors with [[flashlight]]s. Flyboy stumbles into a Cylon Centurion, which kills him as the rest attempt to flee.
* As Hot Dog and Kat flee up a stairway, Adama attempts to kill the Cylon with his sidearm, but the bullets ricochet off the Centurion. A small group of [[Marines]] destroy the Cylon from behind with an explosive round. Unfortunately, it was their last round, and only explosive rounds work against this heavily-armored version of Centurion.
* [[Laura Roslin]] convinces Corporal [[Venner]] that she must leave her cell and escape the brig before the Cylons find them. On Captain Adama's advice, Venner leads the group to the safest location on the ship, [[sickbay]].
* Adama's group finds the storage locker on deck 12. Inside, they find [[Jammer]] (a member of [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]]'s repair crew) and only six explosive rounds.
* Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]] manages to warn the remainder of the Fleet to stay away from ''Galactica'' by [[wireless]] before the Cylons jam external communications.
*Gaeta notes that a [[Cylon computer virus]] has infected some of the ship's isolated computers while they were networked; he has teams cleaning out the infection.
* Roslin's group find the bodies of some of ''Galactica'''s enlisted crew, massacred by the Cylons except for one survivor: a shell-shocked [[Anastasia Dualla]]. As Billy tries to snap Dualla out of her shock, Venner discovers that the Cylons have depressurised the route they had planned to take to sickbay. The group, now with Dualla, heads out along an alternative route that goes past [[Aft Damage Control]].
* Tigh gets reports that some of the Cylons have been taken out by teams throughout the ship. He suspects that the Cylons are heading towards two sections of the ship -- one of which is Aft Damage Control -- in order to vent the ship's atmosphere. (After the ship is vented and the crew terminated, Tigh states that the Cylons would turn ''Galactica's'' guns on the Fleet.)
* Captain Adama contacts [[CIC]], where Tigh orders him to stop the Cylons at Aft Damage Control and prevent the Cylons from overriding the venting safeguards.
* Captain Adama, Jammer, Kat, and two Marines station themselves near the Aft Damage Control compartment. As they ready the defense against the advancing Cylons, Roslin's group hides in a nearby passageway to avoid being discovered, unaware of how close their group is to Adama's squad and the Cylons. The Cylons run down a hallway towards [[Aft Damage Control]], but are distracted when Keikeya accidentally fires a round. The distraction places Roslin's group in danger but gives Adama and his team enough time to destroy the Cylon attackers.
*Having successfully destroyed the Cylons and with sufficient ship control restored, Doctor [[Cottle]] is summoned to ''Galactica''. In sickbay, Roslin assures Lee Adama that [[William Adama|Commander Adama]] will be fine, and she is taken back to the brig. Tigh tells Captain Adama that he is still shocked that he would side with the President instead of his own father, and that he is unfit to wear a [[Colonial]] uniform. Captain Adama agrees but tells Tigh that he isn't fit to wear the uniform either, deferring what will happen with both of them to his unconscious father once he returns to work.

===On Caprica===
*[[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]] and [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] discuss how the Cylons have a habit of fooling everyone.
*Thrace leads them to her old apartment in Delphi.
*Thrace reminisces about how she hated the apartment. While everyone has been trying to gain back what was lost after the Cylon attack, Thrace wasn't attached to her apartment. The only thing she did was to fight, because it's the only thing she knows.
*To Helo's surprise, Thrace's apartment is full of abstract paintings, including one with a [[Eye of Jupiter|curious circular symbol]], a [[Starbuck's Poem|poem]] written next to the symbol, and tapes of piano music composed by her father. Unfortunately, there is no food.
*The two exhausted Colonials take a rest. Thrace dons an old military jacket.
*A short time later, Thrace searches the old jacket and finds a set of vehicle keys. "Tired of walking?" she says.
*Helo and Thrace leave driving her old surplus military truck, with the [[Arrow of Apollo]] in their possession.

===On Kobol===
*[[Gaius Baltar]] has a dream where [[William Adama]] drowns Baltar's daughter.
*When he wakes up, he is in [[Number Six]]'s arms, surrounded by human skulls and bones. Six tells Baltar that they were victims of human sacrifice, and that the [[Sacred_Scrolls|Scriptures]] were lies, fabricated to cover up how barbaric life on Kobol really was.
*When he returns to the others, Baltar is harangued by [[Crashdown]].
*[[Galen Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] feels responsible for [[Tarn]]'s death, but [[Cally]] snaps him out of his self-pity.
*The two return with the [[medkit]]s, but it is too late to save [[Socinus]]' life. Telling him that he is going home, Tyrol reluctantly euthanizes him with an overdose of [[morpha]].

