Resurrection Ship, Part II

"Resurrection Ship, Part II" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 2, Episode 12
Writer(s)	Ronald D. Moore Michael Rymer
Story by
Director	Michael Rymer
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain
Production No.	212
Nielsen Rating	1.9
US airdate	2006-01-13
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate	2006-03-21
DVD release	19 September 2006 US 28 August 2006 UK
Population	49,604 survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Resurrection Ship, Part I	Resurrection Ship, Part II	Epiphanies
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
[[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]]
Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
Amazon: Standard Definition | High Definition
iTunes: [{{{itunes}}} USA]

Overview

The battlestars Galactica and Pegasus engage in an all-out battle to destroy the Cylon “Resurrection” ship.

Summary

• The episode begins in a forward-flashback (as did "Act of Contrition"), as viewers see Lee Adama floating 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.
• A title card, "48 Hours Earlier," appears, setting the stage before Apollo's dream. Kara Thrace asks Lee Adama for backup on her mission to assassinate Admiral Cain. Adama accepts, and reassures Thrace 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.
• Helena Cain and Kara Thrace have a drink together, and Cain asks Thrace to promise not to flinch when she has to commit a "terrible sin."
• Lieutenant Lee Adama makes a courier run to Galactica, taking the opportunity to ask his father about Thrace's special mission. Commander Adama is uninterested in discussing the issue, but young Adama is surprised to know that President Roslin is involved in the assassination plot.
• Thrace and Pegasus XO Jack Fisk both prepare for their assassination missions, as well as the attack on the Resurrection Ship.
• Before Commander Adama proceeds with 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.
• The Resurrection Ship and at least one basestar are destroyed by the Colonials.

  

  Cylon basestar under assault

• During the battle, the Blackbird is successful in disabling the Resurrection Ship. While escaping, the Blackbird is heavily damaged when it crashes into a disabled Raptor. Lieutenant Adama is able to eject in time as the Blackbird is destroyed.
• Floating in space, Apollo's flight suit springs a leak. Communications officer Dualla tries frantically to contact him, but Apollo does not respond by choice. Later he releases the last of the air in his flight suit and says, "I'm sorry, Kara," losing consciousness just as a SAR Raptor appears in the nick of time to save him.
• Gaius Baltar's feelings for Number Six transfer to the copy named Gina, who is tangible and more human than his internal Number Six. He repeats to Gina a story told to him by Six about going to watch pyramid games, finally taking her hands in his as Baltar's internal Six disappears in sadness. As Gina senses the destruction of the Resurrection Ship, she takes a sidearm from a marine she kills, with Baltar's help, and asks Baltar to kill her, noting that suicide is a sin. Baltar refuses, gives her the sidearm, and tells her she needs justice, ostensibly referring to Admiral Cain and her tyranny.
• William Adama and Helena Cain both speak over wireless to conspirators Jack Fisk and Kara Thrace, respectively, but neither commander gives the order to assassinate the other.
• After the battle, Gina shoots and kills Admiral Cain in the admiral's quarters. Cain is challenging to the last, unregretful of the treatment that Gina has been given. Gina soon disappears from Pegasus.
• 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.
• As Lee Adama confides to Thrace that he didn't want to survive the mission, Anastasia Dualla stands outside Adama's quarters eavesdropping, visibly worried about young Adama.
• Battlestar Pegasus and her crew remain in the Fleet, with William Adama becoming an admiral to command both battlestars. After receiving new admiral's 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.

Questions

• Adama had the first opportunity to implement his "plan" on Admiral Cain. Why didn't he? Did Sharon Valerii's earlier comments about humanity not deserving to survive have something to do with that?

Adama's remarks to Starbuck, that it is not enough to survive, but be worthy of survival, seem to point to this.

Did Admiral Cain's actions (such as the cannibalism of Pegasus' civilian fleet) necessarily justify her worthiness? Did Adama realize that he didn't have the right to make that judgement?

Adama may have come to the conclusion that by murdering Cain he would become just like Cain and therefore not worthy of survival himself. If survival requires to become like Cain that may be a price too high to pay for him.

• 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? (Answer)
• Baltar hands Gina a weapon in the ante-room of the Pegasus brig. Would a high-security area be equipped with surveillance cameras? Has Baltar disappeared as well?
• We only saw one basestar destroyed—was the other destroyed, or was it able to jump away with the surviving Raiders and support ships?
• 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 "Boomer" Valerii aboard 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 "Boomer" Valerii into revealing that eight Cylons are still in the Fleet. However, this obviously does not take into account the introduction of Pegasus. Thus, are there any more Cylon agents are aboard Pegasus? If so, what do they number?

Will these agents be far more careful in what they do, knowing that resurrection is no longer possible?

• Will another Blackbird be constructed?
• Will Adama stay aboard Galactica now that he's been promoted? (Answer)
• Are there going to be any other promotions?
• Who will be CAG of Galactica? Starbuck and Apollo were assigned to Pegasus at the time Admiral Cain was assassinated.

If Apollo recovers from his depression, he will probably resume his position as the CAG of Galactica, while Starbuck will continue as the CAG of Pegasus since she has obviously proven her worth and was chosen for the position by Admiral Cain.

• What changes in the Cylon strategy will we see, now that the Resurrection Ship has been destroyed? (Answer)
• What punishment, if any, will Helo and Galen Tyrol receive now that they have escaped the death sentence imposed by Admiral Cain? After all, they did murder a superior officer, even though it was an accident.
  • Colonel Tigh's actions from the Gideon incident are more dire and politically damaging, yet Adama does not punish his second-in-command. It is likely that, especially given the inhumane treatment of Lieutenant Thorne towards the cooperative and unaggressive pregnant Sharon Valerii (which Adama apologizes for to Valerii), that Adama will dismiss the matter.
  • Any fair court of law would find that Helo and Tyrol are guilty of involuntary manslaughter, not murder, and would likely not even punish them. Given this fact, it is entirely logical that Adama simply dropped the case.

