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Razor

2008-01-05T11:28:59Z

Tarot: /* Analysis */ possible reason for smoke trails

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{{Episode Data
| title= Razor
| image= Razor Promo.jpg
| season=
| special= Y
| movie=
| episode=
| guests=
| writer= [[Michael Taylor]]
| story=
| director= [[Félix Enríquez Alcalá]]
| production= 401/402
| rating=1.21 (total; all demographics)<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7509|title=The Futon Critic: CABLE RATINGS ROUND-UP (WEEK OF NOVEMBER 19-25): 'TEQUILA' SCORES, 'RAZOR' FALTERS|date=28 November 2007|accessdate=29 November 2007|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref><br/>0.8 (adults 18 to 49 demographic)<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/james-hibberd/2007/11/battlestar_galactica_ratings_a.php|title= 'Battlestar Galactica' Ratings Adrift|date=28 November 2007|accessdate=29 November 2007|last=Hibberd|first=James|format=|language=}}</ref>
| US airdate= 24 November 2007
| UK airdate= 18 December 2007 <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://forums.digiguide.com/topic.asp?id=22807|title=DigiGuide|date=|accessdate=03 December 2007|last=|first=|format=|language=en}}</ref>
| dvd= {{flag|US}} 4 December 2007<br/>{{flag|UK}} 26 December 2007
| population= 49,579
| podcast=
| extra= {{flag|US}} 12 November 2007 (theater screening in select U.S. cities)
| prev= [[Razor Flashbacks|Battlestar Galactica: Razor Flashbacks]]
| next= [[He That Believeth In Me]]
| itunes=
| imdb=0991178
| unbox=http://astore.amazon.com/battlestarwik-20/detail/B000ZU01LI
}}

== Overview ==

: ''A tale centered around the new ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' officer [[Kendra Shaw]], following her entire tenure on the battlestar from the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]] under Admiral [[Helena Cain|Cain]], to [[Lee Adama]]'s command and a frightful rescue mission to save crew members who have been captured by the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]].''

== Summary ==
Four separate, but related stories are documented:
*William Adama's mission at the end of the first [[Cylon War]].
*Helena Cain's loss of her family at the same time.
*The events on ''Pegasus'''s during and shortly after the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].
*The events surrounding the [[Battle of the Guardian basestar]], set in the time period between "[[The Captain's Hand]]" and "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]".
In the episode these stories are largely told in parallel, flashing between the different time periods. Below the different story lines are listed chronologically.

=== First Cylon War ===
====William Adama ====
:''See also: [[Razor Flashbacks]]''

*{{RazorDVD|At the end of the first [[Cylon War]], a Colonial battle group conducts [[Operation Raptor Talon]] against a [[Ice planet|Cylon planet]] presumed to house a super weapon. During the battle, the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Columbia (RDM)|Columbia]]'' is pummeled from [[basestar (RDM)|basestar]] salvos and is subsequently destroyed. Adama then spots two Raiders entering the planet's atmosphere. Out for revenge, Adama engages the two. He shoots down one in the high altitudes, but collides with the other and is forced to eject.}}
*{{RazorDVD|However, a [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|Centurion]] survived as well and shoots at Adama during the free-fall. Adama shoots back and the two eventually engage in hand-to-hand combat. When the Centurion tries to use a blade on Adama, Adama pulls his parachute's rip cord to slow his descent, watching as the Centurion falls to the ground. Adama lands safely on the ground, crashing through what appears to be a warehouse sky-window. There he encounters the Centurion and kills it by repeatedly smashing its head with a pipe.}}
*As Adama enters what appears to be a Cylon laboratory, he finds evidence of human experimentation and human mutilations. He eventually finds a vat filled with a gelatin-like substance which is reminiscent of the [[resurrection tank]]s or [[Hybrid]] tanks that the later [[humanoid Cylon|humanoid Cylons]] would use.
*He kneels down and touches the substance, and immediately begins to hear the screams of torture victims. As he looks back at the tank, a hand abruptly grabs his arm. The hand disappears just as quickly as it appeared, and Adama falls back to the ground. A voice is heard, quoting from the [[Pythia|Pythian]] prophecies: "All this has happened before and will happen again."
*A banging sound is heard from a locked chamber nearby. As Adama approaches the window of the chamber, an unidentified man presses his face against the window and begs Adama to release him and the other captives. Adama finds a piece of metal nearby, and attempts to break open the door to the chamber.
*As Adama attempts to free the door, the man tells him that they are civilians from the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Gemenon|Gemenese]] ship ''[[Diana]]'', whose convoy was attacked by the Cylons, and that there were initially 50 of them who were taken away one by one.
*Suddenly the ground begins to tremble. Adama manages to open the door a little bit, but not enough to allow the captives to escape. The man urges Adama to leave them and save himself. He asks Adama to tell others of what has happened to them. Adama finally complies after he realizes that he cannot free the prisoners, and runs out of the laboratory.
*Emerging from the laboratory warehouse, Adama sees the [[Guardian basestar]] lifting off into the clouds. He radios his findings about the Cylon experimentation on humans to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', but the young pilot is shocked to learn that an armistice has just been signed, and the war is over.

====Helena Cain====

: ''This entire story segment is contained exclusively on the unrated, extended DVD version of "Razor".''

*At the same time [[Tauron (RDM)|Tauron]] is under attack by Cylon basestars and Centurion ground forces. A young [[Helena Cain]], her sister [[Lucy Cain|Lucy]] and her [[Cain (father)|father]] are pinned down in a building under heavy fire. The three attempt to escape after the last remaining marines in the building are gunned down. When her father is injured by mortar fire, he tells Helena to get Lucy to a shelter before dying.
*The sisters make it out of the building, but Lucy trips over concrete rubble and injures herself, unable to go on. Helena panics, yelling at Lucy to get up and run. She eventually leaves Lucy in the field of rubble and runs away to hide in a container. A group of Centurions appears and surrounds Lucy, who continues to cry out Helena's name.
*A Centurion discovers Helena inside the container. She finds a knife on the floor and nervously approaches the Centurion, preparing to attack it.
*The Centurion stops approaching the girl and retreats from the container, apparently having received instructions and information that the Cylon War is over and an armistice was signed. When Helena comes out, she finds only her sister's doll on the ground, and watches the Raiders leave the planet.
*Helena Cain lost her entire family on that day <ref name="watcher-forbes">{{cite_web|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/11/battlestar-ga-1.html|title='Battlestar Galactica: Razor' cuts to the heart of the matter|date=20 November 2007|accessdate=22 November 2007|last=Ryan|first=Maureen|format=|language=}}</ref>.

=== The Fall of the Twelve Colonies ===
====Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards====
{{mainarticle|Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards}}
*{{RazorDVD|[[Kendra Shaw]] waits at the [[Caprica Transfer Station]] for a ship to bring her to ''Pegasus''. She briefly chats with [[Frank Bruno]] about her mother, [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum]] delegate [[Marta Shaw]], her assignment and her career goals.}}
*The battlestar ''Pegasus'' is docked at the [[Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]] over [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Scorpia|Scorpia]] for a three-month overhaul. As Kendra Shaw approaches the ship from [[Raptor 179]], she gazes in awe at the size of the [[Mercury class battlestar]].
*Admiral [[Helena Cain]] is in her quarters, reviewing a crew status report as her [[XO]], Colonel [[Jurgen Belzen]] enters. He lightly encourages her to take her shore leave, but she insists that she could never leave ''Pegasus'' in the hands of the civilian contractors assigned to oversee her overhaul.
*In the port hangar bay, Raptor 179 has recently arrived. With orders to report directly to [[CIC#Pegasus|CIC]], Shaw steps down and asks a pair of passing crewman to help her locate it. The crewman, however, are too busy to notice her.
*Shaw wanders through the port [[flight pod]], past groups of busy civilians, until she finds [[Gina Inviere]], a civilian network administrator assigned to ''Pegasus'''s overhaul. Inviere shows Shaw a map of ''Pegasus'', with a route to the CIC, and the two discuss the origins of Gina's last name.
*Shaw eventually reaches the CIC, where she finds Cain and Belzen at the Command and Control station. Shaw drops her gear and salutes the admiral. Cain is harsh on her new aide. She grills Shaw for being late to the CIC, concluding that she either stopped for a cup of coffee, or got lost. After Shaw leaves, Cain breaks out in laughter with Belzen, revealing that she only had a joke at the lieutenant's expense.
*[[Hoshi]] escorts her to her quarters. As they are walking down the hallway, a large blast shakes ''Pegasus'', and the noise ripples through the hallway. Shaw and Hoshi are immediately thrown to the floor. As Shaw awakens, she is in a daze. She looks around to find Hoshi unconscious on the floor. The hallway has suddenly become a disaster area.
*Admiral Cain, who was on her way to her quarters at the time, finds Shaw and Hoshi in the corridor. She asks Shaw if she is alright, but when she doesn’t respond, Cain slaps her in the face. Shaw immediately awakens. The hallway echoes with screams of horror, and the [[Action Stations|Condition One]] sirens blare. After an aborted attempt to wake Hoshi, the two head to the CIC.
*''Pegasus'' is on fire in space. [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Cylon Raiders]] flood the shipyard; missiles strike two helpless ''[[Valkyrie]]''-type battlestars nearby.
*In the CIC, Colonel [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]] and many of the CIC personnel are unconscious. Belzen is coordinating the response effort, but there have been multiple nuclear detonations. Luckily however, the battlestar still has main power and propulsion, but that’s about it. [[DRADIS]] and weapons have both been knocked out.
*The Cylon attack is taking its toll on the shipyards. The two ''Valkyrie''-type battlestars lose their moorings and one crashes into the shipyards, instantly destroying it.
*Cain orders the ship to seal all hatches and release all moorings in preparation for an immediate departure. As the ship evacuates the shipyards, Cain orders the [[Propulsion in the Re-imagined Series#Faster-Than-Light travel|FTL]] drive spun up for an immediate jump.
*A Cylon Raider fires two nuclear missiles at ''Pegasus'' from across the shipyards. The missiles fly past a [[Galactica type battlestar]] as its moorings are destroyed, and past the wreckage of several other battlestars and support vessels.
*Cain orders an immediate jump, but Shaw says that with the navigational computer off-line, she would have to enter a random set of coordinates, [[Blind jump|which could take the battlestar anywhere]], possibly within a star or other larger astral body. Cain yells back at her to do it anyway, and the battlestar jumps away.

