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Rapture

2013-06-26T14:14:44Z

Ostron: /* Noteworthy Dialogue */

{{Episode Data
| title= Rapture
| image= Final Five.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 12
| guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]<br/>
| writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] <br/> [[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director= [[Michael Rymer]]
| production= 311
| rating=1.4<ref>{{cite_news|first=|last=|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-battlestarsundayratings,0,863950.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines|title='Battlestar' Ratings Dip on Sunday|publisher=Zap2It.com|page=|date=24 January 2007|accessdate=24 January 2007|language=English}}</ref>
| US airdate= 2007-01-21
| CAN airdate=2007-01-21
| UK airdate=
| podcast = y
| dvd=
| population= 41401
| oldpopulation= 41402
| extra= '''Season 3.5 Premiere'''
| prev= [[The Eye of Jupiter]]
| next= [[Taking a Break From All Your Worries]]
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== Overview ==

: ''With an impending supernova, the Colonials and Cylons see their time running out as they endeavor to unlock the secrets of the [[Eye of Jupiter]]. Meanwhile, [[Number Three]] executes her plan to know the faces of the [[Final Five]] and [[Sharon Agathon]] tries to get [[Hera Agathon|her daughter]] back.''

== Summary ==

===Teaser===
*Others in ''[[Galactica|Galactica's]]'' [[CIC]], particularly Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] and President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]], become increasingly agitated and shocked as Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]] continues issuing orders to arm and launch several nuclear missiles at the [[Temple of Five]]. He instructs Colonel Tigh to enter his launch codes as Adama does the same on his command console.
*On the [[algae planet]], [[Lee Adama]]'s resistance movement is preparing. However, the Major and [[Samuel Anders]] are still fighting over saving [[Kara Thrace]] after her [[Raptor]] crashed from a Cylon missile attack. When Anders angrily proposes that he will shoot Major Adama if Thrace is dead, Adama snaps, "If she's dead, I'll let you," no longer attempting to hide his feelings about the downed pilot. Their impasse ends when Adama calls his wife, Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]], and orders her and Sergeant [[Fisher]] to attempt to rescue of Starbuck.
*In the [[The Eye of Jupiter|previous episode]], the Colonials warned that they would destroy the continent where the ancient [[temple]] resided if the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] attempted any landing there. Six [[Heavy Raider]]s are now heading to the planet, and Adama is intent on showing the Cylons that he is not bluffing.
*The Cylon [[basestar command]] detects Adama's continued missile preparations and become visibly worried that Adama will indeed destroy the Temple. Each of the available models immediately agree to a recall, except for the [[Number Three]] model, who defies the command group's consensus, and refuses to recall the last Heavy Raider.
*''Galactica'' notices the recall of all but one of the Heavy Raiders, which gives Admiral Adama a moment to reconsider. After several tense moments, Adama rescinds the launch order and orders his battlestar to stand down.
*The Cylons are relieved as well, but after the Three in the command room leaves in satisfaction, the others realize that the Cylon, a race predicated on consensus and not defiance or distinctive personality clashes, have a serious problem. A [[Cavil]] voices that the Threes are out of control, and that a decision regarding their actions must be made, sooner rather than later.
*In their quarters, [[Helo]] is angry, saddened and unable to talk his wife, [[Sharon Agathon]] into letting him take a Raptor or another transport to rescue their daughter, [[Hera Agathon|Hera]], from the Cylons. In the end, both embracing, Helo shoots his wife to force her consciousness to [[Resurrection (RDM)|download and resurrect]] on the Cylon [[Resurrection Ship]] so that she can attempt the rescue alone.

===Act 1===
*[[Galen Tyrol]] and his team continue deciphering the glyphs inside the Temple of Five for discerning the location of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], believed to be an important artifact that gives further data on the road to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]. Their investigation does not go well, although Chief Tyrol believes he is close to translating the writing.
*Admiral Adama and President Roslin meet with Helo and question his wisdom in the Agathons' rescue attempt of their daughter. Adama is concerned that the Cylons may gain critical tactical data from their defected former colleague, whether she volunteers it or not. When Roslin criticizes Helo, he angrily reminds her that if she [[Downloaded|hadn't stolen their daughter]], none of them would be in this situation.
*Dualla and Sergeant Fischer make their way to Starbuck's location, but are soon attacked by a Cylon sniper. Fisher is killed, and Dualla scrambles, weaponless, along an alternate path to Starbuck's location.
*Starbuck has survived her crash relatively unhurt except for severe burns on her hands. The pain is so severe that Thrace hasn't sufficient dexterity to inject herself with a [[morpha]] shot for the pain. When she hears a noise outside, however, Starbuck suppresses the pain long enough to raise her sidearm at her Raptor's open door.
*Dualla appears at the entrance, and Thrace admonishes her for not making her presence known. After administering a morpha shot, Dualla proceeds to assess the Raptor's damage. She tells Thrace that she was ordered to "bring Starbuck to Apollo," a choice of words meant less to describe the rescue order and more to describe her pain over the "secret" affair between Adama and Thrace.
*Sharon Agathon downloads successfully. Through fortune or design, it is [[Caprica-Six]] who greets her at the [[Cylon rebirthing tank]]. Six tells Agathon that her child is ill and her condition is worsening, to the confusion of the Cylons.
*On the planet, Major Adama's team have set a bomb kill zone in a ravine which all attacking Cylon forces must walk through.

===Act 2===
*When the [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] spot the trap, [[Jean Barolay]] is forced to detonate it before the Cylons completely enter the blast radius.
*The explosion removes the lower torso of one Cylon, but it, along with the two undamaged units, return fire. The Colonials destroy the legless Cylon, but lose one of their own in the firefight. Having lost their only chance to hold back a Cylon advance, they begin a retreat to the highlands of the planet to await rescue.
*Major Adama calls Chief Tyrol and orders the immediate evacuation and destruction of the Temple of Five lest it fall into Cylon control. A reluctant Tyrol orders his team out and soon follows, with a detonation cord reel to the [[G-4]] packs in his hands.
*Dualla continues to repair the damaged [[Computers in the Re-imagined Series#Colonial Avionics|avionics]] from cannibalizing [[datacord]] from the ship's communications system. When Thrace's pain increases, Dualla (with an apparently less-than-cordial "bedside manner") stabs Thrace's leg with another morpha injection. As she drifts into a sedated delirium, Thrace confesses her confusion about the romantic entanglements she is in. Dualla slaps the pilot both in annoyance and in an attempt to keep Thrace focused on a major problem: the former petty officer on ''Galactica'' is not flight-trained and cannot fly the Raptor, while Thrace's injuries make it impossible for her to fly.
*[[Gaius Baltar]], the "D'Anna" Three, and a [[Cavil]] prepare to enter the Temple. Baltar's virtual Six appears to remind him, despite Three's feelings, that Baltar himself and not Three is the "chosen one" who is meant to activate or access the Temple's secrets.
*Reunited with the other Colonials at a safe distance from the Temple, Tyrol is reluctant to detonate the Temple's explosives. When Major Adama wrestles the detonator away from Tyrol and activates it, nothing happens. Unknown to them, Cavil, Three, and Baltar have removed the detonator caps from the G-4 immediately after they entered the Temple.
*Chief Tyrol and the team see the atmosphere ripple and pulsate as the star begins its nova. The star's corona (or its effect on the atmosphere above the Temple) takes shape to form a likeness of the circular multicolored starburst-like [[w:mandala|mandala]] that decorated the Temple. Tyrol quickly realizes that the star itself ''is'' the Eye of Jupiter. The Colonial team goes to investigate.
*The algae planet's home star has made a helium burst of its outer atmosphere. The star is going nova. Everyone, Cylon and Colonial alike, have less than an hour to escape the system.
*Sharon Agathon and Caprica-Six arrive at Hera's room, where Agathon's ''Galactica'' predecessor, [[Sharon Valerii]], is tending the child. Valerii is visibly angered at Agathon's presence. When Agathon picks up her crying daughter, the child's cries cease momentarily. Caprica-Six curiously realizes that, while both Agathon and Valerii are biologically identical, Hera is able to recognize her mother.
*Agathon's human first-aid training recognizes that Hera's stomach is too firm, suggesting a possible intestinal blockage. When Valerii comments that the Cylon doctors detected no such problem, Agathon reminds her that the Cylons have no pediatric care experience, having medical experience only with the adult humanoids of their kind.
*Agathon tries remind Valerii of her love for Chief Tyrol and Admiral Adama, but the former "Boomer" denies her past and reject any possibility that humans and Cylons could co-exist, remembering only too well the events on [[New Caprica]].
*Agathon pulls Caprica-Six from Hera's bedside and tells her that, for Hera to survive, she must see a human doctor -- which means returning to ''Galactica''. When Caprica-Six seems reluctant to go through with this, Agathon tells her that the child is so important to the Cylon God that their God would never forgive her for letting child die. Meanwhile, Valerii grows increasingly unstable and physically threatens to break Hera's neck. Agathon pleads for Hera's life as Caprica-Six manages to knock out Valerii. To prevent her from coming to, Six breaks Valerii's neck.
*Caprica-Six finally agrees that Hera (and others that come after her) are too crucial to the future of the Cylons (and, by implication, the Colonials) for her to let the child remain in the hands of the Cylons. She helps Agathon escape to ''Galactica'' by way of one the Cylons' captured Raptors.

===Act 3===
*Inside the Temple of Five, Baltar quietly notes a Colonial sidearm left behind while Cavil and Three examine the structure. When the virtual Six points out the only mandala on a raised section of the floor, Baltar notes it, and Three gravitates to it as well.
*The light created by the supernova is channeled through the central spire's crystalline mechanisms and activates a beam of light on the floor's sunburst.
*Cavil attempts to stop the Three from using the beam, and tells her he knows that she's not doing this to find Earth, but to seek the forbidden identities of the [[Final Five]]. He points a gun to shoot Three, but Baltar shoots and kills the Cavil from behind.
*Three walks into the light and immediately sees the vision of the five she's seen before. Unlike before, however, she is able to discern the specific faces. Three stands in front of one face (not visible to viewers) and immediately recognizes it, apologizing to the being for past transgressions saying, "You . . . Forgive me I . . . I had no idea," before the vision abruptly stops.
*Dualla manages to fly the Raptor into space, with Starbuck's guidance.
*Admiral Adama orders an immediate Raptor rescue of everyone on the planet after the Cylons [[Basestar (RDM)|baseships]] retreat to escape the pending nova shockwave.
*Three's eyes cloud as she apparently suffers fatal damage from the Temple's vision mechanism. Baltar catches her as she falls.
*She says to Baltar, "You were right." (It is possible she still thinks she is speaking to one of the Final Five.) Baltar tries to get Three to tell her what she has seen; specifically, Baltar wants to know if she saw his face among the [[Final five|image of five beings]]. However, Three dies before he gets an answer.
*Baltar drops Three's body and stands in the mandala, attempting to see the vision himself. However, the Temple's illumination from the star has ceased, and so has the vision mechanism. As Baltar prays to God to help him, he finds the barrel of a Colonial sidearm resting on his head, and Chief Tyrol is holding it. The Chief sarcastically greets the deposed president and pistol-whips him unconscious.

===Act 4===
*Raptors are seen flying away from the planet and to ''Galactica''. The battlestar is under full sublight power, escaping from orbit while buying time for the Raptors to land and for the battlestar to prep for an [[FTL]] jump. The nova shockwave is approaching rapidly.
*''Galactica'' barely escapes the remains of the algae planet as the star<nowiki>'</nowiki>s shockwave tears through its system. She momentarily reels out of control due to the leading edges of the shockwave reaching her before her escape.
*Chief Tyrol and his group unload a body bag from his Raptor onto a gurney. He stops the gurney and discreetly shows Colonel Tigh that Baltar is inside, alive but unconscious. Tigh orders Tyrol to have Baltar taken to the [[brig]].
*Samuel Anders and Kara Thrace reunite. Lee Adama and Dualla, each on opposite sides of Thrace and Anders, see this as well. Adama moves to embrace his wife. Thrace and Adama's eyes meet over the shoulders of their spouses.
*In a briefing, Tyrol, Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]], Roslin, Admiral Adama and Helo analyze the new supernova and compare it to the Temple's mandala, realizing that the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] must have wanted anyone who followed after them to look for this mandala, or specifically, another supernova. Gaeta finds the remains of a similar supernova 13,000 light years away, in a cloud of gas know as the [[Ionian nebula]].
*Helo is fascinated by a picture of the temple's mandala. He makes his way to Kara Thrace's quarters and asks if she had any photos of her old apartment on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]].
*He finds a painting that Thrace had made on one of her apartment's walls. It is very similar to the temple's mandala, which was created 4,000 years before.
*When Thrace sees this, her mood darkens. She tells Helo that she had doodled this symbol often as child because she liked the patterns, having no prior source for the symbol. She relates something that a [[Leoben Conoy|Leoben]] Cylon told her [[Flesh and Bone|over a year before]]: Thrace had a [[Maelstrom|destiny]], and, according to Leoben, it was already pre-written.
*On the Resurrection Ship, D'Anna-Three downloads successfully to find a Cavil sitting next to her tank. Cavil notes curiously that at least Three will not have to go through the process of resurrection again, and explains why.
*The other Cylons believe that Three's delusions of messianic intentions have revealed her as an inherently flawed design. Three counters that it is not wrong to seek one's own purpose, that the search for who and why the Cylons were built is an important task.
*The decision has been made to [[boxing|box]] the entire model. Three tells Cavil that he and the others will see the faces of the Final Five one day, but with a press of a button by Cavil, Three and all of her kind are deactivated. The scene expands to show other Cavils performing the same task on hundreds of other resurrection tanks.

== Notes ==
* Prior to the airing of this episode, [[James Callis]] revealed that [[Gaius Baltar]] returns to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' in this episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1659 |title=Exclusive Interview: JAMES CALLIS SELLS iF MAGAZINE A BILL OF GOODS ON BATTLESTAR GALATICA SEASON 3 -PART 1 |date=2006-09-09 |accessdate=2006-09-09 |last=Elliot |first=Sean |format= |language=English }}</ref>
* According to Ronald Moore's [[Podcast:Rapture|podcast]], the [[:Image:Valley_of_Darkness-Starbuck_Helo.jpg|image in Kara's apartment]] was a symbol that the actress had decided to paint before the actual shooting occurred.<ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Rapture|act=4|id=Karapainting|timestamp=39:16|totalrunning=45:00}}</ref>
* Moreover, the ground battle was originally shot in more structured manner. [[Bradley Thompson]] spent time on location to work out the tactics used by both sides to create a realistic engagement. However, that didn't translate on screen. Partly because of the many closeups, most of the terrain looks the same, making it impossible to get an impression of the location of each fire team. As a result the battle was heavily cut and changed in the editing room, to at least make it the most exciting.
* The [[Foliole|cigar box]] from which Helo takes the photo of Starbuck's apartment is the same one she picked up there in "[[Valley of Darkness]]".
* The Eye of Jupiter and Starbuck's artwork bear a strong resemblance to the [[w:Ring Nebula|Ring Nebula]]. However, the order of colors from center to edge is different: blue, white and red for true color images of the actual nebula; blue, red and yellow for the Eye. The actual nebula is also a bit more oval in appearance while the Eye is nearly circular.
* The leitmotif "[[Music of Battlestar Galactica (RDM)# Six theme|Sense of Six]]" which normally is played for appearances of [[Virtual beings|Baltar's inner Six]] is played for D'Anna Bier's death scene in Baltar's arms. It is not played, however, for Inner-Six's appearance within the temple.
* Dualla was initially meant to drag Starbuck over ground to safety, but this has to be scrapped to due budget constraints. Their scenes in the Raptor were not filmed on location, but on a soundstage ([[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three]]).

