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Pegasus (episode)

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For information related the battlestar Pegasus itself, see Pegasus (RDM).
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"Pegasus (episode)"
An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No. Season , Movie {{{movie}}}
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Overview

Tensions run high when Pegasus, a battlestar more advanced than Galactica, is found -- only to have Admiral Helena Cain take command of The Fleet and enforce her demands on those under her new command.

Summary

  • Pegasus, a Mercury-class battlestar, has joined the Fleet. She survived the attack by blind-jumping as the Cylons attacked the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards.
  • A Cylon fleet, comprised of two basestars, about a dozen support ships and an Unknown Cylon Ship have been trailing the Fleet -- and detected by Cain and Pegasus.
  • Pegasus discovered this Cylon Fleet and has been carrying out hit-and-run attacks against the Cylons. At first the Cylon fleet's course seemed to be random, until Cain realized they were going to systems with natural resources. Cain then tried to predict which system the Cylons were going to Jump next, and stumbles upon Galactica.
  • After looking over Galactica's logs, Cain surmises that the Cylon fleet was following Galactica (which itself was Jumping to systems with natural resources for the Fleet).
  • Upon assuming command of the fleet, Cain begins moving crew members around, citing discipline concerns, transferring Lee Adama and Kara Thrace to Pegasus.
  • President Laura Roslin has concerns about why Cain ignores her requests to talk and, more importantly, why Pegasus is only resupplying Galactica's military stores and ignoring the Fleet's needs.
  • Tyrol welcomes his counterpart from Pegasus. Peter Laird is a civilian aeronautical engineer-turned Deck Chief who designed the old engines in the Blackbird. Laird is both appalled and impressed by Tyrol's new stealth fighter.
  • Lee is essentially busted down to Raptor pilot in a recon mission to the Cylon fleet. But he shows his defiant side by asking Thrace to commandeer the Blackbird to take some better recon photos of the Cylon fleet without being noticed by Colonial or Cylon forces.
  • Helo and Galen Tyrol discover that Gina, the Cylon prisoner aboard the Pegasus, was raped by the crew as a form of torture. They rush to Galactica's brig, where a Pegasus lieutenant, Alistair Thorne, is about to rape the Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii. Tyrol throws Thorne against a bulkhead, unintentionally killing him. The pair are arrested and taken to Pegasus.
    The Battlestar Pegasus.
  • Commander Adama is angered to hear that Admiral Cain is going to hold the court-martial on Pegasus, not Galactica where the offense occurred. Admiral Cain refuses to return the prisoners and balks at the thought of an independent tribunal to settle the dispute. Using Adama's logs against him once more, she notes that the last time Galactica held one, Commander Adama dissolved the tribunal when he "didn't like the verdict."
  • Admiral Cain, however, does not give the pair a court martial hearing or trial by jury, instead rapidly deciding the verdict by herself and ordering Helo and Tyrol to be executed.
  • Upon discovering what Admiral Cain has done, Commander Adama orders a Raptor to fly out with an armed Marine boarding party, and launches Galactica's Vipers against Pegasus, demanding that Admiral Cain release Helo and Galen Tyrol.
  • Admiral Cain launches Pegasus' Vipers against the incoming Vipers from Galactica. They close in on each other as the episode ends.

