Escape Velocity (Battlestar Galactica)
Encyclopedia
"Escape Velocity" is the fourth episode in the fourth season of the science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica
. It first aired on April 25, 2008. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,675.
holds a memorial service for his late wife Cally. During the service, President Laura Roslin
tells Admiral Adama
that she would like a similar service when she dies. As the service concludes, Tory Foster
tries to convey her condolences to Tyrol.
Colonel Tigh
and Tory later meet the Chief in his quarters. There, he confesses that he is still confused by his Cylon identity, but Tory tries to persuade him that he is perfect and that they are superior to humans. She suggests that he "switch off" his guilt, but Tigh vehemently disagrees saying that grief is human.
Meanwhile, Tory Foster visits Gaius Baltar
in his sect's quarters. As she seduces him while bringing him pain, a group of masked men break in, launch tear gas
, deface Baltar's shrine and beat up anyone they can find. They demand Baltar surrender himself, but he hides in his alcove. The intruders flee when security arrives. After the attack, Baltar comforts an older woman who is praying to Asclepius
, a god of healing.
An investigation is launched and Baltar is informed that the attackers are known as "The Sons of Ares
" – a religious sect opposed to Baltar's monotheistic
teachings. "Head Six" appears to him and says that it seems "the old gods are fighting back." She encourages Baltar to coordinate a counter-attack and he makes a speech in which he calls upon his followers to cast aside their fear and retaliate. Later, Baltar and his followers break into a polytheistic
religious ceremony to denounce the old gods. Baltar declares that people are not being told the truth and begins defacing the temple. Security personnel arrest him before a riot starts.
In Galacticas sick bay
, Adama meets Roslin, bringing a novel to read aloud during her cancer treatment. He tells her that he has never finished this particular novel because he enjoys it too much to bear reaching the end.
Down in the brig
, Colonel Tigh pays a visit to Caprica Six and asks how she can cope with her guilt in the deaths of billions of human beings. He then hallucinates, seeing his dead wife Ellen Tigh
in her place and he fearfully leaves.
On Colonial One, the Quorum
meets where Lee Adama
challenges President Roslin's latest emergency decree, in response to the religious attacks, which restricts assemblies to twelve people or fewer. Roslin assures him that the decree is aimed squarely at Gaius Baltar
and his monotheistic sect, but the other Quorum members argue that the decree could be applied to many polytheistic believers as well, whose beliefs approximate parts of Baltar's religion. An angry Roslin challenges the Quorum to override her decree, while reminding them of what happened when Baltar was President and warning them of what might happen if he were to obtain significant religious influence.
On Galactica, Tyrol returns to work, but remains distracted. He clears Racetrack's
Raptor
for flight, but the ship soon suffers an explosion and is forced into an emergency crash-landing. Although Racetrack and her ECO Skulls escape injury, the Raptor is destroyed. An inspection reveals that Tyrol failed to swap a damaged part for the replacement he was carrying at the time. Racetrack tries to drop the matter saying that nobody was hurt—"It was human error"—but Tyrol becomes furious and challenges any of the witnesses to face him and say that he "frakked
" up.
Distraught over the incident, Tyrol sits alone in Joe's Bar. Adama arrives and tries to console him over the death of Cally; Tyrol hallucinates and hears Adama call Cally a Cylon-lover who birthed a half-breed abomination, but really he had said that Cally was a good person. Tyrol becomes enraged, insulting Cally and denouncing her as second-best. He says that the one who he really loved was Boomer, but she turned out to be a Cylon. Adama insists he heard enough from the Chief and tells him to end his outburst, but Tyrol turns his tirade against Adama himself and the Galactica. Adama dismissed Tyrol from Deck Crew Chief of Galactica with rank demotion to Specialist, then commands him to appear for a duty reassignment the following morning. He leaves a despondent Chief behind at the bar.
Later, Roslin visits Baltar in the brig where she tells him that she doesn't have long to live and warns that her impending death has left her willing to act outside of the law. She threatens Baltar not to disturb the peace and then has him released.
Meanwhile, Colonel Tigh visits Caprica Six once again but he continues to see Ellen in her place. He orders the guards and observation crew away and turns off the surveillance cameras. He then repeats his earlier question of guilt to Six who says that humankind learns from pain and needs pain to achieve clarity, as she has learned from her own pain. She removes Tigh's eye-patch, but after a moment he pushes her away. She responds by savagely beating him down to the floor, but Tigh asks for more. She admits that it appears that she was wrong about his needs and starts to kiss him.
