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Starbuck meets up with the Prez's fleet near Kobol. Apollo's very happy to see her, and he's got a gun in his pocket. Which he quickly takes out and aims at Boomer. The Prez is ready to have Boomer spaced, until Boomer claims that she can help them find the Tomb of Athena. Meanwhile, Zarek plots to get Apollo killed, so that he can be the man behind the Prez. They all go down to Kobol and find a path that should lead them to the Tomb. Elosha helpfully finds a trap and gets herself blown up real good, and then the Centurions start shooting. During the fire-fight, Boomer seems to make a break for it, and Apollo chases after her. It turns out Boomer's just trying to grab a dead soldier's gun so she can take out the last Centurion. Overachiever. They all have a hearty chuckle over the misunderstanding, wave goodbye to Elosha's corpse, and set out for the Tomb. Back on Galactica, Adama picks out a sucky new CAG, tries to cheer himself up by holding a press conference, and generally mopes around for a while. Eventually he shares his feelings with Dualla. Dualla tells Adama that he's broken his promise to take them all to Earth. In the end, Adama declares that he's putting the band back together. No, wait: fleet. Putting the fleet back together. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously: Starbuck gave Anders her heart, and he gave her an arrow. I can't wait Starbuck for when goes back to Caprica with a giant boom box. And supposedly Tigh said, "They're gonna follow Roslin to Kobol. They're dead." Except he didn't.
CIC. Adama stomps out and down the corridor, and the camera stays fixed on him while Tigh and Dualla trail behind and pedeconference. They remind us that a third of the fleet's population has split off to follow the Prez. As Adama marches along, he asks for a breakdown of what they've lost. Dualla starts to elaborate: "9,500 souls from Gemenon. 6,250 from Caprica." Adama cuts her off and says that he's not interested in "people who decide to join up with a religious fanatic and a terrorist." He wants to know about the ships, and Dualla dutifully reports: "Twelve transports, seven freighters, three construction platforms, a private cruiser, and a mining ship, Sir." Adama puts a hand on Tigh's shoulder to steady himself as they climb a few steps. I love that Tigh ignores it instead of being all, "Let me help you," Instead, Tigh chimes in, "Morale is down throughout the fleet. The press is going wild. Families are being split apart." Adama pulls his hand back and snaps, "Don't talk to me about family." Eep. On second thought, maybe Tigh would have better off if he'd been supportive.
We now join the Astral Queen, near Kobol, where the bickering is already in progress. Apollo is loudly insisting that he supports the Prez to a grumbling crowd. A woman who I think was part of the Quorum grumbles, "He's still Adama's son. When push comes to shove, how do we know he'll be willing to stand--" The Prez impatiently points out that Apollo's the one who got her out of the brig, and declares the subject closed. Another guy frets that theGalactica could jump in and arrest them all, or destroy their ships. Zarek bellows that they have some weapons of their own, and need to arm all the ships. Apollo harrumphs, "If Galactica wants to take us down, there is nothing we can do about it -- nothing." That last "nothing" kills me. And the weird emphasis on "down." Really, watch that bit a few times, and try not to giggle. That quiets everybody for a moment, and the Prez adds that she believes Adama is letting them go. She reminds everyone that Starbuck will turn up with the Arrow of Apollo any time now. One of the bickerers suggests that they could go look for the Tomb of Athena while they wait for Starbuck. Apollo points out that there may be Cylons on Kobol. Elosha adds, "And some of us will die down there." Everyone gets quiet again as Elosha says that, according to scripture, "any return to Kobol carries with it a cost in blood." Dun dun dunn! The Prez is like, "Way to bring the mood down, Elosha," and tries to cheer everyone up with some inspirational thoughts about saving humanity. Meanwhile, a smarmy chap named Meier strolls in and hurries over to talk to Zarek. Meier has a goatee, so he's clearly evil. Which is a shame, because I like goatees. The two of them head out while the Prez says that anyone who wants to is welcome to rejoin the main fleet.
