This is another one of those “you may want to stay away if you’ve recently lost someone” episodes, folks. Consider yourself warned.
Previously on Battlestar Galactica, President Roslin is taking chamalla again because her cancer has returned; Starbuck keeps changing course on the Demetrius, to the chagrin of the crew; the rogue Cylon base ship is under attack; Leoben’s shown up to Kara, offering a truce between humans and Cylons; and Kara refuses to jump back to the Colonial fleet, so her best friends mutiny against her.
Seconds later, this episode begins. Sam’s still on Kara’s side, but she’s been forcibly restrained by Athena; Helo’s taken over. He orders Gaeta to jump back to the fleet, Seelix calls Kara a Cylon, and Sam shoots Gaeta in the leg (there’s a lot going on very quickly). Sam flips, announces that Kara’s in charge, and Kara immediately dives in to try to fix Gaeta’s leg. Kara announces that she’s going to take Leoben back to the baseship, Sam volunteers, and Athena essentially gets drafted. Kara thinks this is the way to complete her mission to find Earth and she’s got 15 hours and 7 minutes at the max before the Demetrius has to jump back to the fleet.
On Colonial One, the President’s moving over to Galatica full time and she’s lost all her hair (and has drawn on her eyebrows, I’m assuming). Roslin tells Tory that she trusts her, is impressed by her, and needs her to keep a close eye on whatever the President does. In other words, Roslin is sicker than ever.
Kara, Leoben, Sam and Athena get into the Raptor. Kara asks Athena if she can trust her, Athena says “yes.” Also, Leoben should stay away from her. Some other chick who I don’t recognize shows up, she wants to help find Earth. (We later find out her name is Barolay!) I don’t remember what happens, but my money’s on her not surviving the episode. The Raptor jumps away, and shows up in a bit of space full of baseship wreckage.
On the Demetrius, Helo checks on Gaeta, who isn’t doing so well. Gaeta asks Helo to promise that he won’t let Cottle take his leg. Unfortunately, the longer they go without returning to Galactica, the more likely it becomes that Gaeta’s gonna lose his leg.
With our band of merry Earth-finders, Kara can hear something. They’re in the right place. Kara takes control of the raptor, and sees a giant gas planet, like the one she’s been envisioning. And the comet? It’s a baseship. She says this is what she was meant to see and she’s giddy with happiness. But they’re getting fired at! Starbuck gets a bit of shrapnel to the face and, when she comes to, they’ve landed aboard the Cylon baseship. Athena’s inspecting the Raptor, when all of a sudden, she’s set upon by a dozen Eights. They say that she was the first to rebel, they look up to her – and ask for her help in mutinying against the Sixes, who seem to be in charge and are not doing so well. Athena says “you pick a side and stick to it, otherwise you won’t have anything.” Her fellow Eights make her sick.
Roslin’s getting her dioxin treatment when she hears Baltar on the radio near another bunk. She goes to visit, and there’s a very ill woman. Roslin tries to turn Baltar off, but the woman gets angry/sad and orders Roslin away.
Leoben tries to take Kara to see the Hybrid, but Gina stops them. She says they’ve got their Raptor and jump drive, they don’t need the humans. Leoben is, disconcertingly, the voice of reason here, and says they need the humans. Athena puts her hands into the data stream and says its possible to wire the raptor into the baseship, but they’ll have to take the Hybrid offline. Sam keeps looking at the data stream, and comes very close to touching it. What would happen?!
New Girl Barolay is helping wire the Raptor into the baseship when she bumps into a Six. Barolay, it seems, was part of the resistance on New Caprica, and she killed this particular Six. So the Six attacks her and kills her. (CALLED IT!) Sam and Athena show up. Sam attacks her and almost kills her, but Starbuck shows up and stops him. Athena is on team “Kill the Six.” Gina shows up, and the Six goes on about how she was killed by Barolay. She still thinks they were trying to help the Cylons. Gina kisses the Six (which makes far more sense having seen Razor!) and then kills the Six. She’d like to know if that’s enough justice.
