Fragged

"Fragged" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

Colonel Tigh deals with the Quorum of Twelve and the press over Roslin's removal from the presidency, while Cylon Centurions prepare to hinder any rescue attempt on Kobol by setting up an anti-aircraft battery.

Summary

On Galactica

• Dr. Cottle arrives on Galactica from the Rising Star, and informs Colonel Tigh that Commander William Adama is still bleeding internally, and that he will have to operate to stabilize his condition.
• The pressures of the day (coming up on two, without sleep) have gotten to Tigh, as he begins drinking while on duty. In his confusion, he questions why Lee Adama is leading a crew to rescue the survivors from Kobol, and acts very rudely to members of the crew.
• After being informed about their arrival on Galactica, Tigh meets the Quorum of Twelve, who demand access to the imprisoned Laura Roslin. Tigh contends that Commander Adama removed Roslin from power, believing she was a threat to the stability of The Fleet, and denies accusations by the Quorum members that he will try to initiate martial law upon the Fleet.
• Meanwhile, Roslin experiences delusions caused by Chamalla withdrawal while being held in Galactica's brig, which prompts Billy Keikeya to ask Corporal Venner, a devout follower of the Pythian prophecies, to obtain Chamalla extract for Roslin.
• Ellen Tigh visits Roslin in the brig, and believes Roslin is going crazy. She states that Saul Tigh should allow the Quorum members access to the imprisoned President, as it will prove (in her delirium) that she was a threat to the stability of the government.
• The Quorum members visit Roslin, and, having taken the Chamalla and regained some lucidity, Roslin makes a statement to the members, stating that the military coup has failed, and that she retains the position of President. She tells the members that she is dying from terminal breast cancer, and the Quorum members realize that she is the "dying leader" who will lead the fleet to Earth as stated in prophecy. Realizing he has severely underestimated Roslin, Tigh herds the Quorum members out of the brig.
• Tigh later appears before the press. Due to the attempted coup against the military, Tigh declares martial law over the Fleet, which throws the press into chaos.

On Kobol

• After holding a funeral for Socinus and Tarn, the ground crew stranded on Kobol discover that the Cylons are cannibalizing parts from their own Heavy Raider to build an anti-aircraft battery.
• Crashdown deduces that the Cylon Centurions won't look for them, but will instead use the battery to shoot down any aircraft that come looking for the survivors.
• Despite Tyrol and Gaius Baltar's objections, Crashdown decides to destroy the anti-aircraft battery to ensure their rescue, despite that over half of the group lacks firearms proficiency.
• In a hallucination, Six tells Baltar that one of the crew will turn against the others, and that it is Baltar's duty to accept his role as the father of the new race of human-Cylon hybrids.
• When the crew ready their assault on the battery, they discover that more Cylons have reinforced the security around the battery, which leads Tyrol to believe the makeshift DRADIS dish that the Cylons are using to guide the missiles will be left unprotected. In spite of this, Crashdown pulls rank and continues with the original plan.
• During this time, Lee Adama and a compliment of medical personnel and Marines pilot two Raptors to the planet's surface.
• When Cally objects to being a diversion for the attack, Crashdown pulls a gun on her and threatens to shoot her unless she follows orders. Tyrol pulls his gun on Crashdown, but when it looks like Crashdown will fire, Baltar shoots Crashdown in the back, killing him instantly.
• The gunshot reveals their position to the Cylons, who chase the group through the forest. Seelix is shot in the leg, and Tyrol is shot in the arm, but he manages to use a grenade launcher to take out the DRADIS dish. In a "last stand" gesture, angry and reckless, Tyrol stands up and opens fire on the advancing Cylons just as the Raptors in the air use their missiles to destroy the Cylons.
• As the rescued crew leaves Kobol, Six tells Baltar that he is fulfilling his role in the prophecy, and that she will act as his conscience.
• Tyrol and Baltar cover for Crashdown's demise, indicating to Lee Adama that Crashdown died while fighting the Cylons.

