Black Market

"Black Market" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

Captain Lee Adama, battling haunting demons of his own from a spurned love lost on Caprica, investigates the murder of new Pegasus commander Jack Fisk, and uncovers a black market that strains the resources of the Fleet.

Summary

• The recovered Prsident Laura Roslin, feeling behind in her work since her absence, discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems with internal trade of supplies within the Fleet in Adama's quarters with Admiral Adama, Pegasus Commander Fisk, and Dr. Baltar.
• When he arrives back in his quarters on Pegasus (Cain's old quarters) Fisk is garroted by several black market gangsters. One in particular stands out as a well-dressed "businessman".
• Lee Adama, severely depressed since his ejection from the Blackbird, has apparently been nurturing a relationship on Cloud 9 with a woman named Shevon, who has a young daughter named Paya.
• In a "morning after" talk, Lee and Shevon talk in tones that hint towards his wanting of a serious relationship. Shevon appears to dodge these, and requests 100 extra cubits as Lee is leaving since he "stayed the night".
• In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica. She's exceptionally pretty, and the scenes revolve around a rendevous between Lee and this girl, which resolves with her running away. The details and intensity of these flashbacks increase as the episode progresses.
• Unaware that Fisk was murdered, Baltar stumbles into Fisk's quarters to see him but finds Lee Adama on the scene. After stating (correctly) that he had nothing to do with Fisk's murder, he storms out. Apollo deduces correctly that Baltar was actually trading for a hard to find commodity: "Caprica Imperials" fumerellos that Fisk had.
• Apollo finds a small fortune of luxury goods in Fisk's closet, including a gold bracelet with the monogram "E.T" on it. Apollo realizes it's Ellen Tigh's, and confront's Col. Saul Tigh about it in his quarters. Tigh says that it was he and not his wife who traded it to Fisk for good liquor, fruit, etc. for Ellen and himself. Tigh explains that Fisk was deeply involved in using Pegasus as a hub to fence black market goods.
• Dr. Cottle's autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth, perhaps as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge. Adama is angry that Tigh would use the black market, but Tigh counters that almost everyone does some trading with it to get things they need, even Adama, who responds that just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.
• On Colonial One, President Roslin, piecing together her near-death recollections of Caprica, becomes aware of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of the Cylon agent known to the Fleet as "Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina". She candidly asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign.
• Baltar's pride is wounded. While he never wanted any political power in his life or the office at first, he wants to stay VP now. Roslin tells him it's not an offer she'll make again, but he leaves anyway.
• Off duty, working out in Galactica's gym, Anastasia Dualla comes to Lee Adama to bravely ask if their flirtation while working out is leading somewhere. Adama has no idea what to say, and Dualla takes the quiet hint.
• Lee Adama rushes to Shevon's quarters on Cloud 9 after she calls for help. He finds the bruised Shevon and Paya, and decides to take them to Galactica.
• As Lee is packing things up to leave, he is ambushed by thugs, who nearly garrote him. As he is held within a breath of his life, he is confronted by a well-dressed, blunt "businessman", who warns him to back off of the investigation. A pistol-whip to the head knocks Lee out.
• Apollo awakens to find an empty room, and calls for a medic and security team. Only then does he notice the corpse of the man that garroted Fisk.
• Tom Zarek drops by the scene in Shevon's room later, and discusses the black market with Apollo. Zarek says that he's not actually not involved with it, because he needs to keep his hands clean, but he also won't help Apollo shut it down (giving ship names, contacts, etc.) because Zarek doesn't want it shut down; it's evidence that Roslin was unable to establish a utopian society in the Fleet, and successfully dismantling it would just prove her right.
• Zarek points out that the black market does gets supplies where they are needed. Nonetheless, Zarek mentions the central hub of the black market, Prometheus, a ship so lawless it's practically "off the grid", where you can supposedly get anything. Zarek gives a name to the "businessman" -- Phelan -- and tells Apollo that he probably took Shevon there. Additionally, he points out that Phelan has given Lee the murderer -- the thug with a bullet in his head -- and that it should be considered "a way out."
• On Prometheus, alone, Lee Adama searches and finds Paya and other children locked up.
• Apollo encounters Phelan in the Prometheus's bar. Apollo warns that Galactica is fully aware of his location, and that the battlestar would vent Prometheus's air into space unless he gets Shevon and Paya back, and the black market is shut down.
• Phelan counters that the Fleet needs the black market; it's like a pressure valve. Whenever a ship falls behind in the supply schedule, the black market fills the need. Phelan states that they sell all things to fill all wants, including child prostitution. Adama is horrified. Shevon is dragged out and admits to her work for Phelan as a prostitute.
• Phelan illustrates to Apollo that the only way Shevon was able to obtain life-saving antibiotics for Paya was the use of the black market. Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guards, Adama points it threateningly at Phelan. Surprisingly, two other guards behind Lee neither help or hinder him.
• Apollo says to Phelan that he may be right, maybe he shouldn't try to shut down the market, but that there are lines that should never be crossed, and Phelan has crossed them. When Phelan confidently tells Adama that he won't shoot him, because he's not a thug like Phelan, Adama contemplates. Lee then cycles through another series of flashbacks of his lost relationship on Caprica... and pulls the trigger. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Phelan slumps into his chair and dies.
• Apollo turns to Phelan's guards, also in shock, and tells them that he's not going to shut down all black market trade because the Fleet needs it for vital supplies whether he likes it or not. However, they continue their business at his whim only. If there are more killings, hold back essential medicines, or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
• In tears, Shevon refuses Adama. She rightly proports that Lee was trying to replace his lost Caprican relationship -- where the girl had either gotten pregnant or wanted to get pregnant, and Lee had become afraid and reserved -- with Shevon and Paya. In straightforward terms, Shevon states that she and Paya cannot replace that loss.
• Back on Colonial One, the Adamas present their reports to the President. Roslin is upset that Apollo did not shut down the black market, but Apollo counters that they will never have a perfect system and there will always be a black market. At least this way, they know where and who they are, and can monitor it to keep a measure of control. Admiral Adama fully supports Lee, but Roslin isn't at all happy with this and dismisses them rudely.
• Tom Zarek is seen walking through a crowd on the Prometheus with one of Phelan's old henchmen in tow.
• Admiral Adama and Lee Adama sit casually in the admiral's quarters over a drink, discussing the results of the black market issue. Admiral Adama tells his son that Lee has changed since the Blackbird ditching, but when the younger Adama declines to talk about it further, the older one relents. However, and somewhat amusingly, the elder Adama adds that he is disappointed that he did not discuss the nature of his relationship with "that woman" to him earlier, something Lee was not aware his father knew.