====So Say We All====
*Two days since the attack on the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards, ''Pegasus'' is four to five jumps away from the Colonies. Belzen reports that many of ''Pegasus'''s [[Viper (RDM)|Vipers]] and [[Raptor]]s are either destroyed or beyond repair, over a quarter of the crew is dead, and rumors are circulating about the destruction of the Twelve Colonies and the [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|Colonial Fleet]].
*Shaw has been working without sleep to restore the navigational and defense computer systems, and she has finally done it. Additionally, she has discovered lines of hidden Cylon computer code inside the [[Command Navigation Program]], which was fortunately down during the attack. Shaw suggests that the entire program be purged from the system.
*After ordering two Raptors on a reconnaissance mission back to the Colonies, the time has finally come for Cain to reveal the extent of the devastation at home to her crew. She tells them that their colonies have been destroyed, their cities nuked, their fleet obliterated. While the victory of one ship may seem unattainable when even their very survival is at stake, she tells them that they have revenge to reach for instead.
*In an expression of determination and conviction, the crew resoundingly shouts, “So say we all!” over and over, after hearing Cain’s words.
*Cain, Shaw, Fisk and Belzen are in the admiral’s quarters, looking over recently gathered intelligence for a low-risk attack on a Cylon outpost. They are discussing a somewhat isolated communications relay when Gina Inviere enters. She greets the admiral with a kiss and a flirtatious shoulder pinch, and the five sit down to enjoy some wine and conversation.
*Cain assures her senior staff that while she does want to engage in guerrilla warfare tactics against the Cylons, she is not willing to put the ship and crew in any amount of excessive danger.
*Shaw and Inviere are working on firewalling all of ''Pegasus'''s computer networks to prevent them from being infiltrated by the Cylons, but constantly having to find a senior officer to input their command codes for system access is making the process take exceedingly long. Inviere discreetly complains about it, and Shaw says that under the circumstances, she would speak to Cain about raising her clearance. In the meantime, she gives Inviere her own command code to use. Inviere then discusses her relationship with Cain in greater detail.

====Battle of the Communications Relay ====
{{mainarticle|Battle of the Communications Relay}}
*''Pegasus'' prepares for a hit-and-run attack on what appears to be a somewhat neglected Cylon communications relay. However, when ''Pegasus'' arrives, there are twelve Cylon Raiders guarding the relay. Despite the increased enemy presence, Cain orders [[Blue Squadron (RDM)|Blue Squadron]] to advance.
*Almost the second after the Vipers are launched, fifteen enemy squadrons of fighters jump into DRADIS range. Cain orders ''Pegasus'''s defensive fire concentrated on the incoming attack squadrons, but Shaw reports that the weapons grid won't respond to commands.
*In spite of the odds, Cain orders Belzen to launch the reserve Vipers, but he insists that taking such an action would cost too many lives and resources. She persists in her orders, but Belzen refuses to carry them out. Cain orders Belzen to hand her his sidearm, which she uses to shoot him in the forehead, in front of the entire bridge crew. <ref>This event is recalled by [[Jack Fisk]] to [[Saul Tigh]] months later, over drinks, in the Season 2 episode "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]."</ref>
*Cain turns to a stunned Fisk, tells him that he is now the [[Executive Officer|XO]] and orders him to launch the reserve Vipers. Fisk, nearly petrified by what he just saw, is more than compelled to follow the order. As the last of ''Pegasus’s'' remaining squadrons launch, Cylon batteries pound the hull.
*With the weapons grid down, Cylon [[Heavy Raider]]s easily breach ''Pegasus’s'' defensive perimeter. [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] begin pouring into the ship through breached [[airlock]]s. Cain orders fast-response teams of [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] to engage the Centurions, and orders Shaw to Secondary Damage Control, as she fears that the Cylons will use this junction to vent all of ''Pegasus’s'' air into space.<ref>This tactic is reminiscent of a similar tactic attempted by the Cylons in the episode "[[Valley of Darkness]]."</ref>
*As Shaw heads to Secondary Damage Control, she finds Gina Inviere trying to escape the Centurions, and orders her to the CIC. As she peers around the corner, she is almost seen by a Centurion. She waits for it to leave, and as she turns the corner to go down the hallway, she sees a [[Number Six]] Cylon, following the Centurion. At first, Shaw doesn’t understand what she sees, but then it comes together – [[Humanoid Cylon|the Cylons can mimic human form]], and Gina Inviere is one of them. Shaw shoots and kills the Six, leaving it dead right in front of a security camera.
*Shaw immediately heads to the CIC to take Inviere, now also in CIC, into custody before she can do any more harm. In the CIC, she directs her weapon at Inviere, and orders the Marines to take her into custody. When Cain belays the order, Shaw states that Gina is a Cylon infiltrator and that "they can look like us". When Cain scoffs, Shaw asks Hoshi to display the security feed from Airlock 4.
*Cain balks at the image of the dead humanoid Cylon in the form of her lover. Feeling betrayed and without any other options, she orders the guards to remove Inviere ("''this thing''") from the bridge. As a Cylon missile strikes ''Pegasus'', Gina uses the moment to flip her captor around by the jaw, and gains control of his [[Weapons in the Re-imagined Series#Handheld weapons|weapon]], which she uses to shoot his comrade. She then snaps the Marine's neck, and trains her weapon on Cain. In a moment of hesitation, Inviere cannot bring herself to shoot Cain, and Shaw sneaks up behind her, clubbing the Cylon over the head with the butt of her rifle.

====Massacre aboard the ''Scylla''====
* The victory at the communications relay is bittersweet. Over eight hundred of ''Pegasus''’s original crew are now dead <ref>Kendra Shaw reports "at least 816 dead, 121 injured" after the attack on the com relay. Earlier, Colonel Belzen reports the loss of over 700 people in the attack on the shipyards. Given ''Pegasus'''s crew complement of approximately 1,750 when she encounters ''Galactica'', adding both numbers would mean that almost half of the crew died. ''Battlestar Wiki'' assumes that Shaw is relating the casualties of both battles.</ref>, over 90 Vipers are either destroyed or out of commission, and the deck crew doesn't have the resources to repair all remaining ones.
*As Cain and Shaw discuss the battle, Gina Inviere looks on from her cell. Shaw blames herself for the high cost of the battle, for giving Inviere her access codes, which she used to take down the weapons grid.
*The hatch opens, and Lieutenant [[Alastair Thorne]] salutes Admiral Cain. Cain orders him to use whatever means he can conjure to retrieve information from Inviere, including torture and rape. As Thorne enters Inviere’s cell, Cain is called to the CIC.
*As Cain enters the CIC, Fisk is elated to inform the admiral that a convoy of 15 civilian ships has been detected. Fisk and Shaw are thrilled at the discovery, but the mood quickly turns sour when they realize Cain has other things on her mind. Cain orders Fisk to prepare teams of Marines and engineers to board each ship. They will take what they need, including spare parts and people, and leave the ships without FTL drives to fend for themselves.
*Fisk and Shaw come aboard the ''[[Scylla]]'', where they find a relieved welcoming party. [[Peter Laird]] is the first to welcome them aboard. Excitement quickly turns to confusion however, when they hand Laird a list of Admiral Cain’s orders. Laird is shocked to learn that Cain wants to take their FTL drives. Laird informs the welcoming party, and they suddenly become an angry mob. Shaw informs them that they will use force if necessary, but Laird persistently refuses.
*As the mob inches closer to the boarding party, Fisk reports to Cain of the escalating situation. In an act that surprises even him, she orders him to shoot the families of any selectee that doesn’t comply with the orders.
*Fisk and the Marines are wary of the order, but they line up a couple of the families despite their reservations, hoping that showing the mob their resolve will force them to comply. The angry mob suddenly becomes violent – they throw whatever they can at the boarding party.
*At that very moment, Shaw pulls out her sidearm, and shoots a woman in the front in the head. The Marines follow suit, and before very long, the deck of the ''Scylla'' is painted with the blood of the dead. Shaw’s gaze drifts to her sidearm, still smoking from the shot, and then up to Laird, who is too stunned to move.
*In the aftermath, Shaw cannot bring her eyes to look upon the dead. Fisk comforts her by telling her that the entire fleet heard about what happened and there should be no more resistance. As her party leaves the ''Scylla'', she can’t help but look back.
*For her actions aboard the ''Scylla'', Cain promotes Shaw to captain. It is small comfort to Shaw, who is still anguished by what she has done. Seeing her vulnerability, Cain tells Shaw that the war is forcing them all to do things that they may not like, even hate, because if they don’t, then they may not live to simply become human again. By putting aside her fear, her reservations, even her revulsion to complete the mission, Shaw has become Cain’s "razor".