== Analysis ==
* The [[Final five|five figures in white]] bear a striking resemblance to the occupants of the [[Ship of Lights]] from the [[Original Series]].
* If the device which triggered Three's vision was a viewing mechanism which was programmed when the temple was built, her recognition of one of the figures in white would mean that there is some substantial connection between whomever the Temple of Five was dedicated to and the Cylons.
* If the five priests are actually the Final Five, then the Cylons are using ancient genetic templates as indicated by their susceptibility to a virus that the rest of the human race was immune to.
* The [[basestar command]] apparently does not require consensus of all models, or need not have them to have a representative at the command center. [[Simon]] and [[Number Five]] are not seen during this episode. Of course, since there are only seven models at this time, four models casting the same vote is decisive. This is exactly what happens when Six, Eight, Leoben and Cavil vote in favor of recalling the Raiders.
* Despite no longer being XO, Helo is still included in high-level briefings. This may reflect another facet to his current duties aside from mere Raptor jockeying (this may also be supported by the fact that he is more often seen in uniform rather than flight suit or fatigues currently).
* The tension between Athena and Boomer reaches a climax when Athena attempts to rescue her daughter. It has become clear that Boomer, like Athena, was presented with two choices, but unlike Athena, did not choose the path that led to forgiveness. Both Eights have suffered persecution from the Colonials. Athena, however, partly due to her love for Helo and Adama, chose to forgive, while Boomer allowed the failure of New Caprica to push her over to the belief that humans and Cylons should go their separate ways. However, Boomer does not seem to fully belong into Cylon society either, maybe being distrusted because of her association with humans.
* Boomer comments that Cavil believes that the Cylons aren't supposed to have children. This is unsurprising, given that model's lack of religious faith and belief that the Cylons shouldn't be emulating humans.
* Caprica-Six continues her defiance against Cylon society by choosing to believe in a possible new future between Cylons and humans. This particular Cylon, ever since her deception that led to fall of humanity, has consistently shown increasingly human traits. Like her decision to save Anders by killing a [[Number Three|Three]] to pave the way for a possible new future between Cylons and humans, her decision to kill Boomer to save Hera echoes those same beliefs.
* The rescue of the people on the [[algae planet]] occurs in an extremely short amount of screen time. This is reminiscent of the short amount of screen time that was given to ''Galactica'' retrieving her fighters before jumping away from the [[Battle of New Caprica]]. As noted in prior podcasts, sometimes there just isn't enough time available in each episode to show everything in detail, which makes it necessary to compress events.
* The survivor count decreased by one at the start of this episode counting the loss of one of the civilian combatants during a gunfight on the planet's surface.
* [[Hera Agathon|Hera]], according to Caprica-Six, is able to distinguish her mother from the other [[Number Eight|Eights]]. Whether this indicates that Hera inherited a Cylon ability is yet to be seen. At the very least, on an emotional level, Athena and Hera have a mother-daughter bond that does not exist with [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]].
* According to the podcast, Boomer's jealousy and rage developed over time, especially when she became Hera's primary caretaker. When it became apparent that Hera was not responding well to Boomer, she slowly developed a resentment towards Athena, because according to the Cylons, Hera existed because of God's true love. This implicated that the reason that Boomer and [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] were not able to conceive was because they didn't have true love between them. This, and Hera's response once Athena arrives, eventually led to the rage Boomer showed.
* After the initial stand-off ends when Adama decides not to nuke the planet, the defiant Three model states that no one would do such a thing over just one ship. However, ironically, that is exactly what Adama himself fears in "[[Hero]]" when he believes that the one recon fighter that crossed over into Cylon territory was what eventually led to the genocide of humanity.
* Ironically, the boxing of the Threes may actually make consensus harder to come by in the future. Now that the number of known Cylon models is an even six, a true deadlock is possible.
**This eventually does happen in [[Six of One]], when the question of whether to "lobotomise" the Raiders after they "malfunction" in [[Crossroads Part II]] ends in a vote of 3-3.
* The removal of the Threes also exaggerates the uneven gender ratio of the known models, from 4 male:3 female to 4 male:2 female.
* Boxing the entire line of Threes prevents any of them from accessing D'Anna's memories to learn what she discovered.
* Now that Athena has resurrected into a new body, her susceptibility to the [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|Cylon virus]] is in question. Athena was immune because her child gave her body human antibodies to the disease ([[A Measure of Salvation]]). In a new body that has never given birth, a possible reintroduction of the virus could be lethal to Athena. Conversely, Athena's immunity could have become a programming element that downloaded along with the rest of her consciousness, just as the lethal virus could follow the consciousness of an infected humanoid Cylon to a [[Resurrection Ship]], potentially inoculating all Cylons against the virus.
* Three's conversation with Cavil at the end of the episode reveals that the [[humanoid Cylon]]s do not know who programmed them or why.

== Questions ==

===Answered Questions===

* Who does Three recognize as being one of the [[Final Five]]? ([[Sometimes a Great Notion#Official Statements|Answer]])
* Why are the identities of the Final Five kept a secret? Why would the other seven Cylon models not know the identities of the Final Five, and why would the [[Number One]] model want to prevent the others from learning about them? Do some or all of the Cylons not '''want''' to know and why would this be so? ([[He That Believeth in Me|Answer #1]], [[Six of One|#2]], [[No Exit|#3]])
* Does a mechanism exist to revive boxed Cylons, given that their memories and thoughts still exist in cold storage? ([[The Ties That Bind|Answer #1]], [[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?|#2]], [[The Hub|#3]])
* What is the connection between Starbuck and the [[Eye of Jupiter]]? ([[Maelstrom|Partial Answer]])
* What is Starbuck's destiny? ([[Maelstrom|Answer #1]], [[Crossroads, Part II|#2]], [[Daybreak, Part II|#3]])
* What will President Roslin and Admiral Adama do with Baltar now they he is back in their custody? ([[Taking a Break From All Your Worries|Answer]])
* Will Roslin and Adama's relationship sour now that Adama knows of Roslin's involvement with hiding Hera? ([[A Day in the Life|Answer]])
* What will happen to [[Caprica-Six]] now that she is on ''Galactica''? ([[The Son Also Rises|Answer]])
* Do the Cylons realize the significance between the mandala and the nova? ([[No Exit|Partial Answer]])
* With the [[Temple of Five|temple]] destroyed, what is the significance of Baltar being the "chosen one" rather than Number Three? ([[He That Believeth in Me|Answer #1]], [[Escape Velocity|#2]], [[Daybreak, Part I|#3]], [[Daybreak, Part II|#4]]).
* Why was the temple dedicated to the five priests who served a separate unnamed god? ([[No Exit|Partial Answer]]).
* Are the five priests the Final Five? ([[No Exit|Partial Answer]])
* Who did program the humanoid Cylons and why? ([[No Exit|Answer]])

===Unanswered Questions===
* What does Three mean when she tells Baltar that he was right? Is she referring to something else that he said to her earlier? Or does she still think she is speaking to one of the Final Five?
* Is the empty drape for a god, the chosen one or somebody else?
* Now that Athena is in a fresh body, does this mean she is no longer immune to the virus that killed the Cylons on the basestar?
* Although it has been established that Resurrections occur with other Cylons present to help the resurrected Cylon get through the process, how did Caprica-Six know to be present for the revival of Athena (why not a Three, or Cavil, etc.)?

== Official Statements ==

* ''Information from the [[Podcast:Rapture|podcast]]:''
** "We had talked a lot about what this moment was, in terms of how did the mes— how did they— how does she see the final five and what is the message that is left to ''Galactica'' and the Colonials about where Earth is. At first we went out of our way to avoid doing the well of lost souls, which is— y'know you're standing in the well of souls and— [[w:Indiana Jones|Indiana Jones]] in the first ''[[w:Raiders of the Lost Ark|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' movie, and the sun comes in a certain position and the light shines in. And we tried various versions of all kinds of tech things happened with the supernova that sent messengers or sent arrows and— not literal arrows, but metaphorical light beams in a certain direction— and ultimately, in the cut, we said "No, it's the well of souls." The light comes in, and the light shines down and it takes you to a certain spot. 'Cause it works. And that's what you go with." <ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Rapture|act=3|id=wellofsouls|timestamp=|totalrunning=43:18}}</ref>
** "Here's— I like this little bit of business with Baltar's body coming back in a body bag, which I believe was— if I'm not mistaken— was something they made up on the set. Michael Rymer and James came up with this whole thing about hiding him in the body bag, and I heard about this afterward, in fact, I got a call from the studio, from Todd Sharp, who's the head of production at Universal, (laughs) called me and said "Are you aware that Baltar comes back to the ''Galactica'' in a body bag?" And I said "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, that was a co— Yeah. Yeah, we talked about that, it was a complicated decision. And we'll talk about that more later.", and then I hung up on him. "Baltar comes back— what the fuck are they doing down on the set!?" And then I called Rymer, and "WHAT?!?", and he said— he explained it to me, and I said "Oh. Well that's smart." (laughs) Sometimes you just have to let— you have to be— you have to be willing to let them be smart, because they come up with some really nice stuff, and that was a really nice way of getting Baltar back aboard ''Galactica'' without having to play a whole big thing of hoopla, of bringing him back in chains or something."<ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Rapture|act=4|id=bodybag|timestamp=|totalrunning=43:18}}</ref>

* ''[[Kandyse McClure]] on her scenes with [[Katee Sackhoff]]:''

: I loved that episode too! I have a great deal of respect for Katee and her work. I was really excited for the opportunity to finally get a real meaty scene with her. Contrary to what the scene is about, there was actually a lot of laughing going on… Katee is hysterical! We definitely don’t let what’s going on in the writing affect the quality of our work environment.<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://community.livejournal.com/battlestar_blog/854094.html|title=battlestar_blog: The CIC's #1 Girl|date=27 February 2008|accessdate=27 February 2008|last=Gould|first=Grant|format=|language=}}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*''The Admiral prepares his ship to unleash its nuclear arsenal:''
:'''William Adama:''' Mr. Gaeta, disable launch and warhead safeties on tubes four through ten.
:'''Felix Gaeta:''' Safeties disabled. Warheads … are armed.
:'''Adama:''' XO, please input your firing code.
:'''Saul Tigh:''' These nukes will obliterate anything or anyone within twenty clicks of the Temple.
:'''Adama:''' I know.

*''The Cylons react to Number Three's (D'Anna Biers) insubordination:''
:'''Cavil:''' That is not a good sign, my friends.
:'''Number Eight:''' She defied us. Defied the group.
:'''Leoben Conoy:''' It's not about the Eye of Jupiter. It's about her.
:'''Caprica-Six:''' It's like we don't even know them anymore.
:'''Cavil:''' We may have to so something about this. We may have to do it, sooner [rather] than later.

*''Chief Tyrol finds Gaius Baltar standing alone in the Temple of Five:''
:'''Tyrol:''' Welcome home, Mr. President. (Pistol-whips Baltar, knocking him unconscious)

*''Number Three (D'Anna Biers) to Cavil in the Temple of Five:''
:'''Number Three:''' This is my destiny. To see what lies between life and death.

== Guest Stars ==

*[[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as [[Cally Henderson Tyrol]]
*[[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
*[[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*[[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Leoben Conoy]]
*[[Dean Stockwell]] as [[Cavil]]
*[[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Louis Hoshi]]
*[[Eileen Pedde]] as Gunnery Seargant [[Erin Mathias]]
*[[Alisen Down]] as [[Jean Barolay]]
*[[Diego Diablo Del Mar]] as [[Hillard]]
*[[Aleks Paunovic]] as Sergeant [[Omar Fischer]]
*[[Tygh Runyan]] as Private [[Sykes]]

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

{{quality article}}

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

[[de:Die Supernova]]
[[zh:狂喜]]

The Passage

2013-06-26T13:57:45Z

Ostron: /* Questions */

:''For information on the star cluster itself, see: [[Passage (star cluster)]].''
{{Episode Data
| title= The Passage
| image=Season 3 - Promo - The Passage - Kat.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 10
| guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
| writer= [[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director= [[Michael Nankin]]
| production= 309
| rating=1.3
| US airdate= 2006-12-08
| CAN airdate=2006-12-09
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| podcast = Y
| population= 41420
| oldpopulation= 41422
| prev= [[Unfinished Business]]
| next= [[The Eye of Jupiter]]
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== Overview ==
:''Starvation threatens the population after the food-processing systems become contaminated, but the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] is cut off from a food source by the intense radiation emanating from a [[Passage (star cluster)|massive star cluster]]. ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'''s pilots must guide the civilian vessels on a dangerous journey directly through the radiation.''

== Summary ==
=== On ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' ===
*[[Sharon Agathon|Athena]] flies a [[Raptor]] through a [[Passage (star cluster)|blinding, immensely bright gas cloud]]. The Raptor's outer skin is charring from the intense heat. Athena is managing to fight off the intense radiation buildup surrounding her, thanks to her [[Humanoid Cylon|Cylon physiology]], but a radiation monitor badge she wears is changing color from white, spotting to an ominous black.
*Elsewhere in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], President [[Laura Roslin]] summarizes the contamination of the basic foodstuff material storage used to feed everyone, from soldier to civilian. The situation is dire; 7 to 10 days of rations remain. The Fleet is starving.
*A group of pilots, including [[Lee Adama]], [[Kara Thrace]], [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]] and [[Louanne Katraine]], are combining what little food they have and sharing it, down to the last crumb.
*Admiral [[William Adama]] and his command staff await Athena's return from her reconnaissance mission to what they believe is a [[Algae planet|planet with algae]]. The algae, according to Dr. [[Cottle]], isn't extremely palatable but is protein-rich and will allow them to restock their food stores and survive. Athena is three hours late from return.
*Athena does make it back to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. While her radiation badge is black, her Cylon physiology protects her (although she is obviously uncomfortable). She reports success; the planet is teeming with algae.
*But the travel through the star cluster is extremely dangerous. Two [[FTL|jumps]] are required to reach the planet on the other side of the cluster, which cannot be circumnavigated. The navigation computers of any civilian ships inside the cluster would be inoperative due to insufficient shielding and the intense radiation leaves a ship only minutes to gather their bearings for the second jump out before they absorb a fatal dose of radiation. Any ship would also have to endure the intense heat as well.
*''Galactica'' alone cannot be used to ferry the people, and the civilian ships alone would not make the trip as they would get lost within the cluster cloud. There is too much algae for ''Galactica'' to bring the food to the people in time.
*The Adamas consider the use of the Raptors, whose navigation systems are radiation-hardened to protect against nuclear strikes, as pilot ships that will guide a group of civilian ships at a time by visual reckoning, relaying the proper jump coordinates once visual sighting is made to get the ships to the other side. Five jumps are needed, and skeleton crews are used on each civilian ship to limit the Fleet's possible losses, with the civilians temporarily transferred to ''Galactica'', which will survive the radiation effects thanks to the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar's]] dense hull plating ([[Miniseries]]).
*A group of civilians are bunked on ''Galactica'' from the civilian ships. One of them recognizes Kat, but calls out for her by another name: "Sasha." Kat reacts angrily to the man, [[Enzo]], and barely acknowledges his call before warning him to back off.
*The pilots are briefed on the plan, and each given radiation badges. When Major Adama encourages the use of [[stims]], Kat objects, warning that stims work by boosting the body's metabolism. In their starvation state, the stims would make them ill. Adama leaves the use of the drug to the pilot's discretion.
*Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] returns to the [[CIC]] and is greeted by a round of applause from the crew. He promptly reminds them that they have "jobs to do," resuming his post as [[XO]] of ''Galactica''. Admiral Adama keeps a quiet smile to himself as he notices Tigh's return, knowing his friend would not care to be particularly noticed.
*The first outbound flight into the cluster begins. The ''[[Adriatic]]'' is lost when its Raptor guide, flown by [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]], cannot locate her.
*Successive trips continue, but another ship, the ''[[Carina]]'', guided by Kat, is lost as well, which greatly angers and saddens her. She stays in the cloud a few minutes too long during her extended search, and her radiation badge becomes dark.
*In the [[hangar deck]], Thrace notices Enzo interacting with Kat and gets suspicious. She later questions Enzo and later, Kat.
*Kat begs Thrace not to tell Admiral Adama about her past life as a drug runner and the fact that she acquired her name, "Louanne Katraine," from a child that died two days before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack]], using it to clear ''Galactica'''s pilot screening when she was a [[nugget]]. Thrace accepts her offer, warning her to embrace who she really is.
*Feeling backed into a corner, Kat is physically stressed. Her hair is falling out, a sign of radiation poisoning. Fearful of what will happen to her if Admiral Adama finds out about her past, she chooses to continue her Raptor flights, swapping her radiation badge with [[Helo]]'s. She allows herself a sexual romp with Enzo before preparing for the last outbound flight.
*The last outbound trip is more destructive. Even ''Galactica'' cannot withstand the heat and begins to suffer heat-related decompression failures throughout its hull. Adama orders his son to wrap out visual sighting and perform the escape jump.
*Kat cannot find her last ship. Realizing she had already absorbed too much radiation, she elects to remain in the cloud to continue searching for her lost ship.
*''Galactica'' waits for several frightening minutes until both Kat's Raptor and the last civilian ship, the ''[[Faru Sadin]]'', rejoin them.
*Kat is greeted by the command staff and many crewmembers to celebrate her accomplishment. The young pilot pumps her arms in the air and tries to remove her helmet before she collapses from radiation poisoning.
*In [[sickbay]], Kara Thrace talks to Kat, whose exposure to the cloud's radiation was too extreme. Thrace recants a part of her conversation with Kat and her origins, and tries unsuccessfully to leave Kat's bedside with a smile before leaving the dying pilot with a bottle of sleeping pills as a means of suicide. Kat thanks her.
*Admiral Adama stands by Kat's bedside immediately after Thrace's departure. Kat attempts to confess her past, but Adama tells her that her past will not change the heroic thing she did for the Fleet. He gives her the status of [[CAG]] once more, a position she held from colonization of [[New Caprica]] to Major Adama's return to ''Galactica'', despite the fact that Kat will not survive to fly again.
*Adama stays at Kat's bedside, talking with her and how he would have loved to have had a third child, commenting that he, like his ex-wife, [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]], would have liked a daughter.
*Some time later, the pilots assemble in their [[Pilot ready rooms|ready room]] as Admiral Adama changes the pilot organization chart, placing Kat as the CAG.
*Kara Thrace enters ''Galactica'''s [[memorial hallway]] and tacks a photo of Kat on the board. She cries quietly as Lee Adama looks on from a distance.

