Resistance (episode)

This page covers the episode "Resistance." For the Resistance itself, see Resistance (movement).

"Resistance (episode)" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

Riots break out in The Fleet over Tigh's declaration of martial law, and a group of Galactica crewmembers led by Lee Adama smuggle Laura Roslin out of the brig and into Tom Zarek's hands. Meanwhile, Kara Thrace and Karl Agathon fall in with a group of humans who have survived on Caprica and started a resistance movement.

Summary

On Galactica

• Having returned to Galactica (after being rescued from Kobol in the last episode, Chief Tyrol is put in a holding cell and is interrogated by Colonel Tigh, who believes that Tyrol may be a Cylon. Although Tyrol states that he would never do anything to hurt people on Galactica, Tigh believes that, because of the Chief's relationship with Sharon Valerii (Boomer), he can't be trusted. Tyrol is then put into the brig, where he tells Sharon to stay away.
• Gaius Baltar has also returned to Galactica, and he is questioned by Cally, who wants to know why no one will help Tyrol. Baltar lies, tells her that his Cylon detector was flawed, and that he will try to prove that Tyrol is innocent. Cally threatens to reveal what he did to Crashdown if he doesn't help her, but Baltar promises to do whatever he can.
• After arriving in the CIC, Baltar is questioned by Tigh, who wants to know why the Cylon detector didn't work. Baltar tells him that the test on Boomer was a preliminary test, and that he has screened out anomalies that might affect the outcome of the test. Tigh orders Baltar to test Chief Tyrol, and even though Baltar complains that he is the Vice President, Tigh tells him he has no power because of martial law.
• Lt. Gaeta then alerts Tigh to a number of ships in the fleet, that are refusing to supply the Galactica with food, water, and tylium, and in addition, are holding protests against the treatment of Laura Roslin.
• On his way to the brig, Lee Adama meets Anastasia Dualla in the hall, who tells him that Commander Adama is still sedated, and that there is a lot of protest and dissention within the fleet. Dee also tells Lee that Tigh's alcohol problem is spinning out of control.
• In his quarters, Tigh is trying to figure out a way to get supplies from the ships that are protesting. Although Saul wants to settle things peacefully, Ellen Tigh tells him that he needs to assert his authority, and puts him on a guilt trip, prompting Tigh to send a stern warning to the other ships, warning them to either resupply Galactica or face consequences.
• In the brig, Lee tells Roslin that she still has quite an influence on some members of the fleet (as evidenced by her growing relationship with Corporal Venner), which prompts Roslin to state something bad is going to happen in the fleet.
• After being informed that ships still aren't supplying Galactica, Tigh orders squadrons of Colonial Marines to board the ships and take the supplies by any means necessary.
• On the transport ship Gideon, a group of Marines, led by Lt. Joe "Hammerhead" Palladino, attempt to take the food supplies off the ship. While the Marines are transporting the food, the civilians on the ship grow angry, and riot against the troops. A noise that sounds like a gunshot is heard, and the marines, thinking they are being shot at, fire on the crowd, killing 4 civilians.
• After being informed that the supply operation went awry, Tigh realizes that he has made a bigger mess out of the problem then he thought. The riot also prompts Roslin to realize that this action will splinter the fleet, and will make them prime targets for the Cylons. Roslin tells Lee that she needs to leave Galactica as soon as possible, and Lee tells her he will come along, and that he has also figured out a way to get off the ship.
• Tigh tells his wife that he was not fit for command, and he knows that she was manipulating him into using strong-arm tactics to resupply Galactica. Ellen tells Tigh that if she didn't motivate him, he would never stop drinking, which prompts Ellen and Tigh to start fighting, but instead, they start making love.
• In the brig, Boomer tells Tyrol that she still loves him, but Tyrol tells her that the relationship meant nothing, and that Sharon doesn't even have feelings. Baltar enters the room and states that he is going to test Tyrol to prove he is really human. When injected with a syringe, Tyrol goes into a state of shock from a toxin that Baltar uses. He tells Sharon that he covered up her true nature as a Cylon from the rest of the fleet, and that if she wants to save Tyrol, she must reveal how many Cylons are in The Fleet. Sharon tells Baltar that there are eight other Cylons in the Fleet, and Baltar revives Tyrol and proves that the Chief is not a Cylon.
• Lee puts his escape plan into action, closing down a causeway on the ship for maintenance, securing a Raptor with which to leave the ship, and bringing Roslin from the brig to the shuttle bay, along with Elosha. When Roslin tells Billy Keikeya to board the ship, he tells her that he will be staying behind, because he does not want to be part of a civil war.
• On the bridge, Tigh learns that Lee and Roslin have escaped, and realizes that they have left on the Raptor. Although he has the chance to destroy the ship, he doesn't fire on the Raptor, which escapes to Cloud Nine.
• Upon arriving on Cloud Nine, Roslin learns that Lee has brought Tom Zarek, who will help them hide in the fleet until they can muster enough support to overthrow Galactica.
• As Ellen puts Saul on another guilt trip for not firing on Lee, Commander Adama arrives in the room, having recovered enough to walk and move again, and asks what's happened on the ship. Tigh tells Adama that he messed things up badly, and Adama tells Tigh that they will fix the problem together. Ellen Tigh, in the meanwhile, leaves the room on Adama's request, her hand grasping harshly at the door frame in apparent frustration in the change of events as she leaves.
• Tyrol is released from his cell, and Baltar tells him that Boomer will be sent to another cell for testing. As Sharon is led down the corridor, being heckled and yelled at by crew members, Cally, who has been hiding in the crowd, runs out and shoots Sharon point-blank in the gut. As Cally is taken into custody, the dying Sharon tells Tyrol she loves him, and passes away.