The Astral Queen's bridge, or whatever. Zarek checks out the dradis screen while Meier expositions. Basically, Starbuck's arrived, only they don't know it's her because she's in a different ship. So Meier figures it's either a Cylon or a scout from Galactica, and that they should open fire on it. The Prez strolls in and asks what they're preparing to shoot. From nowhere, Apollo leans over the dradis while Zarek and Meier hesitate, and the Prez asks, "Do I have to repeat myself?" Meier quickly explains that it's a security issue. Apollo doesn't even look at Meier as he grunts, "She wasn't talking to you." As Limber noted in the forums, she was, actually, but Apollo wasn't looking at her, either. That seems like bad blocking or something. Zarek goes over the situation, and Meier adds that the unknown ship is within weapons range of one of their ships. Zarek asks the Prez to give them her decision. He's good at sucking up. Before the Prez can reply, Starbuck's voice comes over the wireless: "Civilian vessels, civilian vessels. This is Starbuck. Do you read?" Apollo grins and exhales, and the Prez smiles beatifically as Starbuck continues, "Is anybody getting this? Hello?" Nice of them to just leave her hanging because they're too busy grinning.
The Raider lands aboard the Astral Queen. I don't mind at all that they skip over all the "one character tells another about stuff that the audience already knows." However, I do kinda wish that they'd included a moment where Starbuck reacts to finding only a portion of the fleet, and no Galactica. I mean, she should probably think that there's been some kind of devastating Cylon attack and that these are the only people left. It's not a big deal, but I'd have liked it if we'd at least had some hint that she was freaking out when she got to Kobol.
Starbuck walks out with her Quiver of Specialness on her back. I meant to say last week that I really like her hair back in a little ponytail. She turns a corner and sees a small group waiting for her. Apollo strides forward and they embrace. Aw. And then they release each other, and Starbuck is starting to giggle when Apollo plants a kiss on her. It's more of an exuberant kiss than a romantic one. It's also cute. Starbuck blinks and says, "Good to see you, too, Captain." Apollo quietly says, "Remind me to send you to the brig later." If you know what he means, and I think you do. Seems like his time in a cell might have been a formative experience for Apollo. The Prez steps forward, and Starbuck wonders, "Is she gonna kiss me, too?" But no, the Prez just offers Starbuck a hearty handshake. Starbuck turns back to Apollo and says, "There's something I need to tell you..." And then Boomer steps around the corner. And she brought the slo-mo with her! There's another flashback to Boomer shooting Adama, from Adama's point of view, which is slightly bizarre. As Starbuck calls for him to wait, Apollo rushes for Boomer. He throws Boomer against a wall and shoves his sidearm into her face. Starbuck tries to shove Apollo back while screaming, "She's with us!" Some of the other people are pulling out their own guns, and then there's a gun pressed into Apollo's neck. Helo booms, "Drop your weapon, Sir." Gosh, Helo's tall. Well, okay, compared to Apollo, anyway. Starbuck shouts at Helo, because she's already got enough to deal with. Everyone keeps pointing their guns at everyone else while the drums on the soundtrack go crazy.
Credits. 47,858 survivors. Blipverts: Running, shooting, saluting, kaboom-ing.
Commercials. On the Stargate: Atlantis, you can see pretty much the same scenario you just saw! I wonder if all the executive producers get embarrassed when that happens. In the podcast, David Eick joins Moore, and they explain that this wasn't originally intended as a two-parter, but then they realized there was too much going on for one episode.
We return to a shot that's pretty tight on Apollo, but which manages to include Helo in the background, and Starbuck's hand on Apollo's wrist. The camera circles around toward Helo, and the Prez comes into view in the background. Pretty. The Prez's first attempt at taking control of the situation falls slightly flat when she ask to ask who Helo is. Helo introduces himself, and Apollo adds that Helo was Boomer's ECO. He sniffs, "I thought you were dead, Helo. You a Cylon, too?" Helo grunts, "Don't even." Heh. The Prez tells everyone to lower their weapons. Helo asks what will happen to Boomer. The Prez says, "She will be taken to a holding cell, where she will remain unharmed." Helo asks Apollo if they should do what "the nice lady" says. Apollo says, "She's the President of the Colonies, you moron." Be fair, Apollo; there's no way Helo could know that. Anyway, Apollo agrees, and the Prez tells them again to lower their guns. Helo pulls back, and he and Apollo holster their guns. The Prez soothingly thanks them, and then adds, "Now put that thing out the airlock." Damn, she's great. As Helo protests, the Prez explains, "We don't keep Cylons around here." As Boomer is dragged away, Apollo gets in Helo's face and shouts, "One of those things put two rounds into my father's chest!" As Boomer shouts that she didn't do it, Starbuck gasps, "Adama was shot?" Apollo snits, "You missed a few catastrophes while you were away." He gets around to noting that Adama wasn't killed, and Boomer continues protesting in the distance. Two more soldiers are restraining a struggling Helo, who begs Starbuck to tell everyone that Boomer saved their lives on Caprica. Starbuck looks down guiltily.