At the sect's quarters, Baltar and several members are barred from entry to their home by a guard at the door who says he is enforcing Roslin's emergency decree against assembly. Head Six appears to Baltar and tells him he will not be harmed if he continues on. Baltar then attempts to pass but is beaten down by the soldier. Bleeding and kneeling on the floor, Baltar whispers that he cannot continue, but Head Six orders him to his feet. She then forcibly pulls him upright and Gaius appears to be physically lifted by an unseen force. The surprised guard again knocks him to the floor. Lee Adama then arrives and declares that the Quorum has overturned Roslin's decree and that the people are free to assemble. In his quarters, Baltar delivers a lengthy speech. He declares that his monotheistic followers contain the spark of God inside them and that they must learn to love themselves before they can begin to love each other.
As the speech continues, the scene briefly moves to the Demetrius, where Starbuck
has fallen asleep atop her navigation charts. A concerned Samuel Anders
enters the room and stares at her.
Back on Galactica, Baltar concludes by telling his followers that since God loves them, they must therefore be perfect as they are. The followers cheer. Tory Foster stands in the rear of the room. Head Six is next to her, observing her. Lee Adama stands further back, also listening.
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
. It first aired on April 25, 2008. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,675.
Plot
The episode begins as Chief Galen TyrolGalen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica...
holds a memorial service for his late wife Cally. During the service, President Laura Roslin
Laura Roslin
Her first actions include organizing all FTL-capable ships together and convincing Commander William Adama to abandon a retaliatory attack on the Cylons. President Roslin and Billy Keikeya, her aide/press secretary/chief of staff, establish a working office space aboard her transport, renamed...
tells Admiral Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
that she would like a similar service when she dies. As the service concludes, Tory Foster
Tory Foster
Tory Foster is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Rekha Sharma.-Character biography:Tory, like the other members of the Final Five, was originally from a planet called Earth...
tries to convey her condolences to Tyrol.
Colonel Tigh
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
and Tory later meet the Chief in his quarters. There, he confesses that he is still confused by his Cylon identity, but Tory tries to persuade him that he is perfect and that they are superior to humans. She suggests that he "switch off" his guilt, but Tigh vehemently disagrees saying that grief is human.
Meanwhile, Tory Foster visits Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
in his sect's quarters. As she seduces him while bringing him pain, a group of masked men break in, launch tear gas
Lachrymatory agent
Tear gas, formally known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator , is a non-lethal chemical weapon that stimulates the corneal nerves in the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even blindness...
, deface Baltar's shrine and beat up anyone they can find. They demand Baltar surrender himself, but he hides in his alcove. The intruders flee when security arrives. After the attack, Baltar comforts an older woman who is praying to Asclepius
Lords of Kobol
The Lords of Kobol are deities featured in the fictional universe of Battlestar Galactica. The Lords of Kobol are worshiped by the humans of the Twelve Colonies...
, a god of healing.
An investigation is launched and Baltar is informed that the attackers are known as "The Sons of Ares
Lords of Kobol
The Lords of Kobol are deities featured in the fictional universe of Battlestar Galactica. The Lords of Kobol are worshiped by the humans of the Twelve Colonies...
" – a religious sect opposed to Baltar's monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
teachings. "Head Six" appears to him and says that it seems "the old gods are fighting back." She encourages Baltar to coordinate a counter-attack and he makes a speech in which he calls upon his followers to cast aside their fear and retaliate. Later, Baltar and his followers break into a polytheistic
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
religious ceremony to denounce the old gods. Baltar declares that people are not being told the truth and begins defacing the temple. Security personnel arrest him before a riot starts.
In Galacticas sick bay
Sick bay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
, Adama meets Roslin, bringing a novel to read aloud during her cancer treatment. He tells her that he has never finished this particular novel because he enjoys it too much to bear reaching the end.
Down in the brig
Military prison
A military prison is a prison operated by the military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, enemy combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime...
, Colonel Tigh pays a visit to Caprica Six and asks how she can cope with her guilt in the deaths of billions of human beings. He then hallucinates, seeing his dead wife Ellen Tigh
Ellen Tigh
After she is killed for treason against the resistance on New Caprica, Ellen resurrects aboard a Cylon ship, where John Cavil holds her prisoner. However, by downloading into a new body, she regains the memories that Cavil had blocked decades earlier...
in her place and he fearfully leaves.