== Notes ==
*The title refers to the well-known Psalm 23 from the bible.
*The Fleet population cited in the opening credits is 47,874. This is one less than the previous episode. Prior to the opening credits, a Cylon kills [[Flyboy]].
* During the teaser, just before Flyboy has the ill-fated run-in with the Centurion, [[Louanne Katraine]] exclaims "Jesus!" in reaction to seeing the Cylon. This would be the second time that a "Jesus" ad-lib makes an appearance in the series, the first being from [[Michael Hogan]] during the [[Miniseries, Night 1|Miniseries]].
*First episode without an appearance by [[Sharon Valerii]] (except in opening montage).
*Karl Agathon reveals to Kara Thrace that the Cylons recovered the bodies and brought them to cremation centers, hence the lack of bodies.
*Socinus, initially slated to die in early drafts of "[[Scattered]]", dies in this episode -- euthanised by Tyrol.
* [[Kate Vernon]] is listed as a guest star in the opening credits. However, her character, [[Ellen Tigh]], is not in the final cut of this episode, thus all of her scenes are amongst this episode's [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)#Scattered|deleted scenes]].
* The music that playing in Kara Thrace's apartment and again during the closing act of the episode is ''Metamorphosis One'', composed by [[w:Philip Glass|Philip Glass]]. It is from Glass's 1989 album ''Solo Piano''.
*In the German broadcast redubbing of Cally's now-infamous "Talk to me, you motherfrakker!" line, "motherfrakker" is replaced with "blöder Arsch", which translates as "stupid ass". The real world equivalent of the curse word "motherfrakker" doesn't exist in German, and a direct translation into German would have sounded particularly obscene, so the line was changed, and the joke is therefore lost in translation.
*The sign and countersign used by Tyrol and Crashdown on the surface of Kobol ("Flash!"/"Thunder!") was used by the Allied forces on [[w:D-Day|D-Day]], the first day of the invasion of [[w:Normandy|Normandy]], during [[w:World War II|World War II]].
*The apartment complex used in this episode is later reused as the prison-apartment on [[New Caprica]] in which [[Leoben Conoy]] holds Starbuck captive at the start of the third season ("[[Occupation]]" through "[[Exodus, Part II]]").
*The sun painting on the wall in Starbuck's apartment is later revealed to be a representation of the [[Eye of Jupiter]] subconsciously painted by Thrace, and is also the planetary storm in "[[Maelstrom]]". The symbol has [[The Destiny|later complications]] to the destiny of Thrace.
*The Colonials use internal combustion engines, such as Starbuck's Humvee and the vehicles seen in the flashbacks in "[[Act of Contrition]]".

== Analysis ==
*The Centurions in this episode can only be destroyed by explosive rounds, which is a large plot element. However, in episodes before and after "Valley of Darkness", Centurions have been seen being destroyed by regular bullets. These Centurions might have heavier armor because they are being used for a boarding action and will see heavy fighting. When episode writer Bradley Thompson was [[Battlestar Wiki:Official Communiques#Centurion armor|asked]] about this by Battlestar Wiki, he answered:
:"Centurions are constantly being upgraded - new ones come out with better armor, quieter servos, better battle software. Some are designed for different uses (the ones designed for submarine use have REALLY heavy armor but are exceptionally slow, and have reduced ammunition carrying capacity.) Not to mention that the Colonials have remarkably bright backyard engineers -- they've been hot-loading our small-arms rounds, coming up with better armor-piercing projectiles -- it's the constant ebb-and-flow of wartime technology."
*The fate of the Heavy Raider in the starboard bay is unknown. It's possible that, like Starbuck's captured Raider, the Colonials keep it for study. However, the crash may have damaged it beyond repair. (The Fleet later gains a second, [[Home, Part I|intact Heavy Raider]]. Its FTL guidance system is used in tandem with [[Sharon Agathon|Caprica-Valerii]] for the Caprica rescue mission ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]).)