As soldiers haul Boomer toward the airlock, Boomer shouts that she can find the Tomb of Athena. Starbuck opens up her quiver (not like that) as Boomer calls, "Kobol's a big planet! You don't find the tomb, you don't find Earth!" The Prez looks thoughtful as Starbuck pulls out the arrow and presents it to her. The Prez glances at the arrow and then, in a beautifully casual way, gestures toward the airlock and says, "Tell them to wait a minute." On the Donnie Darko commentary, Richard Kelly describes Mary McDonnell as having a sort of regal bearing, and that's an excellent description. Sometimes it seems like being President is kind of slumming for her. Anyway, she takes the arrow, and thanks Starbuck before handing it back. Then she asks Zarek, "Is there some place where that...young woman...and I can speak?" Zarek says he'll take care of it. As everyone moves out, Apollo pauses by Starbuck long enough to say, "It's good to see you again, Kara. Thanks for bringing in the trash." He exits, and Starbuck quietly tells Helo, "Looks like we missed all the fun." Sadly, we cut away before Helo can say, "Yeah. So, what was up with that kiss?" Poor guy. I wonder if, by the end of the season, Helo makes plans to hightail it back to the relative sanity of Caprica.
Adama's quarters. Adama and Tigh are reviewing personnel files, trying to decide on a new CAG. Adama is also crushing walnuts against each other and making a mess on his desk. Tigh suggests a guy named Mueller, but Adama dismisses him as "a malcontent." Plus, his name's too close to Meier's, and that would get confusing. They're interrupted when a Lieutenant Birch turns up, and Adama greets him by saying, "Thank you for coming on such short notice." As Tigh watches, Adama explains that they need a new CAG. Birch agrees, and asks, "Who's it gonna be?" Birch is sort of a George Reeves-y, 1950s-looking guy. Adama silently picks up a box and opens it to reveal a lovely set of cufflinks. Oh, fine, they're insignia. Whatever. Adama unnecessarily says, "Congratulations, Captain. It's you." At Adama's cue, Tigh offers his own congratulations. Birch tells Adama that he was a supporter of Apollo's, which is maybe not the best way to put things at the moment. Birch adds, "He was a great leader, Sir." Adama recites something from his big book of homilies about how a ship is a family, and claims, "I love everyone on this ship as much as I love my s--" he glances at an octagonal photo of Apollo and Zak as kids, and finally says, "My sons." Exit Birch, dopily.
As soon as Birch has gone, Tigh grumbles about being asked for his opinion when Adama had already made a decision. He also picks up a folder and dumps walnut shells across Adama's desk, heh. Adama explains, "I just wanted to see if you and I were on the same page or not." Tigh notes that they're not. I don't know why Tigh is surprised by this. Back last season, Mugga and I talked about how Adama loves disagreeing with Tigh so much that if Tigh did stop drinking, Adama would promptly urge him to lighten up and have a beer. Adama says that Birch is the best of their remaining options: "He's honest and he's loyal. We need a little bit of that around here right now." It's not often that I'll defend Apollo, but I have to say that Adama definitely prefers loyalty to honesty, as we'll see later on. Tigh says that he'll support Adama's decision. Just not very enthusiastically. Exit Tigh. Adama goes back to cracking nuts.
