Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I

"Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

Battlestar Galactica discovers Kobol, and a chain of events are set in motion that threatens to change everything.

Summary

• Following the Colonial Day celebrations, Gaius Baltar finally beds Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, but as they make love, she cries out for Lee Adama, shattering Baltar's mood.
• Stricken by her apparent rejection of him in their coupling, Baltar in turn comes close to rejecting Six and find it impossible to concentrate on anything – including his duties as Vice President.
• Elsewhere on ship, Boomer attempts to take her own life, but breaks down in tears before she can shoot herself. She is called to the Ready Room for a pre-flight briefing.
• Roslin discovers that her cancer treatment is not going well. Her cancer has spread to her lymphatic system, giving her perhaps 6 months to live
• Baltar verbally fences with Lee Adama and is somewhat insulting to Thrace, tipping Lee off that the doctor has slept with Thrace. Later, still thinking about Thrace, Baltar cracks in front of Roslin.
• Following a recon mission, Boomer and Crashdown return to Galactica with evidence they have stumbled upon Kobol.
• Determined to have things out with Thrace, Lee confronts her in the Hangar Deck, and the two come to blows. Thrace realizes that her actions with Baltar have hurt Lee Adama.
• Reviewing the evidence returned by Boomer and Crashdown, Roslin has a vision which Elosha confirms to be the City of the Gods on Kobol.
• Roslin has two further visions – the Arrow of Apollo and the Tomb of Athena, and accepts the scriptures as fact.
• Boomer, still confused, attempts to take her own life – “encouraged” by Baltar in defiance of Six.
• When Adama reviews the evidence, he orders an extensive surface survey of the planet, seeing it as an opportunity for them to settle. Warned he should get off Galactica by Six, Baltar assigns himself to the survey.
• Roslin tries to convince Adama that Kobol will point the way to Earth, but they must use the captured Cylon Raider to return to Caprica and retrieve the Arrow of Apollo.
• Three Raptors depart Galactica for Kobol, but on arrival they find themselves in the midst of a Cylon force of Raiders – and a basestar.
• One Raptor is destroyed, and one - carrying Baltar – crash-lands on Kobol.
• Before a rescue mission can be launched, the basestar must be taken out – and Starbuck hatches a plan to do just this using the captured Raider.
• Hearing this, Roslin meets with Starbuck and convinces her into going to Caprica instead to retrieve the Arrow, by telling her that Adama does not actually know where Earth is.

Adama studies ancient documents on Kobol.
(c) Universal

On Caprica

• Helo, alone and on the run, encounters “his” Valerii. He shoots and wounds her. Unable to kill her outright, he takes her with him.
• When Valerii tries to talk to him, Helo cuts her off and inists that to him she is only a way off the planet.

Questions

• Why did the Thirteen Tribes leave Kobol?
  • In a deleted scene, Col. Tigh asks Elosha this same question, and she says that one God decided that he should be raised up above all others, and rebelled, and this triggered the cataclysm that drove humans off of Kobol.
    • Could this be a reference to the beginning of the Cylon's religion and their "one true God"?
  • In another deleted scene from season 2's "Fragged", Roslin says that the Sacred Scrolls don't say that humanity was exiled from Kobol, but rather "there was some sort of battle amongst the Gods, and when it was over we chose to leave".
• What happened to the gods who lived on Kobol “with man”?
• Did the gods remain on Kobol after humanity left?
• Given the similarities with the Greek Pantheon, did the gods decide to follow the 13th tribe to Earth, thus establishing the myths of the Olympian gods?
• Do the Cylons consider Kobol as their spiritual home as well (“The birthplace of us all” – Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone")?
• Did Boomer's Cylon personality interfere in her attempt at suicide, resulting in her wounding herself, or did her human personality lack the conviction of the act, resulting in the wound? Or was it simply an accident that she missed?
• It seems to be implied from Boomer's more lucid comments that she was afraid she was going to hurt someone that it was her human personality that wanted to kill herself, to prevent herself from carrying out some Cylon mission. It seems unlikely that she could have missed.
• Given that Cylon transponders were aboard Galactica, why did the Cylons make such an attempt to destroy Galactica during their first attack - up to and including deploying nuclear weapons against her? Was the device inactive - if so, why was it in CIC in the first place (Miniseries)?
  • The transponder was probably there so the Cylon Raiders carrying nuclear missiles could target its location in the Mini-Series. Even if Galactica survived, the transponders would still allow the battlestar to be tracked.

