Exodus, Part II

"Exodus, Part II" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 4
Writer(s)	Bradley Thompson David Weddle
Story by
Director	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Lucy Lawless as Number Three
Production No.	304
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	2006-10-20
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Exodus, Part I	Exodus, Part II	Collaborators
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Official Summary
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Overview

Commander Lee Adama of the battlestar Pegasus has serious doubts about the success of the New Caprica rescue mission by Galactica. On New Caprica, Saul Tigh decides the consequences for his wife's betrayal of the Resistance. Aboard Galactica, Admiral William Adama executes a dramatic rescue plan.

Summary

• On Pegasus, Lee Adama and Dualla talk of Galactica's mission. Adama worries heavily that Admiral Adama's mission will fail and of what future responsibilities he may have as the leader of the rest of mankind. His wife tells him to not give up hope.
• On New Caprica, Samuel Anders confronts Saul Tigh about his wife Ellen's betrayal and tells him that either Tigh "takes care" of Ellen, or someone else less sympathetic will do so.
• Ellen Tigh explains her recent actions, that she would do absolutely anything to save Saul, including betraying the resistance. Tigh consoles her and provides her a drink when she asks. She falls unconscious, her drink having been poisoned by her husband. He says that he loves her, rests his head on her corpse, and weeps.
• On Colonial One, Gaius Baltar tells the Cylons that they have failed in their experiment and suggests the Cylons simply leave. A Three voices the concern that one day the descendants of mankind might exact vengeance upon the Cylons, should they be left to their own devices.
• Suddenly, dozens of explosions can be felt and seen. The Battle of New Caprica has begun.
• Anders and the resistance team has set a series of explosions that mimic a Colonial attack and causes chaos. Tory Foster commands a team of section leaders in the evacuation and orders Maya to head for her ship with Isis.
• Anders and a large group of resistance fighters retrieve weapons from beneath the Pyramid court to rescue the detainees in the detention center.
• In space above New Caprica, Galactica deploys a squadron of Raptors and Vipers. The Raptors launch swallows to mimic the EM signature of two Colonial battlestars. The Cylons pick them up and fall for the ruse, moving two basestars with their Raiders away from the planet.
• When Leoben Conoy leaves the residence inside the Detention Center to aid with the fighting, he keeps Kara Thrace inside. She assaults him and tries to escape, but he knocks her unconscious.
• Tom Zarek tasks Jammer to protect Laura Roslin as she makes her way to Colonial One.
• At the entrance to the shipyard, where the Cylons keep the grounded Colonial vessels, a team under Tigh and Galen Tyrol are pinned down by Cylon Centurions.
• The Cylons detect the decoy drones, but Galactica jumps deep into the planet's atmosphere and launches its remaining Vipers. Before colliding with the ground, the ship jumps back into space. The Vipers begin to attack targets on the ground and clear the way.
• As others are freed from the Detention Center, Anders finds his unconscious wife and carries her away, but when Thrace awakens, she goes back to retrieve Kacey.
• The battle is turning against Galactica. Her FTL drives are down, weapons are offline and there is heavy structural damage from the atmospheric entry. Four Cylon basestars are closing in and the battlestar is soon bombarded from all sides with no hope of survival. At that moment Pegasus joins the battle, Lee Adama having disobeyed his father's orders. He opens fire with the forward batteries and destroys one basestar in the opening salvo.
• The Cylons realize that they have lost and decide to evacuate the planet. Number Three volunteers to stay behind and set off the nuclear weapon that was left in the city for such a contingency. She offers Baltar a place with the Cylons and leaves.
• The Colonial ships initiate intra-atmosphere jumps from New Caprica as soon as they become airborne.
• Pegasus is heavily bombarded by missiles, having left all of her Vipers back with the rest of the civilian Fleet. Admiral Adama realizes that his son has planned a one-way mission for Pegasus, and orders recall of Galactica's fighters.
• On Colonial One, Felix Gaeta accuses Baltar at gunpoint of having betrayed everyone. Gaeta admits his guilt in idealistically believing in Baltar's initial vision, but realized in the end that Baltar was only thinking about himself. Baltar admits his own guilt and begs Gaeta to shoot him. However, Gaeta relents, giving Baltar a final chance to redeem himself: stop Three from setting off the nuclear bomb.
• With Pegasus dying, Lee Adama orders everyone to abandon ship. He sets the ship CBDR with a basestar as the last of the crew leaves in Raptors. Pegasus’ collision destroys another basestar. The remains of Pegasus’ starboard flight pod collides with and destroy another basestar.
• Kara Thrace retrieves Kacey, but Conoy has returned and confronts her. She appears to give in to his demands, says "I love you," and kisses him. However, Thrace uses the diversion to stab him. She picks up Kacey and leaves with Anders.
• Three searches Dodona Selloi's tent, but the oracle has left. Outside, Caprica-Six and Baltar find Hera next to Maya's body, still alive. Three arrives, asks to hold the child, and leaves with her. Caprica-Six says Three no longer intends to detonate the nuke, then leaves the planet with Baltar.
• Laura Roslin and a group of resistance fighters enter the now abandoned Colonial One and are the last ship to leave the planet.
• On Galactica, many people are reunited as Tyrol immediately takes charge of ushering the incoming refugees. When Thrace shows Kacey to Tyrol, another woman walks by and recognizes the girl as her daughter, whom the Cylons had taken away. The mother thanks Thrace for rescuing Kacey. Thrace is shocked by the relevation that Kacey is not her daughter after all, but gives her up.
• Admiral Adama welcomes Tigh back aboard, and tells him he brought everyone back. Tigh quietly replies, "Not all of them." The colonists in Galactica's hangar deck begin chanting "A-dam-a, A-dam-a..." and carry the admiral on their shoulders. Adama turns to see Tigh wandering off, numbed with grief.
• Tory Foster tells Roslin that neither Maya nor Hera can be found, and it seems likely neither made it off the planet. Foster apologizes, but Roslin muses that this was part of something bigger than them.
• Admiral Adama shaves off his mustache and returns to a fully staffed CIC, aboard the now very loud, bustling corridors of Galactica.

