'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Home (Part 2)'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The history of our society is rich with all kinds of powerful mythology. We have legends that have lasted and persisted throughout the entire existence of mankind and while we pour over the origins of these myths and legends, we can never quite agree on one particular thing...are any of them truly grounded in reality? After all, no one has ever captured a Bigfoot, or found the Loch Ness Monster, and the list of unproven legends simply goes on and on and whether you believe in such things or not, the lack of proof is what keeps these myths alive in our minds.

But...what would happen if the seemingly impossible came to fruition? What if we actually discovered that these pieces of lore were rooted in fact or truly existed? Such a discovery could change the course of mankind forever, depending on the strength of said discovery and what that might look like, is something that Battlestar Galactica decided to explore in 'Home (Part 2)', because the conclusion to this particular story, gave the series something that few of us expected, a path to Earth and peace in the fleet at last, and of course...it made sure to accomplish this in tough and harrowing fashion. 

Because a majority of this episode took place on the harsh world that is Kobol and well, it's clear that Roslin's group is rattled from losing Elosha, allowing for Tom Zarek and his buddy Meier to plot behind the scenes. They want a direct line to the President for their own agenda and having Lee Adama out of the way would help that greatly, but unfortunately for Zarek, Commander Adama arrives to make peace with Roslin and does so...which poses a new problem for Tom...a united front between the Commander and the President all but ruins his agenda, and he forges an alliance through Meier with Caprica-Boomer to put the old man and his son down...something she has reason to do since her first meeting with the Commander resulted in him damn near choking the life out of her.  But in the end, when they all arrive at the tomb, this Boomer proves her loyalty by protecting father and son from Meier's treachery and since it was just Meier and Boomer talking behind the scenes, Zarek's machinations for power remain a secret.

But, the centerpiece of this episode, was mysticism come to life, because eventually some of the group makes their way into the Tomb of Athena and what they find...is extraordinary. As it turns out, the Arrow of Apollo does indeed have a little magic to it, because those within the tomb are 'transported' to a planet far away, where they discover the original symbols of the Twelve Colonies, reflected in the sky by their respective constellations. It leaves everyone confused since it doesn't provide an exact map to Earth and that's when Starbuck realizes they're standing on Earth and Apollo discovers that this strange planetarium provides them with a landmark, a nebula, off in the distance and undoubtedly that's a clue as to where to find the home of the Thirteenth Tribe and with this discovery in hand, the fleet is reunited at last and back on track to their new home.

However, the show wasn't quite done with bringing mysticism to life. A long standing question was answered as well in that, Baltar is not crazy, he is indeed speaking to an astral being of some sort and that being's predictions are slowly coming true, which means the ominous line that she is here to oversee the 'end of the human race' holds plenty of weight. But when all is said and done, this was simply a magnificent episode. It was so cool to see a path to Earth laid out at last and give the fleet and its people a sense of purpose and direction and it's equally as amazing for them to all know that the myths they grew up believing in are all coming true...at least we hope they are. Either way, the Galactica and the last remnant of mankind are on their way to the Lagoon Nebula (or Astral Body M8, as the Commander called it) and it should be interesting to find out what surprises await them along the way...until next time...

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