Ready Room. The door swings open, and we see reporters leap up and begin calling out questions before Adama's even in the room. Adama marches up to the podium, where Tigh is waiting. I guess Tigh already did the warm-up act. The reporters continue their usual yammering while Adama and Tigh fuss over the microphone, which isn't on. Then Tigh does something and there's some feedback as he says, "Try it now." Adama turns the volume down and winces, and I know these are sort of silly details to describe but I find them so entertaining. You're being chased by killer robots, you've been shot, your son helped spark a secession, and if that wasn't bad enough, you've still got to fuss with PA equipment. Once that's all sorted out, Adama says he has a statement to make, and asks the reporters to sit down. They reluctantly sit down long enough for Adama to say, "If you don't already know, the fleet has been divided." Hubbub ensues, and Adama calls, "Wait, wait." I swear, I hate these reporters so much. Adama continues, "We share the grief of friends lost, and the resources we've sacrificed will present new challenges for all of us. But if we stay together, we will rise to the occasion as we have before." The reporters look around like, "Right."
After a long beat, Adama calls for questions, and we're back to the hubbub. Playa asks if Adama knows where "President Roslin's rebellion" has gone, and if he intends to put the fleet back together. Adama reminds Playa that Roslin isn't the President anymore, and then says, "question." Heh. Adama starts to call on someone else, but Playa stands up and huffs that he didn't answer her. Adama says, "We have lost no one that cannot be replaced by someone loyal, who has chosen to remain with us. This is the fleet." Then he says, "Thank you," and heads for the door. Hubbub, hubbub. Adama pauses when Sekou Hamilton loudly asks, "Is there any truth to the rumor that there is no earth, it doesn't exist, and you just made it up?" Adama glares, and replies, "Freedom of the press is not a license to slander." Adama advances on Hamilton (who drops down into his seat), and snaps that repeating those rumors may get Hamilton arrested. He looks around the room and says, "That goes for all of you." As the reporters boggle, Tigh quickly says, "We're done here," and escorts Adama out as the reporters continue yammering as usual.
Once they're out in the corridor, Adama jerks his arm away from Tigh and snaps, "Get your hands off of me." Tigh advises Adama to calm down. Adama more normally says, "Remind me not to do that again." Tigh replies, "Always looked easy enough when Roslin did it." Hee!
Adama and Tigh pass Baltar's lab, and the camera holds on the doorway, where Baltar is puffing on a cigarette. Baltar reminisces about a footbridge over the Euclid River, and Six appears, leaning against the door frame. As people pass by in the corridor, Baltar says he'd watch the fish try to swim upstream: "I envied them. Unaware as they were of the wider complexities and challenges of life." I suspect he envied them because he identifies with attempts to spawn. Six says that Baltar's starting to look at humans the way Cylons do. Baltar mutters that he sees Cylons everywhere. He reminds us that Boomer told him there were eight Cylons still in the fleet. He moans, "Why didn't I ask her who they were?" Heh. I assumed he thought he could get to that later, after Tyrol was revived. Baltar bitches about how Cally killed his lead, and sighs, "Why is it when things go wrong, they go wrong so well?" To entertain me? Six cuddles up to Baltar and coos that he gets too worked up about things. She looks out at the passersby and says, "They do have it easy, don't they?" Baltar goes bug-eyed as he asks, "Why are you talking to me like I'm not one of them?" Hey, I ask for someone to worry that they're a Cylon, and look what happens! But Baltar's too obvious. Maybe I should have been more specific. Six says, "In some ways, you never were [human]," which isn't going to make Baltar any calmer. Six goes on to say that he'll escape their fate. She insists, "You can stop manipulating the world and let destiny take its course." She whispers that they know one thing about human beings: "They are masters of self destruction." And then Baltar's alone, staring out at the hallway with his cigarette.
Astral Queen. Someone took the time to give Boomer a change of clothes before cuffing her arms together and dumping her in a cell. She's explaining to the Prez that she loves Helo, and that she's carrying his child. The Prez is skeptical, to put it mildly. Boomer gets oddly formal as she declares that on the ship by choice, and then adds, "Hear this: even if you find the Tomb, even if you find the map, and even if you find Earth, the price you pay will be too high." Does she mean the price will be too high unless she helps, or that it'll be too high even if she helps? Because that seems important. The Prez calmly says that she knows there are Cylons on Kobol, and she figures that Boomer is communicating this entire conversation to them. Boomer huffs that it doesn't work that way. The Prez says that all she wants to know is how to find the Tomb of Athena. Boomer says that if they give her a map, she'll do her best. The Prez doesn't like that answer. Boomer claims, "We all know about the tomb. I can show you the path," and adds that she doesn't know where the path will take them, but that they'll have to move fast. Is this a metaphorical path or a literal one? It's so hard to tell with Cylons.