=== Present events ===
* Newly-promoted Commander [[Lee Adama]] is formally appointed commander of ''Pegasus'' by [[Laura Roslin]] in front of the ship's crew. In his speech he promises to change things on the battlestar and announces [[Kara Thrace]]'s appointment as acting [[CAG]].
* Shaw follows the speech on the [[wireless]] set, but eventually switches it off. She walks to a jar, takes out a syringe and injects herself with a drug. She is still troubled about what happened on the ''Scylla''.
* Next, she is summoned to Adama's office, who reads her service file and points out that she received glowing reports from Cain, but increasingly negatives ones from Fisk and [[Barry Garner|Garner]], who eventually assigned her to kitchen duty because of "persistent insubordinate behavior". After listening to Shaw's candid opinions about him and his predecessors, Adama offers her the job of executive officer; he intends to give the crew back its pride, and as an outsider he needs someone to uphold Cain's legacy.
* During a firearms drill, she shows competence but also how hard she is on the crew. William Adama comments that his son found an XO meaner than [[Saul Tigh]].
* The Admiral gives Commander Adama his first mission: a [[SAR|search and rescue]] for two pilots and a civilian science team in an overdue Raptor.
* At their destination, Starbuck and [[Showboat]] conduct a Viper patrol and suddenly encounter enemy fighters of an unfamiliar configuration. Although able to identify them as Cylons, Starbuck doesn't realize that they are in fact [[Raiders (RDM)#Cylon War-era Raider|Raiders like the ones used in the first Cylon War]].
* ''Pegasus'' establishes a defensive perimeter and orders the Vipers to return prior to an FTL jump. When the [[Computers in the Re-imagined Series#Navigation computer|navigational computer]] malfunctions and the Raiders close, Shaw orders to the vessel's offensive flight pod [[Battery|batteries]] turned on the incoming targets, placing Starbuck and Showboat inside the battlestar's close-in firing solution. Struggling their way through the barrage, a Raider follows them into the [[flight pod]], which Starbuck shoots down once inside the landing bay. On the [[hangar deck]], she angrily confronts Shaw over her decision to open fire, but Adama defends his XO.
* ''Pegasus'' returns to the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], and Admiral Adama, Roslin and Tigh inspect the downed Raider on the hangar deck. [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon Valerii]] recalls the "[[Guardians]]", a group of [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|original Centurion models]] that escaped being scrapped by the [[humanoid Cylons]]. The Guardians guard the [[first Hybrid]], created by the Cylons as a first attempt at an organic model and eventually abandoned as an evolutionary dead end. This causes Adama to remember the events on the ice planet on the last day of the Cylon War, finally realizing the significance of what he saw over 40 years ago.
* After examining the Raider's navigational data, Admiral Adama believes that the Raptor crew was captured by the Guardians and orders his son to jump to a possible base of theirs. For the duration of the operation, he transfers his flag to ''Pegasus'', but assures Lee that it will be his mission.
* Shaw drafts an attack plan for ''Pegasus'' to draw Cylon forces away while a Raptor, piloted by Thrace and carrying a strike team, jumps to the Cylon base. Before signing off on the plan, Lee Adama confronts Shaw over the incident on the ''Scylla''. She just replies that she is Cain's legacy - a razor - and that Cain wouldn't have hesitated to execute the plan.
* Before the battle Shaw is about to take another shot of the drug and when she is caught by Thrace, who is looking for a bottle of [[ambrosia]]. The two stalemate and agree to keep each other's secrets, and realize that they are more alike than they thought.
* {{RazorDVD|Thrace is going over the Raptor prepared for the mission and told by Shaw that Chief Tyrol already checked everything. During their chat, the two notice that Thrace's [[Socrata Thrace|mother]] and Admiral Cain weren't too different, advising to repress one's fear and focus on the anger. Thrace remarks that her mother only had her anger left in the end and died alone.}}
* The mission doesn't go as planned when the strike team's Raptor is pursued by two Raiders. They simulate an engine malfunction, emergency blow the side hatch and sling themselves out of the flat-spinning Raptor before it is destroyed by the Cylons, escaping undetected. Using EVA thrusters, they make their way to the Guardian basestar.
* Thrace, Shaw, [[Erin Mathias|Mathias]], [[Dasilva]] and [[Hudson]] find the missing Raptor crew, whom the Cylons mutilate in a manner similar to what William Adama saw in the first Cylon War. As they free the survivors, two Centurions attack, wound Dasilva and begin to drag him away. Unwilling to let him suffer same treatment as the Raptor crew, Shaw shoots Dasilva, but in turn is shot in the abdomen.
* While under cover from the firefight, Mathias reports to ''Pegasus'' that the detonator for the nuclear warhead, which they plan to use to destroy the basestar, is damaged.
* ''Pegasus'' loses wireless contact with the boarding team and Lee Adama orders a [[Missile tubes|nuclear ship to ship missile]] to be armed and readied. Thrace herself considers the "mission outcome doubtful". Assuming that the team is dead, Commander Adama orders the launch of the missile, but is overridden by his father, who wants to give the team a chance.
* After reestablishing contact and learning that an evacuation Raptor is on the way, Shaw orders Mathias to rig a manual detonator for the nuke, determined to complete the mission. While Lee is reluctant to sacrifice someone to detonate the warhead, his father believes that the Cylons would easily shoot down a missile, but leaves the final decision to Lee. He orders Thrace to get the team to safety, but to stay behind and detonate the nuke manually.
* The team prepares to suit up and leave, when Shaw forces Thrace to hand over the warhead at gunpoint and remains on the baseship. Walking through the hallways, she finds the Cylon Hybrid, who knows her name, saying that he has been waiting for her for a long time. He tells her that the Centurions worship him as god, and observes Shaw's desire to be forgiven for what she has become. The Hybrid also delivers a warning about Thrace: she will lead the human race to its end, she is the herald of the apocalypse and the harbinger of death, and she must not be followed.
* Shaw tries to relay this to ''Pegasus'', but her transmission is blocked by Cylon jamming shortly after the start, and the warning is not heard. She then detonates the nuke, killing herself and destroying the basestar.
* Later, the Adamas discuss the battle and its outcome, the admiral noting Thrace's recommendation of Shaw for a posthumous commendation. Reviewing the logs, Admiral Adama doesn't find fault in either Cain's or Shaw's decisions, but Commander Adama vehemently disagrees, citing the ''Scylla''. The admiral replies that he never had to face similar circumstances, and that he had people like Lee, Roslin and Tigh to counsel and challenge him and keep him from making extreme and questionable decisions. He comforts Lee, telling him that his decision to launch the nuclear missile and sacrifice the strike team wasn't wrong, just necessary from Lee's perspective at the time.
* Outside [[Officer's quarters#Admiral Adama's quarters|Adama's quarters]], Lee meets Thrace, who now has Cain's knife given to her by Shaw. She is unsure if Shaw sacrificed herself as atonement or if she just "had it coming." Thrace tells him that she requested reassignment back to ''Galactica'' because she thinks Lee would keep trying to get her killed. When asked if she might deserve that, she jokingly replies that she has a [[The Destiny|destiny]] and plans to live to keep it.



== Notes ==

===Production===
*A four-part podcast of the original story meeting for "Razor" is available on the [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/season04/ SciFi website].
* Despite being credited, [[Aaron Douglas]] ([[Galen Tyrol]]), [[Tahmoh Penikett]] ([[Karl Agathon]]), [[Alessandro Juliani]] ([[Felix Gaeta]]), [[Michael Trucco]] ([[Samuel Anders]]), [[Kandyse McClure]] ([[Anastasia Dualla]]) and [[Matthew Bennett]] ([[Number Five]]/[[Aaron Doral]]) do not appear in the aired version of "Razor".
**Bennett appears briefly in the [[Razor Flashback]] web-episodes as [[Aaron Doral]], in a flashback two days before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].
**Tyrol is mentioned by Admiral Adama as having helped [[Gaius Baltar]] remove navigational information from the Cylon Raider, but is never seen otherwise.
* [[Michael Taylor]] noted that the original opening for "Razor" was inspired by ''[[w:Apocalypse Now|Apocalypse Now]]'', but this was later cut <ref name="thewatcher">{{cite_web|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/11/answers-to-your.html|title=Answers to your 'Razor' questions and clues about 'Battlestar Galactica's' final season|date=16 November 2007|accessdate=16 November 2007|last=Ryan|first=Maureen|format=|language=}}</ref>.
* A scene with [[Alastair Thorne]] torturing [[Gina]] while Cain looks on was filmed but removed as "it played a little too much like an outtake from ''[[w:Spartacus|Spartacus]]''."<ref name="thewatcher"/> Part of it can still be seen in the recap at the beginning of the movie.
*According to composer [[Bear McCreary]], no specific soundtrack release for "Razor" is currently planned. However, the best tracks will be included on the Season 4 soundtrack <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=205|title=Bear McCreary's blog|date=|accessdate=|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref>.
*According to [[Gary Hutzel]], the [[Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]] was written so that "we would see it in bits and pieces. For the most part, it centered on the fact that they had to jump out of there before two nuclear missiles hit them." As for the [[blind jump]], the impetus for it was to be filmed only from the point-of-view of the CIC personnel, who saw the two incoming warheads on [[DRADIS]], which prompted the jump. However, [[Felix Alcala]] wanted the scene to be something out of ''[[w:Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]'', thus the shots showing the destruction of the shipyards were added in.<ref name="vfxworld-2">{{cite_web|url=http://vfxworld.com/?atype=articles&id=3460&page=2|title=
Raising the VFX Bar In-House on ''Battlestar Galactica: Razor''|date=26 November 2007|accessdate=30 November 2007|last=Bennett|first=Tara DiLullo|format=|language=|page=2}}</ref>
* Hutzel laid out the [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|Centurion]] shots himself, eventually choosing the chrome appearance over a sophisticated silver metallic appearance, as the chrome surfaces were best for reflections.<ref name="vfxworld-2"/>
* Universal Home Entertainment financed part of "Razor" for DVD-only effects and other material for the show which is proprietary, which is why such effects sequences are on the DVD or used in promotional material.<ref name="vfxworld-2"/>
* Furthermore, the special effects shots were done in house without using a third-party source: over 184 shots were done, 120 of them being full CGI. Many new ships had to be developed specifically for "Razor", in addition to the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]-inspired Centurions.<ref name="vfxworld">{{cite_web|url=http://vfxworld.com/?atype=articles&id=3460|title=
Raising the VFX Bar In-House on ''Battlestar Galactica: Razor''|date=26 November 2007|accessdate=30 November 2007|last=Bennett|first=Tara DiLullo|format=|language=|page=1}}</ref>

