When Commander Adama was shot during the last episode of the first season, we knew that they were going to find a way for him to survive. Edward James Olmos is just too big of an actor and too big of an anchor for the show to go so quickly. They are taking their sweet time bringing Adama back into any major role, but you can understand, as he is still breathing with a ventilator. In his place, Colonel Tigh has done a decent job, bringing some sort of order and at least keeping the fleet together.

Keeping the fleet together came at a price, however. After the fleet was scattered in the previous episode, the Galactica was forced to network their computers to accelerate the calculation of the the proper coordinates of the other ships. The Cylons sent a virus to attempt to gain control of the ship, but Gaeta built a firewall to prevent that from happening. The firewall held up and didn't let the virus gain control of the ship, but the virus still remained in the other computer systems, meaning it was still a danger to people on board.

The other problem with bringing the fleet back together was that the Cylons managed to crash a troop carrier into one of the hangar bays. Combined with the Cylon virus, you can see how things could get really screwed up in a really short amount of time, and that is exactly what happens. The virus causes several systems to shut down, allowing the Cylon Centurions to run amok. Apollo and some of the other Vipers (they are the little fighter spaceships that protect the fleet) crew are celebrating how awesome they are when they hear some shots.

Inevitably, they get into it with a Centurion, and the results aren't pretty. While a lot of the Cylons spend their time looking like humans, Centurions are just bad ass machines with lots of armor and lots of ammo, with a mission to kill. Apollo had just finished putting a full clip into one of the Centurions to no effect, and was preparing to die. Luckily, one of the ship's Marines blew the Cylon's head off with an explosive charge. Great news! Explosive charges can kill Cylons. Bad news! The marines are out of explosive charges.

As if the people on Galactica aren't having enough trouble, there are still people spread out across the Galaxy. On Caprica, it's Helo and Starbuck, combing through what is left of the planet of Caprica. For Helo, this is a huge event. What he thought was his only human contact since he originally crashed on Caprica was actually a Cylon who may or may not have actual feelings for him and also appears to be pregnant. He is excited to see Starbuck, but ashamed that he has fallen in love with a Cylon.

There has been some debate out there as to whether the Cylons actually want to destroy us. You know, some believe that if the humans only took time to understand their enemy, maybe there could be peace. That idea will probably go out the window after the survivors of the colonies discover the people who made it through the nuclear attack on earth were rounded up and taken to mass incinerators. Explains why there is almost nobody in the street. They are definitely not planning on sticking around, but are in search of something better than their two feet to get around. Luckily, it looks like Kara knows the area quite well.

I thought this was the weakest part of the episode. We go to Starbuck's apartment, which just happens to be within walking distance of wherever they were stranded. Oh look, she is an artist! She wants to listen to some music that is performed by her dead father. Luckily, she didn't pay the electric bill so there are plenty of batteries around. She waxes on about what her life has become since the attacks. You know, she knows nothing else except fighting, but maybe now she just wants to live for living's sake. Top notch filler that was added, at least in my mind, because they needed some clips to send to the Emmys. How else can you explain the orchestra in the background?

OK, I get it, Caprica is destroyed, your life has changed. Is this different much different from what the hell has been going on lately? This scene does have an end, when Starbuck reveals that she has keys to a car. And don't you think that since they have a handle on the whole "space flight" thing and can travel faster than light, they might be able to imagine a flying car? No, either they don't have them, Kara's too cheap, or the production messed up, because Helo and Starnbuck pile into a Humvee (not an H2) and roll along their way. Unless they find something else on Caprica, it's outlived its usefulness and they should just get these people back home.

Posted by J-Unit on July 27, 2005 12:32 AM