=== On a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] ===
*[[Number Three]] wakes up in bed with Baltar and [[Caprica-Six]]. She gets up and excuses herself, saying that she has things to do. When Baltar wonders what she is doing alone, Six tells him that the other [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] are also concerned about Three's activities.
*Later, Baltar confronts Three about her unexplained absences and surmises that she has been dying and [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrecting]] over and over again.
*Baltar and Three discuss the [[final five]] Cylons, who are apparently the figures Three has been seeing between life and death. Baltar wonders aloud if he could be one of them, making him a hero to the Cylons instead of a traitor to the Colonials. Three tries to hold onto the memory of what they look like, but it always fades. Her drawings of them aren't very distinct.
*The two visit the [[Hybrid]]'s chamber. Against Three's advice, Baltar reaches out to touch the Hybrid and she grabs his hand. More coherent than usual, the Hybrid says a number of cryptic clues and returns to her usual behavior.
*Baltar deduces from the clues that the Hybrid is referring to a planet where the [[Eye of Jupiter]] can be found, as well as something related to the final five. Baltar states that he is convinced that ''everything'' the Hybrid says has meaning.

== Notes ==
*This is one of the few times an Air Group organization chart is visible. Kat, as the honorary [[CAG]], is in the top slot, while directly below her are the squadron leaders, which are [[Lee Adama|Apollo]], [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]], [[Two Times]], and a fourth whose name is never visible to the camera. Other names visible on the chart include [[Narcho]], Chopper (also on the locker door left to Helo's), [[Raygun]], [[Helo]], [[Fuzzy]], [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]], [[Racetrack]], and Sever (See also ''[[List of pilots#Mentioned_Only|List of pilots]]''). Pilots and [[ECO]]s may be listed below their squadron leaders in descending order of seniority, as both [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]], for example, are listed directly beneath Starbuck, and the two of them are among ''Galactica's'' senior flight officers.
*A [[Straits of Madagon|perilous journey]] by the [[The Fleet (TOS)|"rag-tag" Fleet]] in the [[Original Series]], where pilots are also critical to the Fleet's safety, appears in its series premiere, "[[Saga of a Star World]]" .
*"The Passage" was written by ''Galactica'' newcomer [[Jane Espenson]]. The episode arose when the show brought in Dr. [[Kevin Grazier]], a scientist from the [[w:Jet Propulsion Laboratory|Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], who talked about how one would navigate through space; how one would figure out how to get from one point in the to universe to, for example, Earth. Grazier's talk prompted the story at the heart of Espenson's episode.
*This episode marks the destruction of two civilian ships, the ''[[Adriatic]]'' and ''[[Carina]]''. This results in more crowded conditions on the other ships in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], including ''Galactica'', as evidenced in "[[The Woman King]]".
*This is the second episode in which dialog has been censored in the [[w:Sci Fi Channel (United States)|Sci Fi Channel]] broadcast. Starbuck sarcastically proclaims she gave Dr. [[Cottle]] "[[w:fellatio|head]]" in response to Kat saying she gave him her protein bar. The last word is simply muted, but Starbuck clearly opens her mouth. The line was not edited on its first showing on Sky One.
*Though the actual dialog between Baltar and Three employs the name "Jupiter", the closed-captioning subtitles uses "Zeus" instead. This discrepancy and the question as to why the Roman name Jupiter would be used instead of its Greek counterpart may indicate that the original script employed the name Zeus before. However, there is a precedent for using gods from the Roman pantheon; namely Mars and Mercury.
*[[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]] is now the only survivor of the three nuggets originally introduced in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
*[[Louis Hoshi]] appears in the CIC, assuming Dualla's former duties. Other ''Pegasus'' crew members to have made the transfer to ''Galactica'' include [[Marcia Case|Marcia "Showboat" Case]], seen on the flight roster at the end of the episode, and [[Noel Allison|Noel "Narcho" Allison]] seen in "[[Torn]]".
*On the memorial wall Kat's picture is placed below the one of [[Reilly]]'s girlfriend she herself put there in "[[Scar]]".
*A note just above it reads "God rest your souls" - not "''Gods'' rest your souls". A rare departure from the established [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies|Colonial polytheism]].
*Scenes cut either during the the writing process or after being shot include Helo fearing radiation poisoning, [[anti-radiation medication]] being reserved for Adama and Roslin, a scene in which Helo and Sharon discuss the loss of Hera, and a scene where Apollo and Starbuck seemingly chew bubble gum only for it to be revealed as paper. An additional scene where Admiral Adama shows his trust of Kat was shot for "Exodus", but cut ([[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three]]).
*A B-plot had Roslin experiencing shared visions with Sharon Agathon. This was reworked into "[[Crossroads, Part I]]" (Season 3 Companion).
*The scene in which Tigh and Adama begin laughing hysterically after Tigh's paper shortage joke may not have been completely acting, as evidenced by an outtake from the scene included in the [[Season 3 gag reel]] in which Edward James Olmos and Michael Hogan go into hysterics over a minor bodily function mishap on Olmos' behalf.

== Analysis ==
*Adama may have already abandoned his declaration from "[[Unfinished Business]]", as his treatment of Kat during her final hours suggests.
**It could also be that because she was dying he decided to comfort her in her final hours.
*The ranking shuffle resumes in this episode: Tigh returns to the CIC as XO, sending Helo back to the flight lines as a senior flight officer (retaining his rank of captain). At the end of the episode, Kat is posthumously given honorary CAG status, although Apollo is still ''de facto'' CAG.
*Baltar calls the Number Three "D'Anna", to which she responds. This may indicate acceptance of Baltar's custom of referring to and addressing some models by their "human" names—in this same scene, Baltar refers to "the relevant Simon" and in prior episodes refers to "one of the Dorals"' views on toilet paper. This custom is shared with the other humans, such as Ellen Tigh who mentions "one of the Brother Cavils," and Adama, who refers to both the [[Ragnar Anchorage]] copy and the stowaway copy in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" as "Leoben Conoy".
**Since this model has memories of viewing the footage acquired by the Galactica copy of D'Anna Biers on Caprica (seen in flashback in "[[Hero]]"), the possibility that both are the same individual can be ruled out.
**This is likely the copy that wanted to box Boomer and Caprica-Six in "[[Downloaded]]", since the one that has the visions on New Caprica talks about her death at the hands of the two.
*Gaeta is one of the few in CIC not to applaud Tigh's return to duty. This may be due to lingering feelings of resentment over his treatment by Tigh and the [[The Circle|Circle]].
*Number Three does not know what the final five humanoid Cylon models look like, at least not consciously.
*No [[Anti-radiation medication|anti-radiation injections]] are seen to be used by the pilots. Unless they are administered off screen this could either mean that the Fleet's supplies are used up, or that even the medication doesn't help against such intense levels of stellar radiation. Oddly, the pilots are not issued with anti-radiation suits (worn by the deck crew) or put on a rotation to limit their individual exposure, although there are more pilots than ships now according to "[[Torn]]".
*Lee Adama comments that the pilots shepherded eight ships through, but lost one during outbound trip four. At this rate, multiplied by 5, this suggests there are only 45 ships left from the roughly 75 that existed before the colonization of New Caprica. The first outbound trip only seems to involve five civilian ships being escorted, further reducing the number. This loss rate of around 30 ships seems unfeasible given the likely overcrowding that would result and given that only roughly 2,000 people died or were left behind on New Caprica. Larger groups of ships guided through off screen during outbound trips two and three could account for some of that. It is also possible that ''Galactica'' herself carried smaller ships (such as ''Colonial One'') in her flight pods.
**The fact that outbound trips two and three are not shown could also explain why it seems that the same group of pilots is carrying out the ferrying operation with seemingly no shifts, despite a surplus of pilots.
**From a certain perspective it actually makes sense to re-use the same pilots on most of the flights–up to a point, as this would prevent the risk of widespread radiation induced ill-effects putting most of ''Galactica's'' pilot complement out of action.
*Baltar's grooming has declined steadily since his election to the presidency. While no longer a messy drunk as he was on [[New Caprica]], he has grown a scraggly and untrimmed beard.
* One of Three's sketches in particular appears to depict the profile of a mustached and bearded male with long hair—a possible reference to Baltar; later in the episode after Baltar communes with the Hybrid, Three says "Could there be a connection between their gods and ours?" where "their" refers to the polytheistic human pantheon and "ours", the Cylon single god, a possible slip on her part indicating that she believes Baltar to be a Cylon, or that she believes Baltar has accepted the Cylon religion, and so no longer counts him as following human beliefs. However, she may be using "ours" to refer to all Cylons, not just herself and Baltar.
*"Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the eye of the husband of the eye of the cow", is what the Hybrid tells Baltar. Baltar analyzes "the eye of the cow" to be Hera (since she was referred to as "cow-eyed Hera"). The husband of Hera is Jupiter, which yields: "Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the Eye of Jupiter." The Eye of Jupiter is also written about in the ancient texts, which prompts Three to believe there may be a connection to the Colonial and Cylon gods. According to Baltar, the Eye of Jupiter is most likely some kind of artifact (like the [[Arrow of Apollo]]), located on a planet in the shadow of a bright star cluster. The "hand" is believed to be a reference to the number five, because a hand has five fingers, meaning the Eye of Jupiter will contain or point to information about the Final Five.
**Interestingly, the Fleet can gather protein from a planet in the star cluster after this episode. This will probably mean that the Cylons will run into the Colonials when they find the right planet, much like in "[[A Measure of Salvation]]", but reversed as the Cylons found the [[Lion's Head Nebula]] before the Fleet did.
*The possible connection between the Colonial pantheon and the Cylon god which Three comments on was previously indicated in "[[Exodus, Part I]]", by the statements of Oracle [[Dodona Selloi]], with whom Three conferred.
*The [[astrometrics]] lab probably plays a very large role in the discovery of the algae planet and the charting of the star cluster.

== Questions ==
*Was the Fleet-wide failure of food-processing systems a result of sabotage? If so, were Cylons responsible, or someone else?
**In particular, did a member of the [[Final Five]] sabotage the food to make the fleet turn back to the [[Temple of Five]] for the appointed meeting there, which Baltar declares to be not by chance?
*A few episodes prior, in "[[Torn]]", Racetrack agrees to be Athena's ECO, noting "too many pilots, not enough birds." If this is the case, why aren't there enough pilots to allow shifts to be taken, especially when those otherwise flying Vipers (Hotdog, Apollo, Starbuck, Kat) are factored in?
*Was assisted suicide an accepted practice in the Colonies, even if not by a practicing physician?
*Are there going to be radiation consequences for the pilots exposed to the conditions of the star cluster, especially those pilots who did in fact have a black indicator?
*How many pilots and crew were lost on the two civilian ships ''Adriatic'' and ''Carina''? Will their loss cause problems for the civilians that used to live on them? ([[The Eye of Jupiter|Answer 1]], [[The Woman King|Answer 2]])
*Other Cylons were seen to attend Three during her resurrection in "[[Hero]]". How has she been able to keep subsequent resurrections secret?
**Are the 'nurse' Cylons at the Resurrection Ship aware of Three's attempts to discover who the final five are? ([[The Eye of Jupiter|Partial Answer]],
*Were there any other ships lost besides ''Adriatic'' and ''Carina''?
*During the brief martial law when Roslin was ousted as President, she and Apollo hid inside a meat refrigeration locker. Was all the "real" food, such as meat, fresh fruits, and drinks all used up or left behind on New Caprica?
*If there was no food contamination, how long would the Fleet's food supply have lasted?
**Is there a centralized food distribution system in place for the Fleet?

== Official Statements ==
*''In [[Ron Moore]]'s blog on [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/ July 27th, 2006]:''
:"We were pretty excited to have Jane too. I actually took Jane's first pitch way back in my early days at ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek|Star Trek]]'' and I had the pleasure of buying what turned out to be her first sale. I hadn't seen her since, but I'd followed her career from afar and was very proud to see her do so well. Turns out that Jane was a huge fan of ''Galactica'' and really wanted to do a script for us, so we jumped on the chance. I think we're all hoping that we could get her on staff at some point in the future, but we'll have to wait and see how everything shakes out for Season Four -- and whether she's even available, she's very much in demand these days. Her episode this year is "The Passage" (originally Ep 9) and deals with a harrowing voyage of the rag-tag fleet and focuses on Kat."

*''[[Jane Espenson]] discusses writing the episode''
: "My episode originally had a [[Laura Roslin|Laura]] story threaded through it that had to be cut in later drafts because there was just too much story in the episode as a whole, and I missed it, just because she was so much fun to write. And any character with a strong opinion on what's going on in the episode is always fun and easy to write.

