Season 2, Episode 04:
Resistance
In Galactica's brig, Tyrol is being interrogated by Tigh, who suspects him of being a Cylon. Although Tyrol repeatedly protests that he has no idea what Tigh is talking about, he is beaten by the commander, who tells him that he can't be trusted because of his affiliation with Boomer. He then throws Tyrol into Boomer's cell. As Tigh walks off, Tyrol orders Sharon to stay away from him.
On the hangar deck, Cally goes to Baltar and asks him to help Tyrol. Baltar lies that his Cylon detector wasn't working correctly, and promises to help prove Tyrol's innocence. He goes to the CIC, and is confronted by Tigh, who asks him why the detector didn't work. Baltar makes up a nonsensical technical explanation, and Tigh orders him to test Tyrol again, while also explaining that the fleet is now under martial law.
After Baltar leaves, Gaeta tells Tigh that a number of ships in the fleet have refused to supply Galactica, and are protesting Roslin's confinement.
Later that night, as he walks back to his cell, Lee meets Dualla in the halls, who tells him that Tigh's alcohol problem is getting worse and protests are not showing any signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, in Tigh's room, Ellen suggests that Tigh assert his authority and take the needed supplies from the protesting ships by force.
On Caprica, Helo and Kara are driving through a forest when they are suddenly confronted by an armed group. A standoff occurs, with both sides accusing each other of being human-form Cylons, until Helo diffuses the situation when he realizes that they are a group of professional sports players named the Caprica Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers, led by a man named Anders, lead Helo and Kara to their base and tell them why the team is carrying weapons—they were in the mountains training when the Cylon attack occurred, and decided to take the fight to the enemy via stealing weapons and supplies. As the team rests for the night, Kara challenges Anders to a game of pyramid in the regulation court they had installed in the base.
Back in Galactica's brig, Roslin and Lee are discussing what is happening in the fleet. Lee realizes that Roslin still holds power over a large number of ships and wants to do something to change things, while Roslin realizes the already-stressed situation is going to get worse.
Tigh orders several groups of Colonial Marines to take the needed supplies by force from the protesting ships. Onboard the Gideon, a transport ship, a group of Marines attempts to take food supplies from the angry residents, only to cause an inadvertent burst of gunfire after an errant noise is heard. In the confusion, 4 people are killed.
In the CIC, Tigh realizes he's made things much worse. Roslin hears the news and tells Lee that they have to leave the ship as soon as possible, to which he responds that he has an escape plan figured out.
Elsewhere in the brig, Boomer is still trying to convince Tyrol that she loves him when Baltar walks in, asking to test the chief for his detector. After being injected with a syringe of fluid, Tyrol goes into shock. Baltar tells the panicked Boomer that he covered up her Cylon nature from the rest of the crew, and demands to know how many humanoid models are in still in the fleet. Left with no choice, Boomer admits there are eight models, and Baltar administers the antidote.
Later, Tigh mulls over his decision, and lashes out at Ellen for manipulating him. Ellen admits that he would never stop drinking if she didn't motivate him now and again, which causes a fight to break out between them. A few moments later, they begin passionately kissing on his desk.
Meanwhile, Lee executes his escape plan by closing down a passageway and leading Roslin, Billy and Elosha to the hangar bay, where Racetrack has helped procure one of the Raptors. When the group moves to leave, Billy asks to stay behind because he doesn't want to take part in a civil war.
The Raptor departs Galactica as Tigh returns to the bridge and sees the unauthorized launch. Although he has the opportunity to destroy the Raptor, he allows it to flee to Cloud Nine. Onboard the luxury liner, Lee and Roslin are met by Tom Zarek, who has offered to hide them…
Afterwards, Tigh is once again being berated by Ellen when they are both interrupted by Bill, who has recovered from his injuries enough to walk. Bill asks Tigh what happened, and the latter admits he made a grave error in judgment. Bill explains that they can fix the problem, and orders Ellen to leave the room.
Baltar comes back to the brig to release Tyrol, and tells him that Boomer is being sent to a fortified cell for further testing. As she is led through the ship, with crewmen yelling at her, Cally steps forward and shoots Boomer in the chest. A grief-stricken Tyrol tells Boomer to hold on, but she weakly tells him she loves him and dies…
Tropes
-
Actor-Shared Background: Kara Thrace mentions that a knee injury ended her aspirations of playing pyramid professionally. In real life a knee injury ended the plans of her actor, Katee Sackoff, for a career as a professional swimmer. - Actually Pretty Funny: Zarek chuckles when Lee says he's the only one with enough shady connections to keep Laura hidden.
- Continuity Nod: When Lee visits his father in the infirmary before executing the escape plan with Roslin, the short remark Lee says is backed by the musical track "Wander My Friends".
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Tyrol is holding Boomer as she dies.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Boomer tells Tyrol she loves him as she dies in his arms.
- Enemy Mine: Lee (and subsequently) Roslin decide to work with Tom Zarek, who agrees to help them hide in the fleet.
- Fantastic Racism: Briefly discussed by Head Six, who says to Baltar that "toaster" is a racial epithet after Cally uses it.
- Foreshadowing:
- The Pegasus is mentioned in casual dialogue.
- The Galactica crew have built a reinforced Cylon holding cell for Boomer, which goes unused in the wake of her death.
- Sharon's blurting out that there are eight Cylons in the Fleet is proven correct (and not just a desperate ploy on her part) in later episodes of Season 2 and then "The Plan''. Already known are the copies of Number Two (Leoben), Five (Doral), Six (Shelley Godfrey) and Eight (Sharon Valeri herself); later revealed are copies of One (John Cavil), Three (D'Anna Biers), Four (Simon) and another Six (credited as "Tough Six").
- Hollywood Tactics: In-universe. Anders sheepishly admits that the Buccaneers are using hit-and-run tactics taken from popular media, which doesn't always work.
- Irony: Tigh beats Tyrol and accuses him of being a Cylon. As of the end of the third season, both are revealed to be Cylons.
- Lady Macbeth: Subverted. Tigh calls out Ellen for constantly manipulating him, while she says that he would be driven to drink all the time if she didn't constantly berate him. The episode ends with her effectively being shunted out of the way when Bill returns and re-assumes command.
- La Résistance: The Caprica Buccaneers, who have organized their own resistance movement on the planet.
- Mexican Standoff: Starbuck and Helo get into one with Anders's group when they meet, until each side convinces the other that none of them are Cylons.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. There was a Lt Anders, callsign Jolly, in the Miniseries who took Starbuck's place in the ceremonial flyby after she was put in the brig for punching Tigh, and who was later killed in the engagement with Cylon Raiders that Helo and Boomer survived. Sam Anders is no relation. In light of certain revelations at the end of Season 3, we know that for a fact.
- Ship Tease: Dee checks out Lee as he walks off in the hallway.
- Shout-Out:
- Tigh calling out Baltar for using a nonsensical "technobabble" explanation is the same term that is often referred to mockingly by fans in regards to such solutions on the various Star Trek series.
- The shooting incident onboard the Gideon was inspired by the Boston Massacre.
- Cally shooting Boomer in the chest as she is being led through a group of jeering people is a reference to the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby in the aftermath of the John F. Kennedy assassination.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Saul and Ellen get into an argument and eventually a fight, which ends with both of them making love.
- Team Killer:
- Cally shoots Boomer after the revelation of the latter's Cylon nature puts Chief Tyrol under suspicion.
- The massacre aboard the Gideon.
