PMKS introduces Commander Adama, who is there to deliver his farewell speech. The applause from the audience, however, is surprisingly light when Olmos's name gets called. The Teamsters with the whips must have had the afternoon off or something. After blatantly ripping off Winston Churchill (which is made all the more surprising by the fact that no one is supposed to know where Earth is), Adama stops to think about Zak, and loses his place. Everyone stares at him as he stands there silently, but you know no one has the balls to say anything about it, so they just wait until he rallies and finishes the speech in an oddly chosen extreme close-up. His whole point here is that maybe we shouldn't be fighting the Cylons (even though, as far as he knows, we're not at the moment), because human beings aren't worth saving. "We still commit murder," he preaches, "because of greed, and spite, and jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children." Um, I think Ron Moore might have gotten a few script pages mixed up in his briefcase on that one. It sounds like something Brother Justin would say. Apollo, meanwhile, listens to the speech over the radio in his Viper, and Starbuck is also listening down in the brig. "Sooner or later," Adama concludes, "the day comes when you can no longer hide from the things that you've done." This makes him sound like a serial killer or something, and that may explain why Mary McDonnell was the only one who applauded. I'm betting she just slept through the whole thing and has no idea why she's clapping. There's just something about a Sci-Fi Network mini-series that makes big-name actors feel the need to sleepwalk. Then again, they seem to have that effect on recappers, as well.
After the ceremony concludes, Apollo pulls escort duty for Mary's passenger liner. He's supposed to follow them back to Caprica, although it's best for everyone if you don't ask why. Just know that it's an essential plot point, and move on. Ever conscious of her desire for a promotion, Boomer takes this one last opportunity to kiss some Adama ass by telling Apollo it was an honor to fly with him. She does not, however, say anything about his gimbal.
This brings us straight into our long-awaited "end of the world" montage. Mary looks pensive in her seat in the passenger liner's first-class section. Baltar looks sad sitting in his condominium. He's watching TV, and the split screen features two newscasters talking over one another about the explosions that have just started going off. Suddenly, the left screen fades to snow, and then a few seconds later the blast wave hits the reporter on the right, and that signal drops out as well. Nicely done. This show does at least deserve credit for being one of the most tasteful portrayals of nuclear war you're likely to ever see. "What have I done?" moans Baltar. Number Six, meanwhile, has used the apocalypse as an excuse for a costume change, and she's now added some sequins to her otherwise see-through ensemble. It's good to know that Cher is still alive and setting fashion trends in the future. Because I'm sure we were all so worried. Baltar demands to know what her escape plan is, because he can't imagine that she'd be willing to just stay on Caprica and get blown up. Just as he says it, however, another flash of light is visible on the horizon, and he cringes with despair. Six ignores the blast, and explains that as soon as she dies, her consciousness will just be transferred to a different body, and she'll wake up somewhere else. "You mean there's more like you?" Baltar asks. "There are twelve models," she answers. "I'm Number Six." Well, at least we got that cleared up. Baltar cries like a little girl, and then the blast wave from that explosion we just saw rips through the apartment and we fade to black.