: "The hardest stuff to write in this episode wasn't because of any hard-to-capture voices but because there was a big chunk of mission-planning exposition that had to be done as clearly and as quickly as possible. That is always the very hardest stuff to write, setting down the rules without sounding like a textbook. It was challenging, but so nice when I felt like I'd gotten it right."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/06/jane-espenson-answers-your-battlestar-questions/|title=TV Squad: Jane Espenson answers your Battlestar questions|date=6 December 2006|accessdate=11 December 2006|last=McDuffee|first=Keith|format=|language=English}}</ref>

* ''Epsenson talks about the scientific aspects of the episode:''

: "When I was given this episode, all the technical stuff about globular star clusters was given to me. And the writers were really patient in explaining technical stuff about the FTL drive and jump co-ordinates and the fact that you can't talk on the wireless over a jump-boundary -- I originally had Galactica in contact with Sharon-Athena while she out in the cluster doing her original recon, but that obviously didn't make sense. I received lots of help from the show's tech adviser, who is wonderful, and who explained all sorts of interesting things to me about how radiation differs from radioactivity and how gravitational forces are more likely to damage large ships than small ones.... The research that I really did on my own was about figuring out how the fleet had been making food prior to this crisis. The explanation was cut for length, but in one draft it was stated that the fleet "grew" meat from cloned cells and that it was this system that got so badly contaminated. As for the algae, I think that was already in place when I was given the story... it's just an obvious alternative protein source."<ref name="espenson-2">{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/11/jane-espenson-on-post-the-passage-questions/|title=TV Squad: Jane Espenson on post-The Passage questions|date=11 November 2006|accessdate=11 November 2006|last=McDuffee|first=Keith|format=|language=English}}</ref>

* ''Espenson discusses the [[Hybrid]]'s dialogue:''

: "I wrote this for the Hybrid in that pre-grab moment: 'Seascape portrait of the woman-child cavern of the soul under pressure-heat ratio--' which is, I think, what we hear. But there is at least one BSG writer who can generate pages of beautiful, haunting and resonant Hybrid-speak at will. He writes lots of her stuff and more power to him!"<ref name="espenson-2"/>

* ''Espenson discusses scenes that were cut from the script due to time constraints:''

: "I think I got a more-than-fair edit! I was amazed! The draft that was shot was way too long -- we all knew it was too long. So lots of scenes had to be cut -- two Adama/Kat scenes that I can think of. A Lee/Dualla scene, a Lee/Starbuck scene, an Adama/Tigh scene, lots and lots of Sharon/Helo stuff... the fact that the episode holds together, that it makes sense and has emotional punch... wow. And that's not even counting lots of Cylon stuff, Laura stuff and [[Samuel Anders|Anders]] stuff that got cut before shooting! This show is so rich, the world is so full, and there are emotions along every axis between every pairing of characters, that it's incredibly easy to find things that you just HAVE to explore. This is part of what gives the series such a great voyeuristic quality... as a viewer you just KNOW that there are scenes that have played out between these people that you have never seen, and you get to infer what they must've been. I like that the edit of this episode hints at the things unseen. And I love that despite the time pressures, moments were allowed to play out... Kat watching her fellow pilots suffer, Kat in the mirror, the final hospital scene... I think it was a lovely edit."<ref name="espenson-2"/>

*''Espenson discusses fan's expectation of humor from her stories and their pertinence to "The Passage":''

: "I know people expect humor from me. I hope they understand why, given a story about Kat's redemptive and unglamorous death, I kept the funny knob turned down -- couldn't resist the giddy Tigh-Adama scene, however, and my personal favorite line the piece, Baltar's "You've got goo in your hair." Anyway, I hope the fans liked what they saw; I hope it felt real; I hope I get to write more Battlestar episodes, and get to play some more with these wonderful characters and their tragic, human, uplifting lives."<ref name="espenson-2"/>

* ''[[G. Patrick Currie]], the actor who portrayed [[Enzo]], discusses preparing for the role:''

: Oh, it was very good. I loved the character from the very beginning. I remember I woke up that morning and I knew from the script how Enzo felt and how his world felt to me. Before the audition I woke up and I said "Enzo lives in a world by himself. Also, in the script he was starving. When I woke up I had no breakfast and I went for a walk for two miles by myself and then I went to the audition.

* ''Currie discusses shooting the episode:''

: [The shoot took] four days. Those were fun days. I knew [[Tahmoh Penikett|Tahmoh [Penikett]], [[Karl Agathon|Helo]]] from the show. He was also on "[[w:Stargate SG-1|Stargate]]" with me. When I played "Fifth", he was, I think, "First" or "Second". Whatever, one of the four. We haven’t seen each other since then. When I arrived at the set, he came up to me and he said, "I heard you got this part and I'm excited to see you again. The director said your audition was very good". That was very nice and very welcoming.<ref name="cc-curie">{{cite_web|url=http://www.caprica-city.de/index.php?seite=artikel&aktion=show&ID=97|title=Caprica-City.de Interview with G. Patrick Currie|date=15 November 2007|accessdate=22 November 2007|author=Mirco Neubauer (xshrekx) and René Kissien (Lex)|format=|language=English}}</ref>

: And I saw a few other people who I met there; it's good to see old faces. I spend one afternoon speaking with [[Kandyse McClure]] [[Anastasia Dualla|[Dualla]]], she's hilarious. It was a little difficult because one moment Enzo was laughing and having a good time and then I have to get on the Set and be all dark again. She's such a beautiful girl and she is so funny. I had a great time.<ref name="cc-curie"/>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[Apollo]] to the first group of Raptors as they were preparing for their first trip guiding the Civ ships through the storm by splitting the dangerous jump in to segments with the Raptors plotting and replotting the beam of the FTL course along the way:''
:Apollo:""Shepards, find your ships, stay close and never let them go - these crews are counting on us to guide them through."

*''Adama and Tigh discuss the food shortage''
:'''Adama:''' I hear they're still eating paper. Is that true?
:'''Tigh:''' No. Paper shortage.
:''The two break down into helpless laughter.''

*''Starbuck gives a last minute pep talk to the pilots''
:'''Starbuck:''' Remember, we're all flying solo on this mission. So that means there'll be nobody there to bitch slap you if you start to get tired or start seeing little [[toaster]]s on your wing.

*''Breaking the [[w:Fourth wall|fourth wall]]'':
:'''Hybrid''': Throughout history, the nexus between man and machine has spawned some of the most dramatic, compelling, and entertaining fiction.

*''Baltar and Three confront the Hybrid'':
:'''Hybrid''': [Suddenly grabs Baltar's hand] Intelligence! A mind that burns like a fire!
:'''Baltar''': Yes, I'm here.
:'''Hybrid''': Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the eye of the husband of the eye of the cow.
:'''Baltar''': [Removes his hand from the [[Hybrid]]'s tank.]
:'''Three''': You all right? It just speaks nonsense, doesn't it?
:'''Baltar''': I don't think anything she says is nonsense.

*''Kara Thrace confronts Katraine about her past'':
:'''Katraine:''' You think I'm a traitor. You think I'm a ''traitor''?
:'''Thrace:''' No. I don't think you're a traitor. You're a smart young woman, that's what the old man said. (Kat swallows.) You're just not smart enough to accept who you are. (Kat whimpers.) You see, you lied your way into the company of good people.
:'''Katraine:''' (begins to weep) Starbuck, don't tell the admiral. Please. Please don't, or I --
:'''Thrace:''' Or what?
:'''Katraine:''' Starbuck, please just let me tell him myself. Please just let me. Can you do that?
:'''Thrace:''' (pauses for a long time) Gods.
:(Kat sobs as Starbuck leaves her alone.)

*''Admiral Adama comforts Katraine on her deathbed'':
:'''Katraine:''' Admiral, I -- I know, I'm so sorry…
:'''Adama:''' I'm not here to lecture. I'm letting you know about a promotion. I'm making you [[CAG]] again.
:'''Katraine:''' (crying) Sir, you know I'm not getting out of here, right?
:'''Adama:''' You earned it. What you did was harder than facing a bullet. And you did it without putting one other soul in harm's way. Don't know if I could've done that. I wish there something more that I could give you.
:'''Katraine:''' No. It's good. I liked to be CAG very much. Thank you. Sir, there -- there's a thing. A reason why you might not want to do this. Kara knows what it is, but I wanted to tell you myself.
:'''Adama:''' I don't need to know anything other than what I already know. When you were CAG, you protected your people. Made them feel safe enough to be brave. What you were gonna say, does it change that?
:(She stares, mute. He pulls up a chair and sits at her side.)
:'''Katraine:''' Are you...you staying?
:'''Adama:''' Oh, I'm staying. I love this sickbay in a way. (chuckles) Reminds me where my son [[Zak Adama|Zak]] was born. [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]] was so happy. She was convinced, both times, that she was having a girl. So it was a surprise at the end.
:'''Katraine:''' Did you want a girl too?
:'''Adama:''' Yeah. Three's a good round number.

== Guest Stars ==
* [[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Luciana Carro]] as Captain [[Louanne Katraine|Louanne "Kat" Katraine]]
* [[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Doctor [[Cottle]]
* [[G. Patrick Currie]] as [[Enzo]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as [[Louis Hoshi]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Sebastian Spence]] as [[Noel Allison|Noel "Narcho" Allison]]
* [[Tiffany Lyndall-Knight]] as The [[Hybrid]]
* [[Sean Roche]] as The Hungry Boy
* [[Ian Rozylo]] as Convulsing Pilot

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

{{episode list (RDM season 3)}}

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[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Nankin]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Auftrag ausgeführt]]
[[zh:通道]]

The Passage

2013-06-26T13:56:28Z

Ostron: /* Questions */

:''For information on the star cluster itself, see: [[Passage (star cluster)]].''
{{Episode Data
| title= The Passage
| image=Season 3 - Promo - The Passage - Kat.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 10
| guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
| writer= [[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director= [[Michael Nankin]]
| production= 309
| rating=1.3
| US airdate= 2006-12-08
| CAN airdate=2006-12-09
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| podcast = Y
| population= 41420
| oldpopulation= 41422
| prev= [[Unfinished Business]]
| next= [[The Eye of Jupiter]]
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== Overview ==
:''Starvation threatens the population after the food-processing systems become contaminated, but the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] is cut off from a food source by the intense radiation emanating from a [[Passage (star cluster)|massive star cluster]]. ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'''s pilots must guide the civilian vessels on a dangerous journey directly through the radiation.''

== Summary ==
=== On ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' ===
*[[Sharon Agathon|Athena]] flies a [[Raptor]] through a [[Passage (star cluster)|blinding, immensely bright gas cloud]]. The Raptor's outer skin is charring from the intense heat. Athena is managing to fight off the intense radiation buildup surrounding her, thanks to her [[Humanoid Cylon|Cylon physiology]], but a radiation monitor badge she wears is changing color from white, spotting to an ominous black.
*Elsewhere in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], President [[Laura Roslin]] summarizes the contamination of the basic foodstuff material storage used to feed everyone, from soldier to civilian. The situation is dire; 7 to 10 days of rations remain. The Fleet is starving.
*A group of pilots, including [[Lee Adama]], [[Kara Thrace]], [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]] and [[Louanne Katraine]], are combining what little food they have and sharing it, down to the last crumb.
*Admiral [[William Adama]] and his command staff await Athena's return from her reconnaissance mission to what they believe is a [[Algae planet|planet with algae]]. The algae, according to Dr. [[Cottle]], isn't extremely palatable but is protein-rich and will allow them to restock their food stores and survive. Athena is three hours late from return.
*Athena does make it back to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. While her radiation badge is black, her Cylon physiology protects her (although she is obviously uncomfortable). She reports success; the planet is teeming with algae.
*But the travel through the star cluster is extremely dangerous. Two [[FTL|jumps]] are required to reach the planet on the other side of the cluster, which cannot be circumnavigated. The navigation computers of any civilian ships inside the cluster would be inoperative due to insufficient shielding and the intense radiation leaves a ship only minutes to gather their bearings for the second jump out before they absorb a fatal dose of radiation. Any ship would also have to endure the intense heat as well.
*''Galactica'' alone cannot be used to ferry the people, and the civilian ships alone would not make the trip as they would get lost within the cluster cloud. There is too much algae for ''Galactica'' to bring the food to the people in time.
*The Adamas consider the use of the Raptors, whose navigation systems are radiation-hardened to protect against nuclear strikes, as pilot ships that will guide a group of civilian ships at a time by visual reckoning, relaying the proper jump coordinates once visual sighting is made to get the ships to the other side. Five jumps are needed, and skeleton crews are used on each civilian ship to limit the Fleet's possible losses, with the civilians temporarily transferred to ''Galactica'', which will survive the radiation effects thanks to the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar's]] dense hull plating ([[Miniseries]]).
*A group of civilians are bunked on ''Galactica'' from the civilian ships. One of them recognizes Kat, but calls out for her by another name: "Sasha." Kat reacts angrily to the man, [[Enzo]], and barely acknowledges his call before warning him to back off.
*The pilots are briefed on the plan, and each given radiation badges. When Major Adama encourages the use of [[stims]], Kat objects, warning that stims work by boosting the body's metabolism. In their starvation state, the stims would make them ill. Adama leaves the use of the drug to the pilot's discretion.
*Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] returns to the [[CIC]] and is greeted by a round of applause from the crew. He promptly reminds them that they have "jobs to do," resuming his post as [[XO]] of ''Galactica''. Admiral Adama keeps a quiet smile to himself as he notices Tigh's return, knowing his friend would not care to be particularly noticed.
*The first outbound flight into the cluster begins. The ''[[Adriatic]]'' is lost when its Raptor guide, flown by [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]], cannot locate her.
*Successive trips continue, but another ship, the ''[[Carina]]'', guided by Kat, is lost as well, which greatly angers and saddens her. She stays in the cloud a few minutes too long during her extended search, and her radiation badge becomes dark.
*In the [[hangar deck]], Thrace notices Enzo interacting with Kat and gets suspicious. She later questions Enzo and later, Kat.
*Kat begs Thrace not to tell Admiral Adama about her past life as a drug runner and the fact that she acquired her name, "Louanne Katraine," from a child that died two days before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack]], using it to clear ''Galactica'''s pilot screening when she was a [[nugget]]. Thrace accepts her offer, warning her to embrace who she really is.
*Feeling backed into a corner, Kat is physically stressed. Her hair is falling out, a sign of radiation poisoning. Fearful of what will happen to her if Admiral Adama finds out about her past, she chooses to continue her Raptor flights, swapping her radiation badge with [[Helo]]'s. She allows herself a sexual romp with Enzo before preparing for the last outbound flight.
*The last outbound trip is more destructive. Even ''Galactica'' cannot withstand the heat and begins to suffer heat-related decompression failures throughout its hull. Adama orders his son to wrap out visual sighting and perform the escape jump.
*Kat cannot find her last ship. Realizing she had already absorbed too much radiation, she elects to remain in the cloud to continue searching for her lost ship.
*''Galactica'' waits for several frightening minutes until both Kat's Raptor and the last civilian ship, the ''[[Faru Sadin]]'', rejoin them.
*Kat is greeted by the command staff and many crewmembers to celebrate her accomplishment. The young pilot pumps her arms in the air and tries to remove her helmet before she collapses from radiation poisoning.
*In [[sickbay]], Kara Thrace talks to Kat, whose exposure to the cloud's radiation was too extreme. Thrace recants a part of her conversation with Kat and her origins, and tries unsuccessfully to leave Kat's bedside with a smile before leaving the dying pilot with a bottle of sleeping pills as a means of suicide. Kat thanks her.
*Admiral Adama stands by Kat's bedside immediately after Thrace's departure. Kat attempts to confess her past, but Adama tells her that her past will not change the heroic thing she did for the Fleet. He gives her the status of [[CAG]] once more, a position she held from colonization of [[New Caprica]] to Major Adama's return to ''Galactica'', despite the fact that Kat will not survive to fly again.
*Adama stays at Kat's bedside, talking with her and how he would have loved to have had a third child, commenting that he, like his ex-wife, [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]], would have liked a daughter.
*Some time later, the pilots assemble in their [[Pilot ready rooms|ready room]] as Admiral Adama changes the pilot organization chart, placing Kat as the CAG.
*Kara Thrace enters ''Galactica'''s [[memorial hallway]] and tacks a photo of Kat on the board. She cries quietly as Lee Adama looks on from a distance.

=== On a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] ===
*[[Number Three]] wakes up in bed with Baltar and [[Caprica-Six]]. She gets up and excuses herself, saying that she has things to do. When Baltar wonders what she is doing alone, Six tells him that the other [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] are also concerned about Three's activities.
*Later, Baltar confronts Three about her unexplained absences and surmises that she has been dying and [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrecting]] over and over again.
*Baltar and Three discuss the [[final five]] Cylons, who are apparently the figures Three has been seeing between life and death. Baltar wonders aloud if he could be one of them, making him a hero to the Cylons instead of a traitor to the Colonials. Three tries to hold onto the memory of what they look like, but it always fades. Her drawings of them aren't very distinct.
*The two visit the [[Hybrid]]'s chamber. Against Three's advice, Baltar reaches out to touch the Hybrid and she grabs his hand. More coherent than usual, the Hybrid says a number of cryptic clues and returns to her usual behavior.
*Baltar deduces from the clues that the Hybrid is referring to a planet where the [[Eye of Jupiter]] can be found, as well as something related to the final five. Baltar states that he is convinced that ''everything'' the Hybrid says has meaning.

