The episode begins, like Act of Contrition. well into the events of the story, as Lee Adama floats in a planetary body of water. He sees something approaching him—it is a Cylon Raider with a Viper in hot pursuit, and we return to reality to see Apollo floating in space in his ejection seat, followed by the title card, "48 Hours Earlier".
Kara Thrace asks Lee Adama for backup on her mission to assassinate Admiral Cain. Lee accepts, and reassures Kara of the importance of trust as he embraces her.
Helo and Galen Tyrol are bound and beaten in the brig by upset Pegasus officers, aided again by their marines, until Executive officer Jack Fisk arrives to break it up.
Before Adama aborts his assassination plan on Cain, he solicits advice from the cooperative copy of Sharon Valerii, asking her why the Cylons hate humanity as they do. She reminds him of a portion of his decommissioning speech (Miniseries), asking whether humanity has asked itself if it is deserving to survive despite its failings.
After the battle, Admiral Cain is shot to death by Gina in Cain's quarters. Cain is challenging to the last, unregretful of the treatment that Gina has been given.
At Cain's funeral, Kara Thrace speaks admiringly of her, saying the Fleet would have been safer with her than it is without her. This statement raises a stare from Commander Adama.
Lee Adama confides to Thrace that he didn't want to survive to the mission, Anastasia Dualla stands outside Adama's quarters eavesdropping, visibly worried about young Adama.
The Pegasus, and its crew, remain in the Fleet, with William Adama becoming an admiral to command both battlestars. After receiving new admiral insignia from Laura Roslin, he gives her a brief but affectionate kiss, to the smiles of both.
Laura Roslin is now visibly weakened by her fight with cancer, and her composure and strength are failing. Her end appears near.
Adama had the first opportunity to implent his "plan" on Admiral Cain. Why didn't he? Did Boomer's earlier comments have something to do with that?
Why did Cain not issue the order for Adama's execution? Was it a change of heart? Or did she suspect that her life was in jeopardy by Thrace?
Subsequent to Gina killing of Cain, Gina disappears from Pegasus and Colonial military imprisonment (as promised by Baltar). Where is she being hidden?
Is Lee Adama becoming depressed and unable to command his pilots?
How will Pegasus resources be used throughout the Fleet?
How many new Viper squadrons and pilots have been added to the Fleet?
How will Adama deal with the mob-level brutality that appears throughout Pegasus?
How closely have the Cylons studied the memories of the 'first' Boomer aboard the Galactica, and the other spies in the fleet?
How will Kara Thrace's comments at Cain's funeral affect her relationship with now-Admiral Adama?
In "Resistance", Baltar forces Galactica's first Sharon into revealing that eight Cylons are still in the Fleet. However, this obviously does not take into account the introduction of Pegasus. Thus the question remains: Are there any more Cylon agents are aboard Pegasus? If so, what do they number?
The basestar/battlestar battle was epic, although viewers did not see a great deal of it from a play-by-play standpoint. The pairing of an advanced battlestar such as Pegasus with the oldest battlestar, Galactica, likely illustrates why the Cylons used sabotage instead of all-out war to defeat the Twelve Colonies. With proper planning, battlestars working in tandem will shred a basestar in a close-range attack, which uses missiles and fighters, but appears to have no gun batteries itself.
Obviously, the writers felt that the battle was less important than the events planned immediately after--the mutual attempts by Cain and Adama to kill each other. Viewers enter the battle scene at the stage where the battlestars tackle the destruction of the basestars, although there was a ruse earlier involving the entire Fleet. This quick segue was also likely done in light of the cost for the visual effects, since the shots of the battlestar attacks would be greatly desired by the fans, but also be new VFX and therefore expensive.
Sharon again shows that she has the memories of the 'original' Boomer, which was previously shown in the season opener when she started to tell Starbuck of the time they met.
A new love triangle is formed as Gaius Baltar seems more fixated on the notion of Gina and her pain rather than the feelings of his virtual Number Six, who unsuccessfully pleads him not to aid Gina in killing herself. As he takes Gina's hand, the virtual Six disappears from view in the scene. Perhaps Baltar needed to touch a "real" Six copy, and is also swayed by her "humanity"--her vulnerability and weakness, as well as her differing interpretation on how she thinks God will forgive the Colonials for the destruction of the Cylon fleet.
Admiral Adama's affectionate kiss with Laura Roslin opens up all kinds of new story possibilities and complications for the characters and the Fleet. It might have been considered by some viewers to be the most surprising part of the whole episode since no information on this scene was noted in advance of the show's airing. As noted by RDM in the podcast commentary, the kiss was improvised by Olmos. His and McDonnell's acting continues to be exemplary.
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