== Questions ==
*The remains Baltar and Six find cannot be thousands of years old; they should not have been able to survive in the open. Did the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] leave Kobol recently? Do humans, at least until recently, still inhabit Kobol? Or were all the remains merely fabricated hallucinations by Six?
*Are the human skeletons real, or a hallucination created for Baltar by Six? If the skeletons ''are'' real, is Six lying when she says they are the result of human sacrifice (i.e. they could have been from the cataclysm that drove humanity off of Kobol)?
:When [[Battlestar Wiki:Official Communiques#Human sacrifice|asked about this]] episode writer [[Bradley Thompson]] answered: "The question at the bottom of this is: "Who is Six?" In such cases, I'm not going to embellish what Ron & David have put on the screen."
*Why would later humans have felt it necessary to cover up the nature of civilization on Kobol? Is it related to the reason why Kobol was abandoned in the first place? How would the Cylons have found out? Did Six just make it up, or could it be the Cylon interpretation of the scriptures?

== Official Statements ==
=== From RDM's blog ===

* "We've almost completed shooting the opening of Season Two, with [[Michael Rymer]] back at the helm filming a two-parter written by [[David Weddle]] & [[Bradley Thompson]] called '[[Scattered]]' and '[[Valley of Darkness]].' Things have been going well so far, with a good mood on the set and a feeling of satisfaction and pride running through the whole team at their accomplishments in year one and anticipation for year two."<ref name="blog-4-11-05">{{cite web|url=http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/04/|title=Battlestar Galactica: April 2005 Blog Archives|author=Ron D. Moore|date=April 11, 2005}}</ref>

* ''"[[Lee Adama|Apollo]]'s betrayal of [[William Adama|Adama]]'s decision to arrest the [[Laura Roslin|president]] is detracting from the believability of the show for me. I'm listining to your [[podcast]] of [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|ep. 113]] as I write this and you just said Lee is "a more capable, more competent, leader . . ." He's also struck me as a fairly honorable character. If he had doubts about this mission I think he would have at least voiced them and then not gone along with the strike team so he would not have been put in the position he was. I hope you won't use Adama's near death experience at the end of season one/start of season two to "write off" these betrayals, esp. Apollo's. His was much more unforgivable considering his relationship with Adama, his leadership role in the fleet, and the battle between the president and Adama. I find it hard to see Lee continuing as [[CAG]] after this. "''

: You bring up valid points and we are planning to play out the consequences of Lee's decision as it impacts both him and his father over the course of the season.<ref name="blog-4-11-05"/>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* {{audio|VOD - motherfrakker.mp3|''On the surface of Kobol, Chief Tyrol and Cally are on their way to rendezvous with the rest of the Raptor crash survivors:''}}
:'''Cally:''' (exhausted from walking) What do you say we take five?
:(Chief Tyrol is still in a state of shock from having lost Tarn to a surprise attack by the Cylons and leans against a tree)
:'''Cally:''' How much further, do you think?
:(Chief Tyrol ignores her)
:'''Cally:''' [[Tarn]] getting shot...it wasn't your fault, you know that right?... Chief?
:(Chief Tyrol is silent)
:'''Cally:''' Talk to me, you mother[[frak]]ker!
:(Chief Tyrol turns around and looks at her strangely)
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' (laughing) Motherfrakker?
:'''Cally:''' Socinus better appreciate this.
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' He's probably lying in the sun, staring up at the birds like some Gods' damned emperor. He's an idiot.
:'''Cally:''' I hope he's okay...

* {{audio|VOD - great family values.mp3|''Regarding "Sharon, the Cylon":''}}
:'''Starbuck:''' (to Helo, sarcastically) Your girlfriend’s from a ''lovely'' family, good people, great values.

* {{audio|VOD - why people fight.mp3|''In her apartment on Caprica, Starbuck and Helo stop to rest:''}}
:'''Kara Thrace:''' (sitting on her couch) You know, I never really liked this place anyway. Air conditioning doesn't work in the summer. Heater doesn't work in the winter. The rent's a crime...(lights a cigarette)...After they attacked, I never pined over any of my old crap. Never missed it. Stupid view of the parking lot. Broken toilet in the bathroom...You know, everyone I know is fighting to get back what they had. I'm fighting because I don't know how to do anything else.

*{{audio|VOD - toaster shopping.mp3|''Speaking to Marines:''}}
:'''Lee Adama''': Let’s go [[toaster]] shopping.