== Notes ==
*This is one of the few times an Air Group organization chart is visible. Kat, as the honorary [[CAG]], is in the top slot, while directly below her are the squadron leaders, which are [[Lee Adama|Apollo]], [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]], [[Two Times]], and a fourth whose name is never visible to the camera. Other names visible on the chart include [[Narcho]], Chopper (also on the locker door left to Helo's), [[Raygun]], [[Helo]], [[Fuzzy]], [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]], [[Racetrack]], and Sever (See also ''[[List of pilots#Mentioned_Only|List of pilots]]''). Pilots and [[ECO]]s may be listed below their squadron leaders in descending order of seniority, as both [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Brendan Costanza|Hot Dog]], for example, are listed directly beneath Starbuck, and the two of them are among ''Galactica's'' senior flight officers.
*A [[Straits of Madagon|perilous journey]] by the [[The Fleet (TOS)|"rag-tag" Fleet]] in the [[Original Series]], where pilots are also critical to the Fleet's safety, appears in its series premiere, "[[Saga of a Star World]]" .
*"The Passage" was written by ''Galactica'' newcomer [[Jane Espenson]]. The episode arose when the show brought in Dr. [[Kevin Grazier]], a scientist from the [[w:Jet Propulsion Laboratory|Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], who talked about how one would navigate through space; how one would figure out how to get from one point in the to universe to, for example, Earth. Grazier's talk prompted the story at the heart of Espenson's episode.
*This episode marks the destruction of two civilian ships, the ''[[Adriatic]]'' and ''[[Carina]]''. This results in more crowded conditions on the other ships in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], including ''Galactica'', as evidenced in "[[The Woman King]]".
*This is the second episode in which dialog has been censored in the [[w:Sci Fi Channel (United States)|Sci Fi Channel]] broadcast. Starbuck sarcastically proclaims she gave Dr. [[Cottle]] "[[w:fellatio|head]]" in response to Kat saying she gave him her protein bar. The last word is simply muted, but Starbuck clearly opens her mouth. The line was not edited on its first showing on Sky One.
*Though the actual dialog between Baltar and Three employs the name "Jupiter", the closed-captioning subtitles uses "Zeus" instead. This discrepancy and the question as to why the Roman name Jupiter would be used instead of its Greek counterpart may indicate that the original script employed the name Zeus before. However, there is a precedent for using gods from the Roman pantheon; namely Mars and Mercury.
*[[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]] is now the only survivor of the three nuggets originally introduced in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
*[[Louis Hoshi]] appears in the CIC, assuming Dualla's former duties. Other ''Pegasus'' crew members to have made the transfer to ''Galactica'' include [[Marcia Case|Marcia "Showboat" Case]], seen on the flight roster at the end of the episode, and [[Noel Allison|Noel "Narcho" Allison]] seen in "[[Torn]]".
*On the memorial wall Kat's picture is placed below the one of [[Reilly]]'s girlfriend she herself put there in "[[Scar]]".
*A note just above it reads "God rest your souls" - not "''Gods'' rest your souls". A rare departure from the established [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies|Colonial polytheism]].
*Scenes cut either during the the writing process or after being shot include Helo fearing radiation poisoning, [[anti-radiation medication]] being reserved for Adama and Roslin, a scene in which Helo and Sharon discuss the loss of Hera, and a scene where Apollo and Starbuck seemingly chew bubble gum only for it to be revealed as paper. An additional scene where Admiral Adama shows his trust of Kat was shot for "Exodus", but cut ([[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three]]).
*A B-plot had Roslin experiencing shared visions with Sharon Agathon. This was reworked into "[[Crossroads, Part I]]" (Season 3 Companion).
*The scene in which Tigh and Adama begin laughing hysterically after Tigh's paper shortage joke may not have been completely acting, as evidenced by an outtake from the scene included in the [[Season 3 gag reel]] in which Edward James Olmos and Michael Hogan go into hysterics over a minor bodily function mishap on Olmos' behalf.

== Analysis ==
*Adama may have already abandoned his declaration from "[[Unfinished Business]]", as his treatment of Kat during her final hours suggests.
**It could also be that because she was dying he decided to comfort her in her final hours.
*The ranking shuffle resumes in this episode: Tigh returns to the CIC as XO, sending Helo back to the flight lines as a senior flight officer (retaining his rank of captain). At the end of the episode, Kat is posthumously given honorary CAG status, although Apollo is still ''de facto'' CAG.
*Baltar calls the Number Three "D'Anna", to which she responds. This may indicate acceptance of Baltar's custom of referring to and addressing some models by their "human" names—in this same scene, Baltar refers to "the relevant Simon" and in prior episodes refers to "one of the Dorals"' views on toilet paper. This custom is shared with the other humans, such as Ellen Tigh who mentions "one of the Brother Cavils," and Adama, who refers to both the [[Ragnar Anchorage]] copy and the stowaway copy in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" as "Leoben Conoy".
**Since this model has memories of viewing the footage acquired by the Galactica copy of D'Anna Biers on Caprica (seen in flashback in "[[Hero]]"), the possibility that both are the same individual can be ruled out.
**This is likely the copy that wanted to box Boomer and Caprica-Six in "[[Downloaded]]", since the one that has the visions on New Caprica talks about her death at the hands of the two.
*Gaeta is one of the few in CIC not to applaud Tigh's return to duty. This may be due to lingering feelings of resentment over his treatment by Tigh and the [[The Circle|Circle]].
*Number Three does not know what the final five humanoid Cylon models look like, at least not consciously.
*No [[Anti-radiation medication|anti-radiation injections]] are seen to be used by the pilots. Unless they are administered off screen this could either mean that the Fleet's supplies are used up, or that even the medication doesn't help against such intense levels of stellar radiation. Oddly, the pilots are not issued with anti-radiation suits (worn by the deck crew) or put on a rotation to limit their individual exposure, although there are more pilots than ships now according to "[[Torn]]".
*Lee Adama comments that the pilots shepherded eight ships through, but lost one during outbound trip four. At this rate, multiplied by 5, this suggests there are only 45 ships left from the roughly 75 that existed before the colonization of New Caprica. The first outbound trip only seems to involve five civilian ships being escorted, further reducing the number. This loss rate of around 30 ships seems unfeasible given the likely overcrowding that would result and given that only roughly 2,000 people died or were left behind on New Caprica. Larger groups of ships guided through off screen during outbound trips two and three could account for some of that. It is also possible that ''Galactica'' herself carried smaller ships (such as ''Colonial One'') in her flight pods.
**The fact that outbound trips two and three are not shown could also explain why it seems that the same group of pilots is carrying out the ferrying operation with seemingly no shifts, despite a surplus of pilots.
**From a certain perspective it actually makes sense to re-use the same pilots on most of the flights–up to a point, as this would prevent the risk of widespread radiation induced ill-effects putting most of ''Galactica's'' pilot complement out of action.
*Baltar's grooming has declined steadily since his election to the presidency. While no longer a messy drunk as he was on [[New Caprica]], he has grown a scraggly and untrimmed beard.
* One of Three's sketches in particular appears to depict the profile of a mustached and bearded male with long hair—a possible reference to Baltar; later in the episode after Baltar communes with the Hybrid, Three says "Could there be a connection between their gods and ours?" where "their" refers to the polytheistic human pantheon and "ours", the Cylon single god, a possible slip on her part indicating that she believes Baltar to be a Cylon, or that she believes Baltar has accepted the Cylon religion, and so no longer counts him as following human beliefs. However, she may be using "ours" to refer to all Cylons, not just herself and Baltar.
*"Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the eye of the husband of the eye of the cow", is what the Hybrid tells Baltar. Baltar analyzes "the eye of the cow" to be Hera (since she was referred to as "cow-eyed Hera"). The husband of Hera is Jupiter, which yields: "Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the Eye of Jupiter." The Eye of Jupiter is also written about in the ancient texts, which prompts Three to believe there may be a connection to the Colonial and Cylon gods. According to Baltar, the Eye of Jupiter is most likely some kind of artifact (like the [[Arrow of Apollo]]), located on a planet in the shadow of a bright star cluster. The "hand" is believed to be a reference to the number five, because a hand has five fingers, meaning the Eye of Jupiter will contain or point to information about the Final Five.
**Interestingly, the Fleet can gather protein from a planet in the star cluster after this episode. This will probably mean that the Cylons will run into the Colonials when they find the right planet, much like in "[[A Measure of Salvation]]", but reversed as the Cylons found the [[Lion's Head Nebula]] before the Fleet did.
*The possible connection between the Colonial pantheon and the Cylon god which Three comments on was previously indicated in "[[Exodus, Part I]]", by the statements of Oracle [[Dodona Selloi]], with whom Three conferred.
*The [[astrometrics]] lab probably plays a very large role in the discovery of the algae planet and the charting of the star cluster.

== Questions ==
*Was the Fleet-wide failure of food-processing systems a result of sabotage? If so, were Cylons responsible, or someone else?
**In particular, did a member of the [[Final Five]] sabotage the food to make the fleet turn back to the [[Temple of Five]] for the appointed meeting there, which Baltar declares to be not by chance?
*A few episodes prior, in "[[Torn]]", Racetrack agrees to be Athena's ECO, noting "too many pilots, not enough birds." If this is the case, why aren't there enough pilots to allow shifts to be taken, especially when those otherwise flying Vipers (Hotdog, Apollo, Starbuck, Kat) are factored in?
*Was assisted suicide an accepted practice in the Colonies, even if not by a practicing physician?
*Are there going to be radiation consequences for the pilots exposed to the conditions of the star cluster, especially those pilots who did in fact have a black indicator?
*How many pilots and crew were lost on the two civilian ships ''Adriatic'' and ''Carina''? Will their loss cause problems for the civilians that used to live on them? ([[The Eye of Jupiter|Answer 1]], [[The Woman King|Answer 2]])
*Were there any other ships lost besides ''Adriatic'' and ''Carina''?
*During the brief martial law when Roslin was ousted as President, she and Apollo hid inside a meat refrigeration locker. Was all the "real" food, such as meat, fresh fruits, and drinks all used up or left behind on New Caprica?
*If there was no food contamination, how long would the Fleet's food supply have lasted?
**Is there a centralized food distribution system in place for the Fleet?

== Official Statements ==
*''In [[Ron Moore]]'s blog on [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/ July 27th, 2006]:''
:"We were pretty excited to have Jane too. I actually took Jane's first pitch way back in my early days at ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek|Star Trek]]'' and I had the pleasure of buying what turned out to be her first sale. I hadn't seen her since, but I'd followed her career from afar and was very proud to see her do so well. Turns out that Jane was a huge fan of ''Galactica'' and really wanted to do a script for us, so we jumped on the chance. I think we're all hoping that we could get her on staff at some point in the future, but we'll have to wait and see how everything shakes out for Season Four -- and whether she's even available, she's very much in demand these days. Her episode this year is "The Passage" (originally Ep 9) and deals with a harrowing voyage of the rag-tag fleet and focuses on Kat."

*''[[Jane Espenson]] discusses writing the episode''
: "My episode originally had a [[Laura Roslin|Laura]] story threaded through it that had to be cut in later drafts because there was just too much story in the episode as a whole, and I missed it, just because she was so much fun to write. And any character with a strong opinion on what's going on in the episode is always fun and easy to write.

: "The hardest stuff to write in this episode wasn't because of any hard-to-capture voices but because there was a big chunk of mission-planning exposition that had to be done as clearly and as quickly as possible. That is always the very hardest stuff to write, setting down the rules without sounding like a textbook. It was challenging, but so nice when I felt like I'd gotten it right."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/06/jane-espenson-answers-your-battlestar-questions/|title=TV Squad: Jane Espenson answers your Battlestar questions|date=6 December 2006|accessdate=11 December 2006|last=McDuffee|first=Keith|format=|language=English}}</ref>

* ''Epsenson talks about the scientific aspects of the episode:''

: "When I was given this episode, all the technical stuff about globular star clusters was given to me. And the writers were really patient in explaining technical stuff about the FTL drive and jump co-ordinates and the fact that you can't talk on the wireless over a jump-boundary -- I originally had Galactica in contact with Sharon-Athena while she out in the cluster doing her original recon, but that obviously didn't make sense. I received lots of help from the show's tech adviser, who is wonderful, and who explained all sorts of interesting things to me about how radiation differs from radioactivity and how gravitational forces are more likely to damage large ships than small ones.... The research that I really did on my own was about figuring out how the fleet had been making food prior to this crisis. The explanation was cut for length, but in one draft it was stated that the fleet "grew" meat from cloned cells and that it was this system that got so badly contaminated. As for the algae, I think that was already in place when I was given the story... it's just an obvious alternative protein source."<ref name="espenson-2">{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/11/jane-espenson-on-post-the-passage-questions/|title=TV Squad: Jane Espenson on post-The Passage questions|date=11 November 2006|accessdate=11 November 2006|last=McDuffee|first=Keith|format=|language=English}}</ref>

* ''Espenson discusses the [[Hybrid]]'s dialogue:''

: "I wrote this for the Hybrid in that pre-grab moment: 'Seascape portrait of the woman-child cavern of the soul under pressure-heat ratio--' which is, I think, what we hear. But there is at least one BSG writer who can generate pages of beautiful, haunting and resonant Hybrid-speak at will. He writes lots of her stuff and more power to him!"<ref name="espenson-2"/>

* ''Espenson discusses scenes that were cut from the script due to time constraints:''

: "I think I got a more-than-fair edit! I was amazed! The draft that was shot was way too long -- we all knew it was too long. So lots of scenes had to be cut -- two Adama/Kat scenes that I can think of. A Lee/Dualla scene, a Lee/Starbuck scene, an Adama/Tigh scene, lots and lots of Sharon/Helo stuff... the fact that the episode holds together, that it makes sense and has emotional punch... wow. And that's not even counting lots of Cylon stuff, Laura stuff and [[Samuel Anders|Anders]] stuff that got cut before shooting! This show is so rich, the world is so full, and there are emotions along every axis between every pairing of characters, that it's incredibly easy to find things that you just HAVE to explore. This is part of what gives the series such a great voyeuristic quality... as a viewer you just KNOW that there are scenes that have played out between these people that you have never seen, and you get to infer what they must've been. I like that the edit of this episode hints at the things unseen. And I love that despite the time pressures, moments were allowed to play out... Kat watching her fellow pilots suffer, Kat in the mirror, the final hospital scene... I think it was a lovely edit."<ref name="espenson-2"/>

*''Espenson discusses fan's expectation of humor from her stories and their pertinence to "The Passage":''

: "I know people expect humor from me. I hope they understand why, given a story about Kat's redemptive and unglamorous death, I kept the funny knob turned down -- couldn't resist the giddy Tigh-Adama scene, however, and my personal favorite line the piece, Baltar's "You've got goo in your hair." Anyway, I hope the fans liked what they saw; I hope it felt real; I hope I get to write more Battlestar episodes, and get to play some more with these wonderful characters and their tragic, human, uplifting lives."<ref name="espenson-2"/>

* ''[[G. Patrick Currie]], the actor who portrayed [[Enzo]], discusses preparing for the role:''

: Oh, it was very good. I loved the character from the very beginning. I remember I woke up that morning and I knew from the script how Enzo felt and how his world felt to me. Before the audition I woke up and I said "Enzo lives in a world by himself. Also, in the script he was starving. When I woke up I had no breakfast and I went for a walk for two miles by myself and then I went to the audition.

