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The whole time the trial has been going on, the rest of the Galactica crew has been busy trying to lose the Cylons AND keep jumping to the nebula. The Chief can be heard humming the same song that's been in Tigh's head while he works on keeping the Vipers and Raptors flying. Racetrack is also leading a class in avionics with the new nuggets, including Anders and Ceelix (Ceelix, presumably, knows more about avionics than Racetrack does, but she has to take the class anyway). Anders overhears the Chief humming and goes to ask him about it, since he's been hearing the same song all day. Neither of them can quite hear it completely, just little snatches, and when they try to remember where they've heard it before, it's gone. "Like something from childhood." Before they can talk further (and what is there to say, other than, "this is really fracking weird"?) Racetrack pulls Anders back into class, and the Chief gets back to work, still humming. Occasionally he adds the phrase "There must be some way out of here." (For people paying very close attention, this is wher DH's ears perked up and he started to put things together. So when you watch the ep, really listen to the music, because it's important.)
The intercutting in the second half of this two-parter is REALLY complex, and I'm probably not going to be able to recap everything in the right order. Just FYI.
In Lampkin's quarters, Lee thinks they should aim for a mistrial based on Adama's having already decided the verdict in advance. He reads a line from one of his grandfather's books about how a mistrial can be good for the defense because the prosecution will have already laid out their case and the defense can be better prepared for the next time. Baltar is dead set against this plan, though, because it would mean going through the whole thing again, which he doesn't think he can take. (His poor nerves!)
Anders and Tori run into each other in the bathroom, just washing up, during the recess. They both look like ****, but wind up making out. It's unclear whether this means they've been having an affair since Starbuck died (or before?) or if this is a new thing, or if either of them is even really aware of what they're doing. The song comes back on, and Tori says something like "There's that **** song again" and they (continued...)
( continues...) both realize that the other can hear it too. Which is weird, but they keep making out anyway instead of talking about it. A knock on the door snaps them out of it and Anders says "There's too much confusion" and leaves Tori alone. (Anyone got the reference yet?) On the way out, he gets a nasty look from Ceelix, which is why I think he might also be sleeping with her. Or maybe not.
Back at the trial, Gaeta is on the stand. He not only testifies to Baltar's signature being on the death list, he testifies that he was in the room when Baltar signed it, and that Baltar did not protest when the Cylons put it in front of him. We all know this is a bold-faced lie, and so does Baltar, who very clearly remembers refusing until they literally put a gun to his head. Baltar jumps up and starts shouting "That's a lie, you were never there!" but his lawyer and the judges eventually get him to sit down. Lampkin does not cross-examine Gaeta, saying that if he's already decided to perjure himself, there's nothing he can do about it. He then moves for a mistrial (against the "Please gods no!" of Baltar's hilarious eyes), and asks to put Lee on the stand to testify why. Now, clearly, the defense counsel cannot put his associate defense counsel on the stand. It's ridiculously illegal. But since this is television, Adama insists that he wants to hear Lee's testimony, so the other judges agree to allow it.
Lee on the stand is marvellous. He doesn't go up there intending to give the speech he does, and I don't think he knows he believes it until the words are coming out of his mouth. He's very reluctant to testify to his father's previous statements about Baltar, but eventually gets worked up enough that he gives a long and moving soliloquy about how everyone on the ship in any kind of power position has made mistakes, and has been forgiven for them, except for Baltar. How Roslin issued a blanket pardon for collaborators...except for Baltar. He goes back to the very beginning of the series listing massive transgressions for which other people were forgiven -- Adama's coup d'etat, how he was forced to shoot down a civilian ship, etc etc up to the present day. And that, basically, Baltar's on trial because everyone feels guilty, and they want to punish someone for it, and it may as well be the crazy weird guy who everyone hates anyway. Surrendering to the Cylons on New Caprica was an impossible decision -- nobody knows how much worse it would have been if he had "stood up to them," as everything thinks he should have done. Nobody has any idea what "standing up to them" would have even meant, since at the time it seemed like the alternative was being instantly nuked from orbit. And nobody blames the commanders of the two warships for jumping away and abandoning them -- why aren't both Adamas on trial for treason? Lee eventually winds his argument down to a close and the defense rests. The judges retire to deliberate.