===Story===
* As [[Kendra Shaw]] scrubs through the [[wireless]] bands, she happens upon a [[Talk Wireless]] broadcast where the wireless personality notes [[Laura Roslin]]'s cancer remission, going on to infer that there was speculation on how the remission was brought about. Another snippet mentions Roslin's "recent" ban of abortion.
* The [[Guardian basestar]] appears to be an evolutionary gap in between the older Cylon War-era [[basestar (RDM)|basestar]] and the newer starfish type basestar.
* The flashback of a young William Adama finding a Cylon lab during the war is part of the fifth, sixth, and seventh episodes of the [[Razor Flashbacks|"Razor" web-episodes]].
* According to [[Sharon Agathon|Caprica-Valerii]], the [[Hybrid]]s were created as a means to grow out of their mechanical roots and into biological ones. The Cylons considered the hybrids a failure and, after creating enough of them to control their baseships, the project was abandoned.
*At the end Thrace asks to be re-assigned to ''Galactica'', currently holding the position of ''Pegasus'''s [[CAG]], which she assumes in "[[The Captain's Hand]]".
*Despite being a major, Kendra Shaw wears a colonel's [[Uniforms (RDM)|uniform]] with white/red trim. As shown on Doctor [[Cottle]] earlier, a major's uniform only has a white trim.
* When ''Pegasus'' jumps away from the Scorpion Fleet Yards, the vacuum created from the jump appears to suck in the surrounding flames and smoke of battle. This effect has been seen before in "[[Exodus, Part II]]" following ''Galactica'''s intra-atmosphere jump.

===Unrated DVD===
* In the DVD version, [[Virtual Six]] appears and reveals why the Cylons achieved human form, claiming that since their God created humanity in his image, the Cylons wanted to do the same, regardless of how much they themselves loathed humanity.
* Young William Adama says the word "cocksucker" in reference to the Cylon he pursues as he breaks away from ''Columbia'' (e.g. "This cocksucker's mine."). The dialogue is re-dubbed in the [[Razor Flashbacks]] to "This frakker's mine."
* Shootings are more graphically violent than ''Battlestar Galactica'' normally shows on television. When Cain shoots Belzen in the head, a large amount of blood splatters on the glass wall behind him. Usually only the entry wound is shown and the camera avoids the area behind the head, such as when Number Six is shot in "[[Precipice]]" and Three in "[[Hero]]". A similarly graphic scene where a Marine is wounded by Centurions on the guardian basestar is missing from the television version but included in the unrated DVD.
* The DVD version includes an additional monologue by the [[first Hybrid]] when the strike team arrives at the basestar. It is intercut with footage of the team making its way through the ship. This is a reference to the revelation of four of the [[Final Five]] Cylons during "[[Crossroads, Part II]]". The Hybrid also talks about the [[Significant Seven|seven other Cylon models]] and demonstrates knowledge of [[Number Three]]'s [[boxing]], an event over a year in the future at the time of his speech:
:"Soon there will be four, glorious in awakening, struggling with the knowledge of their true selves. The pain of revelation bringing new clarity and in the midst of confusion, he will find her. Enemies brought together by impossible longing. Enemies now joined as one. The way forward at once unthinkable, yet inevitable. And the fifth, still in shadow, will claw toward the light, hungering for redemption that will only come in the howl of terrible suffering. I can see them all. The seven, now six, self-described machines who believe themselves without sin. But in time, it is sin that will consume them. They will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching agony of one splintering into many. And then, they will join the promised land, gathered on the wings of an angel."
* The [[Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards|attack on the Scorpion shipyards]] includes additional special effects scenes of the battle.
* The main feature does not include all of the [[Razor Flashbacks]], namely Episodes 1, 2 and and the ''Galactica'' scenes of Episode 7. However, all seven flashbacks are included as separate special features on the DVD.
* Two [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)#Razor|deleted scenes]] are contained on the DVD. One with Lee Adama at the Caprica Transfer Station waiting for a flight to ''Galactica'''s decommissioning, in which he talks about his dissatisfaction with his father's expectations of him. The other is a flashback to the aftermath of the episode "[[33]]". Starbuck and Apollo review their Vipers' gun camera footage. While Adama is convinced that he sees someone in the windows of the ''Olympic Carier'', Starbuck tells him that sometimes people might need to be left behind to save others.

== Analysis ==
*Given the overall [[survivor count]] and the tally of 49,579 during the credits, "Razor" takes place between "[[The Captain's Hand]]" and "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]". Captions also place the flashback portions 10 months prior to the present events. However this timespan is closer to 9 months.
**This is also the only time during Lee Adama's command of ''Pegasus'' that the episode can fit, since Starbuck leaves for Caprica in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I". See also ''[[Timeline - Season 2 (RDM)]]''
**Adama's selection of Shaw as his [[XO]] likely takes place very shortly after him taking command of ''Pegasus'', but other parts of the episode might take place slightly later.
**[[Sharon Agathon]]'s appearance ''may indicate'' that this episode takes place before "[[Downloaded]]", however this cannot be confirmed by any visual evidence as her appearance is brief and all camera shots are seemingly aimed to avoid shooting her belly. However, it can be reasonably surmised that because she is still cooperating with the Colonials that [[Hera]]'s birth and her subsequent faked death haven't occurred yet.
*According to Admiral Cain, a razor is someone who can set aside all fear, hesitation, revulsion and natural inhibition in battle (see [[Razor/Noteworthy Dialogue|noteworthy dialogue]]).
**When Cain recruits [[Jack Fisk]] to assassinate Commander Adama, she tells him that he needs to pick Marines who are "completely reliable. Completely loyal. Razors." ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]).
**This bears a passing semblance to a poem by Japanese [[Wikipedia:Isoroku Yamamoto|Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto]]: "I am still the sword/Of my Emperor/I will not be sheathed/Until I die." Admiral Yamamoto knew about America, Americans and their potential from his time as a student at Harvard and as a naval attaché in Washington, DC. Despite misgivings about declaring war on America, he served his Emperor and planned the attack on Pearl Harbor.
**A razor is a physically present symbol throughout the episode in the form of a folding knife, which Cain found as child when her home colony was attacked by the Cylons. She used it to overcome her fear of a Centurion and kept it over the decades. After Cain's death, the blade passes to Kendra Shaw and eventually to Kara Thrace. It appears several times in the episode, and is used by Cain to explain the concept of becoming a razor to Shaw.
*Regarding the casualties suffered by ''Pegasus'' during the [[Battle of the Communications Relay]], Shaw's report that ''Pegasus'' suffered over 800 dead likely refers to the total casualty rate since the Cylon attack. Since ''Pegasus'' already suffered over 700 losses fleeing the Scorpion shipyards, adding 800 to this figure would mean that almost half the crew were killed. Considering that ''Pegasus'''s crew is approximately 1,750 when she encounters ''Galactica'', such a high death rate seems unlikely.
*The woman shot by Shaw could have been [[Peter Laird]]'s wife, given the pan shot from his expression as he looks at the bodies, to the dead woman's face. His evasiveness when asked about the rumors circulating about the ''Scylla'' in the episode "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" would support this. His reaction to the woman's execution, however, can be taken one of two ways. He was either a man in complete shock of witnessing his wife's death or a man who was horrified from what he didn't believe was possible of Colonial military. Laird never mentions a wife explicitly.
*Given that an evac Raptor successfully retrieves the assault team by docking or at least flying close to the Guardian basestar without incident, it seems that the Guardian basestar itself appears to be unarmed and totally reliant on its Raiders for defense, unlike the standard [[Basestar (RDM)|Cylon basestar]].
*A curious technical gaffe appears to occur as the smoke from the various fires in the shipyard travel upward. Unless the flames (which would appear as a globular "blossom" shape without gravity) jet upward, the smoke, with the lack of convection (heat rising upward as lighter gases against gravity), would expand in all directions opposite the flames or venting, not "up" relative to the battlestar or flames.
**While this is true, it's possible the ship yard is drifting, having lost attitude control due to damage which would leave a short trail.
*In stark contrast to her demeanor by the time of the rendezvous with ''Galactica'', Helena Cain is visibly more relaxed with her crew: She is stern when necessary, but also enjoys several moments of levity with subordinates and cultivates personable relations with her staff; she regards [[Jurgen Belzen]] as a personal friend (as described later by Fisk to Tigh); she initiates Shaw to ''Pegasus'' by chewing her out in the CIC and shares a humored look with her XO afterwards; the atmosphere at the dinner is very informal; she expresses strong emotions and sheds tears as she surveys the ship's casualties. All these point to the war and especially Gina's betrayal as reasons for her push over the edge to become a "razor" and the narrowing of her perspective to pure vengeance.
*Although she may have sacrificed herself in atonement, Kendra Shaw ended her life as a razor, casting aside fear and self-preservation to stay behind and die to complete her mission, echoing Admiral Cain's observation that "sometimes we have to leave people behind so that we can go on, so that we can continue to fight. Sometimes you have do things that we never thought we were capable of ..." When she arrives on ''Pegasus'', she is regarded as an opportunist, but in the end she is quite the opposite.
*Kendra Shaw's death marks the final transition from Cain's legacy to Admiral Adama's. Shaw was the last of Cain's inner circle. She was one of the officers who had Cain's utmost respect and trust. Her death signifies the complete replacement of ''Pegasus'''s original leadership and opens up the merging of the two battlestar crews.
*Admiral Cain suggests that Kendra Shaw used her mother's connections to secure an upwardly-mobile assignment on ''Pegasus'' — an ironic criticism, since then-Commander William Adama mentions to President Roslin how well-connected Cain is, helping her jump over half the commanders list for promotion to admiral ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).
*Both Shaw and Thrace have been noticed and mentored by Admiral Cain. In this respect, the friction between the two takes on aspects of sibling rivalry.
*Based on the restored scenes on the "Razor" DVD, Admiral Cain's past plays a huge role in how she approached the second Cylon War. As a child, Cain abandoned her little sister in order to hide from Centurions. Though this scene of a young Cain is mixed in Cain's speech of the need to leave some behind in order to go on fighting, it implies a sense of guilt on Cain's part for having abandoned her sister to the Cylons. Her entire rationale in actively fighting the Cylons and not running portrays a need for her to take a stand and fight. She had a need to stop running.
*Also in the DVD version, the knife that Cain carries is revealed to have a deeper meaning to Cain than simply a weapon. The knife was an impromptu weapon Cain discovered while she was attempting to hide from the Centurions. When she is finally discovered, she makes her last stand with this same knife. In the end, it becomes the only object that she still carried, and what she eventually became, a last resort weapon.
*The actions of the younger Cain and Adama during the final events of the first Cylon War both contrast and parallel. Adama continued to pursue and attack the Cylons; Cain was told to run and hide from the Cylons, but when she was cornered by a Centurion, she picked up the knife and made as best a last stand as she could. Adama witnessed the escape of the First Hybrid's ship, feeling the responsibility of the lost lives that he could not save; Cain witnessed the withdrawal of Centurion forces, anguished by her responsibility for leaving her little sister behind.

