Episode Report Card Strega: B- | 715 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT Let Baltar Be Baltar
By Strega | Season 1 | Episode 11 | Aired on 2005.03.18
Cut to the Colonial One. Hey, there's the Whiteboard of Extinction! Current population: 47,898. Baltar's interview continues on the radio as Starbuck tells the Prez that Valance's wrists were slashed with some broken glass in the room. Billy asks if it was suicide. The Prez quietly says that Zarek had Valance killed. Apollo adds that they can't prove that Zarek was involved. Tigh asks how the killer got past the guards. "Through the vent." Let's recall that some of Zarek's men know how to work on air filtration systems. There's a pause, during which we hear Baltar talking about the impact teachers have. We cut back to the Cloud 9 as Baltar tells a growing crowd, "History is full of examples of leaders, um, who have come from the most humble beginnings and have risen to meet the challenge posed by cataclysmic events." Billy asks who knew where Valance was. Starbuck says, "Just the people in this room, plus two marines." Baltar continues to praise the Prez, and dismisses Zarek as someone who "never shouldered any real responsibility in [his] life." He brings up Zarek's extensive prison experience and accuses the pundits of having a short memory. The Prez looks a little cheerier, but Tigh and Apollo are still feeling pretty grumpy. Apollo tells the Prez that Zarek's going to try to kill her. The Prez hms, "Only if he wins the vote." Back to Baltar, who says that they'll survive with the help of their values: "Courage, truth, justice, liberty. With the firm and deep resolve to make tomorrow better." When he starts talking about "our children" the crowd that has formed around him starts to applaud. Apollo frets that the vote is going against the Prez's nominee. She agrees, and then smiles, "But I'm going to win this thing." She switches the radio off and says that Zarek's going back to his prison ship: "But first, I have two very unpleasant duties to perform." She tells Billy that she needs a shuttle to Cloud 9.