Exodus, Part I

"Exodus, Part I" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 3
Writer(s)	Bradley Thompson David Weddle
Story by
Director	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Lucy Lawless as Number Three
Production No.	303
Nielsen Rating	1.6
US airdate	2006-10-13
CAN airdate	2006-10-14
UK airdate	2007-01-16
DVD release
Population	survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Precipice	Exodus, Part I	Exodus, Part II
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
Continuity Errors Present – View
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Listing of props for this episode
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The Cylons have begun the brutal crackdown on New Caprica's resistance movement. Galen Tyrol receives disturbing news from a secret source within Baltar's administration while Colonial detainees face a Cylon firing squad on New Caprica. With time running out for the colonists, Admiral Adama will launch his rescue attempt with only Galactica, while his son, Commander Lee Adama, and Pegasus remain to protect what is left of the Fleet and continue the search for Earth if the rescue fails.

Summary

• The final moments of "Precipice" are reshown as the captured detainees are being taken off the trucks. Cally Tyrol is freed, as the Centurions march up the hill. Tyrol continues to run as gunfire is heard.
• The scene switches back to one hour earlier.
• Galen Tyrol is frantically talking with Saul Tigh about a list of detainees he received from his source, Cally Tyrol is among the listed. Tigh snaps him back to his senses, noting that they can locate the people now that they cracked the Cylons' coordinate system.
• Chief Tyrol immediately gets to work, succesfully calculating the location of the execution, and gathers a team to rescue Cally and the others.
• Tyrol's team, including Seelix, is able to catch up with the Cylons, and get in position as Cally Tyrol starts running. Tyrol rushes out and gets his wife out of the line of fire, as his team takes out the Centurions meant to execute the detainees. Others injured include some members of the NCP and the Cavil that accompanies the truck.
• Seelix leaves a wounded Cavil to death. After he downloads into a new body, the Cavil reports that he ended his own life, but is somewhat traumatized from the transfer process.
• At Breeders Canyon, similar to the scene at the Pergamus Flats, a flashback shows how Marines move into position to defend the meeting there against a possible attack.

Colonial Marine with an RPG

• Sharon "Athena" Agathon moves ahead to meet with Anders and the resistance. As Agathon and Anders discuss their plans, the Centurions attack, taking out some of the resistance fighters, but are soon destroyed by a Marine RPG.
• After the attack, a map is recovered from one of the 'skinjobs'. Anders recognizes it as the hand-drawn map passed on to Ellen Tigh to destroy in the heating fire within their tent. Anders immediately suspects Tigh in tipping off the Cylons.
• While sleeping in her bed on Colonial One, Number Three dreams of a tent near some odd rock edifices. The next image is of her holding Hera. She wakes up suddenly.
• Also on Colonial One, Gaius Baltar and Caprica-Six lie together in bed, but Baltar is fighting with impotence. Six is understanding, but Baltar shrugs off her sympathy.
• Kara Thrace is showing further affection for Kacey Brynn and apologizes for her getting hurt. Leoben Conoy watches from the background.
• Disturbed by her dream, Three visits Selloi, a human oracle whose tent she saw in her dream, who tells her that Hera is still alive, but warns that holding the child will undo all that the Cylons have accomplished on the planet.
• On Galactica, a combined crew of Pegasus and Galactica crews ready for the rescue mission. Margaret Edmondson conducts a ceremony to bind the people together, given the odds of the mission.
• William and Lee Adama have a farewell of their own when the younger Adama leaves Galactica for Pegasus, with orders to wait 18 hours for Galactica's return. Otherwise, Pegasus must continue the search for Earth with the surviving members of the Fleet.
• Three inquires with Dr. Cottle, who is treating a Five wounded by a human attack, about Hera's alleged death. She points out that it didn't make much sense for him to simply cremate the first ever human/Cylon hybrid, something that no one had ever seen before, without studying it first. Cottle states that it was President Roslin's decision.
• Laura Roslin orders Anders to guard Maya and Hera at all costs. He tasks two of his best men to protect her and see to her safe escape.
• Gunnery Sergeant Erin Mathias, the leader of Agathon's Marines, meets with Roslin, Tom Zarek and the resistance to discuss the rescue plan. She brings weapons for the upcoming fight and learns that the colonists conducted evacuation exercises under the guise of fire drills.
• A Cavil voices his despair at the continued bloodshed and Baltar agrees. Many of the Cylons disagree significantly as to what to do to reestablish control. A Number Five says that, if the worse comes to worst, that they can just nuke the city.
• Saul Tigh learns of his wife's betrayal and is visibly shocked by it.
• Sharon Agathon heads into the New Caprica Detention Center and gets the launch keys for the Colonial ship. Three enters the secured room, immediately recognizes her, stops Agathon and tells her that her daughter is alive. Unwilling to consider this matter for now, Agathon shoots the Three in the legs: "Adama wouldn't lie to me."
• Galactica is given word that the launch keys have been retrieved, and after a rousing speech by Admiral Adama, begins preparations for the jump to New Caprica.