Back in sickbay, the woman who yelled at Roslin earlier apologizes to her and gives her a pretty scarf. They share a moment and talk about hair. Roslin says she hopes her hair grows back in blue. Other Woman says its going to get a lot worse.
Starbuck gets to see the Hybrid! The Hybrid opens with “the children of the one reborn shall find their own country” and then goes into some technical stuff, acting as the Hybrid always does. The Hybrid doesn’t acknowledge Starbuck.
Back in sickbay, Other Woman explains why she listens to Baltar. She says that she had a vision right after she was told she has cancer. She says she was on a ferry crossing a river, and she could see everyone she loved who died, her family and friends, on the other side. She felt a presence that told her not to be sad. Ah! Her name is Emily! She says it wasn’t a dream, it was like she was there. She thinks Baltar may have stumbled onto a truth. There may be more to this existence, and a power they can’t understand.
The Hybrid’s still being all Hybridy, but she repeats the bit about the children finding their own country. Kara says that she doesn’t understand. Leoben says to not try to literally understand her, but “let her words caress your mind” which is a creepy phrase.
On the Demetrius, we watch the clock, we watch Gaeta.
Athena shows up and says they’re ready to jump back to the fleet. It’s time to take the Hybrid offline, and we get the “the Children” line for the third time. The Hybrid is taken offline, she starts bellowing, and the Centurion standing in the corner starts shooting, taking out a random Eight. Gina and Athena take the Centurion out. Sam rushes in, and the dead Eight bleeds into the goo the Hybrid lives in. Starbuck gets in real close to the Hybrid and asks zim what ze wants, and the Hybrid reaches up and touches Starbuck’s face. “Thus will it come to pass, a Dying leader will know the truth of the opera house, the missing three will give you the five, who have come from the home of the thireenth. You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end.”
JUST WHAT STARBUCK WANTED TO HEAR, AMIRITE?!
Meanwhile, theology in sick bay! Roslin says that Baltar’s god is the Cylon god, and Emily counters with the fact that if god is god, it’s everyone’s god. Roslin says that god isn’t real, and Emily counters with questioning Roslin’s belief in Zeus and Athena etc. Roslin talks about her mother, who also died of breast cancer, and her faith in the Gods. Roslin says that when her mother died, there was nothing, no fields, no ferries, just a black abyss. She died terrified. Emily quite astutely says that it was Laura who was terrified, who only saw darkness. She could have no idea what her mother thought or felt at the very end. And then Emily has some sort of seizure, and all that’s left is to make her comfortable.
On the baseship, the Eight is dying slowly. Sam is surprised to see these emotions in a Cylon, WHICH IS IRONIC. Eight asks for forgiveness, and Athena almost takes her hand, but pulls away. Sam comforts the Eight in her last moments, a surprisingly tender move from a guy who just nearly executed a Six.
Gina’s focusing on what the Hybrid said – the missing three will give you the five who will come from the thirteenth. The missing three is D’Anna, the five are the final five Cylons, and the Thirteenth is the missing human tribe, who came from Earth. In other words, let’s unbox D’Anna, find out who the other Cylons are, and demand they show everyone the way to earth.
Now Emily and Roslin – both of whom look much better than they did in the previous scene – are on a ferry, and Emily steps off and runs into the arms of her loved ones. Roslin sees her family on the shore and is happy to see her mother’s okay, then says that she’s not ready. Waking from this dream/vision, Baltar’s voice is on the radio talking about another realm and a river to cross.
On the Demetrius, they’re preparing to jump with less than a minute left. Gaeta doesn’t look good. Helo gets everything all ready for the jump, the timer runs out, Helo counts down for the jump and, with 2 seconds left, the baseship shows up. YAY! Helo might have cried a little? Mission accomplished, they’ve got themselves a baseship!
Roslin goes to talk to Adama. Where you been all episode, bb? She tells him there might be something to Baltar’s nonsense. Adama says that Lee’s turned in his wings, Kara, Helo, Athena, and Gaeta are off somewhere, and who knows if he’ll see them again. Roslin reminds him that she’s still there. Adama now believes they’re going to find Earth, and that’s all thanks to Roslin. Scene.
Thanks to monchichi for the screencaps!