Tori is in really bad shape in the bathroom -- nauseous and dazed. She runs to the toilet to vomit, and then back at the sink washing her face, she mumbles "...can't get no relief." She blinks a few times and then leaves. Nobody who can hear the song is in great shape. Tigh in particular has been walking through the ship with his ear pressed against the wall, trying to figure out where the fracking music is coming from, making him look both drunk AND crazy. Er, moreso.
The judges return after what seems to be a very brief deliberation, but maybe more time has passed than they show. Baltar is found not guilty by a vote of 3-2. There is CHAOS in the courtroom, and Lee, triumphant (not because Baltar is free, but because he finally beat Daddy Adama at something), shouts "You've got to get him out of here, old man!" Baltar is escorted back to Lampkin's quarters by three or four marines. A free man now, Baltar is ecstatic. He can't wait to start planning his future with his two new bestest friends in the world, Lee and Romo! Only...they're not his friends. They were his lawyers. Now that they're not his lawyers anymore, it turns out they don't like him very much either. Especially Lee. Lampkin could care less what happens to Baltar -- now that he's a celebrity lawyer (and the fleet has a legal system again), he's all ready to go back to work and make a f**kload of money. Lee is satisfied that justice has been served, and takes particular pleasure in knowing that the real justice is Baltar being allowed to live, but as an outcast, for the rest of his life. Baltar slowly realizes how terrified he is, having no idea how to live completely alone and cut off from society.
Roslin approaches Adama on the bridge to console him about the verdict. Only...it turns out he was the swing vote. Roslin is not happy. If they were having a secret affair before, they aren't anymore. Fortunately for their awkward moment, the Cylons choose that moment to attack. Condition One is set throughout the fleet. Lee, bless him, runs back to his quarters and gets his flight suit on (assuming, correctly, that they'll sort out that whole "quitting" thing after the battle). Tigh, Tori, Sam, and Tyrol are still stumbling around looking for the source of the music, which is getting louder, and yes, is gradually resolving itself into "All Along the Watchtower." And just then, the power goes out. Throughout the entire fleet.
end of spoilers
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Old 03-14-2007, 09:15 AM #1153
Jonathan
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Concluded:
spoilers:
(And at last!)
Frack, I forgot about all the dream sequences!! Argh. Okay, so throughout the whole two hours, there are dream sequences interspersed. They are Roslin's dreams. She is in the opera house (where Six brought Baltar on Kobol, and where D'eanna saw the Final Five), chasing Hera, who is running down corridors. Sharon is there too, and so is Six. The music on the temp track is the monolith theme from 2001, which I only mention because they'll probably write original music for the broadcast, which is a shame because the monolith theme is just so awesome. (Not "Thus Spake Zara Thustra," btw, the chorus of voices -- I think it's called "Atmospheres" or something.) At one point, Roslin is in sick bay getting chemo and has another dream/vision, which Sharon (who is also in sick bay for some reason) shares with her. They both snap awake at the same time, freaking the hell out of Cottle. They realize this is very strange, and go to talk to Six, who agrees that it is very strange. "That shouldn't be possible," she says. The outline of the dream is that Hera is running down the corridor, Sharon and Roslin following behind. Six is following close behind Hera, close enough to pick her up and run into the main room where D'eanna saw the Final Five. Baltar is there, they go in together, and turn around to see the Final Five (in bright white lights, their faces still not visible), watching them on the balcony. And all three of them - Roslin, Six, and Sharon - have been having the same dream.