== Questions ==

* How does the Hybrid know [[Kendra Shaw]]?
* Is the Hybrid's warning that [[Kara Thrace]] is the harbinger of death true? Does it say this to ensure that the eternal cycle continues per Pythian prophecy?
* Who is [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']]'s [[CAG]] after Thrace steps down?
* Whose decision was it to scrap the [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|old Centurions]]? Did they resist?
* When the [[first Hybrid]] says "My children believe I am a god", to whom is he referring? The old model Cylons? The organic models?
* What does the first Hybrid mean when he says his existence will "begin again in ways uncertain"?
** Does this statement imply that the first Hybrid is capable of [[Resurrection (RDM)|downloading]]?
* Are all of the Guardians on the basestar when it is destroyed, or did they build other bases in the decades before?
* Is the first Hybrid one of the original humans who were captured on the ''[[Diana]]''?
* Is the physical appearance of the first Hybrid what it originally appeared, or did it physically age?
* Given Sharon Agathon's statement that the Hybrid experiment was abandoned after others were created to control the [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]], do the Cylons only have a limited number of them?
* Given the implication that the Cylons abducted [[Lucy Cain]] on Tauron, did they collect her and other humans for further experimentation after being forced to abandon their facilities on the [[ice planet]]?
*If Saul Tigh fought in the first Cylon War, yet at this time the Cylons had only come to the technological point of creating the hybrids, then how was he created?

{{#switch:{{{1}}}
|yes={{:Razor/Official Statements|yes}}
|y={{:Razor/Official Statements|yes}}
|#default=

== Official Statements ==
:''See: [[Razor/Official Statements]]''
}}

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

{{#switch:{{{2}}}
|yes={{:Razor/Noteworthy Dialogue|yes}}
|y={{:Razor/Noteworthy Dialogue|yes}}
|#default=:''See: [[Razor/Noteworthy Dialogue]]''
}}

== Guest Stars ==
* [[Michael Hogan]] as [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as [[Galen Tyrol]] (credit only)
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]] (credit only)
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] (credit only)
* [[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]] (credit only)
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as [[Anastasia Dualla]] (credit only)
* [[Michelle Forbes]] as Admiral [[Helena Cain]]
* [[Graham Beckel]] as Colonel [[Jack Fisk]]
* [[Stephanie Jacobsen]] as Lieutenant/Captain/Major [[Kendra Shaw]]
* [[Nico Cortez]] as Young [[William Adama]]
* [[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Number Five]]
* [[Steve Bacic]] as Colonel [[Jurgen Belzen]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
* [[Eileen Pedde]] as Sergeant [[Erin Mathias]]
* [[Fulvio Cecere]] as Lieutenant [[Alastair Thorne]]
* [[Vincent Gale]] as [[Peter Laird]]
* [[Campbell Lane]] as [[First Hybrid|Hybrid]]
* [[Kyra Scott]] as Young [[Helena Cain]]
* [[Chandra Berg]] as Little [[Lucy Cain]]
* [[Peter Flemming]] as [[Cain (father)|Helena's Father]]
* [[Shaker Paleja]] as Medic [[Hudson]]
* [[Andrew Dunbar]] as Marine [[Dasilva]]
* [[Jacob Blair]] as Squad Leader [[Banzai]]
* [[Peter Bryant]] as [[Frank Bruno]]
* [[Chris Bradford]] as Ops Officer
* [[Tyson Stanley]] as Young [[Marine]]
* [[Trevor Roberts]] as ''[[Scylla]]'' Protestor #1
* [[Cameron Macleod]] as ''Scylla'' Protestor #2
* [[Ingrid Tesch]] as Mother
* [[Joey Pierce]] as Marine [[Riggs]]
* [[Matt Drake]] as Son #1
* [[Dustin Eriksen]] as Son #2
* [[John Hainsworth]] as Man in Cage #1
* [[Victor Ayala]] as Man in Cage #2
* [[Deni Dolory]] as Woman in Cage
* [[Emily Hirst]] as Child in Cage
* [[Ben Cotton]] as [[Terrified Man]]
* [[Stefanie von Pfetten]] as Captain [[Marcia Case|Marcia "Showboat" Case]]
* [[Alyssa Minniss]] as Flower Girl
* [[Allison Warnyca]] as Lt. [[Jaycie McGavin|Jaycie "Goldbrick" McGavin]] (credited only on the DVD's Flashback credits)
* Uncredited as [[Gus]]

== External Links ==

* Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=205 score for "Razor"]

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[de:Razor]]

Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II

2007-02-12T23:55:39Z

Tarot: /* Questions */ typo

{{Episode Data
| image =bsg-klg2-1.jpg
| title=Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
| series=
| season=1
| episode=13
| guests=
| writer=[[Ronald D. Moore]]
| story=[[David Eick]]
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=113 '''(Season 1 Finale)'''
| rating= 2.5
| US airdate=2005-04-01
| UK airdate=2005-01-24
| dvd= {{Season 1 NTSC DVD release date}} '''US'''<br/>{{Season 1 PAL DVD release date}} '''UK'''
| podcast=y
| population=
| prev=[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]
| next=[[Scattered]]
}}

== Overview ==
:''Starbuck has gone to Caprica. Adama insists Roslin must stand down as President. When she refuses, he is forced to deal with that situation while simultaneously adapting the plan to rid themselves of the Cylon baseship over Kobol.''

== Summary ==

=== In the Fleet ===

* [[William Adama|Adama]] challenges [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] over [[Kara Thrace]]'s actions with the [[Cylon Raider]] (which occurred in the last episode) and she admits her role in helping [[Kara Thrace]].
* Adama requests her resignation as President. Roslin refuses. He states he is terminating her presidency. When she reveals the press is recording the conversation, he hangs up.
* He isolates ''[[Colonial One]]'' using the [[CAP]] to physically isolate it, and by jamming all communications from it. He then orders [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] and [[Lee Adama]] to set-up a strike force to take ''Colonial One''.
* Visiting [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] in sickbay, Adama asks her to fly a dangerous mission: take a Raptor fitted with a Cylon [[IFF]] transponder, jump to the Cylon [[Baseship|baseship]] orbiting Kobol and drop a nuclear bomb into its landing bay before jumping clear.
* Roslin refuses Adama's final request to yield and her security team ready themselves for an assault.
* The strike team flies to an isolated ''Colonial One'' aboard two Raptors, lead by Tigh and Lee Adama, and they start cutting their way into the ship.
* A confrontation ensues between Colonial forces and Roslin's security. It is broken only when Lee Adama sides with his conscience, and turns on Tigh. Afraid of a bloodbath, Roslin surrenders and Lee Adama is arrested.
* Roslin is returned to the ''Galactica'' after the failed standoff and is placed in the brig, while Lee Adama is in irons in CIC for mutiny.
* [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] and [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]] arrive in CIC following the success of the attack on the baseship near [[Kobol]], and as he thanks them, Boomer shoots Adama twice in the chest at point blank range, seriously wounding him.