On Colonial One, the Quorum
Quorum of Twelve
The Quorum of Twelve is a fictional governing body of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol on the two Battlestar Galactica television series. In both series, it was composed of one representative from each colony.Series creator Glen A...
meets where Lee Adama
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
challenges President Roslin's latest emergency decree, in response to the religious attacks, which restricts assemblies to twelve people or fewer. Roslin assures him that the decree is aimed squarely at Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
and his monotheistic sect, but the other Quorum members argue that the decree could be applied to many polytheistic believers as well, whose beliefs approximate parts of Baltar's religion. An angry Roslin challenges the Quorum to override her decree, while reminding them of what happened when Baltar was President and warning them of what might happen if he were to obtain significant religious influence.
On Galactica, Tyrol returns to work, but remains distracted. He clears Racetrack's
Margaret Edmondson
Margaret Edmondson is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by actress Leah Cairns.- Character biography :...
Raptor
Colonial Raptor
The Raptor is a multipurpose military spacecraft featured in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. According to producer Ronald D. Moore, the Raptor is analogous to the U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler.-Description:...
for flight, but the ship soon suffers an explosion and is forced into an emergency crash-landing. Although Racetrack and her ECO Skulls escape injury, the Raptor is destroyed. An inspection reveals that Tyrol failed to swap a damaged part for the replacement he was carrying at the time. Racetrack tries to drop the matter saying that nobody was hurt—"It was human error"—but Tyrol becomes furious and challenges any of the witnesses to face him and say that he "frakked
Frak (expletive)
Frak is a fictional version of "fuck," "shit" or "damn" first used in the original Battlestar Galactica series. It continues to be used throughout different versions of the franchise as an expletive....
" up.
Distraught over the incident, Tyrol sits alone in Joe's Bar. Adama arrives and tries to console him over the death of Cally; Tyrol hallucinates and hears Adama call Cally a Cylon-lover who birthed a half-breed abomination, but really he had said that Cally was a good person. Tyrol becomes enraged, insulting Cally and denouncing her as second-best. He says that the one who he really loved was Boomer, but she turned out to be a Cylon. Adama insists he heard enough from the Chief and tells him to end his outburst, but Tyrol turns his tirade against Adama himself and the Galactica. Adama dismissed Tyrol from Deck Crew Chief of Galactica with rank demotion to Specialist, then commands him to appear for a duty reassignment the following morning. He leaves a despondent Chief behind at the bar.
Later, Roslin visits Baltar in the brig where she tells him that she doesn't have long to live and warns that her impending death has left her willing to act outside of the law. She threatens Baltar not to disturb the peace and then has him released.
Meanwhile, Colonel Tigh visits Caprica Six once again but he continues to see Ellen in her place. He orders the guards and observation crew away and turns off the surveillance cameras. He then repeats his earlier question of guilt to Six who says that humankind learns from pain and needs pain to achieve clarity, as she has learned from her own pain. She removes Tigh's eye-patch, but after a moment he pushes her away. She responds by savagely beating him down to the floor, but Tigh asks for more. She admits that it appears that she was wrong about his needs and starts to kiss him.
At the sect's quarters, Baltar and several members are barred from entry to their home by a guard at the door who says he is enforcing Roslin's emergency decree against assembly. Head Six appears to Baltar and tells him he will not be harmed if he continues on. Baltar then attempts to pass but is beaten down by the soldier. Bleeding and kneeling on the floor, Baltar whispers that he cannot continue, but Head Six orders him to his feet. She then forcibly pulls him upright and Gaius appears to be physically lifted by an unseen force. The surprised guard again knocks him to the floor. Lee Adama then arrives and declares that the Quorum has overturned Roslin's decree and that the people are free to assemble. In his quarters, Baltar delivers a lengthy speech. He declares that his monotheistic followers contain the spark of God inside them and that they must learn to love themselves before they can begin to love each other.
As the speech continues, the scene briefly moves to the Demetrius, where Starbuck
Kara Thrace
Kara Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
has fallen asleep atop her navigation charts. A concerned Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
enters the room and stares at her.
Back on Galactica, Baltar concludes by telling his followers that since God loves them, they must therefore be perfect as they are. The followers cheer. Tory Foster stands in the rear of the room. Head Six is next to her, observing her. Lee Adama stands further back, also listening.
Production
In the original draft for the beginning of season four, Tom Zarek was behind the Sons of Ares and encouraged its attack on Baltar's Cult.Cultural references
- During the quorum discussion, one of the members compares Baltar's cult to "followers of Mithras", a cult popular in the Roman Empire.
External links
- "Escape Velocity" at the Battlestar Wiki
- "Escape Velocity" at SyfySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...