Questions

  • Will Starbuck and her Blackbird stealth fighter play a role in the armed standoff between Pegasus and Galactica?
    • Although we won't know until next episode, that seems initially unlikely, as the Blackbird is being used for the Recon mission against the Cylon "Unknown". The episode seemed to suggest that both were occurring at the same time.
  • Where did the Pegasus crew get fresh fruit?
    • Dualla explains in "Final Cut" that their ships have very effective refrigeration units to keep food fresh for long duration duty tours, etc.
  • In the absence of Apollo and Starbuck, who is leading Galactica's fighters against Pegasus? George Birch? Simes?
  • As for the unknown ship in the Cylon fleet, what is its function? Is it, as Adama speculates, a Raider factory? Or a command-and-control vessel? Could it be a Cylon creation facility? The next episode's title, "Resurrection Ship," could foreshadow that possibility, as when Cylon agents "die" they are downloaded into new bodies. Where would these new bodies be stockpiled?
  • Could the new "Cylon mothership" be a command ship that contains the Re-Imagined Series' equivalent of the Imperious Leader?
  • Roslin is commander-in-chief of the Colonial fleet. Could she be the one to order Cain to stand down by citing regulations to Roslin's benefit in the same way that Cain has done against Adama? Roslin could also order another member of Pegasus to assume command to enforce this. At the same time, Roslin's never been the type to use force, and may use other means to keep this event from turning into a bloodbath.
    • Further, Cain doesn't seem to think of Roslin as the "real" president, just "Secretary of Education". Even if Roslin does order Cain to obey Adama, would Cain even consider them legitimate orders?
  • Does the Blackbird have FTL? It's a bit smaller than the Raptor and, if it's based on the Viper design, wouldn't have one. At the same time, how is Starbuck supposed to go on the recon mission without one?
    • Based on the information provided for the Raptor and Viper, both ships are similar in size. A possibility could be in the amount of energy generated by both fighters. Seeing as the Raptor is equipped with more surveillance & communication equipment, it may have additional generators to power a FTL drive. Refer to talk page for additional discussion regarding Blackbird FTL capability.
    • Are the Vipers going on the recon mission? If not, why is it a blow to Apollo's honor for him to be piloting a Raptor? And how are the Vipers supposed to get there if they have to jump to the moon?
  • How did Cain and her crew discover the existence of Cylon agents?
    • Their biggest hint was probably when Gina killed several crew members.

Analysis

  • Cally's charged reaction to the drunken Pegasus crewmen bragging about raping Number Six/Gina repeatedly is probably due to herself being the survivor of an attempted rape, in "Bastille Day". This disgust with the Pegasus crew's gang-rape of Gina is interesting in light of the fact that Cally had no compunctions about killing the Galactica copy of Valerii. Evidently she now acknowledges the Cylons' humanity in at least some measure. Perhaps she's felt a connection between this and her own assault on board Astral Queen by Mason in "Bastille Day".
    • It's also possible that, since her fellow female deck crew also look disgusted and follow her out, women just don't appreciate talk about rape in general. RDM says something to this effect in the podcast.
  • It is also interesting on a dramatic level how the portrayal of Cally's killing Galactica-Valerii in "Resistance" contrasts with the portrayal of the brutalized Gina and the attempted rape of Caprica-Valerii. It was less shocking to many to watch Boomer being shot to death than it was to watch Caprica-Valerii being pinned down over her bunk and almost raped—possibly because, while killing a Valerii copy is an understandable act of revenge, raping one would be a senseless act of cruelty.
  • Talking amongst themselves on Cylon-occupied Caprica, the Cylons mentioned in passing that there was a main Cylon fleet in "Final Cut".
  • In the miniseries, Adama first proposes that Galactica will go about independent of the rest of the fleet and fight the Cylons. Roslin persuades him to instead protect and lead the fleet on their escape from the colonies. The Pegasus, in contrast, did travel about independently attacking the Cylons. The condition of the Pegasus's crew may be an indication of what would have happened to Galactica if she stood and fought.
  • In contrast to Galactica's nearly evenly gender-divided crew, the crew of the Pegasus seems predominantly male to a very high degree. Admiral Cain was the only female aboard Pegasus with a speaking role, with only a couple other females visible in the hallways or in the Pegasus ready room. This stands in notable contrast to Ron Moore's egalitarian vision of gender issues in the military, and appears to have been an intentional decision made during production. In addition, the dialogue of the drunken Pegasus crewmen suggests they've perhaps forgotten how to act around women— they either ignore or fail to understand Cally and Selix's disgust with their talk about gang-raping Gina. This may be a contributing factor to the behavior of the Pegasus crew—the relative paucity of women aboard Pegasus and the resulting sexual frustration could have led to the overly regimented, authoritarian, and brutal culture the crew developed, culminating in the senseless, repeated gang rape of the Cylon prisoner Gina.
  • Not simply relying on her rank, Admiral Cain asserts her dominance in more subtle ways as soon as she sets foot on Galactica. Despite the fact that she's bringing one ship to join dozens, she welcomes Galactica back to the Colonial Fleet, thus defining the Fleet as wherever she is. Later she tells Roslin 'You look like I just shot your dog' when she asserts her authority over Adama. Both of these acts give some show of being welcoming or friendly, but also claim her spot at the top of the food chain.
    • Although Pegasus is only one ship, it's only one of two battlestars in the fleet. Being a Mercury class battlestar, it is also more advanced than Galactica, which was scheduled to be decommissioned. As such, the older battlestar hasn't the resources that Pegasus does. Although Cain's statement obviously shows her enlarged ego, it rings true purely from the standpoint of military prowess.
    • Cain is also the higher ranking officer—with the rest of Colonial Fleet destroyed, command naturally fell to her, not Adama, despite her absence from the remainder of the fleet. So by military regulation her statement also rings true.
  • Laird, Pegasus' deck chief, refers to events since "the war happened". Admiral Cain and her Pegasus crew seem to still consider fighting against the Cylons to be a war, while in the Miniseries Commander Adama admitted that "the war is over, we lost".
    • Laird is still on Galactica during the period immediately leading up to the assault on Caprica-Valerii. As the deck chief of the Pegasus wouldn't his presence be required on his own ship or has he, like Apollo and Starbuck, been reassigned?
      • According to the podcast in a scene deleted for time, Laird is reassigned as deck chief of Galactica over Tyrol. Of course, that raises the question of who is now performing deck chief duty on Pegasus.
  • Thrace's criticism of Taylor's reconaissance plan - that the Cylons would never leave such an obvious blind spot unaccounted for - is the same criticism she made of Tigh's initial assault plan in The Hand of God.

