Cast

James Callis as Dr. Gaius Baltar
Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama
Mary McDonnell as President Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Jamie Bamber as Lee "Apollo" Adama
Michael Hogan as Col. Tigh
Tricia Helfer as Number 6
Grace Park as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
Tahmoh Penikett as Helo
Aaron Douglas as CPO Galen Tyrol
Michelle Forbes as Admiral Helena Cain

Synopsis

Pegasus and Galactica launch the attack on the Cylon resurrection ship.

High Points

• Starbuck and Cain's scene in Cain's quarters near the start of the episode.
• Boomer: You said that humanity never asked itself why it deserved to survive. Maybe you don't.
• Adama: It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of surviving.

Low Point

Find me one and I'll put it here.

The Scores

This episode feels nice and original. Elements have been seen before of course, but it's combined in an interesting and exciting way. Five out of six.

Full marks for effects. The sight of two Basestars and two Battlestars duking it out with hundreds of fighters between them is unmatched in the series and utterly, utterly beautiful. Six out of six.

As a continuation of last week's episode, the story lives up to all expectations. I can't say much because to give away a great deal about this episode to those who haven't seen it would be criminal, but the tension at the end of the previous episode is resolved, and it's not done in a trivial or insignificant manner. Six out of six.

There was a little bit of over-acting in this episode, from the two Pegasus Specialists, who were rather too stereotypical. I don't think anybody could fault Katee Sackhoff and the others, though. Sackhoff in particular always seems to know the perfect expression to show what's going on inside Starbuck's mind. Five out of six.

This was emotional response of the pulse-pounding, heart-hammering, breath-coming-shallow variety. Six out of six.

The production was superb. I'm not going to overanalyse it because I'd end up describing most of the episode. Six out of six.

Overall, I can't look back out of this episode and be disappointed in any part of it. Except perhaps that it wasn't twice as long. Six out of six.

And that gives a massive total score of forty out of forty-two.

Unanswered Questions

I'll put these in black as they're inherently spoilerish.

Where is Six? Why does Baltar know somewhere she can go and be safe, and how did he arrange it? What has happened to the Six inside Baltar's head? Has he banished her? Does this mean she was a delusion all along, as she once suggested?

On what basis were Tyrol and Helo released? Why was Dualla listening to Starbuck and Apollo at the end, and how much does she know about what Starbuck almost did? What does she think of it?