Questions

• With Baltar seemingly missing at the conclusion of the episode, will his Vice President, Tom Zarek, become President? Or will Roslin somehow become President?
  • Tom Zarek refused to collaborate with the Cylons after Baltar's surrender.
  • It is possible that Roslin has the legal authority to resume the Presidency. On what legal basis this can be done remains to be seen. A previously secret Quorum vote may be the most likely means of investing her with the office.
  • Roslin addresses Zarek as "Mr. Vice President," and recognizes his authority (Precipice)
    • It is a polite formality to refer to someone by the highest office they've attained (e.g., ex-Presidents are addressed as Mr. President) It is not clear if her terminology implies recognition of authority.
  • Zarek did not evacuate onboard Colonial One (the de facto seat of government power), while he admired (and seemed to accept) Roslin's insistence that she intended to do so.
    • Zarek likely opted to evacuate aboard the Astral Queen, as he has previously served as a leader and representative of that vessel and her passengers.
• How many humans died on New Caprica during the occupation and escape? Will it be in the thousands?
  • There were around 39,000 civilians and military veterans and retirees, like Saul Tigh, trying to get off New Caprica.
• With Pegasus destroyed, will Tyrol's fighter construction continue?
  • If one of the civilian ships in the Fleet can be converted for construction purposes, perhaps. Otherwise, the fighters they have - albeit a full air group - are what they have, period. (This, of course, assumes that the Fleet doesn't happen upon another Mercury-class battlestar or some other ship capable of fighter construction.)
• Since Galactica now has Pegasus' Viper and Raptor compliment in addition to its own, will the starboard flight pod now be pressed back into service?
  • The flight pod may have already been restored back to operational status, as it is implied that the Vipers launched in New Caprica's atmosphere were from the starboard pod.
    • However, at the end of the rescue operation, Chief Tyrol is ushering people away from the landed Raptors, informing civilians they will be staying in the starboard pod until they are returned to their permanent ships. Considering that the Galactica now has to bring onboard Pegasus' air wing, this may overcrowd the port flight pod, thus necessitating the use of the starboard pod for flight operations. While this also hints that the starboard pod may be operational, it is also contradictory that civilians would be berthed in a potentially dangerous flight deck, even if only temporarily.
  • With the former crew of Pegasus onboard Galactica now, the ship has something close to (if not equal to or more than) its standard crew size. In any case, military operations should be much smoother and repairs to the ship in general are that much more feasible.
• What will be the final disposition of the Pegasus officers, and the military retirees who have returned from New Caprica?
  • Saul Tigh's injuries may prevent him from resuming his post as XO of Galactica. Additionally, he has been outranked by Lee Adama since "The Captain's Hand".
  • Lee Adama's command, the Pegasus, has been destroyed. Given Tigh's incapacity, he may begin service as XO of Galactica. He has also expressed dissatisfaction with his military career (Final Cut) and may wish to retire from fleet service, or resume his earlier duties of military liaison to the civilian government.
  • It will be difficult to justify replacing Louanne Katraine as CAG, given the length of her service since the foundation of New Caprica, and her skill as a pilot, shown to have rivaled or outstripped even that of Kara Thrace by the time of "Scar".
  • Kara Thrace is retired, and although she will probably be welcome to re-enlist, she will probably not be permitted to resume her former occupation as CAG of Galactica, so long as Katraine is serving in that position competently.
  • Anastasia Dualla is now an officer, and will not be eager to resume NCO-level tasks. Hoshi held her former position on Pegasus, and is now be available to serve on Galactica.