Notes

  • This episode has been nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
  • Population count is 49,605, a dramatic increase of 1,752 since the 47,853 count in "Flight of the Phoenix", undoubtedly to account for the addition of Battlestar Pegasus and her crew to the Colonial fleet.
    • Cain notes that Pegasus lost 700 crew in the opening attack. Lieutenant Thorne also tells Dr. Baltar that Gina killed 7 of his men. Also, Colonel Jack Fisk tells Colonel Saul Tigh that Cain executed the previous XO for failure to attack a Cylon staging area. Thus we may speculate that at the time of the attack her crew totaled to 2,460, give or take a few.
      • This number does not take into account any casualties that may have occurred because of the attack on the Cylon staging area, or any subsequent encounters with the Cylons.
      • Given the relative ease that Cain had with removing disloyal officers -- according to Colonel Fisk, her XO had served with her for many years prior to his execution by Cain -- there may be additional officers she had swiftly court martialed (ref: Tyrol and Agathon) and executed as well. Given Cain's megalomaniac streak, it is also possible that some of the civilians she'd rescued from the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards may have met unfortunate "mishaps" as well.
    • This is substantially smaller than Galactica's crew, possibly explained by many of Cain's crew being on leave at the time of the attack. Galactica, although soon to be decommissioned, was still fully operational. Also, Pegasus's systems are newer, and may be more automated.
    • Also, as Laird indicates, many civilians were pressed into service. So the actual number of actual pre-Holocaust Pegasus crew members may be far less than indicated above.
  • Kat flies wingman to Apollo in the opening sequence of this episode, as the CAP scouts Pegasus. Evidently she's been judged fit to resume flight status after negligently damaging a Viper due to overuse of Stims in "Final Cut".
  • As the episode ends, it's interesting to see that the bulk of Galactica's Viper fleet consist of the Mark II's, while Pegasus had the Mark VII's. A classic picture of "old vs. new".
    • While Pegasus seems to have entirely Viper Mk. VII's, they would presumably have had to removed most of the automated systems from them (to prevent Cylon virus infiltration). Doing this makes them more difficult to fly (Galactica's few Mk. VII's are only used by the most capable pilots now). Pegasus' pilots might have more advanced fighters but they aren't as reliable now as the tried-and-true Mk. II's.
  • Helena Cain is the female version of Cain, who was portrayed by the late Lloyd Bridges in the original Battlestar Galactica.
  • This episode is inspired by the two part episode, "The Living Legend".
  • Ronald D. Moore also wrote another episode called The Pegasus, in the seventh season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Visual effects gaffe: When we cut to Galactica's exterior as Adama makes his way to the bridge, it is behind and slightly above and to the left of Pegasus. When we see it again a few minutes later as it launches Vipers towards Galactica, it's quite a distance away from the fleet, above it and facing its left side.
  • During the premiere airing of this episode on the Sci-Fi Channel, when the episode came back from commercial at the start of Act 3 a "Viewer Discretion Is Advised" black and white message was inserted, warning of "mature subject matter" and content. The following final act of the episode shows drunken Pegasus crewmen bragging about raping the Cylon agent known as Gina, then the scene where Lt.Thorne attempts to rape Caprica-Sharon and Tyrol and Agathon intervene and fight the marine guards appears.
  • Pegasus crew wear a silver version of the colonial patch on their uniforms instead of the gold version used by Galactica and the colonial government.
    • Apollo and Starbuck do not switch to this version after their transfer to Pegasus, in this or subsequent episodes.

