You Can't Go Home Again

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"You Can't Go Home Again" (credit: Sci-Fi Channel)

Overview

Continuing from the events of Act of Contrition, Adama and Lee risk the security of the Fleet as they try to located a downed Starbuck...

Summary

• Starbuck is missing, although Hot Dog believes her Viper wasn't destroyed
• Adama orders a search to find her – which extends the fleet and leaves it vulnerable to possible attack
• Starbuck is stranded on a nearby moon, dependent on the air supply in her suit’s backpack – and the weather on the moon means locating her will be difficult
• As time passes, Adama and Lee further risks the fleet by pulling in the CAP Vipers to assist with the search
• When the clocks indicate Starbuck’s air has expired, Adama continues the search, prompting confrontations – first with Tigh, then with Roslin
• Following the meeting with Roslin, the search is called off – but as the Galactica is about to jump, a Raider appears and behaves very strangely
• Sent to intercept the Raider, Lee discovers the truth – it is Starbuck, somehow piloting a Raider she downed in her dogfight (Act of Contrition).

Review

THE CYLONS WERE CREATED BY MAN. THEY REBELLED. THEY EVOLVED. THEY LOOK AND FEEL HUMAN. SOME OF THEM ARE PROGRAMMED TO THINK THEY ARE HUMAN. THERE ARE MANY COPIES. AND THEY HAVE A PLAN.

Re-Cap

Kara “Starbuck” Thrace: “Zak - failed - basic flight…and I should have flunked him, but I didn’t…the bottom line is that I killed him.”

William “Husker” Adama: “Walk out of this cabin…while you still can…”

Karl “Helo” Agathon, on Caprica. “I don’t get it. How does a military-coded signal end up coming from in here?” - Cut to Helo and Boomer finding a fallout shelter

Cut to Cylon Raiders in space.

Dualla (in CIC): “Starbuck’s wireless and transponder just cut out.” We see a Viper on full burn as we hear Tigh state, “Starbuck’s going to take on all eight – and get herself killed.” We see a brief clip of Starbuck’s fight with the Raiders, and then watch as she falls away from her ejected cockpit seat…and we fade to black.

Teaser

On fade-up, we’re on Boomer’s Raptor with a very sick looking Hot Dog as Boomer reports, "Galactica, Boomer. Hot Dog’s aboard.” Sitting behind her and aiding the rookie pilot, Crashdown quips, “Yeah – so’s his lunch!” He then adds, “Take it easy, Hot Dog, you’re not the first to lose it in combat – and you won’t be the last!”

Boomer reports that Hotdog has stated Starbuck was hit, but was still in the fight when he lost track of her. Dualla responds that Search and Rescue ops are underway, and that Boomer is to bring Hotdog back to Galactica, as Adama wishes to question him. As the Raptor heads back to Galactica, it passes between a planetoid orbiting the gas giant and Hot Dog’s battered Viper, missing its portside wing and much of the port engine and nacelle, its cockpit canopy drifting above it.

Aboard Galactica, Adama and others review Hot Dog's statement, made as soon as the Raptor has been secured in the hanger bay. The consensus is that Starbuck may be alive. “She is alive,” Adama states categorically. He orders Hot Dog to be taken to sickbay before walking away. Crouched on the wing of the Raptor, Lee Adama steps down and removes his Viper wings from his flight suit and pins them to Hotdog’s vest. “I think you earned those today,” he says quietly, before heading to his Viper and climbing in, fitting the collar seal around his neck. His helmet is held ready for him, and as he looks up to take it, he realises his father is standing at the top of the ladder. Handing Lee the helmet, Adama has a single order for him: “Find her.”

Down on the planetoid, Starbuck comes-to being dragged along the ground: a wind has caught her parachute and it is dragging her feet-first after it. She desperately tries to release her harness as more of the wind catches the canopy, bumping and grinding her across a Mars-like terrain of rocks and boulders. She rolls into a boulder and there is the crunch of something breaking as her survival pack cushions the blow. She continues to struggle with her parachute harness as she is unceremoniously thrown over a small rise in the ground. But it is not the harness that is the problem: it is the parachute lines, which have become entangled around her legs. Things get desperate as she is drawn along at an increasing pace, her right knee smashing heavily into a large rock before she can cut the lines with her knife. Once freed, she tries to stand, but the injured knee won’t take her weight. She sits atop of a rugged escarpment, looking out over a barren world half shrouded in wind-driven dust – and we cut to the opening titles.

Acts

After the titles, we’re with Adama in his cabin on Galactica as Gaeta reports there has been no joy with the search teams. They’ve scoured the space around Starbuck’s last known position to a radius of 200 kilometres, and are extending the search a further 50. “We need more pilots,” Adama states flatly. “Everyone who can fly is up, Sir.” Gaeta replies.

As they walk down the corridor, Adama asks about Starbuck’s course computations for the training flight. Gaeta points out that with all her combat manoeuvres, the original course computations are meaningless. “Then it’s time to start guessing,” Adama growls as they enter CIC.

We move forward a little in time. Gaeta is at the plot wall, Tigh alongside him, Adama seated at the plot table behind them. Following his own evaluation of the training flight and ensuing combat, Gaeta has come up with a guess: Starbuck has been drawn into the gravity well of the gas giant or one of the moons orbiting it. “If the gas giant caught her, its radiation would fry her like an egg,” Tigh states flatly. Adama asks about the moon. Gaeta replies it has been reported as having an atmosphere of carbon dioxide, “methane, some argon and clouds mostly hydrocarbons. It’s as cold as hell down there, but she could survive on the surface.”

“Until her oxygen runs out,” Tigh adds. “When?” Adama questions.

“Forty-six hours in change, Sir.” Gaeta responds.

Tigh notes that 46 hours is a long time to stay in one place – what happens if the Cylons appear? Adama is convinced that they won’t: the fact that the Cylons sent a patrol instead of a base ship means they don’t even know the fleet would be in the system. “So they’re searching a lot of other places – places with potential supplies,” Tigh muses. “Like staking-out water holes in the desert,” Gaeta adds. Tigh then calculates that if humans sent 8 craft to search a star system for 60-odd ships, it would take weeks. “Assume they’re better and faster,” Adama counters. “It’ll take them days.” He asks about searching the moon. Tigh tells him it’ll be hard – the clouds will get in the way. “Take our ships below the clouds,” Adama orders. “Tell our pilots to take a look the old-fashioned way.” Gaeta and Tigh exchange a look. “Mark One eyeball, Sir?” Gaeta enquires. “Mark One eyeball,” Adama confirms.

As Gaeta leaves to give the orders, Dualla reports an incoming call from Colonial One. Taking it, Adama receives Roslin’s congratulations on finding one of his pilots, and that she has spoken to the captains in the fleet, and they have agreed to give over their vessels to Adama’s command to assist in the search, “If it will increase the odds of finding her.”

“Frak the odds,” comes Adama’s reply over the speaker, as the camera switches to reveal Baltar sitting before Roslin’s desk, “We’re going to find her.” This earns Adama a stunned silence, prompting him to apologise. He then thanks her for the offer, admitting Galactica could use the help.

Still stunned at the end of the call, Roslin looks at Baltar, who appears equally surprised by Adama’s language. They exchange a look and, catching himself, he hands her a file. As Roslin reviews the file, Baltar sits back, and Six appears, leaning against Roslin’s desk. “So it looks like we’re going to be staying here a while,” she purrs, placing a foot on his hand as it rests on his thigh and pressing down on it. He pulls it away sharply, looking suddenly like a little boy holding up his hand in front of teacher – a move bound to attract Roslin’s attention. It does, and she looks up at him. “Are you all right?” she asks. He states he is, and she goes back to reviewing the file.

“How long do you think it’ll be before the Cylons wonder what happened to their missing patrol and send another one here to look for it?” Six asks.

“You have attacked us hundreds of times,” Baltar whispers in reply, full of confidence. “We’re still here. I think we’re more than adequately protected.” This comment causes a reaction: Six’s nostrils flare and her look and tone harden, no longer teasing. “That might be a little tricky with the fleet scattered over half this system, looking for the lost pilot,” this unsettles Baltar, and her voice is silky once again as she continues; “How many days until the Cylons return, Gaius?” She asks rubbing the hand she had previously pressed under her foot. “One?” She kisses his forefinger. “Two?” A kiss to the next finger, then a kiss to the next finger. “Three at the most?”

Across the desk, Roslin finishes with the file, and looks up to find Baltar sitting and cradling his raised right hand in his left, his eyes closed. “Doctor?” Baltar opens his eyes and realises what he’s doing and pretends to be exercising the cradled hand. He looks at Roslin. “Your requisition?” She prompts, waving the file.

Thanking her, Baltar takes the report and rises to leave, only to pause and turn back to her, questioning if it is really wise to stay in one place for so long – pointing out that she is compromising the security of the entire fleet while searching for “one solitary pilot.”

Roslin agrees it is a risk – but that Galactica’s pilots put their lives on the line for the fleet every day. Baltar relaxes suddenly. “Yes. Yes. I was just saying that to…” and Six is beside him as he turns his head to look at her, “To, ah…” He catches himself and looks back at Roslin, stating he is not insensitive to the heroism of the Galactica’s pilots. “I happen to know the missing pilot personally.” This earns him an “Oh,” from Roslin before Six adds, “Not as personally as you’d like.” She leans closer to him, “I guess you’ll never get to find out if she is a real blonde,” she states, referring to a brief exchange Baltar had a few days earlier when he encountered Starbuck in Galactica’s corridor. This prompts him into babbling – weighing the life of one pilot against the thousands in the fleet, and so on. Roslin stops him, stating she is confident that Adama has taken all of what Baltar is saying into account, and terminates the discussion.

