Season 4, Episode 17:
Someone to Watch Over Me
A new Quorum has been formed in the wake of the mutiny, populated by ship captains. Lee congratulates a copy of Six named Sonja for being elected as the Cylons' representative to the Quorum.
In the engine room, Tyrol is relaying a status update to Bill. He says that the ship is experiencing power losses and disruptions due to the Cylon repair work, but it will give the fleet a few more jumps before the superstructure collapses. Bill tells him to do whatever he can to save the ship.
A command meeting is held with Sonja, who requests a formal extradition for Boomer. She tells the group that the Cylons want to try Boomer for treason because she supported Cavil during the civil war. Tyrol realizes that Boomer will be executed (and will be unable to resurrect) if she's convicted.
In her bunk, Kara gets up and sees the nightmarish vision of her charred body in a mirror before she goes about her daily routine. She visits sickbay and learns from Cottle that Anders's brain is still unconscious. The Five enter and suggest that Anders's brain is resetting itself, but Cottle refuses to believe it and leaves.
In Joe's Bar, Kara is drinking and asks the resident piano player why he's playing the same song over and over again. She visits Helo after and he gives her a gift—a cassette with a live performance from her father, who was a piano player himself.
Tyrol visits Boomer and the brig and they talk about the events of the last few months. Boomer admits that she has been thinking about him, and Tyrol has another vision of what his life would have been with Boomer before the fall of the Colonies. He snaps out of his dream and angrily leaves.
Kara visits the piano player, "Slick", again and begins to help him with a composition he's creating. She sits with him and relates how her father taught her how to play the piano. She also tells him about her experiences finding her own body on Earth, and that she feels lost. Slick tells her that sometimes being lost is where a person needs to be.
The Five meet and Tyrol asks for their help saving Boomer. They refuse to assist, and tell him that they won't be seen as gods for the rebel Cylons. Afterwards, Tyrol visits Boomer again and has another vision of what his life could have been, envisioning a house with Boomer and a daughter named Dionne.
Tyrol then goes to Roslin and pleads with her to save Boomer, but she tells him to drop the matter and says that Boomer preys on people's feelings.
Just before Boomer is transferred over to the rebel Cylons' custody, Tyrol enacts a plan where he knocks out a copy of Eight during a power failure and places her in Boomer's cell.
A short while later, Sharon is heading back to her quarters when she is surprised by Boomer, who brutally beats her and ties her up in the backroom. Helo arrives soon after and Boomer seduces him while Sharon eventually comes to and sees them having sex.
Kara continues to compose with Slick, and they both realize that the notes she's absentmindedly playing on the piano correspond with drawings Hera had made of a star constellation. They play the newly-finished piece while Saul, Ellen and Tory watch in the bar.
In Galactica's daycare, Boomer arrives and picks up Hera before putting her in a storage crate, then meets Tyrol at a waiting Raptor. She asks him to come with her, but he says that he will stay behind and will see her again.
After she leaves, Sharon escapes from her bonds and finds Helo holding a combat briefing. He orders a medical team to come down immediately, and she cries in anguish while holding onto him. At the same time, an alert goes out over the hangar bay and Boomer rushes to escape in the Raptor before the pod bay door closes. She jumps the ship out of FTL-range just after exiting the bay, which punches a hole in Galactica's armor.
Kara and Slick continue performing the piece, which is revealed to be the same music the Five heard when they realized their identities. Saul, Ellen and Tory ask how she composed the song, and she says it was something she learned as a child. Slick is nowhere to be found.
Tyrol finds Sharon and Helo arguing with each other, and realizes that Boomer kidnapped Hera. He runs through the ship and sees the vision of the house again, but there's no one inside…
Tropes:
- Bed Trick: Boomer seduces Helo by making him think she's Athena. Word of God says it was partly to distract him so she could take Hera, and partly to stick it to Athena who's tied up in a nearby closet and Forced to Watch.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Kara spends the episode coming to terms with her childhood with the help of a vision of her father.
- Disappeared Dad: Kara's father, Dreilide/"Slick", disappeared when she was a young girl.
- Drives Like Crazy: Boomer's shitty flying, which becomes a bit of a visual Brick Joke to previous mentions in the early seasons when she crashes into the side of Galactica and then jumps so close to the hull that it punches a hole through the armor.
- Duet Bonding: Starbuck plays with a pianist she didn't like previously (who is indicated to be a vision of her father). The activity helps her come to grips with her past.
- Heroic BSoD: Sharon gets it after Hera is kidnapped.
- He's Dead, Jim: Subverted. Cottle is convinced that Anders is brain dead, and tells Kara to move on with her life.
- Idiot Ball: Tyrol picks up the ball for the duration of the episode, helping Boomer kidnap Hera because he is reminded of all the good times he had in their past relationship.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Tyrol, after Hera is kidnapped by Boomer.
- Mythology Gag:
- The prize that is awarded to the pilots in the contest is called "Felgercarb Toothpast", a reference to one of the swear words used in the original series.
- Likewise, the notes Slick plays before Kara helps him are the notes for the "Exploration Theme" from the original series' pilot episode, "Saga of a Star World".
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice job helping Boomer kidnap a little girl, Tyrol.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Kara, as she goes about her normal duties (which including assigning Viper missions, doing paperwork and getting drunk).
- Shout-Out: To the song of the same name, which was composed by Ira Gershwin and focused on love and acceptance. It may also be one to the Star Trek: Voyager episode of the same name, which also dealt with a character (the Doctor) learning to accept what he is.
- Xanatos Gambit: Boomer is revealed at the end to have pulled this against Ellen and Tyrol, getting their trust just long enough to kidnap Hera.