  • Felix Gaeta is retired, and will have to answer for the crimes of Baltar's administration, despite his covert affiliation with the resistance. Karl Agathon and Aaron Kelly have both been shown performing Gaeta's duties in CIC on Galactica, and one of them may replace him.
• Will Tigh become a disagreeable drunk, as he was before Ellen Tigh first boarded Galactica?
• What was left behind:
  • In order to build New Caprica City, the ships were at least partially stripped and supplies were offloaded. What remains on board them?
  • Are there any people alive remaining on New Caprica after the liberation, either willingly or due to wounds?
  • Since people brought food and medicine to New Caprica before the occupation, will there be shortages in the fleet?
    • Very likely. Food and medicine shortages will play a role in future episodes.
      • As noted in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", there were already medicine shortages on New Caprica when the Cylons invaded. The Cylons themselves may have aided in resupply, as Dr. Cottle appears to have more advanced medical tools and facilities in "Exodus, Part I."
• If the civilian ships only needed to get a few hundred feet off the ground in order to use their FTL drives and escape, why do Galcatica and Pegasus need to engage the basestars? Is this just to keep the Raiders, Heavy Raiders, and missiles from being used on the civilian fleet, on the surface below? (Note: it is not in dispute that having Galactica launch its fighters within the atmosphere is important so they could attack the Centurions and few raiders there.)
  • As with the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Cylons could destroy the city with a single nuclear bomb in orbit. The plan appears to force the Cylons to be too distracted by the battlestar's offenses (Raptors at first, then the battlestar itself) to worry about the actions on the planet. Galactica jumps intra-atmosphere to minimize detection by the basestars.
• Will Gaeta be the target of persecution or assassination as a collaborator? Or will people believe in him when he is found out to be the secret informant?
• Will Cally Tyrol identify Jammer as the NCP officer who released her, based on his voice?
• Galactica's escape seems questionable. Most or all of Galactica's Vipers were launched during the atmospheric maneuver. Later, after the four basestars start pummelling Galactica, its situation is dire, facing explosive decompressions and with its FTL disabled. Adama says, "Then that's it. It's been an honor." Pegasus immediately appears and uses its superior weaponry to engage the basestars, destroying one in the first volley, so Adama orders the FTL to be fixed. Soon, Helo reports that most of the civilian ships have jumped, that FTL is back online, and that Pegasus is taking "a hell of a pounding." Adama orders his Vipers to land so that Galactica can leave. The next shot is Vipers landing, but weren't they all at the surface? How long does it take a Viper to climb into orbit? Real-world atmospheric escapes take several minutes, at least. How much damage were the basestars and battlestars doing to each other in this time?
  • We aren't seeing events in real-time. Several minutes can lie between scenes that appear to happen right after another. Sometimes it is simply necessary to compress things in order to fit them into one episode.
  • There may be several key differences at play between an escape from New Caprica's atmosphere and a real-world atmospheric departure, such as a lower atmospheric boundary, more powerful thrusters on the Vipers, etc.
• Why would the Cylons leave the grounded ships fueled with tylium, thus allowing them to jump away?
  • One of the Cylons in an earlier episode discusses their resources being overstretched already. They may not have been able to afford committing more basestars to the defense of New Caprica.
• Why did Kara Thrace wait so long to stab Leoben? She could have done it before even kissing him.
  • Possibly, Thrace intended to insult to injury by her quick betrayal, but also, she needed to ensure that the Cylon agent was completely off his guard.