Noteworthy Dialogue

  • Baltar (to Gina): The food is yours. It's not a trick. I'm not going to take it away at the last second. You know, I...um...I'm just gonna talk right now. I don't expect you to say anything. Back on Caprica, before the attack—and sometimes I forget there was a world before the attack—I knew someone…a woman, unlike any other woman I'd ever known. She was unique. Beautiful, clever, intensely sensual. When she wasn't in my bed, she was in my thoughts. She was a Cylon. And she changed my life in a very real, very fundamental way in that I have quite literally never stopped thinking about her, because I love her. To this very day, I love her. And she looks exactly like you. My name is Gaius Baltar, and I'm here to help you.
  • Cain and Adama are discussing Helo and Tyrol's court-martial over wireless
Adama: You told me they'd get a fair trial. What kind of a trial could they have possibly had?
Cain: I assure you I heard them out. I weighed their statements against those of the guards and I took into consideration their service records and commendations. It was a difficult decision, Commander, but I dare say it was a fair one.
Adama: They have the right to have their case heard by a jury.
Cain: I am a flag officer on detached service during a time of war. Regulations give me broad authority in this matter.
Adama (to Tigh): Launch the fighters. (to Cain): You can quote me whatever regulation you'd like. I'm not going to let you execute my men.
Cain: I highly suggest you reconsider that statement, Commander.
Fisk: Admiral, Galactica is launching Vipers and a Raptor.
Cain: Commander, why are you launching Vipers?
Adama: Please arrange for Chief Tyrol and Lieutenant Agathon to be handed over to my marines as soon as they arrive.
Cain: I don't take orders from you!
Adama: Call it whatever you like. I'm getting my men.
Cain: You are making such a mistake.
Adama: I'm getting my men.