Questions

• What did Number Six mean when she said that people that die on Kobol simply die, and that "God" has abandoned Kobol?
• Will Tyrol, Cally, or Seelix ever reveal the truth about Crashdown's fate? Or perhaps use the threat of doing so as leverage against Baltar, to force him to perform a favor later? (Answer)
• Why was it necessary to cannibalize Raptor 305 for parts? Galactica had four Raptors in good condition earlier that day during "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", and none were seen to be deployed during the fracas in "Scattered".
  • Is fielding all six for any extended time period beyond the ship's ability? Have Galactica's Raptors been in chronically poor condition?
  • Perhaps Chief Tyrol's powers of command and organization in keeping systems functional was missed by his staff, leaving flight prep more complicated in preparing his rescue.
    • If this were the case, why would Galactica be willing to dispense with him for the sake of a survey mission?
• Could Ellen Tigh's attempts to manipulate the downfall of President Roslin be further proof that she's really a Cylon sent to spread chaos in the Fleet? (Likely answer)
• Why was the shuttle bearing the Quorum delegates en route from the Zephyr, rather than Cloud 9?
• Who was the one who betrayed the others? Cally, for her refusal to carry out orders? Crashdown, for turning his gun on one of his own? Baltar, for killing the group's leader? Or even Tyrol, for his failure to defend Cally by killing Crashdown before the count of "three"?
• Baltar appears bloodied and disheveled in his daydream, as he is in reality, instead of nattily well-dressed as he's always been before. Is he losing his mind?
• The Cylons know the location of Kobol (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I), and still have forces in the area (Scattered). If they had wished to intercept the SAR party or rescue their forces stranded on the planet, they could have done so easily. Instead they left a handful of Centurions to improvise an ineffective missile battery. Why?

The Cylons sent some Centurions to the surface, however, the bulk of their force around Kobol consisted of a basestar that is destroyed in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II." While a second basestar did appear near the Fleet in "Scattered," apparently by "Home, Part II, this basestar was not moved to the area of Kobol to replace the first basestar for reasons unknown. It may have been spending its time trying to find the Fleet, which had Jumped to escape it.

Analysis

• Baltar appears in his virtual home with Six, but dressed in his fatigues and not at all spiffy as in past visions. Is this an indication that Baltar's mind is becoming more tortured, or is more or less brainwashed by Six than before?
• The somewhat delusional Roslin complains of a ringing sensation when Ellen Tigh appears. Immediately after she leaves and the hatch closes behind her, Roslin no longer hears the ringing and appears visibly relieved. She exclaims, "Oh my gods...Ellen Tigh." Could the Chamalla extract and their visions she sees be giving Roslin herself a way of detecting Cylons with her own senses, or do Ellen Tigh's grating personality traits extend into the subsonic range? Given that Roslin has had past visions that have later been logically and correctly identified as factual (to scripture or to current events), this may not be a stretch.
• Another interpretation to Roslin's complaint of ringing may be that Roslin may have barely realized that Ellen was in her presence and, in her delusion, thought she was talking to someone else. In this case, Roslin would have good reason to want to speak with the wife of the acting commanding officer that could set her free.

Notes

• As of the opening credits, the fleet population is now 47,862, reflecting a casualty count of 12 during the Cylon boarding action in the previous episode. This seems barely sufficient to include the bodies seen on screen, let alone the number of casualties implied in Valley of Darkness, but perhaps a number of the casualties haven't had time to expire yet. At the end of the episode, factoring in Crashdown's death, the total stands at 47,861.
• Crashdown dies in this episode, shot by Baltar as he threatens to shoot Cally.
• "Frag" is American military slang for intentionally killing a superior (but generally considered incompetent) officer of your own force in the field. Popularized during Vietnam, when discipline lagged and a few officers got grenades in their bunkers or caught "friendly fire" during a skirmish.
• Gemenon is the most fundamentalist of the Twelve Colonies, interpreting the Sacred Scrolls very literally. It appears that many Gemenons believe so strongly in the Pythian prophecy that they will almost automatically side with President Roslin.
• President Roslin has revealed to the entire Quorum of Twelve, as well as Colonel Tigh, that she is dying of breast cancer. Presumably her illness is now public knowledge.
• Cally only joined the Colonial Fleet as a way to pay her way through dental school.
• First episode without an appearance by Starbuck.
• Second episode without an appearance by Sharon Valerii (The first was Valley of Darkness).
• First episode without scenes on Caprica.
• First episode since the miniseries without an appearance by Helo, even though Tahmoh Penikett is still in the opening credits.
• First episode in which Tigh calls Galactica "my ship."
• The discussion between Tigh and Keikeya firmly establishes that Billy was not arrested.
• Raptors are capable of carrying missiles.
  • We also saw this in Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
• Seven Vipers are down for repairs in this Episode, probably damaged offscreen during the sortie in "Scattered".
• Cottle's hurried arrival means that this episode must begin very shortly after the end of "Valley of Darkness", during which Roslin still seems to be in good health. For her to exhibit the degree of symptoms we see, either Chamalla's withdrawal effects are highly acute, or her delirium is the result of the extreme progression of her cancer, no longer masked by the anesthetizing properties of the drug.
• The writers for this episode, Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, used to be writers on Katee Sackhoff's old show, "The Education of Max Bigford". Ironically, "Fragged" happens to be the first episode of Battlestar Galactica that Katee Sackhoff does not appear in.

Noteworthy Dialogue

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• In Galactica's brig:

  Laura Roslin: (to the Quorum of Twelve) Thank you all for coming. I have a statement I would like to make. The attempted military coup against the lawful government of the Colonies is illegal, ill-advised, and clearly doomed to failure. I have not resigned the Presidency, and I will fight this action with everything at my command.

  Colonel Tigh: She's crazy. She's nuts! She thinks she's a prophet or some such nonsense. Go ahead and ask her, she'll tell you. Just listen to her! What was it, the...Arrow Of Apollo will open the Tomb of...Artemis, or some such nonsense.

  Laura Roslin: Everything I have done is consistent and logical. We have found Kobol, we have found the City of the Gods, and when we retrieve the Arrow, we will open the tomb of Athena, and we will find the road to Earth.

• In an announcement to a group of journalists on Galactica

  Colonel Tigh: The events which took place aboard Colonial One are unfortunate. Laura Roslin's actions in supporting mutiny and sedition among the military could not be tolerated. Therefore, Commander Adama was left with no choice other than to remove her from office. Ms. Roslin is now resting comfortably aboard this ship, where she will remain until such time as the Commander deems otherwise. As it appears obvious that the government cannot function under the current circumstances, I have decided to dissolve the Quorum of Twelve, and as of this moment, I have declared martial law.

• In Galactica's sickbay

  Colonel Tigh: (talking about Commander Adama) Is he going to make it?

  Doctor Cottle: How should I know? I'm not a psychic. Now get the hell out of here.

(This appears to be a subtle in-joke to RDM's ties to Star Trek and Dr. McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a..." quips.)

• Crashdown has ordered his untrained, outnumbered group to make a suicidal attack the Cylon missile battery:

  Baltar: He's crazy. I'm not trained for this kind of thing. I've never fired a gun in my life!

  Seelix: I haven't fired one since 'basic.

  Baltar: (to Cally) You?

  Cally: I...just...joined up to pay for dental school!

• After Baltar shoots Crashdown on Kobol

  Number Six: (to Baltar) Now you're a man.

• In a desperate last stand against Cylons

  Chief Tyrol: (hiding from Cylon gunfire) Stay there! Stay there!

  Gaius Baltar: (shooting at Cylons) Chief! Chief!

  Chief Tyrol: (pulls a gun out of his holster and starts firing wildly at the advancing Cylon forces) Aah! Aah! Aaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! (Cylons are all blown into pieces, and Tyrol looks at his gun in amazement)

• While waiting to assault the Cylon forces on Kobol

  Crashdown: Frak orders, frak court-marshal! Our people are up there and we have to save them! We don't have any time! Move!

  Cally: I can't do it!

  Crashdown: Cally, move!

  Cally: No!

  Crashdown: (pulls a gun on Cally)

  Gaius Baltar: Chief!

  Chief Tyrol: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Put it down!

  Crashdown: You're going, Cally. You're going out there or I'm going to blow your brains out, right here, right now.

  Chief Tyrol: Hey LT, easy, easy-

  Crashdown: I'm going to count to three.

  Selix: This is crazy! This is crazy!

  Crashdown: One...

  Chief Tyrol: (pulls gun on Crashdown) Put it down, right now. Listen to me! Drop your weapon!

  Crashdown: Two...three. (a gunshot is fired, and Crashdown falls dead against a tree, revealing that he has been shot by Baltar)

• In a hallway on Galactica

  Colonel Tigh: Why aren't you in the brig?

  Billy: (flustered) Because.. you haven't put me there?

Official Statements

Interviews

• 'Nicki Clyne (Cally) on filming this (and the previous) episodes taking place on Kobol:

I really like watching the stuff that we did on Kobol when we were running through the forest and shooting guns. I am really excited about those episodes for Cally and when she almost got shot by Crashdown (Samuel Witwer), I thought that was really cool. It was difficult to film at the time, because it was freezing cold and we were running through the forest, but I think that the end results were great. I think it was really fun. [1]

Guest stars

• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
• Nicki Clyne as Specialist Cally
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Samuel Witwer as Crashdown
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Kerry Norton as Paramedic Layne Ishay
• Kurt Evans as Paramedic Howard Kim
• Chris Shields as Corporal Venner
• Jennifer Halley as Seelix
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Particia Idlette as Sarah Porter
• Malcolm Stewart as Marshall Bagott
• T-Roy Kdzuki as "Marine"