During the power outage, Baltar is walking through Galactica being pointedly ignored by everyone when he is captured by some of his cult followers (who were at the trial) and taken away to safety. Everyone else on the ships are frantically trying to get the systems back up and running, and looking for flashlights, etc.
Tigh, Tori, Sam, and Tyrol are following their siren song and eventually wind up in the same launch tube. Tyrol arrives first, then Sam and Tori close behind. "Oh no....no no no..." They know. They all know now. Tigh arrives moments after, and he knows too. They stare at each other, stunned into silence and denial. Sam bolts the door.
The power comes back on with a jolt, but the Cylons are right on top of them. There's no way the fleet can spin up the FTL drives in time to jump away. (Oh, and in the wide shot just before this happens, you can CLEARLY see the Enterprise -- it's always been part of the fleet, but I don't think it's ever been this prominent before.)
Eventually, the four in the launch tube start to talk, but none of them want to state outright what they're all thinking. Eventually, though, Tyrol is the first to say it. "We're all Cylons. And we have been from the beginning."
With the power back on, Adama calls everyone to battle stations. The Four all look at each other -- what are they supposed to do now, knowing what they are, and what they might be capable of? This time, it's Tigh who speaks. "Our fracking jobs, that's what. I am Saul Tigh, XO of this fleet. Whatever else I am, that's the man I want to be." And he opens the door and leaves. The rest of them hesitate, but they follow his lead. Tyrol and Sam go back to the deck, Tori goes back to Roslin.
When Tigh gets back to the bridge, Adama says "Good to have you back Saul" and he may as well have just stabbed Tigh in the heart. "You can always count on me, sir," he says. "I never doubted it, old friend."
In space, Lee keeps seeing a DRADIS blip out of the corner of his eye, something marked "unknown vessel" that keeps popping in and out of view. He decides to check it out. When he gets close enough, lo and behold, there's Kara in her Viper, looking more happy and relaxed than we've ever seen her. "Don't worry, Lee," she says, "it's really me. I've been to Earth. I know the way. I'll take us there."
So, all that said, here are some of my thoughts.
The Final Four are all the leaders of the resistance on New Caprica, minus Roslin. I do not think this is a coincidence. Is Roslin the Fifth? (Points in her favor include being the remaining Resistance leader, and her shared dream/projection with Sharon and Six. Points against her are that I don't think Cylons can get cancer.)
The Final Four were activated by a song from Earth. I can't remember another instance of hearing a real-life pop song on this show, and I do not think that that is a coincidence either. Does it tell us what year it is on Earth now? What year it was on Earth when these four were dispatched?
I think D'eanna must have been apologizing to Tigh in the temple, for pulling out his eye.
Oh, I almost forgot! Dee leaves Lee after he officially becomes one of Baltar's lawyers. (Guess he wasn't quite as much like the old man as she'd hoped...)
[All Along The Watchtower is]a cover version I didn't recognize. I don't know what they'll end up using for the broadcast. (They may also replace it entirely, but then the lines that Tyrol, Sam and Tori recite won't really make sense.)
(PS, spoiler feedback is TEH BEST CRACK EVAR. I'd almost forgotten how much fun spoiling is! Silly me!)
Do the four (Tigh, Anders, Tori, and Chief) seem like they really didn't know they were Cylons? I mean -- is their shock real.
Oh, it's very real. At the end of the ep, they're all still in shock, and not a small amount of denial. Unlike Boomer, who was activated to do something (she didn't know for sure she was a Cylon until she shot Adama), these four seem to have simply been switched on. They know they're Cylons, but they don't know why. They don't know what they've been programmed for, why they were placed in the fleet, or why they've been activated now. So they're all not only freaked out that they're Cylons, they're freaked out that they might be programmed to sabotage the fleet in ways they're not aware of yet.
I think the Final Five might be a Cylon splinter group with a completely separate agenda from the other 7. It's just a hunch, but I can't shake the feeling that 4/5 (at least) of them being the leaders of the human resistance on New Caprica is significant. That they have a different plan, and thatt