* ''Currie discusses shooting the episode:''

: [The shoot took] four days. Those were fun days. I knew [[Tahmoh Penikett|Tahmoh [Penikett]], [[Karl Agathon|Helo]]] from the show. He was also on "[[w:Stargate SG-1|Stargate]]" with me. When I played "Fifth", he was, I think, "First" or "Second". Whatever, one of the four. We haven’t seen each other since then. When I arrived at the set, he came up to me and he said, "I heard you got this part and I'm excited to see you again. The director said your audition was very good". That was very nice and very welcoming.<ref name="cc-curie">{{cite_web|url=http://www.caprica-city.de/index.php?seite=artikel&aktion=show&ID=97|title=Caprica-City.de Interview with G. Patrick Currie|date=15 November 2007|accessdate=22 November 2007|author=Mirco Neubauer (xshrekx) and René Kissien (Lex)|format=|language=English}}</ref>

: And I saw a few other people who I met there; it's good to see old faces. I spend one afternoon speaking with [[Kandyse McClure]] [[Anastasia Dualla|[Dualla]]], she's hilarious. It was a little difficult because one moment Enzo was laughing and having a good time and then I have to get on the Set and be all dark again. She's such a beautiful girl and she is so funny. I had a great time.<ref name="cc-curie"/>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''[[Apollo]] to the first group of Raptors as they were preparing for their first trip guiding the Civ ships through the storm by splitting the dangerous jump in to segments with the Raptors plotting and replotting the beam of the FTL course along the way:''
:Apollo:""Shepards, find your ships, stay close and never let them go - these crews are counting on us to guide them through."

*''Adama and Tigh discuss the food shortage''
:'''Adama:''' I hear they're still eating paper. Is that true?
:'''Tigh:''' No. Paper shortage.
:''The two break down into helpless laughter.''

*''Starbuck gives a last minute pep talk to the pilots''
:'''Starbuck:''' Remember, we're all flying solo on this mission. So that means there'll be nobody there to bitch slap you if you start to get tired or start seeing little [[toaster]]s on your wing.

*''Breaking the [[w:Fourth wall|fourth wall]]'':
:'''Hybrid''': Throughout history, the nexus between man and machine has spawned some of the most dramatic, compelling, and entertaining fiction.

*''Baltar and Three confront the Hybrid'':
:'''Hybrid''': [Suddenly grabs Baltar's hand] Intelligence! A mind that burns like a fire!
:'''Baltar''': Yes, I'm here.
:'''Hybrid''': Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light, in the eye of the husband of the eye of the cow.
:'''Baltar''': [Removes his hand from the [[Hybrid]]'s tank.]
:'''Three''': You all right? It just speaks nonsense, doesn't it?
:'''Baltar''': I don't think anything she says is nonsense.

*''Kara Thrace confronts Katraine about her past'':
:'''Katraine:''' You think I'm a traitor. You think I'm a ''traitor''?
:'''Thrace:''' No. I don't think you're a traitor. You're a smart young woman, that's what the old man said. (Kat swallows.) You're just not smart enough to accept who you are. (Kat whimpers.) You see, you lied your way into the company of good people.
:'''Katraine:''' (begins to weep) Starbuck, don't tell the admiral. Please. Please don't, or I --
:'''Thrace:''' Or what?
:'''Katraine:''' Starbuck, please just let me tell him myself. Please just let me. Can you do that?
:'''Thrace:''' (pauses for a long time) Gods.
:(Kat sobs as Starbuck leaves her alone.)

*''Admiral Adama comforts Katraine on her deathbed'':
:'''Katraine:''' Admiral, I -- I know, I'm so sorry…
:'''Adama:''' I'm not here to lecture. I'm letting you know about a promotion. I'm making you [[CAG]] again.
:'''Katraine:''' (crying) Sir, you know I'm not getting out of here, right?
:'''Adama:''' You earned it. What you did was harder than facing a bullet. And you did it without putting one other soul in harm's way. Don't know if I could've done that. I wish there something more that I could give you.
:'''Katraine:''' No. It's good. I liked to be CAG very much. Thank you. Sir, there -- there's a thing. A reason why you might not want to do this. Kara knows what it is, but I wanted to tell you myself.
:'''Adama:''' I don't need to know anything other than what I already know. When you were CAG, you protected your people. Made them feel safe enough to be brave. What you were gonna say, does it change that?
:(She stares, mute. He pulls up a chair and sits at her side.)
:'''Katraine:''' Are you...you staying?
:'''Adama:''' Oh, I'm staying. I love this sickbay in a way. (chuckles) Reminds me where my son [[Zak Adama|Zak]] was born. [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]] was so happy. She was convinced, both times, that she was having a girl. So it was a surprise at the end.
:'''Katraine:''' Did you want a girl too?
:'''Adama:''' Yeah. Three's a good round number.

== Guest Stars ==
* [[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Luciana Carro]] as Captain [[Louanne Katraine|Louanne "Kat" Katraine]]
* [[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Doctor [[Cottle]]
* [[G. Patrick Currie]] as [[Enzo]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as [[Louis Hoshi]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Sebastian Spence]] as [[Noel Allison|Noel "Narcho" Allison]]
* [[Tiffany Lyndall-Knight]] as The [[Hybrid]]
* [[Sean Roche]] as The Hungry Boy
* [[Ian Rozylo]] as Convulsing Pilot

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

{{episode list (RDM season 3)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passage, The}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Nankin]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Auftrag ausgeführt]]
[[zh:通道]]

A Measure of Salvation

2013-06-24T14:57:45Z

Ostron: /* Answered Questions */ Added answer to question about beacon photo

{{Episode Data
| title= A Measure of Salvation
| image= Amos.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 7
| guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
| writer= [[Michael Angeli]]
| story=
| director= [[Bill Eagles]]
| production= 306
| rating=1.5
| US airdate=2006-11-10
| CAN airdate=2006-11-11
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| podcast=Y
| population= 41420
| oldpopulation= 41422
| prev= [[Torn]]
| next= [[Hero]]
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== Overview ==
:''[[Lee Adama]] and [[Sharon Agathon]] are dispatched to investigate the derelict [[basestar (RDM)|baseship]]. They find the [[humanoid Cylon]]s dying from a [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|virulent disease]], which inspires Lee Adama to come up with a desperate plan against [[Cylons (RDM)|their enemy]].''

== Summary ==
=== On ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' ===
*A boarding party comprising of [[Raptor]]s and [[Viper Mark VII|Vipers]] investigate the derelict [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]. Among the boarding party are [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] and [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]].
*Aboard the derelict, [[Marines]] explore the corridors, finding the [[Humanoid Cylon|Cylons]] dead. Athena attempts to access the derelict basestar's [[Hybrid]], but is unsuccessful.
*Some Cylons around the control center revive and advise the boarding party of the situation regarding the probe and subsequent infection of the Cylons. One of the infected Cylons, a [[Number Eight]], addresses Athena as "traitor."
*The boarding party and prisoners are en route back to ''Galactica'' when the basestar self-destructs.
*''Galactica'' quarantines the boarding party and prisoners while Dr. [[Cottle]] finds out if the virus affects humans. The human members of the boarding party are cleared while Athena is ordered to stay put, as her blood work hasn't been done. [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] is infuriated, but wants to be notified as soon as her results are available.
*Dr. Cottle's investigation identifies [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|a virus]] that can be treated, but not cured for Cylons. [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], Lee Adama, and Helo discuss the idea of taunting the vaccine in exchange for information. A [[Simon]] is brought before them, and informs them that the entire baseship was abandoned, because [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrection]] would infect the others. He also mentions that [[Gaius Baltar]] provided the information on the path to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].
*Aboard ''[[Colonial One]]'', Lee Adama suggests a plan to eliminate the entire Cylon race by executing their prisoners in range of a [[Resurrection Ship]], where the downloaded consciousnesses would infect the remaining Cylons, because according to [[Simon]] the virus carries a bioelectric feedback component that could spread it even through the download process. Helo scoffs at the idea, considering it genocide.
*Aboard ''Galactica'', Athena finds she's immune because of antibodies generated within her body by carrying her daughter, [[Hera Agathon|Hera]]. Helo tells her of the Fleet's plan, and Athena understands.
*Admiral Adama shows slight dissent about the plan, indicating regulations that forbid him to proceed without presidential order. Despite the ethical ramifications, the President authorizes the biological attack.
*''Galactica'' jumps to a Cylon supply line, and launches Vipers and Raptors to attract the Cylon fleet. In the midst of this, Helo initiates a plan to thwart the execution, unplugging what looks like a standard power connector from an environmental control box.
*The Cylons jump into the area, with Resurrection Ship in tow. Adama orders the execution of the prisoners.
*Lee Adama leads a team to execute the prisoners, but finds that all the prisoners have been killed prior to the Resurrection Ship arriving. Adama orders a recall, and ''Galactica'' escapes without sustaining any major damage.
*Helo converses with Athena about his actions. He maintains that what he did was right, regardless of the consequences.
*Aboard ''Galactica'', Adama reports that the prisoners were suffocated due to a failure in the environmental controls. Roslin is quick to point out one or two might be responsible, but Adama closes the issue. Subsequently, the virus was most likely an accidental exposure, similar to one reported 3000 years ago. Adama points out that they're on the right track to Earth, but Roslin notes that the Cylons are on the right track as well.

=== On a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] ===

*Aboard the bastestar, Baltar is being interrogated by Three and Caprica-Six, knowing about the beacon. Three and Caprica-Six imply that Baltar is connected to the virus and to Galactica. Baltar attempts to reconcile, only to be confronted by Centurions.
*In his "projection", his mental Six tells him to relax. Meanwhile, his body is being subjected to torture; Caprica Six is visibly disturbed by the torture and backs away.
*Baltar's torture continues as Three continues to interrogate Baltar regarding his supposed involvement with the virus. In his mind, he attemps to avert the pain by making love to his mental Six. Despite extreme pain, Baltar endures.

== Notes ==
*[[Survivor count|Fleet population]] is 41,420. Barring any births, there is an unaccounted loss of at least two since "[[Torn]]".
*The story behind the Lion Nebula beacon and the virus may have been inspired by the lunar lander [[wikipedia:Surveyor 3|Surveyor 3]]. Before launching in 1967, its camera was accidentally contaminated by a common bacterium. When the camera was recovered by [[wikipedia:Apollo 12|Apollo 12]] astronauts, the microbes returned to life, having survived two and a half years of vacuum, radiation, and temperature extremes.
*This is the first episode in which [[Saul Tigh]] does not appear, more than likely due to his promise to William Adama at the end of "Torn" after Adama's confrontation with both Tigh and Kara Thrace. Up to this point, the only characters to have appeared in every episode are [[Laura Roslin]] and [[William Adama]], albeit Adama was unconscious for several episodes early in season 2.
**A scene where Tigh accuses Helo of being a poor XO and having a relationship with a Cylon was not filmed at [[Michael Hogan]]'s insistence, who argued that Tigh would heed Adama's order to pull himself together in the previous episode.<ref>{{cite companion|season=3|page=55}}</ref>
*Helo has been promoted to the rank of captain, as evident in both dialogue and costuming.
*Dr. Cottle identifies the disease as [[Lymphocytic encephalitis]], however [[w:encephalitis|encephalitis]] is a condition (swelling of the brain) that can be caused by a pathogen, not a pathogen itself. More likely the pathogen is [[wikipedia:Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus|Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus]].
*In [[Podcast:A Measure of Salvation|his podcast]], Moore notes that this episode shares similarities to the ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode, "[[MemoryAlpha:I, Borg|I, Borg]]", though he does not mention the episode by name. Moore also noted that this episode was brought up for discussion during the writer's meetings to discuss development of this episode, as "I, Borg" discussed using a lone [[MemoryAlpha:Hugh|Borg drone]] implanted with a computer virus to infect the [[MemoryAlpha:Borg|Borg collective]].
*The location in space of the attempted attack on the Cylons is designated "The Region of [[NCD2539]] Above/North."
*The Cylon [[Hybrid]] does not appear in this episode despite actress Tiffany Lyndall-Knight's name appearing in the ending credits.
*A scene depicted in a promotional photo showing Number Six and Three in a projected forest was cut from the episode. The scene also showed them speaking in Number Three's projection of a cathedral. The scene is included on the DVD release.
*Other [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 3 (RDM)#A Measure of Salvation|scenes cut]] from the episode include Kara Thrace interrogating a Leoben model in a callback to "[[Flesh and Bone]]" and Admiral Adama surveying the Cylon basestar in a Raptor.
*Lee Adama leading the Marine boarding party is a remnant of a dropped subplot in which he joins the Marines to lose his weight and become a soldier again<ref>{{cite companion|season=3|page=54}}</ref>.
* This episode confirms that Sharon/Athena is no longer living in her cell, likely due to her having now been given a commission. Her former cell is in fact used to house the infected Cylons, and the furnishings present when it was last seen in "[[Occupation]]" have been removed.
*Gaeta briefly becomes XO of ''Galactica'' during the aborted extermination mission when Helo asks to be relieved. This and the fact he is seen in uniform indicates that he is once more an officer (a position he did not have in "[[Collaborators]]").
*When Helo suggests the Cylons don't deserve genocide because they tried to live with humans on New Caprica, Roslin counters that he wouldn't know anything about New Caprica because she doesn't remember him ever setting foot on the planet. In fact, Helo is seen on New Caprica in flashbacks during "Unfinished Business." Helo does not correct the President on this omission.
**Roslin may be experiencing selective memory, or she may not have seen him there.
**Perhaps she was referring to spending time on the planet during the occpation though Roslin should know that doing so would have been nearly impossible.
*''Galactica'''s marine team encounters a fleet of dead Cylon raiders cluttering the airspace around the adrift basestar, so much so that Apollo's raptor has to nudge a few raiders out of the way to fly into the entryway. In the previous episode, Baltar's raptor, flying to the same basestar, encounter no additional derelict ships, and had a clear path into the basestar's landing bay. Could the dead raiders simply have ejected from their launch slots after Baltar left?