Analysis

• The beating of Helo and the Chief was edited so that in the teaser, all we see is the "Sunshine Boys" entering the cell with their marines, about to tie the two up while making threatening comments. Given that they were involved in the gang rape of Gina, many viewers left the teaser fearing that far worse was going to happen to Agathon and Tyrol than simply being beaten with soap wrapped in towels.
• 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.
• Lee Adama's collision with the downed Raptor occurred partly because Adama was looking behind him, examining the damage he dealt to the Resurrection Ship. This may be symbolic of one of young Adama's character flaws: he is always looking backward, always examining what he's done instead of keeping his attention on the here and now. See "Water", where Lee agonizes over firing on the Olympic Carrier while his father warns him specifically about not second-guessing himself. This theme also parallels Cain's words—-which Starbuck echoes at her funeral—-about not flinching or second-guessing when terrible things have to be done.
• 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.
• The pregnant Sharon Valerii 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.
• In another example of Gaius' ability to multi-task, he relates to Gina as his own the anecdote that Six told him (about purchasing two tickets when she went to see Pyramid games, as the extra ticket permitted her to imagine Gaius watched the game with her). The anecdote serves two conversations at once. The anecdote reinforces his bond with Gina and indicates to Six that flesh-and-blood Gina is of far greater importance to him than (presumably non-corporeal) Six, or the tens of thousands of Cylons who are about to die, permanently, with the destruction of the resurrection ship. Baltar's relationship with Six in the future will likely be a strained one.
• 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.

Notes

• Vireem and Gage's beating of Tyrol and Helo with bars of soap stuffed inside towels used as slings is an homage to the Stanley Kubrick film "Full Metal Jacket", in which a similar thing happens to "Pvt. Pyle" in the Marine barracks at night. RDM points this out himself in the podcast.
• Apollo was demoted to Lieutenant by Cain when she revoked his flight status. At the beginning of Part I, he is referred to as "Captain", but after Cain mentions that she revoked his flight status, Adama addresses his son as "Lieutenant". The official Scifi.com website was updated the week after this episode aired showing the new ranks of characters--Captain Kara Thrace, Admiral William Adama--but it also was changed to list Lee Adama as a Lieutenant.
• Apollo's experience of ejecting in the middle of the battle and watching it unfold around him is, according to the podcast, based on the real life experience of Ensign George Gay during the Battle of Midway. George Gay's plane was shot down and he witnessed the entire battle while floating in the ocean.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• After the rescue of Helo and Tyrol by Fisk.

Jack Fisk: I don't want your thanks. I owe Lieutenant Thorne my life, as do many people on this ship.

Helo: He was trying to rape a prisoner!

Fisk: You can't "rape" a machine, Lieutenant.

• Sharon responds to Adama's question on survival.

Sharon Valerii: It's what you said at the ceremony before the attack, when Galactica was being decommissioned. You gave a speech, it sounded like it wasn't the one you prepared. You said that humanity was a flawed creation, and that people still kill one another for petty jealousy and greed. You said that humanity never asked itself why it deserved to survive. Maybe you don't.

• Speaking to Starbuck over wireless.

William Adama: I've been thinking about what we talked about before. It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of surviving. That's all.

• Before Gina's escape.

Gina: Suicide is a sin. But I need to die!

Baltar: What you need is justice. I know a place where you can stay, where you can be safe, where I can look after you.

Gina: Why—Why would you do that?

Baltar: Because I love you.

• In Cain's quarters after Gina's escape.

Gina (confronting Cain with a gun): Tell me, Admiral. Can you roll over? Beg?

Helena Cain: Frak you.

Gina (right before shooting): You're not my type.

• Kara's eulogy at Admiral Cain's funeral.

Kara Thrace: I, um, only knew Admiral Cain for a short time, so what I have to say about her will be short. She faced things. She looked them right in the eye and she didn't flinch. That's something that we do a lot around here. We second-guess. We worry. When I think about what she went through after the attack -- all alone, one ship, no help, no hope -- she didn't give up. She didn't worry. She didn't second-guess. She acted. She did what she thought needed to be done, and the Pegasus survived. Might be hard to admit, or hard to hear, but I think that we were safer with her...than we are without.

• Kara talks to Lee after his rescue.

Kara Thrace: Lee. Lee, you okay? Are you okay?

Lee Adama: No, not really. Um...I broke my word to you.

Thrace: What are you talking about?

Adama: I let you down. I wasn't there when you needed me.

Thrace: Look, a close call like that? That'd mess with anybody's head. Alright? You know, it turns out I didn't need you anyway, so... Let's just be glad that we both came back alive, alright?

Adama: That's just it, Kara. I didn't want to make it back alive.

• Laura discusses Adama's new job after Cain's funeral.

Laura Roslin: Rumor has it that I know very little about military protocol, but I do know that someone who commands more than one ship is called an admiral. Congratulations, Admiral Adama.

William Adama: Thank you, Madame President. Thank you, Billy. I um, never gave up hope, I just stopped trying to get these a long time ago.

Roslin: Just goes to show you, Bill. Never give up hope.

Adama: Same goes for you, Laura.

Guest stars

• Michelle Forbes as Admiral Helena Cain
• Graham Beckel as Colonel Jack Fisk
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
• Derek Delost as Specialist Vireem
• Mike Dopud Specialist Gage

External Links

"Resurrection Ship, Part II" at scifi.com