Notes

• There is also a comic called Exodus!, which covers the events of the Original Series' episode "Saga of a Star World" (Part 2).
• This is the first episode where viewers see an oracle. Oracles such as Pythia and Galen Tyrol's mother are mentioned before but not seen.
• Tyrol inexplicably lost his beard before this episode. This was necessary because Aaron Douglas's scenes were shot weeks after the main part of the episode, when he had already shaved and it was felt that a fake beard would not be convincing.
• Chamalla is a bitter herb, and oracles sometimes use candy to sweeten it up.
• According to Ronald Moore's podcast, in earlier drafts Jammer was going to die during the shootout at the execution site. However, he decided that the character would be used in later episodes of the season.
• A teaser aired prior to the season premiere contains another line to Adama's speech that was either cut from the final episode or recorded specifically for the teaser: "The dignity and integrity of the human race rides with us."
• The conversation between Sharon and the Number Three at the Detention Center is the first on-screen confirmation that Sharon is truly loyal to Adama (at least for now); there was a Season 2 scene, cut from an episode but included on the DVD, in which Gina Inviere refers to Sharon as a "loose cannon," but this is the first time a transmitted scene has indicated that Sharon's loyalty is not a ruse (as suggested by some characters).
• Adama's speech at the end of the episode is similar in tone to the "band of brothers" speech that Henry V gave before the Battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare's play:

"This story shall the good man teach his son; ... From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember'd".

Analysis

• The Number Three that has been having dreams about Hera sees Sharon "Athena" Agathon and is able to tell that she is the copy that had been left with Helo on Caprica. She may deduce this from the fact that Sharon is taking the launch keys, or she may be able to sense her identity somehow. Later episodes make clear that humanoid Cylons can tell each other apart. Notably Tyrol displays this ability in "Deadlock" when he identifies Boomer just by looking at her after having not seen her since New Caprica.
• Roslin's line about Hera, "She may well be the shape of things to come," echoes similar lines by Six in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II" and by Adama in "Valley of Darkness". "The Shape of Things to Come" is also the title of the orchestral music piece at the end of "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II".
• Anders seems to know, or at least suspect, what is so special about Maya's child.
• Caprica-Six has been downloaded after her "death" in "Precipice". She was not "boxed".
• The Cylons on New Caprica do not appear to have any sort of attachment to the humans they rule as evidenced by their willingness to nuke the colony if they can't make it work as desired. This conflicts with the decision that their earlier attempt at genocide was a mistake. This is additional evidence of fundamental contradictions and disconnects within the Cylon psyche to which they are blind. Based on their actions to date, "skinjob" behavior tends toward the sociopathic with the exception of the Valerii models, and Caprica-Six.
• Baltar has become a suicidal drunk - his appearance has become slovenly and he appears to have given up on basic grooming. He is also having trouble performing the act of sex with Caprica-Six.
• Admiral Adama's claim that his crew "will find immortality as only the Gods once knew" draws on the choice given to Achilles by his mother about joining the war in Troy: fight couragously and perish in battle, or be forgotten by history. Achilles chose to go to battle and is a legend. According to interviews, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle deliberately draw inspirations from ancient stories like Homer's Iliad.
• There is a discontinuity between "Precipice" and this episode regarding the execution scene. First, Cally apparently changed direction between episodes for more dramatic effect. At the conclusion of "Precipice," Cally is shown jumping into a gully to the "left" of where the trucks are stopped, and is apparently shown running "down," toward the initial camera position. The camera shoots Cally from her right as she runs, showing a backdrop of trees and vines. In "Exodus, Part I," she is shown running to the "right," towards Tyrol and the other resistance fighters. The camera here is also from Cally's right, but this time she is running in front of a barren background. Secondly, the gunfire starts at a different time. At the conclusion of "Precipice," Cally is clearly shown running while the gunfire begins. In "Exodus, Part I," Tyrol throws her to the ground before it does.
• Saul Tigh seems to be a well-respected and capable leader of the resistance, and his people-skills seem to have improved drastically as evidenced by the way he handles the distraught Tyrol when news of his wife's fate is leaked to him from inside the New Caprica government. This stands in stark contrast of Tigh's leadership of the Fleet after Boomer's attempted assassination of Adama, where Tigh exhibits a profound lack of leadership ability, a fact that he himself acknowledges when Adama returns to active duty and relieves him of command. Perhaps the experience leading the Fleet was a hard lesson learned. This may have to do with the fact that Tigh chose to command the resistance, whereas command of the Fleet just fell to him.
• Apparently, Seelix has improved her shooting skills because she takes up a sniper position at the execution site, while in "Fragged" she stated that she hadn't fired a weapon since basic training.