Analysis

• Why would Starbuck have sex with Baltar?: As Starbuck said, she feels she's a screwup. Based on what we've seen and heard of Starbuck throughout the season, and specifically Apollo's comments in this episode, she has a history of recklessly diving into physical relations with no thought whatsoever as to the consequences; Starbuck instinctively starts thinking something must be wrong when things are going right, such as her growing relationship with Apollo, because she's so used to things going wrong. Also, Lee left her dancing with Baltar in the last episode.
• When Sharon shoots herself, she is holding an automatic pistol, but the sound was that of the larger sidearms carried by pilots when flying off-ship missions (only slightly suppressed), rather than the report of a "normal" pistol being fired.

Notes

• It is 3 days since the events of Colonial Day.
  • Kara leaves Baltars quarters at the start of the episode with her blue dress from Colonial Day. It seems more likely that this episode continues directly on from the previous episode.
• There are now 47,897 survivors in the fleet, a net loss of 1 since "Colonial Day".
• The Fleet is beginning to run short of supplies.
• Humans departed Kobol some 2,000 years prior to the setting of the series .
• Kobol is a place where the “gods and man lived together in paradise”.
• Some of the "gods" appear to be buried on Kobol (The Tomb of Athena).
• Socinus has been released from the brig and returned to duty.
• The "R&D TV Animation" skit during the credits consists of David Eick transforming Ron Moore into Martha Stewart by shooting lightning from his fingers.
• Ellen Tigh does not appear in this episode, but she is present in deleted scenes.
• The Cylon transponder is an indirect nod to the original series, in which Apollo and Starbuck use an IFF-type device to identify their Raider to Colonial forces when they launch an attack on a Cylon Basestar (The Hand of God (TOS)).

Noteworthy Dialogue

• In the bunk room, when Gaius Baltar interrupts Sharon Valeri’s second attempt at suicide:

Sharon Valeri: (as she pretends to be cleaning her hand gun) What’s going on?

Gaius Baltar: (cautiously) Well, I was going to ask you the same question. Actually, I was looking for Lieutenant Thrace but...sometimes it’s good to...talk these things over.

Number Six: (feigning pity) Deep down she knows she’s a Cylon, but her conscious mind just won’t accept it.

Sharon Valeri: Sometimes I have these...dark thoughts.

Gaius Baltar: What kind of dark thoughts?

Number Six: Her model is weak, always has been. But in the end she’ll carry out her mission.

Sharon Valeri: I don’t know, but I’m afraid I’m going to hurt someone. I feel like I ought to be stopped.

Number Six: (moving to the other side of Boomer) She can’t be stopped. She’s a Cylon. You can’t help her, Gaius...but you could probably sleep with her. (Baltar reacts with a look of disgust at Six.) That’s what you want, right?

Gaius Baltar: (to Boomer) I’m not sure why...sometimes...we must embrace that which opens up for us.

Sharon Valeri: Embrace?

Gaius Baltar: Life can be a curse as well as a blessing. (his voice becomes more intense) You will believe me when I tell you: there are far worse things than death in this world...

Sharon Valeri: So you’re saying…?

Gaius Baltar: No. No, no, no. What I say...is meaningless. Listen to your heart. Embrace that which you know to be the right decision.

(They look at each other as Six regards Baltar with a look of complete incomprehension, then Baltar stands and kisses Boomer on the forehead before walking out of the bunkroom. Seconds later there is the sound of a single gunshot from inside.)

• In Galactica's landing bay:

Lee Adama: Going hunting?

Kara Thrace: (loading ammunition into the Cylon Raider) I'm manning the gunnery for the Jump test tomorrow. See if our boy here can shoot anything with our ammo.

Lee Adama: So it's a boy now.

Kara Thrace: I changed my mind.

Lee Adama: You ever wonder why everyone else calls it a "she", but to you, it's a "he"?

Kara Thrace: That's fascinating, Lee. You should write a paper.

Lee Adama: Well, that's not really my style. I'm not as smart as...say, Doctor Baltar. How is the Vice President, by the way?

Kara Thrace: I don't know. Haven't seen him.

Lee Adama: (thinks for a second) So...he's a love-them and leave-them kind of guy, I guess.

Kara Thrace: I guess.

Lee Adama: Ships just pass in the night...

Kara Thrace: Yep.

Lee Adama: Didn't mean a thing.

Kara Thrace: No.

Lee Adama: You were just bored, looking for something to do. So frakking the Vice President of the Colonies seemed like a great waste of time!

Kara Thrace: Do you want something from me?

Lee Adama: Not a thing-

Kara Thrace: -because I don't owe you anything.

Lee Adama: No, you don't owe me anything. because I'm just a CAG, and you're just a pilot. A pilot who can't keep her pants on! Oh, it's just like old times, Kara. Like when you got drunk and you couldn't keep your hands off the Major-

(Kara turns around and swings a punch at Lee, but Lee returns the favor by punching Kara in the eye)

Lee Adama: Why'd you do it, Kara? Just tell me why.

Kara Thrace: Because I'm a screwup, Lee. Try to keep that in mind.

• As Kara Thrace pilots the Cylon Raider in a weapons test, she contacts Commander Adama:

Commander Adama: (to Kara) Go ahead.

Kara Thrace: I believed you. Believed in Earth.

Commander Adama: What are you doing, Starbuck?

Kara Thrace: Bringing home the cat, sir.

Commander Adama: We can talk about this.

Kara Thrace: No, I don't think so.

Commander Adama: I want you to remember one thing. I do not regret anything that I did. Be sure that whatever you're going to do, you don't regret it later. Do you understand me?

Kara Thrace: I guess we'll find out. (Starbuck uses the FTL computer to Jump to Caprica)

Lee Adama: Galactica, Apollo. Starbuck has jumped away. Repeat, Starbuck has jumped away.

Colonel Tigh: She wasn't scheduled for a Jump test! Where the hell did she go?

Commander Adama: Home.

Official Statements

Regarding Lack of Definitive Information Regarding Kobol

From RDM's Sci-Fi Channel Blog

"In the last two episodes it is noted by the priestess that the thirteen tribes left Kobol about "2000 years ago" and the initial estimate of the age of the ruins is the same, but nothing is concrete of course. This is where I have a problem: They were obviously a star faring civilization to leave Kobol to being with. To do so requires information technology. Why is their history of that time so sketchy and lacking of concrete records? Yes it was 2000 years in the past but come on, it's not like they only had papyrus to write on. "

I've been presupposing some kind of cataclysm or crisis that occurred soon after mankind settled on the 12 worlds which either wiped out the knowledge base or had it deliberately destroyed for some reason. This doesn't seem that implausible when one considers that a tremendous amount of knowledge from the Greco-Roman tradition was lost after the fall of the Roman Empire and plunged the western world into the so called Dark Ages. Clearly, the Colonials did not fall all the way back to papyrus, and they do in fact, know that they are descendants of refugees from Kobol, hence the term "Colonies." They must have possessed star-faring technology at the time of the exodus, but I don't know how far we'll go into this specific backstory in the series, however.

Other Statements

• Jamie Bamber talks about his response to the argument held between Kara Thrace and Lee Adama in this episode:

It's sort of an explosion of jealousy that is a complete surprise to him because I don't think he's ... he's not fully aware of what he feels. There's something quite like a gut reaction that really was exciting to play. It was a surprise to me. [1]

Guest stars

• Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
• Nicki Clyne as Specialist Cally
• Lorena Gale as Elosha
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Alonso Oyarzun as Specialist Socinus
• Bodie Olmos as Lt. Brendan "Hot Dog" Constanza
• Stephen Spender as Pilot
• James Bell as ECO

External Links

"Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I" at scifi.com