=== On Kobol ===

*[[Raptor]] 1 has crashed down on [[Kobol]] and is on fire, as the crew struggle to get out and remove the bodies of the dead and injured, [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] becomes trapped by fire in the back of the vehicle.
* [[Crashdown]] tries to help him, but Baltar is too terrified to move. [[Number Six|Six]] appears and gives Baltar the strength to escape by giving the impression ''she'' is helping him out of the ship.
* As they get clear, the ship explodes, and Baltar wanders into the long grass before collapsing, as the rest of the crew start checking on their injured.
* Boomer's Raptor makes it through the Cylon perimeter around the baseship situated above Kobol, but the bomb release mechanism fails, forcing them to land inside the basestar and attempt a manual removal of the bomb.
* While there, Boomer encounters a number of her "sisters". While she tries to claim she is human, they inform her she cannot escape destiny.
* After she leaves on the Raptor, her "sisters" make no attempt to disarm or remove the bomb. The baseship is destroyed in a massive nuclear explosion.
* On Kobol, Baltar recognises Six "saved" him, and she takes him to see exactly why he has been chosen by God, and she walks him towards the ruined [[Opera House]].
* Entering it, he is shown the "face of things to come", apparently a baby in a crib, the "first of the new generation of God's children" - and he is to be their protector.

=== On Caprica ===

* [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Valerii]] has taken [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to hide near the [[Delphi]] Museum of the Colonies.
* She is aware of the importance of the [[Arrow of Apollo]].
* They have discussed the fact that she is a Cylon (rather than a Cylon-created human clone as Helo suggested ([[Colonial Day]])).
* She reveals her relationship with him is important as it brings the Cylons closer to God. She also reveals she is pregnant.
* Starbuck completes her long-range jump and arrives over [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Passing through Cylon lines, she sets down in Delphi and heads for the museum.
* Locating the [[Arrow of Apollo]] she is confronted by [[Number Six|Six]] and a fight ensues in which Starbuck is initially badly beaten, before a last-minute rush sends them both over a landing, killing Six.
* Helo comes to Starbuck's aid, and she panics when she sees Valerii, immediately realizing that Valerii is a Cylon. Helo stops Starbuck from shooting her, citing that she's pregnant.

== Questions ==
* Are Adama's wounds fatal? ([[Resistance|Answer]])
* What will be the public reaction when news of [[Laura Roslin|Roslin's]] arrest finally breaks through the communication's embargo? ([[Home, Part I|Answer]])
* Who will take over as the civil leader with Roslin in the brig and [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] "lost" somewhere on the surface of [[Kobol]]? ([[Fragged|Answer]])
* How will [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] rise to the demands of command? ([[Fragged|Answer]])
* What is the baby in the crib? ([[Home, Part II|Answer]])
* If the Cylons understand the significance of the Arrow of Apollo (and by extension, the Tomb of Athena), why don't they use them themselves to find [[Earth]]?
* Are the Cylons genuinely interested in Earth, or has it simply been a means to bring them to Kobol? ([[Torn|Answer]])
* Why didn't the sound of Starbuck's Raider landing attract Helo's attention sooner? He is across the road from the museum, and so could hardly fail to see it touch down, or see Starbuck climb the steps to the museum itself.
* How did Six know Starbuck's name so readily? Is this a pointer to her being in communication with her "sister" in Baltar's head? Or having been in communication with Conoy ([[Flesh and Bone]])?
* Did Boomer sabotage the bomb release mechanism, thus forcing herself into landing on the baseship?
* Why didn't [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]] raise concerns about [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer's]] ability to survive in a vacuum on their return to ''Galactica'' (although there is no indication that there was a vacuum outside)? ([[Scattered|Answer]])
*Is there a breathable atmosphere inside Cylon basestars? ([[Torn|Answer]])
*If close proximity to a nuclear explosion does trully kill a cylon -- as it appears to with [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|Gina]] -- why do the 8's gather around it.
*Why do the 8's do nothing to stop the nuke? Do they want humanity to come back to Cobal?

== Analysis ==
*Caprica-Sharon is indeed pregnant; yes love and procreation were the keys to Cylon desire with her and Helo; yes her true nature would be revealed to her crewmates – if not directly through her actions in shooting Adama, then certainly through Starbuck’s return to the Galactica. While Starbuck is liable to be thrown into the brig on her return, that’s no reason for Tigh and others not to believe claims about Boomer in light of what she has seen on Caprica and what has happened in CIC.
*That he was seeing into the future is clear: but is the child he sees the product of Helo’s relationship with Valerii, or his own (future) relationship with a corporeal Six? On the one hand, much of what is seen points to the child being born of Valerii: she admits her condition to Helo (and thus opens the door to him remaining on Caprica with her while Starbuck returns to the Galactica with the Arrow) and the Cylons were apparently aiming for her to become pregnant by Helo (or at least, Doral and Six showed no surprised when she reported her lovemaking with him). But – Six’s words to Baltar as she prepares him to see the future are interesting: “You are the guardian and protector of a new generation of God’s children,” – a somewhat neutral explanation that comes before she smiles, catches her breath and adds, “The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius.” This could be a reference to the fact that Valerii is pregnant; however the shift to the possessive “our family” and “with us” could be seen to indicate the child could be Baltar’s own. And again, how much more of an effective guardian and protector will Baltar be, if he is in fact protecting his own offspring, rather than that of another Cylon / human relationship? And if this is the case, where does that leave the Valerii / Helo relationship?
*This episode reveals some more about Number Six: if the offspring on the crib she sees with Baltar is that of Valerii and Helo, then it would more or less confirm that she is in contact with corporeal Cylons elsewhere – how else would she know of the developing Valerii / Helo situation otherwise as it started after her “death”? Similarly, it is interesting to note the degree of savagery involved in the beating Six gives Starbuck. In many respects, it mirrors the beating she gave Valerii in “Litmus”; at the time, the viciousness she showed seemed to be linked to the jealousy evident between her and Valerii. We now know that Six has been affected by Baltar’s reaction to sleeping with Starbuck (“Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1”); could the physical beating Starbuck receives be a manifestation of the jealousy she feels for what happened on the Galactica, transmitted to her corporeal sister?
*How will the fleet react once word of Roslin’s arrest breaks through the communications blackout the Galactica inflicted on Colonial One? What can the civilians do? In many respects Adama holds all the cards – or would do, were he in a fit condition. His ship is the key to the protection of the fleet, and she is pretty much unassailable. Therefore, it is hard to see anyone stepping too far out of line when it comes to making major decisions: where the fleet will go, what it will do, etc. But within the civilian community, it is hard not to see repercussions: Roslin has been arrested; Baltar is missing, possibly dead. Who is available to take the civil reigns? Wallace Gray ([[Colonial Day]])? Tom Zarek ([[Bastille Day]]; [[Colonial Day]]). Is it a coincidence that not too long before, at the Quorum of Twelve, Zarek himself raised the spectre of a military coup – and that’s more-or-less what they now have on their hands?

== Notes ==
* This episode takes place directly after those of "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]"
* There are now 47,887 survivors in the fleet, a net loss of 10 since "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I".
* Cylon vessels are indeed capable of very long-range jumps
* [[Delphi]] was once a cultural center on Caprica, and apparently held a lot of historical / religious artifacts
* Cylon basestars appear bio-mechanical, like Raiders
* In "[[Water]]" it was established that the ''Galactica'' had at least 5 [[Raptor|Raptors]] on board: [[William Adama|Adama]] orders Raptors to survey local star systems for water bearing planets, 5 are dispatched. This episode reveals ''Galactica'' has at least 6: 1 is destroyed over [[Kobol]], one crashes on Kobol; three take part in the raid on ''[[Colonial One]]'', 1 simultaneously carries a nuclear warhead to the Cylon basestar,
*The use of [[IFF]] transponders by the Cylons is an indirect nod to [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|the original series]], in which [[Apollo (TOS)|Apollo]] and [[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]] use an IFF-type device to identify their [[Cylon Raider#Original Series Raider|Raider]] to Colonial forces when they launch an attack on a Cylon Basestar ([[The Hand of God (TOS)]])
*According to RDM's podcast, during the Starbuck/Number Six fight in the Delphi Museum, Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer themselves actually perform the entire fight scene, with no stunt doubles.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''When Adama congratulates Boomer for destroying the basestar over Kobol:''
:'''Commander Adama:''' Congratulations to both of you. You carried out a very difficult and dangerous mission, and you did it...despite any...personal misgivings you may or may not have had...and for that I'm very proud. Thank you.
:'''Racetrack:''' Thank you, sir.
:'''Boomer:''' Thank you, sir. (pulls out a gun and shoots Adama in the chest)

* ''In the Opera House on Kobol:''
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' I don't understand.
:'''Number Six:''' Life has a melody, Gaius. A rhythm of notes that become your existence once played in harmony with God's plan. It's time to do your part and realize your destiny.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' Which is what, exactly?
:'''Number Six:''' You are the guardian and protector of the new generation of God's children. The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius. It's time to make your choice.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' But I don't understand what you're talking about. Really, I don't understand-
:'''Number Six:''' Come. See the face of the shape of things to come.