Starbuck and Anders playing a game of pyramid.

On Caprica

• Helo and Starbuck are lost in the wilderness, and are subsequently shot at by a group of humans. It eventually leads to a standoff between the two groups, but Starbuck manages to convince the humans that they are not Cylons. When asked about their identities, Helo recognises the group as members of a pyramid team called the Caprica Buccaneers, and that they have been attacking the Cylons and stealing supplies from them for weeks. They escaped the Cylon Holocaust as they were away for training in the remote mountains at the time.
• The Buccaneers take Helo and Starbuck to an abandoned high school, where they stay for the night, and Starbuck challenges the leader of the group, Anders, to a game of pyramid.

Questions

• What will Commander Adama do to resolve the crisis now that he has regained consciousness? (Answer 1 and Answer 2.)
• What will happen to President Roslin, now on the run? (Answer 1 and Answer 2.)
• What will happen to Cally now that she has killed Galactica-Boomer? (Answer 1 and Answer 2)
• Could the fact that Cally "Oswalded" Galactica-Boomer mean that Cally is a Cylon?
• Could Boomer return to the show, to be reunited with Chief Tyrol, after having her consciousness transferred to another body? (Answer 1 and Answer 2)
• Chief Tyrol mentions that he once served aboard the battlestar Pegasus; will this be significant when the Pegasus is discovered by Galactica? (When he gets in trouble, the answer appears to be "no.")
• When was the survivor count updated to include the deaths of Tarn and Socinus on Kobol? Clearly not after the survivors were returned to Galactica, or the decrement between this episode and the last would be 3, not 1. Did the decrement of 1 between "Scattered" and "Valley of Darkness" refer to Tarn's death, or to Flyboy's before the opening credits?
  • Since the count must be omniscient in some sense, does it correspond to the whiteboard numbers seen on Colonial One throughout the first season, does it include survivors on Caprica and Pegasus, and does it exclude any remaining Cylon agent infiltrators within the fleet?
    • Apparently the survivors on Pegasus were not included in the survivor count at this point because in "Pegasus" the survivor count increased by over 1,700 when Pegasus joined the Fleet. This would seem to indicate that survivors on Caprica, et al are not included; just those in the fleet led by Galactica.
• Eight ships in total refuse to resupply Galactica. Tigh orders "a Raptor and an armed marine boarding party for every ship refusing the resupply order." Gaeta explains that they are short on manpower, but says nothing about equipment shortages. A caption then identifies "Galactica Boarding Party Six". Is it possible that Galactica was able to deploy eight Raptors following the destruction of two in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I", and the scrapping of an additional Raptor in "Fragged" (which in that episode was necessary to muster even two Raptors)? Were the boarding parties deployed sequentially, not simultaneously? If so, why would manpower shortage be a concern?