Questions

• How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate Pegasus' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
  • It is likely that Pegasus draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
• At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the Prometheus, with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
  • Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
• The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
• Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "Epiphanies"?
  • Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unoficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
• Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon Farms?
• Who will take command of Pegasus following Fisk's death?
  • Answer in spoilers text box

Spoiler follows, highlight to read.
An officer named Barry Trammel is promoted to replace Fisk as commander of Pegasus. ("The Captain's Hand").

Analysis

• Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "Downloaded", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
• It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
• Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving Laura Roslin's miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the previous episode.
• The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "Resistance", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with Billy Keikeya, where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to Cally or Kat, who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
• Much of the regular cast, including Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii,Helo, Felix Gaeta, Galen Tyrol, and Cally do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual Number Six is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on Pegasus and in the meeting with Roslin.
• Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. Cottle's screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
• Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the realism of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
• The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was intriguing. However, confusion entered in with Shevon's line of Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child". Many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. The repetitive flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot and may have made viewing less comfortable.
• The plausibility of Jack Fisk being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's killer still on the loose, it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia.
  • Phelan and his men clearly had access to Fisk already, so it may not be all that implausible.
  • Considering that an attempt on Adama's life has already happened once, marines should have been escorting him from the very beginning. With Fisk and Cain now both dead, there may be a standing Fleet or Colonial military order in place that automatically activates, similar to such real-world orders in the US military.
• The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be extremely polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now knows Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

Notes

• Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less from last week's episode, "Epiphanies" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
  • On the other hand, a 2% population growth rate should mean ~80 babies per month. Alternatively, ~25000 women each bearing two children over the course of an 80-year lifespan means ~25 babies per month.
• Zarek notes that he is the representative of the Astral Queen, although in "Colonial Day", he was elected to represent the colony of Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his responsibilities in a less-than-official capacity.
• Central characters Starbuck and Sharon Valerii do not appear in this episode.
• Jack Fisk's use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of fumarello, was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of DRADIS in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the series bible and past episodes.
• As seen in Final Cut, there are occasionally meetings of all the ships in the fleet.
• Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film Predator, and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming X-Men 3.
• Helo does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "Fragged".
• Tyrol does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "Home, Part I".
• The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "The Thing": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• "You're not gonna shoot."

—The last words of Phelan

Official Statements

• In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar) said: "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

Statistics

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Original Series definition: a form of coined currency (see: cubit)

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.

Galactica 1980 definition: Dillon looks up this term after Gloria Alonzo asks if he has one ^{(1980: "Space Croppers")}

Re-imagined Series definition: mineral that can be refined to a powerful fuel, see: tylium

Original Series definition: a highly combustible fuel (see: tylium) ^{(TOS: "Fire in Space")}