* ''On the Colonial One:''
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' Madam President, no one needs to get hurt here.
:'''Laura Roslin:''' Then why don't you get off my ship, Colonel.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' I'm placing you under arrest.
:'''Lee Adama:''' No...no, we're not doing this.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' I'm in command here, Captain.
:'''Lee Adama:''' Colonel, this is wrong!
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' You're relieved! Fall back. Madam President, I would-
:'''Lee Adama:''' (pulls a gun on Tigh) Men, lay down your weapons.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' Have you lost your frakking mind?
:'''Lee Adama:''' Colonel, tell these Marines to fall back!
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' This is mutiny. You know that.
:'''Lee Adama:''' Yes I do, but you can tell my father that I'm listening to my instincts, and my instincts tell me that we cannot sacrifice our democracy just because the President makes a bad decision.

== Official Statements ==

* ''Regarding [[Lee Adama]] and his development (and setbacks) incurred over the course of [[Season 1 (2004-05)]], as stated by [[Jamie Bamber]]:''

: I think he's his own man. I think he's a natural leader, but I don't think he's realised that yet. We are exploring it.

:At the end of the first season he's on his own again. I mean, he's always been an isolated figure in the first place because he doesn't really belong on the ''[[Galactica]]''. He doesn't even intend to be there but then the end of the world sort of catches him on the hop and that's where he has to make a start. He cuts a role out for himself as the "[[CAG]]," something he perhaps wasn't intending to do.

:And I think he comes into his own gradually. He surprises himself. But then again, at the end of the first season he disobeys an order, so that's basically burned all his bridges that he had with the crew of the ''[[Galactica]]''.

:So he's a lone thinker in many respects, but I think more and more you'll see him start to come out with true leadership qualities. <ref name="gateworld">[http://gateworld.net/galactica/articles/bamber01.shtml Gateworld Article on Jamie Banber]</ref>

* ''Jamie Bamber on Lee Adama's evolution from this episode into the second season:''

: The difference fundamentally is that one moment in "Kobol's Last Gleaming" when he finally realizes that he's sense (sic) of duty and responsibility can and must extend beyond the [[Colonial Fleet|military hierarchy]] and include his own conscience and the law. The moment he turns his weapon on [[Saul Tigh|his superior]]. And that that is not wrong.

: As a result he finds himself [[brig|behind bars]], in exile, out of uniform and essentially orphaned, but through all this he finds out who he really is and he trusts it. Suddenly, with [[William Adama|his father]] dying, he sees people turn to him for leadership and that brings a realization that he must rise to the occasion and he does so through trusting his own judgment. He is surprised that his mutinous act aboard ''[[Colonial One]]'' has not marginalized him in [[the Fleet (RDM)|the fleet]]; just the opposite—it has actually highlighted him as a man of conscience, capable of impossibly difficult decisions. <ref name="inside_bsg_p50">"Inside Battlestar Galactica", <u>Sci-Fi Magazine</u> February 2006: [http://bsgmedia.org/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/0008a1hf.jpg 50]</ref>

== Guest stars ==
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Lt. [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as Specialist [[Cally]]
*[[Lorena Gale]] as [[Elosha]]
*[[Alonso Oyarzun]] as Specialist [[Socinus]]
*[[Jim Shield]] as [[Karma]]
*[[Warren Christie]] as "[[Tarn|Technician #1]]"
*[[Jen Halley]] as "[[Seelix|Technician #2]]"
*[[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]

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

{{episode list (RDM season 1)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Ronald D. Moore]]
[[Category:Episodes with story by David Eick]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II

2007-02-12T23:50:35Z

Tarot: /* Questions */ asking why the 8's gather around the nuke at the end instead of stopping it.

{{Episode Data
| image =bsg-klg2-1.jpg
| title=Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
| series=
| season=1
| episode=13
| guests=
| writer=[[Ronald D. Moore]]
| story=[[David Eick]]
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=113 '''(Season 1 Finale)'''
| rating= 2.5
| US airdate=2005-04-01
| UK airdate=2005-01-24
| dvd= {{Season 1 NTSC DVD release date}} '''US'''<br/>{{Season 1 PAL DVD release date}} '''UK'''
| podcast=y
| population=
| prev=[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]
| next=[[Scattered]]
}}

== Overview ==
:''Starbuck has gone to Caprica. Adama insists Roslin must stand down as President. When she refuses, he is forced to deal with that situation while simultaneously adapting the plan to rid themselves of the Cylon baseship over Kobol.''

== Summary ==

=== In the Fleet ===

* [[William Adama|Adama]] challenges [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] over [[Kara Thrace]]'s actions with the [[Cylon Raider]] (which occurred in the last episode) and she admits her role in helping [[Kara Thrace]].
* Adama requests her resignation as President. Roslin refuses. He states he is terminating her presidency. When she reveals the press is recording the conversation, he hangs up.
* He isolates ''[[Colonial One]]'' using the [[CAP]] to physically isolate it, and by jamming all communications from it. He then orders [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] and [[Lee Adama]] to set-up a strike force to take ''Colonial One''.
* Visiting [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] in sickbay, Adama asks her to fly a dangerous mission: take a Raptor fitted with a Cylon [[IFF]] transponder, jump to the Cylon [[Baseship|baseship]] orbiting Kobol and drop a nuclear bomb into its landing bay before jumping clear.
* Roslin refuses Adama's final request to yield and her security team ready themselves for an assault.
* The strike team flies to an isolated ''Colonial One'' aboard two Raptors, lead by Tigh and Lee Adama, and they start cutting their way into the ship.
* A confrontation ensues between Colonial forces and Roslin's security. It is broken only when Lee Adama sides with his conscience, and turns on Tigh. Afraid of a bloodbath, Roslin surrenders and Lee Adama is arrested.
* Roslin is returned to the ''Galactica'' after the failed standoff and is placed in the brig, while Lee Adama is in irons in CIC for mutiny.
* [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] and [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]] arrive in CIC following the success of the attack on the baseship near [[Kobol]], and as he thanks them, Boomer shoots Adama twice in the chest at point blank range, seriously wounding him.

=== On Kobol ===

*[[Raptor]] 1 has crashed down on [[Kobol]] and is on fire, as the crew struggle to get out and remove the bodies of the dead and injured, [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] becomes trapped by fire in the back of the vehicle.
* [[Crashdown]] tries to help him, but Baltar is too terrified to move. [[Number Six|Six]] appears and gives Baltar the strength to escape by giving the impression ''she'' is helping him out of the ship.
* As they get clear, the ship explodes, and Baltar wanders into the long grass before collapsing, as the rest of the crew start checking on their injured.
* Boomer's Raptor makes it through the Cylon perimeter around the baseship situated above Kobol, but the bomb release mechanism fails, forcing them to land inside the basestar and attempt a manual removal of the bomb.
* While there, Boomer encounters a number of her "sisters". While she tries to claim she is human, they inform her she cannot escape destiny.
* After she leaves on the Raptor, her "sisters" make no attempt to disarm or remove the bomb. The baseship is destroyed in a massive nuclear explosion.
* On Kobol, Baltar recognises Six "saved" him, and she takes him to see exactly why he has been chosen by God, and she walks him towards the ruined [[Opera House]].
* Entering it, he is shown the "face of things to come", apparently a baby in a crib, the "first of the new generation of God's children" - and he is to be their protector.

=== On Caprica ===

* [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Valerii]] has taken [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to hide near the [[Delphi]] Museum of the Colonies.
* She is aware of the importance of the [[Arrow of Apollo]].
* They have discussed the fact that she is a Cylon (rather than a Cylon-created human clone as Helo suggested ([[Colonial Day]])).
* She reveals her relationship with him is important as it brings the Cylons closer to God. She also reveals she is pregnant.
* Starbuck completes her long-range jump and arrives over [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Passing through Cylon lines, she sets down in Delphi and heads for the museum.
* Locating the [[Arrow of Apollo]] she is confronted by [[Number Six|Six]] and a fight ensues in which Starbuck is initially badly beaten, before a last-minute rush sends them both over a landing, killing Six.
* Helo comes to Starbuck's aid, and she panics when she sees Valerii, immediately realizing that Valerii is a Cylon. Helo stops Starbuck from shooting her, citing that she's pregnant.

== Questions ==
* Are Adama's wounds fatal? ([[Resistance|Answer]])
* What will be the public reaction when news of [[Laura Roslin|Roslin's]] arrest finally breaks through the communication's embargo? ([[Home, Part I|Answer]])
* Who will take over as the civil leader with Roslin in the brig and [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] "lost" somewhere on the surface of [[Kobol]]? ([[Fragged|Answer]])
* How will [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] rise to the demands of command? ([[Fragged|Answer]])
* What is the baby in the crib? ([[Home, Part II|Answer]])
* If the Cylons understand the significance of the Arrow of Apollo (and by extension, the Tomb of Athena), why don't they use them themselves to find [[Earth]]?
* Are the Cylons genuinely interested in Earth, or has it simply been a means to bring them to Kobol? ([[Torn|Answer]])
* Why didn't the sound of Starbuck's Raider landing attract Helo's attention sooner? He is across the road from the museum, and so could hardly fail to see it touch down, or see Starbuck climb the steps to the museum itself.
* How did Six know Starbuck's name so readily? Is this a pointer to her being in communication with her "sister" in Baltar's head? Or having been in communication with Conoy ([[Flesh and Bone]])?
* Did Boomer sabotage the bomb release mechanism, thus forcing herself into landing on the baseship?
* Why didn't [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]] raise concerns about [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer's]] ability to survive in a vacuum on their return to ''Galactica'' (although there is no indication that there was a vacuum outside)? ([[Scattered|Answer]])
*Is there a breathable atmosphere inside Cylon basestars? ([[Torn|Answer]])
*If close proximity to a nuclear explosion does trully kill a cylon -- as it appears to with [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|Gina]] why do the 8's gather around it.
*Why do the 8's do nothing to stop the nuke? Do they want humanity to come back to Cobal?