Commercials. Ooh, The Brothers Grimm. Per the podcast, the scene with Baltar and Six was added by Moore when they realized that they'd left them out of the episode completely. Heh. I guess whether or not you think that's a good addition depends on how much you like Baltar and Six. But I love them, so clearly it was the right thing to do. Nyah.
When we return, the Prez is gossiping cattily with Elosha. She sneers that Boomer thinks she's in love with Helo. Meier, not unreasonably, asks, "Who cares?" Elosha says, "The Scrolls of Pythia do speak of a lower demon who helped the people in a time of crisis." The Prez says that she told Boomer that, unless they come back from Kobol with a map to Earth, Helo will be spaced for conspiring with a Cylon. Meier looks kind of impressed, and asks if that's true. The Prez hmphs that it doesn't matter if it's true or not. Dude, the Prez would totally space Helo. She loves throwing people out of airlock more than Tigh likes throwing them in the brig. The Prez says that Boomer really must think she's in love, because why else would she have helped Helo and Starbuck? She concludes, "Even if it's software instead of an emotion, it's real to her. She wants her baby to live. She wants [Helo] to live. We use that."
It's time for Helo to visit Boomer's cell. He stares at his imprisoned robot girlfriend and reaches through the bars to squeeze her hand before he finally sighs, "This is not the way that I thought things were going to go down." Hee. Boomer says, "They're human," and then smirks, "The way you are." Helo tries to figure out how to take that.
The Prez, Zarek, Meier, and Elosha look over the satellite photo of Kobol. Hey, is that another military asset she stole? Meier asks if anyone has considered the idea that Boomer's sending them into a trap. The Prez says she knows that Boomer could be, and adds that Apollo warned them that they'll probably run into Cylons on Kobol. Meier snits, "Has Captain Apollo managed to tell us anything we don't already know?" Heh. I like him. The Prez gets her schoolmarm on and says that Apollo is second in command. Meier says, "Okay, then shouldn't he be here at this meeting? Or is he busy mooning after Starbuck in a hallway somewhere?" Only not. Anyway, the Prez says that she's determined to go to Kobol, whatever the risks. She says, "I am committed." Zarek and Meier glance at each other like they're both thinking, "Or you should be."
Adama exercises with a pair of dumbbells while the Viper pilots do exercises with just one dumbbell. They must have intended that, right? So, yeah, Birch has taken Hotdog and Racetrack out for target practice among some asteroids. It's all very pretty, but this is like a subplot of a subplot so I'm not gonna spend much time on it. Basically, Birch accidentally clears both Hotdog and Kat for attack runs against the same asteroid. Hotdog blows up the asteroid just as Kat approaches it from the other side, so she has to dodge the debris, and barely survives the misadventure. The FX are, of course, shiny. Then Birch calls the pilots back to Galactica and curses.
Now it's Apollo's turn to visit Boomer's cell. I wonder if they all signed up for specific times. Or maybe there's a line in the corridor outside. Apollo stares at Boomer, and without looking at him, Boomer says, "I know how you feel. I get it." Then her eyes drift over to him as she adds, "But I didn't shoot him." Apollo says, "You're all the same," in a way that makes me wonder if he's auditioning for a role as a serial killer somewhere. Boomer says that he doesn't know what he's talking about. Apollo, in the spirit of scientific inquiry, pulls out his gun and starts to aim. And then Starbuck materializes to him. Apollo reholsters his sidearm and wonders why she spoils all his fun. He grabs Starbuck by the arm and yanks her away from the cell so that they can bicker privately. Apollo says that Starbuck can't boss him around, and plus she stole a Raider. Starbuck notes that Apollo stole a third of the fleet. I've just realized that, really, this whole show is just an elaborate version of a long family car trip. Starbuck and Apollo are in the back seat, whining. "Her hand's on my side of the car!" "He took my coloring book!" Anyway, Starbuck grumps, "You know what? You have no idea what happened to me on Caprica." Boomer watches from her bunk, thinking, "This is the crack team that foils our evil plans?" Starbuck stomps off. It'd be funny if, as soon as she was gone, Apollo pulled his gun back out and shot Boomer.