* {{audio|VOD_-_Socinus'_death.mp3|''Chief Tyrol and Cally have rejoined the others on Kobol, and they find out that Socinus isn't going to survive much longer:''}}
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' How's he doing?
:'''Seelix:''' He's not going to make it.
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' What? What do you mean? What are you talking about? We got the medkit! Give him a shot! Give him another shot!
:'''Seelix:''' It's too late.
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' What do you mean, it's too late? I got you the medkit! What else do you want? (looking stunned) So we...got the medicine you asked for...Tarn...and for what? For this? Come on! You have to do something. You have to do something!
:'''Seelix:''' We can't change that he's going to die, Chief. It's going to be slow and painful, and we can spare him that if we give him the morpha from my kit and the one that you brought back.
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' What? No. (looks at Crashdown) LT..LT, come on!
:'''Crashdown:''' He's your man, Chief.
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' Give it to me. (takes morpha from Seelix and leans down beside Socinus) Hey buddy. It's the Chief. How you doing?
:'''Socinus:''' (wheezing) What's going on?
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' Oh, you know...listening to the birds. I got you a little something for the pain. (injects morpha into Socinus) Good news, buddy. The recovery party's here. Raptors just landed. We're going to put you on one and take you back to ''Galactica'', okay?
:'''Socinus:''' We're going home?
:'''Chief Tyrol:''' Yeah...(tears welling in his eyes)...we're going home.
:(Socinus passes away)

* {{audio|VOD - not fit to wear the uniform.mp3|''In ''Galactica's'' sickbay:''}}
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' I can't believe you sided with that woman against [[The Old Man|the old man]]. I wouldn't do that if you put a gun to my head...[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|and you did]]! As far as I'm concerned, you're not fit to wear a uniform.
:'''Lee Adama:''' Huh. You're right about that part. I am not fit to wear the uniform...and maybe I never was. Then again, neither are you. But this isn't my ship, and it sure as hell isn't yours. (motions at Commander Adama) It's his, and when he wakes up, he'll decide what to do with the both of us. (Captain Adama leaves for the brig)
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' Thank the Gods I didn't have kids.

* {{audio|VOD - roll the hard six.mp3|''In Aft Damage Control, preparing to fight the Cylons:''}}
:'''Lee Adama''': Sometimes you got to roll a hard six.
:'''[[Jammer]]''': What does that mean, sir?
:'''Lee Adama''': Uh, I don't know. It's something my [[William Adama|dad]] says.

== Guest stars ==
*[[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Lt. [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
*[[Paul Campbell]] as [[Billy Keikeya]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as Specialist [[Cally Tyrol|Cally Henderson]]
*[[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
*[[Kandyse McClure]] as Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla]]
*[[Samuel Witwer]] as [[Crashdown]]
*[[Kate Vernon]] as [[Ellen Tigh]]
*[[Alonso Oyarzun]] as Specialist [[Socinus]]
*[[Kerry Norton]] as Paramedic [[Layne Ishay]]
*[[Chris Shields]] as Corporal [[Venner]]
*[[Luciana Carro]] as Lt. [[Louanne Katraine|Louanne "Kat" Katraine]]
*[[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
*[[Jennifer Halley]] as [[Diana Seelix]]
*[[Ty Olsson]] as Captain [[Aaron Kelly]]
*[[Michael Tayles]] as [[Flyboy]]
*[[Dominic Zamprogna]] as [[James Lyman|James "Jammer" Lyman]]
*[[Garvin Cross]] as [[Collishaw]]
*[[Brad Loree]] as [[Bonnington]]
*[[Lori Stewart]] as [[Twinam]]

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

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Im Tal der Finsternis]]

The Music

2008-05-10T16:35:09Z

Hexagon1: soundtrack final stanza note

As the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] approaches the [[Ionian nebula]], four people, [[Saul Tigh]], [[Samuel Anders]], [[Tory Foster]] and [[Galen Tyrol]], begin hearing fragments of strange music that only they can hear. The music becomes more distinct and distracting as the Fleet gets closer to the nebula.

Once the Fleet arrives at the Ionian nebula, '''the Music'''<ref>{{bsgwiki term}}</ref> reaches a piercing shrill. The Colonials affected not only hear the music complete, but begin to add lyrics as well. As the Fleet plunges into darkness, losing electrical power for reasons unknown, the music compels the four to meet in a isolated room.

The four are able to assemble the lyric fragments with the intact music to form a strange song. The musical experience is associated with a "switch going off" in the minds of the four, who suddenly become aware they are [[Final Five]] [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]]. The source or cause of the music is not known ([[Crossroads, Part II]]).