Questions

• Roslin and Zarek seem to have reconciled their differences and become friends. Given Saul Tigh's feeling that Roslin will resume the presidency once humanity has left New Caprica, and that Zarek used to be Baltar's vice president, will he assume the mantle of vice president under Laura Roslin, Or, will Zarek claim the presidency by legal succession if Baltar is removed from office? (Answer)
• Given Cavil's comments, is there damage to the consciousness during each downloading and is there a point where after so many downloads the consciousness is destroyed or corrupted?
• Are the Lords of Kobol more than historical figures? Why are they sending accurate dreams to a Cylon? Why is a human oracle helping Three interpret the dreams?
• Why does Doctor Cottle work to heal critically injured Cylons instead of just letting them die and be resurrected?
• Is there any possibility at all that Adama wasn't aware of Roslin's plans for Hera? (Answer)
• What other operations are the Cylons busy with elsewhere in the universe, that are straining their resources for their experiment on New Caprica (also referenced to by Ron Moore in his podcast)?
• Will some humans refuse to leave once the escape begins?
• Will the escapees block proven or suspected collaborators from boarding the escaping ships?
• How many, if any, of the New Caprica Police are publicly known, and once the escape begins, what will be their ultimate fate? (Answer)
• Adama's plan to use only Galactica and the ships remaining on the ground on New Caprica seems a bit unrealistic given the fact that there are over 39,000 colonists on the planet. How will they find room for all of the evacuees?
• Will the Colonials find time to also evacuate much of their critically-rationed supplies and equipment as well as themselves during the chaos of evacuation?
• What exactly has Caprica-Six given up for Baltar?
• Is Maya suspicious about Roslin's protectiveness of her and Isis?
• After Helo departs Admiral Adama's room after indicating that Sharon has the launch keys, Adama punches his desk. Is this a sign of frustration, or elation over finally being able to start the rescue operation after months of preparations and failure?
• If humanoid Cylons can share memories and experiences as implied in many previous episodes, why would Sharon believe that merely shooting Three in the knees would be sufficient to stop her warning the others?

Official Statements

• Bradley Thompson talks about how it was originally one episode:

When we wrote Exodus it was originally meant to be a single episode, but as time went on, David and I realized it wasn't going to fit into one show. Then we went up to the set in Vancouver and that's when Michael Rymer [director/producer], who had read the script, suggested, 'This really needs to be two episodes,' so it wasn't a big surprise to us when it was decided to do just that."

Noteworthy Dialogue

• As Chief Tyrol is about to leave Tigh's tent:

Colonel Tigh: Chief! Pull it together. You won't do her any good if you get caught too. Besides, the last thing your son wants is me and Ellen for parents.

• Before Lee Adama departs Galactica:

Admiral William Adama: I'll see you at the rendezvous point.

Commander Lee Adama: Eighteen hours. Try not to be late.

William Adama: I'm getting old; I'm a little slow, but I'll be there.

Lee Adama: Gods, I wish I could talk you out of this...

William Adama: You can't. You tried.

Lee Adama: You know, Dad, um...

William Adama: Don't. Don't make me cry on my own hangar deck.

Lee Adama: Permission to leave your ship, Admiral.

William Adama: Permission Granted, Commander.

William Adama: Attention! Commander of Pegasus, Departing!

• '"Admiral Adama and nearby Deck Gang salutes Commander Lee Adama"':

Commander Lee Adama: Returns the salute and departs Galactica for Pegasus.

• During the Salt Line Ceremony on the hangar deck:

Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson: Their enemies will divide them, their colonies broken in the fiery chasm of space. The shining days renounced by a multitude of dark sacrifices. Yet still they will remain. Always together.

• As Galactica prepares to return to New Caprica:

Admiral Adama: This is the Admiral. You've heard the news. You know the mission. You should also know that there is only one way that this mission ends, and that's with the successful rescue of our people off of New Caprica. Look around you. Take a good look at the men and women that stand next to you. Remember their faces, for one day you will tell your children and your grandchildren that you served with such men and women as the universe has never seen. And together you accomplished a feat that will be told and retold down through the ages, and find immortality as only the Gods once knew. I'm proud to serve with you. Good hunting.

• As Number Three approaches Selloi:

Selloi: Zeus sees all; sees you, Number Three, sees your pain, your destiny. All the gods weep for you.

Number Three: There is no Zeus, no other god but God.

Selloi: Oh, you don't believe that anymore. You don't know what you believe and that is why you're here.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Tyrol
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta (credit only)
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Amanda Plummer as Oracle Selloi
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Matthew Bennett as Number Five
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Dean Stockwell as Cavil
• Erica Cerra as Maya
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Brad Dryborough as Lt. Louis Hoshi
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Madeline Parker as Kacey Brynn
• Dominic Zamprogna as James "Jammer" Lyman
• Eileen Pedde as Erin Mathias
• Jennifer Halley as Diana Seelix
• Ty Olsson as Captain Aaron Kelly
• Ryan Robbins as Charlie Connor