Season 1, Episode 4

Amazon Link

Synopsis

While the flight crew is celebrating a pilot’s 1000th flight, a missile breaks free from a rack and explodes on deck, killing the pilot and several others.

Starbuck is affected by troubling premonitions and guilt over the past. Through flashbacks, we learn Starbuck was in a relationship with Zak, Commander Adama’s son, who died in a flight accident. Adama never blamed Starbuck for this, but Starbuck has told Lee that she gave Zak a pass on basic flight when he didn’t deserve one. Commander Adama doesn’t know this.

Back on Caprica, Sharon and Helo locate the building sending the signal, and find a fallout shelter filled with rations and medical supplies.

Doc Cottle scolds Roslyn for letting her ignoring her cancer. She wants to use kamala extract, an herbal treatment.

Starbuck gets tough with a bunch of new pilots. New pilot Kat is nervous and has a difficult landing. Starbuck scolds them and says they’re all through.

Lee tells his father that Starbuck may be letting personal guilt cloud her judgment regarding the new pilots. He realizes that Starbuck never told his father about Zak passing basic flight, so he tells Commander Adama to talk to Starbuck.

Bill Adama confronts Starbuck about Zak. She admits that he failed basic flight and she passed him. Adama is displeased to hear this, and Starbuck cries. He orders her to just do her job.

Starbuck gives three of the new pilots a second chance and takes them on a training flight. Several Cylon raiders appear. Starbuck turns around to fight them, but the last one damages her ship. Both her viper and the cylon raider plummet to a planet below. Starbuck ejects.

Thoughts

This episode does a fair amount of jumping around in time via flashbacks, both to the past and to the future.

As with Water, yet again we have a character letting their personal feelings get in the way of their duty. But here the characters are Starbuck and Commander Adama, and the consequences more serious as it resulted in the death of Adama’s son.

I’m now wondering if Starbuck’s self-destructive behavior began with this guilt over Zak’s death and the solemn reaction of Commander Adama.

Next Episode: You Can’t Go Home Again (2)
Previous Episode: Bastille Day

Read More Battlestar Galactica Articles at Webomatica: TV Shows!

Categories: Battlestar Galactica, Television :: Tags: :: Trackback URL
Front Page
Previous Post: Web 2.0: Please Make It Easier To Quit
Next Post: Microsoft + Yahoo!: Here’s Hoping For A Better Option
Related Posts: Battlestar Galactica Site Hacked :: Battlestar Galactica: Thoughts On Season One :: Battlestar Galactica: You Can’t Go Home Again (2) :: Battlestar Galactica: DVD Movie Plans ::