Official Statements

  • Ron D. Moore stated in his podcast that there were a number of scenes filmed for this episode that had to be deleted for time, but that he expects to be edited back into the episode for the DVD release. According to Moore, although most episode rough cuts run a little overtime and one or two scenes have to be edited out, "Pegasus" had more than a full extra Act worth of material left over. The full episode would have been an hour and 15 minutes long. Moore tried to put in more scenes to push it to 90 minutes, in which case Scifi Channel would air it as a 90 minute special (as they had done in the past for "Stargate Sg-1" on occasion), but ultimately not enough material could be included in "Pegasus" to make it 90 minutes long without detracting from story quality; they were left with an episode that was too short to be a 90 minute special, but also too long to include all filmed scenes in a one hour episode. Deleted scenes, which Moore says will be restored in the DVD release, include:
    • A scene when Adama, Tigh, and Roslin are heading to the flight deck to meet Admiral Cain when she first arrives on the ship, and while they're walking Adama and Tigh give Roslin a brief biography of Cain; who she is, that she was an up and coming officer promoted to Admiral over several other possible choices, etc.
    • An extension to Admiral Cain's meeting with Adama and Roslin in Adama's quarters, in which she explains that Pegasus survived Cylon computer virus infiltration through the Command Navigation Program because Pegasus was being overhauled at the shipyards, and most of her computers were disconnected.
    • An extension to the scene in Cain's quarters on Pegasus where Adama and Cain discuss how Pegasus is a Mercury-class battlestar, and the differences between this newer model and Galactica. Cain also explains that she intentionally doesn't have any chairs there so her meetings with her staff will run faster.
    • A scene where Admiral Cain asks about Galactica's Cylon-prisoner, Caprica-Sharon, and goes to the brig to observe her.
      • According to an interview with James Callis (Baltar) in issue #197 of TV Zone, "There’s another cut scene where Cain is interviewing Sharon. She hardly says anything but she’s obviously furious that this Cylon has been treated so well. It sickens her, and that’s when Baltar realizes he’s dealing with a psycho."
    • According to an interview with James Callis (Baltar) in issue #197 of TV Zone, "In one of [the deleted scenes], Six actually says to Baltar, ‘God, [Cain]’s a real tough nut, isn’t she, Gaius? She’s just your type. You like hard women, don’t you?’ Baltar says, ‘Yeah, I do.’"
  • According to RDM's podcast, there was entire subplot alluded to in the episode which was in the original script, but which was excised before it was ever filmed due to time constraints. The fragment that remains is when Roslin complains to Adama that Pegasus is focusing on re-supplying the Fleet's military assets (re-arming Galactica and re-supplying Pegasus from stores in the civililan fleet) while ignoring the needs of the civilian fleet. The subplot would show how Roslin wanted Pegasus to provide machine parts for repairs to the civilian Fleet, and that after these are repeatedly ignored the civilian fleet ultimately goes "on strike" by refusing to give Pegasus more tylium fuel. It would also expand on Cain's refusal to acknowledge Roslin as the President (and therefore her superior as Commander-in-Chief).
  • Moore also stated in the podcast that an alternate version of the attempted rape scene with Boomer was also filmed in which the rape was actually underway when Tyrol and Helo intervened. Ultimately, the decision was made to use the version seen where Thorne is stopped just in time, before he is able to rape Boomer. This is an alternate scene and thus doesn't "really" happen and will not be re-edited into the Director's Cut.
  • Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that the "Season 2.0" DVD box set of Battlestar Galactica (containing the first ten episodes of season two) will not contain the Director's Cut of "Pegasus". Universal Home Video said that they could not ready the extended version of the episode in time for the DVD release. However, it will now be the first episode in the boxed set of "Season 2.5" (containing episodes 11 through 20 of season 2). So the next DVD set will have 11 episodes in it. The practical application of all of this is that fans have the opportunity to buy both versions (in his podcast, Moore said he liked the extended cut better because of the great character moments and drama, but that some might feel that the tight, rapid pace of the cut-down episode kept it more thrilling). This was not the case with Universal's previous release of a 90 minute "Stargate SG-1" episode, in which only one version was put into the DVD set.