Analysis

• Either the scenes aren't in order or Baltar is not aware of what is going on. In the Gaeta-Baltar scene, Baltar says, "The Cylons have a nuke in this complex. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is getting off this planet alive unless I stop D'Anna." But this is after most of the civilian ships have already jumped.

• Further, until Hera is discovered by Baltar, Three is still looking to set off the nuke -- even though it is clear that the colonists are all long gone.
  • It's possible Three wasn't seeking to set off the nuke, but said she was as a ruse to go seek answers about her premonitions concerning Hera.

• In general, the Cylons seem to have left the planet implausibly underguarded. Considering the strategic nature of the site, as well as the well-known fact that two battlestars remained at large, one would have expected the Cylons to have an overwhelming amount of protection for the planet -- perhaps dozens of basestars. Furthermore, it is hard to believe that the Cylons were not keeping closer tabs on the whereabouts of the launch keys.

• When faced with their impending death, both Ellen Tigh and William Adama choose to accept it in a quiet, dignified manner.

Notes

• There is also a TOS comic named Exodus!
• Both parts of "Exodus" were originally planned as one episode. However, it was quickly realized that the story was far too large for one episode and it was split in two. This happened before with "Scattered" and "Valley of Darkness" and "Resurrection Ship." It also helped save money because the construction of New Caprica, the extensive location shooting, the number of actors, as well as the special effects for "Exodus, Part II" were very expensive and the production was over budget.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Discussing the failure of the occupation:

Number Three: What would you have us do, Gaius?

Gaius Baltar: Leave. Pack up your centurions, and go. Please. Go.

Number Three: And then what? What would you do if we really just left you here? You'd live out your lives in peace and never trouble yourselves with thoughts of us again? Or would you raise your children with stories of the Cylon, the mechanical slaves who once did your bidding, only to turn against you? Killers who committed genocide against your race, the occupiers of this city until we just ran away? Would you tell them to tell the story to their children, and to their childrens' children, and nurse a dream of vengeance down through the years so that one day they could just go out into the stars and hunt the Cylon once more?

Gaius Baltar: Blood for blood ...has to stop one day.

• Roslin heads to Colonial One

Roslin: My ship's up there.

Zarek: You sure have a sense of the dramatic.

• Adama comes to accept Galactica's end

Admiral Adama: Then that's it. It's been an honor.

• After Hearing Pegasus Has Joined Galactica

Admiral William Adama: Damn You, Lee ...Thank You, Lee.

• As the two Adamas reunite after the battle:

Admiral William Adama: I guess you didn't understand my orders.

Commander Lee Adama: I never could read your handwriting.

• Adama welcomes Col. Tigh back to Galactica

Adama: You did it, Saul. You brought them back.

Tigh: Not all of them.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Tyrol
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Rick Worthy as Simon
• Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Matthew Bennett as Number Five
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine