Season 1, Episode 06:
Litmus
As a group of civilians arrives on Galactica, a member of their group slips away and begins walking on his own through the ship. Meanwhile, Tyrol meets with Boomer in a secluded area, and they passionately kiss.
As the intruder moves through the ship, Tigh calls security. Suddenly, Bill notices what is happening and tells the intruder to stop. The man turns around and reveals himself to be a copy of Doral, who is wearing a vest filled with explosives. As he raises a detonator and presses it, Tigh grabs Bill and dives into a side corridor, narrowly missing the explosion.
Afterwards, the crew surveys the damage - three people died as a result of the bombing. Bill then requests a public inquiry into why Doral was allowed onboard, and appoints Galactica's Master-at-Arms, Sergeant Hadrian, to oversee an independent committee.
Roslin holds a press conference and announces to the fleet that the Cylons look human and that there may be copies throughout the fleet. The news is met with disbelief and shock by the assembled journalists. Elsewhere, on Galactica's hangar deck, Hadrian interviews members of the deck crew, only to discover that Tyrol has conflicting alibis, leading her to believe that he is hiding something.
Hadrian calls Boomer and Tyrol to testify at the hearing. Boomer goes first, and is asked about her relationship with Tyrol. Boomer states that the relationship was stopped on Tigh's orders. Hadrian then asks where Tyrol was during the bombing, but Boomer doesn't have an answer.
Tyrol is called up next, and is asked about a hatchway which was left open, and led to Doral stealing the explosives on it, which he used to trigger the attack. Tyrol points out that several people had access to the locker, including Hadrian herself. Hadrian then counters that Boomer may have left the hatch open, but Tyrol feigns ignorance and says he doesn't know. Hadrian then presses further, and accuses him of being a Cylon collaborator, but Tyrol refuses to answer any more questions.
On Caprica, Helo is still searching for Sharon. As he moves through the city, Sharon is meeting with a copy of Six, and asks the latter Cylon to beat her so it looks like the Cylons captured and injured her. Six responds by beginning to punch Sharon.
On Galactica, Specialist Socinus is called to the committee, and is told that his statement has led to Tyrol being implicated for the bombing. Socius changes his story, and claims that he left the hatch open while going to get some food. When Hadrian tries to assert that Tyrol made him leave the hatch open, Socinus sticks to his story.
In the Battlestar's sickbay, Baltar visits Kara and tries to flirt with her. She responds by freaking him out, and tells him that Doral might have been heading to his lab to destroy the Cylon detector he's building. Baltar is freaked out and leaves, asking his internal Six why the Cylons would want to kill him if he's following their orders. Head Six responds by claiming that Doral likely wasn't after him — just his project.
Back on Caprica, Helo is still searching when he discovers a Centurion dragging Sharon along. He shoots down the Centurion and rescues Sharon, and they leave together.
Bill is called to the inquiry while discussing matters with Roslin, and is then told by Hadrian that he is the one to blame for the chain of events leading to the bombing. Angered, Bill states that he will not take part in a witch hunt, and disbands the committee as a result. Roslin holds a press conference and indicates that Socinus is the culprit, and that he has been confined to the brig for neglecting his duties.
Later that day, Tyrol goes to Bill and tries to persuade him to release Socinus. Bill dresses him down, stating that as a result of his relationship with Boomer, an innocent man has been implicated, and that Tyrol will have to live with that fact for the duration of Socinus' prison term.
Afterwards, Tyrol goes to Boomer and tells her he can't continue their relationship. Before he leaves, though, he asks her if she left the hatchway open when they last met. Boomer refuses to answer…
Tropes:
- Bottle Episode: The majority of the episode takes place in front of the committee, with several of the main characters testifying for the inquiry. The Official Companion book even refers to the episode as "cost-saving", but it averts the usual tropes associated with this by furthering several storylines at once.
- Call-Back: A picture of Leoben, last seen in the Miniseries, is released to the public by President Roslin alongside one of Doral, telling the Fleet to be on alert for other copies of either man. (This will soon lead to the capture of a second Leoben in "Flesh and Bone".)
- Courtroom Episode
- Fall Guy: Socinus, who takes the blame for the hatch being left open, when he was just covering for Tyrol.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: In less than an episode, Sergeant Hadrian's growing paranoia and tyrannicalness lead her to pressure Socinus into a false confession and try to indict Commander Adama, causing him to dissolve the board of inquiry and make a point about witch hunts. Although Hadrian was actually on the right track being suspicious of Boomer, who is a Cylon sleeper agent, and Tyrol, who has covered up evidence of this fact, and it's true that Adama's allowing their relationship to continue against regulations has not been good for the ship's security. This episode was clearly inspired by an episode of Ronald D. Moore's former show Star Trek: The Next Generation called "The Drumhead", but Hadrian's leap from the slippery slope is more egregious here because unlike Admiral Satie in "The Drumhead" she has decided it's a good idea to go after her commanding officer rather than people she outranks.
- Knight Templar. Sergeant Hadrian, who tries to implicate Bill as complicit in the Cylon attack.
- One-Word Title
- Pastimes Prove Personality: In his off-time, Bill likes to build model ships.
- Shaming the Mob: Bill shames the coalition into backing down from their inquiry, due to the justified belief that they're just looking for someone to blame.
- Shout-Out: Head Six delivers a tip of the hat to The Incredible Hulk (1977):Head Six: Don't make me angry, Gaius… You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!…
- Suicide Attack: Doral blows himself up during the opening sequence, killing three others.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Adama to Chief Tyrol about his lack of professionalism leading to Socinus being put in the brig taking the fall for him. He outright says the Chief should be there instead, but he can't do that because he needs Tyrol to keep his planes operational.
- Witch Hunt: Referenced by name by Bill near the end of the episode.