At the end of the episode the song starts playing as background music for the viewers to hear. These are the complete lyrics that are sung:

:''There must be some way out of here''
:''Said the joker to the thief''
:''There's too much confusion''
:''I can't get no relief''
:''Businessmen they drink my wine''
:''Plowmen dig my earth''
:''None of them along the line''
:''Know what any of it is worth''

:''No reason to get excited''
:''The thief he kindly spoke''
:''There are many here among us''
:''Who feel that life is but a joke''
:''But you and I, we've been through that''
:''And this is not our fate''
:''So let us not talk falsely now''
:''The hour is getting late''

:''All along the watchtower''
:''All along the watchtower''

Several of the lines appear in dialogue throughout in the episode:

:Anders: That song you're hummin'. What is that?
:Tyrol: Oh, uh. Ah you know I don't even know, it's just something I can't get outta my head. '''Some way outta here'''.

:Racetrack: Yo, Anders! Do you need a frakking invitation? Move it!
:Anders: Alright. '''No reason to get excited'''.

:Saul Tigh: You'll look into it? You'll look into it? I am here telling you there is Cylon sabotage aboard our ship.
:William Adama: Sabotage? With music?
:Saul Tigh: I know, I know. I can't quite understand it myself. '''There's too much confusion'''.

:Saul Tigh (to self, after Adama exits): '''There must be some kinda way out of here.'''

:Tory Foster (while washing her hands): '''I can't get no relief.'''

==Notes==
*The music is, indeed, a version of [[w:Bob Dylan|Bob Dylan's]] song, "[[w:All Along The Watchtower|All Along the Watchtower]]," specially arranged by series composer [[Bear McCreary]], the lyrics sung by his brother, [[Brendan McCreary]] (known professionally as Bt4) <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=164|title=Bear McCreary's Blog|date=March 25, 2007|accessdate=|last=|first=|format=|language=English}}</ref>. The song is available on the [[Soundtrack (Season 3)|Season 3 soundtrack]].
*The song is ''not'' intended to indicate that the Colonials have picked up an Earth communication. Series executive producer [[Ron D. Moore]] considers the song to be an invention created by a Colonial citizen in a curious parallel to what had or will develop on Earth. The series creators have intentionally avoided citing whether ''Battlestar Galactica'' occurs in the the series' [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]'s past, present, or future. Moore offers that "things that happened on ''Galactica'' were tied into our reality here on Earth in some way, in the past or the future, or some other connection"<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/ronald_d_moore|title=AV Club interview with Ronald D. Moore|date=|accessdate=April 22, 2007|last=|first=|format=|language=English}}</ref>.
*Over 25 notable bands have performed cover versions of "All Along The Watchtower"; the definitive cover was performed by [[w:The Jimi Hendrix Experience|The Jimi Hendrix Experience]]. Many people are even unaware that his version was not the original <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.dmbalmanac.com/SongStats.aspx?sid=96|title=Song Stats for ''All Along the Watchtower'' at DMBAlmanac.com|date=|accessdate=April 22, 2007|last=|first=|format=|language=English}}</ref>.
* Bob Dylan has indicated that the events in the song's lyrics are "in a rather reverse order", beginning logically in time with the "All Along The Watchtower" verse and ending with the now-famous opening lines, "'There must be some way out of here,' said the Joker to the Thief." <ref name="dylanlyrics">http://bobdylan.com/songs/watchtower.html</ref>
* The version used in the series omits the final stanza, though the full song (including this stanza) is included in the season soundtrack:
*: ''All along the watchtower, princes kept the view''
*: ''While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.''
*: ''Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,''
*: ''Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl''

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

==External Links==

{{wikifrakr|All Inside the Bong Water}} 
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UZ4C4A/ref=s9_asin_title_1/103-7723281-5296603?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=142PG250BG9FW5010JP2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240301&pf_rd_i=507846 Season 3 OST at Amazon, including "All Along the Watchtower"]
* [http://www.reasontorock.com/tracks/watchtower.html An analysis of "All Along the Watchtower" at Reason to Rock]
* [http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D91218865%2526id%253D91218823%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30 "All Along the Watchtower"], sung by [[w:Bob Dylan|Bob Dylan]], at iTunes
* [http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D79674825%2526id%253D79674801%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30 "All Along the Watchtower"], sung by [[w:Jimi Hendrix|Jimi Hendrix]], at iTunes
{{ext-wikipedia-name|article=All Along the Watchtower|name=All Along the Watchtower}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial History (RDM)]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

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