Zarek and Meier confer in Zarek's office-bridge-thingy. Meier complains that the Prez's plan is reckless, and asks Zarek if he believes her. Zarek says, "No, but I believe in the power of myth." I think Joseph Campbell lost any credibility he may have had simply through association with George Lucas. Zarek says that he doesn't like the plan, but adds, "President or prophet, it doesn't really matter. She still needs a commander. A man in charge of the fleet. A man with a nice black leather jacket. Like mine." Meier suspects that Apollo's the one who will lead their fleet. Zarek looks terribly crestfallen for a moment. Meier goes on to say that they still need the Prez to keep the fleet together, so they'll have to protect her on Kobol. Zarek ponders, and agrees. He says, "I want to set this fleet on a path to freedom." Meier very sincerely says, "Of course." Zarek reminds Meier that, according to scripture, some of them will die on Kobol. Meier mwah-ha-has, "One man in particular."
Commercials. Aha! Moore says that they did originally plan on having Elosha act as a bad influence on the Prez. I'm not crazy! Okay, so my psychic link seems to connect to vague intentions instead of the finished product. So it needs some fine-tuning, but still.
Galactica. There's a refueling mission going on. I wonder how they decide when the captions go in the center of the screen instead of at the bottom. So this is another scene full of people talking in jargon that I'm gonna skip. The short version is: Birch is directing a freighter toward the Galactica, and doing a sucky job of it.
CIC. Tigh is monitoring the goings-on unhappily as Adama strolls in. Tigh complains that Birch is screwing up a task that should be "the simplest op in the book!" Gaeta chimes in that Birch can't handle the job. Tigh tells Adama, "I realize that he is your guy, but..." Adama concludes, "He's no Apollo." Tigh's like, "Well, that's not entirely a bad thing, but essentially, yes."
Astral Queen. Starbuck is sulkily bouncing a pyramid ball against the wall. I think this room is supposed to be some version of a locker room for the maintenance crew or something, since there are more coveralls hanging on the wall and piled on a table. The ball bounces, and Apollo catches it. They're all really good at sneaking up on each other. Starbuck leans back to look at him, and Apollo casually says he was wondering when they'd get some R&R. Then he bounces the ball on Starbuck's head, tee hee. Apollo moves away and lies down on one of the bunches. Starbuck asks if she can have her ball back. Heh. Apollo asks, "I can't hold it?" and tosses the ball in the air lightly. Starbuck asks again, and says "Please," this time. Apollo asks where she got a pyramid ball, and Starbuck duhs, "Caprica." Apollo, bizarrely, then sniffs the ball. Starbuck walks over and asks again, and this time Apollo hands the ball back to her -- and then pulls it away at the last second. He plays keep-away with her a little longer, and Starbuck finally snaps, "Keep it," and walks away. Apollo tells her that he's just kidding, and goes after her. Starbuck sits on a bench to a room divider made out of fencing. Apollo drops the ball over the fencing, into her hands. He adds, "You can take your ball and go home now." Starbuck laughs fakely and goes back to bouncing the ball as she observes, "The whole thing's stupid anyway."
Apollo stares at Starbuck for a second, and finally sits down so that they're back to back with the fence of deep symbolism between them. He asks if she wants to talk about anything. She doesn't. Apollo hms. He says it must have been hard on Caprica. Starbuck stops bouncing the ball, but doesn't reply. Maybe she could bounce the ball once for yes, and twice for no. Apollo says that it'll all be over tomorrow, when they either find the Tomb and the way to Earth or...don't. Apollo concludes, "I just want you to know, Kara, that I'm your friend. I love you. If there's anything you wanna talk about, anything you wanna get off your chest, then I'm here for you." Starbuck's face goes from sad to comforted to confused to amused in very subtle ways during that, and it's quite fun to watch. Starbuck bounces the ball in response. Apollo casually gets up and says that when she wants to talk, she can let him know. He starts to leave, and without looking, Starbuck calls, "What was that middle part again?" Apollo huhs, and turns back. Starbuck climbs up on the bench to look over the fencing at him and asks if he said that he loved her. Apollo chuckles nervously and hems. Starbuck merrily says, "Lee Adama loves me." Apollo starts to explain what he meant, and Starbuck interrupts to say that it's sweet. He laughs a little and heads out. Starbuck looks mock-peeved and repeats, "No, you love me. You can't take it back. There's no take-backs." Apollo finally calls, "You're dreaming it!" as he walks out, and Starbuck goes on repeating, "You love me!" Hee. Starbuck leans forward to make sure Apollo's really gone, and grins to herself. They're cute. And emotionally retarded.
Galactica. Still refueling. Birch still sucks. Adama finally duallas to abort the mission. Birch curses again. Meanwhile, the ship they were trying to supply continues to veer toward the side of the Galactica. A Raptor pilot tries to warn them off, but the ships crunch against each other.
Adama makes a sad face. The Raptor pilot reports that there's minor damage as a result of the collision, but that the tanker is intact. Adama sends a rescue team out.
Kobol. "Galleon Meadow," the name of which will be explained shortly. The landing party consists of the Prez, Elosha, Boomer, Helo, Zarek, Meier, Starbuck, and Apollo. And three or four members of Team Cannon Fodder. Apollo hands Zarek a gun, saying, "You never know when you might need to defend yourself." As Apollo walks away, Meier stares after him a little guiltily.
Elosha flips through the scriptures and finds the relevant passage: "And the blaze pursued them. And the people of Kobol had a choice: to board the great ship or take the high road through the rocky ridge." This is giving me flashbacks to Message From Space. Which is never a bad thing. Boomer chimes in, "And the body of each tribe's leader was offered to the gods in the Tomb of Athena." Boomer explains that the ship was a galleon that left from the meadow they're standing in with the founders of the colonies. She looks around at the hillsides as she says that the high road leads to the Tomb. The camera swings around to show a faint path cutting across a nearby hill. Everyone stares, and the Prez happily says, "Let's move."
They all walk along the overgrown road. Helo and the cannon fodder lead the way with their guns ready as Boomer tells Elosha that the path should be marked with gravestones. I guess the people on Kobol liked Survivor. Oh my God, Zarek is Rob! Except less likable. Elosha suddenly says that she's found something, and scrambles through the bushes. She approaches a small carved rock under a fern. As she examines it, she shifts her feet and steps on a trigger. Boomer then shouts, "Wait!" but Elosha moves again to see what she's stepped on, and a bouncing betty is launched into the air. Kaboom. Elosha is thrown back as more explosives are launched. And then there's gunfire, too. A member of Team Cannon Fodder is promptly hit. The camera finds three Centurions perched on the hillside, shooting down at the cast.
Commercials. Eick and Moore mention that, normally, they'd bring Birch back at some point, but that they've made the character such an ass that it'd be difficult to do it. Moore says that, instead, they'll just have some crew member casually say, "Oh, and Birch killed himself."
Everyone ducks as the Cylons keep firing. Everyone except Boomer, who starts running as Helo calls her. Another member of Team Cannon Fodder fulfills his mission, and then Helo manages to take out one of the Centurions. Good for him; he's certainly had enough practice. The Centurion tumbles down the hillside thinking, "!"
Apollo and Starbuck move in so that they're almost under the Cylons, sheltered by some overhanging rock. Apollo helpfully points up, like the loud gunfire above them isn't a clue. He and Starbuck take turns leaning out to fire at the robots.
Zarek and Meier protectively surround the Prez while some cannon fodder shoots back at the Centurions.
Boomer makes her way to Elosha's body. She looks around suspiciously, and moves on.
Apollo and Starbuck engage in a little bit of business that I'm not certain I understand. I think Apollo is trading empty guns for Starbuck's loaded ones, to avoid making it seem like they have can fire for eternity without having to reload. If that's what's going on, I approve. Eventually Apollo manages to hit one of the Centurions perched above them. Starbuck compliments his shooting, and Apollo barks, "Ammo!" which seems to support my "reloading" theory. Or so I'll choose to believe.
Boomer continues running among the trees, and Apollo does a very amusing double-take. He runs off after Boomer while Starbuck is shooting at the remaining Cylon. Starbuck shouts, "Lee, no!" She starts shooting up with both guns, not bothering to aim -- I think she's just trying to keep the remaining Centurion from getting a clear shot of Apollo there.