"Q: Walt Kelly's Pogo used the phrase "the enemy is us" as part of a 1970's anti-litter campaign, and recently David Eick has cited it as a theme in the longer Pegasus arc of the second season. Some of the show's vocal critics charge that this notion promotes a "Blame America" attitude or is a sort of stealth anti-Americanism. What is this concept supposed to convey as we head into the bottom half of the second season?
RDM: The reference is to the fact that human beings are often their own worst enemy. In the context of the show, it means that the real challenges to who and what these people are often comes not from bullets, but from within. I continue to be amazed at how easily one gets tagged with the moniker of "anti-American" these days by those on the right. It's almost... well, anti-American."
Gilles Nuytens: I read some critics about the "rape" scene shown in the last episode aired, as you played in this scene, what's your opinion on it?
Aaron Douglas: BSG is a reflection of real life and these types of events go on everyday. Many people were upset by it but to me they need to realize that this is the world we live in. Does that mean they have or want to watch? Absolutely not but do not discount it as sensationalism. What we shot was so much more graphic than what was aired and I understand why they did not use it. In what aired the rape had not totally begun. It was suggestive. I thought it was a good scene and on point with the story and not added to draw in viewers. That suggestion is absurd. I know Ron Moore very well and he is not the kind of person or writer to add scenes purely for sensationalistic or ratings purposes. They have to be on point, truthfully reflect the situation and today's world and be relevant to the story or they are not there. It also amazes me that people have no problem with beatings, shootings, bombings, stabbings etc. but show a breast, a bottom, or a grope and they fly off the wall to condemn it.
This happens in all areas of film, television and theatre and it is ridiculous.
Robert Falconer: Speaking of bleak, you had some pretty strong feelings about how people reacted to that rape scene at the end of Pegasus, and the overall problem of how violence against women tends to be portrayed on television.
Mary McDonnell: I have strong feelings about this as a woman; it’s a huge button for me, the issue of violence against women on television and how much of this stuff we’re going to pump out there before it becomes an accepted point of view that that’s what happens to women, and no-one takes responsibility and there’s no consequences.
But there’s a big difference between crystallizing it inside a genre that doesn’t do it very often; making it part of one story one week, and the mainstream, non-sci-fi television where we become used to seeing women being raped and killed and mutilated—and other horrible things. That’s the sad thing.
So for me, the fact that it was so upsetting to people when presented on Battlestar Galactica is a very good thing. It should be upsetting. It needs to be very, very upsetting. One should watch it and think, “I don’t want to see that!” We shouldn’t be using the fragility or vulnerability of the female body as a “technique” around which to build entertainment.
I believe if Galactica were doing that sort of thing all the time, then the show would have a problem. But the way it was portrayed enables people to dialogue and talk about these sorts of things. Fires should be lit. And we should hear. Then you know if you’re in the ballpark of something that is really relevant, or if you’re being exploitive. And I have a lot of respect for the people who got upset as well as the people who wrote it.
Robert Falconer: By the end of “Pegasus,” Adama makes a decision with potentially sweeping consequences, but one that logically follows from everything that has happened to him up to that point. Is this a decision he will be able to live with as a military leader?
Edward James Olmos: I think Adama’s decision to attack the Pegasus could be interpreted as strictly military in nature. You don’t leave anybody behind, and protecting your men is a fundamental tenet of any military leader. In fact, you could argue that he has no consideration for anyone OTHER than his military guys aboard the Pegasus—he’s not thinking about the fleet at that moment, he’s not even thinking about the future of either of those two battlestars, because they’re going to blast each other to bits, since he’s not going to give into Cain’s craziness.
Robert: The rape scene toward the end of “Pegasus” has stirred up a lot of controversy in certain quarters. Ironically, there seems to be something of a disconnect here; people seem more willing to accept this in contemporary mainstream drama than they do in television science fiction, almost as if they’ve become conditioned to science fiction presenting a sanitized view of the future. Any thoughts on that?
Edward James Olmos: Well for those who were particularly upset by the scene to which you refer, I pray to god they don’t watch because it’s only going to get worse. They should be warned right now: please turn off your television sets and do not watch this show because it’s only going to provide more insight into the complexities of what happens to human beings. I would say that the minority of people who were freaked out by the rape scene are likely to be jarred into unconsciousness. So I say to them: do not watch this program, it could be hazardous to your health.
For everyone else, hang on, ‘cause it’s gonna be a helluva ride…

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