== Analysis ==

===The disease===
*The Cylons could have cured themselves of this plague relatively quickly, if ''Galactica'' had succeeded in infecting them. It is quickly noted in the episode that [[Sharon Agathon]] is herself immune because fetal cells from [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] created effective antibodies against the virus. Hera is immune to the virus because she is a hybrid Human-Cylon. Now that she is in custody of the Cylons, Baltar could have utilized her immunity, as he previously did on Roslin, as capital to further his self-preservation amongst them.
**It can be assumed that executing the captured Cylons will send them back to the Resurrection Ship, thus infecting the Cylon network.
**For the Cylons to study the plague they would have become infected themselves, therefore, there was no way they could have tried to find a cure without potentially perishing
*The wider implications of such an event could be religiously meaningful to the Cylons. Cylons have time and again shown religious deference by sometimes overlooking rational explanations. By saving the Cylon race Hera could have been elevated to messiah status, if her very creation has not already ordained her as one to the Cylons because their God proclaimed her creation.
**The presence of Hera is profound enough to the Cylons, which could be preventing them from seeing that Hera could be used as a tool.
*There is a fundamental flaw in the plan [[Lee Adama]] develops: Even if the virus successfully infects the [[Resurrection Ship]], the other Cylons would isolate that individual ship, thus preventing a widespread epidemic. The resulting impact on the Cylon fleet would be no greater than previous destruction of the Resurrection Ship in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]".
**Apollo's plan is based on an account of the Cylon analysis of the threat. He could simply assume they are correct and that the virus can spread like wildfire from one Resurrection Ship to another.
**Also, by infecting a greater mass of ships, ''Galactica'' could board the ships, take much needed resources and more infected Cylons for further use as biological weapons.
*The science behind the virus is somewhat questionable. While the biological aspect is sound, the existence of a "bioelectrical feedback component" appears to be technobabble. It would be impossible for a biological virus (i.e. a physical pathogen) to be transmitted by download to the Resurrection Ship. Such a feedback - scrambling the brainwave patterns - could disrupt the download process, but it is unclear how it could spread the virus itself on the other side. It simply may be a case of Cylon superstition, which is known to happen from time to time.
**From Dr. Cottle's dialogue, it would appear that the problem lies with how the Cylons' immune systems reacts with the virus, more than the virus itself. If this is the case, it is likely that the immune system's reaction would carry through the download and possibly be passed to other Cylons throughout the network.
**Conceptually, there is actually very little difference between a physical and a computer virus. Both usurp cell function. Moreover, if the virus is a retrovirus, its genome (be it physical or digital) will be transcribed into the cellular DNA, which might be downloaded to the Resurrection Ship.
**That the Centurions and Raider are disabled as as well might hint at a digital component, but in "[[Torn]]" it is noted that the Centurions shut down as soon as the [[Hybrid]] became infected. This indicates that the Hybrid is in some sort of contact with the Centurions. Moreover, Raiders are partly biological and could be infected in their hangars.
*Dr. Cottle explains that Cylons carry antibodies that break down the RNA of his proposed vaccine. However antibodies have no disintegrative functionality, and only prime recognized pathogens for phagocytosis, though he may have simplified the explanation. But as vaccines are developed from the pathogenic organism (or a close relative) it would be impossible for the Cylons to carry antibodies specific for the vaccine RNA (or for the products it encodes) or otherwise they would be immune to the pathonogenic virus itself.
*The genetic pool the Cylons were created from may predate the human immunity to the plague from just a couple hundred years ago, yet the Cylons, even as a class of machines, are only 40 to 60 years old. This may indicate another, non-Colonial, source for the DNA.
**There is. The humanoid Cylons were created by the [[Final Five|Five]], who are two thousand years old.
*None of the four members of the Five who are in the fleet at this time are shown to be exposed to the infected Cylons.
*It seems this virus could also be a fairly reliable (although not conclusive) litmus test for Cylons in the Colonial Fleet.
*It seems reasonable to assume that all members of ''Galactica's'' boarding party who boarded the baseship are not Cylons, save Sharon Agathon.
*Baltar's boarding of the baseship does not discount [[Baltar as Cylon speculation|Baltar from being a Cylon]], as Baltar was in a self-contained [[flight suit]] the entire time he was on the basestar. Using standard biohazard procedures, he would have remained in the suit which would be disinfected from the outside before taking it off.
*The environmental controls seem to be circumvented by [[Karl Agathon]] by pulling a single plug (unless this is just the last step in a longer process). One would assume that a warship has cascading fail safe systems to protect against such catastrophic failures from simple system malfunctions.
*The quarantine procedures, sheets of plastic in rooms and hallways, seem ineffective. On a spaceship it should be possible to cut off selected areas from life support completely. Again, this might have been done for dramatic effect.
*Dramatic effect aside, the plan could be implemented faster by having the execution squad standing by for immediate action and having the FTL drives spun up at all times.

===Other===

*Adama's reaction to the premature death of the prisoners is yet another example of what are simultaneously his greatest virtues and most glaring flaws – his dedication to those under his command, and his need to keep his conscience clear.
*In this episode, [[Raptor]]s are shown loaded to the teeth with weapons systems. In the past ([[Miniseries]], "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"), Raptors have rarely been depicted in actual combat, preferring instead to hang back while coordinating battlefield logistics. They have been shown armed in a few prior episodes ("[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", "[[Fragged]]"), but this is by far their most prominent combat role to date. The Raptors are using the external missile pods and cannons introduced in "Exodus, Part [[Exodus, Part I|I]] & [[Exodus, Part II|Part II]]" and engage in the same maneuver used to launch the decoy drones during the Battle of New Caprica.
*[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] calls the [[Number Three]] torturing him "D'Anna", to which she responds. However, this is not the reporter copy that hid in the Fleet. She is the same copy that was on Caprica trying to box Caprica Six and Boomer before Caprica Six killed her ([[Downloaded]]): It is shown that she is the same as the one having dreams on New Caprica, who in turn is identified as the "Downloaded" copy.
*[[Gaeta]] is surprised to hear that Baltar is alive, even though he was there when Number Three offered Baltar evacuation from New Caprica. Therefore, Gaeta likely assumed that Baltar has not survived as Baltar went off to forcefully prevent the nuclear detonation on New Caprica, thus betraying the Cylons. Therefore Baltar would have little chance of survival at the hands of the Cylons, let alone being their "guest". It should be noted that extenuating circumstances, such as Baltar's rescue of Hera and his aid in helping the Cylons find the road to Earth are the main reasons why the Cylons let him exist on the basestar.
*In a [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 3 (RDM)#A Measure of Salvation|deleted scene]] Apollo says they need everyone in the air for this mission, including those who would normally not have flight status. As he says this he (and the camera) looks right at Starbuck indicating he was talking about her. This clarifies that Thrace is still officially grounded after the events of "[[Torn]]".
*Adama cites the danger of the disease as an excuse to not bring the beacon to Galactica, despite Cottle's request. The beacon is subsequently destroyed when the basestar self-destructs. This sequence covers a potential plot hole involving the beacon ... considering its relationship to the 13th tribe, the beacon would have been of great interest to the fleet, and would have raised the question of why more time in the episode wasn't devoted to studying it. Instead, the fleet loses a valuable clue, making their road to Earth more difficult. Still, Adama's excuse about the disease is rather flimsy, though he didn't know the ship would blow up and he probably thought they could retrieve the beacon later after the quarantine issue was cleared up.

== Questions ==

===Answered Questions===

*Will there be any consequences of the sabotage for the Agathons from other crewmembers who may figure they are behind said sabotage? How will this affect Karl Agathon's reputation as a Cylon-lover or his credibility as XO? ([[The Woman King|Answer]])
*Is Karl Agathon's act of sabotage and his view that the Cylons did attempt to co-exist with humans the beginnings of a more conscious act of betrayal to the Fleet, thus following a similar pattern as how Sharon Agathon eventually switches sides. Would Karl thus become like Sharon and eventually identify himself with the Cylons? ([[Rapture|Answer]])
*Why does Baltar take photos of the suspicious object and claim to have seen nothing suspicious? Doesn't he realize the Cylons would review the documentation he sends and immediately discover his lie?
**Baltar was unaware he had taken a photo of it; he never intentionally photographed the beacon while on the baseship in [[Torn]], and [[Caprica Six]] had to zoom in on an edge of one of his pictures in order to find the image of the beacon.

===Unanswered Questions===
* Where is Caprica-Six's own internal Baltar in all of this?
* Of the Cylons, which type tells the basestar to self-destruct: The [[Hybrid]] or a [[humanoid Cylon]]? Considering her odd look after the destruction, might it be [[Sharon Agathon]]?
* When the basestar self-destructs, is it an indicator that the Hybrid on the ship has died, thus no longer able to maintain the integrity of the ship?
* If the basestar and the virus do represent a true genocide threat to the Cylons why do they just leave them to slowly expire instead of destroying the ship right away?
* What kind of new start are the Cylons planning for [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]? Just a new home planet, an attempt at human Cylon relations not tainted by the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, or something else?
* Would the possible presence of this new pathogen on Earth, if indeed it was left by the Thirteenth Tribe, mean that Earth is no longer a viable planet for the Cylons? Would any Cylons landing on Earth again be susceptible to this virus?
* Why does an entire Cylon fleet (including a [[Resurrection Ship]]) jump to the encounter with ''Galactica''? Why is the Resurrection Ship not left behind somewhere else, as it was done in previous battles?
* Does Number Three love Baltar?
* Why does [[Simon]] so quickly claim science can not provide a solution to the infection?
*Will Sharon's words to Karl about her commitment to keep her word stay true should she ever discover that [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] is alive? Will she live up to her promise to Adama and the Fleet?
*Is it possible that while torturing Baltar, Number Three actually believes that God is talking to her through Baltar (similar to him being the [[The Hand of God (RDM)|hand of God]])? When he says "I want you to believe in me! don't stop, please don't stop - you're all I have left - I believe in you - I love you - with all my heart I love you" it is possible that this may give Three the reassurance she needs that she is on the right track.
*After discovering that the virus does not affect humans, why does Karl Agathon remain outside the isolation area instead of comforting his wife in person?
*Why do the boarders of the basestar not recognize the symptoms of disease in the dying Cylons before being told so by a Cylon?
**It should be noted that there is nobody with a medical background in the boarding party, which might have something to do with it.

== Official Statements ==

* ''[[Lucy Lawless]] talks to '''iF Magazine''' about the torture scene:''
*: '''Lawless:''' "The difficulty was I had to pretend to not be hearing Six who was sitting right beside us carrying on a conversation with him. I was supposed to be completely unaware of this sort of cyber sex relationship, and yet I could hear her and it was a little annoying. In particular when the camera is on you; just let it be your scene, but I didn’t want to break [[James Callis|James]] [Callis]’ spell by asking for things to be changed."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1773|title= iF MAGAZINE Gets Probed by Friendly Cylon & Former Warrior Princess - Part 1|date=28 November 2006|accessdate=28 November 2006|last=Elliot|first=Sean|format=html|language=English}}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*''On Colonial One'':
:'''Karl Agathon''': Genocide? So that's what we're about now?
:'''Lee Adama''': They're not human! They were built, not born. No fathers, no mothers, no sons, no daughters--
:'''Agathon''': I ''had'' [[Hera Agathon|a daughter]]. I held her in my arms.

*''Gaius Baltar talking about religion while being tortured'':
:'''Three:''' There's no such thing as coincidence. [[God (RDM)|God]] wills the universe according to his design.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' I'm a scientist. And as a scientist, I believe that if God exists our knowledge of him is imperfect. Why? Because the stories and myths we have are the products of men. The passage of time. That religion in practice is based on a theory. Impossible to prove. Yet you bestow it with absolutes like, "There is no such thing as coincidence."
:'''Three:''' It's called [[Cylon Religion|faith]].
:'''Baltar:''' Absolute belief in God's will means there's a reason for everything. Everything! And yet you can't help ask yourself how God can allow death and destruction and then despise yourself for asking. But the truth is, if we knew God's will, we'd all be Gods, wouldn't we? I can see it in your eyes, D'Anna. You're frustrated. You're conflicted. Let me help you. Let me help you change. Find a way to reconcile your faith with fact. Find a way towards a rational universe.

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Rick Worthy]] as [[Simon]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Doctor [[Sherman Cottle]]
* [[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Number Five]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Eileen Pedde]] as Sgt. [[Erin Mathias]]
* [[Tiffany Lyndall-Knight]] as [[Hybrid]] (Credit only)

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

[[Category:Episodes directed by Bill Eagles]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Michael Angeli]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Immun]]
[[zh:拯救之道]]

A Measure of Salvation

2013-06-24T14:52:02Z

Ostron: /* Unanswered Questions */

{{Episode Data
| title= A Measure of Salvation
| image= Amos.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 7
| guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
| writer= [[Michael Angeli]]
| story=
| director= [[Bill Eagles]]
| production= 306
| rating=1.5
| US airdate=2006-11-10
| CAN airdate=2006-11-11
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| podcast=Y
| population= 41420
| oldpopulation= 41422
| prev= [[Torn]]
| next= [[Hero]]
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== Overview ==
:''[[Lee Adama]] and [[Sharon Agathon]] are dispatched to investigate the derelict [[basestar (RDM)|baseship]]. They find the [[humanoid Cylon]]s dying from a [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|virulent disease]], which inspires Lee Adama to come up with a desperate plan against [[Cylons (RDM)|their enemy]].''

== Summary ==
=== On ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' ===
*A boarding party comprising of [[Raptor]]s and [[Viper Mark VII|Vipers]] investigate the derelict [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]. Among the boarding party are [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] and [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]].
*Aboard the derelict, [[Marines]] explore the corridors, finding the [[Humanoid Cylon|Cylons]] dead. Athena attempts to access the derelict basestar's [[Hybrid]], but is unsuccessful.
*Some Cylons around the control center revive and advise the boarding party of the situation regarding the probe and subsequent infection of the Cylons. One of the infected Cylons, a [[Number Eight]], addresses Athena as "traitor."
*The boarding party and prisoners are en route back to ''Galactica'' when the basestar self-destructs.
*''Galactica'' quarantines the boarding party and prisoners while Dr. [[Cottle]] finds out if the virus affects humans. The human members of the boarding party are cleared while Athena is ordered to stay put, as her blood work hasn't been done. [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] is infuriated, but wants to be notified as soon as her results are available.
*Dr. Cottle's investigation identifies [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|a virus]] that can be treated, but not cured for Cylons. [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], Lee Adama, and Helo discuss the idea of taunting the vaccine in exchange for information. A [[Simon]] is brought before them, and informs them that the entire baseship was abandoned, because [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrection]] would infect the others. He also mentions that [[Gaius Baltar]] provided the information on the path to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].
*Aboard ''[[Colonial One]]'', Lee Adama suggests a plan to eliminate the entire Cylon race by executing their prisoners in range of a [[Resurrection Ship]], where the downloaded consciousnesses would infect the remaining Cylons, because according to [[Simon]] the virus carries a bioelectric feedback component that could spread it even through the download process. Helo scoffs at the idea, considering it genocide.
*Aboard ''Galactica'', Athena finds she's immune because of antibodies generated within her body by carrying her daughter, [[Hera Agathon|Hera]]. Helo tells her of the Fleet's plan, and Athena understands.
*Admiral Adama shows slight dissent about the plan, indicating regulations that forbid him to proceed without presidential order. Despite the ethical ramifications, the President authorizes the biological attack.
*''Galactica'' jumps to a Cylon supply line, and launches Vipers and Raptors to attract the Cylon fleet. In the midst of this, Helo initiates a plan to thwart the execution, unplugging what looks like a standard power connector from an environmental control box.
*The Cylons jump into the area, with Resurrection Ship in tow. Adama orders the execution of the prisoners.
*Lee Adama leads a team to execute the prisoners, but finds that all the prisoners have been killed prior to the Resurrection Ship arriving. Adama orders a recall, and ''Galactica'' escapes without sustaining any major damage.
*Helo converses with Athena about his actions. He maintains that what he did was right, regardless of the consequences.
*Aboard ''Galactica'', Adama reports that the prisoners were suffocated due to a failure in the environmental controls. Roslin is quick to point out one or two might be responsible, but Adama closes the issue. Subsequently, the virus was most likely an accidental exposure, similar to one reported 3000 years ago. Adama points out that they're on the right track to Earth, but Roslin notes that the Cylons are on the right track as well.

=== On a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] ===

*Aboard the bastestar, Baltar is being interrogated by Three and Caprica-Six, knowing about the beacon. Three and Caprica-Six imply that Baltar is connected to the virus and to Galactica. Baltar attempts to reconcile, only to be confronted by Centurions.
*In his "projection", his mental Six tells him to relax. Meanwhile, his body is being subjected to torture; Caprica Six is visibly disturbed by the torture and backs away.
*Baltar's torture continues as Three continues to interrogate Baltar regarding his supposed involvement with the virus. In his mind, he attemps to avert the pain by making love to his mental Six. Despite extreme pain, Baltar endures.