Boomer rushes through the trees, with Apollo in hot pursuit. She reaches one of the dead guys and awkwardly picks up his grenade launcher in her manacled hands. Then she turns as Apollo rushes into the clearing and tackles her. Struggling and grunting ensue, but only briefly because the episode's almost over. Boomer shoves Apollo back and tries to aim the launcher with it propped up against her side. Apollo cringes. Boomer fires. The last Centurion goes kablooey. Then Boomer and stands up and gives Apollo a good glare as she tosses the launcher down. I hoped Apollo was going to be like, "Oh, I knew you were gonna do that. I was trying to help! Really!" Instead, Apollo just blinks and says, "You gotta be frackin' kidding me." Okay, that's not bad either. We see all the other characters staring at Boomer with various expressions of wonder. Starbuck seems be most amazed that Boomer was able to fire accurately under the circumstances. She glances up at the hillside and shrugs, "Not bad." Heh.
Adama's quarters. Hey, Adama has almost finished his toy boat. He's painting varnish on it, I think. And monologuing about betrayal. "It can squeeze out all other thought. Suffocate all other emotion until everything is dead except for the rage." And I thought I was good at holding grudges. At this point he glances at whoever he's talking to, so that we know he hasn't gone completely around the bend. However, the camera stays tight on him so that we can't see his visitor. Adama continues to work on his model while calmly saying,"Feel like I wanna scream. Right now, matter of fact." The camera finally pans over to reveal Adama's visitor, and it's...Dualla. Which is kind of an anticlimax. It seems pretty reasonable that Adama would confide in Dualla. So why build suspense about that? Plus, hiding who it was meant that we couldn't see her reaction to all the stuff Adama was saying. Remember, she helped Apollo and the Prez escape. Adama doesn't know that, but did kind of betray him, so it'd be interesting to see if she looked more sympathetic or terrified when he was talking. Dualla asks for permission to speak, and then says that maybe the problem is that getting shot made Adama feel helpless. Adama says, "Don't make excuses for me," but Dualla continues, "And when you finally had a chance to do something--" Adama looks mildly peeved and says, "I'm sorry I did this." Heh. Dualla finishes, "--You let us down." She says that Adama promised to find all of them a home: "It doesn't matter what the President did, or even what Lee did, because every day that we remain apart is a day that you've broken your promise." Adama says, of the people who left, "It was their decision, not mine." He stares at Dualla for a moment, and then tells her that she can go. Dualla stands up, hesitates, and then says that maybe Adama asked to talk to her because he didn't think she had anything to say, but she does. She sits down to Adama and, as he tries to go back to working on his boat, she holds his arm to keep him from playing with his boat. Dualla's pretty brave. Adama tries to cut her off, but Dualla continues, "People have been divided. Children are separated from their parents." Adama gives Dualla a look of death. Eep. Dualla looks back at him like, "Hey, King Solipsist -- other people exist, too." Adama stands up, and Dualla looks discouraged.
Kobol. The Prez cries by the body of Elosha. Everyone else stands around awkwardly like, "Yeah, she was swell, can we go now?" Eventually, they do. I'm sure they also spent a while mourning the loss of the cannon fodder. Really.
Adama walks down an empty corridor, where he enters a slo-mo zone and is creeped out by the chorus of men humming an inspirational theme on the soundtrack. This causes an epiphany, I guess. Or maybe the epiphany caused the humming. It's hard to tell.
CIC. Adama enter and tells Gaeta "I want to see all recon material on Kobol immediately in my quarters." Gaeta looks like he thinks this could be a trick. Tigh gasps, "Kobol?" Adama says, "Yes. I'm putting the fleet back together. I'm putting our family back together. This ends now." Tigh looks confused, like maybe he hears some spooky humming. Adama leaves. The humming stays. The crew look quietly pleased, but manage to avoid bursting into applause. Aw, and then Dualla looks like she's about to cry. Probably because she's thinking, "These people would be toast without me. I need a raise."
time: more declarations of love, more betrayal, and of course, more gunfire.
Production card: Eick says, "Jot this down." Moore grabs a pen and carves "This" into Eick's forehead.