'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Pegasus'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

If there's one thing that I have always appreciated when it comes to Battlestar Galactica, it's that the series not only made a point to explore fascinating elements of the human condition, it always worked to revisit those concepts and notions and integrate them into future stories and that was never more evident than in the tenth episode of season two, 'Pegasus'.

Because this was a story that took us back us to the concepts explored in 'Final Cut', which revolved around the fact that sometimes we never quite understand another person's plight and the importance in finding common ground so that everyone is on the same page. It's an idea that was perfect for this episode seeing as to how in this story, the Galactica encounters a mysterious DRADIS contact that, after quick investigation and authentication, turns out to the Battlestar Pegasus. Yes, you read that right, another colonial ship survived the fall of the Twelve Colonies and by way of calculated chance these two Battlestars have found another.

At first, there is nothing but jubilation when it comes to this discovery and with good reason. After spending six months in space on the run from the Cylons, to know that there are other human beings that managed to survive the genocide is a wonderful way to build morale and hope. But unfortunately for Commander Adama and President Roslin, the good times don't last for long. Admiral Helena Cain is more than happy to bring back the good ol' days of the Colonial Fleet by assuming command over Adama and that's when the show started digging deep into the need for understanding plight once again because as the two crews begin to interact, it becomes clear that while the Galactica has suffered through some tough times, they have come out of their scrapes for the better, and the same cannot be said for the crew of Pegasus.

Especially when one considers the rumors that run rampant aboard Adama's ship regarding how Admiral Cain executed her Executive Officer at some point during their journey for disobeying orders, and the tactics used by the crew of the Pegasus to elicit information from their own Cylon prisoner, are downright disgusting. It's obvious they've faced some hard times in deep space and threw away some of their humanity to see another day and the story hammers home its point in finding common ground because it doesn't take long for everything to escalate in this episode by way of a failure of communication when Cain oversteps her bounds and almost has Caprica-Sharon violated in similar fashion and if not for the efforts of Helo and the Chief, the attempt by Cain's crew to 'interrogate' Sharon would have been successful. But alas, in the scuffle, the offending officer from Cain's crew is killed, meaning the Chief and Helo will be facing death aboard the Admiral's ship, something the Commander cannot allow and we are left with a cliffhanger, where the last two Battlestars in existence are ready to duke it out with one another.

If anything, this episode leaves you breathless simply because not a moment is wasted when it comes to this story and I truly appreciate the fact that it took an older story concept and gave it new life because a lack of understanding does not give people license to do whatever the heck they want to others and had Cain realized that and taken the time to appreciate the situation being gifted to her and her crew perhaps these two leaders could have found their common ground and worked together, rather than pointing their guns at one another. Hopefully, the two don't resort to fighting, but in this moment, things look grim. Which means there's no time to waste and it's time to settle in and see how the heck this mess gets resolved in 'Resurrection Ship (Part 1)'. Until next time.

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