Fragged

Overview

Colonel Tigh must deal with the Quorum of Twelve and the press over Roslin's removal from the presidency, while Cylon Warriors are preparing to hinder any rescue attempt on Kobol by setting up anti-aircraft batteries.

Summary

On the Galactica

Doctor Cottle arrives on the Galactica from the Rising Star, and informs Colonel Tigh that Commander Adama is still bleeding internally, and that he will have to operate to stabilize his condition.
It becomes apparent that the pressures of commanding the Galactica have gotten to Tigh, as he has become more and more dependent on alcohol. He becomes confused, questioning why Lee Adama is leading a crew to rescue the survivors from Kobol, and causes him to act very rudely to members of the crew.
After being informed about an arrival on the ship, Tigh goes to meet the Quorum of Twelve, who demand that they be given access to the imprisoned Laura Roslin. Tigh contends that 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 is starting to experience delusions while being held in the Galactica's brig, which prompts Billy to use Corporal Venner, a heavily religious follower of the Pythian prophecies, to obtain Kamala extract for Roslin.
Ellen Tigh visits Roslin in the brig, and realizes Laura is going crazy. She states that Saul should allow the Quorum members access to the imprisoned President, as it will prove that she was a threat to the stability of the government.
The Quorum members visit, and, having taken the Kamala, Roslin makes a statement to the members, stating that the military coup has failed, and that she is still retaining the position of President. She then goes on to tell 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. Realizing he has severly underestimated Roslin, Tigh herds the Quorum members out of the brig.
Saul then appears before the press, and states that because of the attempted coup against the military, he is declaring martial law over the fleet, which throws the room into chaos.

On Kobol

After holding a funeral for Socinus and Tarn, the ground crew stranded on Kobol discover that the Cylons are cannibalizing the parts of the downed Raptor craft, and are using the parts 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.
Even though Tyrol and Baltar both object, Crashdown decides that they will have to take out the anti-aircraft battery if they want to get rescued, even though more than half the group aren't proficient in the use of firearms.
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 suing to guide the missiles will be left unprotected. In spite of this, Crashdown tells them he is in charge and that they will proceed with the plan.
During this time, Lee Adama and a compliment of medical personnel and marines have piloted 2 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 her orders. Tyrol pulls his gun on Crashdown, but when it looks like Crashdown will fire, he is shot in the back by Baltar.
This action reveals their position to the Cylons, who start chasing after them through the forest. The team makes their way to the DRADIS dish, during which time Selix is shot in the leg, and Tyrol is shot in the arm, but he manages to use a grenade launcher to take out the dish. Although they are outmanned, Tyrol stands up and opens fire on the advancing Cylons, but the Raptors in the air use their missiles to destroy the Cylons.
When the rescued crew is leaving Kobol, Six tells Baltar that he is fulfilling his role in the prophecy, and that she will act as his conscience.

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 Selix 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?
Why was it necessary to cannibalize Raptor 305 for parts? Galactica had four raptors in good condition during Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II, and none were seen to be deployed during the fracas in Scattered.
Further evidence that Ellen Tigh is a Cylon? While she visited Laura Roslin in the brig, Laura suffered from a ringing in her ears which stopped the moment Ellen closed the door upon leaving. Laura's sudden reaction of "Oh my gods.. Ellen Tigh," also seemed to indicate that she realized what she was sensing. Will Laura inform anyone of this or, because it happened during her withdrawl from chamalla, can she not remember? The guard seemed to notice the reaction and timing as well.

Analysis

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 because he was about to shoot Cally.
"Frag" is American military slang for intentionally killing a superior 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 religious of the Twelve Colonies, and Gemenons interpret the Sacred Scrolls very literally. It appears that many Gemenons believe so strongly in the Pythia's prophesy 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, and presumably it is now fully 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.
First episode without scenes on Caprica.
First episode without an appearance by Helo.
First episode in which Tigh calls Galactica "my ship."
The discussion between Tigh and Billy firmly establishes that Billy was not arrested.
Raptors are capable of carrying missles.

Noteworthy Dialogue

In the 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.

Official Statements

Statistics

Guest Stars

Writing & Direction

Written by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin
Story by
Teleplay by
Produced by Harvey Frand
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Production Notes

Series 2 (2005/2006)
Production Number: 2.3
Airdate Order: 3 (of 20)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

UK Airdate: September 2005
US Airdate: July 29 2005
DVD Release: Date

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