We open with a flashback to the Gideon Massacre, the event in which armed Marines shot into a crowd of civilians, killing multiple people. D’Anna Biers, a fleet news reporter, somehow acquired this footage and is planning on sending it out to the fleet. In exchange for NOT sharing this footage with the fleet, Commander Adama and President Roslin, working hand in hand again, offer Biers unlimited access to the Galactica to produce another story of her choice. D’Anna agrees. What we wind up getting in this episode is almost ‘A Day in the Life of’ segment, focusing on various characters, and how they make up the whole of life on Galactica.
1. Adama
The first time we see the commander in this episode, he’s attempting to convince Biers to drop the Gideon story; he wants her, instead, to show what the men and women on Galactica are really like in order to bring the fleet together, not tear the fleet apart. Adama knows humanizing the members of his ship, members of the military, will help garner sympathy from the civilians of the fleet. The Galactica crew risks their lives every day to save the lives of everyone else within the fleet, which is something that makes this episode timeless. There will always be groups putting their lives on the line for others, and they may have to do things they’re not proud of, or things others disagree with, in order to accomplish their task, and ultimately, save the day.
2. Starbuck
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Starbuck is the most complex character on Galactica, and on the series, and this episode helps showcase that complexity. Apollo insinuates Starbuck is dumb, and she proceeds to show him up by dropping her knowledge of poetry. Yes, poetry. She breaks up a fight on Galactica’s deck, she talks down a pilot that is losing it, and Biers interviews Starbuck in her natural environment, while boxing. Starbuck contains multitudes, and this episode helps demonstrate those multitudes.
3. Apollo
The CAG has always been the straight man to Starbuck’s wild nature. He’s serious, about his job and he’s serious about his pilots. He doesn’t want Biers messing with them and he lets her know it. He also lets her know he does believe his pilots deserve special treatment; she tries to make him look like a jerk for believing this, but he defeats her attempts by revealing how they put their lives on the line, on the front lines, everyday. Apollo explains how there’s no backup, no pilots in training coming to relieve them in a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years. It’s all on them. Every day.
4. Dee
Dee is a minor character that frequently helps push the story along in Battlestar, which gives her the illusion of playing a major role within the series. Here, in this episode, she reveals her estrangement from her father while being interviewed by Biers. Her father didn’t like that Dee was going into the military; he thought those that join up are idiotic, patriotic fools and wasn’t into his daughter joining a group like that. When Biers inquires as to if she ever reconciled with her father, Dee reveals she never had the chance. He was killed in the Cylon attack. Dee is very open and honest, as we see earlier in the season when she confronts Adama about the split of the fleet. She’s honest here, too, when she tells Biers, and the camera directly, that’s she’s scared during the Cylon attack, and that attacks don’t get easier over time, they get harder.
5. Biers
Here’s a new character who is quickly established thanks to some excellent writing and storytelling. We know from the minute we see Biers that she’s out for a story, a story that will most likely look bad for Galactica and the military as she’s skeptical of their motives and wants justice for those killed on the Gideon. She remains skeptical throughout the majority of the episode, up until the encounter with the Cylon raiders, where she sees the Galactica in action. Then she appreciates those that put their lives on the line each and every day for the protection of the civilian fleet. But, in a masterful ending to the episode, we see a group of Cylons watching the end of the documentary made by Biers. Weird. Why would they be watching? How would they get access? You know how…because D’Anna Biers is a freaking Cylon, that’s how. Battlestar does have the perfect set-up for surprise reveals, as anyone can be a Cylon, but this reveal is excellent. It makes us question the Cylons true motivation in having D’Anna produce this documentary and leaves us hanging for the next episodes.
Oh, and, by the way, did I mention D’Anna Biers is played by Lucy Freaking Lawless? ‘Cause she is.