Down on the planetoid, Starbuck has strapped up her gamy knee as best she can, given she can’t remove her flight suit. She checks the emergency radio in her survival pack, and finds it broken – smashed no doubt in her first collision with a rock while being dragged by her parachute. She tosses it away in disgust. She checks her oxygen supply – a quarter has been used. She uses a small disposable analyser to check the atmosphere around her. The green indicator turns red as it absorbs the gases of the air, revealing it to be unbreathable. The analyser is also tossed away. She decides to head for higher ground, where she will be seen and rescued.

We cut to a shot of the planet’s clouds as seen from the air, and the camera angles over Lee Adama’s Viper as he flies in formation with a Raptor and informs Galactica that they are being tossed around by the winds. Immediately after the report, an escarpment looms out of the dust and clouds, prompting him to shout for the Raptor to “go vertical!” as he pulls hard back on the stick. They clear the rise, and we swap worlds for CYLON-OCCUPIED CAPRICA.

In the fallout shelter below the restaurant, Karl C. Agathon, call sign “Helo”, is into his 15th day on Caprica and is pacing the shelter, scanning the airwaves with the disaster beacon, seeking a signal. Valerii is asleep in a hammock. Sitting down close to her, he watches her as she starts to wake up. Seeing her eyes flicker open, he turns his attention back to the beacon as Valerii stretches and looks at him, asking if he’s picked up anything. “No,” he replies. “I don’t think anyone else is left out there.”

“There must be someone,” Valerii replies, “We can’t be the only two people left in the world.”

“Well,” Helo states, “The good news is my leg is much better, and we’ve got anti-radiation meds to last three months.” This gains him an odd look from Valerii, which she covers with a roll of the eyes. He suggests they load-up as much food as they can take, and Valerii concludes, “Move out and try and find a Raptor or transport or something we can use and try to fly off Caprica.” She pauses a beat, her tone changing slightly as she concludes, “Unless you can think of a reason to stay?”

Helo admits he’s not looking forward to going back “out there”, and that he’s almost started to think of this place as “Home,” Valerii concludes with him, the odd look back in her eyes. There is an embarrassed pause before she starts to get up, but Helo stops her, telling her to sleep a little more while he goes “topside” to get them some breakfast.

Up in the restaurant he drops two slices of bread into a chrome toaster, whistling quietly to himself. As he takes two plates from a pile under the serving counter, we hear glass smashing, and he ducks behind the counter as shadows move in the restaurant and we hear the thump of heavy feet with a mechanical edge to them. Sidling to the dividing wall between the kitchen and main part of the restaurant, Helo watches as the shadows move, and he catches the reflection of a Cylon warrior in the surface of the toaster, prompting him to draw and charge his sidearm.

In the restaurant, the shadow retreats as the warrior walks away. Helo edges to a decorative panel of glass tiles through which he sees a warrior walking across the restaurant, possibly heading for the door. Suddenly another one appears right by the tiles, forcing Helo back against the wall. He looks back at the toaster, as the Cylon raises its right arm and its gun flips out of its wrist. Seconds later the toaster pings, Valerii emerges from the door at the top of the stairs to the shelter asking after breakfast, the Cylons turn to face her, and Helo blasts the nearest twice at almost point-blank range, hitting it in the head and chest as Valerii ducks back down the stairs.

The 2nd Cylon rushes Helo, shoving its ruined comrade out of the way and opening fire on him as he dives over the kitchen counter yelling for Valerii to run. The Cylon remains firing, but doesn’t close the distance, instead making a fair job of shooting-up the entire kitchen area, bringing down pots, pans, racks and other items on Helo, one of which strikes him heavily on the back of the head. Whiteout!

And we’re back with Starbuck, now limping along. “Lords,” she says, “It’s Kara Thrace. I’m, ah, running a little low on O2 and I could use a lucky break.” She pauses, looking skyward. “No? Okay. I just thought I’d mention it.” She tops the rise she’s climbing, and hey presto: one lucky break – the downed Cylon Raider, almost entirely intact, is below her. “Oh Frak!” is her astute observation on seeing it, before she keels over to drop back below the skyline, drawing her sidearm. Getting back on her feet, she slowly makes her way down towards the Raider, gun held ready. She approaches it from the front (in full view of its own weapons!), and reaches the “head” of the Raider. A hole punctures the fuselage just behind the red strobe panel – and a congealed blood-like substance has leaked from the strobe area itself…

Laughing as she sees the hole, Starbuck holsters her weapon. “Not bad shootin’, if I do say so myself!” She looks up at the sky. “Lords! I owe you one!” she calls, adding as she strokes the Raider, “Looks like I’ve found my ride out of here – if I can fix you up.”

Elsewhere over the planet, Lee Adama reports he is bingo fuel and is ordered back to base. He wants to know why he can’t be tanked in orbit – and is informed the tankers are all back on Galactica being refuelled themselves.

In CIC, Adama is reviewing data. Gaeta confirms it is correct: atmospheric ops mean the Raptors and Vipers are running their engines continuously and that, “Fuel is going to be a real problem if we keep it up.” The news doesn’t get any better: none of the civilian ships has found anything. Indeed, Tigh points out that they are getting pretty spread out. “We’ll have a hell of a time trying to cover them if the Cylons pop in. We should consider pulling the civvies into a defensible position.”

This earns him a sharp negative from Adama. “I'm just saying, committing the entire fleet to this search…” Tigh clarifies. He gets no further as Adama explodes. “I said no!” he yells, eyes blazing as he looks at Tigh. They stare at one another for a beat, one in outright anger, the other in total shock, before Adama continues, voice still raised, and coming close to breaking. “We’re going to find our missing pilot and bring her home!” He pauses another beat before finishing a little more quietly, “And we leave no-one behind.” He moves his look to Gaeta, frozen at the plot table, then back to Tigh. “Resume your duties.”

On Caprica, the day has passed, and Helo comes-to on the floor of the restaurant. He pulls himself to his feet, disoriented, and then checks the restaurant, gun at the ready, shouting for Valerii. She’s not there. Nor is she down in the fall-out shelter. He returns to street-level and goes outside into the dusk, still shouting for her...

Back on her own little world, Starbuck is under the belly of the Raider, nestled near the wing root, where she’s located a button of some sort. Hesitating, she presses it and a panel opens, revealing the guts of the Raider. And “guts” is the word – the Raider appears in part to be organic!

Taking her knife, she raises it to the “flesh”, which reacts to the touch of the blade, causing her to jump. Then she slices the flesh, and fluids start flowing out of it as she makes more and more cuts.

On Galactica, Lee’s Viper has been recovered – and it is a mess. A systems failure on landing has meant he had to come in hard, damaging at least one engine, which is venting gas badly. He demands another Viper from Tyrol. “Love to, Captain,” the Chief replies. “But we’re thirteen Vipers down plus your Mark Seven – and I’m out!”

“Damnit,” is Lee’s response. “I’ve got a pilot down and I need another Viper.” Tyrol indicates he’s aware of the situation, but adds that people can be pushed a lot further than machines, prompting Lee to turn on him. “Tyrol, I’m the CAG. You’re the Chief. Just make it happen!”

In CIC, Gaeta reports that Starbuck now probably has less than 5 hours of air. They review a photo mosaic of the areas of the planet so far searched. It is not a lot. “We’ve got to do better than this,” Adama murmurs, as his son enters CIC. “You can’t see very far when you’re hugging the ground,” Tigh observes, as Lee moves to stand beside him. “You can’t see anything from altitude because of the clouds,” Lee counters. “Not to mention the crap in the atmosphere that keeps screwing up our ships.” He then reports 13 Vipers are down for repairs, and Adama states they need more eyes. Lee suggests pulling in the CAP and reassigning the Vipers to the S&R mission.

“Bad idea,” Tigh growls. “The CAP is our only means of defence. If all the fighters are fraking around on the moon and the Cylons come callin’, we’re maggot meat.” Lee’s solution is to bring the entire fleet closer to the moon, so that if they are attacked, they can scramble the fighters engaged in the Search and Rescue. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” is Tigh’s response. Lee appeals directly to Adama – bringing in the CAP fighters would double the area they can cover in the time they have left. Tigh makes his appeal: “Starbuck would be the first one to tell you not to do this.”

Lee turns on him, tone biting. “Nothing would make you happier, would it, than to leave her behind.” He steps closer, voice rising, “Get rid of the foul-mouthed, insubordinate pilot that keeps challenging your authority…”

“You are way out of line, Mister!” Tigh responds, angry, “I’m not the one confusing personal feelings with duty!” He states that Lee is way to close to the matter because Starbuck is his friend, and Lee grabs him by his uniform tunic as Adama intervenes with a firm, “Gentlemen!” Lee and Tigh continue to stare at each other, Lee releasing the Colonel’s uniform front as Adama adds in his quiet, authoritative tone, “We have work to do.” He calls Lee aside, but rather than berating him for his behaviour, he orders him to get as many birds on the search as possible – including the CAP and, “Find our girl.”

Down on the surface, Starbuck gingerly enters the Raider, having cut the fleshy membrane clear of the access panel. Inside is an odd mix of organics and heavy cabling and pipes. “You bite me and I’ll bite you back,” she warns, getting further inside, her torch highlighting a mass of flesh at the front of the Raider – something she decides is the “brain”, hooked up to all sorts of cables and gas or fluid bearing flexible feeds. She starts cutting these with her knife before hauling the “brain” out of the way. Checking her oxygen dial, she sees it is below the red line – less than a quarter tank left. “Even cockroaches have to breathe,” she mutters and starts checking the hacked feeds.

Back on Galactica, Lee has gone hands-on to fulfil his father’s orders and is working to get his Viper into a flyable condition when he gets a call from Roslin, who is concerned that Adama has reassigned the CAP to the S&R operation. Lee admits it was his idea. “Maybe I’m missing something here about tactics,” Roslin enquires, “But isn’t the fleet defenceless without the CAP?” From Galactica, Lee admits, “Only for a short time. After that, Kara’s oxygen will be gone and she’ll be dead.”

The use of the first name prompts Roslin to ask if Apollo is close to Lt. Thrace. Realising his mistake, Lee tries to cover: “I’m close to all of my pilots.” Roslin asks if the same is true of his father. “His pilots mean a lot to him – to all of us. We don’t leave anyone behind,” Lee replies. He advises her to make sure Colonial One’s FTL drive is spun up, and that the fleet is ready to jump at a moment’s notice. His attitude does little to reassure her. “With all due respect, Captain, there are times when it is necessary for the safety of the fleet to put our -.”

“Not this time,” Lee cuts her off. He points out that all options haven’t been exhausted and that the fleet has not been compromised. Roslin backs off.

In CIC, the clock reveals that Starbuck could be down to her last few seconds of air. Adama orders the tankers down into the moon’s atmosphere to refuel a search flight. Gaeta looks pointedly at the clock and questions the safety of trying to refuel Vipers in a turbulent atmosphere. He suggests tanking the Vipers on their way back to Galactica. “Did someone call them back to Galactica?” Adama asks mildly, his eyes still on the clock. He then wants to know if Gaeta is telling him they should write Starbuck off as dead, his comments pinning the lieutenant uncomfortably.

The clock reaches zero. Everyone looks at it as an alarm sounds. Without moving, without changing expression, Adama dismisses Gaeta. “You have your orders.” As Gaeta walks away, Tigh crosses to the plot table. “Time’s up. She’s out of O2.” Adama walks over to him, pointing out they can’t be sure: the time limit was an estimate. Tigh counters that the tank can only hold so much air. Adama suggests she has a reserve. Tigh is dismissive: “Reserve? What, she just happened to pack an extra bottle today?” Adama replies it is possible. Tigh lowers his voice, pointing out that they are putting people at risk, that they have pilots pushing themselves and their ships too hard – as he makes the statement, voice slowly rising, he overrides Adama’s responses, until he is told outright: “We are not quitting. And you are relieved, Colonel.” Freezing at the quietly spoken words, Tigh comes to attention and salutes. As Adama responds, Tigh states, “I stand relieved. Sir.” Before turning and marching from the CIC, a stunned crew watching him go and then looking at the solitary Adama.

Way below them, the wind howling outside, Starbuck is almost out of air, but not giving up. Something is alive in the Raider with her, and she asks it that as it is part biologic, it must have an oxygen supply somewhere, so where is it? She cut another line and hears gas hissing. Taking another analyser she opens it. It turns red – but under the flow of gas, the green returns in part. Cracking her helmet, she removes it and shoves the line into her mouth, inhaling the air it is supplying.

In space, Adama receives a call from Roslin passing on condolences. He tells her that she’s been misinformed: they still don’t know if Starbuck is dead, and the search will continue while there is a chance she is alive. Roslin asks just how long that will be. Adama’s reply is firm, “Until I say stop. This is a military decision, Madame President. Thank you for your concern.” He hangs up.

In the Raider, Starbuck quickly plugs the hole in the side of the craft with her flight suit (after presumably closing the hatch she’d used to get into the ship). After a few seconds she removes the air feed from her mouth and uses it to pressurise the interior – noticing the stench inside for the first time.

Back on Galactica, Adama and Lee are working on search plots for the Vipers when Dualla announces that Roslin’s shuttle is requesting permission to land. Adama looks accusingly at his son. “I didn’t know she was coming!” Lee states. Adama tells Dualla to send Tigh to the airlock to meet the president and to escort her to his quarters as he and Lee head for his cabin.

In the Raider, Starbuck starts trying to work out the flight controls – setting off the guns in the process. On Galactica, Tigh meets Roslin and walks her through the ship. He reveals the truth to her: Adama, Lee, Zak, Starbuck...

In his cabin, Adama waits with Lee, knowing the president is going to press them into stopping the search. “I’m with you,” Lee informs his father as Roslin enters, announced by Tigh. “Madame President,” Adama greets. “Skip the formalities,” Roslin replies, “You both know why I’m here.” Adama tries to keep the conversation at a military level. Roslin cuts through his reasoning, “It’s a bunch of crap.” She reveals how much she knows, informing Adama and Lee they have both lost perspective. She challenges them that by staying, they are putting the fleet at risk. Adama counters that it is unlikely the Cylons will arrive for at least another day. Roslin cuts him off, using Tigh to point out that the rescue mission has expended 43% of fuel reserves for the Galactica’s fighters – a fact that is unacceptable, as is the fact that atmospheric ops have cost Galactica a third of her operational fighters.

Adama calls her assessment “crap”, stating the operation is still military. Roslin concedes this – to a point – as she makes it clear that as honourable men, Adama and Lee are putting the lives of over 45,000 people – humanity in its entirety - at risk for their personal feelings. She openly challenges them as to whether they can live with putting self before duty, because if they can, “The human race doesn’t stand a chance.” Her voice hardens as she concludes, “Clear your heads!” and she leaves the cabin.

After she’s gone, Adama and Lee look at each other for a long moment, then Lee goes to a wall ‘phone and makes a call to CIC before handing the ‘phone to Adama, who terminates the search and orders the fleet to be readied for a jump.

On the ground, Starbuck manages to work out the Raider’s controls, which seems to be a matter of controlling the flow of liquids through the tubes and feeds. The engines come on, and she manages to lift off. In seconds, she’s heading up from the moon, and into space.

On Galactica, Adama and Lee head for CIC, Lee stating he thinks Roslin was wrong, that they have come to terms with Zak’s loss. Adama replies, “I haven’t.” They walk on in silence, Lee trying to say something but failing. As they reach CIC, and Adama turns to enter it, Lee blurts that he needs to know something: “Why did you do this Why did we do it? Was it for Kara or for Zak? What?”

“Kara was family,” Adama replies. “You do whatever you have to do. Sometimes you break the rules.” Lee asks if it would be the same if it were him on the moon. “You don’t have to ask that,” Adama whispers. Lee presses, wanting an answer. Adama steps up to him, voice quavering, “If it were you…we’d never leave.”

They part, Lee heading for the flight pod, Adama into CIC, where he reinstates Tigh, who is waiting with Roslin. Tigh reports the fighters are back aboard, the civilian ships have started their jumps and all they need to do is start Galactica’s clock. Adama orders it started, and asks if Roslin wishes to return to her ship. She states she’d prefer to stay and watch the professionals at work, restoring their truce.

Adama steps to the plot table and orders Gaeta to make the jump, and the Lieutenant starts running the final checks. Right in the middle of them, Dualla gets an inbound contact – a single Cylon Raider. The jump is held while the craft is verified – it is on an intercept course, and will be in range before Galactica can jump. Action Stations is ordered, and on hearing the alert, Lee, now on the gantry above a hanger bay, runs for a Viper.

The Raider is, of course, Starbuck trying to get back to Galactica, praying cryptically that the Galactica will “look before shooting”.

With most of her Vipers out of commission or fuelling, Galactica only has two alert fighters – Lee grabs one, Hot Dog the other. But the launch tube containing Hot Dog suffers a failure, leaving Lee to take on the Raider alone. He goes head-to-head with the Cylon, which dodges and weaves but doesn’t return his fire. Getting on the Cylon’s tail, he herds it towards 'Galactica, which draws its own firing solution of the Raider.

Suddenly, after being hit on the wing, the Raider pulls on the brakes, causing Lee to overshoot and lose visual, prompting Gaeta on Galactica to report the images of the Viper and Cylon have merged. Still unable to launch a Viper to assist Lee, Galactica also can’t open fire without the risk of hitting his Viper.

As Lee searches the space around him for the Raider, it creeps in overhead, inverted relative to him, hugging his Viper tightly as they fly in formation. He reports this to Galactica, adding, “This thing is acting weird.” The Raider suddenly flips over, exposing its under-wing surfaces to him. Two words are painted on them: STAR and BUCK.

Unable to contain himself, Lee whoops with laughter and announces what he’s seeing. “The Cylon Raider is marked ‘Starbuck’ It’s written under it’s frakin’ wing!” In CIC whooping and cheers break out. As they subside, a stunned Adama orders his son to escort the Raider into the bay, and that if it does anything, he’s to take it out. We see the Raider and Viper form-up properly with a wing-waggle to one another….

…Then we are in a hanger bay on Galactica as the Raider is suspended under a cradle and being manhandled around. Walking around it, Tyrol announces, “Well, now your ass belongs to me!” as Starbuck is lifted away on a gurney, Lee beside her. “Like my new toy?” she asks. “Boy, when you take a souvenir, you don’t screw around!” he replies, then sniffs. “My God! You smell like a latrine!” Starbuck asks if he wants to give her a bath as she’s wheeled away.

Tag

Adama visits [Starbuck]] in sickbay. Small talk is exchanged before Adama breaks the ice. “Kara,” he reaches forward stroking her forehead. “You did good,” he leans forward and places his lips to her forehead, whispering, “You did real good,” a comment that brings her close to tears: she is forgiven.

Straightening, he asks if there is anything he can get her. She asks for a stogie. Reaching into his pocket he produces a single cigar container. “It’s my last one, so enjoy it.” Telling her to get so rest, he leaves and we see Starbuck turn her head, façade crumbling into a faint sob as we fade-out.

--Colonial Archivist 12:50, 5 Jan 2005 (EST)

Analysis

Following-on from “Act of Contrition” this is again very much a character-driven episode in which the action is secondary to the developing and changing dynamics between the principal players. As with “Act”, it is also one where Edward James Olmos is able to demonstrate his range and power as an actor: never has so much fury been portrayed on-screen with a single wide-eyed look as when Adama confronts Tigh. Of equal measure is the way in which Adama’s public loss of control in CIC is handled. Here is a man who is perhaps the closest thing to a deity his crew are ever likely to meet. Throughout the mini and the series, his demeanour has always been one of calm, understated authority. Never has he so much as raised his voice in public to achieve his needs. Where Tigh is bellicose and strutting, Adama is the calm eye at the centre of whatever raging storm of crisis might otherwise engulf CIC.

Until mid-way through this episode, where Adama’s outburst almost drives us from our seats in surprise, and signals a very subtle shift in dynamics: his personal involvement is now clearly affecting his ability to command; his decision making is becoming increasingly subjective – but the bellicose Martinet in Tigh shifts as well, becoming more objective, the more reasoned voice of command. For the first time we really get a glimpse of the officer buried within; and Tigh grows accordingly in stature.

But the show is not all Olmos’s. Mary McDonnell also gets a chance to stretch her character away from the “ex-school teacher” and slightly insecure politico we’ve seen to date. In “You Can’t Go Home Again”, Roslin fairly blossoms into leadership, demonstrating she can be shown – but not necessarily lead. Her confrontation with Adama and his son is a marvel to watch. Until now, she has played a finely balanced game with them both, realising that she needs each of them to support her position, while also being aware of the gulf lying between the two of them, and the need not to broaden it. But here, confronted with a Lee Apollo fresh from his new-found convictions first seen in “Bastille Day” and closely allied to his father – both of them operating out of personal loyalty, she demonstrates that while she may need them both, she doesn’t rely on them. The developing trust connecting her to Adama and the respect connecting her to Lee may suffer strain and breakage as a result, putting a wobble into the spin of the three-way relationship, but she’s not going to pussyfoot. The needs of the many DO outweigh the needs of the one, and it is time Adama and Apollo realised that.

Indeed, it is in this that Thrace’s dilemma on the moon is very much a secondary consideration to the story and the audience. What holds here is the way the dynamics between the characters ebb and flow. Adama and Tigh draw apart, Roslin and Lee draw apart, but Adama and Lee - perhaps for the first time in Lee’s adult life – draw together, forcing Tigh and Roslin into an uneasy alliance as Roslin arrives aboard the Galactica. How will this affect their future relationships? Will Roslin be able to confide in Lee Adama? Will Lee and his father finally come to an understanding allowing each other into their respective worlds as father and son? Will Tigh be able to reconcile his friendship and respect for Adama with his abrupt – and wholly unwarranted – dismissal from CIC?

And what of Tigh and Lee Adama? But – most importantly of all, how will the CIC crew regard Adama in the future? Can there be no repercussions after all that we’ve seen? Perhaps. Forgiveness was very much in evidence throughout the last act of the episode: Adama to Thrace, Roslin to Adama, Adama and Tigh. But – the episode title pretty much says it all: you can’t go home again, and a lot has been said in this episode - as in “Act” - that simply can’t be ignored. RDM has avoided the “reset” button so far; it’s going to be interesting to see if he can continue to avoid it in the future, and allow the shift in dynamics between the characters to play itself out over time.

It is also becoming evident that the Cylons need Helo on Caprica for a reason, and that reason can be summed up in one word: "procreation". Everything that has happened to date has been a honey-trap in which to snare Helo and encourage him to develop feelings for Valerii. The evidence for this comes from the last few episodes:

• 33: Helo scans the airwaves, failing to find any other signals. Valerii makes a comment about them being the only two people left on the planet, and the way she says it makes it hard to keep the words “Adam and Eve” from popping into one’s head – especially with all the other religious motifs that have surrounded our insight into Cylon aims (even if they are from “Six’s” perspective)
• Act of Contrition: As a result of the (clearly-planted) "radio broadcast", they come across a fully-equipped radiation shelter, which does not appear to have been used, and which is more than cozily set-up for a long duration stay for two people.
• This episode: When Helo suggests they pack up and leave the shelter, Valerii’s look is, for a moment, distinctly odd, and she challenges him with, “Unless you can think of a reason to stay here”, which comes close to being sultry in its undertone. Helo takes this to mean remaining in the fallout shelter, which he refers to as “home”. But they are in many ways already “home”: on Caprica, and Valerii’s comment seems tilted in this regard – seeking if he has identified a reason to stay on Caprica (i.e. her). Disappointment is almost evident when he states they should move on
• This episode: No sooner is the decision made to move on than Cylon warriors turn up. In the ensuing firefight the surviving warrior makes no attempt to either kill or capture Helo, Instead settling on simply shooting up the place and ending the usefulness of a range of kitchen appliances and tools.
• This episode: When Helo comes-to, Valerii is gone, and he’s no longer thinking about leaving the planet – he’s only concerned with what has happened to Valerii.

That the attraction is there is obvious: witness the embarrassment that resulted from Valerii "spontaneously" hugging Helo when they first hear the radio broadcast (33).

Turning to Baltar’s “Six”, in some respects, this episode sees a subtle delineation between her and the Cylons. Previously, she has referred to them as “we” – implying she is still a part of them. Here she refers to the Cylons very much in the third person: “they”. Could this be indicative that she is indeed just a part of Baltar’s own mind? Again, the way James Callis plays his side of the scene in front of Roslin is nothing short of fascinating in its possible meaning. His actions and responses are highly suggestive of a man lost in his own private world – putting “Six” soundly in the realm of being a part of his own imaginings.

BUT – and there is still a but - her comments could just as easily be an indication that – as some form of “download” in his head - she is becoming increasingly isolated from her original operating parameters, and thus less readily identifying herself with the Cylons. Thus, the issue is not all that clear-cut. That said, the gut-level reaction to Baltar in this scene is highly suggestive that “Six” is a creation of his own mind, rather than an actual entity occupying a part of it – implant-wise or otherwise.

As to the Cylons themselves, “You Can’t” holds perhaps the most surprising revelation of all: the Raiders are bio-mechanical constructs. Until now we’ve been given the impression the majority of Cylons are mechanoid. Now we find that not only are the humanoid Cylons organic – Raiders are partially organic as well.

Does this mean all Cylons bio-mechanical? Probably not, as Helo puts a shot straight through the head of a Cylon Warrior. Were there any organic matter to be contained therein, one would expect blood and/or gore to exit the wound. This does not appear to be the case.

Does it mean that the Cylons have developed bio-mechanical capabilities themselves, and used them first in a basic form with the Raiders, before going on to develop the humanoid constructs?

Or does it mean that the very first Cylons developed by the Colonials were actually bio-mechanical in nature, rather than pure androids?

If the latter proves to be the case, it would certainly put a new angle on the conversation between Six and Doral on Caprica (Bastille Day) when they both refer to the Cylons as humanity’s children – as indeed the Six on Caprica did when talking to Baltar in the mini. It might also give a deeper reason for the initial Cylon revolt.

Of the entire episode, the Starbuck / Raider element is perhaps the most niggling. Both deeply fascinating for revealing more about Cylons, but by parts equally contrived given the ease with which she patched the ship and got it flying again – and with enough skill to survive a dogfight with Lee Adama.

In this respect, “You Can’t” was as contrived as Act of Contrition – but with the difference that the contrivances were somewhat more subtle and the story – for the most part – flowed a lot better than with Act of Contrition, in that the core story is completely character driven, and the Helo interlude actually appeared to add dimension to the Caprica situation.

Notes

• Cylon Raiders are bio-mechanical in nature, and their biomass uses a breathable, oxygen-rich mix suitable for humans
• Vipers are atmospheric-capable - indeed, it appears they may have been regularly used in the atmospheres of Colonial worlds, given they appear to be equipped with a parachute
• Vipers can be refuelled in space (and presumably in relatively calm atmospheres)
• Colonial flight suits are capable of full life support, both planet-side (Starbuck) and apparently in space (Hotdog). In the case of Vipers, the back section of the pilot’s seat appears in effect to be a life-support backpack that detaches from the rest of the seat following ejection
• Raptor cabins can apparently be depressurised and repressurised (Hotdog’s rescue), adding to their versatility
• Non-oxygen atmospheres play havoc with Viper and Raptor engine systems, suggesting they are designed to operate in an O2-rich atmosphere
• Roslin has the same image that the pilots touch when leaving the Ready Room
• Colonials play pool!
• Baltar is requisitioning something that requires the president’s authorisation – the use of one of Galactica’s nukes for his research?
• William Adama is not above letting personal feelings rise above professional requirements.

Statistics

Guest Stars

• Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus
• Bodie Olmos as Constanza / Hot Dog
• Donnelly Rhodes as Doctor Cottle

Writing & Direction

• Written by Carla Robinson
• Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Production Notes

• Series: 1 (2004 / 2005)
• Production Number: 1.05
• Airdate Order: 5 (of 13)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

• UK Airdate: 15 November 2004 (Sky One)
• US Airdate: (Sci-Fi Channel)
• DVD Release: N/A