Torn

"Torn" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 6
Writer(s)	Anne Cofell Saunders
Story by
Director	Jean de Segonzac
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	2006-11-03
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	41,422 survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Collaborators	Torn	A Measure of Salvation
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
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Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
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Overview

Part one of two. Starbuck and Tigh create divisions between those who suffered under the Cylon occupation of New Caprica and those who stayed with the fleet. Meanwhile, Baltar tries to prove his worth to the Cylons.

Summary

On Galactica

• Galactica's air group runs war game exercises among the viper pilots. Captain Thrace breaks formation during the exercise and collides with another pilot, forcing an end to the war games, and causing Apollo to remove her from flight duty.
• Upon Thrace's return to her bunk, she is met by Kacey and her mother, whom she dismisses, telling the Kacey's mother not to come again.
• In the pilots' mess, Lt. Sharon Agathon is given the callsign "Athena." Thrace and Tigh begin to sow dissent between the survivors of New Caprica and the crew that stayed behind on Galactica

On a Basestar

• Gaius Baltar, onboard the Cylon basestar, is having another hallucination. On a sunny beach, Gaius praises Six for returning to him in his time of need, and states that he enjoys having conversations with her. Six implores him to learn anything and everything about the Cylons, as he will need the information in the days ahead. Six also tells him that the Cylons use forms of projection to see the world around them, and when asked what she is, Six tells Baltar that she is an angel of God.
• Having been allowed to stay on the Basestar, Caprica-Six and Three talk with Baltar later on, inquiring about the location of Earth. Gaius initially denies having any knowledge of where Earth is, but then reveals that he does have clues as to where it's probable location is. He then finds out that the Cylons intend to find Earth so they can use it as their new home.
• Baltar is apprehensive about helping the Cylons, and Caprica-Six tells him that the Cylons are also leery as to whether his intentions are true or not. Caprica-Six leads Baltar through the ship, telling him that she uses a projection of a forest to navigate the ship. In his mind, Baltar realizes that his form of projection is similar to what the Cylons are using, causing him to question whether he is human or a robot.
• Caprica-Six informs Gaius that his rescue of Hera and his assistance in finding Earth has made him a valuable asset, and has gone a long way in impressing the Cylons. Baltar asks why there are only 7 models on the ship, and inquires about the remaining 5 models. Caprica-Six informs him that they don't talk about it.
• Three informs Caprica-Six that there is a situation, and a Five states that the basestar that went to check the pulsar has not responded back. The group head to a control center, where Baltar finds out that the missing basestar has been infected by a disease, and that any Cylon that dies and uploads to a Resurrection Ship will spread the virus even further. On the urge of his internal Six, Baltar offers to board the infected basestar and collect scientific information.
• Before he leaves on his mission, Baltar encounters the Cylon hybrid that controls the functions of the basestar. The hybrid is hooked into the systems on the ship, and speaks in apparent non-sensical thoughts. Caprica-Six informs Gaius that it is thought by some of the Cylon models that the hybrid is speaking from God, and that the Leoben model takes the hybrid's words as scripture.
• The Cylons provide Baltar with a Raptor to board the baseship, and when he arrives, he finds numerous Cylons, either dead or dying. He collects blood samples and takes pictures of the area to bring back for analysis, and also finds a large manmade object in the hold of the ship. He then finds a dying Six model, who informs him that the device the Cylons captured, a probe left by the 13th Colony, infected all of them, and wants to die so she can be released from her pain. Even though Gaius offers to bring her help, she tries to attack him, and Gaius strangles her to death.
• Upon his return to the Basestar, Gaius denies finding anything that could have caused the outbreak of the virus, but Caprica-Six notices the probe object in Baltar's picture, but doesn't let on to anyone else what she has discovered.

Questions

• Would it be possible for the Colonials to salvage the derelict basestar for their own purposes?
• What has happened to the remaining five Cylon models? Are they so secretive that none of the other 7 variants have any knowledge of them? Did the Cylons permanently box the other models because they were dissenters to the cause of the Cylon race?
  • Caprica-Six suggests that they are shrouded in secrecy. She cannot speak of them and says that none of the Seven talk about them. She does recognize their existence.
• What is Caprica-Six going to do now that she realizes Baltar may be withholding critically sensitive information?

Analysis

• The crew-position shuffle continues from last episode, but some definite decisions have been made:
  • Lee has been demoted back to Major, and has resumed the CAG slot, with Kat and Hot Dog as senior pilots under him. Kara is as well, until Lee revokes her flight status.
  • As implied in "Collaborators", Helo has resumed the XO slot.
  • Gaeta appears to have inherited Baltar's mantle as the scientific advisor (it is unclear whether he holds any additional positions), and is focusing his efforts on refining a course for Earth.
  • Cally is shown working the flight deck alongside her husband, showing that she is once again active in the Fleet.
• Following her actions during the Battle of New Caprica, Sharon seems to have garnered some degree of acceptance among the Galactica air group.
• Sharon is given the callsign 'Athena' in this episode. As Hot Dog states, it is the name of a Lord of Kobol as well as the name of a character in the original series.

Notes

• According to an interview with executive producer David Eick, episodes 5 and 6 are a two-part story in which Galactica discovers a dying Cylon Baseship, and deals with a plague that has befallen the Cylons. (Eick is counting "Occupation" and "Precipice" as one episode.)