== Analysis ==
*Caprica-Sharon is indeed pregnant; yes love and procreation were the keys to Cylon desire with her and Helo; yes her true nature would be revealed to her crewmates – if not directly through her actions in shooting Adama, then certainly through Starbuck’s return to the Galactica. While Starbuck is liable to be thrown into the brig on her return, that’s no reason for Tigh and others not to believe claims about Boomer in light of what she has seen on Caprica and what has happened in CIC.
*That he was seeing into the future is clear: but is the child he sees the product of Helo’s relationship with Valerii, or his own (future) relationship with a corporeal Six? On the one hand, much of what is seen points to the child being born of Valerii: she admits her condition to Helo (and thus opens the door to him remaining on Caprica with her while Starbuck returns to the Galactica with the Arrow) and the Cylons were apparently aiming for her to become pregnant by Helo (or at least, Doral and Six showed no surprised when she reported her lovemaking with him). But – Six’s words to Baltar as she prepares him to see the future are interesting: “You are the guardian and protector of a new generation of God’s children,” – a somewhat neutral explanation that comes before she smiles, catches her breath and adds, “The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius.” This could be a reference to the fact that Valerii is pregnant; however the shift to the possessive “our family” and “with us” could be seen to indicate the child could be Baltar’s own. And again, how much more of an effective guardian and protector will Baltar be, if he is in fact protecting his own offspring, rather than that of another Cylon / human relationship? And if this is the case, where does that leave the Valerii / Helo relationship?
*This episode reveals some more about Number Six: if the offspring on the crib she sees with Baltar is that of Valerii and Helo, then it would more or less confirm that she is in contact with corporeal Cylons elsewhere – how else would she know of the developing Valerii / Helo situation otherwise as it started after her “death”? Similarly, it is interesting to note the degree of savagery involved in the beating Six gives Starbuck. In many respects, it mirrors the beating she gave Valerii in “Litmus”; at the time, the viciousness she showed seemed to be linked to the jealousy evident between her and Valerii. We now know that Six has been affected by Baltar’s reaction to sleeping with Starbuck (“Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1”); could the physical beating Starbuck receives be a manifestation of the jealousy she feels for what happened on the Galactica, transmitted to her corporeal sister?
*How will the fleet react once word of Roslin’s arrest breaks through the communications blackout the Galactica inflicted on Colonial One? What can the civilians do? In many respects Adama holds all the cards – or would do, were he in a fit condition. His ship is the key to the protection of the fleet, and she is pretty much unassailable. Therefore, it is hard to see anyone stepping too far out of line when it comes to making major decisions: where the fleet will go, what it will do, etc. But within the civilian community, it is hard not to see repercussions: Roslin has been arrested; Baltar is missing, possibly dead. Who is available to take the civil reigns? Wallace Gray ([[Colonial Day]])? Tom Zarek ([[Bastille Day]]; [[Colonial Day]]). Is it a coincidence that not too long before, at the Quorum of Twelve, Zarek himself raised the spectre of a military coup – and that’s more-or-less what they now have on their hands?

== Notes ==
* This episode takes place directly after those of "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]"
* There are now 47,887 survivors in the fleet, a net loss of 10 since "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I".
* Cylon vessels are indeed capable of very long-range jumps
* [[Delphi]] was once a cultural center on Caprica, and apparently held a lot of historical / religious artifacts
* Cylon basestars appear bio-mechanical, like Raiders
* In "[[Water]]" it was established that the ''Galactica'' had at least 5 [[Raptor|Raptors]] on board: [[William Adama|Adama]] orders Raptors to survey local star systems for water bearing planets, 5 are dispatched. This episode reveals ''Galactica'' has at least 6: 1 is destroyed over [[Kobol]], one crashes on Kobol; three take part in the raid on ''[[Colonial One]]'', 1 simultaneously carries a nuclear warhead to the Cylon basestar,
*The use of [[IFF]] transponders by the Cylons is an indirect nod to [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|the original series]], in which [[Apollo (TOS)|Apollo]] and [[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]] use an IFF-type device to identify their [[Cylon Raider#Original Series Raider|Raider]] to Colonial forces when they launch an attack on a Cylon Basestar ([[The Hand of God (TOS)]])
*According to RDM's podcast, during the Starbuck/Number Six fight in the Delphi Museum, Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer themselves actually perform the entire fight scene, with no stunt doubles.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''When Adama congratulates Boomer for destroying the basestar over Kobol:''
:'''Commander Adama:''' Congratulations to both of you. You carried out a very difficult and dangerous mission, and you did it...despite any...personal misgivings you may or may not have had...and for that I'm very proud. Thank you.
:'''Racetrack:''' Thank you, sir.
:'''Boomer:''' Thank you, sir. (pulls out a gun and shoots Adama in the chest)

* ''In the Opera House on Kobol:''
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' I don't understand.
:'''Number Six:''' Life has a melody, Gaius. A rhythm of notes that become your existence once played in harmony with God's plan. It's time to do your part and realize your destiny.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' Which is what, exactly?
:'''Number Six:''' You are the guardian and protector of the new generation of God's children. The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius. It's time to make your choice.
:'''Gaius Baltar:''' But I don't understand what you're talking about. Really, I don't understand-
:'''Number Six:''' Come. See the face of the shape of things to come.

* ''On the Colonial One:''
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' Madam President, no one needs to get hurt here.
:'''Laura Roslin:''' Then why don't you get off my ship, Colonel.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' I'm placing you under arrest.
:'''Lee Adama:''' No...no, we're not doing this.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' I'm in command here, Captain.
:'''Lee Adama:''' Colonel, this is wrong!
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' You're relieved! Fall back. Madam President, I would-
:'''Lee Adama:''' (pulls a gun on Tigh) Men, lay down your weapons.
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' Have you lost your frakking mind?
:'''Lee Adama:''' Colonel, tell these Marines to fall back!
:'''Colonel Tigh:''' This is mutiny. You know that.
:'''Lee Adama:''' Yes I do, but you can tell my father that I'm listening to my instincts, and my instincts tell me that we cannot sacrifice our democracy just because the President makes a bad decision.

== Official Statements ==

* ''Regarding [[Lee Adama]] and his development (and setbacks) incurred over the course of [[Season 1 (2004-05)]], as stated by [[Jamie Bamber]]:''

: I think he's his own man. I think he's a natural leader, but I don't think he's realised that yet. We are exploring it.

:At the end of the first season he's on his own again. I mean, he's always been an isolated figure in the first place because he doesn't really belong on the ''[[Galactica]]''. He doesn't even intend to be there but then the end of the world sort of catches him on the hop and that's where he has to make a start. He cuts a role out for himself as the "[[CAG]]," something he perhaps wasn't intending to do.

:And I think he comes into his own gradually. He surprises himself. But then again, at the end of the first season he disobeys an order, so that's basically burned all his bridges that he had with the crew of the ''[[Galactica]]''.

:So he's a lone thinker in many respects, but I think more and more you'll see him start to come out with true leadership qualities. <ref name="gateworld">[http://gateworld.net/galactica/articles/bamber01.shtml Gateworld Article on Jamie Banber]</ref>

* ''Jamie Bamber on Lee Adama's evolution from this episode into the second season:''

: The difference fundamentally is that one moment in "Kobol's Last Gleaming" when he finally realizes that he's sense (sic) of duty and responsibility can and must extend beyond the [[Colonial Fleet|military hierarchy]] and include his own conscience and the law. The moment he turns his weapon on [[Saul Tigh|his superior]]. And that that is not wrong.

: As a result he finds himself [[brig|behind bars]], in exile, out of uniform and essentially orphaned, but through all this he finds out who he really is and he trusts it. Suddenly, with [[William Adama|his father]] dying, he sees people turn to him for leadership and that brings a realization that he must rise to the occasion and he does so through trusting his own judgment. He is surprised that his mutinous act aboard ''[[Colonial One]]'' has not marginalized him in [[the Fleet (RDM)|the fleet]]; just the opposite—it has actually highlighted him as a man of conscience, capable of impossibly difficult decisions. <ref name="inside_bsg_p50">"Inside Battlestar Galactica", <u>Sci-Fi Magazine</u> February 2006: [http://bsgmedia.org/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/0008a1hf.jpg 50]</ref>

== Guest stars ==
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Lt. [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as Specialist [[Cally]]
*[[Lorena Gale]] as [[Elosha]]
*[[Alonso Oyarzun]] as Specialist [[Socinus]]
*[[Jim Shield]] as [[Karma]]
*[[Warren Christie]] as "[[Tarn|Technician #1]]"
*[[Jen Halley]] as "[[Seelix|Technician #2]]"
*[[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]

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

{{episode list (RDM season 1)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Ronald D. Moore]]
[[Category:Episodes with story by David Eick]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:RDM]]