Analysis

• Continuing from the events of last episode, "Fragged", Cally has indeed threatened Dr. Baltar with revealing that he fragged Crashdown in return for demanding that he help Chief Tyrol.
• Baltar has a working Cylon detector (Flesh and Bone) and access to blood samples from every Colonial in the fleet. It could well be that he already knows how many Cylon infiltrators are in the fleet, and was actually testing Boomer to see if she did, too. Before Cally shot her, he was intending to interrogate her further -- perhaps this was a trial run of the method he intended to use to extract vital information from her subconscious?
  • However, Baltar told Six that it would take around 60 years to test everyone in the fleet because one person's complete test would take 11 hours; he doesn't know how many are in the fleet.
    • It takes him less than two minutes to determine Boomer's true nature in "Flesh and Bone". Whatever reason Baltar has for giving the 11 hour estimate clearly doesn't preclude him determining unambiguous positives in a more reasonable timeframe.
    • It has been (approximately, see timeline issues below) 26 days since "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", during which only one result was produced (for Ellen Tigh), minus the 3 days Baltar spent attending Quorum sessions and 2 days stranded on Kobol. The remaining 20 day period would only be sufficient to produce an additional 43 results. Tigh's chagrin that "no one's results are definitive" may imply that a substantially greater number have been produced.
  • As of "Home, Part I", this line of inquiry is somewhat moot. Baltar does not know the identity of the remaining Cylon infiltrators, and regrets not asking Boomer before her death.
• Tigh's authority on the ship appears to have grown more tenuous. Numerous officers and crew are now willing to actively assist in Roslin's escape. Dualla, Dr. Cottle and Lee Adama are all directly involved. Gaeta assists indirectly by denying knowledge of the unusual transmissions detected prior to the jail break even after asking Dualla about them earlier.

Notes

• As of the opening credits, the fleet population is now 47,861, reflecting the death of Crashdown in "Fragged".
  • Does (or will) this count discriminate between humans and Cylons? Was Boomer ever removed from this count?
• This episode gave no direct indication of its date. All the first season episodes identified the date during their Caprica segments, and the first three episodes of this season have taken place on the same day as "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II". There are a few possible indicators of time elapsed:
  • Tyrol is in a holding cell. He apparently hasn't been there for long, and his arm is still in a sling.
  • Baltar's numerous facial cuts and scrapes are still somewhat visible.
  • Apollo has been gone from the officer's card game long enough to be missed. His last game was on Day 50.
  • Apollo asks Dualla how his father is doing "this morning", and Dualla's response implies that this is at least the second time he's asked her. His first opportunity to do so would have been on the morning of Day 52. Ronald D. Moore's podcast says that this conversation has been a "routine happening each day", i.e., more than twice. This puts this episode at Day 54 at least.
  • In the episode "Final Cut", we learn that Tigh was in command for "over a week", which unfortunately tells little - the next episode, where Adama finally resumes command, takes place "the next week" after this one.
• Boomer dies in this episode, shot by Cally. There is still the Valerii copy on Caprica, which will reappear in the next episode, and in later episodes be taken aboard Galactica (Home, Part II)
  • Boomer dies in a matter that seems to mirror what happened to Lee Harvey Oswald (the assassin who gunned down U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and who was shot at point blank range by another man named Jack Ruby while being transferred to another prison). (see: assassination)
    • In addition, the shooting on the Gideon was inspired by the Kent State Shootings. Some have also stated that it is somewhat similar to the Boston Massacre, which helped spark the American Revolutionary War. Ronald D. Moore's podcast says that this scene was directly inspired by the Boston Massacre. A group of armed soldiers, not trained or equipped as riot police, are being pelted with objects (albeit non-lethal ones) by a hostile crowd and react with the training and equipment that they have when a threat is perceived.
• If Boomer is to be believed, there are eight more Cylons hiding in the Fleet. It has already been established that there are only 12 Cylons models in existence, and four have already been revealed in the Fleet (Shelly Godfrey, Leoben Conoy, Aaron Doral, and now Boomer), so each of the as-yet-unknown models may have a representative copy hiding in the Fleet. (Two new Cylon infiltrators, one found on Caprica, and in the Fleet has been identified since this episode.)
  • Boomer produced this number under extreme duress. It is possible that she simply fabricated it, or that Baltar was relying on "God" to produce it for her, as he himself did in "The Hand of God".
  • Baltar asserted during the scene that Boomer had the information in her subconscious, so this may have been a way of producing it from extreme duress.
  • Further, it is unclear whether Shelly Godfrey was ever conclusively identified as a Cylon, as Aaron Doral and Leoben Conoy were. If she wasn't, Boomer might have included her in the eight. (Godfrey's identity may have been definitely confirmed by Galactica when the Number Six copy known as Gina is found on battlestar Pegasus in the episode of the same name.)
• Commander Adama has regained consciousness.
• There is a small resistance movement on Caprica comprising roughly 50 people, and Helo and Starbuck have joined up with them.
• Chief Tyrol has been serving on battlestars since he was 18. Other battlestars he has served on include the Columbia, Atlantia, and Pegasus.
• First mention of the battlestar Pegasus in the re-imagined series.
• First time that Chief Tyrol's first name, "Galen", has been spoken on screen. Previously it was only known from an entry in Ron D. Moore's blog.
• Baltar's Six considers the term "Toaster" to be a "racial epithet".
• Apollo can pilot a Raptor. (He brought a pilot along with in "Fragged")
• Cadet "Hot Dog" Constanza is now leading Combat Air Patrols.
• This episode introduces a conspiracy to free Laura Roslin from imprisonment. (see; Laura Roslin faction)
• One of Galactica's Raptors is now on board Cloud Nine. It was all Galactica could do to muster two Raptors in "Fragged", although they had four in operation earlier that day in Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II. Will Cloud Nine return the vehicle, and if not, will this further hamper Galactica's ability to deploy marines within the fleet?
• Tylium is used to fuel the maneuvering thrusters on the Viper craft, as well as the FTL engines for the rest of the fleet.
• The background music in the scene where Lee says goodbye to his unconscious father is a faint echo of "Wander my Friends", the victory music from "The Hand of God".
• Dualla has indicated that she would prefer him to be in command, as opposed to the frequently inebriated Tigh. She also casts a friendlier-than-usual glance at Apollo's backside as he is escorted to the brig.
• Col. Tigh derided Dr. Baltar of using "technobabble", which was frequently used on RDM's old "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Baltar tries to explain the failure of his Cylon detector:

Saul Tigh: What the hell's the matter with your Cylon detector, doctor? You gave the assassin a pass.

Gaius Baltar: Yes, but that was a beta test. A preliminary. Clearly I've perfected my methodology and she slipped through.

Saul Tigh: So what the hell are you telling me here, that we are back to square one? That no one's results are definitive?

Gaius Baltar: No, I am-

Saul Tigh: That we have no way of knowing who are the Cylons among us?

Gaius Baltar: -not saying that, since Valerii's test- since the assassin's test I've developed a new set of protocols which should eliminate any errors - anomalies - that popped up earlier. Look, if you let me test the chief's blood, I might be able to tell once and for all if-

Saul Tigh: No "if"! I want a definitive answer, no more of your weaselly technobabble. He's a Cylon or he's not. So get down there and do something right for a change.

• In Galactica's brig, Tyrol is led into a cell with Sharon Valerii:

Sharon Valerii: (crying) Chief? I thought you were on Kobol?

(Tyrol is shoved into the cell, and Sharon tries to hug him)

Chief Tyrol: Don't you talk to me. Don't come near me. Don't even touch me. If you do, I will kill you.

• In one of Galactica's corridors:

Cally: They locked the Chief up with Boomer. Tigh thinks he's a Cylon.

Gaius Baltar: I know. I'm going to see the Colonel now. If anyone's going to find a way to clear the Chief, or...

Cally: Or what? Throw him out the airlock like a piece of garbage? If Commander Adama were in charge, this would have never happened.

Gaius Baltar: Yes, but he's not in charge, is he?

• After Lee Adama and President Roslin arrive on Cloud Nine:

Lee Adama: Well, we're home free for now.

Tom Zarek: (standing in the hangar bay) Good to see you, Madam President.

Laura Roslin: Captain Apollo, what is Mr. Zarek doing here?

Lee Adama: Once Tigh gets over his initial shock, he'll send troops out to search for us, and if we're going to make it, we have to keep on the move. I figured Mr. Zarek here is the only one in the fleet with enough shady friends around to hide us.

Tom Zarek: (to Laura) I love the way he puts that.

Laura Roslin: Well, Mr. Zarek, it would seem that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Tom Zarek: Call me Tom.

Official Statements

• Nicki Clyne comments on Cally's motivations in shooting Boomer from Scifibrain's March 17, 2006 interview:
  1. I think Boomer represented all the things that were wrong for her at that time, including her relationship with Tyrol. So, I think she just saw Boomer as this symbol of what was wrong for her at the time. She couldn’t see any other way to deal with it.
  2. On whether or not Cally was guilty for killing Boomer: That is a tough one, and I think about that a lot, because I don’t think it is right to kill anything. I don’t think it can ever be a positive feeling. At the time, she felt like there was no other way, and that was her only option, but I am sure upon reflection in the brig, or when she got back to work, that she saw how it affected Tyrol. That she, she shows a lot of wondering. There is actually a scene that got cut [in "Flight of the Phoenix"], but she finally approaches the Chief, when she is finally sick of him ignoring her, after she has gotten out of jail, she says, "If I had a chance, I would do it all over again."

Guest stars

• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
• Nicki Clyne as Specialist Cally
• Lorena Gale as Elosha
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Dominic Zamprogna as Jammer
• Chris Shields as Corporal Venner
• Bodie Olmos as Lt. Brendan "Hot Dog" Constanza
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson
• Tamara Lashley as Sue-Shaun
• Jeremy Guilbaut as Lt. Joe "Hammerhead" Palladino
• Heather Doerksen as "Marine With A Sandwich"
• Curtis Lee Hicks "Marine Sergeant"

Statistics

• USA Nielsen Ratings: 1.9 household rating