== Notes ==
*[[Survivor count|Fleet population]] is 41,420. Barring any births, there is an unaccounted loss of at least two since "[[Torn]]".
*The story behind the Lion Nebula beacon and the virus may have been inspired by the lunar lander [[wikipedia:Surveyor 3|Surveyor 3]]. Before launching in 1967, its camera was accidentally contaminated by a common bacterium. When the camera was recovered by [[wikipedia:Apollo 12|Apollo 12]] astronauts, the microbes returned to life, having survived two and a half years of vacuum, radiation, and temperature extremes.
*This is the first episode in which [[Saul Tigh]] does not appear, more than likely due to his promise to William Adama at the end of "Torn" after Adama's confrontation with both Tigh and Kara Thrace. Up to this point, the only characters to have appeared in every episode are [[Laura Roslin]] and [[William Adama]], albeit Adama was unconscious for several episodes early in season 2.
**A scene where Tigh accuses Helo of being a poor XO and having a relationship with a Cylon was not filmed at [[Michael Hogan]]'s insistence, who argued that Tigh would heed Adama's order to pull himself together in the previous episode.<ref>{{cite companion|season=3|page=55}}</ref>
*Helo has been promoted to the rank of captain, as evident in both dialogue and costuming.
*Dr. Cottle identifies the disease as [[Lymphocytic encephalitis]], however [[w:encephalitis|encephalitis]] is a condition (swelling of the brain) that can be caused by a pathogen, not a pathogen itself. More likely the pathogen is [[wikipedia:Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus|Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus]].
*In [[Podcast:A Measure of Salvation|his podcast]], Moore notes that this episode shares similarities to the ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode, "[[MemoryAlpha:I, Borg|I, Borg]]", though he does not mention the episode by name. Moore also noted that this episode was brought up for discussion during the writer's meetings to discuss development of this episode, as "I, Borg" discussed using a lone [[MemoryAlpha:Hugh|Borg drone]] implanted with a computer virus to infect the [[MemoryAlpha:Borg|Borg collective]].
*The location in space of the attempted attack on the Cylons is designated "The Region of [[NCD2539]] Above/North."
*The Cylon [[Hybrid]] does not appear in this episode despite actress Tiffany Lyndall-Knight's name appearing in the ending credits.
*A scene depicted in a promotional photo showing Number Six and Three in a projected forest was cut from the episode. The scene also showed them speaking in Number Three's projection of a cathedral. The scene is included on the DVD release.
*Other [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 3 (RDM)#A Measure of Salvation|scenes cut]] from the episode include Kara Thrace interrogating a Leoben model in a callback to "[[Flesh and Bone]]" and Admiral Adama surveying the Cylon basestar in a Raptor.
*Lee Adama leading the Marine boarding party is a remnant of a dropped subplot in which he joins the Marines to lose his weight and become a soldier again<ref>{{cite companion|season=3|page=54}}</ref>.
* This episode confirms that Sharon/Athena is no longer living in her cell, likely due to her having now been given a commission. Her former cell is in fact used to house the infected Cylons, and the furnishings present when it was last seen in "[[Occupation]]" have been removed.
*Gaeta briefly becomes XO of ''Galactica'' during the aborted extermination mission when Helo asks to be relieved. This and the fact he is seen in uniform indicates that he is once more an officer (a position he did not have in "[[Collaborators]]").
*When Helo suggests the Cylons don't deserve genocide because they tried to live with humans on New Caprica, Roslin counters that he wouldn't know anything about New Caprica because she doesn't remember him ever setting foot on the planet. In fact, Helo is seen on New Caprica in flashbacks during "Unfinished Business." Helo does not correct the President on this omission.
**Roslin may be experiencing selective memory, or she may not have seen him there.
**Perhaps she was referring to spending time on the planet during the occpation though Roslin should know that doing so would have been nearly impossible.
*''Galactica'''s marine team encounters a fleet of dead Cylon raiders cluttering the airspace around the adrift basestar, so much so that Apollo's raptor has to nudge a few raiders out of the way to fly into the entryway. In the previous episode, Baltar's raptor, flying to the same basestar, encounter no additional derelict ships, and had a clear path into the basestar's landing bay. Could the dead raiders simply have ejected from their launch slots after Baltar left?

== Analysis ==

===The disease===
*The Cylons could have cured themselves of this plague relatively quickly, if ''Galactica'' had succeeded in infecting them. It is quickly noted in the episode that [[Sharon Agathon]] is herself immune because fetal cells from [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] created effective antibodies against the virus. Hera is immune to the virus because she is a hybrid Human-Cylon. Now that she is in custody of the Cylons, Baltar could have utilized her immunity, as he previously did on Roslin, as capital to further his self-preservation amongst them.
**It can be assumed that executing the captured Cylons will send them back to the Resurrection Ship, thus infecting the Cylon network.
**For the Cylons to study the plague they would have become infected themselves, therefore, there was no way they could have tried to find a cure without potentially perishing
*The wider implications of such an event could be religiously meaningful to the Cylons. Cylons have time and again shown religious deference by sometimes overlooking rational explanations. By saving the Cylon race Hera could have been elevated to messiah status, if her very creation has not already ordained her as one to the Cylons because their God proclaimed her creation.
**The presence of Hera is profound enough to the Cylons, which could be preventing them from seeing that Hera could be used as a tool.
*There is a fundamental flaw in the plan [[Lee Adama]] develops: Even if the virus successfully infects the [[Resurrection Ship]], the other Cylons would isolate that individual ship, thus preventing a widespread epidemic. The resulting impact on the Cylon fleet would be no greater than previous destruction of the Resurrection Ship in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]".
**Apollo's plan is based on an account of the Cylon analysis of the threat. He could simply assume they are correct and that the virus can spread like wildfire from one Resurrection Ship to another.
**Also, by infecting a greater mass of ships, ''Galactica'' could board the ships, take much needed resources and more infected Cylons for further use as biological weapons.
*The science behind the virus is somewhat questionable. While the biological aspect is sound, the existence of a "bioelectrical feedback component" appears to be technobabble. It would be impossible for a biological virus (i.e. a physical pathogen) to be transmitted by download to the Resurrection Ship. Such a feedback - scrambling the brainwave patterns - could disrupt the download process, but it is unclear how it could spread the virus itself on the other side. It simply may be a case of Cylon superstition, which is known to happen from time to time.
**From Dr. Cottle's dialogue, it would appear that the problem lies with how the Cylons' immune systems reacts with the virus, more than the virus itself. If this is the case, it is likely that the immune system's reaction would carry through the download and possibly be passed to other Cylons throughout the network.
**Conceptually, there is actually very little difference between a physical and a computer virus. Both usurp cell function. Moreover, if the virus is a retrovirus, its genome (be it physical or digital) will be transcribed into the cellular DNA, which might be downloaded to the Resurrection Ship.
**That the Centurions and Raider are disabled as as well might hint at a digital component, but in "[[Torn]]" it is noted that the Centurions shut down as soon as the [[Hybrid]] became infected. This indicates that the Hybrid is in some sort of contact with the Centurions. Moreover, Raiders are partly biological and could be infected in their hangars.
*Dr. Cottle explains that Cylons carry antibodies that break down the RNA of his proposed vaccine. However antibodies have no disintegrative functionality, and only prime recognized pathogens for phagocytosis, though he may have simplified the explanation. But as vaccines are developed from the pathogenic organism (or a close relative) it would be impossible for the Cylons to carry antibodies specific for the vaccine RNA (or for the products it encodes) or otherwise they would be immune to the pathonogenic virus itself.
*The genetic pool the Cylons were created from may predate the human immunity to the plague from just a couple hundred years ago, yet the Cylons, even as a class of machines, are only 40 to 60 years old. This may indicate another, non-Colonial, source for the DNA.
**There is. The humanoid Cylons were created by the [[Final Five|Five]], who are two thousand years old.
*None of the four members of the Five who are in the fleet at this time are shown to be exposed to the infected Cylons.
*It seems this virus could also be a fairly reliable (although not conclusive) litmus test for Cylons in the Colonial Fleet.
*It seems reasonable to assume that all members of ''Galactica's'' boarding party who boarded the baseship are not Cylons, save Sharon Agathon.
*Baltar's boarding of the baseship does not discount [[Baltar as Cylon speculation|Baltar from being a Cylon]], as Baltar was in a self-contained [[flight suit]] the entire time he was on the basestar. Using standard biohazard procedures, he would have remained in the suit which would be disinfected from the outside before taking it off.
*The environmental controls seem to be circumvented by [[Karl Agathon]] by pulling a single plug (unless this is just the last step in a longer process). One would assume that a warship has cascading fail safe systems to protect against such catastrophic failures from simple system malfunctions.
*The quarantine procedures, sheets of plastic in rooms and hallways, seem ineffective. On a spaceship it should be possible to cut off selected areas from life support completely. Again, this might have been done for dramatic effect.
*Dramatic effect aside, the plan could be implemented faster by having the execution squad standing by for immediate action and having the FTL drives spun up at all times.

===Other===

*Adama's reaction to the premature death of the prisoners is yet another example of what are simultaneously his greatest virtues and most glaring flaws – his dedication to those under his command, and his need to keep his conscience clear.
*In this episode, [[Raptor]]s are shown loaded to the teeth with weapons systems. In the past ([[Miniseries]], "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"), Raptors have rarely been depicted in actual combat, preferring instead to hang back while coordinating battlefield logistics. They have been shown armed in a few prior episodes ("[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", "[[Fragged]]"), but this is by far their most prominent combat role to date. The Raptors are using the external missile pods and cannons introduced in "Exodus, Part [[Exodus, Part I|I]] & [[Exodus, Part II|Part II]]" and engage in the same maneuver used to launch the decoy drones during the Battle of New Caprica.
*[[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] calls the [[Number Three]] torturing him "D'Anna", to which she responds. However, this is not the reporter copy that hid in the Fleet. She is the same copy that was on Caprica trying to box Caprica Six and Boomer before Caprica Six killed her ([[Downloaded]]): It is shown that she is the same as the one having dreams on New Caprica, who in turn is identified as the "Downloaded" copy.
*[[Gaeta]] is surprised to hear that Baltar is alive, even though he was there when Number Three offered Baltar evacuation from New Caprica. Therefore, Gaeta likely assumed that Baltar has not survived as Baltar went off to forcefully prevent the nuclear detonation on New Caprica, thus betraying the Cylons. Therefore Baltar would have little chance of survival at the hands of the Cylons, let alone being their "guest". It should be noted that extenuating circumstances, such as Baltar's rescue of Hera and his aid in helping the Cylons find the road to Earth are the main reasons why the Cylons let him exist on the basestar.
*In a [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 3 (RDM)#A Measure of Salvation|deleted scene]] Apollo says they need everyone in the air for this mission, including those who would normally not have flight status. As he says this he (and the camera) looks right at Starbuck indicating he was talking about her. This clarifies that Thrace is still officially grounded after the events of "[[Torn]]".
*Adama cites the danger of the disease as an excuse to not bring the beacon to Galactica, despite Cottle's request. The beacon is subsequently destroyed when the basestar self-destructs. This sequence covers a potential plot hole involving the beacon ... considering its relationship to the 13th tribe, the beacon would have been of great interest to the fleet, and would have raised the question of why more time in the episode wasn't devoted to studying it. Instead, the fleet loses a valuable clue, making their road to Earth more difficult. Still, Adama's excuse about the disease is rather flimsy, though he didn't know the ship would blow up and he probably thought they could retrieve the beacon later after the quarantine issue was cleared up.

== Questions ==

===Answered Questions===

*Will there be any consequences of the sabotage for the Agathons from other crewmembers who may figure they are behind said sabotage? How will this affect Karl Agathon's reputation as a Cylon-lover or his credibility as XO? ([[The Woman King|Answer]])
*Is Karl Agathon's act of sabotage and his view that the Cylons did attempt to co-exist with humans the beginnings of a more conscious act of betrayal to the Fleet, thus following a similar pattern as how Sharon Agathon eventually switches sides. Would Karl thus become like Sharon and eventually identify himself with the Cylons? ([[Rapture|Answer]])

===Unanswered Questions===
* Where is Caprica-Six's own internal Baltar in all of this?
* Of the Cylons, which type tells the basestar to self-destruct: The [[Hybrid]] or a [[humanoid Cylon]]? Considering her odd look after the destruction, might it be [[Sharon Agathon]]?
* When the basestar self-destructs, is it an indicator that the Hybrid on the ship has died, thus no longer able to maintain the integrity of the ship?
* If the basestar and the virus do represent a true genocide threat to the Cylons why do they just leave them to slowly expire instead of destroying the ship right away?
* What kind of new start are the Cylons planning for [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]? Just a new home planet, an attempt at human Cylon relations not tainted by the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, or something else?
* Would the possible presence of this new pathogen on Earth, if indeed it was left by the Thirteenth Tribe, mean that Earth is no longer a viable planet for the Cylons? Would any Cylons landing on Earth again be susceptible to this virus?
* Why does an entire Cylon fleet (including a [[Resurrection Ship]]) jump to the encounter with ''Galactica''? Why is the Resurrection Ship not left behind somewhere else, as it was done in previous battles?
* Does Number Three love Baltar?
* Why does [[Simon]] so quickly claim science can not provide a solution to the infection?
*Will Sharon's words to Karl about her commitment to keep her word stay true should she ever discover that [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] is alive? Will she live up to her promise to Adama and the Fleet?
*Is it possible that while torturing Baltar, Number Three actually believes that God is talking to her through Baltar (similar to him being the [[The Hand of God (RDM)|hand of God]])? When he says "I want you to believe in me! don't stop, please don't stop - you're all I have left - I believe in you - I love you - with all my heart I love you" it is possible that this may give Three the reassurance she needs that she is on the right track.
*After discovering that the virus does not affect humans, why does Karl Agathon remain outside the isolation area instead of comforting his wife in person?
*Why do the boarders of the basestar not recognize the symptoms of disease in the dying Cylons before being told so by a Cylon?
**It should be noted that there is nobody with a medical background in the boarding party, which might have something to do with it.

== Official Statements ==

* ''[[Lucy Lawless]] talks to '''iF Magazine''' about the torture scene:''
*: '''Lawless:''' "The difficulty was I had to pretend to not be hearing Six who was sitting right beside us carrying on a conversation with him. I was supposed to be completely unaware of this sort of cyber sex relationship, and yet I could hear her and it was a little annoying. In particular when the camera is on you; just let it be your scene, but I didn’t want to break [[James Callis|James]] [Callis]’ spell by asking for things to be changed."<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1773|title= iF MAGAZINE Gets Probed by Friendly Cylon & Former Warrior Princess - Part 1|date=28 November 2006|accessdate=28 November 2006|last=Elliot|first=Sean|format=html|language=English}}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*''On Colonial One'':
:'''Karl Agathon''': Genocide? So that's what we're about now?
:'''Lee Adama''': They're not human! They were built, not born. No fathers, no mothers, no sons, no daughters--
:'''Agathon''': I ''had'' [[Hera Agathon|a daughter]]. I held her in my arms.

*''Gaius Baltar talking about religion while being tortured'':
:'''Three:''' There's no such thing as coincidence. [[God (RDM)|God]] wills the universe according to his design.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' I'm a scientist. And as a scientist, I believe that if God exists our knowledge of him is imperfect. Why? Because the stories and myths we have are the products of men. The passage of time. That religion in practice is based on a theory. Impossible to prove. Yet you bestow it with absolutes like, "There is no such thing as coincidence."
:'''Three:''' It's called [[Cylon Religion|faith]].
:'''Baltar:''' Absolute belief in God's will means there's a reason for everything. Everything! And yet you can't help ask yourself how God can allow death and destruction and then despise yourself for asking. But the truth is, if we knew God's will, we'd all be Gods, wouldn't we? I can see it in your eyes, D'Anna. You're frustrated. You're conflicted. Let me help you. Let me help you change. Find a way to reconcile your faith with fact. Find a way towards a rational universe.

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Rick Worthy]] as [[Simon]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Doctor [[Sherman Cottle]]
* [[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Number Five]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
* [[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
* [[Eileen Pedde]] as Sgt. [[Erin Mathias]]
* [[Tiffany Lyndall-Knight]] as [[Hybrid]] (Credit only)

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

[[Category:Episodes directed by Bill Eagles]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Michael Angeli]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Immun]]
[[zh:拯救之道]]

Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

2013-06-03T18:12:30Z

Ostron: /* Unanswered */

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

:''Everything turns on its head as the survivors vote for a new president -- and vote for their fate.''

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===

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

===In the Fleet===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

== Analysis ==

=== Characters ===

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

=== New Caprica ===

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

=== Other ===

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

== Questions ==

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

== Official Statements ==

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

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

=== Interviews ===

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

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

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

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

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

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

Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

2013-06-03T18:10:44Z

Ostron: /* Questions */ Split into "Answered" and "Unanswered" sections

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

:''Everything turns on its head as the survivors vote for a new president -- and vote for their fate.''

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===

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

===In the Fleet===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

== Analysis ==

=== Characters ===

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

=== New Caprica ===

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

=== Other ===

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

== Questions ==

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

== Official Statements ==

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

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

=== Interviews ===

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

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

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

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

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

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